chicagotribune--2020-07-17--Company that runs huge hemp greenhouse near Starved Rock wants to break into Illinois marijuana mark

Company that runs huge hemp greenhouse near Starved Rock wants to break into Illinois marijuana market — if it can get license

In addition , one full-scale growing license remains from the original 21 medical marijuana licenses that Illinois awarded in 2015 @ @ @ @ @ for each of the state police districts in the state , but the last license @ @ @ @ @ patrols the tollways .
State regulators said they would not give it out because it @ @ @ @ @ and would be impossible to use .
Red White and Bloom pushed for legislation to @ @ @ @ @ that license , but the measure was never voted on and is seen as a @ @ @

Just west of Starved Rock, under 80 acres of glass, one of the largest greenhouses in North America once produced orchids and poinsettias for big-box stores. Now, that production capacity has been converted to growing hemp — billed as the largest such greenhouse in the country.
Hemp — grown from the same species of cannabis plant that produces marijuana, but without the high — produces CBD oil, a product that has taken off as a popular mainstream supplement, and smokable hemp flower, the latest niche market for the plant.
Advertisement
The company that runs the facility, Red White and Bloom Brands Inc., reached a deal in June to brand its stores and products under the name High Times, after the industry’s iconic magazine. Reversing a trend whereby marijuana producers moved into the hemp business, Red White and Bloom plans to expand from hemp to break into the legal adult-use cannabis market in Illinois — if it can get a license.
An employee processes hemp at the Red White and Bloom hemp growing facility in Granville, Illinois, on July 2, 2020. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)
One analyst warns, though, that moving from hemp to marijuana can be rewarding but very risky. And the cavernous greenhouse could ironically be limited to the smallest category of marijuana growing licensed in the state.
Advertisement
By going public on the Canadian stock exchange this spring, Red White and Bloom is following a model that several other big cannabis companies pioneered two years ago. But when many of those companies kept losing money, stock prices plummeted last year. Some companies that invested millions of dollars have gone bankrupt, and investment money is drying up.
CEO Brad Rogers remains optimistic about the company’s chances. Red White and Bloom plans to produce CBD as a pharmaceutical-grade ingredient, he said, so it can be used in drug formulations. In addition, the industry’s latest hot-selling product is smokable CBD flower, in bags or as cigarettes at convenience stores and truck stops. It looks like marijuana but contains less than 0.3% THC, the component that can get users stoned.
Hemp plants at Red White and Bloom in Granville, Illinois, on July 2, 2020. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)
CBD’s effects largely remain unproven, except for its use to reduce seizures in rare forms of epilepsy, which has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. But many users swear that it helps them relax by reducing inflammation and pain.
Hemp’s great advantage over marijuana is that its production was legalized in the 2018 federal farm bill (and hemp products were allowed to be imported before that). That means it can be legally transported and sold nationwide and online, and can be financed through banks and with tax deductions, as opposed to marijuana, which remains federally illegal, and must remain in the state where it was produced.
The two worlds will merge somewhat this year, as Illinois regulators will allow licensed cannabis cultivators to buy hemp for use in medical and recreational products.
“It’s definitely a huge opportunity,” Rogers said. “This isn’t going away. This is the end of prohibition. These jobs are going to stay, solid, well-paying jobs.”
The greenhouse employs some 300 people, from entry-level trimmers to horticulturalists and administrators. Red White and Bloom acquired the facility in June 2019, and reported harvesting its first wholesale crop of 60 tons of hemp last fall, producing 12 to 16% CBD.
Most marijuana cultivation centers in Illinois, which are required to grow indoors, measure their size in the tens of thousands of square feet. Red White and Bloom’s greenhouse covers 3.6 million feet, and benefits from using sunlight rather than electric light, though it spends more on heating.
Advertisement
Processing hemp at the Red White and Bloom facility in Granville, Illinois, on July 2, 2020. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)
Most hemp farmers grow outdoors, where production costs are cheaper, though limited by the weather. The greenhouse allows for greater control of growing conditions, and four harvests a year.
Complicating matters, new cannabis licenses in Illinois for now are limited to only 10,000 square feet. Competition for those licenses is fierce, with only 40 available. State regulators have indefinitely delayed awarding those licenses, citing the coronavirus.
In addition, one full-scale growing license remains from the original 21 medical marijuana licenses that Illinois awarded in 2015. One license was given for each of the state police districts in the state, but the last license was for the district that patrols the tollways. State regulators said they would not give it out because it lies on tollway land, and would be impossible to use. Red White and Bloom pushed for legislation to force the state to award that license, but the measure was never voted on and is seen as a long shot.
Daywatch Weekdays Start each day with Chicago Tribune editors' top story picks, delivered to your inbox. By submitting your email to receive this newsletter, you agree to our Subscriber Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy >
At the same time, the company has applied for new craft grower licenses in Illinois. But those licenses are limited to 10,000 square feet. Competition is fierce, with 455 applications for only 40 available. The Illinois Department of Agriculture has indefinitely delayed awarding those licenses, citing the coronavirus.
State regulators may also create licenses for new full-scale recreational pot growers after July 1, 2021, based on supply and demand. The Illinois market has been plagued with shortages ever since the legal recreational market opened on New Year’s Day this year.
Back in the hemp market, with the rush to grow the first legal commercial crop last year, overproduction has saturated the market, and prices plummeted, which concerns people like Bethany Gomez, managing director of Chicago-based market researcher Brightfield Group.
Advertisement
Still, hemp grew from a $600 million market to $4 billion last year, and Brightfield projects it will reach $20 billion in sales by 2025. It remains smaller than the cannabis industry, projected at $18 billion this year, but hemp is growing much faster. While CBD is available now in general retail stores only in lotions, hemp producers are hoping for FDA approval to use it in edible drops and drinks, as state-legal cannabis dealers are doing.
Small plants are moved to their final pots at the Red White and Bloom hemp growing facility in Granville, Illinois, on July 2, 2020. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)
Red White and Bloom, based in Toronto, is trying to be a large multistate operator, a field where it’s following other companies, some of which have gotten pummeled due to high investment costs and lack of profits, Gomez said. Several such companies based in Illinois, such as Cresco Labs, GTI and PharmaCann, already dominate the market in Illinois.
Despite the recent economic shutdown caused by the coronavirus, the cannabis industry has proven recession-proof, thanks to state governments giving special permission to operate as an essential businesses. Illinois set another monthly record for sales in June, at nearly $48 million. And Illinois is among the states with the most immediate potential for growth, along with Massachusetts, Michigan and Florida, where Red White and Bloom is focusing.
“What Red White and Bloom is trying does throw up some red flags,” Gomez said. But if it can survive the current market shake-up, “that is the model that will likely succeed in the future.”


chicagotribune--2020-07-17--What is herd immunity? And how do we get there on COVID-19?

She compares illnesses caused by coronaviruses to the common cold caused by rhinoviruses .
People can get colds from rhinoviruses @ @ @ @ @ wear off .
That , she added , makes it highly unlikely that herd immunity @ @ @ @ @ even be achieved .
Everyone would have to get sick within a few months of @ @ @ @ @ later it could all wear off — after overwhelming the health care system .

