chicagosun-times--2020-12-17--2nd coronavirus vaccine gets endorsement for FDA approval

WASHINGTON — A government advisory panel endorsed a second COVID-19 vaccine Thursday , paving the way for the shot to be added to the U.S. vaccination campaign .
The Food and Drug Administration is expected to follow the recommendation and quickly OK the vaccine from Moderna and the National Institutes of Health .
The FDA advisers , in a 20-0 vote , agreed the benefits of the vaccine outweighed the risks for those 18 years old and up .
Once emergency use authorization is granted , Moderna will begin shipping millions of doses , earmarked for health workers and nursing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ vaccination effort in U.S. history .
The campaign kicked off earlier this week with the first vaccine OK ’ d in the U.S. , developed by Pfizer and BioNTech .
Moderna ’ s shot showed similarly strong effectiveness , providing 94 % protection against COVID-19 in the company ’ s ongoing study of 30,000 people .
After seven hours of debate over technical details of the company ’ s study and follow-up plans , nearly all panelists backed making the vaccine available to help fight the pandemic .
One panel member abstained .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ in great detail on this vaccine highly outweighs any of the issues we ’ ve seen , ” said Dr. Hayley Gans of Stanford University Medical Center .
A second vaccine is urgently needed as coronavirus infections , hospitalizations and deaths climb to new highs ahead of the holidays .
The U.S. leads the world in virus totals , with more than 1.6 million confirmed cases and more than 310,000 reported deaths .
Moderna ’ s vaccine uses the same groundbreaking technology as Pfizer-BioNTech ’ s shot .
Most traditional vaccines use dead @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the new vaccines use snippets of COVID-19 ’ s genetic code to train the immune system to detect and fight the virus .
Both require two doses ; Moderna ’ s is four weeks apart .
The two new vaccines will hopefully help “ break the back of the pandemic , ” said Dr. Arnold Monto of the University of Michigan , who chaired the panel .
Thursday ’ s review came days after reports of apparent allergic reactions to the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine in two Alaska health workers .
One person had a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the other had less serious side effects , including lightheadedness .
While the two vaccines use the same technology , they ’ re not identical , cautioned Moderna chief medical officer Dr. Tal Zaks .
In particular , some of the lipids , or fats , used to coat the two vaccines are different .
“ I would not necessarily assume ” that any reactions would be the same , he said .
The FDA found no severe allergic reactions in Moderna ’ s data but flagged a slightly higher rate of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hives , itching — among participants who got the vaccine , compared with those receiving a dummy shot .
There were also three cases of Bell ’ s palsy , which temporarily paralyzes facial muscles , among vaccine recipients , compared with just one among those getting a dummy shot .
The FDA review said the role of the shot in the vaccine group “ can not be ruled out.
” An unanswered question is whether the vaccine also prevents people from symptomless infection — but Moderna found a hint that it may @ @ @ @ @ @ @ prior to the second dose of either vaccine or placebo .
At that one timepoint , swabs from 14 vaccine recipients and 38 placebo recipients showed evidence of asymptomatic infection , said Moderna ’ s Dr. Jacqueline Miller .
Moderna is just starting to study its vaccine in children ages 12 to 17 .
Testing in younger children is expected to start early next year .
After the FDA acts , U.S. officials plan to move out an initial shipment of nearly 6 million Moderna doses .
The vaccine needs to be stored @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the ultra-cold required for Pfizer-BioNTech ’ s shot .
With the addition of Moderna ’ s vaccine , government officials project that 20 million Americans will be able to get their first shots by the end of December and 30 million more in January .
Hundreds of millions of additional shots will be needed to eventually vaccinate the general public , which isn ’ t expected until the spring or summer .
The government ’ s Operation Warp Speed program has orders for 200 million doses of Moderna ’ s vaccine .
That @ @ @ @ @ @ @ doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine .
Officials are negotiating to purchase more doses of that vaccine and there are more vaccines in the pipeline .
Like the first vaccine , Moderna ’ s will remain experimental as the company continues a two-year study needed to answer key questions , including how long protection lasts .
One of the trickiest issues panelists debated was how to keep study volunteers who received a dummy shot from dropping out to get the real shot .
Their participation is critical in order to have a comparison for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ immediately alerting all those volunteers of their status and offering them the vaccine .
The company said more than 25 % of its participants are health workers and some are already leaving to get the Pfizer vaccine .
But Dr. Steven Goodman , an invited expert from Stanford University , suggested Moderna adopt Pfizer ’ s approach .
That company plans to gradually vaccinate people in its placebo group based on when they would have normally had access to the vaccine , as priority groups are established .
But most panelists acknowledged it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ leaving the Moderna study if they have to wait to get a shot .
“ The reality may make that too difficult to do , ” said Dr. Steven Pergam of the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance .
Exactly how to treat the trial participants who got dummy shots is important beyond the ethics : Moderna noted that the only COVID-19 death among the 30,000 volunteers was in a placebo recipient , a 54-year-old man whose only risk factor was diabetes .
Knowing there could be more severe coronavirus in placebo recipients as the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” said Moderna ’ s Miller .

WASHINGTON — A government advisory panel endorsed a second COVID-19 vaccine Thursday, paving the way for the shot to be added to the U.S. vaccination campaign.
The Food and Drug Administration is expected to follow the recommendation and quickly OK the vaccine from Moderna and the National Institutes of Health. The FDA advisers, in a 20-0 vote, agreed the benefits of the vaccine outweighed the risks for those 18 years old and up.
Once emergency use authorization is granted, Moderna will begin shipping millions of doses, earmarked for health workers and nursing home residents, to boost the largest vaccination effort in U.S. history.
The campaign kicked off earlier this week with the first vaccine OK’d in the U.S., developed by Pfizer and BioNTech. Moderna’s shot showed similarly strong effectiveness, providing 94% protection against COVID-19 in the company’s ongoing study of 30,000 people.
After seven hours of debate over technical details of the company’s study and follow-up plans, nearly all panelists backed making the vaccine available to help fight the pandemic. One panel member abstained.
“The evidence that has been studied in great detail on this vaccine highly outweighs any of the issues we’ve seen,” said Dr. Hayley Gans of Stanford University Medical Center.
A second vaccine is urgently needed as coronavirus infections, hospitalizations and deaths climb to new highs ahead of the holidays. The U.S. leads the world in virus totals, with more than 1.6 million confirmed cases and more than 310,000 reported deaths.
Moderna’s vaccine uses the same groundbreaking technology as Pfizer-BioNTech’s shot. Most traditional vaccines use dead or weakened virus, but both of the new vaccines use snippets of COVID-19’s genetic code to train the immune system to detect and fight the virus. Both require two doses; Moderna’s is four weeks apart.
The two new vaccines will hopefully help “break the back of the pandemic,” said Dr. Arnold Monto of the University of Michigan, who chaired the panel.
Thursday’s review came days after reports of apparent allergic reactions to the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine in two Alaska health workers. One person had a severe reaction, including shortness of breath, the other had less serious side effects, including lightheadedness.
While the two vaccines use the same technology, they’re not identical, cautioned Moderna chief medical officer Dr. Tal Zaks. In particular, some of the lipids, or fats, used to coat the two vaccines are different.
“I would not necessarily assume” that any reactions would be the same, he said.
The FDA found no severe allergic reactions in Moderna’s data but flagged a slightly higher rate of less serious side effects — rash, hives, itching — among participants who got the vaccine, compared with those receiving a dummy shot.
There were also three cases of Bell’s palsy, which temporarily paralyzes facial muscles, among vaccine recipients, compared with just one among those getting a dummy shot. The FDA review said the role of the shot in the vaccine group “cannot be ruled out.”
An unanswered question is whether the vaccine also prevents people from symptomless infection — but Moderna found a hint that it may. Study participants had their noses swabbed prior to the second dose of either vaccine or placebo. At that one timepoint, swabs from 14 vaccine recipients and 38 placebo recipients showed evidence of asymptomatic infection, said Moderna’s Dr. Jacqueline Miller.
Moderna is just starting to study its vaccine in children ages 12 to 17. Testing in younger children is expected to start early next year.
After the FDA acts, U.S. officials plan to move out an initial shipment of nearly 6 million Moderna doses. The vaccine needs to be stored at regular freezer temperatures, but not the ultra-cold required for Pfizer-BioNTech’s shot.
With the addition of Moderna’s vaccine, government officials project that 20 million Americans will be able to get their first shots by the end of December and 30 million more in January.
Hundreds of millions of additional shots will be needed to eventually vaccinate the general public, which isn’t expected until the spring or summer. The government’s Operation Warp Speed program has orders for 200 million doses of Moderna’s vaccine. That’s on top of 100 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. Officials are negotiating to purchase more doses of that vaccine and there are more vaccines in the pipeline.
Like the first vaccine, Moderna’s will remain experimental as the company continues a two-year study needed to answer key questions, including how long protection lasts.
One of the trickiest issues panelists debated was how to keep study volunteers who received a dummy shot from dropping out to get the real shot. Their participation is critical in order to have a comparison for long-term safety and effectiveness.
Moderna proposed immediately alerting all those volunteers of their status and offering them the vaccine. The company said more than 25% of its participants are health workers and some are already leaving to get the Pfizer vaccine.
But Dr. Steven Goodman, an invited expert from Stanford University, suggested Moderna adopt Pfizer’s approach. That company plans to gradually vaccinate people in its placebo group based on when they would have normally had access to the vaccine, as priority groups are established.
But most panelists acknowledged it will be hard to keep volunteers from leaving the Moderna study if they have to wait to get a shot.
“The reality may make that too difficult to do,” said Dr. Steven Pergam of the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance.
Exactly how to treat the trial participants who got dummy shots is important beyond the ethics: Moderna noted that the only COVID-19 death among the 30,000 volunteers was in a placebo recipient, a 54-year-old man whose only risk factor was diabetes.
Knowing there could be more severe coronavirus in placebo recipients as the pandemic continues “weighs heavily on me,” said Moderna’s Miller.


