chicagosuntimes--2020-03-03--How one video gambling company worked the odds to become Illinois’ dominant player

Share All sharing options for : How one video gambling company worked the odds to become Illinois ’ dominant player Andrew Rubenstein rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange last November , then pumped his fist and cheered .
He had much to celebrate .
In a decade , the company he founded and led , Illinois-based Accel Entertainment , had grown from a tiny startup into the largest video gambling operator in the nation .
Accel had also become the country ’ s first video gambling operator to be publicly traded .
With the backing of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ video gambling to other cash-strapped states hungry for new sources of revenue .
Few would have predicted Rubinstein ’ s fledgling enterprise to emerge as the industry leader in 2009 , when Illinois legalized video gambling outside of casinos .
He had no experience in the gambling business and no apparent ties to companies that , before legalization , had provided bars and restaurants with “ gray ” machines , simulated video slots and poker devices that were legal but widely known to be used for illegal gambling .
Rubenstein , according to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ savvy hires , well-timed acquisitions of other operators and infusions of capital from family , friends and private equity firms to catapult Accel to the top of the heap .
But records obtained by ProPublica Illinois , as well as interviews with current and former Accel employees who asked to remain anonymous , reveal that Rubenstein and his company also took advantage of connections at the Illinois Gaming Board .
They did so using an unusual degree of access to a key board attorney during video gambling ’ s earliest days , when @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to lock up gambling locations was at its fiercest .
In addition , the company obtained internal gaming board documents about its competitors and benefited from board decisions that made it more difficult for other operators to gain a foothold in Illinois ’ video gambling market .
The gaming board lawyer , Bill Bogot , was a childhood friend of Rubenstein ’ s .
He met with Rubenstein regularly and used two private email accounts to correspond with him , answering legal questions and helping the company when it ran into snags with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and interviews .
After reviewing the emails obtained by ProPublica Illinois , gaming board officials said they have opened an investigation into whether the correspondence between Bogot and Rubenstein violated a state law prohibiting such communications to help ensure a level playing field in state-regulated industries .
The officials also said they are “ undertaking a comprehensive review of past and current [ gaming board ] practices.
” Similarly , industry insiders say the confidential documents in Accel ’ s possession would have given it an advantage in building its business .
It @ @ @ @ @ @ @ staff to release “ protected personal information ” to third parties ; gaming board officials said they would investigate the leaked confidential documents and , if appropriate , forward any findings to other authorities .
“ The IGB takes these allegations very seriously and will not tolerate unethical or illegal conduct of any kind , ” said Marcus Fruchter , a former U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission enforcement lawyer appointed by Gov .
J.B. Pritzker in May 2019 to run the gaming board .
Bogot said in an interview that he would have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ same information he provided to Rubenstein in the emails .
Through a spokesman , Rubenstein declined to be interviewed for this story .
He and other company officials did not answer questions from ProPublica Illinois .
“ They keep getting bigger and bigger , which gives them more power in Springfield , ” said Anita Bedell , executive director of the Illinois Church Action on Alcohol and Addiction Problems , who has spoken out against the company ’ s growth at gaming board hearings .
“ Anytime they want to lobby at the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of resources .
To me , it restricts the power of the regulators.
” Accel and its subsidiaries have donated heavily to Illinois politicians , including Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot , Cook County President Toni Preckwinkle and , more recently , new Senate President Don Harmon .
The Burr Ridge-based company consistently has been able to get more video gambling locations up and running than any other operator in the state .
In the first year after video gambling went live , for instance , Accel had more than 400 locations come on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the next largest operator .
In fact , the company accounted for nearly one out of every five “ go-live ” events during that period , even as thousands of other licensing applications sat in the pipeline waiting to be approved , according to a ProPublica Illinois analysis of gaming board data .
When state lawmakers legalized video gambling , they did not provide the gaming board with adequate funding or manpower to write hundreds of pages of regulations , vet thousands of licensing applications and have gaming agents visit each location to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ huge undertaking .
Nor were there rules governing the order in which the gaming board would approve locations or deploy its limited resources .
Accel became the largest operator out of the gate and stayed there .
By the end of 2019 , the company operated machines in more than 2,300 of Illinois ’ roughly 7,400 video gambling locations , gaming board data shows .
Video gambling wasn ’ t the balm for Illinois ’ beleaguered finances that its boosters had projected : It took nearly a decade for the money lawmakers were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Cities and towns , meanwhile , have seen little financial gain from video gambling , leaving some municipalities to push for more taxes and fees on the devices .
But it ’ s been a boon to Rubenstein .
As Accel ’ s president and CEO , he received compensation in 2018 worth more than $ 2.3 million and holds shares currently valued at nearly $ 100 million , according to SEC filings .
Rubenstein started Accel in July 2009 , less than two weeks before then-Gov .
Pat Quinn signed the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ get the company off the ground , his mother , Susan Rubenstein , an entrepreneur and philanthropist , invested about $ 1.2 million , according to Accel ’ s licensing application , which is not public but was obtained by ProPublica Illinois .
Andrew Rubenstein invested $ 255,000 ; his younger brother , Gordon , added $ 205,000 ; and his younger sister , Emily , put in $ 25,000 .
Andrew , now 51 , would lead the company .
Gordon , a venture capitalist who had moved to San Francisco , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Their father , Jeffrey , is a partner at a Chicago law firm that helped draft many of Accel ’ s legal documents and contracts .
Before launching Accel , Andrew had spent a brief period in Seattle working for the accounting firm Arthur Andersen as a consultant during the 1990s .
He helped an uncle run one of Illinois ’ largest liquor store chains and assisted an aunt who operated beauty parlors in Seattle .
He also owned a windshield replacement company there for nearly five years , according to Rubenstein @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the gaming board .
Rubenstein hired a group of friends and former coworkers to help him launch Accel , company records and interviews show .
The group fanned out across the state identifying amusement companies to purchase .
Those companies had already established long-standing relationships with bars and restaurants by providing them with pool tables , pinball machines and other amusements , including gray games .
Accel raised an additional $ 7 million , mainly from friends and business associates .
Positioning the company as a clean , regulatory-friendly alternative to former gray @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the resources to gain an edge on mom-and-pop competitors .
“ We are very conscious of only working with those people that understand and respect that we are moving to a highly regulated industry , ” Rubenstein wrote in a September 2010 investor update .
“ Following this approach has allowed Accel to emerge as a company that is respected for its integrity and strong ethics , as well as its strong management team.
” Once funding was in place , Accel bought more than a dozen amusement companies throughout the state .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ after creating Accel — and still two years before the state ’ s first video gambling machine was turned on — Rubenstein brimmed with confidence in the company he had created .
“ I started this company about 14 months ago with the goal of becoming one of the largest , most successful and highly respected companies in Illinois ’ new legalized gaming industry , ” he wrote .
“ There was little doubt we were going to get there — but I never imagined success happening so quickly.
” In the early @ @ @ @ @ @ @ state ’ s video gambling industry , one man seemed likely to be Accel ’ s main competitor : Nicky Nichols .
Nichols was already a major player in Louisiana , where video slot and poker machines had been legal in truck stops for decades .
He also was licensed as a distributor of the devices in Pennsylvania .
His experience gave him entree to a corner of the industry that had been operating just outside the law for decades in Illinois .
The coin-operated amusement companies had been splitting the tax-free profits @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and restaurant owners .
The Video Gaming Act set up the same equal payout , but operators and establishments had to get licensed , sign contracts called use agreements and pay taxes .
Use agreements are the building blocks of the industry ’ s prized assets : routes , which are groups of establishments strung together by geography and personal relationships .
Because many of the operators who controlled gray video gambling routes were unlikely or unwilling to get licensed , a new business could scale up quickly by buying existing routes .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ and put them under one umbrella .
Nichols created eight separate companies that operated in different regions .
Each partner received an upfront payment and a stake in the company in exchange for running the route .
Nichols agreed to provide money to buy machines , pay lawyers and bankroll acquisitions , interviews and documents obtained by ProPublica Illinois show .
Through an attorney , Nichols declined to be interviewed for this story .
By March 2011 , a year and a half before video gambling went live , Nichols ’ companies had @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s 315 , according to Accel board documents obtained by ProPublica Illinois .
Then Nichols ran into trouble .
News reports detailed the criminal conviction of his father-in-law , Robert Guidry , a former tugboat operator who had pleaded guilty in 1998 to bribing Louisiana Gov .
Edwin Edwards to obtain one of the state ’ s first riverboat gambling licenses .
The stories came as the gaming board was vetting licensing applications .
The video gambling law gives the gaming board wide latitude in making licensing decisions to “ preserve the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the board has been forced to reverse at least five licensing denials after being sued , according to a review of lawsuits and interviews with gaming lawyers and industry insiders .
In July 2012 , less than two months before machines went live , the gaming board denied licenses to Nichols ’ companies .
The board cited his familial ties to Guidry — even though corporate records , Nichols ’ licensing applications and documents from the Louisiana Gaming Control Board show Guidry had no connection to his son-in-law ’ s companies .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from 1983 , resulting in an $ 88 fine , that one of Nichols ’ main investors failed to report to the board .
The gaming board denied a request by Nichols to withdraw and resubmit his applications so he could remove the investor from his companies .
Other operators have been allowed to do this , records and interviews show .
Current gaming board officials said they could not comment on previous practices and licensing decisions .
The gaming board ’ s chairman at the time , retired Cook County Circuit Court @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in a 2018 interview that there were multiple factors in Nichols ’ denial and that allowing him to withdraw his applications would not have changed the outcome .
With Nichols blocked from the industry , Accel had a clear path to becoming the state ’ s biggest video gambling operator .
As video gambling operators across the state were jockeying for position and rushing to get reams of paperwork for their locations approved , Rubenstein had a direct line to Bogot , the gaming board attorney who helped write many of the regulations @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Bogot had grown up together in the northern Chicago suburb of Wilmette , attended New Trier High School in Winnetka and were friends .
In an interview with ProPublica , Bogot said he had lost touch with Rubenstein until they ran into each other at a gaming board hearing in 2009 .
“ I hadn ’ t talked to him in two years , ” Bogot said .
“ When he saw me , he asked what I was doing at a gaming board hearing .
I said , ‘ I work here.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ and Bogot began communicating privately about video gambling rules , despite a state law prohibiting “ any written or oral communication by any person that imparts or requests material information , ” more than a dozen email strings obtained from multiple sources show .
In May 2012 , for instance , Rubenstein contacted Bogot on one of Bogot ’ s personal email accounts seeking advice on how to help gambling locations get licensed .
Bogot provided detailed information about how to identify the corporate officers of bars and restaurants , ending with the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lawyer , nor can I give you legal advice , so please independently confirm the above.
” In August 2012 , about a month before video slot machines went live , Rubenstein sent an email to Bogot ’ s Yahoo and Google accounts asking about a truck stop sitting on 2 acres in the western Illinois town of Galesburg .
To qualify as a location for video gambling , the site had to be at least 3 acres .
Rubenstein asked Bogot if the owner could lease a lot next door to meet @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lease more property to get over the line , ” Bogot wrote .
“ After that he should amend his acres ( I hope he did not try to fudge this initially ) and complete the truck stop affidavit .
That ’ s my two cents.
” “ I could never imagine anyone in this industry trying to ‘ fudge ’ anything , ” Rubenstein responded .
“ These are people who have honorably operated ‘ gray ’ games for over 25 years .
Two cents gets this guy 3 acres.
” The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is designed to help ensure a level playing field and avoid conflicts of interest or even the appearance of such conflicts .
The law requires state officials to report private communications with people from regulated entities , which Bogot acknowledged he did not do .
The gaming board ’ s administrator at the time said he didn ’ t know about the communications .
“ I was unaware that they were communicating about board business by private email , ” said the administrator , Mark Ostrowski .
Bogot said his contact with Rubenstein @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not say if he had similar communications on his personal accounts with other operators .
He said he recused himself from licensing or disciplinary decisions regarding Accel while working for the board because of his relationship with Rubenstein .
“ Everyone knew that I knew Andy , so they wouldn ’ t ask me , ” he said .
“ If it was Accel ’ s file , I would not weigh in.
” He also said he regularly forwarded his official emails to private accounts because he couldn ’ t access his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ although none of the emails with Rubenstein appear to have been forwarded from Bogot ’ s gaming board account .
In the case of the Galesburg lot , Bogot said he provided Rubenstein information that was already widely known in the industry .
The tactic of leasing property to meet the 3-acre requirement for truck stops is not detailed in state regulations for video gambling but has been used by other companies to gain approval .
“ Did I treat Andy different than anyone else ?
The answer is hell no , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ That kind of email you have , I feel damn confident that I would handle the same way for anyone.
” Current gaming board officials said the emails raise ethical and legal questions .
“ The IGB has already begun a process to examine these allegations , and it will take appropriate disciplinary action at the conclusion of the investigation where warranted , ” Fruchter said in written responses to ProPublica Illinois .
Bogot left the board in July 2013 and not long after went to work for Donna More , Accel ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ gaming board ’ s first general counsel and is currently running in the Democratic primary for Cook County state ’ s attorney .
When the Video Gaming Act passed the General Assembly in May 2009 , lawmakers expected the industry to get up and running within a year .
Instead , it took more than three years .
The wait put a strain on video gambling operators , which had purchased routes that weren ’ t yet generating revenue .
In its first four years , Accel operated at a loss , which @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to nearly $ 3.4 million in 2013 , company financial records obtained by ProPublica Illinois show .
The delay also put pressure on the state , which had borrowed hundreds of millions of dollars against projected video gambling revenues that hadn ’ t yet materialized .
As a result , when video gambling finally went live in September 2012 , operators as well as the state were eager to bring online as many locations as possible .
There are no regulations in place for determining the order in which the gaming board would @ @ @ @ @ @ @ online , making the process opaque .
Ostrowski , the former gaming board administrator , said the board simply responded to applications when they were completed .
“ Usually , the locations that got through the system were those that were complete , with no errors or missing information , ” he said .
“ If things were incomplete , we would kick them back.
” Accel got more locations approved than any other operator , allowing the company to jump out ahead , as other operators had thousands of applications waiting in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for example , Accel got more than 70 locations up and running , about a third of the total approved that month and roughly four times the next highest operator , according to a ProPublica Illinois analysis of board data .
The data also shows that Accel was the first operator in about 70 cities and towns across the state during the first year of video gambling , more than any of its competitors , even when other companies had applications pending before the board in those places .
In addition to contracting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Accel also retained the board ’ s former general counsel .
And it has directly hired the board ’ s former secretary and a retired state trooper who supervised special projects for the agency .
All of them remain with the company .
Accel began turning a profit in 2014 , when its net operating income reached $ 2.6 million .
Four years later , the company ’ s profits had reached $ 10.8 million , according to financial reports obtained by ProPublica Illinois .
By the end of 2018 , Accel controlled @ @ @ @ @ @ @ machines in the state , generating on average nearly $ 1 million a day in revenue .
Illinois ’ market had grown so big , with players losing $ 1.5 billion that year , that it made Accel not only the largest video gambling operator in the state but also the largest in the country .
Since 2016 , the company ’ s growth has been driven primarily through acquisitions of other large operators , a strategy driven in part by the saturation of the Illinois market and supported by an infusion of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s growth eventually attracted one of the world ’ s largest private equity firms , TPG Capital , which through a subsidiary began pursuing Accel early last year with the idea of taking it public .
As part of last year ’ s gambling expansion , state lawmakers sought to increase the 30 % tax on video gambling , among the lowest in the country .
Rubenstein partnered with other operators to try to kill the tax hike .
Their campaign , called “ Bet on Main Street , ” claimed it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
In reality , it was driven by Accel and other large video gambling operators .
The tax increase passed , raising the rate to 34 % , still lower than many other states .
When the Video Gaming Act passed in May 2009 , the law placed a 5 % cap on how much of the market an operator could control .
It was designed to ensure the industry would remain a small business generator .
But lawmakers removed the cap a year later .
A new provision was inserted in its @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to write rules preventing “ undue economic concentration.
” The board produced those rules six years later but did not create a threshold for undue economic concentration .
Nor does it have the power to review video gambling acquisitions before they occur , as it does with casinos , though it has recently drafted a rule that would give it that ability .
Currently , the only enforcement for a violation of undue economic concentration would be a license revocation or denial .
That has never happened .
When video gambling started in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ business , according to gaming board data .
Today , there are around 50 and the top 10 companies control more than 85 % of the state ’ s video gambling machines and locations and account for more than 80 % of the money they generate .
In late August , Accel announced that it was going to buy Illinois ’ eighth-largest operator , Grand River Jackpot , for about $ 100 million .
At the gaming board ’ s meeting the following month , Bedell , the anti-gambling activist , asked the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the deal violated the “ undue economic concentration ” rule .
The board listened politely but did not comment .
The deal closed in November .
Accel now controls nearly a third of the state ’ s video gambling machines .
As the company looks to expand into other states , Rubenstein is highlighting Accel ’ s regulatory record and financial success .
In a quote published on the company ’ s website , he says , “ There ’ s nothing more important than building relationships that start with trust and integrity @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power .
Sign up here to get their next investigation .