Paca Kujtim of Arlington Heights self-administers a COVID-19 test in his car at the Arlington International Racecourse on March 31, 2021 in Arlington Heights. Kujtim was getting testing as a precaution for upcoming travel. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)
Add to the pandemic lexicon another once-obscure term that’s come into common usage: “herd immunity.”
Along with “flatten the curve,” “social distancing” and “super spreader,” it’s a phrase that prior to COVID-19 was casually uttered mainly by epidemiologists and public health officials. But while the meanings of those other terms are now clear to many, herd immunity is a concept that is more complex, more nuanced and often misunderstood, scientists say.
Advertisement
For example: With no end to the pandemic in sight, some public figures are arguing that nearly all restrictions and required precautions should be lifted so enough people become sick to achieve herd immunity.
But epidemiologists and other public health experts say that’s a really lousy idea.
Advertisement
“It’ll kill millions of people,” said Dr. Robert Murphy, executive director of the Institute for Global Health at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. “Millions of people will die.”
So, what is herd immunity? Is it a good thing? And, if it is, what’s the best way to achieve it?
What is herd immunity?
Herd immunity occurs when enough people become immune to a particular disease to make it extremely difficult for the disease to continue spreading.
Dr. Emily Landon, executive medical director of infection prevention and control at University of Chicago Medicine, explains it this way:
People “are either contagious, susceptible or immune. The more contagious people you have and the more susceptible people you have, the more transmission there’s going to be,” she said. “The more people that are immune, the less likely it is that a contagious person is going to have contact with a susceptible person.”
Immunity can develop through illness, vaccination or both. The human body can form two types of antibodies, plus T-cells, all of which may work to kill, defang or block the virus from invading cells. Vaccines are designed to trigger those mechanisms without making people ill.
Dr. Emily Landon, executive medical director of infection prevention and control at University of Chicago Medicine, appears with Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot at Gov. J.B. Pritzker's daily news briefing on COVID-19 on March 20, 2020. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune)
Murphy said a key statistic for herd immunity is another epidemiological concept called R naught.
That’s a measurement of how many people on average catch the disease from a single infected person. When the figure drops below 1, meaning each infected person is spreading the disease to less than one other person on average, the disease starts to die out.
Advertisement
“Even if it’s 0.9 and every one person gives it to less than one other person, the whole thing goes away,” Murphy said.
Herd immunity has been achieved for measles, mumps, polio and chickenpox through vaccination. That’s why none of those diseases rages through the wider population anymore, even if isolated, smaller outbreaks sometimes occur.
Herd immunity goals are set by percentage and depend on how easily a particular disease spreads. In the case of highly contagious measles, anywhere from 90% to 95% of the population must be immune to achieve herd immunity.
When it comes to COVID-19, many epidemiologists believe a target of 60% might do the trick (though some think the number might be higher), particularly if people who aren’t immune continue to take the precautions of washing hands, social distancing and wearing masks.
If herd immunity is achieved with COVID-19, that’s the point at which epidemiologists believe it would be safe to fully reopen society.
How do we get there?
The people arguing to lift restrictions in the hopes of achieving herd immunity say that strategy acknowledges the inevitable and would keep the economy humming.
Advertisement
But Murphy says he knows of no expert in the field who endorses the idea. Landon called the approach “dangerous, shortsighted and risky.”
One problem is that when people start getting infected in large numbers, it leads to more hospitalizations, potentially overwhelming medical facilities and causing vastly more deaths.
“It’s not feasible for us to use illness to get to herd immunity,” Landon said. “We’d just kill a lot of people, because they wouldn’t be able to get medical care.”
Dr. Amesh Adalja, a senior scholar at Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security with expertise in infectious diseases, notes that Sweden did not enact the extensive limits on movement and other restrictions that were implemented in other European countries. What followed was more deaths and no herd immunity.
“In Stockholm, they did not reach herd immunity, and the price you pay for that is that you get transmission chains that end up landing on a vulnerable individual who then can be hospitalized or die from this,” Adalja said. “If you are going to do that, it’s very hard to keep your infection from landing on a vulnerable individual.”
In addition to more deaths, Landon said, “you have the problem of survivors having long-term problems.” Those problems, which can include lung, heart and kidney damage as well as skin conditions, can lead to the need for organ transplants or cause death later on.
Advertisement
Adalja, Landon and Murphy all said the better way to achieve herd immunity, if possible, is through vaccination. With a sound vaccine, you won’t make people sick in the process, they said.
While the work on potential vaccines continues, Murphy bluntly questions the wisdom of taking advice from pundits and doctors without extensive training in infectious diseases.
“If you want to listen to an idiot, you can listen to them,” Murphy said, referring to several pundits who have espoused the idea. “If you want to listen to somebody who has trained their whole professional career ... you listen to the public health experts. It’s pretty straightforward.”
Can we get there with COVID-19?
Although herd immunity has been achieved for other communicable diseases, scientists are not yet sure it can be reached with a coronavirus.
Immunity against other coronaviruses has been shown to wear off in a matter of months. So far, and the matter isn’t yet settled, it appears that immunity to the new coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, also wears off over time, perhaps in a matter of weeks or months.
The COVID-19 immunity that’s been tested is based on antibodies. Some hold out hope that disease-fighting T-cells, which work differently than antibodies and last longer, will afford longer protection. But so far there’s little if any evidence of that, Landon said.
Advertisement
She compares illnesses caused by coronaviruses to the common cold caused by rhinoviruses. People can get colds from rhinoviruses every year because the antibodies wear off. That, she added, makes it highly unlikely that herd immunity to COVID-19 through infection could even be achieved. Everyone would have to get sick within a few months of one another, and months later it could all wear off — after overwhelming the health care system.
“There’s going to be a timeline,” Landon said. “There’s going to be an expiration date on your immunity. I’m certain about that. I would be really surprised if there’s a lifelong immunity after getting sick.”
But that doesn’t mean a vaccine won’t work, she said — though it’s possible people will have to be vaccinated annually until the disease is extinguished.
“I think in the end this is likely to be something that we’ll find co-formulated with our flu vaccine, and you have to get it every year,” she added. “That seems like the best-case scenario to me. Hopefully, it will last long enough to make that possible.”
Murphy agreed that “booster” vaccines might be needed every year.
“With the herd immunity, even if you had to have a booster every year, you may extinguish the virus,” he said. “If you keep that R naught factor below 1, ultimately the whole thing may go away. So you may only have to have boosters; the whole thing could go away in a couple years.”
Advertisement
Adalja said more studies of the course of the disease and immunity are needed for the medical and public health community to know how long immunity lasts. It’s been done with other diseases, but not enough time has passed since the new coronavirus emerged in China late last year to figure it out for COVID-19.
What should people do now?
In the absence of a vaccine, the best weapons against COVID-19 are social distancing, hand washing and mask wearing, the experts all agreed.
“The three W’s — wash your hands, watch your distance and wear a mask — are really important,” Landon said. “And I would say wear your mask properly: over your nose, not under your nose.”
Murphy also said masks are key for the time being, and he said he’s also concerned about bars remaining open, given that people seem to be getting infected in those locations.
“I think we’re at the stage now where they just have to close the bars and enforce the mask use,” Murphy said.
All of the experts also hold out hope for a vaccine that could lead to herd immunity, without the casualties that would be caused by mass infection. They note many vaccines are being researched, with some in final trials.
Advertisement
“I have great hope” for a vaccine, Murphy said. “There’s 200 in development. Fourteen are already in human trials. A couple of them have to work. And it’s really opening the door on vaccine technology development, so hopefully, if we’re a little bit more prepared next time, things won’t be so bad.”
hdardick@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-07-17--Column: ‘The Lone Ranger’: A New TrumPoem

This is the latest in my occasional series of TrumPoems chronicling the presidency of Donald Trump , based , as @ @ @ @ @ words and acts .

President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump participate in an event about how to reopen schools, in the East Room at the White House on July 7, 2020 in Washington. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty)
This is the latest in my occasional series of TrumPoems chronicling the presidency of Donald Trump, based, as always, on his own words and acts.
‘The Lone Ranger’
Advertisement
For months I would not wear a mask
Despite what experts said
Advertisement
Despite the suff’ring of the sick
The number of the dead.
.
A virus raged from east to west
And then across the South
Yet I refused to wear a mask
Across my manly mouth.
.
Advertisement
At last I gamely put one on —
Though, really, what’s the need? —
And like the masked Lone Ranger
Braved the wards at Walter Reed.
.
I waved hello to veterans —
Advertisement
Such great heroes, just like me —
And in my mask I looked real good —
They said that on TV!
President Donald Trump wears a mask during his visit to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, on July 11, 2020. (Patrick Semansky / AP)
.
And like the brave Lone Ranger
I am always fighting foes —
Advertisement
Doc Fauci’s such a loser
I know more than that guy knows.
.
I’m fighting evil justices
Who rule our highest court
They sided with the Dreamers,
Advertisement
Kids I wanted to deport.
.
And traitor Justice Roberts?
He’s gone lefty just like Ruth
He wants me to show tax returns?
Thinks I should tell the truth?
Advertisement
.
There’s traitors, traitors everywhere
And one’s my bleepin’ niece!
Who’s using me to get PR.
To pimp her book release.
.
Advertisement
“His daddy didn’t love him,”
Lyin’ Mary Trump has claimed,
“And that’s why he’s a narcissist.
Who can’t be taught or shamed.”
.
She says that I’m a “killer”
Advertisement
From a very screwed-up clan
She says that I’m a cheater
And the world’s most dangerous man.
.
My fans, she hints, are addicts
And they’re hooked on how I’m tough
Advertisement
No matter what I do or say
They just can’t get enough.
.
She says I’m deeply insecure
And only want to win
She even says the White House
Advertisement
Is my private loony bin!
.
I tried to get her fake book barred
It simply isn’t fair
For her to say those nasty things
Whatever. I don’t care.
Advertisement
.
Sigh.
.
For I am the Lone Ranger
And I live by my own rules
And that is why I say it’s time
Advertisement
To get our kids in schools!
.
Don’t talk to me of surges
In the West and Southern states
Or how I could have spared us
From horrific virus rates.
Advertisement
.
Don’t talk of how the Russians
Have been hacking our vaccines
Don’t say I’ve lost my marbles
You’re just full of Goya beans.
.
Advertisement
But Goya beans are bueno!
Y porque do I think so?
El owner es a fan of mine!
And that is how I know.
.
And speaking of our children,
Advertisement
They are pawns in a great fight —
This battle for our culture
And by “our” I should say “white.”
.
I went out to Mount Rushmore
On the great Fourth of July
Advertisement
And standing ‘neath those presidents
I could not tell a lie.
.
Well, some said I was lying
When I warned of fascist mobs
By which I mean the Democrats
Advertisement
Who’d like to kill your jobs!
.
They want to take your monuments
Destroy your rebel flag
But I’ll protect your freedom
And our hist’ry — that’s no brag.
Advertisement
.
What’s that, you say? Joe Biden?
He’s a flea upon my horse
He’s nothin’ to this cowboy
And I’ll crush him in due course.
.
Advertisement
Sigh.
.
Some days I feel abandoned
And so very much alone
To make myself less lonely
I released brave Roger Stone.
Advertisement
.
He never has betrayed me
And that’s why I set him free …
What’s that you say? I’m hiding
Some big stats at CDC?
.
Advertisement
Look, math is overrated
And these numbers make me laugh
To cut all these infections
Let’s just cut the tests in half.
.
A hundred forty thousand dead?
Advertisement
It’s worse than World War I?
And that’s just the Americans?
Statistics are no fun.
.
My country dies around me
But I’ll look the other way
Advertisement
Ignore the truth and terrors
Chicago Tribune Opinion Weekdays Read the latest editorials and commentary curated by the Tribune Opinion team. By submitting your email to receive this newsletter, you agree to our Subscriber Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy >
Won’t withdraw like LBJ.
.
For I am the Lone Ranger
And I ride above the law
Immune to truth and decency
Advertisement
And COVID too. Yee haw!
mschmich@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-07-17--Column: Trump is right — Joe Biden will abolish the suburbs. And NO ONE will be safe!