chicagosun-times--2020-12-17--Man beheaded corpse inside South Shore apartment where handsaw was found, prosecutors say

A man has been charged with decapitating the corpse of a woman whose body was discovered inside a South Shore apartment last summer .
Kimiko Armstrong ’ s headless body was found wrapped in plastic and bedding when Chicago police officers conducted a wellbeing check July 23 at an apartment in the 7400 block of South Chappel Avenue , Cook County prosecutors said in court Thursday .
It remains unclear exactly how Armstrong , 61 , died , prosecutors said .
Narcotics were found in Armstrong ’ s body , which had been decomposing inside the home , but no @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The decapitation likely took place after her death , according to officials .
Armstrong ’ s head was later found in the home ’ s kitchen , prosecutors said .
While the officers were at the home , 49-year-old Eric Bryant allegedly appeared from the kitchen , ran out of the apartment and could not be located by the officers .
A handsaw was found in a bedroom , along with documents in Bryant ’ s name , including tax and medical records , prosecutors said .
Bryant was located Tuesday when @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the 6700 block of South Rhodes spotted him in an alley and learned he was wanted on an outstanding warrant , prosecutors said .
In an interview with detectives , Bryant denied killing Armstrong , but allegedly admitted to removing her head after she died and seeking to dispose of the body .
He was subsequently charged with a felony count of dismembering a human body .
Bryant has 12 prior felony convictions , mostly for burglary , records show .
“ Your honor , this is a case where no actual live @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is not a live person , ” an assistant public defender for Bryant said after prosecutors asked that he be held without bail .
Bryant , his attorney said , did not have any money to post for bond and earned his living mainly by working at scrap yards .
Judge Charles Beach noted that Bryant had no crimes of violence in his background and that he was not accused of harming Armstrong .
But , the judge added , “ The seriousness of this act , the sanctity of the human body @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you ’ re a threat to the community , and I believe you are .
“ At this time , sir , you will be held without bail , ” the judge added .

A man has been charged with decapitating the corpse of a woman whose body was discovered inside a South Shore apartment last summer.
Kimiko Armstrong’s headless body was found wrapped in plastic and bedding when Chicago police officers conducted a wellbeing check July 23 at an apartment in the 7400 block of South Chappel Avenue, Cook County prosecutors said in court Thursday.
It remains unclear exactly how Armstrong, 61, died, prosecutors said.
Narcotics were found in Armstrong’s body, which had been decomposing inside the home, but no obvious trauma was discovered, prosecutors said.
The decapitation likely took place after her death, according to officials.
Armstrong’s head was later found in the home’s kitchen, prosecutors said.
While the officers were at the home, 49-year-old Eric Bryant allegedly appeared from the kitchen, ran out of the apartment and could not be located by the officers.
A handsaw was found in a bedroom, along with documents in Bryant’s name, including tax and medical records, prosecutors said.
Eric Bryant Chicago police
Bryant was located Tuesday when officers responding to a burglary call in the 6700 block of South Rhodes spotted him in an alley and learned he was wanted on an outstanding warrant, prosecutors said.
In an interview with detectives, Bryant denied killing Armstrong, but allegedly admitted to removing her head after she died and seeking to dispose of the body.
He was subsequently charged with a felony count of dismembering a human body.
Bryant has 12 prior felony convictions, mostly for burglary, records show.
“Your honor, this is a case where no actual live person was harmed. ... A corpse is not a live person,” an assistant public defender for Bryant said after prosecutors asked that he be held without bail.
Bryant, his attorney said, did not have any money to post for bond and earned his living mainly by working at scrap yards.
Judge Charles Beach noted that Bryant had no crimes of violence in his background and that he was not accused of harming Armstrong.
But, the judge added, “The seriousness of this act, the sanctity of the human body ... all give me pause to whether you’re a threat to the community, and I believe you are.
“At this time, sir, you will be held without bail,” the judge added.
Bryant was expected back in court Jan. 4.


chicagosun-times--2020-12-17--A police raid on a terrorized innocent woman shouts out for true reform

We all shudder at the thought of police battering down the door of an innocent person , Anjanette Young .
The door could just as easily have been anyone ’ s , because this a city where cops are too careless of residents ’ rights .
We are infuriated when we see police body-cam video of nearly a dozen armed police officers terrorizing Young with guns and remaining in her home for more than 40 minutes , when all she had done was complete a day ’ s work as a licensed social worker at a hospital and return to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the officers kept a terrified Young , who was getting ready to go to bed , naked and handcuffed instead of letting her put on clothes while they wandered around her home , though they finally draped her in a blanket and eventually let her get dressed .
Young posed no threat to anyone .
We are scandalized that once again we are left with questions about the conduct of Chicago police that we hoped we would never have to ask again : Why didn ’ t police carefully verify the address they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ engaged in such a mind-boggling violation of privacy and security as breaking down Young ’ s door ?
Why did an assistant state ’ s attorney and a judge approve a search warrant based on such sketchy information ?
The most cursory effort at confirmation would have stopped this abomination before it started .
The known felon with a gun and ammunition whom police were looking for , who lived nearby , was under electronic monitoring and could easily have been found .
Young herself told the officers more than 40 times they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ did they treat an innocent person so inhumanely ?
It should have been obvious moments after police entered Young ’ s home that she posed no threat .
Was this part of a police practice to intimidate and dehumanize Young ?
Police easily could have wound up shooting Young by mistake , as can happen when guns are drawn needlessly .
Why did Mayor Lori Lightfoot ’ s Law Department go to court to block CBS from airing the video depicting this outrage , an effort the judge denied ?
The answer , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the city and the police department .
Police release video all the time when they feel it is in their interest .
And in a page right out of a Kafka-esque playbook , the city tried to sanction Young for allegedly violating a confidentiality order by releasing the video .
But the idea that this video could be suppressed was ridiculous .
Did the city learn nothing from its epic failure in attempting to suppress the video of the shooting of Laquan McDonald ?
Did the city learn nothing from thinking it could @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Abbate beating a female bartender ?
Why is the Civilian Office of Police Accountability still dragging its feet nearly two years after this shocking maltreatment of an innocent city resident occurred in February 2019 ?
Although the story was reported in the news media at the time , COPA waited to launch an investigation until Nov. 12 , 2019 , after Young sued the city .
So far , the agency , which says it is investigating , has provided no answers about this case .
Where is the accountability ?
All of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this could happen .
On Thursday , Lightfoot admitted she had been notified of the raid a year ago and corrected her earlier denial that the city had refused Young ’ s Freedom of Information Act request for the video .
Chicago is supposed to be in moment of transparency and of reform .
Chicago is supposed to be in a moment when police are working to rebuild trust in the community .
Chicago is supposed to be ending the era when the city digs deep into taxpayers ’ pockets for massive payouts @ @ @ @ @ @ @ It is the taxpayers , not police or city officials , who are penalized for this type of wrongdoing , and the mounting tab is becoming unaffordable .
Lightfoot has apologized and on Thursday promised that the city will do better .
But what we need is confidence that these wrongs will be corrected .
Mayors have come and gone , as have police chiefs and police oversight agencies .
What hasn ’ t changed is the need for true , lasting reform .

Chicago is aghast.
We all shudder at the thought of police battering down the door of an innocent person, Anjanette Young. The door could just as easily have been anyone’s, because this a city where cops are too careless of residents’ rights.
We are infuriated when we see police body-cam video of nearly a dozen armed police officers terrorizing Young with guns and remaining in her home for more than 40 minutes, when all she had done was complete a day’s work as a licensed social worker at a hospital and return to her home.
We are appalled that the officers kept a terrified Young, who was getting ready to go to bed, naked and handcuffed instead of letting her put on clothes while they wandered around her home, though they finally draped her in a blanket and eventually let her get dressed. Young posed no threat to anyone.
Editorials bug Editorials
We are scandalized that once again we are left with questions about the conduct of Chicago police that we hoped we would never have to ask again:
Why didn’t police carefully verify the address they had received from an informant before they engaged in such a mind-boggling violation of privacy and security as breaking down Young’s door? Why did an assistant state’s attorney and a judge approve a search warrant based on such sketchy information?
Opinion Newsletter
The most cursory effort at confirmation would have stopped this abomination before it started. The known felon with a gun and ammunition whom police were looking for, who lived nearby, was under electronic monitoring and could easily have been found. Young herself told the officers more than 40 times they were in the wrong house.
Why did they treat an innocent person so inhumanely? It should have been obvious moments after police entered Young’s home that she posed no threat. Was this part of a police practice to intimidate and dehumanize Young? Police easily could have wound up shooting Young by mistake, as can happen when guns are drawn needlessly.
Why did Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s Law Department go to court to block CBS from airing the video depicting this outrage, an effort the judge denied? The answer, it seems clear, is it embarrasses the city and the police department. Police release video all the time when they feel it is in their interest.
And in a page right out of a Kafkaesque playbook, the city tried to sanction Young for allegedly violating a confidentiality order by releasing the video. But the idea that this video could be suppressed was ridiculous. Did the city learn nothing from its epic failure in attempting to suppress the video of the shooting of Laquan McDonald? Did the city learn nothing from thinking it could suppress the video of then-Police Officer Anthony Abbate beating a female bartender?
Police body camera video shows the raid on the home of Anjanette Young. CBS 2 Chicago
Why is the Civilian Office of Police Accountability still dragging its feet nearly two years after this shocking maltreatment of an innocent city resident occurred in February 2019? Although the story was reported in the news media at the time, COPA waited to launch an investigation until Nov. 12, 2019, after Young sued the city. So far, the agency, which says it is investigating, has provided no answers about this case.
Where is the accountability? All of Chicago needs to know why and how this could happen. On Thursday, Lightfoot admitted she had been notified of the raid a year ago and corrected her earlier denial that the city had refused Young’s Freedom of Information Act request for the video.
Chicago is supposed to be in a moment of transparency and of reform. Chicago is supposed to be in a moment when police are working to rebuild trust in the community. Chicago is supposed to be ending the era when the city digs deep into taxpayers’ pockets for massive payouts to settle cases of police misconduct. It is the taxpayers, not police or city officials, who are penalized for this type of wrongdoing, and the mounting tab is becoming unaffordable.
Lightfoot has apologized and on Thursday promised that the city will do better. But what we need is confidence that these wrongs will be corrected.
Mayors have come and gone, as have police chiefs and police oversight agencies. What hasn’t changed is the need for true, lasting reform.
Send letters to letters@suntimes.com.