A
ndrew Rubenstein rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange last November, then pumped his fist and cheered. He had much to celebrate. In a decade, the company he founded and led, Illinois-based Accel Entertainment, had grown from a tiny startup into the largest video gambling operator in the nation. Accel had also become the country’s first video gambling operator to be publicly traded. With the backing of investors, Accel now hopes to bring video gambling to other cash-strapped states hungry for new sources of revenue.
Few would have predicted Rubenstein’s fledgling enterprise to emerge as the industry leader in 2009, when Illinois legalized video gambling outside of casinos. He had no experience in the gambling business and no apparent ties to companies that, before legalization, had provided bars and restaurants with “gray” machines, simulated video slots and poker devices that were legal but widely known to be used for illegal gambling.
Rubenstein, according to the company, used a combination of savvy hires, well-timed acquisitions of other operators and infusions of capital from family, friends and private equity firms to catapult Accel to the top of the heap.
But records obtained by ProPublica Illinois, as well as interviews with current and former Accel employees who asked to remain anonymous, reveal that Rubenstein and his company also took advantage of connections at the Illinois Gaming Board. They did so using an unusual degree of access to a key board attorney during video gambling’s earliest days, when regulations were being drafted and the competition to lock up gambling locations was at its fiercest.
Andrew Rubenstein, CEO of Accel Entertainment, rings the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange in November 2019 as Accel begins trading. New York Stock Exchange
In addition, the company obtained internal gaming board documents about its competitors and benefited from board decisions that made it more difficult for other operators to gain a foothold in Illinois’ video gambling market.
The gaming board lawyer, Bill Bogot, was a childhood friend of Rubenstein’s. He met with Rubenstein regularly and used two private email accounts to correspond with him, answering legal questions and helping the company when it ran into snags with other regulators, according to the emails and interviews.
Bad bet logo This article is copublished with ProPublica Illinois, a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power.
After reviewing the emails obtained by ProPublica Illinois, gaming board officials said they have opened an investigation into whether the correspondence between Bogot and Rubenstein violated a state law prohibiting such communications to help ensure a level playing field in state-regulated industries. The officials also said they are “undertaking a comprehensive review of past and current [gaming board] practices.”
Similarly, industry insiders say the confidential documents in Accel’s possession would have given it an advantage in building its business. It’s also illegal for gaming board staff to release “protected personal information” to third parties; gaming board officials said they would investigate the leaked confidential documents and, if appropriate, forward any findings to other authorities.
“The IGB takes these allegations very seriously and will not tolerate unethical or illegal conduct of any kind,” said Marcus Fruchter, a former U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission enforcement lawyer appointed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker in May 2019 to run the gaming board.
Bogot said in an interview that he would have given any other video gambling operator the same information he provided to Rubenstein in the emails. Through a spokesman, Rubenstein declined to be interviewed for this story. He and other company officials did not answer questions from ProPublica Illinois.
“They keep getting bigger and bigger, which gives them more power in Springfield,” said Anita Bedell, executive director of the Illinois Church Action on Alcohol and Addiction Problems, who has spoken out against the company’s growth at gaming board hearings. “Anytime they want to lobby at the Capitol, they have a huge amount of resources. To me, it restricts the power of the regulators.”
Accel and its subsidiaries have donated heavily to Illinois politicians, including Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, Cook County President Toni Preckwinkle and, more recently, new Senate President Don Harmon.
The Burr Ridge-based company consistently has been able to get more video gambling locations up and running than any other operator in the state. In the first year after video gambling went live, for instance, Accel had more than 400 locations come on line, roughly double the number of the next largest operator.
In fact, the company accounted for nearly one out of every five “go-live” events during that period, even as thousands of other licensing applications sat in the pipeline waiting to be approved, according to a ProPublica Illinois analysis of gaming board data.
When state lawmakers legalized video gambling, they did not provide the gaming board with adequate funding or manpower to write hundreds of pages of regulations, vet thousands of licensing applications and have gaming agents visit each location to physically turn on the machines — a huge undertaking. Nor were there rules governing the order in which the gaming board would approve locations or deploy its limited resources.
Accel became the largest operator out of the gate and stayed there. By the end of 2019, the company operated machines in more than 2,300 of Illinois’ roughly 7,400 video gambling locations, gaming board data shows.
Video gambling wasn’t the balm for Illinois’ beleaguered finances that its boosters had projected: It took nearly a decade for the money lawmakers were counting on from video gambling to materialize. Cities and towns, meanwhile, have seen little financial gain from video gambling, leaving some municipalities to push for more taxes and fees on the devices.
But it’s been a boon to Rubenstein. As Accel’s president and CEO, he received compensation in 2018 worth more than $2.3 million and holds shares currently valued at nearly $100 million, according to SEC filings.
Rubenstein started Accel in July 2009, less than two weeks before then-Gov. Pat Quinn signed the Video Gaming Act into law. To get the company off the ground, his mother, Susan Rubenstein, an entrepreneur and philanthropist, invested about $1.2 million, according to Accel’s licensing application, which is not public but was obtained by ProPublica Illinois. Andrew Rubenstein invested $255,000; his younger brother, Gordon, added $205,000; and his younger sister, Emily, put in $25,000.
Andrew, now 51, would lead the company. Gordon, a venture capitalist who had moved to San Francisco, would sit on the board of directors. Their father, Jeffrey, is a partner at a Chicago law firm that helped draft many of Accel’s legal documents and contracts.
Before launching Accel, Andrew had spent a brief period in Seattle working for the accounting firm Arthur Andersen as a consultant during the 1990s. He helped an uncle run one of Illinois’ largest liquor store chains and assisted an aunt who operated beauty parlors in Seattle. He also owned a windshield replacement company there for nearly five years, according to Rubenstein’s personal disclosure form filed with the gaming board.
Andrew Rubenstein, center, poses for a group photo with the Bet on Main Street Coalition on the steps of the Illinois Capitol in Springfield in May 2019. Whitney Curtis/ProPublica Illinois
Rubenstein hired a group of friends and former coworkers to help him launch Accel, company records and interviews show. The group fanned out across the state identifying amusement companies to purchase. Those companies had already established long-standing relationships with bars and restaurants by providing them with pool tables, pinball machines and other amusements, including gray games.
Accel raised an additional $7 million, mainly from friends and business associates. Positioning the company as a clean, regulatory-friendly alternative to former gray operators, the company said it had the resources to gain an edge on mom-and-pop competitors.
“We are very conscious of only working with those people that understand and respect that we are moving to a highly regulated industry,” Rubenstein wrote in a September 2010 investor update. “Following this approach has allowed Accel to emerge as a company that is respected for its integrity and strong ethics, as well as its strong management team.”
Once funding was in place, Accel bought more than a dozen amusement companies throughout the state.
In 2010, just over a year after creating Accel — and still two years before the state’s first video gambling machine was turned on — Rubenstein brimmed with confidence in the company he had created.
“I started this company about 14 months ago with the goal of becoming one of the largest, most successful and highly respected companies in Illinois’ new legalized gaming industry,” he wrote. “There was little doubt we were going to get there — but I never imagined success happening so quickly.”
In the early scramble to stake a claim to the state’s video gambling industry, one man seemed likely to be Accel’s main competitor: Nicky Nichols. Nichols was already a major player in Louisiana, where video slot and poker machines had been legal in truck stops for decades. He also was licensed as a distributor of the devices in Pennsylvania.
His experience gave him entree to a corner of the industry that had been operating just outside the law for decades in Illinois. The coin-operated amusement companies had been splitting the tax-free profits from the gray machines with the bar and restaurant owners. The Video Gaming Act set up the same equal payout, but operators and establishments had to get licensed, sign contracts called use agreements and pay taxes.
Louisiana video gambling operator Nicky Nichols, whose companies were denied licenses by the Illinois Gaming Board. Photo obtained by ProPublica Illinois
Use agreements are the building blocks of the industry’s prized assets: routes, which are groups of establishments strung together by geography and personal relationships. Because many of the operators who controlled gray video gambling routes were unlikely or unwilling to get licensed, a new business could scale up quickly by buying existing routes.
Accel bought routes all over the state and put them under one umbrella. Nichols created eight separate companies that operated in different regions. Each partner received an upfront payment and a stake in the company in exchange for running the route. Nichols agreed to provide money to buy machines, pay lawyers and bankroll acquisitions, interviews and documents obtained by ProPublica Illinois show.
Through an attorney, Nichols declined to be interviewed for this story.
By March 2011, a year and a half before video gambling went live, Nichols’ companies had signed up about 650 locations to Accel’s 315, according to Accel board documents obtained by ProPublica Illinois.
Then Nichols ran into trouble. News reports detailed the criminal conviction of his father-in-law, Robert Guidry, a former tugboat operator who had pleaded guilty in 1998 to bribing Louisiana Gov. Edwin Edwards to obtain one of the state’s first riverboat gambling licenses.
The stories came as the gaming board was vetting licensing applications. The video gambling law gives the gaming board wide latitude in making licensing decisions to “preserve the integrity and security of gaming.” But the board has been forced to reverse at least five licensing denials after being sued, according to a review of lawsuits and interviews with gaming lawyers and industry insiders.
