chicagotribune--2020-06-22--After George Floyd’s death, where does Chicago draw the line on police chokeholds?

The latest allegations of improper restraints against Chicago police came on the weekend of widespread looting after Floyd ’ s @ @ @ @ @ she and her friends had pulled up to the Brickyard Mall on the Northwest Side @ @ @ @ @ knowing it had been closed because of vandalism .
Wright said police officers suddenly surrounded @ @ @ @ @ windows , and searched her and her cousin Tnika Tate .
Wright said she was @ @ @ @ @ a knee was placed on her neck .

Mia Wright, center, and her cousin Tnika Tate and Mia's mother, Kim Woods, background, on June 3, 2020. Wright says a Chicago police officer had pulled her from a car by her hair and placed a knee on her neck last month. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)
When she was running for mayor, Lori Lightfoot left no doubt what she thought of Chicago police using chokeholds on suspects.
“CPD must be prohibited from using chokeholds, full stop,” she said in a campaign statement in July 2018. She spoke as a former federal prosecutor who later chaired the Chicago Police Board, which hears disciplinary cases against officers.
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Nearly a year into her term, the Chicago Police Department toughened restrictions on the use of potentially lethal neck holds but did not completely ban them. Under a directive issued in February, restraints that cut the flow of blood to the brain were now regarded as deadly force to be used as a last resort, as chokeholds have been for years.
Officers can still use “holding and control techniques involving contact with the neck” if they do not intentionally try to cut off air or blood.
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Lightfoot told the Tribune she still wants chokeholds banned “in their entirety” but did not say when that would be. She has directed a task force to review the department’s use of force following the death of George Floyd, who died after a Minneapolis police officer placed a knee on his neck for about eight minutes.
One of the rallying cries of protesters since Floyd’s death has been to banish all neck restraints under any circumstances, a move some cities like Denver have already taken. Fueling the debate has been growing distrust of an officer’s intent.
Warning: graphic content/language. Chicago police surrounded a vehicle, broke its windows and arrested a woman near Brickyard Mall in Chicago. (Chicago Tribune Handout)
In Chicago late last month, a woman said a police officer pulled her from a car by her hair and placed a knee on her neck after she and friends drove up to a mall to shop, not knowing it had been closed because of looting. Two officers have been relieved of their duties while investigations are conducted by the Civilian Office of Police Accountability, the Cook County state’s attorney’s office, and the FBI.
Lightfoot has declined to comment on the specifics of the case, but she did acknowledge to reporters that “we know that there are some practices that have been used, and like with the officers who are involved in the killing of George Floyd, no police department that I know ... allows for officers to put knees on somebody’s neck.”
In her statement to the Tribune, the mayor said she “stands by her comments in the campaign that chokeholds should be banned in their entirety. That is why we have been working with the department to make revisions to the policy to further ensure this technique is never used by department members in any situation.”
In the meantime, new Chicago police Superintendent David Brown said he wanted officers to undergo “mandatory training on positional asphyxiation,” which raised the question of just what the current training regimen is and what it should be.
The ABCs of restraint
A copy of the department’s training bulletin on positional asphyxiation, obtained by the Tribune, lists the risk factors to watch for in suspects (including drug and alcohol use) and what officers should and should not do while restraining people.
It begins by explaining the inherent problem of physically restraining someone: “During restraint, the individual experiences increased difficulty breathing and struggles more violently as a natural reaction to oxygen deficiency.”
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Officers are told to watch for signs the person is under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Obesity is another risk factor to be aware of. Officers are cautioned against placing a person on their back or stomach, and are advised to roll the person on their side for easier breathing.
They are also told not to place a knee on a person’s back “for a prolonged period of time,” and to never place pressure on the neck that will cut off air or blood flow unless deadly force is authorized. The bulletin advises officers to watch the person’s “ABCs,” which it lists as the airway (for obstructions), breathing and circulation (pulse and heartbeat).
“Keep in mind that person’s ability to speak does not always indicate their airway is open and they are breathing adequately,” the bulletin warns.
The bulletin generally urges caution with any type of physical restraint. “These restraint positions must be minimized or avoided during custodial arrest and transportation to reduce the risk of positional asphyxia.”
Training on positional asphyxia is incorporated in the police academy’s use of force curriculum, and when officers learn how to properly restrain or handcuff suspects, according to Deputy Chief Daniel Godsel, who oversees the academy.
“We demonstrate in a number of ways, ‘This is what it would look like. (These are) the physiological ramifications if somebody’s in a particular position. Here’s what you need to do to get that person out of that position,’” Godsel said. “If it’s an arrest we’re making, and we don’t have voluntary compliance, we may have to use force. And when we’re using force it is not with the intention to injure. We don’t want to injure people.”
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Chokeholds and carotid artery restraints are not taught at the academy, though they can be used as lethal force.
“When an officer finds himself in an encounter where he perceives the threat to result in his losing his life ... obviously he or she is authorized ... to use lethal force, which usually for us means our firearm,” he said. “That’s our highest level of force that we employ.
“Our recruits get double the state requirement for firearms training,” he added. “There are other deadly force options. ... Our option when we’re faced with a deadly force situation is our prescribed weapon, firearm.”
As indicated in the department's directives, Godsel said officers can still have contact with a suspect's neck during an arrest, but that's not necessarily defined as a neck restraint.
“Some of the training and the physical control might involve getting a hold of a subject’s wrist or forearm, and then the officer may be placing a hand on the back of the neck to move the person into a position where they can be handcuffed,” he said. “It’s not a restraint in and of itself. You’re trying to control the person.”
‘People will recognize a fight for your life’
John Catanzara, who heads the Chicago Police Department’s largest union, said the department’s current directive takes into account some of the realities cops face on the street.
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“Specific to chokeholds in defense of my life, if someone’s trying to kill me, I’m going to choke them to death before I die,” said Catanzara, the newly elected president of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 7. “I’m not going to give up my life because of some stupid department policy that under no circumstances are you allowed to choke anybody. It’s just a dumb process to even think about.”
Fraternal Order of Police Chicago Lodge 7 President John Catanzara Jr., at his office on June 18, 2020. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)
He said the same principle would apply to carotid artery restraints. “If that’s my only tool to put someone to sleep to prevent myself from being hurt or killed, I’m going to do it every single time.”
Catanzara said officers also need to resort to less extreme neck holds allowed by the directive. He explained to a Tribune reporter how that would work against a suspect spitting at an officer. “You’re going to grab him by the back of the neck and you’re going to control the direction his head is facing to prevent him from spitting in your face,” he said. “It’s directional control more than anything.”
Chicago’s policy complies with the latest recommendations by the Major Cities Chiefs Association, which says police departments should prohibit chokeholds and other potentially lethal neck restraints unless officers’ lives are in danger.
Denver went a step further this month. It clarified language in its police department’s policies to ban chokeholds and carotid artery restraints with “no exceptions.”
In Houston, the mayor recently issued an executive order prohibiting neck restraints unless cops are fighting for their lives. And that raises the question: What qualifies as fighting for your life?
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The answer these days is likely to come from video within minutes, according to Houston police Chief Art Acevedo, who heads the Major Cities Chiefs Association.
“Believe me, with all the cameras we have now, with body-worn cameras, and public safety cameras ... and cellphone cameras, most incidents now are more than likely going to be videotaped by somebody, right?” he said. “People will recognize a fight for your life when they see it.”
Like Chicago, Houston does not train its officers on neck restraints.
“Our executive team has spent hours marching and talking and engaging the community, and we’ve had those conversations where we don’t teach it. We don’t authorize it in terms of a technique,” Acevedo said. “You know, there’s a difference between, again, a trained authorized technique and a fight for your life where you’re just trying to survive.”
University of Chicago law professor Craig Futterman, who has long tackled police accountability and excessive force issues, believes risky neck restraints should be completely banned.
“Is there a situation where a chokehold could save your life? Yes, it’s possible,” Futterman said. “Anything is possible. You can always come up with hypothetical.
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“There’s a growing consensus they aren’t worth it,” he added. “Particularly when there are lots of other options. It’s not the only deadly force option. Are the costs of allowing those chokeholds worth it when we have a long body of data and experience showing the damage that has been inflicted and that people can be killed?”
‘Brutal and unjustified’
Chicago has restricted use of chokeholds as far back as the 1980s. But the department’s troubled history with controversial restraints continues to this day.
In 2000, a Chicago police officer described under oath how he wrapped his arm around the neck of James Thompson, who had just smashed his car into a viaduct during a high-speed chase. Thompson complained several times that he couldn’t breathe, and he died before paramedics got to the scene, according to court records from a federal lawsuit filed by Thompson’s family against the city and the officers.
A pathologist testified that Thompson died from the officer’s chokehold, a move a police academy instructor said should not have been applied even though the suspect was fighting with the cops. The defense said Thompson was in poor health and argued that the stress from the crash — not the chokehold — caused him to have a heart attack.
A jury found in the officer’s favor and he remains on the force.
Warning: graphic content. The city of Chicago on April 15, 2016, released a video from the July 20, 2015, arrest of Heriberto Godinez. (Handout)
Video from a squad car dashcam in 2015 appears to show an officer stepping on the neck of Heriberto Godinez in an alley in the Brighton Park neighborhood. Godinez, his hands cuffed behind his back, keeps scooting from the officers and kicking his legs. At another point, an officer appears to press on Godinez’s back while he is lying on his stomach.
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Heriberto Godinez died July 20, 2015, in police custody. (Family photo)
Godinez’s breathing became labored and officers called for help, but by the time paramedics arrived, Godinez was unresponsive, officials said at the time. He later died. The Cook County medical examiner’s office found that the primary cause of death was cocaine and alcohol poisoning, but listed physical stress from his being restrained as “a significant contributing factor.”
The state’s attorney at the time, Anita Alvarez, declined to press charges, saying there was no clear evidence of excessive force. Godinez’s family filed a lawsuit to force the city to release the dashboard camera footage, and the City Council settled for $1.2 million. The officers were given suspensions of less than a month. One of them has since been promoted.
The family’s attorney, Jeffrey Granich, said the case showed him just how improperly trained officers were in positional asphyxia. Many of the officers at the scene testified they hadn’t received proper training on the dangers.
“I’ve spoken to enough police procedural experts over the years,” he said. “And I firmly believe that if any officer is trained well, these type of dangerous situations would not happen.”
Janet Godinez, left, and her sister Crystal Godinez talk to the media during a news conference in their attorney's office on March 22, 2016, about their brother's death. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)
The latest allegations of improper restraints against Chicago police came on the weekend of widespread looting after Floyd’s death. Mia Wright said she and her friends had pulled up to the Brickyard Mall on the Northwest Side on May 31, not knowing it had been closed because of vandalism. Wright said police officers suddenly surrounded the car, broke the windows, and searched her and her cousin Tnika Tate. Wright said she was thrown to the pavement and a knee was placed on her neck.
“Ms. Wright could barely breathe and was in a lot of pain,” Wright’s attorney Nenye Uche said. Glass from the shattered windows seriously injured her eye, he said.
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“It is clear from the video of the incident, neither Ms. Wright nor any of the occupants were engaged in any illegal activity,” Uche stated in a letter to the mayor. “Also, the force used was brutal and unjustified because the vehicle in which Ms. Wright was an occupant was not engaged in any form of escape or resistance when the police approached and before their brutal attack.”
Two officers involved with the incident have been relieved of police powers and are being investigated by the COPA, the Cook County state’s attorney’s office and the FBI.
The allegations are the most serious that have been lodged against Chicago cops during the fallout from Floyd’s death.
jgorner@chicagotribune.com
wlee@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-06-23--Chicago Board of Education member disputes watchdog report that he did campaign work while on the cl