He ’ s going to defund the military and force our brave soldiers to serve as gender-less spoken-word poetry ambassadors @ @ @ @ @ around the world .
Our beautiful military weaponry , the jets and tanks and naval @ @ @ @ @ down and forged into a towering statue of liberal billionaire George Soros , which Biden @ @ @ @ @ of one of the many Midwestern churches he ’ ll tear down .

President Donald Trump looks on before delivering remarks on the South Lawn at the White House on July 16, 2020. (Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images/AFP via Getty Images)
President Donald Trump is right — Joe Biden, a known supporter of evil and Marxism and America-hating, wants to abolish the suburbs.
But it’s worse than that. The Democratic presidential candidate and former vice president doesn’t just seek to abolish, he wants to bulldoze, befoul and hold pagan rituals on the ashes of the suburbs. He wants to demolish your cupboards, outlaw your scrub boards and cut up your club cards.
Advertisement
As Trump sensibly tweeted this week: “Joe Biden and the Radical Left want to Abolish Police, Abolish ICE, Abolish Bail, Abolish Suburbs, Abolish the 2nd Amendment — and Abolish the American Way of Life. No one will be SAFE in Joe Biden’s America!”
NO ONE WILL BE SAFE!
Advertisement
You have to believe these obviously truthful words and not look for any factual basis to support them. Seeking facts is what satanist DEMONcrats like Biden and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and KILLary Clinton want you to do.
Don’t get lulled into complacency by Biden’s long career in the public eye, nonthreatening and empathetic demeanor or eight years as a popular American vice president. He’s trouble.
As Trump said Thursday outside the White House: “Suburbia will be no longer as we know it, they’re gonna watch it go to hell.”
And suburb destruction is just the beginning of the havoc Biden would wreak as president.
I realize I’m getting ahead of the Trump campaign here, but allow me to detail THE MANY VERY REAL THINGS you should fear about Joe Biden.
He’s going to defund the military and force our brave soldiers to serve as gender-less spoken-word poetry ambassadors at “surrender bases” around the world. Our beautiful military weaponry, the jets and tanks and naval ships, will be melted down and forged into a towering statue of liberal billionaire George Soros, which Biden will place on the site of one of the many Midwestern churches he’ll tear down.
Every American homeowner will be required to house a member of the dangerous MS-13 street gang in their spare room, and provide that gang member with one clean hand towel, one clean bath towel and access to a guest bathroom stocked with flower-shaped soaps in an array of pastel colors. Toilet doilies will be mandatory.
Biden, immediately following his inauguration, will do away with all American borders, abolish law enforcement and declare Spanish the official language of America. All fire hydrants will be replaced with taco trucks.
Advertisement
He will dispatch immigrants in the country illegally to uproot any nonorganic gardens and force senior citizens to turn over their tchotchkes and knickknacks so they can be used in gift baskets for the terrorists who will be moving in next door to you.
Fields will burn. Rivers will run dry. Milkshakes will be banned.
The economy will collapse, with the dollar replaced by “Biden Bucks,” which will be equally distributed to all Americans and used to purchase protein pellets for sustenance. Health care will be available to all people, even the undeserving poor. (Gross.)
Black Lives Matter protesters will be given access to your lake houses. Liberal filmmaker Michael Moore will be named Indoctrination Czar and put in charge of all schools, gluten will be forbidden and everyone will have a peanut allergy.
The only sport allowed will be “Silencing Conservative Voices,” and events will be televised once a week on a program called “Everybody Loves Cancel Culture!” That show will be hosted by Kathy Griffin. All other stations will show “Will & Grace” reruns 24 hours a day.
Law enforcement won’t exist, crime will be encouraged and child smuggling will be incentivized. Satan, who will be Biden’s running mate, will routinely cast Christians into a lake of fire, though not on Tuesdays, because that day is reserved for mandatory yoga, meditation and statue destruction.
Advertisement
All of history will be erased, except for former President Barack Obama’s time in office, and that one corner of the couch you love will no longer be comfortable.
Trump’s extremely long and fantastic three miles of new border wall will be reconfigured into a square and used to imprison all white people, and the Statue of Liberty will be torn down and replaced with the Statue of Michelle Obama Wearing a Sleeveless Dress. Cows will start singing.
It’s going to be bad, folks. Don’t let yourself be fooled by so-called “fact checks” or “logic” or “a simple recognition that things could literally not get any worse.”
Biden will destroy America as we know it.
Protect the suburbs. Keep cows from singing. Vote Trump!
rhuppke@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-07-17--Video-sharing site WorldStarHipHop removes illegal recording of Cook County bail hearing where man c

Video-sharing site WorldStarHipHop removes illegal recording of Cook County bail hearing where man claimed to be federal informant

“ We have to balance the risk of something like this happening with the need to have open court proceedings @ @ @ @ @ ” spokeswoman Mary Wisniewski said in an emailed statement .
“ The court regrets when @ @ @ @ @ participating in the justice system ’ s investigation of facts needed to resolve cases and @ @ @ @ @ safety .
”

The plaza outside of the Leighton Criminal Court Building in Chicago on July 2, 2020. (Jose M. Osorio/Chicago Tribune)
The video-sharing site WorldStarHipHop on Thursday removed an illegally posted video of a Cook County bail hearing in which a defendant blurted out that he was acting as a federal informant.
The video, posted on the site Wednesday, showed several minutes of a May 27 bail hearing before Judge John F. Lyke Jr. After prosecutors told the judge the defendant was caught with a gun, the young man — videoconferencing in from Cook County Jail — interjected.
Advertisement
“Um, excuse me,” said the defendant, whom the Tribune is not identifying. “I didn’t get to talk to my (public defender) and tell them that, um, I’m a federal informant, I done bought 13 —.”
“Hold on, hold on!” Lyke could be heard to say, cutting him off. “Sir, this is (live) on YouTube. Don’t make comments like that.”
Advertisement
The defendant sat back in his chair and exhaled.
Lyke eventually released him on his own recognizance and ordered him onto electronic monitoring.
Both the FBI and the U.S. attorney’s office in Chicago declined to comment on whether the man is, in fact, cooperating with the government, or whether he has been receiving special protection after publicly claiming he acted as an informant.
The incident is the first known incident where a court video has apparently been seriously misused since the Cook County courts began broadcasting hearings live on YouTube in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The video, posted by a user on the site, was apparently a recording of the court’s video stream. The Leighton Criminal Court Building has been largely closed to the public since the outbreak began, only recently beginning a reopening process.
The headline used on the website posting identified the man as a member of a West Side street gang with a violent reputation. Prosecutors in the video did not discuss any affiliation for the defendant.
A widely circulating video of an alleged gang member admitting his status as an informant could have real life implications. Chicago this year has struggled with a spike in violence fueled by gang confrontations and retaliatory shootings.
A spokeswoman for the Cook County chief judge’s office said WorldStarHipHop, which typically features viral clips and some music content, agreed to remove the video after their office made “requests” to them and YouTube to take the video down.
Advertisement
“We have to balance the risk of something like this happening with the need to have open court proceedings during the coronavirus pandemic,” spokeswoman Mary Wisniewski said in an emailed statement. “The court regrets when a person must choose between participating in the justice system’s investigation of facts needed to resolve cases and that person’s personal safety.”
The broadcasts do not include anything that a member of the public couldn’t observe in person, Wisniewski noted, but the potential for misuse is the reason for the court’s administrative order against making recordings of proceedings.
Violators can face contempt-of-court penalties.
Before the video was removed Thursday afternoon, it had amassed more than 385,000 views, with thousands of comments. A representative from the website did not respond to a request for comment from the Tribune on Thursday.
Bond court has been conducted by videoconference and streamed on YouTube since this spring as the court system continues to deal with the pandemic. Defendants usually appear from custody, and without their attorneys physically by their side.


chicagotribune--2020-07-17--Infant wounded in Old Town shooting

Infant wounded in Old Town shooting

The 5-month-old suffered a graze wound to the right eye and was taken to Lurie Children ’ s Hospital in @ @ @ @ @ .
A 25-year-old man , struck in the left thigh , was in good condition @ @ @ @ @ A 19-year-old man was wounded in his right shoulder and back , and was also @ @ @ @ @ .