In July 2012, less than two months before machines went live, the gaming board denied licenses to Nichols’ companies. The board cited his familial ties to Guidry — even though corporate records, Nichols’ licensing applications and documents from the Louisiana Gaming Control Board show Guidry had no connection to his son-in-law’s companies. The board also cited a misdemeanor gambling conviction from 1983, resulting in an $88 fine, that one of Nichols’ main investors failed to report to the board.
The gaming board denied a request by Nichols to withdraw and resubmit his applications so he could remove the investor from his companies. Other operators have been allowed to do this, records and interviews show. Current gaming board officials said they could not comment on previous practices and licensing decisions. The gaming board’s chairman at the time, retired Cook County Circuit Court Judge Aaron Jaffe, told ProPublica Illinois in a 2018 interview that there were multiple factors in Nichols’ denial and that allowing him to withdraw his applications would not have changed the outcome.
With Nichols blocked from the industry, Accel had a clear path to becoming the state’s biggest video gambling operator.
As video gambling operators across the state were jockeying for position and rushing to get reams of paperwork for their locations approved, Rubenstein had a direct line to Bogot, the gaming board attorney who helped write many of the regulations for the nascent industry.
Rubenstein and Bogot had grown up together in the northern Chicago suburb of Wilmette, attended New Trier High School in Winnetka and were friends. In an interview with ProPublica, Bogot said he had lost touch with Rubenstein until they ran into each other at a gaming board hearing in 2009.
“I hadn’t talked to him in two years,” Bogot said. “When he saw me, he asked what I was doing at a gaming board hearing. I said, ‘I work here.’”
At some point, Rubenstein and Bogot began communicating privately about video gambling rules, despite a state law prohibiting “any written or oral communication by any person that imparts or requests material information,” more than a dozen email strings obtained from multiple sources show.
In May 2012, for instance, Rubenstein contacted Bogot on one of Bogot’s personal email accounts seeking advice on how to help gambling locations get licensed. Bogot provided detailed information about how to identify the corporate officers of bars and restaurants, ending with the caveat, “I am no corporate lawyer, nor can I give you legal advice, so please independently confirm the above.”
“You’re better than a corporate lawyer,” Rubenstein replied.
In August 2012, about a month before video slot machines went live, Rubenstein sent an email to Bogot’s Yahoo and Google accounts asking about a truck stop sitting on 2 acres in the western Illinois town of Galesburg. To qualify as a location for video gambling, the site had to be at least 3 acres.
Rubenstein asked Bogot if the owner could lease a lot next door to meet the requirement.
“He certainly can lease more property to get over the line,” Bogot wrote. “After that he should amend his acres (I hope he did not try to fudge this initially) and complete the truck stop affidavit. That’s my two cents.”
“I could never imagine anyone in this industry trying to ‘fudge’ anything,” Rubenstein responded. “These are people who have honorably operated ‘gray’ games for over 25 years. Two cents gets this guy 3 acres.”
Nate Kitch/ProPublica Illinois
The prohibition on “ex parte” communication is designed to help ensure a level playing field and avoid conflicts of interest or even the appearance of such conflicts. The law requires state officials to report private communications with people from regulated entities, which Bogot acknowledged he did not do.
The gaming board’s administrator at the time said he didn’t know about the communications. “I was unaware that they were communicating about board business by private email,” said the administrator, Mark Ostrowski.
Bogot said his contact with Rubenstein was not improper, but he would not say if he had similar communications on his personal accounts with other operators. He said he recused himself from licensing or disciplinary decisions regarding Accel while working for the board because of his relationship with Rubenstein.
“Everyone knew that I knew Andy, so they wouldn’t ask me,” he said. “If it was Accel’s file, I would not weigh in.”
He also said he regularly forwarded his official emails to private accounts because he couldn’t access his state emails outside of the office, although none of the emails with Rubenstein appear to have been forwarded from Bogot’s gaming board account.
In the case of the Galesburg lot, Bogot said he provided Rubenstein information that was already widely known in the industry. The tactic of leasing property to meet the 3-acre requirement for truck stops is not detailed in state regulations for video gambling but has been used by other companies to gain approval.
“Did I treat Andy different than anyone else? The answer is hell no,” Bogot said in the interview. “That kind of email you have, I feel damn confident that I would handle the same way for anyone.”
Current gaming board officials said the emails raise ethical and legal questions.
“The IGB has already begun a process to examine these allegations, and it will take appropriate disciplinary action at the conclusion of the investigation where warranted,” Fruchter said in written responses to ProPublica Illinois.
Bogot left the board in July 2013 and not long after went to work for Donna More, Accel’s gaming attorney. More was the gaming board’s first general counsel and is currently running in the Democratic primary for Cook County state’s attorney.
When the Video Gaming Act passed the General Assembly in May 2009, lawmakers expected the industry to get up and running within a year. Instead, it took more than three years.
The wait put a strain on video gambling operators, which had purchased routes that weren’t yet generating revenue. In its first four years, Accel operated at a loss, which grew from $2 million in 2010 to nearly $3.4 million in 2013, company financial records obtained by ProPublica Illinois show.
The delay also put pressure on the state, which had borrowed hundreds of millions of dollars against projected video gambling revenues that hadn’t yet materialized. As a result, when video gambling finally went live in September 2012, operators as well as the state were eager to bring online as many locations as possible.
There are no regulations in place for determining the order in which the gaming board would approve location licenses and bring the machines online, making the process opaque.
Ostrowski, the former gaming board administrator, said the board simply responded to applications when they were completed. “Usually, the locations that got through the system were those that were complete, with no errors or missing information,” he said. “If things were incomplete, we would kick them back.”
Accel got more locations approved than any other operator, allowing the company to jump out ahead, as other operators had thousands of applications waiting in the pipeline. In December 2012, for example, Accel got more than 70 locations up and running, about a third of the total approved that month and roughly four times the next highest operator, according to a ProPublica Illinois analysis of board data.
The data also shows that Accel was the first operator in about 70 cities and towns across the state during the first year of video gambling, more than any of its competitors, even when other companies had applications pending before the board in those places.
In addition to contracting with the firm that hired Bogot, Accel also retained the board’s former general counsel. And it has directly hired the board’s former secretary and a retired state trooper who supervised special projects for the agency. All of them remain with the company.
Accel began turning a profit in 2014, when its net operating income reached $2.6 million. Four years later, the company’s profits had reached $10.8 million, according to financial reports obtained by ProPublica Illinois.
By the end of 2018, Accel controlled nearly one of every four video gambling machines in the state, generating on average nearly $1 million a day in revenue. Illinois’ market had grown so big, with players losing $1.5 billion that year, that it made Accel not only the largest video gambling operator in the state but also the largest in the country.
Since 2016, the company’s growth has been driven primarily through acquisitions of other large operators, a strategy driven in part by the saturation of the Illinois market and supported by an infusion of money from private equity firms.
Accel’s growth eventually attracted one of the world’s largest private equity firms, TPG Capital, which through a subsidiary began pursuing Accel early last year with the idea of taking it public.
TPG Capital didn’t respond to requests for comment.
As part of last year’s gambling expansion, state lawmakers sought to increase the 30% tax on video gambling, among the lowest in the country. Rubenstein partnered with other operators to try to kill the tax hike. Their campaign, called “Bet on Main Street,” claimed it was a movement of small business owners. In reality, it was driven by Accel and other large video gambling operators.
The tax increase passed, raising the rate to 34%, still lower than many other states.
When the Video Gaming Act passed in May 2009, the law placed a 5% cap on how much of the market an operator could control. It was designed to ensure the industry would remain a small business generator. But lawmakers removed the cap a year later. A new provision was inserted in its place, one that required the board to write rules preventing “undue economic concentration.”
The board produced those rules six years later but did not create a threshold for undue economic concentration. Nor does it have the power to review video gambling acquisitions before they occur, as it does with casinos, though it has recently drafted a rule that would give it that ability. Currently, the only enforcement for a violation of undue economic concentration would be a license revocation or denial. That has never happened.
When video gambling started in Illinois, about 80 operators were in business, according to gaming board data. Today, there are around 50 and the top 10 companies control more than 85% of the state’s video gambling machines and locations and account for more than 80% of the money they generate.
In late August, Accel announced that it was going to buy Illinois’ eighth-largest operator, Grand River Jackpot, for about $100 million. At the gaming board’s meeting the following month, Bedell, the anti-gambling activist, asked the board to block the purchase, claiming the deal violated the “undue economic concentration” rule. The board listened politely but did not comment.
The deal closed in November. Accel now controls nearly a third of the state’s video gambling machines. As the company looks to expand into other states, Rubenstein is highlighting Accel’s regulatory record and financial success.
In a quote published on the company’s website, he says, “There’s nothing more important than building relationships that start with trust and integrity, and maximize value for both parties.”
Jason Grotto reports for ProPublica Illinois.
Contributing: Haru Coryne.
ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up here to get their next investigation.