chicagosun-times--2020-12-17--County Board passes Juneteenth ordinance — ‘first step in the healing process’ for Black Americans

The Cook County Board of Commissioners at their Thursday meeting unanimously voted to adopt an ordinance to make Juneteenth a paid county holiday for employees , a move one commissioner called a “ first step in the healing process for African Americans and all.
” “ This year , Cook County , and the nation , have experienced unprecedented racial and civil unrest , ” said Stanley Moore , the chief sponsor of the ordinance .
“ The call for recognizing this … is stronger than ever .
This is the first step toward healing for African Americans and for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ region as a whole.
” Moore said he looks forward to history books reflecting June 19 as an “ American Independence Day.
” The ordinance , titled Juneteenth recognized as a Cook County Holiday , grants county employees 14 paid holidays , including June 19 , which commemorates the end of slavery in the U.S .
In June , the City Council voted to recognize that date — known as Juneteenth — to commemorate the end of slavery in the United States but stopped short of declaring it an official city holiday .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ a ceremonial holiday in 47 states — Texas was the first to declare Juneteenth a state holiday in 1980 .
The text of the ordinance recounts the history around the date , noting that while President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation in January 1863 , many slave owners in Texas did not release their slaves at the time .
On June 19 , 1865 , General Gordon Granger told slaves of the proclamation , issuing an order that “ officially declared the immediate release and freedom of the remainder of slaves located @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in part .
That date has since become one marked by celebration annually .
Other commissioners , including Bill Lowry and Dennis Deer , both from Chicago , also applauded making the date a holiday .
“ Now we can ensure that our children ’ s children will know about Juneteenth , ” Deer said .
“ ...
Us naming Juneteenth a holiday is really about diversity , equity and inclusion .
The slaves that were liberated are now included to celebrate their true independence.
” Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said “ acknowledging this nation ’ s troubled history with slavery ... is an important milestone to mark.
” “ Historians often talk about slavery as the original sin in this country — it ’ s enshrined in our Constitution , for heaven ’ s sakes , ” Preckwinkle said Thursday in a news conference following the board meeting .
“ Acknowledging the end of slavery was a milestone in our country ’ s history — although I would argue that what followed slavery was 100 years of serfdom in the South — @ @ @ @ @ @ @ milestone to mark and I ’ m grateful that Commissioner Deer and Commissioner Moore worked so hard to make this a county holiday.
” The board also approved a resolution connected to Preckwinkle ’ s South Cook Fair Transit pilot program , which will go toward planning studies and the implementation of the pilot program in southern Cook County in collaboration with Metra and Pace .
Those two companies were also the subject of two intergovernmental agreements approved by the county during their last meeting of the year for the fair transit project @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s electric and Rock Island lines by 50 % .
Preckwinkle said those agencies , as well as other transit agencies , have seen “ substantial reductions in ridership ” because of the coronavirus pandemic .
John Yonan , who serves as the superintendent of the county ’ s Department of Transportation and Highways , said before March there were ongoing conversations with the president of CTA to join the pilot program , but the city ’ s transit agency had “ some other priorities set in how they viewed their role @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Yonan said .
“ We believe it ’ s OK at this time as we ’ re monitoring what opening up opportunities for transit options during a pandemic could bring us , and CTA is in the loop on those conversations and will be moving forward , ” Yonan said .

The Cook County Board of Commissioners at their Thursday meeting unanimously voted to adopt an ordinance to make Juneteenth a paid county holiday for employees, a move one commissioner called a “first step in the healing process for African Americans and all.”
“This year, Cook County, and the nation, have experienced unprecedented racial and civil unrest,” said Stanley Moore, the chief sponsor of the ordinance. “The call for recognizing this … is stronger than ever. This is the first step toward healing for African Americans and for all the Cook County suburbs and our region as a whole.”
Moore said he looks forward to history books reflecting June 19 as an “American Independence Day.”
The ordinance, titled Juneteenth recognized as a Cook County Holiday, grants county employees 14 paid holidays, including June 19, which commemorates the end of slavery in the U.S.
In June, the City Council voted to recognize that date — known as Juneteenth — to commemorate the end of slavery in the United States but stopped short of declaring it an official city holiday.
The date is now officially recognized as a ceremonial holiday in 47 states — Texas was the first to declare Juneteenth a state holiday in 1980.
The text of the ordinance recounts the history around the date, noting that while President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation in January 1863, many slave owners in Texas did not release their slaves at the time.
On June 19, 1865, General Gordon Granger told slaves of the proclamation, issuing an order that “officially declared the immediate release and freedom of the remainder of slaves located in Texas,” the ordinance reads in part.
That date has since become one marked by celebration annually.
Other commissioners, including Bill Lowry and Dennis Deer, both from Chicago, also applauded making the date a holiday.
“Now we can ensure that our children’s children will know about Juneteenth,” Deer said. “... Us naming Juneteenth a holiday is really about diversity, equity and inclusion. The slaves that were liberated are now included to celebrate their true independence.”
Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, who is a former history teacher, said “acknowledging this nation’s troubled history with slavery ... is an important milestone to mark.”
“Historians often talk about slavery as the original sin in this country — it’s enshrined in our Constitution, for heaven’s sakes,” Preckwinkle said Thursday in a news conference following the board meeting.
“Acknowledging the end of slavery was a milestone in our country’s history — although I would argue that what followed slavery was 100 years of serfdom in the South — but, anyway, is an important milestone to mark and I’m grateful that Commissioner Deer and Commissioner Moore worked so hard to make this a county holiday.”
She also voiced support for renaming Columbus Day Indigenous People’s Day in the county — a resolution proposing the change was introduced Thursday by Commissioner Brandon Johnson. Glorifying people like Christopher Columbus was “appalling,” Preckwinkle said.
The board also approved a resolution connected to Preckwinkle’s South Cook Fair Transit pilot program, which will go toward planning studies and the implementation of the pilot program in southern Cook County in collaboration with Metra and Pace.
Those two companies were also the subject of two intergovernmental agreements approved by the county during their last meeting of the year for the fair transit project, which will slash fares on Metra’s electric and Rock Island lines by 50%.
Preckwinkle said those agencies, as well as other transit agencies, have seen “substantial reductions in ridership” because of the coronavirus pandemic.
John Yonan, who serves as the superintendent of the county’s Department of Transportation and Highways, said before March there were ongoing conversations with the president of CTA to join the pilot program, but the city’s transit agency had “some other priorities set in how they viewed their role in this fair transit” pilot, Yonan said.
“We believe it’s OK at this time as we’re monitoring what opening up opportunities for transit options during a pandemic could bring us, and CTA is in the loop on those conversations and will be moving forward,” Yonan said.


chicagosun-times--2020-12-17--Public health officials announce 8,828 new COVID-19 cases, highest daily figures reported in a week

Public health officials announce 8,828 new COVID-19 cases, highest daily figures reported in a week (LIVE UPDATES)