For at least the 12th time in a month, a young child was shot in Chicago Thursday evening, this time a 5-month-old boy who was wounded along with two young men on the street in the Old Town neighborhood.
All three were taken to hospitals in good condition, and officers arrested two people after chasing a red Hyundai SUV believed involved in the shooting around 7 p.m. in the 1300 block of North Hudson Avenue, according to Chicago police.
Advertisement
Police said the boy was “resting comfortably” at Lurie Children’s Hospital, where he was being treated for a graze wound to the head.
The SUV pulled up in front of the Marshall Field Garden Apartments and someone inside opened fire, police said. It sped off but was spotted on Lake Shore Drive and police began chasing it. The pursuit continued on the Dan Ryan Expressway and ended near 37th Street and Princeton Avenue.
Advertisement
Two men jumped out of the SUV and started running, but police arrested them. Two guns were recovered, according to Chicago police 1st Deputy Superintendent Eric Carter.
“It is quite heartbreaking,” Carter told reporters on the scene. “There’s no regard for anyone’s life, especially that of a child who has yet to grow up and experience this world. It’s quite tragic, what we’re seeing now happening around the country and around the world.”
At least four young children have been shot and killed in Chicago in the last several weeks, including 7-year-old Natalia Wallace on July 4, 10-year-old Lena Nunez on June 28, 1-year-old Sincere Gaston on June 27 and 3-year-old Mekhi James on June 20.


chicagotribune--2020-07-17--Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot calls White House spokeswoman Kayleigh McEnany ‘Karen’ in latest round

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot calls White House spokeswoman Kayleigh McEnany ‘Karen’ in latest round of vitriol

The Republican president and his administration have focused attention on Chicago and other Democrat-led cities in recent weeks and on @ @ @ @ @ announcement on how his administration intends to deal with crime in those places .
In @ @ @ @ @ his ongoing efforts to deal with the MS-13 gang , Trump said he would have @ @ @ @ @ “ with the attorney general , the FBI and others concerning our cities , because @ @ @ @ @ that are running our cities are not doing the job that they ’ re supposed @ @ @ @ @ it ’ s not a very tough job to do if they knew what they @ @ @ @

The war of words between the White House and Chicago City Hall continued as Mayor Lori Lightfoot in a Thursday tweet called President Donald Trump’s press secretary a “Karen” and told her to watch her mouth.
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany set off the new round of vitriol with the Chicago Democrat at her news briefing earlier in the day. McEnany called Lightfoot “the derelict mayor of Chicago” and accused her of not doing enough to resolve the city’s gun violence.
Advertisement
When asked about Trump’s level of focus on the deadly coronavirus pandemic, McEnany said he is “focusing on a lot” and then invoked Chicago’s ongoing problems with violence.
“But there are other things the President has to focus on: namely, Democrat cities not controlling their streets; namely, the mayor of Chicago — people dying in her — in her — on the streets of her city every weekend. And the President sent her a letter saying, ‘You must secure your city,‘” according to a White House transcript.
Advertisement
Later in the briefing, McEnany returned to her criticism of Lightfoot.
“I’ve listed for you the names of these kids who have died across this country. It is unacceptable, and under this President, he’ll take action,” McEnany said in response to a question about Trump’s recent statement that more white people are killed by police than Black people. “And the derelict mayor of Chicago should step up and ask for federal help because she’s doing a very poor job at securing her streets.”
Lightfoot replied via tweet: “Hey, Karen. Watch your mouth.”
Hey, Karen. Watch your mouth. pic.twitter.com/zhjRyokKD5 — Mayor Lori Lightfoot (@chicagosmayor) July 16, 2020
Gary Coby, the Trump campaign’s digital director, also weighed in by calling Lightfoot “a total failure at stopping this violence.”
Black people are being murdered at a record rate in Chicago.
The violence and death is out of control...
64 shot & 11 killed just last weekend.
373 have been killed just this year, a 35% increase.
Here is the Mayor, who is a total failure at stopping this violence. https://t.co/2s0nV5OEVX — Text TRUMP to 88022 (@GaryCoby) July 16, 2020
The Republican president and his administration have focused attention on Chicago and other Democrat-led cities in recent weeks and on Wednesday vaguely referenced an upcoming announcement on how his administration intends to deal with crime in those places. In a briefing with reporters about his ongoing efforts to deal with the MS-13 gang, Trump said he would have more to say next week “with the attorney general, the FBI and others concerning our cities, because the left-wing group of people that are running our cities are not doing the job that they’re supposed to be doing, and it’s not a very tough job to do if they knew what they were doing.”
When a reporter asked at the end of the Wednesday event whether he planned to follow through on a recent statement that the federal government might take over cities such as Chicago to deal with crime, Trump didn’t answer directly. But he cited recent issues with protesters in Seattle, Minneapolis and Portland, Oregon, before pointing to violence in Chicago.
Sign up for The Spin to get the top stories in politics delivered to your inbox weekday afternoons.
Earlier in the week, Trump likened Chicago to Afghanistan, and Lightfoot sounded a familiar response during a Tuesday appearance on MSNBC, accusing the president of political posturing. Lightfoot said Trump won’t take steps needed to deal with the proliferation of illegal guns that would really help drive down Chicago violence.
Advertisement
“If you go back over many years, President Trump has said a lot of disparaging things about the city of Chicago. He likes to use us as a political punching bag,” Lightfoot said. “But if the president was really committed to helping us deal with our violence, he would do some easy things. What he would push for is universal background checks, he would push for an assault weapons ban, he would push to make sure that people who are banned from getting on airplanes can’t get guns.”
Last week, McEnany ended her Thursday briefing with a call for “law and order” and police support while invoking the names and faces of six young children killed by Chicago gun violence. The faces of Natalia Wallace, 7, Mekhi James, 3, Vernado Jones Jr., 14, Sincere Gaston, 20 months, Lena Marie Nunez, 10, and Amaria Jones, 13, were cast on the screen as McEnany spoke about keeping the children “close to our hearts.” She misstated Mekhi’s age as 10.
“President (Donald) Trump has taken action calling strongly for law and order and peace in our streets, and he has set the tone at the top for mayors and governors,” McEnany said before reading out the names of eight young gun violence victims, six of whom died in Chicago this summer.


chicagotribune--2020-07-17--Facing 60 years for murdering son AJ Freund, mom says she’s ‘a loving, kind, compassionate woman.' P

Facing 60 years for murdering son AJ Freund, mom says she’s ‘a loving, kind, compassionate woman.' Prosecutor calls her ‘a horror of a human being.’

As a young mother , Cunningham was devoted to her firstborn child , now 20 , for the first several @ @ @ @ @ even was a licensed foster parent for a brief time in 2011 for another boy @ @ @ @ @ public records and courtroom testimony , her life had begun to unravel not long afterward @ @ @ @ @ and the protracted custody battle with her mother in 2013 over the oldest son .