Chicago Board of Education member disputes watchdog report that he did campaign work while on the clock at state job

“ He explained that his understanding was that in order to have engaged in prohibited political activity , he would @ @ @ @ @ 1 ) solicit or distribute campaign materials to his co-workers , or ( 2 ) @ @ @ @ @ on his campaign , ” the report stated .
“ Mr .
Truss stated that @ @ @ @ @ things and that anytime he prepared a social media post , he did so from @ @ @ @ @ at his desk .
”

Chicago Board of Education member Dwayne Truss was found by a state watchdog to have performed campaign work while on state time, though Truss disputes the report's findings. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)
A newly released state watchdog report concludes that Chicago Board of Education member Dwayne Truss promoted his failed campaign for City Council while on the clock as an auditor for the Illinois Department of Employment Security.
The Office of the Executive Inspector General determined Truss engaged in political activity on social media and over the phone during paid time in late 2018 and early 2019 while he was running for 29th Ward alderman, and that he used state property to photocopy political materials.
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Executive Inspector General Susan Haling’s office began investigating Truss after someone complained in February 2019 that Truss engaging in prohibited political activity. That was several months before Mayor Lori Lightfoot took office and appointed him to the Chicago Board of Education.
But Truss, who took that February off from work to focus on his campaign, countered that social media posts under his name were actually done by his wife and daughter-in-law, and phone calls with his campaign manager were mostly “gossip.”
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In addition to reviewing personnel, timekeeping and phone records, and three social media accounts under his name, investigators interviewed Truss and his campaign manager.
Based on their findings, the office recommended that the employment department “take whatever disciplinary action against Mr. Truss that it deems appropriate,” and indicated it’s referring the matter to the Illinois attorney general’s office. This February, IDES’ ethics officer sent Haling an email stating that the agency decided to suspend Truss for one week.
IDES and Chicago Public Schools officials did not respond to a Tribune request for comment Monday.
An IDES employee since 1989, Truss audits employers to make sure workers get the correct unemployment insurance.
Between the day Truss announced his candidacy in March 2018 and his last day of work before the February 2019 election, investigators reviewed nearly 200 posts and found 45 that were made during work hours, including nine from his campaign account, according to the report.
“While many of these posts were politically oriented and frequently related to matters concerning City of Chicago educational policy,” the investigation focused on nine posts “each published during State-compensated time, with content clearly involving prohibited political activity as defined by the Ethics Act,” the report states.
Those posts include a fundraiser announcement, petition drive, canvassing, news articles, and criticism of statements by his opponent, Ald. Chris Taliaferro, 29th.
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In interviews with investigators, Truss took responsibility for some posts that went up during work hours. He said he wrote one post concerning a political rival on his phone while walking outside on a 15-minute break, according to the report.
Regarding another message about a political canvassing event posted to his campaign account at 8:51 a.m., Truss told investigators he believed he posted that from his phone while on the train running late to work, though his time sheet credits him with full hours that day, according to the report.
But in a subsequent written rebuttal, Truss said he took responsibility for certain posts because when he was initially presented with them, he couldn’t recall who made each post. He attached copies of Facebook posts he said either his wife or daughter-in-law had made.
The investigators also subpoenaed phone records and documented seven calls during work hours between Truss’ personal cellphone and his campaign manager, ranging in length from 28 seconds to nearly 18 minutes.
He told investigators that some of his conversations that day were about his campaign, but not others. He said some calls were probably about Paul Vallas’ mayoral campaign, for which the campaign manager said he was also volunteering.
Truss told the Tribune the calls with his campaign manager were mostly just talking, from politics to state football.
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“Typically we would gossip about a lot of stuff — men do gossip — and they just pulled those phone records from that time,” Truss said.
Investigators wrote that even if Truss didn’t endorse a mayoral candidate, those discussions counted as political meetings in the spirit of the Ethics Act.
“He explained that his understanding was that in order to have engaged in prohibited political activity, he would either have had to (1) solicit or distribute campaign materials to his co-workers, or (2) be at his desk working on his campaign,” the report stated. “Mr. Truss stated that he did neither of these things and that anytime he prepared a social media post, he did so from his personal phone and not at his desk.”
The Ethics Act applies when state employees engage in prohibited activity during any paid time, regardless of whether they directly solicit co-workers or use state equipment, according to the report, which added that because 15-minute breaks are paid, the rules still apply.
Truss’ salary at his state job is about $87,000, state records show.
hleone@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-06-22--Coronavirus in Illinois updates: 462 new known COVID-19 cases and 26 more deaths reported as Chicago

Coronavirus in Illinois updates: 462 new known COVID-19 cases and 26 more deaths reported as Chicago says city will move to phase four of reopening on Friday

Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced Monday that Chicago would be following along with the rest of the state as well .
@ @ @ @ @ , schools , child care programs and restaurants are allowed to resume a range of @ @ @ @ @ as they follow public health guidelines .
Movie theaters , health clubs and retail stores @ @ @ @ @ open with limits in place for capacity .
Employees at “ nonessential ” businesses are @ @ @ @ @ , as long as employers provide accommodations for those who are vulnerable .
Read more @ @ @ @ @ , Jemal R. Brinson and Jonathon Berlin