Public health officials on Thursday announced the coronavirus has killed another 181 residents and spread to 8,828 more , the highest daily figures the state has reported in a week .
Most of the state ’ s key COVID-19 metrics still kept trending in the right direction , though , with the new cases confirmed among 92,015 tests to lower the average statewide positivity rate to 8.4 % .
That number , which experts use to gauge how rapidly the virus is spreading , has slowly declined from 13.2 % on Nov. 13 , when the state hit a peak @ @ @ @ @ @ @ admissions have gradually fallen from all-time highs in late November , too .
As of Wednesday night , 4,751 hospital beds across the state were occupied by COVID-19 patients , with 1,056 receiving intensive care and 575 using ventilators .
On the busiest night of the pandemic for hospitals , COVID-19 patients were taking up 6,175 beds Nov. 20 .
But hospitals are still stretched thin in the downstate Metro East region , where only 14 ICU beds were available as of Wednesday night , and in the southern Illinois region , where @ @ @ @ @ @ @ state ’ s death rate has shown no signs of slowing down .
The virus has claimed nearly 4,000 lives over the last month alone , making for a brutal average of 133 deaths per day .
During the worst 30-day stretch of the first wave of the pandemic in the spring , about 100 deaths were reported each day .
The latest victims included 94 Chicago-area residents , including a Cook County man in his 20s .
5:45 p.m. Uber to offer 10 million free or discounted rides to people getting COVID-19 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ million free or discounted rides to people looking to receive the COVID-19 vaccination .
The rides include transportation to and from their destination for both the first and second doses .
A date for when the offer will begin rolling out hasn ’ t been set , according to Uber .
The ride-hailing app partnered with organizations dedicated to serving communities of color , including the National Urban League , the Morehouse School of Medicine and the National Action Network , to help target riders who could benefit most .
And it plans @ @ @ @ @ @ @ future .
4:10 p.m. Rev .
Jackson wants Cook County Jail detainees , staff included in first round of COVID-19 vaccinations Rev .
Jesse Jackson on Thursday called for detainees and staff at the Cook County Jail to be included in the first round of folks eligible for COVID-19 vaccinations in Illinois .
Currently , those vaccinations are reserved for front-line medical workers and people at long-term care facilities and assisted-living facilities .
Jackson argued staff and detainees who aren ’ t able to socially distance , and who rotate in and out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the broader community .
“ It ’ s an incubator for infestation and the spread of disease , ” Jackson said at a news conference outside the jail in the Little Village neighborhood on the Southwest Side .
Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart is also calling for detainees and jail staff to be included in the first round of vaccinations , which began in Chicago and across the nation this week .
Reporter Mitch Dudek has the full story here .
Chicago will see a wave of eviction cases in January unless @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in place since the beginning of the pandemic , a tenants rights organization said Thursday .
The Lawyers ’ Committee for Better Housing said the city could see 21,000 eviction cases in the first month after the moratorium ends .
It ’ s due to expire on Jan. 9 but has been extended several times .
The projected total is about 13 times the monthly number of evictions the city saw before the pandemic .
The lawyers group , working with Loyola University Chicago ’ s Center for Urban Research , arrived at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the relationship between eviction filings and changes in unemployment .
Researchers warned the situation for renters , some out of work or with reduced hours because the pandemic has affected their jobs , could be much worse than its projection .
Business reporter David Roeder has the full story here .
A labor court Thursday denied the Chicago Teachers Union ’ s attempt to delay Chicago Public Schools ’ planned January reopening , a setback for the union that was looking to fully bargain with the district over the return to schools for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board ruled in a split 2-1 vote against granting the CTU a preliminary injunction to halt the scheduled Jan. 4 return date for preschool and special education cluster program staff .
The union had charged the district with violating labor law by refusing to negotiate in good faith over a safe schools reopening and acting unilaterally in all its decisions .
A trial was set for Jan. 26 for the case to be resolved , which is after hundreds of staffers and more than 6,000 students would have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ request for injunctive relief asked for the reopening to be put on hold until the union could make its case at trial , with the goal of forcing the two sides to bargain to completion .
With the injunction denied , the CTU said Thursday that it ’ ll ask for the trial to be moved up to next week and a final ruling to be made before Jan. 4 .
A third member of the Chicago Fire Department has died from COVID-19 .
Paramedic Robert Truevillian , who joined the department in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ virus , Chicago fire officials said Thursday in a statement posted to Twitter .
Truevillian was assigned to ambulance 71 , which operates out of the firehouse at 10458 S. Hoxie Ave. in South Deering , officials said .
He ’ s the third active CFD member to die from complications of the coronavirus .
1:23 p.m. Aid package with unemployment bonus , second round of stimulus checks , nears finish line in Washington Congressional negotiators are closing in on a $ 900 billion COVID-19 economic relief package that would deliver additional help @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and $ 600 stimulus payments to most Americans .
But there was no deal quite yet .
The long-delayed measure was coming together as Capitol Hill combatants finally fashioned difficult compromises , often at the expense of more ambitious Democratic wishes for the legislation , to complete the second major relief package of the coronavirus pandemic .
A hoped-for announcement Wednesday failed to materialize as lawmakers across the spectrum hammered out details of the sprawling legislation and top negotiators continued to trade offers .
But lawmakers briefed on the outlines of the aid @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s the first significant legislative response to the pandemic since the landmark CARES Act in March , which delivered $ 1.8 trillion in aid and more generous jobless benefits and direct payments to individuals .
Since then , Democrats have repeatedly called for ambitious further federal steps to provide relief and battle the pandemic , while Republicans have sought to more fully reopen the economy and to avoid padding the government ’ s $ 27 trillion debt .
The Shamrock Shuffle , which kicks off the outdoor running season in Chicago , is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this year due to the pandemic .
But like so many events , it ’ s going to look a bit different in 2021 .
Registration began Thursday .
“ For more than 40 years , the Bank of America Shamrock Shuffle has brought the running community together for a celebration of health and movement , ” Carey Pinkowski , the race ’ s executive director , said in a statement .
“ While we wish we could be together in person , we ’ re excited for a new take on one @ @ @ @ @ @ @ running traditions.
” 10:56 a.m. One judge , 5 more Cook County court employees test positive for COVID-19 Another judge and five more employees in the Office of the Chief Judge of Cook County have tested positive for COVID-19 .
The judge who tested positive works at the Daley Center , the chief judge ’ s office said in a statement Thursday .
One employee works in the Juvenile Probation Department at the Bridgeview Courthouse and was last in the office in October , according to the statement .
8:34 a.m. More than @ @ @ @ @ @ @ most students of color — won ’ t be in schools when in-person learning resumes About 77,000 Chicago Public Schools students plan to return to classrooms once schools reopen in the new year , accounting for 37 % of K-8 , preschool and special education cluster program students who will initially be eligible for in-person learning , district CEO Janice Jackson announced Wednesday .
In a presentation at the monthly Board of Education meeting , district officials revealed that a disproportionate number of families sending their children back to schools are white , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ decline the opportunity to return , matching a trend seen in other large urban school systems nationwide .
That reality raises questions about the argument that has been made for weeks by Mayor Lori Lightfoot and CPS officials that reopening schools will help reduce racial inequity gaps caused by remote learning — though the district repeated that belief in its announcement Wednesday , “ When we talk about offering more options for parents , we ’ re serving a large swath of our families who believe this is the best choice for their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ And we believe we have a moral obligation to do so.
” • Cook County Jail reported 370 positive COVID-19 cases on Dec. 7 , setting a new record for the facility that saw one of the largest outbreaks of confirmed cases of any location in the country last spring .
• Two more employees have tested positive for the coronavirus in Cook County ’ s Office of the Chief Judge .
A total of 216 employees working in Office of the Chief Judge have tested positive for COVID-19 .
Additionally , 17 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the pandemic .
I have tiny veins .
So tiny that it usually takes several sticks before a phlebotomist can draw my blood .
This has always been a problem , and as I aged , a bad situation got a lot worse .
Thankfully , my health hasn ’ t required that I have blood draws more than once a year in recent years .
But , man , do I get stressed out when it comes to shots .
I trace a lot of this anxiety back to childhood .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ herded us like cattle into the auditorium .
There we stood in long lines , with some of the children crying so hysterically a teacher had to restrain them .
Of course , the anticipation of the shot was a lot worst than the actual prick .
But I still have to steady my nerves before I get a flu shot .
So you can imagine how anxious I am about getting the COVID-19 vaccine .
I glanced at Wednesday ’ s front-page photograph of Dr. Marina Del Rios getting the first COVID-19 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ neighborhood , and I felt faint .
Yes .
I ’ m one of those people who get weak in the knees if I even see someone getting a shot .
And I ’ m not alone .
7:52 a.m. At a time of pandemic , my clients keep dying I opened my email at 8:30 in the morning and my heart sank .
A “ dear subscriber ” notification , simple and plain , told me that my client Richard was no longer in Graham Correctional Center because he was deceased .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ condolences offered , no way to follow up .
Had I not signed up for these notifications — status updates that are useful when clients are transferred from institution to institution — no one would have told me that he died .
Richard , an affable and religious man who was bombarded by love from family and friends , was 71 when he died .
When I met him earlier this year , he had served 37 years of a natural life sentence for robbing a grocery store in Champaign , Illinois , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ condemned to die in prison on his “ third strike.
” He never hurt anyone , in that case or in any other .
While in prison , he dedicated his life to his fellow prisoners , to his family , and to God .
He studied the Bible and became an ordained minister .
Trusted by both incarcerated people and correctional officers alike , Richard worked with the assistant warden and the prison chaplain .
The email coldly informing me of Richard ’ s death was the fourth I have received since @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Corrections .
My clients keep dying .
Read the full commentary from Jennifer Soble , executive director of the Illinois Prison Project .