JoAnn Cunningham, 37, reacts as a sentence of 35 years is announced, July 17, 2020, for the murder of son, AJ Freund. (John Starks/Daily Herald)
For 15 months, ever since the battered remains of her 5-year-old son were found, breaking the hearts of a community that came together in a desperate six-day search for him, JoAnn Cunningham has been portrayed as heartless and without redemption.
At Cunningham’s sentencing hearing Thursday for murdering the boy, a McHenry County prosecutor referred to her with disgust as a “horror of a human being.” Even her own lawyers said they would not try to “defend, explain or justify” her actions, though they noted her difficult life fueled her drug addiction and rage.
Advertisement
But, for the first time since her arrest, Cunningham offered a self-assessment. In a tearful, rambling speech to the judge, the 37-year-old Crystal Lake woman insisted she is “a child of God,” and deserving of mercy.
“I’m a loving, kind, compassionate woman who has feelings and loves deeply,” she said in a seven-minute speech. “I’m human. I ask God to make me a better person every day and to give me my heart and joy back.”
Advertisement
She continued, “As much as I deserve punishment, I believe I deserve help. Please help me.”
Whether her tears and words had any impact will be revealed Friday in Woodstock, when Judge Robert Wilbrandt announces her punishment in a case that provoked a maelstrom of public outcry due to its cruelty and also the repeated failures by the state’s child welfare system to intervene.
Cunningham faces 20 to 60 years in prison for fatally abusing her son AJ Freund in April 2019.
Supporters from the group ROAR for AJ hold signs outside the McHenry County Courthouse on July 16, 2020, in advance of the sentencing of JoAnn Cunningham for the murder of her son AJ Freund. (Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune)
She had maintained her innocence ever since AJ was reported missing April 18, 2019. But in December, after prosecutors confronted her with a mountain of damning evidence, including newly disclosed cellphone video footage of an earlier attack on the boy, Cunningham pleaded guilty to first-degree murder.
Holding a handwritten statement, she begged for mercy Thursday and said she would “give my life to have AJ back. ... This is something I will never escape from. I am impacted forever by my heartless choices.”
“My heart and my mind are consumed with pain, sadness, grief, unceasing anguish and extreme remorse,” she said. “There is a great sorrow in my heart. I will never be able to justify anything nor do I ever want to.”
In a stinging plea for the maximum sentence, McHenry County State’s Attorney Patrick Kenneally recounted AJ’s final, dying moments and the pain he endured. He said the community has yet to recover and will forever mourn the boy.
Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 19 AJ Freund is held by his parents, Andrew Freund and JoAnn Cunningham in December 2014. The photo was taken at a baby shower for his mother, who was pregnant with her third child. AJ was about 14 months old. The couple had lost custody of him at birth due to drug use, and they were still trying to regain custody of AJ while remaining in drug treatment and after-care programs. (Family photo)
“He lived his life in the shadow of her darkness,” said Kenneally, arguing Cunningham is only sad for herself and concocted stories of childhood traumas to glean sympathy.
Advertisement
“She hasn’t been sitting here crying for AJ. She’s been sitting here crying for herself. ... No remorse. No regret is expressed. And she still will not let us write the final chapter on AJ’s life by coming clean about what she did.”
Cunningham, wearing orange jail garb and a mask, her hair braided, sat through hours of testimony that included graphic photos of her battered son and cellphone video footage depicting some of the abuse. The television monitor was faced toward the judge, so Cunningham and others in the courtroom gallery could not see the images.
But audio of her berating the boy was piped through the courtroom and an overflow room where the media, FBI agents who investigated the boy’s disappearance and members of the public viewed the proceedings. A few members of AJ’s family temporarily left the courtroom before the videos were played.
A prosecution witness, Dr. JoEllen Channon, testified about a large bruise on AJ’s hip she had examined Dec. 18, 2018, just four months before he died. Channon said when she interviewed AJ alone about the cause of the bruise, his story shifted and the child suggested his mother was responsible.
“Maybe (mommy) didn’t mean to hurt me,” she said, quoting the boy.
Concerned that further prodding by her would compromise the investigation, Channon said she concluded AJ needed to be questioned by a trained forensic interviewer and examined by a child-abuse pediatrician. She notified state child welfare officials, but Channon said the investigator told her none were available.
Advertisement
Two Crystal Lake police officers also testified about the dilapidated, filthy condition of the family’s home in December 2018, when the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services allowed the boy to go back home, and also months later on the day AJ was reported missing. The house has since been demolished.
Cunningham and the boy’s father, Andrew Freund, were charged April 24, 2019, after AJ’s body was discovered in a shallow grave following a frantic, six-day search. The case against Freund, 61, is pending. He did not testify Thursday.
Prosecutors also revealed video footage and text messages that showed Cunningham’s attempts to cover up the crime days after AJ had been killed. It was Freund who reported him missing that April 18. At the police station, Cunningham while alone in an interview room softly prays.
“Dear Father, please make sure AJ is safe and he comes home,” she said, her hands clasped in prayer.
At times tearful, she pleads with police to find AJ before something bad happens to him because there’s “many creeps out there.”
“He’s got to be so scared,” she said of AJ, later asking the officer to make sure someone is at her home “in case he comes home.” When the officer asks her if he can get Cunningham anything, she replied, “My son.”
Advertisement
Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 10 Andrew Freund was arrested on Oct. 25, 2012, for domestic battery for an argument in his home involving an ex-roommate. (Crystal Lake Police Department)
Also, in text messages between AJ’s parents over the 72 hours before he was reported missing, Cunningham and Freund act as if he was still alive, including when the mother said AJ was having a good day.
“He’s such a charmer when he’s good,” she texted Freund, days after the boy’s April 15, 2019, slaying. “Lots of hugs.”
Throughout his short life, AJ was the subject of many police and child welfare contacts. DCFS took him into protective custody at birth after AJ was born in October 2013 with heroin in his system. The unwed couple got the boy back when he was about 20 months old and remained sober until 2018, when DCFS responded to a handful of hotline calls, including two when AJ had suspicious bruising.
In an especially poignant moment in the proceedings, Cunningham’s cousin told the judge about the impact of losing AJ. She raised the boy for nearly two years and hoped to adopt him but instead was forced to return the boy to his parents in June 2015 after they became sober and complied with other court orders.
The woman, who is raising AJ’s two younger siblings, a 5-year-old brother and nearly 14-month-old sister, has asked not to be publicly identified.
“He was a beautiful, perfect little boy who was loving and fun, caring and compassionate,” she said through tears. “(AJ) loved to play and do puzzles. He was just the perfect little boy.”
Advertisement
Cunningham’s attorneys, Rick Behof and Angelo Mourelatos, requested after her guilty plea that she receive a psychological, psychiatric and substance abuse evaluation prior to this week’s sentencing. In the hearing’s mitigation phase, they presented evidence of her difficult life, including that she has been in abusive relationships and suffered repeated losses, especially the 2001 suicide of her only sibling, Joseph, 21, with whom she was close.
As a young mother, Cunningham was devoted to her firstborn child, now 20, for the first several years of his life and even was a licensed foster parent for a brief time in 2011 for another boy. But, according to public records and courtroom testimony, her life had begun to unravel not long afterward amid a volatile 2012 divorce and the protracted custody battle with her mother in 2013 over the oldest son.
Behof held up two photos of Cunningham. One of her before drugs, one after. He said she wasn’t strong enough to overcome her traumatic childhood, abusive relationships, mental health problems and drug addiction.
“And most importantly, she was not strong enough to protect AJ, and that’s why we are here,” he told the judge. “I ask you to look at her life in its entirety.”
But the cruelty displayed in cellphone videos that Cunningham had filmed was inescapable.
Prosecutors found a March 27, 2019, video from Cunningham’s cellphone in which she is seen grabbing the boy by his throat and pushing him against a bathroom wall until he chokes for air. AJ has visible cuts and bruises on his face and forehead, according to prosecutors. Cunningham had cornered him after AJ remarked he was going to get her in trouble with “someone.”
Advertisement
On the video, prosecutors said, AJ is heard telling his parents he loves his family. Cunningham responds, “Bull----, you don’t show it.” She continues to taunt him, asking the boy if he thinks his parents and younger brother “do evil in this house,” to which AJ says, “no, just me.” At one point, after AJ said, “I just don’t want a family,” Cunningham responds to her 5-year-old son that he does not have one.
The video is in addition to one from March 4, 2019, also recovered from Cunningham’s cellphone, in which, prosecutors said, she is heard berating the badly beaten boy.
Prosecutors have said Cunningham filmed the first cellphone video in AJ’s bedroom to send to Freund, who was at work. It’s unclear why the couple filmed the later one taken inside the bathroom in which AJ is choked and both parents were present.
Prosecutors also provided evidence from AJ’s autopsy, which has not been made public. Besides fatal head injuries, and cuts and bruises across his body and limbs, the child inhaled his own blood before his painful death and had small, circular marks on his forehead consistent with the pattern of a detachable shower head.
Relatives have described the boy as inquisitive and bright who loved Thomas the Tank Engine, puzzles, books and his brothers. He also loved superheroes, especially Superman. Cunningham, too, said he was special.
“I had the pride of having AJ as a son,” she said, describing his birth as “one of the happiest days of my life.”
Advertisement
cmgutowski@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-07-17--Democrats in 3 closely watched Illinois congressional races have distinct money advantage over GOP r

Democrats in 3 closely watched Illinois congressional races have distinct money advantage over GOP rivals, records show

In the suburban 14th Congressional District , which stretches from the far southwest suburbs and goes north and northeast to @ @ @ @ @ Underwood started April with nearly $ 2.3 million in the bank and raised nearly $ @ @ @ @ @ quarter , her campaign reported .
After spending nearly $ 353,000 , she had nearly @ @ @ @ @ to start July .