chicagosuntimes--2020-03-03--Man, woman killed in possible domestic-related shooting in Chatham

Two people were shot to death Sunday morning in a possible domestic-related shooting in Chatham on the South Side .
@ @ @ @ @ a fight involving multiple people broke out in the 8300 block of South La Salle @ @ @ @ @ fight a 40-year-old man pulled out a gun and fired shots , striking Michael Lee @ @ @ @ @ Sims , 34 , Chicago police and the Cook County medical examiner ’ s office @ @ @ @ @ , Lee pulled out his own gun and returned shots , striking the 40-year-old man @ @ @ @ @ said .
Lee and Sims were taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center , @ @ @ @ @ The 40-year-old man was taken to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn for treatment for @ @ @ @ @ arm , police said .
He is in good condition .
The 40-year-old was not @ @ @ @ @ police said , and Area South detectives are continuing their investigation .
Read more on @ @ @ @ @ city ’ s homicides .

Two people were shot to death Sunday morning in a possible domestic-related shooting in Chatham on the South Side.
At about 6:40 a.m., a fight involving multiple people broke out in the 8300 block of South LaSalle Street, and during the fight a 40-year-old man pulled out a gun and fired shots, striking Michael Lee, 28, and Takeyla Sims, 34, Chicago police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office said.
After being shot, Lee pulled out his own gun and returned shots, striking the 40-year-old man in the arm, police said. Lee and Sims were taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where they both died.
The 40-year-old man was taken to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn for treatment for his gunshot wound to the arm, police said. He is in good condition.
The 40-year-old was not charged with a crime, police said, and Area South detectives are continuing their investigation.
Read more on crime, and track the city’s homicides.


chicagosuntimes--2020-03-03--5 released without charges after Calumet Heights police chase ends in Bishop Ford crash

Five people have been released from police custody after a chase that started Sunday in Calumet Heights ended with a @ @ @ @ @ Freeway in south suburban Dolton .
Authorities began pursuing a vehicle they thought was connected @ @ @ @ @ 8:37 p.m. near 95th Street and Stony Island Avenue , according to Chicago police .
@ @ @ @ @ with the pursuit when it reached 111th Street on southbound I-94 , according to a @ @ @ @ @ Montgomery , a state police spokesman .
The driver eventually lost control and crashed the @ @ @ @ @ on the exit ramp to westbound Dolton Road , authorities said .
Five people were @ @ @ @ @ have since been released without charges , police said .
Read more on crime , @ @ @ @ @ s homicides .

Five people have been released from police custody after a chase that started Sunday in Calumet Heights ended with a crash on the Bishop Ford Freeway in south suburban Dolton.
Authorities began pursuing a vehicle they thought was connected to a homicide investigation at 8:37 p.m. near 95th Street and Stony Island Avenue, according to Chicago police.
Illinois State Police began assisting with the pursuit when it reached 111th Street on southbound I-94, according to a statement from Sgt. Woodrow Montgomery, a state police spokesman.
The driver eventually lost control and crashed the vehicle into a light pole on the exit ramp to westbound Dolton Road, authorities said.
Five people were taken into custody, but have since been released without charges, police said.
Area South detectives are investigating.
Read more on crime, and track the city’s homicides.


chicagosuntimes--2020-03-03--3 killed, 1 wounded Monday in Chicago shootings

Four people were shot , three of them fatally , Monday in Chicago .
The day ’ s latest shooting left a man dead in Gage Park on the Southwest Side .
Officers were responding to a call of shots fired about 6:40 p.m. in the 2600 block of West 59th Street when they found him unresponsive with multiple gunshot wounds , police said .
The man , in his 20s , was taken to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn , where he was later pronounced dead .
Monday morning , a 39-year-old man was found shot to death @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a well-being check about 7:20 a.m. in the 4600 block of West Adams Street found the 39-year-old with multiple gunshots to his head in a backyard , according to Chicago police .
He was pronounced dead at the scene .
A man was killed hours earlier in a shooting in Humboldt Park on the West Side .
Diviris Garfeed , 33 , was standing on the sidewalk at 2:18 a.m. in the 1000 block of North Springfield Avenue when someone shot at him from a silver sedan , according to police and the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
He was struck in the head and taken to Mount Sinai Hospital , where he was pronounced dead , authorities said .
The day ’ s only non-fatal shooting seriously wounded a man in Park Manor on the South Side .
The 32-year-old was standing on the sidewalk at 3:38 a.m. in the 200 block of West 75th Street when someone fired shots , striking him in the abdomen , police said .
He was taken to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn in serious condition .
Monday ’ s shootings come @ @ @ @ @ @ @ were shot , four of them fatally .
Read more on crime , and track the city ’ s homicides .