A second coronavirus vaccine received a key endorsement, making it almost certain it will be approved by the Federal Drug Administration.
Here’s what else happened in coronavirus-related news.
News
8:55 p.m. 181 more Illinois coronavirus deaths, 8,828 new cases
Nurse Jessica Bell gives a sip of water to a patient with COVID-19 and on a ventilator in the Intensive Care Unit at Roseland Community Hospital on the Far South Side, Tuesday afternoon, Dec. 8, 2020. Ashlee Rezin Garcia/Sun-Times
Public health officials on Thursday announced the coronavirus has killed another 181 residents and spread to 8,828 more, the highest daily figures the state has reported in a week.
Most of the state’s key COVID-19 metrics still kept trending in the right direction, though, with the new cases confirmed among 92,015 tests to lower the average statewide positivity rate to 8.4%.
That number, which experts use to gauge how rapidly the virus is spreading, has slowly declined from 13.2% on Nov. 13, when the state hit a peak in its record-setting autumn resurgence.
Hospital admissions have gradually fallen from all-time highs in late November, too. As of Wednesday night, 4,751 hospital beds across the state were occupied by COVID-19 patients, with 1,056 receiving intensive care and 575 using ventilators. On the busiest night of the pandemic for hospitals, COVID-19 patients were taking up 6,175 beds Nov. 20.
But hospitals are still stretched thin in the downstate Metro East region, where only 14 ICU beds were available as of Wednesday night, and in the southern Illinois region, where 17 beds were open.
And the state’s death rate has shown no signs of slowing down. The virus has claimed nearly 4,000 lives over the last month alone, making for a brutal average of 133 deaths per day. During the worst 30-day stretch of the first wave of the pandemic in the spring, about 100 deaths were reported each day.
The latest victims included 94 Chicago-area residents, including a Cook County man in his 20s.
Read the full story here.
7:47 p.m. Norwegian American Hospital gives health care workers first batch of COVID-19 vaccine
Norwegian American Hospital administered its first series of COVID-19 vaccines to five of its health care workers Thursday afternoon.
“We need this little thing, a syringe full of just a few drops of life and hope, so we can all start to get some normalcy,” said Dr. Abha Agrawal, chief medical officer at the Humboldt Park hospital, 1044 N. Francisco Ave.
“I’m excited, I am honored to be part of this day and I am just full of hope and relief as we are looking to the days ahead to the end of this very long and dark time.”
The vaccines administered at Norwegian American came from the 150 doses it received Thursday morning. By late afternoon, 35 people had been vaccinated; the hospital anticipates using up all 150 doses by Monday morning.
Reporter Manny Ramos has the full story.
5:45 p.m. Uber to offer 10 million free or discounted rides to people getting COVID-19 shots
Uber says it will offer 10 million free or discounted rides to people looking to receive the COVID-19 vaccination.
The rides include transportation to and from their destination for both the first and second doses.
A date for when the offer will begin rolling out hasn’t been set, according to Uber.
The ride-hailing app partnered with organizations dedicated to serving communities of color, including the National Urban League, the Morehouse School of Medicine and the National Action Network, to help target riders who could benefit most. And it plans to partner with other organizations in the future.
Read the full story here.
4:10 p.m. Rev. Jackson wants Cook County Jail detainees, staff included in first round of COVID-19 vaccinations
Rev. Jesse Jackson on Thursday called for detainees and staff at the Cook County Jail to be included in the first round of folks eligible for COVID-19 vaccinations in Illinois.
Currently, those vaccinations are reserved for front-line medical workers and people at long-term care facilities and assisted-living facilities.
Jackson argued staff and detainees who aren’t able to socially distance, and who rotate in and out of the prison, present a danger to the broader community.
“It’s an incubator for infestation and the spread of disease,” Jackson said at a news conference outside the jail in the Little Village neighborhood on the Southwest Side.
Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart is also calling for detainees and jail staff to be included in the first round of vaccinations, which began in Chicago and across the nation this week.
Reporter Mitch Dudek has the full story here.
3:45 p.m. Tenants rights advocates warn of eviction wave in January
Chicago will see a wave of eviction cases in January unless Gov. J.B. Pritzker extends a moratorium in place since the beginning of the pandemic, a tenants rights organization said Thursday.
The Lawyers’ Committee for Better Housing said the city could see 21,000 eviction cases in the first month after the moratorium ends. It’s due to expire on Jan. 9 but has been extended several times.
The projected total is about 13 times the monthly number of evictions the city saw before the pandemic. The lawyers group, working with Loyola University Chicago’s Center for Urban Research, arrived at the estimate using a statistical model tracking the relationship between eviction filings and changes in unemployment.
Researchers warned the situation for renters, some out of work or with reduced hours because the pandemic has affected their jobs, could be much worse than its projection.
Business reporter David Roeder has the full story here.
3:15 p.m. Labor board denies teachers union’s attempt to halt return to CPS schools
A labor court Thursday denied the Chicago Teachers Union’s attempt to delay Chicago Public Schools’ planned January reopening, a setback for the union that was looking to fully bargain with the district over the return to schools for the first time during the pandemic.
The Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board ruled in a split 2-1 vote against granting the CTU a preliminary injunction to halt the scheduled Jan. 4 return date for preschool and special education cluster program staff.
The union had charged the district with violating labor law by refusing to negotiate in good faith over a safe schools reopening and acting unilaterally in all its decisions. A trial was set for Jan. 26 for the case to be resolved, which is after hundreds of staffers and more than 6,000 students would have already returned.
The CTU’s request for injunctive relief asked for the reopening to be put on hold until the union could make its case at trial, with the goal of forcing the two sides to bargain to completion. With the injunction denied, the CTU said Thursday that it’ll ask for the trial to be moved up to next week and a final ruling to be made before Jan. 4.
Read the full story here.
1:57 p.m. Chicago Fire Department paramedic dies of COVID-19
A third member of the Chicago Fire Department has died from COVID-19.
Paramedic Robert Truevillian, who joined the department in 2000, died from complications of the virus, Chicago fire officials said Thursday in a statement posted to Twitter.
Truevillian was assigned to ambulance 71, which operates out of the firehouse at 10458 S. Hoxie Ave. in South Deering, officials said.
He’s the third active CFD member to die from complications of the coronavirus.
Read the full story here.
1:23 p.m. Aid package with unemployment bonus, second round of stimulus checks, nears finish line in Washington
Congressional negotiators are closing in on a $900 billion COVID-19 economic relief package that would deliver additional help to businesses, $300-per-week jobless checks and $600 stimulus payments to most Americans. But there was no deal quite yet.
The long-delayed measure was coming together as Capitol Hill combatants finally fashioned difficult compromises, often at the expense of more ambitious Democratic wishes for the legislation, to complete the second major relief package of the coronavirus pandemic.
A hoped-for announcement Wednesday failed to materialize as lawmakers across the spectrum hammered out details of the sprawling legislation and top negotiators continued to trade offers. But lawmakers briefed on the outlines of the aid bill freely shared them.
It’s the first significant legislative response to the pandemic since the landmark CARES Act in March, which delivered $1.8 trillion in aid and more generous jobless benefits and direct payments to individuals. Since then, Democrats have repeatedly called for ambitious further federal steps to provide relief and battle the pandemic, while Republicans have sought to more fully reopen the economy and to avoid padding the government’s $27 trillion debt.
Read the full story here.
11:59 a.m. Shamrock Shuffle returns as a virtual race
The Shamrock Shuffle, which kicks off the outdoor running season in Chicago, is back in 2021 after being canceled earlier this year due to the pandemic.
But like so many events, it’s going to look a bit different in 2021. Registration began Thursday.
“For more than 40 years, the Bank of America Shamrock Shuffle has brought the running community together for a celebration of health and movement,” Carey Pinkowski, the race’s executive director, said in a statement. “While we wish we could be together in person, we’re excited for a new take on one of the city’s most celebrated running traditions.”
Organizers are planning an eight-week training challenge beginning Jan. 25.
Read the full story here.
10:56 a.m. One judge, 5 more Cook County court employees test positive for COVID-19
Another judge and five more employees in the Office of the Chief Judge of Cook County have tested positive for COVID-19.
The judge who tested positive works at the Daley Center, the chief judge’s office said in a statement Thursday.
One employee works in the Juvenile Probation Department at the Bridgeview Courthouse and was last in the office in October, according to the statement.
Read the full story here.
8:34 a.m. More than 6 in 10 CPS kids — including most students of color — won’t be in schools when in-person learning resumes
About 77,000 Chicago Public Schools students plan to return to classrooms once schools reopen in the new year, accounting for 37% of K-8, preschool and special education cluster program students who will initially be eligible for in-person learning, district CEO Janice Jackson announced Wednesday.
In a presentation at the monthly Board of Education meeting, district officials revealed that a disproportionate number of families sending their children back to schools are white, while Black families were more likely to decline the opportunity to return, matching a trend seen in other large urban school systems nationwide.
That reality raises questions about the argument that has been made for weeks by Mayor Lori Lightfoot and CPS officials that reopening schools will help reduce racial inequity gaps caused by remote learning — though the district repeated that belief in its announcement Wednesday,
“When we talk about offering more options for parents, we’re serving a large swath of our families who believe this is the best choice for their students,” Jackson said. “And we believe we have a moral obligation to do so.”
Reporter Nader Issa has the full story.
New Cases
Cook County Jail reported 370 positive COVID-19 cases on Dec. 7, setting a new record for the facility that saw one of the largest outbreaks of confirmed cases of any location in the country last spring.
Two more employees have tested positive for the coronavirus in Cook County’s Office of the Chief Judge. A total of 216 employees working in Office of the Chief Judge have tested positive for COVID-19. Additionally, 17 judges have tested positive since the start of the pandemic.
Analysis & Commentary
3 p.m. Trypanophobia is real
I have tiny veins. So tiny that it usually takes several sticks before a phlebotomist can draw my blood. This has always been a problem, and as I aged, a bad situation got a lot worse.
Thankfully, my health hasn’t required that I have blood draws more than once a year in recent years. But, man, do I get stressed out when it comes to shots.
I trace a lot of this anxiety back to childhood. On “shot day,” teachers herded us like cattle into the auditorium. There we stood in long lines, with some of the children crying so hysterically a teacher had to restrain them.
Of course, the anticipation of the shot was a lot worst than the actual prick. But I still have to steady my nerves before I get a flu shot.
So you can imagine how anxious I am about getting the COVID-19 vaccine. I glanced at Wednesday’s front-page photograph of Dr. Marina Del Rios getting the first COVID-19 vaccination at Loretto Hospital in the Austin neighborhood, and I felt faint.
Yes. I’m one of those people who get weak in the knees if I even see someone getting a shot.
And I’m not alone.
Read Mary Mitchell’s full commentary here.
7:52 a.m. At a time of pandemic, my clients keep dying
I opened my email at 8:30 in the morning and my heart sank. A “dear subscriber” notification, simple and plain, told me that my client Richard was no longer in Graham Correctional Center because he was deceased. There was no further information, no condolences offered, no way to follow up. Had I not signed up for these notifications — status updates that are useful when clients are transferred from institution to institution — no one would have told me that he died.
Richard, an affable and religious man who was bombarded by love from family and friends, was 71 when he died. When I met him earlier this year, he had served 37 years of a natural life sentence for robbing a grocery store in Champaign, Illinois, one of hundreds of mostly Black men condemned to die in prison on his “third strike.” He never hurt anyone, in that case or in any other. While in prison, he dedicated his life to his fellow prisoners, to his family, and to God. He studied the Bible and became an ordained minister. Trusted by both incarcerated people and correctional officers alike, Richard worked with the assistant warden and the prison chaplain.
The email coldly informing me of Richard’s death was the fourth I have received since COVID-19 took hold of the Illinois Department of Corrections. My clients keep dying.
Read the full commentary from Jennifer Soble, executive director of the Illinois Prison Project.