Democratic U.S. Rep. Lauren Underwood speaks at a City Club of Chicago luncheon at Maggiano's Banquets in February 2020. (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune)
Democrats in three of the state’s most closely contested congressional races, including two first-term suburban lawmakers, have a distinct cash advantage over Republicans, federal campaign finance records show.
Records filed this week that cover April through the end of June showed Democratic U.S. Rep. Sean Casten of Downers Grove with nearly six times as much cash as his challenger, former Republican state Rep. Jeanne Ives of Wheaton, while U.S. Rep. Lauren Underwood of Naperville reported nearly 10 times as much as her opponent, state Sen. Jim Oberweis of Sugar Grove.
Advertisement
Downstate, Democratic challenger Betsy Dirksen Londrigan of Springfield ended the quarter with nearly $400,000 more cash available than four-term incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis of Taylorville.
In the west and northwest suburban 6th District, Casten reported raising nearly $750,000 in the quarter to go with the $2.5 million he had in the bank at the end of March. He spent $236,539 and began July with just over $3 million in cash on hand.
Advertisement
Ives, who gave up her state House seat and narrowly lost a bid for the 2018 Republican nomination against then-Gov. Bruce Rauner, raised more than $483,000 in the quarter to go with the $366,221 she started out with at the end of March. She spent more than $348,000 and ended June with $501,346.
Since taking office following the November 2018 election, Casten has raised just more than $4 million, Federal Election Commission records show.
In the suburban 14th Congressional District, which stretches from the far southwest suburbs and goes north and northeast to the Wisconsin state line, Underwood started April with nearly $2.3 million in the bank and raised nearly $1.3 million in the second quarter, her campaign reported. After spending nearly $353,000, she had nearly $3.2 million in cash to start July.
Oberweis, an investment adviser who runs his family’s namesake dairy and retail operation, raised nearly $251,000 in the quarter to go with the $161,208 he reported at the beginning of April. After spending $38,773, he reported $373,417 in cash on hand.
Oberweis, who has made previously unsuccessful bids for a variety of offices, including the U.S. Senate and House, has the personal finances to inject significant money into his own campaign.
Sign up for The Spin to get the top stories in politics delivered to your inbox weekday afternoons.
While Republicans are looking to recapture both of the suburban districts they lost two years ago, the 14th is viewed by the GOP as having more potential. While Underwood defeated Republican Rep. Randy Hultgren of Plano, the district favored President Donald Trump by 4 percentage points over Democrat Hillary Clinton in 2016.
The 6th Congressional District, where Casten defeated veteran Republican U.S. Rep. Peter Roskam of Wheaton in 2018, favored Clinton by 7 percentage points over Trump, representing a potentially sizable shift in political ideology in a district that once symbolized the heart of Illinois Republicanism in DuPage County.
Advertisement
The central Illinois 13th District race represents a rematch between Davis and Londrigan, with the Republican narrowly winning reelection by 2,058 votes in 2018. The campaign reports showed Londrigan outraising Davis in the quarter, generating more than $800,0000 to the congressman’s $510,000.
The fundraising, after expenses, left Londrigan with nearly $2.25 million in cash on hand to start July compared with more than $1.85 million for Davis.
The campaign finance reports showed that in the only statewide race on Illinois’ Nov. 3 ballot, four-term Democratic U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, the No. 2 member in the chamber’s party leadership, had $5.5 million in his campaign account to start July — far outdistancing his Republican rival, former Lake County Sheriff Mark Curran.
Durbin began April with just over $5 million in cash and raised $710,437 in the quarter, while spending nearly $275,000. Curran started with less than $6,000 in the bank, raised $42,310, spent $27,891, and had $20,323 to begin July.
Chicago businessman Willie Wilson, mounting a third-party challenge to Durbin, reported nearly $45,000 in cash to start July after putting in $60,000 of his own money. Wilson, a wealthy glove and medical materials importer, has pledged to give substantial amounts to his campaign and began running cable TV ads Thursday.
Durbin, in a fundraising email on Thursday, took note of the challenge from Wilson, a former Rauner ally who twice made unsuccessful bids for Chicago mayor.
Advertisement
“With the announcement of a so-called independent challenger in my race dropping millions on his self-funded campaign, we must double our efforts to keep Illinois blue,” Durbin wrote.
rap30@aol.com


chicagotribune--2020-07-18--Federal investigation draws closer to Madigan as ComEd will pay $200 million fine in alleged bribery

Federal investigation draws closer to Madigan as ComEd will pay $200 million fine in alleged bribery scheme; Pritzker says speaker ‘must resign’ if allegations true

“ The speaker has a lot that he needs to answer for — to authorities , to investigators and most @ @ @ @ @ Illinois , ” Pritzker said at unrelated event in Waukegan .
“ If these allegations @ @ @ @ @ are true , there is no question that he will have betrayed the public trust @ @ @ @ @ ”