We have lifted the paywall on this story. To support essential reporting, please consider becoming a subscriber .
The Fulton Market area of Chicago is no longer the ghost town it was during the depths of the COVID-19 virus pandemic shutdown. As restrictions on restaurants are eased, a worker takes a woman's temperature before she can enter Federales restaurant on Morgan Street on July 1, 2020. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)
Chicago will move to phase four of reopening from the coronavirus this Friday along with the rest of the state, Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced Monday.
That means museums, the Lincoln Park Zoo and youth summer camps, along with indoor dining and other amenities will be allowed to open “with limited capacities and appropriate safeguards,” according to the mayor’s office.
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Meanwhile, Chicago reopened the Lakefront Trail and The 606 trail, along with other recreational facilities Monday morning.
Illinois health officials Monday announced 462 new cases of COVID-19 and 26 additional deaths, bringing the total number of known cases to 137,224 and the death toll to 6,671 statewide since the start of the pandemic.
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[ Illinois will enter phase 4 of its coronavirus reopening plan Friday. Here’s a guide to what’s allowed. ]
[ How will Illinois reopen? Three charts breaking down Pritzker’s plan ]
[ COVID-19 cases in Illinois by ZIP code: Search for your neighborhood ]
[ As the coronavirus spreads, the Tribune is tracking Illinois cases here ]
Here’s what’s happening Monday with COVID-19 in the Chicago area and Illinois:
6:39 p.m.: Chicagoans return to the lakefront and The 606: ‘I’m so happy that it finally reopened’
When the city announced that The 606 was going to open after being closed for more than three months due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Mia Navarro immediately made plans to go for a walk there Monday afternoon.
“I’m so happy that it finally reopened,” said Navarro, a Humboldt Park resident who was walking on the path, also known as the Bloomingdale Trail, next to Julia De Burgos Park. “I’m still worried about the pandemic but think that we’re going at a healthy phase when it comes to reopening.”
Along with The 606, the lakefront and Chicago harbors opened to the public Monday but with restrictions as the city prepares to move to phase four Friday. Though most say they are glad to be back to their favorite trails, some worry whether the number of coronavirus cases will increase in the next weeks. Read more here. — Laura Rodríguez Presa
3:44 p.m.: Illinois will enter phase 4 of its coronavirus reopening plan Friday. Here’s a guide to what’s allowed.
Gatherings of up to 50 people will be allowed across the state starting Friday as Illinois moves into the fourth phase of its reopening plan.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced Monday that Chicago would be following along with the rest of the state as well. According to the reopening plan, schools, child care programs and restaurants are allowed to resume a range of services and activities as long as they follow public health guidelines. Movie theaters, health clubs and retail stores will also be allowed to open with limits in place for capacity. Employees at “nonessential” businesses are allowed to return to work, as long as employers provide accommodations for those who are vulnerable. Read more here. — Nausheen Husain, Jemal R. Brinson and Jonathon Berlin
3:18 p.m: Reputed Chicago mob enforcer ordered released from prison due to COVID-19 concerns
Reputed Outfit enforcer Mario Rainone has been ordered released from federal prison immediately due to health concerns amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber granted Rainone’s request in a one-page order directing prison officials to release the aging mobster on time served, court records show.
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Rainone, 65, has spent nearly half his life behind bars on a wide range of convictions, from extorting deadbeat borrowers with death threats to throwing a grenade onto the roof of an Oak Park theater in a ploy to take over the business.
Most recently, he had been serving a 15-year prison sentence on a gun possession conviction that was supposed to keep him locked up until 2028.
Last month, Rainone filed a motion asking for release to home confinement due to a variety of ailments that make him particularly susceptible to COVID-19, including prostate cancer, chronic liver disease and heart problems.
Read more here. —Jason Meisner
3:06 p.m.: $185 million Aon Center observatory is latest Chicago project delayed by coronavirus
The Aon Center has paused plans to build an observatory with a thrill ride atop Chicago’s third-tallest skyscraper, and the $185 million project will start almost a year behind schedule because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Property owner 601W Cos. and its partner on the project, tourist attraction operator Legends, plan to begin work on the observatory in the second quarter of 2021, said building general manager Matthew Amato.
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The Tribune in February reported that construction of the long-discussed addition was set to start this fall, with plans to open in 2022.
It’s now expected to open in 2023, said Amato, of Jones Lang LaSalle.
Downtown Chicago’s economy and tourism have virtually shut down since March because of restrictions on gatherings in an effort to stop the spread of COVID-19.
Read more here. —Ryan Ori
2:33 p.m.: 462 new known COVID-19 cases, 26 additional deaths
Illinois health officials Monday announced 462 new cases of COVID-19 and 26 additional deaths, bringing the total number of known cases to 137,224 and the death toll to 6,671 statewide since the start of the pandemic.
12:41 p.m.: Movies and TV shows can soon film again in Illinois — with limits
Movies and TV shows will be allowed to shoot in Illinois as soon as Friday if half or less of sound stage or filming location capacity is used and crowd scenes are limited to 50 people.
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Chicago will move to phase four of reopening from the coronavirus Friday along with the rest of the state, Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced Monday. Film production here has mostly been shut down since March, when the Illinois stay-at-home order went into effect, though some reality TV stars have been shooting scenes themselves.
The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity laid out guidelines for film production that include having cast and crew members wear face coverings unless they are performing on stage or doing another task that doesn’t allow for it. Workers should complete COVID-19 health and safety training when returning to work, and common areas of sets should be cleaned and disinfected frequently.
Read more here. —Tracy Swartz
12:36 p.m.: Lincoln Park Zoo sets public reopening for next Monday with Shedd Aquarium likely to follow
After being closed more than 3 months by COVID-19, Chicago’s Lincoln Park Zoo Monday said it will begin a limited reopening for members on Friday and for the general public next Monday. Other major institutions are expected to go public with their own reopening plans soon, including those whose facilities are primarily indoors.
Like restaurants that will be allowed to welcome back indoor diners, museums and zoos will be limited to 25% occupancy rule with tours limited to 50 people or fewer, city officials said.
Shedd Aquarium may be the first of the big indoor institutions to open up again. A spokesman said an announcement is likely to come later this week for a limited reopening at some point next week.
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At Field Museum, the institution is preparing to reopen in the next several weeks, a spokeswoman said, while a Museum of Science and Industry representative said that museum is looking at a to-be-determined summer reopening.
Read more here. —Steve Johnson
11:42 a.m.: CTA to distribute kits with face masks, hand sanitizer to riders this week
The CTA, which has seen steep ridership drops due to the coronavirus pandemic, is handing out face masks and hand sanitizer to passengers at busy “L” stations and bus terminals this week.
Starting Tuesday morning, the CTA said it will give away about 20,000 “Travel Healthy” kits containing a two-ounce bottle of hand sanitizer, a reusable cloth mask and a healthy riding tips guide.
The agency last week added a ridership dashboard to its website to help customers see which bus routes are most crowded at which times, in order to make decisions about when to ride. The agency said it continues a rigorous cleaning regimen for trains and buses.
Read more here. —Mary Wisniewski
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10:50 a.m.: Racing at Arlington to start in July after agreement reached between racecourse owners, horsemen’s group
After a weekend of negotiations that looked to break an impasse, representatives for Arlington International Racecourse and the Illinois Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association struck a deal Monday morning that paves the way for horse racing to begin next month at the track.
”I’m thrilled to death that we got to the finish line,” David McCaffrey, ITHA executive director, said at the virtual Illinois Racing Board meeting Monday.
Specific terms of the agreement were not immediately available.
Read more here. —Bob Goldsborough
9:44 a.m.: How much did protests spread COVID-19 in Chicago? No way to know for sure, but overall figures continue to trend downward.
At the start of June, public health officials wondered whether major street protests over police killings of African Americans would lead to a spike in coronavirus cases.
Crowds of people, at times shoulder to shoulder, had marched through Chicago and some suburbs at a time when people had been told for weeks to stay away from each other as much as possible.
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Dr. Ngozi Ezike, the state’s health director, called it a “cause for concern,” while the city’s top health official recommended demonstrators avoid people older than 60 or with underlying health conditions.
So far, the available data shows no significant spikes in COVID-19 cases, however. Chicago was averaging about 400 confirmed cases a day when the protests began, and that number has since dropped to under 200 a day as of Friday.
“It’s too early to say definitively whether we’re seeing an increase or change. But, to date, we have not,” said Dr. Jennifer Layden, chief medical officer at the Chicago Department of Public Health.
Experts say it’s possible the virus didn’t spread as much because of the outdoor nature of the protests and the fact that many demonstrators wore masks.
Still, public health officials and researchers caution it can be difficult to know the effect of protests for certain, given all the variables.
Read more here. —Joe Mahr
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8:33 a.m.: Chicago to move Friday to next phase in coronavirus reopening
Chicago will move to phase four of reopening from the coronavirus this Friday along with the rest of the state, Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced Monday.
That means museums, the Lincoln Park Zoo and youth summer camps, along with indoor dining and other amenities will be allowed to open “with limited capacities and appropriate safeguards,” according to the mayor’s office.
“The service and sacrifice made by Chicagoans from every corner of our city and every walk of life has allowed us to safely reach the point where we are now,” Lightfoot said in a statement. “It includes the incredible work done by our healthcare professionals, first responders, and essential workers who have cared for our residents and kept our city running.
As Chicago’s lakefront trail reopens Monday, Lightfoot’s administration looked ahead to detail the rules for the next step.
Chicago’s health commissioner, Dr. Allison Arwady, had pointed to July 1 as the target date for the city to move into phase four. Termed “revitalization” under Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s framework for the state reopening, that move would allow non-essential businesses to reopen.
Chicago moved into phase three on June 1, three days after the rest of the state. At that point, Nonessential manufacturing and retail were allowed to resume with distancing requirements and other restrictions, and restaurants were allowed to offer outside dining.
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Read more here. —John Byrne
6:30 a.m.: Lake County, Illinois, restarting courthouse weddings, online
You can’t use the coronavirus pandemic as an excuse not to get married any more, at least not in Lake County.
The 19th Judicial Circuit Court suspended marriages and civil unions in March to protect the health of the public but it was scheduled to start officiating weddings and civil unions — virtually — Monday.
The only requirement for the general public is that at least one member of the couple getting married be a Lake County resident. All active-duty members of the military are also eligible.
To have a judge officiate at a virtual wedding, couples must call the county clerk's office to set up an appointment to apply for a marriage license and then visit the clerk of the local circuit court to pay $10 in cash on the day the license is issued.
Couples can go to the Remote Court Hearings section of the 19th Judicial Circuit website for wedding instructions. Even though the wedding is virtual, both members of the couple are required to be somewhere in Lake County during the ceremony.
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—Associated Press
6 a.m.: Lakefront Trail, the 606 Trail, harbors reopen Monday morning
The Lakefront Trail and the 606 Trail along Bloomingdale Avenue were scheduled to reopen at 6 a.m. Monday, although access will be limited along the lakefront.
The trails were scheduled to be open until 7 p.m., with some of the underpasses and other access points for the Lakefront Trail still closed. Although beaches remain closed to swimming, Chicago harbors and the South Shore and Sydney R. Marovitz golf courses were to reopen Monday.
Read more here. —Jennifer Day
Breaking coronavirus news Stay up to date with the latest information on coronavirus with our breaking news alerts.
Here is some of what happened over the weekend related to coronavirus in Illinois and the Midwest:


chicagotribune--2020-06-22--Chicagoans return to the lakefront and The 606: ‘I’m so happy that it finally reopened’

Along with The 606 , the lakefront and Chicago harbors opened to the public Monday but with restrictions as the @ @ @ @ @ phase four Friday .
Though most say they are glad to be back to their @ @ @ @ @ whether the number of coronavirus cases will increase in the next weeks .