Four people were shot, three of them fatally, Monday in Chicago.
The day’s latest shooting left a man dead in Gage Park on the Southwest Side.
Officers were responding to a call of shots fired about 6:40 p.m. in the 2600 block of West 59th Street when they found him unresponsive with multiple gunshot wounds, police said. The man, in his 20s, was taken to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where he was later pronounced dead.
Monday morning, a 39-year-old man was found shot to death in West Garfield Park.
Officers conducting a well-being check about 7:20 a.m. in the 4600 block of West Adams Street found the 39-year-old with multiple gunshots to his head in a backyard, according to Chicago police. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
A man was killed hours earlier in a shooting in Humboldt Park on the West Side.
Diviris Garfeed, 33, was standing on the sidewalk at 2:18 a.m. in the 1000 block of North Springfield Avenue when someone shot at him from a silver sedan, according to police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office.
He was struck in the head and taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, authorities said.
The day’s only non-fatal shooting seriously wounded a man in Park Manor on the South Side.
The 32-year-old was standing on the sidewalk at 3:38 a.m. in the 200 block of West 75th Street when someone fired shots, striking him in the abdomen, police said. He was taken to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn in serious condition.
Monday’s shootings come after a weekend in which 18 people were shot, four of them fatally.
Read more on crime, and track the city’s homicides.


chicagosuntimes--2020-03-03--Man convicted of sending Mexican drug traffickers’ money to China from Chicago

A Chinese national was convicted last week of laundering over $ 500,000 for Mexican drug traffickers by sending it to China through Chicago .
Xianbing Gan , 49 , was convicted in federal court on three counts of money laundering and one count of operating an unlicensed money transmitting business , the U.S Attorney ’ s Office for the Northern District of Illinois said .
The jury acquitted him of conspiracy to commit money laundering .
While living in Guadalajara , Mexico , Gan coordinated the transfer of $ 534,206 in drug proceeds from Chicago to various bank accounts in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ returning the money back to traffickers in Mexico , prosecutors said .
On one money pickup , however , the courier was actually an undercover law enforcement agent .
Gan was arrested in November 2018 at Los Angeles International Airport during a layover from Hong Kong to Mexico , prosecutors said .
Gan could face up to 65 years in prison , prosecutors said .
Each money laundering count carries a maximum sentence of 20 years , while the money transmitting conviction is punishable by up to five years .
He will be @ @ @ @

A Chinese national was convicted last week of laundering over $500,000 for Mexican drug traffickers by sending it to China through Chicago.
Xianbing Gan, 49, was convicted in federal court on three counts of money laundering and one count of operating an unlicensed money transmitting business, the U.S Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois said. The jury acquitted him of conspiracy to commit money laundering.
While living in Guadalajara, Mexico, Gan coordinated the transfer of $534,206 in drug proceeds from Chicago to various bank accounts in China, with the ultimate goal of returning the money back to traffickers in Mexico, prosecutors said. On one money pickup, however, the courier was actually an undercover law enforcement agent.
Gan was arrested in November 2018 at Los Angeles International Airport during a layover from Hong Kong to Mexico, prosecutors said.
Gan could face up to 65 years in prison, prosecutors said. Each money laundering count carries a maximum sentence of 20 years, while the money transmitting conviction is punishable by up to five years. He will be sentenced May 21.


chicagosuntimes--2020-03-03--Boy, 15, missing from Ravenswood found safe

University of Chicago Medical Center treating patient suspected of having coronavirus If the case is confirmed , the patient would @ @ @ @ @ the Chicago area to have contracted the disease .

Chicagoans are brutal critics when our city is on the screen. One wrong intersection or misplaced neighborhood, and we turn up our noses. ‘The Fugitive,’ now celebrating its 30th anniversary, gets it right.


chicagosuntimes--2020-03-03--Mixed bag for Reynaldo Lopez in first start; White Sox fall to A’s

Reynaldo Lopez needed 61 pitches ( 31 for strikes ) to get through three innings of one-run ball in his first start of the spring .
He threw all of his pitches for strikes , but his command wasn ’ t sharp and his fastball looked flat .
Lopez walked three batters , struck out three and threw two wild pitches .
“ I liked all my pitches — they were all good , ” he said through a translator .
“ I liked the way that I was working with my slider against lefties .
What I didn ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ few times and the two walks I gave up.
” Nicky Delmonico added a homer to the three doubles he ’ s collected this spring and went 2-for-3 to hike his spring average to .389 .
Luis Robert , batting leadoff , singled and walked in three plate appearances and stole his second base .
Designated hitter Edwin Encarnacion ( stiff back ) returned to the lineup , going 0-for-2 .
Second baseman Nick Madrigal , the No .
4 overall pick in the 2018 draft , would have needed a stellar spring @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Day roster spot , but that is not developing just yet .
Madrigal had a ground ball go under his glove for a single and bounced out to third with Robert on second and no outs .
He did collect his fourth hit , going 1-for-3 .
He ’ s 4-for-19 this spring , all singles .
Vaughn , the No .
3 overall pick in 2019 , doubled into the right field corner to hike his average to .417 with a homer and two doubles .
Sox at Brewers , Maryvale , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Cease vs. Brandon Woodruff .
Yasmani Grandal is expected to see first game action , in B game in Glendale .
Upcoming starters : Drew Anderson vs. Rockies Thursday , Lucas Giolito at Cubs Friday .

Reynaldo Lopez needed 61 pitches (31 for strikes) to get through three innings of one-run ball in his first start of the spring. He threw all of his pitches for strikes, but his command wasn’t sharp, and his fastball looked flat in a 6-5 loss to the Athletics. Lopez walked three batters, struck out three and threw two wild pitches. “I liked all my pitches — they were all good,” he said. “I liked the way that I was working with my slider against lefties. What I didn’t like was I fell behind a few times and the walks.”
Hey, Nicky
Nicky Delmonico added a home run to his three doubles this spring and went 2-for-3 to hike his average to .389. Delmonico’s homer was against Chris Bassitt. Luis Robert, batting leadoff, singled and walked in three plate appearances and stole his second base. Designated hitter Edwin Encarnacion (stiff back) returned to the lineup, going 0-for-2.
Madrigal and Vaughn
Second baseman Nick Madrigal, the No. 4 overall pick in 2018, would have needed a stellar spring to even be considered for an Opening Day roster spot, but that is not developing just yet. Madrigal had a ground ball go under his glove for a single and bounced out to third with Robert on second and no outs. He did get his fourth hit, going 1-for-3. He’s 4-for-19 this spring, all singles. Andrew Vaughn, the third overall pick in 2019, doubled into the right-field corner to hike his average to .417 with a homer and two doubles.
From the pen
Evan Marshall threw a scoreless inning with a strikeout, pitching out of trouble after his errant pickoff attempt at first base. Lefty Adalberto Mejia, who was lights-out in his previous outing, didn’t finish his inning, allowing two runs, two hits and a walk with one strikeout.
On deck
Sox at Brewers, Maryvale, 2:05 p.m. Wednesday, 720-AM, Dylan Cease vs. Brandon Woodruff. Yasmani Grandal is expected to see his first action in a B game in Glendale. Upcoming starters: Drew Anderson vs. Rockies on Thursday, Lucas Giolito at Cubs on Friday.


chicagosuntimes--2020-03-03--As Democrats join presidential teams, Pritzker stays on the sidelines

SPRINGFIELD — If Illinois Democrats are looking for help in deciding among the dwindling field of presidential candidates , they shouldn ’ t look to Gov .
J.B. Pritzker .
With just two weeks before the Illinois primary , the governor said Tuesday that he has no plans to join other Democrats across the country making endorsements .
“ I ’ m for the Democrat , ” Pritzker said .
“ I don ’ t know who is going to win in Illinois .
I don ’ t know who is going to win the nomination .
But I know @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to go.
” Speaking on Super Tuesday , a day in which 14 states , including delegate-rich California and Texas , and one U.S. territory are holding primaries , the Democratic governor reiterated that when it comes to who his party should nominate to go up against Trump — he does not have a dog in the fight .
As the Democratic field narrowed over the last few days , some prominent Democrats are choosing sides .
Former South Bend , Indiana , Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar ended their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Vice President Joe Biden , Sen. Tammy Duckworth , D-Ill. , on Monday announced she was backing Biden .
The day before , Illinois Sectary of State Jesse White also came out for Biden .
Others Illinois Democrats in the Biden camp include U.S .
Representatives Danny Davis and Brad Schneider .
Pritzker has repeatedly resisted choosing sides , and as the March 17 primary nears , he indicated he has no plans to change his mind and endorse a candidate .
“ That ’ s not my intention , I mean I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ weeks left , but not my intention , ” Pritzker said .
Speaking to reporters at the Illinois Agricultural Day breakfast , Pritzker insisted he can still work with Trump ’ s administration despite his criticism of the president .
Pritzker was a major donor to Hillary Clinton in 2016 and has been calling for Trump ’ s impeachment as early as 2017 .
Pritzker said during a February trip to Washington , D.C. , Trump committed to providing Illinois with “ greater support ” from the Army Corps of Engineers to help @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have devastated parts of the state .
“ Look , I ’ m a Democrat , but at the same time I want to accomplish things for our state , ” Pritzker said .