Dan Hinkel, Rick Pearson, Alice Yin, Megan Crepeau, Annie Sweeney

U.S. Attorney John Lausch, right, announces a major fine against ComEd for bribery involving Illinois politicians during a news conference in the courtyard of the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse July 17, 2020. (Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune)
A federal investigation orbiting the political operation of Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan drew much closer to the powerful politician Friday, as prosecutors unveiled a criminal complaint charging ComEd in a “years-long bribery scheme” involving jobs, contracts and payments to Madigan allies.
Prosecutors said the utility attempted to “influence and reward” Madigan by providing financial benefits to some close to him, often through a key confidant and adviser at the center of the probe. Madigan, the nation’s longest-serving speaker and Illinois Democratic Party chairman, has not been charged with any wrongdoing.
Advertisement
In announcing the case against ComEd, U.S. Attorney John Lausch called public corruption a continuing problem in Illinois and said his office was not finished, while not addressing Madigan specifically.
“Our investigation is ongoing” Lausch said. “It’s vibrant, and it will continue.”
Advertisement
A ComEd headquarters building, July 17, 2020, in Chicago. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)
Madigan, described in the new court filing as Public Official A, the speaker of the House, previously has said he was “not a target of anything” when asked about the federal probe.
On Friday, a spokeswoman acknowledged Madigan had been subpoenaed for information including “possible job recommendations,” and said he would cooperate with those requests.
“He has never made a legislative decision with improper motives and has engaged in no wrongdoing here. Any claim to the contrary is unfounded,” spokeswoman Maura Possley said in an email.
“The speaker has never helped someone find a job with the expectation that the person would not be asked to perform work by their employer, nor did he ever expect to provide anything to a prospective employer if it should choose to hire a person he recommended,” Possley’s statement read.
[ Federal investigators looking at Pritzker tax break, others during Joe Berrios’ time as Cook County assessor ]
The investigation appears to go well beyond ComEd. In Friday’s federal subpoena, authorities sought records related to AT&T, Walgreens and Rush University Medical Center, as well as the utility, according to a copy of the subpoena obtained by the Tribune. The subpoena also sought records related to Madigan’s political organization and law firm, as well as former state lawmakers and current or former Chicago aldermen.
The subpoena has not been made publicly available and a spokesman for Madigan told the Tribune to file an open records request, which had not been fulfilled Friday evening.
ComEd’s parent company, Exelon, said in a statement that it had cleaned up its lobbying practices and noted it had pledged to fully cooperate with the investigation.
Prosecutors said the scheme began around 2011 — when key regulatory matters were before the Illinois House that Madigan controls — and continued through last year. They agreed to defer their prosecution of ComEd for three years as it cooperates in the investigation, and announced the company had agreed to pay a record $200 million fine.
Advertisement
Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan speaks after a House Democratic caucus meeting at the Capitol in Springfield on Nov. 12, 2019. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune)
The new filing made clear that the nexus of the federal investigation into ComEd and Madigan’s operation is Michael McClain. He’s a close friend and adviser to the speaker, as well as a former lawmaker and Quincy attorney who retired as a high-profile lobbyist for the utility in 2016 but continued collecting six-figure payments from the company.
Federal agents raided McClain’s home in Quincy in May 2019, which turned out to be the same month ComEd said it had stopped paying him. The Tribune exclusively reported in November that authorities secretly recorded McClain’s phone calls.
Friday’s federal filing appeared to include quotes from those recordings. The Tribune reported in January that authorities had asked McClain to cooperate with the investigation. At the time, WBEZ 91.5-FM asked McClain if he was cooperating. “I’ll just say they asked,” he replied.
McClain’s attorney did not respond to requests for comment Friday.
[ Lightfoot: ‘Not really for me to say’ whether Madigan should step down in light of ComEd’s alleged bribery scheme ]
The federal filing did not outline any conversations had by Madigan. Referring to the speaker as Public Official A and McClain as Individual A, prosecutors did allege the two “sought to obtain from ComEd jobs, vendor subcontracts, and monetary payments associated with those jobs and subcontracts for various associates of Public Official A.”
Those included precinct workers and other associates, the filing states, and prosecutors alleged the total they received was $1.32 million.
Advertisement
Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who worked with Madigan to approve a wide-ranging legislative agenda in 2019, said he was “deeply troubled and frankly I’m furious” about the reports of the case.
“The speaker has a lot that he needs to answer for — to authorities, to investigators and most importantly to the people of Illinois,” Pritzker said at an unrelated event in Waukegan. “If these allegations of wrongdoing by the speaker are true, there is no question that he will have betrayed the public trust and he must resign.”
In all, prosecutors put a value of at least $150 million on the legislative benefits ComEd received. The federal documents in particular noted the 2011 passage of the Energy Infrastructure and Modernization Act, which “helped improve ComEd’s financial stability” by establishing rate guidelines and a smart grid overhaul.
[ Read the criminal complaint, prosecution deal cut by ComEd in case connected to Speaker Mike Madigan ]
That year, the filing states, the individual known to be McClain, and a lobbyist the Tribune has identified as John T. Hooker, made a plan to direct money to two Madigan associates who would be paid by ComEd as subcontractors to a consultant. Those payments went on for years despite the associates doing little or no work, prosecutors said.
The payments were recorded as being paid to a company by the consultant for advice on “legislative issues,” according to the paperwork. Some “senior executives and agents” of ComEd were aware of the payments, the paperwork states. Hooker could not be reached for comment Friday.
Prosecutors did not allege or specify any of the payments were diverted to Madigan himself.
Advertisement
But prosecutors did allege that in May 2018, Madigan, through McClain, asked the utility’s CEO to hire an associate of the speaker who was leaving the Chicago City Council. The Tribune has identified the now-former CEO as Anne Pramaggiore, and the council member as former 23rd Ward Ald. Michael Zalewski, who could not immediately be reached Friday.
Coordinating with another executive and a consultant, Pramaggiore agreed the associate, Zalewski, would be paid $5,000 a month as a subcontractor, through a company in the scheme that already had a relationship with ComEd, according to a federal filing.
[ State agency that regulates ComEd will continue to be run by relative of an alleged player in bribery scheme ]
The former Exelon CEO abruptly retired in October amid the probe. Pramaggiore’s exit came less than a week after the company acknowledged receiving a second subpoena linked to the investigation.
Pramaggiore was key to ComEd’s success over the years in Springfield. Exelon and ComEd have one of the largest lobbying contingents at the Capitol and historically have been among the biggest campaign contributors to state lawmakers.
Pramaggiore spokesman Bryan Locke declined to comment on whether she is cooperating with federal authorities. “Ms. Pramaggiore has done nothing wrong and any inference to the contrary is misguided and false,” Locke said in a statement.
“During her tenure, she and other current and former ComEd and Exelon executives received, evaluated and granted many requests to provide appropriate and valuable services to the companies, none of which constitute unlawful activity,” Locke wrote.
Advertisement
Then ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore speaks during a news conference on July 25, 2017, in Chicago. (Alyssa Pointer / Chicago Tribune)
The prosecutors’ filing states that certain other ComEd leaders were aware of the payments meant to influence Madigan, at least in part because McClain spelled them out. One of the payrollers of the unnamed company involved in the scheme was in the Madigan political operation, McClain allegedly explained in a conversation federal officials quoted in the document.
The person being paid was “one of the top three precinct captains,” who “trains people how to go door to door ... so just to give you an idea how important the guy is,” McClain said, according to prosecutors.
Another example cited by authorities involved a man identified in the federal material as “Consultant 1,” who allegedly was speaking to a ComEd executive identified by the Tribune as Fidel Marquez. The consultant said he believed McClain had spoken to Madigan about the payments, saying the money was “to keep (Public Official A) happy (and) I think it’s worth it, because you’d hear otherwise,” prosecutors alleged.
The federal filing also alleged ComEd hired an unnamed law firm because the utility’s executives knew it was important to Madigan, and that ComEd would accept students from the speaker’s 13th Ward into an internship program as a way to “influence and reward” Madigan.
In addition, prosecutors said that in 2017, the speaker sought the appointment of an associate to ComEd’s board of directors. ComEd and Exelon did due diligence on the associate and found him qualified, though no one had recruited him for the board and ComEd did not seek other candidates, prosecutors wrote. The Tribune has identified that person as Juan Ochoa, a former McPier CEO who was appointed to the utility’s board but is no longer listed as being on it.
McClain again communicated the alleged Madigan desire to Pramaggiore, the complaint states, not using their names. “You take good care of me and so does our friend (Public Official A) and I will do the best that I can to, to take care of you,” Pramaggiore allegedly said, before later informing McClain the appointment had taken place.
Advertisement
Ochoa could not be reached for comment.
In an interview with the Tribune, Exelon CEO Christopher M. Crane said: “We take this seriously and we corrected it. It should never happen and it won’t happen again.” He said that he believed that everyone who “orchestrated any of that behavior” had left ComEd.
The agreement with federal prosecutors says ComEd can’t seek a tax deduction in relation to the fine and can’t recoup it through “surcharges, fees or any other charges to customers.” Crane said Exelon would give ComEd the money to pay the fine, and then ComEd would pay Exelon back from its profits.
The federal filing says authorities could have fined ComEd between $240 million and $480 million, but the utility got a “discount” off the bottom of that range for “substantial remediation and cooperation.” Half the money is due in a month and the other half in three months.


chicagotribune--2020-07-18--Coronavirus in Illinois updates: 1,384 new known COVID-19 cases reported as state sets testing recor

Coronavirus in Illinois updates: 1,384 new known COVID-19 cases reported as state sets testing record for 2nd day in a row; CPS proposes a ‘hybrid-learning model’ for fall

“ I ’ ve lost two family members to COVID , my cousin and my great uncle , so I @ @ @ @ @ who are taking this situation very lightly , because they just don ’ t understand @ @ @ @ @ said .
“ I have asthma , and one of my sons , who ’ @ @ @ @ @ has diabetes .
If we ’ re back in the classroom , I ’ ll @ @ @ @ @ , and could bring COVID home to my own family .
This is not time @ @ @ @ @ together , as having their lives at risk is just not an option .
”