When the city announced that The 606 was going to open after being closed for more than three months due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Mia Navarro immediately made plans to go for a walk there Monday afternoon.
“I’m so happy that it finally reopened,” said Navarro, a Humboldt Park resident who was walking on the path, also known as the Bloomingdale Trail, next to Julia De Burgos Park. “I’m still worried about the pandemic but think that we’re going at a healthy pace when it comes to reopening.”
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Along with The 606, the lakefront and Chicago harbors opened to the public Monday but with restrictions as the city prepares to move to phase four Friday. Though most say they are glad to be back to their favorite trails, some worry whether the number of coronavirus cases will increase in the next weeks.
Navarro wasn’t wearing a face mask during her walk, but she said that the restrictions and guidelines set by the city are “appropriate” to avoid spreading the virus.
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Runners and walkers use the reopened 606 Bloomingdale Trail on Monday June 22, 2020, after Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot reopened the trail, along with the Lakefront Trail. Both had been closed for nearly three months due to the coronavirus pandemic. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)
“Once it gets crowded, I may need to put my face mask on if I feel uncomfortable,” Navarro said. “Right now, it is easy to social distance because there aren’t a lot of people out and we are encouraged to keep moving.”
Navarro, who lost her job at a spa when it was forced to close, said that, in the meantime, she will enjoy walks on The 606 while she looks for employment.
But some worry the lakefront and the trail will inevitably become crowded as summer heats up in Chicago.
Wearing a blue face mask, Spencer Williams said he only decided to visit the trail because it appeared to be deserted Monday afternoon after some rain passed through the city. “But I won’t come by in the evening when many more people will probably be here,” he added.
Williams, a Texas native, said that some of his family members tested positive for COVID-19, and though he is “glad” that Illinois is reopening at a slower pace than other states across the country, he admitted to being skeptical about what will happen here.
“The reopening just started, so we can’t see the effects of it yet,” Williams said. “I have to wait and see if numbers spike again to see what Chicago would do.”
During a news conference Monday, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said that although the city is moving forward in reopening, the administration is aware of the spike in coronavirus cases in other cities that have moved in similar directions in recent weeks. She encouraged Chicagoans to follow the restrictions established according to each phase.
Signs in English and Spanish adorn the Lakefront Trail and The 606, urging patrons to stay 6 feet apart, to “keep moving” and to wear face coverings.
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About 300 social distance ambassadors have been assigned to patrol the lakefront to ensure that people don’t congregate or lie on the beaches, and 20 more volunteered to watch over The 606, said Michele Lemons, the director of the Chicago Park District’s communications department.
Most ambassadors hold some sort of position within the Park District and were trained on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s guidelines and the restrictions set by the city, Lemons added.
At North Avenue Beach a group of ambassadors, all wearing light blue shirts and face masks, walked through the sand urging anyone standing or lying on the beach to keep moving. Several Chicago police officers also patrolled the area on bikes and some police cars were in the parking lot.
While many people wore face masks, many more did not.
Sara Khan and her friend Coco Shuster, who had masks with them but were not wearing them at the moment, also said they were excited when they heard the lakefront was opening up.
But they thought the beaches were also opening and were planning to get in some tanning at North Avenue Beach. Within a few minutes of setting up their towels, a group of ambassadors approached them to tell them they could not sit there.
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The two had assumed the beach was empty because of the weather. “It’s about time they reopen the beaches but with certain measures,” Khan said.
larodriguez@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-06-22--The Spin: Mayor Lightfoot stands by top cop on heels of violent weekend |  Lightfoot to NYT:  Rahm E

The Spin: Mayor Lightfoot stands by top cop on heels of violent weekend |  Lightfoot to NYT:  Rahm Emanuel and I are ‘not friends’ | South suburban officials resurrect push for region’s 3rd major airport

The calls from Chicago ’ s clergy-activists for elected leaders to address the problem came quickly .
The Rev .
@ @ @ @ @ West Side ’ s Greater St. John Bible Church , told WFLD-Fox 32 that he @ @ @ @ @ Gov .
J.B. Pritzker and President Donald Trump — all three first-time elected officeholders who @ @ @ @ @ — to act now .
“ I wish the president of the United States cared @ @ @ @ @ serious attention .
This is a disgrace , it is so unfortunate and our children @ @ @ @ @ , ” Acree said

Former Dallas police Chief David Brown appears with Mayor Lori Lightfoot at City Hall on April 2, 2020, where she announced he would be the next Chicago police superintendent. (Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune)
Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s announcement that Chicago along with the rest of the state would loosen coronavirus-related restrictions by week’s end — indoor restaurant dining returns sooner than expected — came on the heels of a grim Father’s Day weekend in which the city saw 106 people shot, 13 fatally, including a 3-year-old.
The calls from Chicago’s clergy-activists for elected leaders to address the problem came quickly. The Rev. Ira Acree, of the West Side’s Greater St. John Bible Church, told WFLD-Fox 32 that he was calling on Lightfoot, Gov. J.B. Pritzker and President Donald Trump — all three first-time elected officeholders who vowed to be change agents — to act now. “I wish the president of the United States cared because Chicago needs some real serious attention. This is a disgrace, it is so unfortunate and our children should not live like this,” Acree said
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The Rev. Michael Pfleger of the South Side’s St. Sabina Catholic Church, took to Twitter this morning calling the number people shot “war numbers” and saying that “we must demand resources to end violence like we did for the virus.”
Superintendent David Brown said, “I come to you again with obviously a high level of frustration and disappointment” over the violence. Brown, who’s from Texas, pushed back on questions he suggested made him sound like a “naïve” outsider with unrealistic goals of reducing crime.
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Lightfoot expressed her own frustration over being asked whether she still had confidence in Brown who’s just two months into the job.
Meantime, President Trump jump-started his in-person campaigning this weekend in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he failed to fill an arena and had to cancel a related outdoor event. As the finger-pointing unfolds over the lackluster attendance, his staffers are busy doing door-to-door work in battleground states such as Wisconsin. It underscores the pandemic’s political divide: As the Republican and his team return to so-called normal campaign mode, the Democrats seem to be sticking to virtual campaigning.
Welcome to The Spin.
An image of police officers lounging in the U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush's office is shown as Mayor Lori Lightfoot and police Superintendent David Brown listen in as Rush speaks during a news conference on June 11, 2020, at City Hall. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
We’re just getting to know him, but an admittedly “frustrated” — and even testy — Chicago police Superintendent David Brown told reporters today that some of the problems are linked to violent felons on the street and called for improvements in Cook County’s electronic monitoring program, in which defendants are released from jail to await trial while confined to their homes.
“There are too many violent offenders not in jail, or on electronic monitoring, which no one is really monitoring,” Brown said. “We need violent felons to stay in jail longer and we need improvements to the home monitoring system. We also must collaborate with our criminal justice partners to create a safer Chicago.”
Pressed during a news conference about who was to blame for electronic home monitoring — the state’s attorney, judges or the sheriff’s office — Brown got sharp: “I’m not into finger-pointing. I’m into collaborating ... is that a parlor game here? Finger-pointing?” Brown said, noting that it’s possible to “move the needle” by working together.
The former Dallas police chief bristled when asked whether he underestimated the violent crime in Chicago and whether his goal of lowering homicides in the city to 300 or lower for the year was unrealistic.
“There’s no easy button to cutting murder down to 300. ... What I will say if New York can do it, if LA can do it, there’s no reason why Chicago can’t do it,” Brown told reporters during an early afternoon news conference.
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Brown dismisses ‘shade’: Pressed about it again, the police superintendent said he saw the “shade” or slight in the line of questioning that suggested lowering shootings and killings was “naive” or “it can’t be done.” But, he said, “I believe in Chicago.”
Mayor still has confidence in Brown: At a separate news conference Lightfoot expressed support for her hand-picked police superintendent, saying she has no plans to seek to replace him.
“I can’t even believe someone would ask the question,” Lightfoot said after being asked at an unrelated news conference. “Superintendent Brown has been here for eight weeks. He’s a tremendous leader. He has walked into a very difficult circumstance.”
Racist graffiti found on Southwest Side preschool, alderman says: The Tribune’s John Byrne writes, “Ald. Raymond Lopez, 15th, said he learned about the incident on Sunday. Someone wrote a racial slur in permanent marker on the front of the Kiddy Kare Preschool & Kindergarten near the corner of 44th Street and Kedzie Avenue, Lopez said Monday in a news release.” Read the full story here.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot gets emotional during a press appearance near 51st Street and Lake Shore Drive in Chicago on Thursday, June 18, 2020, as she reacts to a question about the Supreme Court rejecting the Trump administration's bid to end Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)
In the aftermath of a Minneapolis police officer kneeling on the neck of a prone and handcuffed George Floyd for more than eight minutes, discussions about all manner of neck restraints by police have folded into the call for reforms. Former President Barack Obama called for a ban on them during an early June town hall — days after Floyd’s death — on policing in the U.S.
“Chokeholds are banned in Chicago,” Mayor Lightfoot told reporters during a June 4 news conference, answering a Spin question about Obama’s call to outlaw them altogether.
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Turns out the mayor’s four-word response didn’t tell the whole story, my colleagues Jeremy Gorner and William Lee note in a new story: “The Chicago Police Department toughened restrictions on the use of potentially lethal neck holds but did not completely ban them. Under a directive issued in February, restraints that cut the flow of blood to the brain were now regarded as deadly force to be used as a last resort, as chokeholds have been for years.”
On the campaign trail, Lightfoot said “CPD must be prohibited from using chokeholds, full stop,” Gorner and Lee’s story notes here. She told reporters she’s standing by that statement and is working on it.
History lesson: In 2015, then-Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner signed in to law a so-called police reform bill that banned officers statewide from using chokeholds unless deadly force was necessary.
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Indoor/outdoor patio with retractable glass roof at IO Rooftop at the Godfrey hotel. (Godfrey)
From the Tribune’s John Byrne and Rick Pearson: Chicago will move to phase four of reopening from the coronavirus this Friday along with the rest of the state, officials announced Monday.
That means museums, Lincoln Park Zoo and youth summer camps, along with indoor dining and other amenities, will be allowed to open “with limited capacities and appropriate safeguards,” according to Lightfoot’s office.
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City Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said the fact that Chicago has “actually blown right past the bench marks that we had set for moving to phase four” in terms of lowering the spread of the disease convinced Lightfoot to move ahead despite concerns about spikes in cases in other cities and states that have reopened their economies more quickly. Officials had talked about advancing July 1, but are comfortable doing it about a week earlier. Read the full story here.
Related: Campaigning in the time of COVID-19 - The Tribune’s Bill Ruthhart writes, “Whether the campaigning takes place on front porches and in living rooms or in Google Hangouts and on Zoom chats, the Republican and Democratic parties in the key Midwestern swing states of Wisconsin and Michigan can point to a far more organized, better funded and larger campaign ground game operations than they had four years ago. That means the work to engage and identify potential supporters has started earlier and on a larger scale than four years ago, officials with both parties said.”
Vice President Mike Pence to visit Milwaukee suburbs Tuesday with Betsy DeVos, Scott Walker: Read The Associated Press story here.
U.S. appeals court rejects effort to delay candidate filing rules for independent, third-party contenders: The Tribune’s Rick Pearson has the details here.
Politics drive divergent view of US economy, AP-NORC poll finds: Read the story here.
Former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel appears on ABC's "This Week With George Stephanopoulos." (ABC / HANDOUT)
So we already knew they weren’t pals, but Mayor Lightfoot pulled a Rahm Emanuel and gave up the goods to a national news outlet when she told The New York Times of her predecessor: “We’re not friends. I guess I’ll share with you something. He supposedly once said to somebody about me, ‘I gave her a platform, and a microphone, and she took it and shoved it up my (expletive).‘”
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It’s true that in 2015, Emanuel tapped her to chair the Chicago Police Board, the police disciplinary panel — elevating her stature at a time when calls for law enforcement reform were growing louder.
Lightfoot added: “Which, of course, is somewhat funny, but it implies that he created me. Which is ridiculous and insulting.” The Times reports that Emanuel denies saying that. Lightfoot talked to the newspaper about who may be hurt most by efforts to “defund” the police. Read the story here.
U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly, a Matteson Democrat, removes her face mask and speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington on May 27, 2020. (Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP)
From the Tribune’s Rick Pearson: “A host of local officials welcomed Amazon Inc.‘s decision Monday to open distribution centers in Matteson and Markham and the 2,000 jobs that go with them, but asked for more — a company decision to use the long proposed south suburban airport as an air cargo hub.”
U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly, a Matteson Democrat, said during a morning news conference that Amazon “is in all respects on the cutting edge of e-commerce. And with so many Amazon facilities emerging in the Chicago metro area, I am certain that we’re going to need a more accessible airport … that isn’t on the other side of Chicago.”
“A lot of the new Amazon facilities are within a few miles of the proposed South Suburban Airport. The growth opportunities here in the south suburbs are vast and a third airport would only multiply the existing opportunities,” she said at a ceremony at the Matteson Community Center. Read the full story here.
Thanks for reading The Spin, the Tribune’s politics newsletter. Sign up here to have it delivered to your inbox weekday afternoons. Have a tip? Email host Lisa Donovan at ldonovan@chicagotribune.com.
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Twitter @byldonovan