chicagosun-times--2020-12-18--Are your kids’ Christmas gifts safe? U.S. secretly halted safety inspections amid COVID-19

The federal safety inspectors who are supposed to protect kids from dangerous toys weren ’ t standing guard for nearly six months while this year ’ s holiday gifts entered the United States by the shipload , a USA Today investigation has found .
Princess palaces and playhouses , water guns and tricycles landed on store shelves and front doorsteps without the usual safety checks for lead , chemicals or choking hazards because federal government leaders had secretly sent home the nation ’ s toy police .
The Consumer Product Safety Commission pulled inspectors from ports in Chicago and elsewhere @ @ @ @ @ @ @ them of COVID-19 .
The federal agency made the decision in private , keeping it secret from consumers and without full disclosure to Congress , then continued the shutdown at the ports and at a government testing laboratory until September — months that were inspectors ’ busiest last year .
The watchdogs are supposed to intercept bad toys and other household products before they can be sold .
Yet the CPSC didn ’ t flag a single toy at the ports between June and July for poisonous lead levels , one of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ In August , port inspectors reported total monthly activity of 47 screenings for all hazards — less than 2 % of a typical month prepandemic .
As of this month , records show inspectors still weren ’ t working in five of the 18 ports they normally patrol , including Chicago .
And the CPSC failed to disclose how few violations it was catching .
After January , it stopped posting that information online , updating that list only recently , after requests from USA Today .
Records and internal documents show that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reopening its testing laboratory , the CPSC still has identified fewer violations than usual for serious threats .
Violations that saw a dramatic drop-off in September vs. a year ago include toys with small parts that can choke toddlers and children ’ s products with hazardous levels of chemical phthalates .
Experts fear it could take years to discover the dangers allowed into American homes .
National retailers and distribution companies have imported tens of thousands of shipments during the pandemic .
The retail industry says it doesn ’ t rely on the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and manufacturers are required to monitor their own products and inform the government of hazards .
Robert Adler , acting CPSC chairman , said broadcasting its port playbook would have invited companies to exploit the system and that the decision prioritized employees ’ health .
Adler said the agency sought help from customs and border patrol agents but didn ’ t give specifics .
“ We stopped a fair amount of stuff , ” he said .
“ We didn ’ t stop all of it .
But we never stopped all of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Adler said , though some lawmakers say it didn ’ t reveal the extent to which it had abandoned its port duties .
U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal , D-Connecticut , ranking member of a subcommittee overseeing the consumer agency , said he was unaware of the CPSC ’ s dormant months until contacted by reporters .
He plans hearings to demand an explanation .
“ The total lack of inspections is absolutely inexcusable , ” Blumenthal said , “ especially because of the concealment.
” Meghan DeLong knows firsthand how much parents depend @ @ @ @ @ @ @ her 2-year-old son Conner died after an IKEA dresser tipped over on him .
She blamed IKEA , which has recalled some faulty dressers though not the model that fell on Conner .
The Florida mother fears her 5-year-old and 7-month-old sons now face a risk from their toys.
, saying “ it ’ s actually terrifying to know that something being used with our most innocent and vulnerable populations has not been through screening.
” The CSPC ’ s port investigators call themselves the toy police .
Normally , 32 investigators work @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , opening shipping containers and running electronic screeners to detect lead and phthalates above legal limits .
A tube as thin as a toddler ’ s throat identifies toy parts small enough to kill .
The CPSC does more than screen toys .
Congress created the agency in 1972 to set and enforce safety standards for everything from cribs to lawn mowers .
Nearly four in five recalls involve imported products , according to the agency .
The CPSC spot checks to screen for hazards that wholesalers and retailers are supposed to test @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , such as those from importers with a history of violations .
During coronavirus-related closings from April to September , the agency issued one-fourth of the violations it did in that period a year earlier .
Lead violations at the ports plummeted from a monthly average of 50 to zero last spring .
Lead poisoning is a hidden hazard .
“ You won ’ t necessarily know that your child has been exposed , ” said Dr. Gary Smith , director of the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ really do depend on the Consumer Product Safety Commission to protect kids.
” The CPSC and industry groups say these safety measures aren ’ t optional even during a pandemic .
“ We still expected companies to engage in recalls of their products , ” Adler said .
Large wholesale distributors , shipping companies and name-brand retailers — including Target , Dollar Tree , Walgreens , Amazon and UPS — were among those that brought in products from overseas while the watchdogs were away , according to shipping data maintained by the trade @ @ @ @ @ @ @ each of those companies have been flagged for violations by the CPSC more than once in the past seven years , records show .
Of 10 name-brand companies with past violations , those that responded to questions said their products are safe because they kept on screening .
“ Changes in port staffing have absolutely no impact on Target ’ s product safety standards , ” spokeswoman Jenna Reck said .
The Retail Industry Leaders Association , which represents many major stores the CPSC regulates , said the agency didn ’ t inform @ @ @ @ @ @ @ years , the agency most often has cited companies that aren ’ t U.S. household names .
Experts and retail industry representatives warn that online retailers use third-party distribution companies that could lack the kind of safety standards consumers expect from brick-and-mortar retailers .
From spring through early fall , more than 100,000 shipments with toys passed through American ports , according to the Panjiva data .
Internal emails and documents show Adler , a Democratic appointee , and Mary Boyle , CSPC ’ s executive director , knew their decision to implement @ @ @ @ @ @ @ were asked to email their feedback .
“ My only concern is moving port staff away — we will have no defense to incoming crap , ” Commissioner Dana Baiocco wrote on March 16 .
After conversations with agency staffers , Baiocco emailed a dozen CPSC officials again , saying she was comfortable with plans to keep working remotely .
“ I think given the choice , ” she wrote , “ we should take care of our people.
” Commissioner Peter Feldman noted other agencies planned to continue port operations but said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at the ports.
” DeWane Ray , deputy executive director , said the agency “ essentially would go dark on targeting and holding shipments ” and conduct “ in-depth investigations over the phone.
” “ There will be limitations to that , ” Ray acknowledged .
Adler said on a call that day that nothing so far had been very worrisome .
Yet port inspectors had identified significantly more lead violations between January and March 2020 than in the same period the year before , according to violation logs , and was on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ violations for the year — from lead to choking hazards — than in 2019 .
Asked about lead hazards that might have been missed during the pullout , Alder said kids are more likely to be harmed by toxic paint peeling off walls in older homes or playing near former chemical dumping grounds .
“ Lead in toys is not the biggest lead hazard to kids by far , ” he said .
In March , on the private call with commissioners , the agency ’ s executive director also said she thought @ @ @ @ @ @ @ notes show : “ Although not ideal , we can always do things after the fact with recalls even if we can ’ t stop things at the port.
” Safety advocates say that ’ s a dangerous strategy .
It can take years for the CPSC to identify products harmful enough to recall , and it has struggled to inform consumers and get them to return products .
“ Recalls are not a good solution , ” said Nancy Cowles , executive director of Kids in Danger , a safety organization based @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s product safety .
“ It ’ s like saying you find something in the autopsy .
It is a little too late to be helpful.
” Rachel Weintraub , legislative director for the Consumer Federation of America , urged the government to get back to normal port inspection levels .
She said the CPSC also can send investigators to check products already on store shelves .
Children ’ s toys and other items are especially worrisome to safety advocates because they often are passed along to siblings and other families or resold @ @ @ @ @ @ @ chief of staff Sarah Klein said they ’ ve kept Congress informed , providing a letter sent March 19 to the ranking member of the Senate Commerce , Science and Transportation Committee explaining the agency had “ implemented policies to direct all telework eligible employees to work from home on a full-time basis.
” But it didn ’ t say port employees were pulled .
An email to staff three days earlier was more direct : “ CPSC employees working at the ports are instructed to perform all duties from their home worksite.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ public with communications such as notices on its website that recall remedies might not continue as usual .
He said he weighed the harm that could come were companies to know its blind spots and asked , “ Why would we tell consumers ?
” It took months till U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran , R-Kansas , chairman of the Senate committee that oversees the consumer protection agency , learned of the ports slowdown , according to his staff , which wasn ’ t told the extent of the withdrawal or its impact .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ agency study any products that hurt or killed kids , seniors and minorities during the pandemic .
U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky , D-Illinois , who chairs the House consumer protection subcommittee , said her staff was generally aware the CPSC scaled back but isn ’ t satisfied with the agency ’ s explanation of why it kept port investigators away so long .
“ A completely inadequate response , ” Schakowsky said .
“ CPSC is not doing its job.
” The agency kept field workers home long after stores reopened , filled @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lacked the usual safety checks .
Its commissioners had been told the agency planned to get work done by enlisting Customs and Border Protection agents still at the ports , according to notes from internal conversations in April .
Agency bosses hoped for assistance at seven ports — fewer than half of those the agency normally covers .
What happened to that plan is unclear .
The CPSC didn ’ t respond to questions about it but said border patrol agents sent samples to port staffers at their homes .
Field staffers did @ @ @ @ @ @ @ processing recalls of products flagged by companies , spokesman Joseph Martyak said .
Corporate consultants said the CPSC called importers during the pandemic to ask them to self-report substandard items , a practice long used to augment its surveillance .
At the beginning of the year , its inspectors performed an average of 3,000 monthly screenings at the ports .
By May , that number had plummeted to about 100 and in August to just 47 .
The agency tied its return to the field to strict COVID-19 criteria under a plan that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in charge of decisions .
Records show that some thought an appointed officer like Adler should have that responsibility .
In a May email chain , Feldman warned Adler against delegating .
“ Accountability should rest with a PAS , ” he wrote , referring to presidential appointees requiring Senate confirmation .
“ It would be inappropriate to abdicate these functions.
” The CPSC ’ s leadership responsibilities quietly had been shifted in late 2019 .
An order signed by Adler ’ s predecessor Ann Marie Buerkle consolidated operations under the executive director @ @ @ @ @ @ @ appointee , delegating authority away from the chairman .
Buerkle had been criticized for the agency ’ s lethargic response to products that caused deaths and grave injuries , from jogging strollers to inclined infant sleepers .
Adler rejected the proposal for the chairman or full commission to decide on the COVID-19 reentry timing .
Feldman urged him to inform Congress : “ I ’ m sure they ’ re unaware and operating under the assumption that you ’ re running point on COVID response and reentry.
” It wasn ’ t until @ @ @ @ @ @ @ return to ports and the lab , once scare protective equipment was secured , Martyak said .
Yet care packages the agency mailed out earlier in the summer included cloth face masks and mini-sanitizer bottles emblazoned with the CPSC logo .
By October , the ports in Los Angeles , which receive almost 40 % of the country ’ s total container imports , were having their busiest months ever .
CPSC regulators were returning to work — yet they still found only 61 violations at the ports .
Most involved minor problems @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or poor labeling .
The agency didn ’ t issue any violations in September or October for pajamas that can easily catch fire .
At the start of 2020 , that hazard was flagged repeatedly .
Records show that , as of this month , the agency remained inactive at five port locations : Chicago , New York City , Savannah , Buffalo , New York , and Norfolk , Virginia .
Rising coronavirus rates around the country shouldn ’ t prompt the CPSC to pull back from the ports again , Adler @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has more masks and other protective gear .