SPRINGFIELD — If Illinois Democrats are looking for help in deciding among the dwindling field of presidential candidates, they shouldn’t look to Gov. J.B. Pritzker.
With just two weeks before the Illinois primary, the governor said Tuesday that he has no plans to join other Democrats across the country making endorsements.
“I’m for the Democrat,” Pritzker said. “I don’t know who is going to win in Illinois. I don’t know who is going to win the nomination. But I know one thing — Donald Trump has got to go.”
Speaking on Super Tuesday, a day in which 14 states, including delegate-rich California and Texas, and one U.S. territory are holding primaries, the Democratic governor reiterated that when it comes to who his party should nominate to go up against Trump — he does not have a dog in the fight.
As the Democratic field narrowed over the last few days, some prominent Democrats are choosing sides. Former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar ended their presidential bids and both promptly endorsed former Vice President Joe Biden.
Democratic presidential Joe Biden is endorsed by former rival Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., during a campaign stop in Dallas, Monday. Eric Gay/AP
Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., on Monday announced she was backing Biden. The day before, Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White also came out for Biden. Others Illinois Democrats in the Biden camp include U.S. Representatives Danny Davis and Brad Schneider.
Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, D-Ill., announced last month that he’s backing Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.
Vermont. Sen. Bernie Sanders headlines a campaign rally for then-Cook County Commissioner Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, a candidate for Illinois’ 4th Congressional District, in 2018. Ashlee Rezin Garcia/Sun-Times file
Pritzker has repeatedly resisted choosing sides, and as the March 17 primary nears, he indicated he has no plans to change his mind and endorse a candidate.
“That’s not my intention, I mean I know there’s a couple of weeks left, but not my intention,” Pritzker said.
Speaking to reporters at the Illinois Agricultural Day breakfast, Pritzker insisted he can still work with Trump’s administration despite his criticism of the president. Pritzker was a major donor to Hillary Clinton in 2016 and has been calling for Trump’s impeachment as early as 2017.
Pritzker said during a February trip to Washington, D.C., Trump committed to providing Illinois with “greater support” from the Army Corps of Engineers to help with long-term flood protection after major floods have devastated parts of the state.
“Look, I’m a Democrat, but at the same time I want to accomplish things for our state,” Pritzker said.


chicagosuntimes--2020-03-03--High school basketball scores: IHSA state playoffs

‘ Secret hearings ’ have allowed CPD to keep suspects in custody for more than 48-hour limit City Law Department @ @ @ @ @ Sun-Times indicate that for years , police used little-known court proceedings to hold thousands of @ @


chicagosuntimes--2020-03-03--White Sox keeping it clean, fun at spring training

GLENDALE , Ariz. — Camp Renteria is running smoothly and with crisp attention to detail .
And , as always , not without laughter , almost every day at 9 a.m. “ They keep it loose , ” catcher James McCann , looking over his shoulder to see what form of entertainment was about to be staged at the daily morning team gathering of players and staff .
On Tuesday , as always , media shuffling out of the clubhouse following open access were left to guess what was going on behind closed doors .
The sounds booming from the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ AAA catcher Yermin Mercedes singing “ Baby Shark.
” Renteria has promoted this kind of fun since he became manager four spring trainings ago , in the name of team bonding , minor league players included .
Unlike the Cubs ’ more publicized stunts during the Joe Maddon era , the Sox and Renteria keep their fun private .
But it ’ s not all fun and games all day long .
When it ’ s time to work , it ’ s time to work .
“ There is also the importance @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” McCann said .
“ That ’ s a huge component .
You look around the clubhouse and there is a lot of talent .
But if you have a lot of talent and don ’ t do the little things right , it ’ s going to get you .
So make sure you do the little things right.
” Renteria says winning Cactus League games is nice , but more importantly , he wants a clean game .
So far , overall , it has not been sloppy .
Outfielders are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ out of each other ’ s way .
Infielders are communicating .
The little things are evident .
“ I ’ ve been in big league camp for a handful of years with Ricky , ” outfielder Adam Engel said Tuesday , “ and there ’ s definitely a method to what he ’ s doing .
And then , you just feel like guys are peaking at the right time .
Guys aren ’ t rushed early on , and if guys need something , they get it .
If we need @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more at-bats .
They have a really good gauge as to where everybody ’ s at.
” In short , “ they do a really good job of getting us ready for the season , ” Engel said .
The Sox say they will be better in 2020 after three years in rebuild mode under Renteria ’ s watch because of the talent McCann speaks of .
As McCann suggests , a lack of execution here or decision there can flush away a lot of good .
“ And that ’ s what @ @ @ @ @ @ @ little baserunning things , the little things like hitting the cutoff man and backing up bases , ” McCann said .
“ Those things get overlooked by the average eye .
And those things matter.
” Players and coaches insist team bonding and cohesiveness do , too .
“ It ’ s just something [ fans ] don ’ t get to see behind the scenes , ” 34-year-old veteran infielder Andrew Romine said .
“ We ’ re in our locker room — or ‘ our house ’ — for pretty much @ @ @ @ @ @ @ You ’ ve got to communicate with people , spend time next to them every day and then have to work with them at the same time.
” Which is why Renteria does the things he does .
The players really do seem to enjoy it .
It does bring them together .
“ It ’ s a pretty close-knit group , ” said Romine , a quiet observer during his first year at Sox camp .
“ Even accepting of new guys , respecting the guys that are coming in and where @ @ @ @ @ @ @ voice and how they fit in this organization .
“ It seems like Rick likes to have some fun , but at the same time still get us focused on what we ’ re going to accomplish today , and get ready for the season.
” “ They had a little fun putting it together , ” Renteria said .
“ I ’ m trying to have these guys do a little Lynyrd Skynyrd .
They kind of deviated from that .
But it was OK .
”

GLENDALE, Ariz. — Camp Renteria is running smoothly and with crisp attention to detail.
And, as always, not without laughter, almost every day at 9 a.m.
“They keep it loose,” catcher James McCann said, looking over his shoulder to see what form of entertainment was getting ready to be staged at the daily morning team gathering of players and staff.
On Tuesday, as always, media shuffling out of the clubhouse after open access were left to guess what was going on behind closed doors. The sounds booming from the clubhouse told you it was stocky Class AAA catcher Yermin Mercedes singing “Baby Shark.”
Rick Renteria has promoted this kind of fun since he became manager four spring trainings ago, in the name of team bonding, minor-league players included. Unlike the Cubs’ more publicized stunts during the Joe Maddon era, the White Sox and Renteria keep their fun private.
But it’s not all fun and games all day long. When it’s time to work, it’s time to work.
“There is also the importance of getting the little things right,” McCann said. “That’s a huge component. You look around the clubhouse, and there is a lot of talent. But if you have a lot of talent and don’t do the little things right, it’s going to get you. So make sure you do the little things right.”
Renteria says winning Cactus League games is nice, but, more important, he wants a clean game. So far, overall, it has not been sloppy. Outfielders are throwing to the right base and getting out of each other’s way. Infielders are communicating. The little things are evident.
“I’ve been in big-league camp for a handful of years with Ricky,” outfielder Adam Engel said, “and there’s a method to what he’s doing. And then you just feel like guys are peaking at the right time. Guys aren’t rushed early on, and if guys need something, they get it. If we need more bats, we will go get more at-bats. They have a good gauge as to where everybody’s at.”
In short, “they do a really good job of getting us ready for the season,” Engel said.
The Sox say they will be better in 2020 after three years in rebuild mode under Renteria’s watch because of the talent McCann speaks of. As McCann suggests, a lack of execution here or a decision there can flush away a lot of good.
“And that’s what the coaching staff focuses on, the little baserunning things, the little things like hitting the cutoff man and backing up bases,” McCann said. “Those things get overlooked by the average eye. And those things matter.”
Players and coaches insist team bonding and cohesiveness do, too.
“It’s just something [fans] don’t get to see behind the scenes,” veteran infielder Andrew Romine, 34, said. “We’re in our locker room — or ‘our house’ — for pretty much nine months out of the year. You’ve got to communicate with people, spend time next to them every day and then have to work with them at the same time.”
Which is why Renteria does the things he does. The players really do seem to enjoy it. It does bring them together.
“It’s a pretty close-knit group,” said Romine, a quiet observer during his first year at Sox camp. “Even accepting of new guys, respecting the guys that are coming in and where they’ve come from, their voice and how they fit in this organization.
“It seems like Rick likes to have some fun, but at the same time still get us focused on what we’re going to accomplish today, and get ready for the season.”
Baby sharks and all.
“They had a little fun putting it together,” Renteria said. “I’m trying to have these guys do a little Lynyrd Skynyrd. They kind of deviated from that. But it was OK.”


chicagosuntimes--2020-03-03--Lawsuit claims Lake County special ed district failed to protect special needs student from sex assa

Lawsuit claims Lake County special ed district failed to protect special needs student from sex assault

The parents of a special needs student claim she was sexually abused by a teaching aide because the Special Education District of Lake County failed to protect her , a new lawsuit claims .
Israel Suaste-Gonzalez allegedly abused the student “ many , many times ” throughout the 2016-2017 and 2017-2018 school years , according to a lawsuit filed Feb. 27 in Lake County Circuit Court .
The lawsuit states the school district failed to enforce its policy preventing male teachers from being alone with female students ; failed to keep a sufficient number of personnel on staff ; failed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ; and improperly allowed a male to supervise a female student changing her clothes .
He allegedly told her to “ not to tell anyone about what he had done , ” according to the suit .
“ It isn ’ t easy to report sexual abuse , especially when the abuser is in a position of power .
Unfortunately , this innocent young lady has suffered severe emotional distress from these horrific acts , ” the plaintiff ’ s attorney Patrick A. Salvi said in a statement .
Suaste-Gonzalez was charged in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , criminal sexual assault and aggravated criminal sexual abuse , according to the Lake County state ’ s attorney ’ s office .
He pleaded not guilty and the case is pending , according to court records .
He was a paraprofessional at the Special Education District of Lake County ’ s Atkinson location from 2016 through 2018 , the state ’ s attorney ’ s office said .
The lawsuit names Suaste-Gonzalez and the Special Education District of Lake County as defendants .
Neither immediately responded to a request for comment .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ 50,000 .