chicagotribune--2020-06-22--At least 106 people shot, 14 fatally, in Chicago weekend violence

“ I think what the superintendent said when he had this ambitious goal of 300 , he called it a @ @ @ @ @ .
“ And the idea was , not so much the number , but making @ @ @ @ @ the resources , both within the Police Department , but also with our various partners @ @ @ @ @ what each of us could to do more around public safety .
”

Paige Fry, Jeremy Gorner, Jessica Villagomez

Police work the scene where a person was fatally shot June 21, 2020, in the 6200 block of North Troy Street in the West Rogers Park neighborhood in Chicago. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)
At least 106 people were shot in Chicago, 14 of them fatally, from midafternoon Friday through early Monday, according to authorities and Tribune data.
It is the most people shot in one weekend since at least 2012 but not the deadliest this year, after more than 20 were killed over the last weekend in May, according to data compiled by the Tribune. Twelve of those shot this past weekend were younger than 18 years old. Five of those children died.
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Six shootings involved three or more victims. One drive-by shooting early Monday in the East Garfield Park neighborhood injured five, including a 16-year-old girl who was left in critical condition.
The Austin District, where 3-year-old Mekhi James was fatally shot Saturday afternoon, had the most shooting victims: 18.
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Mekhi James, 3, was fatally shot Saturday afternoon. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)
Monday afternoon, a somber Chicago police Superintendent David Brown said there are too many violent felons on the streets and made vague accusations about a failed electronic monitoring system to explain the exceptionally violent weekend.
Brown, in one of his first news conferences in the wake of a violent Chicago weekend, spoke of the devastation.
“On the heels of Father’s Day, I come to you again with obviously a high level of frustration and disappointment,” Brown said.
He offered no specifics on why violent felons remaining on the street too long were to blame for the weekend’s carnage. He also called for improvements in Cook County’s electronic monitoring program, in which defendants are released from jail to await trial on home confinement.
“There are too many violent offenders not in jail, or on electronic monitoring, which no one is really monitoring,” Brown said. “We need violent felons to stay in jail longer and we need improvements to the home monitoring system. We also must collaborate with our criminal justice partners to create a safer Chicago.”
As for what caused the violence, Brown offered few specifics on the conflicts that led to shootings.
Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 16 Myesha James, center, the mother of 3-year-old Mekhi James, hugs Charles Morrison, Mekhi's father, during a vigil for their son in the Austin neighborhood on June 22, 2020, in Chicago. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)
Mayor Lori Lightfoot expressed support Monday for Brown, saying she has no plans to seek to replace him.
“I can’t even believe someone would ask the question,” Lightfoot said. “Superintendent Brown has been here for eight weeks. He’s a tremendous leader. He has walked into a very difficult circumstance.”
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Regarding Brown’s public goal when he arrived to keep Chicago’s homicides for the year under 300, Lightfoot said the superintendent wanted to make it a commonly shared goal to drive down violent crime.
“I think what the superintendent said when he had this ambitious goal of 300, he called it a moonshot,” Lightfoot said. “And the idea was, not so much the number, but making sure that we rallied all the resources, both within the Police Department, but also with our various partners, to really focus on what each of us could to do more around public safety.”
The mayor defended the performance of police officers, saying they are facing an even tougher situation than usual because federal agencies aren’t doing their usual part to fight crime locally during the pandemic. And county officials are trying to keep the head count low at Cook County Jail to stop the spread of the virus there, meaning more people getting sent back out onto the street after arrests, Lightfoot said.
“Public safety in Chicago, like in most big cities, is a big ecosystem,” Lightfoot said. “There’s lots of different inputs and partners. And the challenge that we have faced is, while the Chicago Police Department has been out there, many other parts of that system have not been up to full complement.”
Lightfoot said she would convene a meeting with representatives of the Cook County state’s attorney’s office and the Cook County criminal court system this week “to talk about things each of us can do to step up to stem the violence that we saw this weekend.”
Sheriff Tom Dart’s office has long complained that its electronic monitoring program is stretched too thin — a condition the office alleges was exacerbated during the pandemic, when hundreds of detainees were released because of concerns about COVID-19 behind bars.
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Judges, not sheriffs, determine who is placed on monitoring, said Allison Peters, a spokeswoman for the office. And the number of people being monitored with ankle bracelets has grown by about 1,000 since the pandemic began, she said in a statement.
“This increase took place without any additional staff or funding allocated to EM (electronic monitoring), as emergency staffing efforts were focused in the Cook County Department of Corrections,” she wrote. “In the past, we have routinely made requests for additional funding for positions in EM, but budget restrictions did not allow for the increase.”
A spokesman for Chief Judge Timothy Evans said it was unclear what connection Brown was making between electronic monitoring and the weekend’s violence, but Evans “welcomes ideas to strengthen services for those who qualify for release while their cases are pending and they are presumed innocent.”
[ Neighbors outraged as toddler, 3 teens killed in weekend violence: ‘This is a horrific Father’s Day. This 3-year-old baby lost his life.’ ]
The northernmost shooting over the weekend, which left a man dead, took place about 6:20 p.m. Sunday in the 6200 block of North Troy Street in the West Rogers Park neighborhood, according to police.
Gary Tinder, 20, was walking north on Troy when someone approached him from behind and fired shots, police said.
Tinder was shot in the stomach and taken to Amita St. Francis Hospital in Evanston, where he was pronounced dead at 8:12 p.m., according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.
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“I can’t believe I was the last person to see that boy smile,” said a neighbor, who asked not to be named.
The neighbor was watering plants outside his home when he saw Tinder and gave him a friendly nod and smile. Afterward, he heard the shots.
Another neighbor, who asked to be identified only by his first name Izzy, said he has lived for six years in the neighborhood, which has a large Jewish population. He had never known of a shooting on his block before.
He was on the phone inside when the shooting took place. When he came outside, he saw Tinder on the sidewalk and another man tending to him and calling 911. Tinder’s skin looked pale, Izzy said.
After police cleared the scene outside Izzy’s house, he looked at the pool of blood on the sidewalk. He explained how in the Jewish religion, when someone is killed, the blood would have to be cleaned up and the rags used to clean it would have to be buried with the man. But he didn’t know if the man killed was Jewish and said he had not seen him before.
Izzy pointed to a mezuza on the outside of his home and said he wasn’t concerned for his safety in the neighborhood. His young daughter, who was riding her bike outside moments before the shooting, also shook her head “no” when asked if she was scared.
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“I’m sure the almighty God will keep protecting us,” he said.
In other killings overnight in Chicago:
Just after midnight early Monday, a 15-year-old boy was shot to death and another teen wounded in an attack in the Austin neighborhood, according to a police media notification. The two teens were walking in an alley near the 4700 block of West Superior Street when they were struck by bullets fired from what police said may have been gray sedan. The 15-year-old suffered gunshot wounds to the leg, chest and abdomen. He was taken to Stroger Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The other teen, a 16-year-old, was shot in the ankle and taken to Stroger in fair condition. No one was in custody, according to police.
In West Garfield Park about 4:30 a.m., a 41-year-old man was shot in the face by a man on the street in the 3800 block of West Harrison Street. The man was taken to Stroger Hospital in critical condition and pronounced dead about 5:30 a.m. A possible suspect was taken into custody for questioning after witnesses near the scene identified the person, police said in a media notification.
A 30-year-old man was walking in the 100 block of South Washtenaw Avenue in the East Garfield Park neighborhood when someone shots from the alley about 4:20 a.m. Monday, according to police. The man suffered a gunshot wound to the neck and was taken to Stroger Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. No one was in custody.
Two men were shot, one of them fatally, about 7:30 p.m. Sunday in the 800 block of North Springfield Avenue in the Humboldt Park neighborhood, according to authorities. Toby Boens, 22, whose home address wasn’t immediately available, was pronounced dead at 7:49 p.m. at Stroger Hospital, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office, which determined following an autopsy Monday that Boens died of multiple gunshot wounds. Another man, also in his 20s, was in critical condition at Stroger following the shooting, according to a police media notification. Police only said that the two men “were on foot when they were discovered to have gunshot wounds,” and gave no other description of what happened.
Check back for more information.
Chicago Tribune’s John Byrne and Annie Sweeney contributed.
pfry@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-06-22--Thunderstorms with gusty winds, large hail hit Chicago area as flash flood warning declared for part