The federal safety inspectors who are supposed to protect kids from dangerous toys weren’t standing guard for nearly six months while this year’s holiday gifts entered the United States by the shipload, a USA Today investigation has found.
Princess palaces and playhouses, water guns and tricycles landed on store shelves and front doorsteps without the usual safety checks for lead, chemicals or choking hazards because federal government leaders had secretly sent home the nation’s toy police.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission pulled inspectors from ports in Chicago and elsewhere in mid-March because of the threat to them of COVID-19.
The federal agency made the decision in private, keeping it secret from consumers and without full disclosure to Congress, then continued the shutdown at the ports and at a government testing laboratory until September — months that were inspectors’ busiest last year.
The watchdogs are supposed to intercept bad toys and other household products before they can be sold.
Yet the CPSC didn’t flag a single toy at the ports between June and July for poisonous lead levels, one of the most frequent violations, records show. In August, port inspectors reported total monthly activity of 47 screenings for all hazards — less than 2% of a typical month prepandemic.
As of this month, records show inspectors still weren’t working in five of the 18 ports they normally patrol, including Chicago.
And the CPSC failed to disclose how few violations it was catching. After January, it stopped posting that information online, updating that list only recently, after requests from USA Today.
Records and internal documents show that even after returning to the ports and reopening its testing laboratory, the CPSC still has identified fewer violations than usual for serious threats. Violations that saw a dramatic drop-off in September vs. a year ago include toys with small parts that can choke toddlers and children’s products with hazardous levels of chemical phthalates.
CPSC safety screenings fell by half
Each month’s total is the difference between the year-to-date total in that month’s report compared to the year-to-date figure the previous month. The total for September, when the fiscal year ends, is the fiscal year total from the annual report subtracted from the August monthly report total. This is based on a USA Today analysis of internal U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission data. Carlie Procell / USA Today
Experts fear it could take years to discover the dangers allowed into American homes.
National retailers and distribution companies have imported tens of thousands of shipments during the pandemic. The retail industry says it doesn’t rely on the CPSC to keep consumers safe. Importers and manufacturers are required to monitor their own products and inform the government of hazards.
Robert Adler, acting CPSC chairman, said broadcasting its port playbook would have invited companies to exploit the system and that the decision prioritized employees’ health.
Robert Adler, the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s acting chairman. Consumer Product Safety Commission.
Adler said the agency sought help from customs and border patrol agents but didn’t give specifics.
“We stopped a fair amount of stuff,” he said. “We didn’t stop all of it. But we never stopped all of it.”
The CPSC informed Congress, Adler said, though some lawmakers say it didn’t reveal the extent to which it had abandoned its port duties.
U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Connecticut, ranking member of a subcommittee overseeing the consumer agency, said he was unaware of the CPSC’s dormant months until contacted by reporters. He plans hearings to demand an explanation.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal: lapses “absolutely inexcusable.” Getty Images
“The total lack of inspections is absolutely inexcusable,” Blumenthal said, “especially because of the concealment.”
Meghan DeLong knows firsthand how much parents depend on government safeguards. In 2017, her 2-year-old son Conner died after an IKEA dresser tipped over on him. She blamed IKEA, which has recalled some faulty dressers though not the model that fell on Conner.
The Florida mother fears her 5-year-old and 7-month-old sons now face a risk from their toys., saying “it’s actually terrifying to know that something being used with our most innocent and vulnerable populations has not been through screening.”
The CSPC’s port investigators call themselves the toy police. Normally, 32 investigators work in a dozen states and Puerto Rico, opening shipping containers and running electronic screeners to detect lead and phthalates above legal limits. A tube as thin as a toddler’s throat identifies toy parts small enough to kill.
The CPSC does more than screen toys. Congress created the agency in 1972 to set and enforce safety standards for everything from cribs to lawn mowers.
Nearly four in five recalls involve imported products, according to the agency.
The CPSC spot checks to screen for hazards that wholesalers and retailers are supposed to test for themselves. It tracks risky products, such as those from importers with a history of violations.
During coronavirus-related closings from April to September, the agency issued one-fourth of the violations it did in that period a year earlier.
Lead violations at the ports plummeted from a monthly average of 50 to zero last spring. Lead poisoning is a hidden hazard.
“You won’t necessarily know that your child has been exposed,” said Dr. Gary Smith, director of the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Ohio. “We really do depend on the Consumer Product Safety Commission to protect kids.”
The CPSC and industry groups say these safety measures aren’t optional even during a pandemic.
“We still expected companies to engage in recalls of their products,” Adler said.
Large wholesale distributors, shipping companies and name-brand retailers — including Target, Dollar Tree, Walgreens, Amazon and UPS — were among those that brought in products from overseas while the watchdogs were away, according to shipping data maintained by the trade research firm Panjiva.
Items imported by each of those companies have been flagged for violations by the CPSC more than once in the past seven years, records show.
Of 10 name-brand companies with past violations, those that responded to questions said their products are safe because they kept on screening.
“Changes in port staffing have absolutely no impact on Target’s product safety standards,” spokeswoman Jenna Reck said.
The Retail Industry Leaders Association, which represents many major stores the CPSC regulates, said the agency didn’t inform it of the pullback.
In recent years, the agency most often has cited companies that aren’t U.S. household names. Experts and retail industry representatives warn that online retailers use third-party distribution companies that could lack the kind of safety standards consumers expect from brick-and-mortar retailers.
From spring through early fall, more than 100,000 shipments with toys passed through American ports, according to the Panjiva data.
Internal emails and documents show Adler, a Democratic appointee, and Mary Boyle, CSPC’s executive director, knew their decision to implement remote working was risky.
CSPC commissioners were asked to email their feedback.
After initially expressing concern about the pullback, Consumer Product Safety Commissioner Dana Baiocco said she was comfortable with the plan. Getty Images
“My only concern is moving port staff away — we will have no defense to incoming crap,” Commissioner Dana Baiocco wrote on March 16.
After conversations with agency staffers, Baiocco emailed a dozen CPSC officials again, saying she was comfortable with plans to keep working remotely.
“I think given the choice,” she wrote, “we should take care of our people.”
Commissioner Peter Feldman noted other agencies planned to continue port operations but said he worried about “CPSC being blind at the ports.”
DeWane Ray, deputy executive director, said the agency “essentially would go dark on targeting and holding shipments” and conduct “in-depth investigations over the phone.”
“There will be limitations to that,” Ray acknowledged.
Adler said on a call that day that nothing so far had been very worrisome.
Yet port inspectors had identified significantly more lead violations between January and March 2020 than in the same period the year before, according to violation logs, and was on track to find nearly 200 more port violations for the year — from lead to choking hazards — than in 2019.
Asked about lead hazards that might have been missed during the pullout, Alder said kids are more likely to be harmed by toxic paint peeling off walls in older homes or playing near former chemical dumping grounds.
“Lead in toys is not the biggest lead hazard to kids by far,” he said.
In March, on the private call with commissioners, the agency’s executive director also said she thought problems could be chased later, meeting notes show: “Although not ideal, we can always do things after the fact with recalls even if we can’t stop things at the port.”
Safety advocates say that’s a dangerous strategy. It can take years for the CPSC to identify products harmful enough to recall, and it has struggled to inform consumers and get them to return products.
Nancy Cowles, executive director of Kids in Danger. Rich Hein / Sun-Times file
“Recalls are not a good solution,” said Nancy Cowles, executive director of Kids in Danger, a safety organization based in Chicago whose focus is children’s product safety. “It’s like saying you find something in the autopsy. It is a little too late to be helpful.”
Rachel Weintraub. Consumer Federation of America
Rachel Weintraub, legislative director for the Consumer Federation of America, urged the government to get back to normal port inspection levels. She said the CPSC also can send investigators to check products already on store shelves.
Children’s toys and other items are especially worrisome to safety advocates because they often are passed along to siblings and other families or resold at thrift stores.
Adler and his chief of staff Sarah Klein said they’ve kept Congress informed, providing a letter sent March 19 to the ranking member of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee explaining the agency had “implemented policies to direct all telework eligible employees to work from home on a full-time basis.” But it didn’t say port employees were pulled.
An email to staff three days earlier was more direct: “CPSC employees working at the ports are instructed to perform all duties from their home worksite.”
Adler said the agency alerted the public with communications such as notices on its website that recall remedies might not continue as usual.
He said he weighed the harm that could come were companies to know its blind spots and asked, “Why would we tell consumers?”
Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kansas, didn’t learn of the ports slowdown for months, according to his staff. Graeme Jennings / AP
It took months till U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kansas, chairman of the Senate committee that oversees the consumer protection agency, learned of the ports slowdown, according to his staff, which wasn’t told the extent of the withdrawal or its impact.
Moran recently co-wrote legislation to make the agency study any products that hurt or killed kids, seniors and minorities during the pandemic.
U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Illinois, who chairs the House consumer protection subcommittee, said her staff was generally aware the CPSC scaled back but isn’t satisfied with the agency’s explanation of why it kept port investigators away so long.
U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Illinois: “CPSC is not doing its job.” Anthony Vazquez / Sun-Times file
“A completely inadequate response,” Schakowsky said. “CPSC is not doing its job.”
The agency kept field workers home long after stores reopened, filled with shoppers buying products that might have lacked the usual safety checks.
Its commissioners had been told the agency planned to get work done by enlisting Customs and Border Protection agents still at the ports, according to notes from internal conversations in April. Agency bosses hoped for assistance at seven ports — fewer than half of those the agency normally covers.
What happened to that plan is unclear. The CPSC didn’t respond to questions about it but said border patrol agents sent samples to port staffers at their homes. Field staffers did virtual investigations, and the agency kept processing recalls of products flagged by companies, spokesman Joseph Martyak said.
Border Protection officials didn’t respond to questions.
Corporate consultants said the CPSC called importers during the pandemic to ask them to self-report substandard items, a practice long used to augment its surveillance.
At the beginning of the year, its inspectors performed an average of 3,000 monthly screenings at the ports. By May, that number had plummeted to about 100 and in August to just 47.
Even as Consumer Product Safety Commission inspectors started returning to ports, violations fell far short of previous years. Marcio Jose Sanchez / AP
The agency tied its return to the field to strict COVID-19 criteria under a plan that placed Boyle, the executive director, in charge of decisions. Records show that some thought an appointed officer like Adler should have that responsibility.
In a May email chain, Feldman warned Adler against delegating.
“Accountability should rest with a PAS,” he wrote, referring to presidential appointees requiring Senate confirmation. “It would be inappropriate to abdicate these functions.”
The CPSC’s leadership responsibilities quietly had been shifted in late 2019. An order signed by Adler’s predecessor Ann Marie Buerkle consolidated operations under the executive director, who isn’t a political appointee, delegating authority away from the chairman.
Buerkle had been criticized for the agency’s lethargic response to products that caused deaths and grave injuries, from jogging strollers to inclined infant sleepers.
The Sun-Times’ Aug. 7, 2019, report on dangerous inclined infant sleepers.
Adler rejected the proposal for the chairman or full commission to decide on the COVID-19 reentry timing.
Feldman urged him to inform Congress: “I’m sure they’re unaware and operating under the assumption that you’re running point on COVID response and reentry.”
It wasn’t until September that Boyle began clearing staff to return to ports and the lab, once scare protective equipment was secured, Martyak said.
Yet care packages the agency mailed out earlier in the summer included cloth face masks and mini-sanitizer bottles emblazoned with the CPSC logo.
By October, the ports in Los Angeles, which receive almost 40% of the country’s total container imports, were having their busiest months ever. CPSC regulators were returning to work — yet they still found only 61 violations at the ports. Most involved minor problems with toys, such as missing paperwork or poor labeling.
The agency didn’t issue any violations in September or October for pajamas that can easily catch fire. At the start of 2020, that hazard was flagged repeatedly.
Records show that, as of this month, the agency remained inactive at five port locations: Chicago, New York City, Savannah, Buffalo, New York, and Norfolk, Virginia.
Rising coronavirus rates around the country shouldn’t prompt the CPSC to pull back from the ports again, Adler said, noting that the agency now has more masks and other protective gear.
Read more at USA Today.