The parents of a special needs student claim she was sexually abused by a teaching aide because the Special Education District of Lake County failed to protect her, a new lawsuit claims.
Israel Suaste-Gonzalez allegedly abused the student “many, many times” throughout the 2016-2017 and 2017-2018 school years, according to a lawsuit filed Feb. 27 in Lake County Circuit Court.
The lawsuit states the school district failed to enforce its policy preventing male teachers from being alone with female students; failed to keep a sufficient number of personnel on staff; failed to train staff to prevent sex abuse; and improperly allowed a male to supervise a female student changing her clothes.
He allegedly told her to “not to tell anyone about what he had done,” according to the suit.
“It isn’t easy to report sexual abuse, especially when the abuser is in a position of power. Unfortunately, this innocent young lady has suffered severe emotional distress from these horrific acts,” the plaintiff’s attorney Patrick A. Salvi said in a statement.
Suaste-Gonzalez was charged in December 2019 with aggravated criminal sexual assault, criminal sexual assault and aggravated criminal sexual abuse, according to the Lake County state’s attorney’s office. He pleaded not guilty and the case is pending, according to court records.
He was a paraprofessional at the Special Education District of Lake County’s Atkinson location from 2016 through 2018, the state’s attorney’s office said.
The lawsuit names Suaste-Gonzalez and the Special Education District of Lake County as defendants. Neither immediately responded to a request for comment.
The suit is seeking more than $50,000.


chicagosuntimes--2020-03-03--Olympics minister says games could be held any time in 2020

TOKYO — Japan ’ s Olympic minister said Tuesday the contract to hold the Tokyo Games only specifies the event has to be held during 2020 .
Seiko Hashimoto ’ s response to a question in the upper house of parliament implies the Olympics could be held later in the year and would not have to start on July 24 as planned .
The Paralympics open on Aug. 25 .
The Tokyo Olympics are being threatened by a fast-spreading virus that has been blamed for 12 deaths in Japan and has shut down most schools , sports competitions and Olympic-related @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that started in China has been detected in at least 70 countries , with 90,000 cases and 3,100 deaths reported .
“ The IOC has the right to cancel the games only if they are not held during 2020 , ” Hashimoto told parliament .
“ This can be interpreted to mean the games can be postponed as long as they are held during the calendar year.
” However , the suggestion of a possible change of plan was quickly batted back at a meeting of the International Olympic Committee ’ s executive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ going to have the games on the 24th of July , ” IOC spokesman Mark Adams said at a briefing .
IOC President Thomas Bach and Tokyo organizers have repeatedly said they expect the Olympics to open on schedule .
Others have suggested the spreading virus could force cancellation , postponement or moving events to other cities .
The IOC issued a statement earlier Tuesday expressing “ full commitment to the success of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 , taking place from July 24 to Aug. 9 , 2020.
” Bach then made @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the first day of a two-day meeting at IOC headquarters in Lausanne to make a statement .
“ I would like to encourage all the athletes to continue their preparation for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 with great confidence and with full steam , ” he said .
Bach also praised a panel created last month that brings together the WHO , public authorities in Japan , and Olympic officials in Tokyo and Lausanne .
In an interview last week with only Japanese media , Bach had declined to “ fuel the flames @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or postponement .
Hashimoto was asked if she believed the Olympics should be held even if the coronavirus outbreak is worse than it is now .
“ We are making the utmost effort so that we don ’ t have to face that situation , ” she said .
Any decision to move the games back would impact international broadcasters , who would have sway over any changes .
The International Olympic Committee gets 73 % of its $ 5.7 billion income in a four-year Olympic cycle from selling broadcast rights .
About @ @ @ @ @ @ @ American network NBC .
NBC parent company Comcast said that because of insurance and the way contracts are written , NBC won ’ t suffer losses if the Olympics are canceled .
But Comcast CEO Brian Roberts said the company would miss out on ad-driven profits , which was $ 250 million for the 2016 Rio Olympics .
He did not address the possibility of postponement of the games during his remarks at an investment conference Tuesday .
The 1964 Tokyo Olympics were held in October .
But the games have now shifted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s the only time slot open for sports broadcasters .
North America in the fall is filled with the NFL , college football , baseball , basketball and hockey .
Europe is jammed with soccer in England , Spain , Germany , France and Italy , not to mention rugby and cricket where those sports are popular .
Former IOC vice president Dick Pound told The Associated Press in an interview last week that a decision about the Olympics probably has to be made in the next several months .
Kevan Gosper , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an honorary IOC member , also said cancellation was feasible .
The Olympics have been canceled only three times , all during wartime .
Tokyo organizers on Tuesday were forced to call off a Paralympic wheelchair rugby test event following suggestions from Prime Minister Shizo Abe to hold down large crowd events for several weeks .
Tokyo organizers have 17 test events remaining on their schedule .
The last one is to end on May 8 .
Most are small events featuring only local athletes .
The most significant is a gymnastics test @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have non-Japanese athletes competing .
Japan ’ s professional baseball league is playing preseason games in stadiums without fans , and the soccer J-League has suspended play until March 18 .
The famous Tokyo Marathon was held on Sunday with only a few hundred elite runners , instead of a public party for 30,000 participants .

TOKYO — Japan’s Olympic minister said Tuesday the contract to hold the Tokyo Games only specifies the event has to be held during 2020.
Seiko Hashimoto’s response to a question in the upper house of parliament implies the Olympics could be held later in the year and would not have to start on July 24 as planned. The Paralympics open on Aug. 25.
The Tokyo Olympics are being threatened by a fast-spreading virus that has been blamed for 12 deaths in Japan and has shut down most schools, sports competitions and Olympic-related events in the country. The virus that started in China has been detected in at least 70 countries, with 90,000 cases and 3,100 deaths reported.
“The IOC has the right to cancel the games only if they are not held during 2020,” Hashimoto told parliament. “This can be interpreted to mean the games can be postponed as long as they are held during the calendar year.”
However, the suggestion of a possible change of plan was quickly batted back at a meeting of the International Olympic Committee’s executive board in Switzerland.
“We are going to have the games on the 24th of July,” IOC spokesman Mark Adams said at a briefing.
IOC President Thomas Bach and Tokyo organizers have repeatedly said they expect the Olympics to open on schedule. Others have suggested the spreading virus could force cancellation, postponement or moving events to other cities.
The IOC issued a statement earlier Tuesday expressing “full commitment to the success of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, taking place from July 24 to Aug. 9, 2020.”
Bach then made the unusual move of stepping out from the first day of a two-day meeting at IOC headquarters in Lausanne to make a statement.
“I would like to encourage all the athletes to continue their preparation for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 with great confidence and with full steam,” he said.
Bach also praised a panel created last month that brings together the WHO, public authorities in Japan, and Olympic officials in Tokyo and Lausanne.
In an interview last week with only Japanese media, Bach had declined to “fuel the flames of speculation” about reports of cancellation or postponement.
Hashimoto was asked if she believed the Olympics should be held even if the coronavirus outbreak is worse than it is now.
“We are making the utmost effort so that we don’t have to face that situation,” she said.
Any decision to move the games back would impact international broadcasters, who would have sway over any changes.
The International Olympic Committee gets 73% of its $5.7 billion income in a four-year Olympic cycle from selling broadcast rights. About half of that TV income is from American network NBC.
NBC parent company Comcast said that because of insurance and the way contracts are written, NBC won’t suffer losses if the Olympics are canceled. But Comcast CEO Brian Roberts said the company would miss out on ad-driven profits, which was $250 million for the 2016 Rio Olympics. He did not address the possibility of postponement of the games during his remarks at an investment conference Tuesday.
The 1964 Tokyo Olympics were held in October. But the games have now shifted to summer, largely because it’s the only time slot open for sports broadcasters. North America in the fall is filled with the NFL, college football, baseball, basketball and hockey. Europe is jammed with soccer in England, Spain, Germany, France and Italy, not to mention rugby and cricket where those sports are popular.
Former IOC vice president Dick Pound told The Associated Press in an interview last week that a decision about the Olympics probably has to be made in the next several months. Kevan Gosper, another former IOC vice president and now an honorary IOC member, also said cancellation was feasible.
The Olympics have been canceled only three times, all during wartime.
Tokyo organizers on Tuesday were forced to call off a Paralympic wheelchair rugby test event following suggestions from Prime Minister Shizo Abe to hold down large crowd events for several weeks.
Tokyo organizers have 17 test events remaining on their schedule. The last one is to end on May 8. Most are small events featuring only local athletes. The most significant is a gymnastics test on April 4-6 that is expected to have non-Japanese athletes competing.
Japan’s professional baseball league is playing preseason games in stadiums without fans, and the soccer J-League has suspended play until March 18. The famous Tokyo Marathon was held on Sunday with only a few hundred elite runners, instead of a public party for 30,000 participants.


chicagosuntimes--2020-03-03--Two brothers accused of forcing Texas teenager into prostitution