Thunderstorms with gusty winds, large hail hit Chicago area as flash flood warning declared for parts of Cook, DuPage counties

Several round of severe thunderstorm warnings were declared Monday afternoon , as storms dumped 1.76 inches of rain on Lombard @ @ @ @ @ Park and four semitrucks were blown over on Interstate 55 near Arsenal Road , according @ @ @ @ @ .

A heavy rain comes down as a man walks past Diversey Harbor in Chicago on June 22, 2020. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)
Strong thunderstorms hit the Chicago area Monday afternoon, with the potential for more severe storms in the evening.
Several round of severe thunderstorm warnings were declared Monday afternoon, as storms dumped 1.76 inches of rain on Lombard and 1-inch hail in Franklin Park and four semitrucks were blown over on Interstate 55 near Arsenal Road, according to the National Weather Service.
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A flash flood warning was in effect until 7:45 p.m. for eastern DuPage and northeastern Cook counties, as another severe thunderstorm warning was in effect until 6:30 p.m. for north-central Cook County, as a storm with 60 mph wind gusts and heavy rains headed east from Des Plaines.
“Torrential rainfall is occurring with this storm, and may lead to flash flooding. Do not drive your vehicle through flooded roadways,” the weather service said in one warning bulletin.
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Strong to severe storms developing on along and east of I-55. Storms will have frequent lightning, strong winds with gusts up to 60 mph, quarter sized hail, and heavy downpours. Storms are moving to the northeast at 20 mph. #ilwx #inwx pic.twitter.com/lpwq0lYHKT — NWS Chicago (@NWSChicago) June 22, 2020
Storms were expected to end around 8 or 9 p.m., but light showers may continue into the evening.
For more on the weather forecast, check the Tribune’s weather page.


chicagotribune--2020-06-22--Reputed Chicago mob enforcer ordered released from prison due to COVID-19 concerns

As of Monday , more than 6,300 federal inmates at institutions across the country had contracted the coronavirus , and @ @ @ @ @ of complications from COVID-19 , according to statistics from the U.S. Bureau of Prisons .

Reputed Outfit enforcer Mario Rainone has been ordered released from federal prison immediately due to health concerns amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber granted Rainone’s request in an eight-page decision directing prison officials to release the aging mobster on time served, court records show.
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Mario Rainone. (Illinois Department of Corrections)
Rainone, 65, has spent nearly half his life behind bars on a wide range of convictions, from extorting deadbeat borrowers with death threats to throwing a grenade onto the roof of an Oak Park theater in a ploy to take over the business.
Most recently, he had been serving a 15-year prison sentence on a gun possession conviction that was supposed to keep him locked up until 2028.
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Last month, Rainone filed a motion asking for release to home confinement due to a variety of ailments that make him particularly susceptible to COVID-19, including prostate cancer, chronic liver disease and heart problems.
His lawyer, Joseph Lopez, also argued that Rainone has been a model prisoner and is no longer a threat to society. He requested to live with his daughter and grandchildren in the suburbs and work at his brother’s jewelry business.
Prosecutors objected, writing in response that Rainone was a career criminal who has showed in the past that he incapable of living a law-abiding life.
In his opinion, Leinenweber wrote that releasing Rainone was a “close” call, but the fact that his last conviction for any violent crime was nearly 30 years ago.
“The court is optimistic that Rainone understands that given his long criminal history and his advancing age, he is likely to spend the rest of his natural life imprisoned if he breaks the law again,” Leinenweber wrote.
Lopez said Monday that Leinenweber “did the right thing” despite the attempt by prosecutors to paint Rainone as a violent man.
“He was arrested for having an unloaded gun, and he served a substantial amount of time for it,” Lopez said. “(Prosecutors) tried to blacken his eyes as best they could and the judge looked through it.”
Rainone was expected to fly back Monday night to Chicago, where his brother was planning to grill some steaks by the pool, Lopez said.
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The U.S. attorney’s office could immediately be reached for comment.
As of Monday, more than 6,300 federal inmates at institutions across the country had contracted the coronavirus, and at least 87 had died of complications from COVID-19, according to statistics from the U.S. Bureau of Prisons.
At the Minnesota medical prison where Rainone was housed, however, there are no inmates — and only one staff member — who have tested positive for COVID-19, according to the prison bureau numbers.
Rainone was convicted by a federal jury in 2013 of having a loaded Smith & Wesson .357-caliber handgun on his nightstand at his Addison home. Authorities searched the residence after Rainone and an accomplice were caught coming out of a Lincolnshire condo building with jewelry and cash stuffed in their coats.
At his sentencing hearing, Assistant U.S. Attorney Amarjeet Bhachu noted a previous judge had labeled Rainone an “urban terrorist” who had no respect for the law.
“If you give him the opportunity, he will go out and commit crime,” Bhachu said. “He will hurt people. He will take their property.”
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Rainone’s colorful mob history dates to the 1980s, when he was identified as an associate of legendary mob bosses Lenny Patrick and Gus Alex.
According to federal court documents, Rainone became an informant for the feds in 1989 after he thought Patrick was setting him up to be killed. He was taken into witness protection, but he later refused to cooperate with authorities after an explosive device damaged his mother’s porch, according to court records.
At Alex’s blockbuster trial in 1992, several business owners testified about being terrorized by Rainone, who threatened to kill them and their families — maybe putting their heads on poles as an example — if they didn’t pay.
Even after he was sentenced to a lengthy prison term, Rainone didn’t stop his criminal ways, according to prosecutors.
In 2010, he was convicted of bribing a corrupt guard to smuggle him salami and other Italian treats into a Wisconsin federal prison, records show.
jmeisner@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-06-22--Customer sought in beating death of Orland Park man who owned New Lenox business

The Will County sheriff 's office is asking the public for help identifying the man in the photo , who @ @ @ @ @ the June 12 beating of a New Lenox business owner .