chicagosun-times--2020-12-18--Dear Abby: I work hard to make the money husband wants, and it’s damaging me

DEAR ABBY : My hubby and I come from very different backgrounds .
He grew up in a community where all the moms had to work .
I grew up in one where most of the moms did not .
Our marriage was perfect until we had a baby .
After our first child was born , my hubby made clear that it was unacceptable for me to leave my career or reduce my working hours .
I never realized I would have the desire to be a stay-at-home mom or work part-time until I became a mom .
For @ @ @ @ @ @ @ chosen to work swing shifts so I can be available for my children during the mornings .
But this has taken such a toll on my health that I have had to get antidepressant prescriptions to cope with juggling all of this .
Recently , I told my husband I would like to work an earlier shift so my health can improve .
Again he insists this is unacceptable because of the reduced pay I ’ d receive plus the high cost of child care .
He ’ s a wonderful father to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sole issue , we have no other problems .
He makes me feel like a work mule , though , always trying to squeeze every last dollar out of me I can earn .
I don ’ t want a divorce .
I do love him .
I ’ m considering telling him my job is requiring me to switch shift times , which isn ’ t true .
Is it ever appropriate and acceptable to be dishonest to your spouse ?
— WORK MULE MAMA DEAR MAMA : Your husband ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , but I don ’ t think you should lie to him .
Repeat that the shift you are working is taking a toll on your HEALTH and that antidepressants aren ’ t a cure for what ’ s ailing you .
A husband is not supposed to be a dictator .
As long as the two of you can make it financially , you should be able to set your own hours .
Inform your doctor about everything you have told me and get off the medication .
As much as you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a “ mule.
” If you continue on the path you ’ re on , you will weaken your immune system and risk becoming seriously ill. How will you parent your children ( or work ) then ?
DEAR ABBY : For the past five years , I have been dealing with my aunt , who is convinced that the neighbors are coming into her apartment , hacking her phone and her refrigerator , threatening her , cooking in her kitchen and constantly talking about her .
Everyone has tried reasoning with her @ @ @ @ @ @ @ OK and nothing is wrong with her .
She has fixated on these neighbors ever since she had a run-in with them years ago .
They don ’ t even live there anymore , but she says they do .
I ’ m trying to be kind , patient and understanding with her , but she is making me nuts .
Please help .
— ALARMED IN INDIANA DEAR ALARMED : Your aunt ’ s irrational behavior should be reported to her physician , if she has one , so she can be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ described about her behavior is rational or normal .
She needs a physical and neurological examination by a medical professional who can guide you in how to handle this because it isn ’ t going to get better on its own .
Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren , also known as Jeanne Phillips , and was founded by her mother , Pauline Phillips .
Contact Dear Abby at www.DearAbby.com or P.O .
Box 69440 , Los Angeles , CA 90069 .
What teens need to know about sex , drugs @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and parents is in “ What Every Teen Should Know.
” Send your name and mailing address , plus check or money order for $ 8 ( U.S. funds ) , to : Dear Abby , Teen Booklet , P.O .
Box 447 , Mount Morris , IL 61054-0447 .
( Shipping and handling are included in the price . )

DEAR ABBY: My hubby and I come from very different backgrounds. He grew up in a community where all the moms had to work. I grew up in one where most of the moms did not. Our marriage was perfect until we had a baby.
After our first child was born, my hubby made clear that it was unacceptable for me to leave my career or reduce my working hours. I never realized I would have the desire to be a stay-at-home mom or work part-time until I became a mom.
For the last several years, I have chosen to work swing shifts so I can be available for my children during the mornings. But this has taken such a toll on my health that I have had to get antidepressant prescriptions to cope with juggling all of this.
Recently, I told my husband I would like to work an earlier shift so my health can improve. Again he insists this is unacceptable because of the reduced pay I’d receive plus the high cost of child care.
He’s a wonderful father to the children, and aside from this sole issue, we have no other problems. He makes me feel like a work mule, though, always trying to squeeze every last dollar out of me I can earn. I don’t want a divorce. I do love him. I’m considering telling him my job is requiring me to switch shift times, which isn’t true. Is it ever appropriate and acceptable to be dishonest to your spouse? — WORK MULE MAMA
DEAR MAMA: Your husband’s priorities appear to be out of whack, but I don’t think you should lie to him. Repeat that the shift you are working is taking a toll on your HEALTH and that antidepressants aren’t a cure for what’s ailing you.
A husband is not supposed to be a dictator. As long as the two of you can make it financially, you should be able to set your own hours. Inform your doctor about everything you have told me and get off the medication.
As much as you love your husband, you are not a “mule.” If you continue on the path you’re on, you will weaken your immune system and risk becoming seriously ill. How will you parent your children (or work) then?
DEAR ABBY: For the past five years, I have been dealing with my aunt, who is convinced that the neighbors are coming into her apartment, hacking her phone and her refrigerator, threatening her, cooking in her kitchen and constantly talking about her. Everyone has tried reasoning with her, but she insists she’s OK and nothing is wrong with her.
She has fixated on these neighbors ever since she had a run-in with them years ago. They don’t even live there anymore, but she says they do. I’m trying to be kind, patient and understanding with her, but she is making me nuts. Please help. — ALARMED IN INDIANA
DEAR ALARMED: Your aunt’s irrational behavior should be reported to her physician, if she has one, so she can be evaluated. None of what you have described about her behavior is rational or normal. She needs a physical and neurological examination by a medical professional who can guide you in how to handle this because it isn’t going to get better on its own.
Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Contact Dear Abby at www.DearAbby.com or P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069.
What teens need to know about sex, drugs, AIDS and getting along with peers and parents is in “What Every Teen Should Know.” Send your name and mailing address, plus check or money order for $8 (U.S. funds), to: Dear Abby, Teen Booklet, P.O. Box 447, Mount Morris, IL 61054-0447. (Shipping and handling are included in the price.)