Two brothers forced a Texas girl into prostitution and then held her against her will when she wanted leave Chicago and return home , Cook County prosecutors said .
After the 17-year-old met 29-year-old Eric Johnson online in early February and traded phone numbers with him , Johnson allegedly bought the girl a bus ticket so she could go to Memphis , Tennessee , where he was living .
There , Johnson had the girl perform sex acts on others for money and kept the proceeds , prosecutors said Tuesday .
When business slowed down , Johnson decided to bring @ @ @ @ @ @ @ her into the apartment of his brother , 25-year-old Jarvis Alexander , prosecutors said .
Alexander started to take the girl to meet johns after placing ads on escort websites and collected whatever money was made , prosecutors said .
When Johnson saw that the girl had texted a friend , saying that she wanted to go back home to Texas , he allegedly beat and choked her until she nearly passed out and blocked her from leaving the apartment .
Johnson also used another victim he had beaten as an example of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ she tried to leave , prosecutors said .
Johnson also sexually assaulted the girl several times , and in an interview with authorities , admitted to knowing she was only 17 , prosecutors said .
The brothers were arrested on Feb. 29 when they and the girl were traveling in a white Nissan and officers stopped them after noticing Alexander wasn ’ t wearing a seat belt .
Police ordered all three out of the car after they smelled marijuana .
Officers recovered $ 3,000 in cash and an unspecified amount of marijuana @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said .
When the three were taken to a police station , officers learned that the girl had been forced to work as a prostitute and the department ’ s Human Trafficking Task Force was notified .
She was subsequently taken to a hospital and a sexual assault kit was administered .
“ What we have here is one woman ’ s story , ” Johnson ’ s assistant public defender said in court Tuesday , noting that he was not trying to minimize the seriousness of the allegations .
The assistant public @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and despite living recently in Tennessee , had strong ties to Chicago .
Both brothers had separate addresses in Austin , according to court records .
Johnson was ordered held on $ 500,000 bail Tuesday .
Alexander was ordered held on $ 250,000 bail on Monday , according to court records .
Johnson faces aggravated criminal sexual assault and aggravated battery charges , while Alexander , faces a single felony count of promoting prostitution and several misdemeanor charges for his alleged participation in the scheme to sell the girl for sex , court @ @ @

Two brothers forced a Texas girl into prostitution and then held her against her will when she wanted leave Chicago and return home, Cook County prosecutors said.
After the 17-year-old met 29-year-old Eric Johnson online in early February and traded phone numbers with him, Johnson allegedly bought the girl a bus ticket so she could go to Memphis, Tennessee, where he was living. There, Johnson had the girl perform sex acts on others for money and kept the proceeds, prosecutors said Tuesday.
When business slowed down, Johnson decided to bring to the girl to Chicago and moved her into the apartment of his brother, 25-year-old Jarvis Alexander, prosecutors said.
Alexander started to take the girl to meet johns after placing ads on escort websites and collected whatever money was made, prosecutors said.
When Johnson saw that the girl had texted a friend, saying that she wanted to go back home to Texas, he allegedly beat and choked her until she nearly passed out and blocked her from leaving the apartment. Johnson also used another victim he had beaten as an example of what would happen to the girl if she tried to leave, prosecutors said.
Johnson also sexually assaulted the girl several times, and in an interview with authorities, admitted to knowing she was only 17, prosecutors said.
Jarvis Alexander (left) and Eric Johnson Chicago police
The brothers were arrested on Feb. 29 when they and the girl were traveling in a white Nissan and officers stopped them after noticing Alexander wasn’t wearing a seat belt. Police ordered all three out of the car after they smelled marijuana. Officers recovered $3,000 in cash and an unspecified amount of marijuana when they searched the vehicle, prosecutors said.
When the three were taken to a police station, officers learned that the girl had been forced to work as a prostitute and the department’s Human Trafficking Task Force was notified. She was subsequently taken to a hospital and a sexual assault kit was administered.
“What we have here is one woman’s story,” Johnson’s assistant public defender said in court Tuesday, noting that he was not trying to minimize the seriousness of the allegations. The assistant public defender said Johnson was currently unemployed, and despite living recently in Tennessee, had strong ties to Chicago.
Both brothers had separate addresses in Austin, according to court records.
Johnson was ordered held on $500,000 bail Tuesday. Alexander was ordered held on $250,000 bail on Monday, according to court records.
Johnson faces aggravated criminal sexual assault and aggravated battery charges, while Alexander, faces a single felony count of promoting prostitution and several misdemeanor charges for his alleged participation in the scheme to sell the girl for sex, court records show.


chicagosuntimes--2020-03-04--Dear Abby: As couple works on trust issues, man sleeps with his ex

DEAR ABBY : I dated a guy for 10 months .
We constantly fought because of his lack of trust .
He had been burned in previous relationships .
He said , “ Trust is earned , not given , ” which isn ’ t my philosophy .
After a recent argument ( about lack of trust ) , I told him this attitude is a deal-breaker , and he needed time to reflect on his issues .
I talked to him several days a week during the process , and we weren ’ t intimate during that time .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ at his apartment last night to further discuss the situation , only to have an old girlfriend ring his doorbell , upset .
It seems that during the last five weeks , he had started seeing her again and slept with her while attempting to make amends with me .
When I asked about her , he told me he thought we were done , and he was trying to put a Band-Aid on his pain .
What to do ?
He has great qualities but is so jealous and suspicious .
Will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ always be trying to prove myself ?
I believe he cares for me , but his actions with the old girlfriend negate this .
I can not even begin to rationalize his thought process .
— GETTING TIRED OF IT DEAR GETTING TIRED : This guy is suspicious because HE isn ’ t trustworthy .
There ’ s a saying attributed to historian , civil rights activist and author W.E.B .
Du Bois : “ A man does not look behind the door unless he has stood there himself.
” People are often @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Your boyfriend ran back to his old girlfriend because he was unable to be alone , even for a brief period .
Be smart .
Wake up and lose him .
You can do better .
DEAR ABBY : My father was physically abusive to me when I was a child , and distant and emotionally abusive when I was a teenager .
Because of it , I had low self-esteem and was extremely depressed for most of my life .
I confronted him when I was an adult , and he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ way , but never apologized .
He is now 93 and in a nursing home .
He probably won ’ t be alive much longer .
I would like to get closure by telling him the extent to which his behavior damaged my life , but I know it would hurt him .
Should I look for the closure I have needed all of my life , or keep it to myself to spare his feelings ?
— HURTING STILL IN COLORADO DEAR HURTING : If you have things you need to get @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as painful as they may be , then do it .
Explain calmly , in an even tone of voice , how important validation is to children as they develop , and how deeply his physical and emotional abuse has affected your life .
I agree that he owes you an apology , but do NOT go there expecting one because he may be incapable of it .
DEAR ABBY : Today I was in a small neighborhood restaurant with a friend .
I ordered a special burger .
When the cook brought @ @ @ @ @ @ @ immediately pulled out her camera and snapped several shots .
A stranger who had been sitting at the bar jumped off his stool and came over to our table with his camera .
I ’ m not sure how many photos of my meal were taken before I was able to start eating .
My friend was logging onto Facebook to post before I took my first bite .
I was dumbfounded .
What can be said to people who are this rude ?
— GET IT WHILE IT ’ S HOT DEAR @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ?
Plenty — starting with , “ Knock it off !
” or “ I don ’ t like that !
” Talk about an invasion of privacy as well as personal space .
I don ’ t blame you for feeling invaded .
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 .
Good advice for everyone — teens to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in All of Us and How to Deal With It.
” To order , send your name and mailing address , plus check or money order for $ 8 ( U.S. funds ) , to : Dear Abby , Anger Booklet , P.O .
Box 447 , Mount Morris , IL 61054-0447 .
( Shipping and handling are included in the price . )

DEAR ABBY: I dated a guy for 10 months. We constantly fought because of his lack of trust. He had been burned in previous relationships. He said, “Trust is earned, not given,” which isn’t my philosophy.
After a recent argument (about lack of trust), I told him this attitude is a deal-breaker, and he needed time to reflect on his issues. I talked to him several days a week during the process, and we weren’t intimate during that time.
I decided to have dinner with him at his apartment last night to further discuss the situation, only to have an old girlfriend ring his doorbell, upset. It seems that during the last five weeks, he had started seeing her again and slept with her while attempting to make amends with me. When I asked about her, he told me he thought we were done, and he was trying to put a Band-Aid on his pain. What to do?
He has great qualities but is so jealous and suspicious. Will he ever improve, or will I always be trying to prove myself? I believe he cares for me, but his actions with the old girlfriend negate this. I cannot even begin to rationalize his thought process. — GETTING TIRED OF IT
DEAR GETTING TIRED: This guy is suspicious because HE isn’t trustworthy. There’s a saying attributed to historian, civil rights activist and author W.E.B. Du Bois: “A man does not look behind the door unless he has stood there himself.” People are often jealous and controlling because they are insecure. Your boyfriend ran back to his old girlfriend because he was unable to be alone, even for a brief period. Be smart. Wake up and lose him. You can do better.
DEAR ABBY: My father was physically abusive to me when I was a child, and distant and emotionally abusive when I was a teenager. Because of it, I had low self-esteem and was extremely depressed for most of my life. I confronted him when I was an adult, and he tried to explain why he was that way, but never apologized.
He is now 93 and in a nursing home. He probably won’t be alive much longer. I would like to get closure by telling him the extent to which his behavior damaged my life, but I know it would hurt him. Should I look for the closure I have needed all of my life, or keep it to myself to spare his feelings? — HURTING STILL IN COLORADO
DEAR HURTING: If you have things you need to get off your chest to your father, as painful as they may be, then do it. Explain calmly, in an even tone of voice, how important validation is to children as they develop, and how deeply his physical and emotional abuse has affected your life. I agree that he owes you an apology, but do NOT go there expecting one because he may be incapable of it.
DEAR ABBY: Today I was in a small neighborhood restaurant with a friend. I ordered a special burger. When the cook brought it to the table, my friend immediately pulled out her camera and snapped several shots. A stranger who had been sitting at the bar jumped off his stool and came over to our table with his camera. I’m not sure how many photos of my meal were taken before I was able to start eating. My friend was logging onto Facebook to post before I took my first bite. I was dumbfounded. What can be said to people who are this rude? — GET IT WHILE IT’S HOT
DEAR GET IT: What can be said? Plenty — starting with, “Knock it off!” or “I don’t like that!” Talk about an invasion of privacy as well as personal space. I don’t blame you for feeling invaded.
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.
Good advice for everyone — teens to seniors — is in “The Anger in All of Us and How to Deal With It.” To order, send your name and mailing address, plus check or money order for $8 (U.S. funds), to: Dear Abby, Anger Booklet, P.O. Box 447, Mount Morris, IL 61054-0447. (Shipping and handling are included in the price.)