Police are seeking the public’s help identifying a man they said attacked the owner of a New Lenox window tinting business at his shop earlier this month.
The victim, 39-year-old Wayne Deutsch, of Orland Park, died of his injuries five days later.
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The Will County sheriff’s office released an image Monday of a bearded man described as a suspect in the beating.
The Will County sheriff's office is asking the public for help identifying the man in the photo, who is considered a suspect in the June 12 beating of a New Lenox business owner. (Will County sheriff's office)
Police said he was a customer who had driven to Shades of Darkness Window Tinting, 13957 W. Illinois Highway, June 12 to demand a refund for tinting he’d paid for on his vehicle.
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The man exchanged words with Deutsch and then left the store before returning moments later to start a physical confrontation with the business owner, the sheriff’s office said in a statement.
He beat Deutsch to the ground and then fled in a dark-colored Chrysler 300 with tinted windows, police said
Deutsch spoke with police on the scene after the assault, but would not provide them the identity of his attacker, according to the sheriff’s office.
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He refused medical treatment at the time, but ended up being admitted to the hospital in the following days after his condition worsened, police said.
Deutsch, who was diagnosed with multiple broken ribs and fluid in his lungs, died June 17 at Palos Community Hospital.
The Cook County medical examiner’s office last week ruled his death a homicide caused by the accumulation of blood around his lungs, multiple rib fractures and an assault.
The Will County sheriff’s office, which is leading the investigation into Deutsch’s death, said in a statement that it was following all leads on the active case.
Investigators ask anyone able to identify the suspect or provide information about the attack to contact Detective Sean Moran at 815-727-8574, Ext. 4914.
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zkoeske@tribpub.com
Twitter @ZakKoeske


chicagotribune--2020-06-22--Northwest Indiana state legislators support banning police choke holds; ‘I think police departments

Northwest Indiana state legislators support banning police choke holds; ‘I think police departments know  they need to rethink training'

“ There ’ s a variety of issues that need to be addressed ...
I think the untimely death of @ @ @ @ @ is at the forefront , ” Melton said .
“ I think at the core @ @ @ @ @ is to create a committee to review the policies of law enforcement across the state @ @ @ @ @ impact on communities .
”

Indiana legislators are beginning to discuss banning police choke holds, followed be a recommendation from the Indiana Black Legislative Caucus earlier this month. (Alexandra Kukulka / Post-Tribune)
Northwest Indiana state legislators are signaling their support for banning choke holds by police, with Democratic candidates supporting the Indiana Black Legislative Caucus’ two-phase plan to address police reform.
As legislators across the country grapple with how to approach police reform, the quickest action taken addresses police choke holds following George Floyd’s death after a Minneapolis police officer held a knee in his neck. Indiana legislators are also beginning to discuss banning police choke holds.
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Earlier this month, the Indiana Black Legislative Caucus released a two-phase plan toward justice reform, with the second phase offering different legislative action for the upcoming January 2021 session including public reporting of lethal force used by police.
The first phase — called immediate action — calls for Governor Eric Holcomb to sign an executive order “to immediately ban law enforcement from using choke hold restraints, or other means of restraint that cut off the ability to breathe,” according to a press release.
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If the governor doesn’t take action, according to the release, then the caucus urges local mayors, city councils and police departments to establish a policy “that outlaws the use of a choke hold restraint.”
“It’s necessary. The bottom line is if it’s utilized the end result tends to be death,” said Senator Lonnie Randolph, D-East Chicago, a member of the Indiana Black Legislative Caucus.
The caucus also called on the governor to establish a Statewide Criminal Justice Commission “to examine every aspect of our state’s criminal justice system and recommend comprehensive criminal justice reform, including the eradication of racist policing policies,” and for local leaders to establish Independent Civilian Review Boards, to review complaints of police violence, according to the release.
State Senator Eddie Melton, D-Gary, a member of the Indiana Black Legislative Caucus, said the governor has not yet responded to the caucus’ recommendations. Randolph said the governor has reached out to the caucus chairperson to schedule a meeting.
A spokeswoman for Holcomb’s office said Tuesday the caucus “is one of many organizations the governor is listening to.” When asked about the caucus’ proposals during COVID-19 press conference earlier this month, Holcomb said his office is “taking a lot of time to make sure that we hear from everyone that shares these concerns and we’re not exclusionary.”
But, the caucus is prepared to continue working on legislation to address police reform, Melton said, which includes banning choke holds by police officers.
“There’s a variety of issues that need to be addressed ... I think the untimely death of George Floyd is why it is at the forefront,” Melton said. “I think at the core of all of this ... is to create a committee to review the policies of law enforcement across the state that have a historically racist impact on communities.”
State senator Eddie Melton responds to a question about the fate of Gary's Roosevelt High School during a public meeting on Saturday, February 15, 2020. (Kyle Telechan / Post-Tribune)
In 2015, Melton said he was a part of a group of people invited to review the plan proposed by former President Barack Obama’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing, which detailed national, state and local police reform measures.
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“We have a road map and we have to address these issues,” Melton said. “We have a lot of work to do nationally and in Indiana, to collect data,” adding that there should be a police database that tracks complaints against police officers “so they can’t go department to department, state to state, knowing they have a record,” he said.
State Rep. Mike Aylesworth, R-Hebron, said he supports banning choke holds by police officers, and for police departments to reshape their training.
“I think police departments know now they need to rethink training,” Aylesworth said.
State Senator Rick Niemeyer, R-Cedar Lake, said that he wouldn’t want to mandate police reform without “talking to everyone involved” at the local level. But, he said he’d support reviewing the use of choke holds.
“It’s pretty evident that choke holds aren’t working,” Niemeyer said. “It doesn’t make sense to me to use choke holds.”
Senator(R-Lowell) Rick Niemeyer discuses his optimism to see testing on the agenda for next year. Jim Karczewski/Post-Tribune (Jim Karczewski / Post-Tribune)
State Rep. Chris Chyung, D-Dyer, said he supports the police reforms outlined by the Indiana Black Legislative Caucus. But, Chyung said he’d also like to push for legislation that addresses issues, like mental health, so that residents have the support they need so that police officers have fewer calls.
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“I would like to learn more about the ramifications of a choke hold ban from the Black caucus since I wouldn’t want us to implement a narrow reform and call it a day without addressing mental health and ways to reduce poverty,” Chyung said.
While there have been calls to defund police, police funding shouldn’t be taken away, the state officials said, but they each had different ideas for how to allocate the money.
Chyung and Aylesworth agreed that funds should be reallocated to invest in community resources. Randolph said he believes when people say “defund police,” they don’t mean eliminating police departments — which he says can’t be done — but rather fundamental police reform.
“I don’t think (defunding the police) is an effective slogan, but I do think we need police reform and better training ... and smartly allocating resources,” Chyung said.
In order to “minimize” police response to certain calls, there needs to be reform in policing and training, Melton said.
“We need to rethink how we approach policing in this country,” Melton said.


chicagotribune--2020-06-22--U.S. appeals court rejects effort to delay candidate filing rules for independent, third-party conte

U.S. appeals court rejects effort to delay candidate filing rules for independent, third-party contenders

“ We deny the motion because the board has not shown that it would be irreparably harmed by injunctive relief @ @ @ @ @ and because staying the preliminary injunction at this late date would result in clear harm @ @ @ @ @ relied on its terms , ” the appellate panel said .

A federal appeals court panel has rejected an effort by state elections officials to delay a lower court ruling setting up new candidate filing rules for independent and third-party contenders to appear on the Nov. 3 general election ballot due to the coronavirus pandemic.
In a ruling Sunday, a panel of the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected an attempt by the State Board of Elections to stay federal Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer’s mid-May preliminary injunction that made it easier for independent and third-party candidates to access the ballot due to personal distancing rules implemented to deal with COVID-19.
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“We deny the motion because the board has not shown that it would be irreparably harmed by injunctive relief that it initially agreed to and because staying the preliminary injunction at this late date would result in clear harm to the plaintiffs who have relied on its terms,” the appellate panel said.
In mid-May, Pallmeyer ruled that third-party and independent candidates had until July 20 to submit petitions and reinstated an earlier ruling that those candidates only need to collect 10% of the previously required number of signatures and can gather them electronically.
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Pallmeyer’s earlier ruling also allowed the Green and Libertarian parties to field presidential, vice presidential, U.S. Senate and selected congressional candidates on the general election ballot without the normal petition-gathering process because they had fielded candidates for those offices in 2016 or 2018.
Originally, state law set Monday as the filing deadline for those candidates.
Attorneys for the state election board sought the appeal of Pallmeyer’s ruling on June 6, contending she exceeded the court’s authority in dictating how Illinois could conduct its election. It also contended the state would fail to meet deadlines for sending absentee ballots to military and overseas voters.
But the appeals court said state election officials were aware of the deadline for sending out overseas and military ballots when it had originally agreed to extend the filing deadline.
It also said board attorneys failed to “acknowledge the serious safety concerns and substantial limitations on public gatherings that animated the parties’ initial agreement and persist despite some loosening of restrictions in recent weeks.”
The panel set a deadline for July 6 to decide whether further briefs or oral arguments would be necessary in the case.
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chicagotribune--2020-06-22--2 women dead, 1 other wounded in domestic shooting in Gresham neighborhood

The 27-year-old woman had been shot once in the head and was pronounced dead at the scene , according to @ @ @ @ @ The 56-year-old was struck in the arm , leg and stomach , police said .
@ @ @ @ @ at the scene , said Officer Anthony Spicuzza , a Chicago police spokesman .

A Chicago police officer escorts a distraught woman to a police vehicle near where three women were shot June 22, 2020, in the 8600 block of South Wood Street. (Erin Hooley/Chicago Tribune)
Two women were fatally shot in the Gresham neighborhood early Monday afternoon, while another woman suffered gunshot wounds in the same domestic attack, police said.
Around 12:45 p.m., police responded to a call in the 8600 block of South Wood Street, where they found three women: a 22-year-old, a 27-year-old and a 56-year-old, all with gunshot wounds.
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Near the shooting, traffic slowed on busy West 87th Street as people lowered their car windows to look at the scene or ask what happened.
A dozen people stood in the parking lot of Jamison’s Soul Food, speaking to each other and on cellphones. One person held up a black umbrella as heavy rains had passed through the area earlier.
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One man on his phone asked, “Are you over here?” He then told the other caller that two women had been killed and were lying in the street.
Two bodies lay within a few yards of each other, both covered in white sheets.
A visibly distraught woman was escorted by police officers into the passenger side of a police car with its lights on. She stayed in the car for a while but got out again and walked toward the scene before being stopped by two officers and returned to the vehicle.
After a time officers moved police cars to block the view of the bodies as more detectives arrived.
The 27-year-old woman had been shot once in the head and was pronounced dead at the scene, according to Chicago police media notification. The 56-year-old was struck in the arm, leg and stomach, police said. She also was pronounced dead at the scene, said Officer Anthony Spicuzza, a Chicago police spokesman.
The 22-year-old woman was struck in the shoulder and taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center. Police did not have information on her condition.
The attacker was known to police but had not been taken into custody yet, police said.


chicagotribune--2020-06-22--Chicago will join rest of Illinois in advancing to next phase in coronavirus reopening on Friday

“ Really , our local epidemiology will direct that decision , and our goal is to not see what we @ @ @ @ @ lot of other states around the country that have moved very quickly into a wide @ @ @ @ @ some of those spikes and increases , ” she said .
“ Our goal is @ @ @ @ @ just as quickly as it is relatively safe for us to do so , in @ @ @ @ @ industries .
”

The Fulton Market area of Chicago is no longer the ghost town it was during the depths of the COVID-19 virus pandemic shutdown. As restrictions on restaurants are eased, a worker takes a woman's temperature before she can enter Federales restaurant on Morgan Street on July 1, 2020. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)
Chicagoans got a bit of unexpected news on the coronavirus reopening front Monday, as Mayor Lori Lightfoot said she would move the city to the next stage this Friday along with the rest of the state.
That means museums, the Lincoln Park Zoo and youth summer camps, along with indoor dining, gyms, movie theaters and other amenities, will be allowed to open “with limited capacities and appropriate safeguards,” according to Lightfoot’s office.
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Masks should still be worn in public, and people should stay 6 feet away from each other to avoid the resurgence of the disease as seen in other cities, the mayor said.
[ Illinois will enter phase 4 of its coronavirus reopening plan Friday. Here’s a guide to what’s allowed. ]
The announcement allowed Lightfoot to deliver a welcome jolt to businesses and home-weary residents, many of whom are desperate to get back to work after months of unemployment or reduced wages as the economy shut down during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Officials had been pointing to a possible July 1 move to the next step in Lightfoot’s five-part coronavirus plan.
But city Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said the fact that Chicago has “actually blown right past the bench marks that we had set for moving to phase four” in terms of lowering the spread of the disease convinced the mayor to move ahead despite concerns about spikes in cases in other cities and states that have reopened their economies more quickly.
Runners and walkers use the reopened 606 Bloomingdale trail on June 22, 2020. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)
Still, on the day she reopened the Lakefront Trail and The 606 elevated trail, Lightfoot on Monday struck a stern pose, as has been the meme-ready norm for her throughout the crisis.
She highlighted differences between Chicago and the rest of the state, and called on residents and visitors to keep following the rules, lest she be forced to stop the reopening.
“We’re denser, more residents take public transit and we’re an international air hub,” the mayor said. “That is why anyone who is in Chicago must remember to follow the Chicago-specific guidelines. I want to reiterate something I said when we entered phase three: Under no circumstances should our move to phase four be confused with this crisis being over. COVID-19 is still very much part of our present in Chicago, and it will be for the foreseeable future.”
Arwady said that the city had left open the possibility of moving to the next stage with the rest of the state on Friday if Chicago exceeded the metrics for new coronavirus cases.
“It’s already the potential for some confusion among people living here in Chicago if they’re hearing about different dates that the state is moving versus dates that the city is moving, and so first I think there’s a practical consideration that if we felt like we were there, we wanted to be able to move at the same time,” Arwady said. “But more importantly the data really let us know that we were there.”
According to Lightfoot’s plan, Chicago won’t move on to phase five until there’s a coronavirus vaccine. But she left herself a lot of room to continue to “turn up the dimmer switch” on a return to normal within phase four.
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Initially, indoor gatherings in phase four will be limited to no more than 50 people per space and 25% of overall capacity, and outdoor gatherings to no more than a hundred. But Arwady said those numbers could be loosened further in coming weeks if Chicago’s daily cases continue to fall.
“Really, our local epidemiology will direct that decision, and our goal is to not see what we’ve seen in a lot of other states around the country that have moved very quickly into a wide reopening and then have seen some of those spikes and increases,” she said. “Our goal is to continue to move ahead just as quickly as it is relatively safe for us to do so, in partnership with all of our industries.”
Continue wearing masks and avoiding close contact with people, Arwady said.
“And if we keep seeing the progress that we’ve been seeing, I do think within phase four we’ll be able to further loosen those restrictions,” she said. “But I feel good about the fact that we’re moving forward, but we need people to keep wearing those face coverings, keeping that 6-foot distance and doing all the things we can do to keep Chicago on the good track that we’ve been.”
The mayor kicked off her Monday news conference by saying there will be no fans in the stands for professional sports in phase four, but later left herself some wiggle room.
“My expectation, in the short term, is that they will reopen with no fans in the stands,” she said of Major League Baseball and perhaps professional hockey. “My hope is that over time we will get to a place where we can start to see some fans in the seats in stadiums and other venues.”
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As professional sports leagues have a lot of say in the way they will handle the situation, so, too, will high school sports practices and games this summer largely be dictated by decisions made by the Illinois High School Association, she said.
The Art Institute will be recommending people who want to get in there at the end of next month with the reduced 25% capacity and no more than 50 people per room go online to make a reservation for a certain time. The Lincoln Park Zoo also will be requiring such reservations to get in, officials said on a conference call with reporters.
Gyms will get to open for people to work out inside with strict rules. Deputy Mayor Samir Mayekar noted the “slightly higher risk in the indoor setting when people are exercising.”
In addition to requiring patrons to wear masks and adhering to the lower capacity, gyms will need to space equipment 6 feet apart or put up an “impermeable barrier” between machines, said Tanya Triche Dawood of the Illinois Retail Merchants Association.
Indoor workout classes will be allowed, with up to 50 people per class and 6 feet between attendees, Dawood said. Locker rooms and showers will be allowed to open, but saunas, steam rooms and other areas “where there just isn’t an opportunity to do 6-foot distancing” will need to remain closed, she said on a Monday call with reporters.
The city expects an additional 200,000 workers to reenter the city’s workforce in phase four, Mayekar said.
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But Chicago beaches and public pools will remain closed for the time being, Arwady said. People do a bad job staying away from each other when they’re in the water, she said.
With Illinois set to move into its next reopening phase on Friday, Gov. J.B. Pritzker also announced guidelines for businesses and activities to move forward, including spectator and youth sports, museums, theaters, zoos and gyms. The rules generally increase public gathering limits from the current 10 people to 50 or limits based on the size of gathering places.
Masks or face coverings will still be required, as will social distancing.
Lightfoot has the authority to set stricter rules for Chicago than Pritzker’s statewide framework, but she can’t enact looser ones. That has led to tension over restaurants — Lightfoot has urged Pritzker to allow limited indoor restaurant dining, which the governor has refused.
Chicago moved into phase three on June 1, three days after the rest of the state. At that point, nonessential manufacturing and retail were allowed to resume with distancing requirements and other restrictions, and restaurants were allowed to offer outside dining.
Lightfoot unveiled her five-phase guidelines for reopening on May 8. The fifth phase, dubbed “Protect,” would only happen when there’s a vaccine, all businesses can reopen and “non-vulnerable individuals” can resume working, according to Lightfoot and the standards set out by Pritzker.
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Under Pritzker’s statewide plan, meeting and venue spaces, including weddings and funerals, can resume Friday with gatherings of up to 50 people or half of overall room capacity. Indoor dining is an exception at 25% of capacity and limited to dining groups of 10 or fewer with tables spaced 6 feet apart.
Museums and zoos also are limited to the 25% occupancy rule with tours limited to 50 people or fewer while movie theaters and preforming arts centers are limited to 50 guests or half of capacity.
Outdoor spectator sports can resume with no more than 20% of seating capacity and concessions permitted with restrictions.
Pritzker also issued revised rules to allow competitive youth and recreational spots. Venues can operate at half capacity with 20% seating of spectators. Groups of up to 50 may participate in practice and competitive games with social distancing required.
New guidelines allow gyms to open at 50% capacity and allow group fitness classes of up to 50 people.
Water-based activities also will be allowed at day camps, with no more than 50% of facility capacity and group sizes of 15 participants or less.
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Pritzker said the state’s move into the new phase will bring approximately 400,000 people back to the workplace across all industries, representing 7% of the state’s workforce. The return will account for an estimated $30 billion in annual GDP, Pritzker’s office said.
jebyrne@chicagotribune.com
rap30@aol.com


Fatal shooting

A 3-year-old boy died after being shot Saturday in the city ’ s South Austin neighborhood , Chicago police said @ @ @ @ @ his father , 27 , who police say was the intended target , when they @ @ @ @ @ in the 600 block of North Central Avenue , on the West Side , said @ @ @ @ @ police spokesman .

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