We have lifted the paywall on this story. To support essential reporting, please consider becoming a subscriber .
Paca Kujtim of Arlington Heights self-administers a COVID-19 test in his car at the Arlington International Racecourse on March 31, 2021 in Arlington Heights. Kujtim was getting testing as a precaution for upcoming travel. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)
Chicago Public Schools released a much-anticipated blueprint for fall instruction on Friday, saying it plans to adopt a hybrid-learning model that will bring most students back for two-consecutive days of in-person learning on a rotating basis if public health officials say it can be done safely.
Nothing in the framework is finalized. CPS says it will solicit feedback from parents in five virtual meetings through the end of July, with sessions held in English and Spanish, and parents can also their reactions in a new survey launched by the district. The district will share the final plan in early August.
Advertisement
And with difficult decisions lying ahead on how to open schools across the state this fall, Gov. J.B. Pritzker has taken the unusual step of going to court to ensure school children wear face coverings to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
A lawsuit filed late Thursday seeks a judge’s approval of Pritzker’s order that schoolchildren, teachers and staff wear coverings over mouths and noses among other measures to reduce the chance that the highly contagious and potentially deadly virus can spread. A public school district and two private academies contend Pritzker no longer has authority under emergency powers to require face masks in schools, even as new cases of COVID-19 are growing in Illinois and across the country.
Advertisement
Meanwhile, Illinois health officials on Friday announced 1,384 new cases of COVID-19 and 22 additional fatalities. Officials also reported 43,692 new tests in the last 24 hours, the second day in a row the state set a testing record. Only five days have more than 35,000 tests reported.
[ Illinois’ new COVID-19 plan: How the state will manage any outbreaks in 3 charts ]
[ COVID-19 cases in Illinois by ZIP code: Search for your neighborhood ]
[ Schools reopening tracker: What suburban Chicago districts are planning for the fall ]
[ 20 questions about assessing your COVID-19 risk at restaurants, gyms and more ]
Here’s what’s happening Friday regarding COVID-19 in the Chicago area and Illinois:
7:22 p.m.: As schools weigh whether to reopen in the fall, anxiety is high among parents and teachers
As a longtime teacher in public schools and the mother of four sons, Gladys Marquez was hopeful that all of her kids — her students at Eisenhower High School in Blue Island and her youngest child still under her roof — would be heading back to the classroom this fall.
But Marquez said her early optimism has been replaced with fear and apprehension in recent weeks, as a surge in COVID-19 cases nationwide — especially among young adults — underscores the potential dangers of a premature return to school as “normal” when the virus continues to rage.
“I’ve lost two family members to COVID, my cousin and my great uncle, so I’m frustrated by those who are taking this situation very lightly, because they just don’t understand the risks,” Marquez said. “I have asthma, and one of my sons, who’s also a teacher, has diabetes. If we’re back in the classroom, I’ll be exposed to 1,800 students, and could bring COVID home to my own family. This is not time to be getting students back together, as having their lives at risk is just not an option.”
As Chicago-area school districts begin to unveil their back-to-schools plans — in many cases still tentative — they are under pressure both to reopen their buildings and to keep them closed. And anxiety is running high for parents, teachers and administrators.
Read more here. —Karen Ann Cullotta and Sophie Sherry
7:14 p.m.: How does COVID-19 affect kids? Science has answers — and gaps.
What role children play in the coronavirus pandemic is the hot-button question of the summer as kids relish their free time while schools labor over how to resume classes.
Advertisement
The Trump administration says the science “is very clear,” but many doctors who specialize in pediatrics and infectious diseases say much of the evidence is inconclusive.
“There are still a lot of unanswered questions. That is the biggest challenge,” said Dr. Sonja Rasmussen, a pediatrics professor at the University of Florida and former scientist at the U.S. Centers of Disease Control and Prevention.
Read more here. —Associated Press
5:55 p.m.: Franklin Park students can do e-learning at park district this fall, freeing up District 84 parents to go to work
Parents in Franklin Park School District 84 will have a place to send their children this fall when school returns in a hybrid remote and in-person learning format. The Park District of Franklin Park is offering a way children can do remote learning in a supervised environment.
D84 and the Park District are partnering to offer a low-cost remote learning day camp starting in August when the new school year begins, according to a news release.
“Generally, we recognize that when parents have historically had an expectation that kids were going to be in school five days a week ... they’re going to need some level of support,” District 84 Superintendent David Katzin said. “This was something that we were conscientious of from the beginnings of the development of our plan.”
Advertisement
The camp will cost $10 per day for each child from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., and an additional $10 for the late afternoon childcare option from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m, according to the school district.
Read more here. —Anna Kim
5:30 p.m.: Chicago offices are reopening with mandatory masks, empty desks and new rules
When Cushman & Wakefield’s employees started trickling back into the office Monday, they were given face masks, hand sanitizer and sticky notes.
The face masks and hand sanitizer were fairly obvious pandemic accoutrements, but the sticky notes? The commercial real estate firm is using them to make sure there aren’t more than two people in a bathroom at a time.
“I’ve got a sticky, so when I go to the bathroom I put it on the door,” said Vicki Noonan, managing principal and Chicago market lead for the company. “There shouldn’t be more than two stickies on the door.”
Some Chicago offices are starting to reopen with a limited number of employees who are volunteering to return. As they do, companies are piloting new safety policies to protect workers from a health crisis that shows few signs of waning. The early steps, from practical safeguards to quirky solutions, offer a glimpse at what office life might be like once more companies bring employees back.
Advertisement
Read more here. —Ally Marotti and Lauren Zumbach
4:33 p.m.: Cubs Convention canceled for 2021 because of COVID-19
The Cubs Convention, the longest running fan fest in pro sports, is the latest event to be canceled because of COVID-19. The 2021 convention was scheduled for Jan. 15-17 at the Sheraton Grand Chicago, where it has been held for the last eight years.
“When we thought about producing an event of this size and magnitude in a pandemic environment, it was just not practical given the constraints of unknown hotel constrictions,” Cubs spokesman Julian Green said. “We still don’t know what’s possible in a hotel environment and given an unknown capacity for mass gatherings and events in the future, and other circumstances beyond our control, we felt the practical decision was to cancel it for next January.”
The Cubs Convention began in 1986, spawning an offseason marketing event that has since been emulated by dozens of other pro teams.
Green said the Cubs could hold some virtual events for fans, as they’ve done with season ticket holders in the last few months, featuring Cubs President Theo Epstein, general manager Jed Hoyer and Chairman Tom Ricketts.
“There is no other choice for organizations than to be creative in this environment,” Green said.
Advertisement
Read more here. —Paul Sullivan
3:50 p.m.: Suburban Cook County to require anyone coming from 17 states struggling with high COVID-19 rates to quarantine for 14 days
Suburban Cook County is joining the city of Chicago in requiring people coming to Illinois from states with high rates of COVID-19 infection to quarantine upon arrival for 14 days.
The decision was announced Friday by the Cook County Department of Public Health, which has jurisdiction throughout Cook County suburbs with the exceptions of Evanston, Skokie, Oak Park and Stickney Township, each of which have their own health departments.
The requirement applies to states that have greater than 15 new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents a day, over a seven-day rolling average. In suburban Cook, with the areas not covered by the county public health department, the rate is running about 9 per 100,000.
Read more here. —Hal Dardick
2:35 p.m.: 1,384 new known COVID-19 cases, 22 additional deaths
Illinois health officials on Friday announced 1,384 new cases of COVID-19 and 22 additional fatalities, bringing the total number of known cases to 159,334 and the statewide death toll to 7,272 since the start of the pandemic.
Advertisement
Officials also reported 43,692 new tests in the last 24 hours, a new daily record. Only four days — five including today’s numbers — have more than 35,000 tests reported.
—Chicago Tribune staff
2:34 p.m.: Iowa governor overrides schools, requires in-person classes despite the coronavirus threat to teachers, students
Gov. Kim Reynolds announced Friday that she would override local school districts and require students to spend at least half of their schooling in classrooms despite the threat to teachers, students an their families from the surge in coronavirus cases in the state.
Reynolds' proclamation drew immediate criticism from the state teachers union, which called it short-sighted for unnecessarily exposing students and school employees to a health risk. A leading Democratic state senator accused Reynolds of ignoring science and common sense.
Her order did make an exception for parents who want their children to shift completely to remote learning. it also said accommodations must also be made for any student to learn remotely if they, a caregiver, or a person they live with has a health condition that would increase their risk of COVID-19.
Reynolds’ decision will invalidate plans implemented by some districts, including the state’s largest, Des Moines, which planned to limit in-person classes to one day a week for most students, with online learning on other days.
Advertisement
Read more here. —Associated Press
1:57 p.m.: Adapting a restaurant during coronavirus: Pivot and then pivot some more
In the face of the coronavirus pandemic, many restaurants scrambled to find a way to adapt. Chef Lee Wolen of Boka found four.
In the pre-pandemic days, Boka, the flagship restaurant of the Boka Restaurant Group, was one the finest restaurants in Chicago. The restaurant was a semifinalist this year in the James Beard Foundation’s Outstanding Restaurant category, and Wolen was nominated — for the fifth consecutive year — for Best Chef in the Great Lakes region.
Reservations could be hard to come by. “We were full every night back then,” said Wolen, wistfully.
And then came the mid-March shutdown, and it was time to rethink everything.
Read more here. —Phil Vettel
Advertisement
1:33 p.m.: Despite White House broadsides, polls show most Americans stick by Dr. Anthony Fauci
The Trump administration is engaged in a not-so-quiet whisper campaign to cast doubt on Dr. Anthony Fauci, the country’s top infectious disease expert, and other public health officials.
President Donald Trump’s team has increasingly questioned Fauci’s track record, and this week the White House moved to strip the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of control over collection of data on the coronavirus’s spread.
All of this lines up with Trump’s attempts to speed up the reopening process, often despite his health advisers’ warnings. Presumably, Trump is playing the long game, hoping that a return to normal will bring the economy booming back in time for the November election and that the virus could either “fade away” or become preventable by a vaccine.
But none of those things have happened so far, and when it comes to public opinion, the president appears to have boxed himself into a corner.
Read more here. —Associated Press
1:22 p.m.: Second stimulus check update: Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin calls for Congress to pass more coronavirus relief this month
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Friday called on Congress to work with the Trump administration to pass additional stimulus legislation by the end of the month as the resurgent coronavirus pandemic left the trajectory of the economic recovery uncertain.
Advertisement
The request comes as millions of Americans are about to see their expanded unemployment insurance benefits expire and as lawmakers embark on an intense week of negotiations over what would be the fourth significant bailout package since the virus shuttered large swaths of the U.S. economy earlier this year.
Read more here. —The New York Times
11:05 a.m.: Evanston high school district announces students will not attend fall classes in person, reversing earlier statement
Students in Evanston Township High School District 202 will continue e-learning this fall and will not participate in a hybrid in-person/remote-learning plan as originally announced earlier in the week.
“Beginning Monday, August 17, all ETHS students will participate in enhanced e-learning until further notice,” reads a statement posted today on the District 202 website announcing the 2020 fall reopening plan.
ETHS will transition to a hybrid model that includes in-person instruction only “if conditions permit,” the statement reads.
Read more here. —Genevieve Bookwalter
Advertisement
10:57 a.m.: Coronavirus mask donations dwindle. Group puts out call for more face coverings for new moms.
When the coronavirus crisis hit Illinois, many people began firing up their sewing machines to make face coverings for themselves and to donate.
Organizations across Chicago received donations. But now, it seems, mask-making fatigue might have set in while there is still a need for donations.
“People are just burned out, moved on,” said Arden Handler, a doctor who organizes mask collection to be distributed throughout the city by Masks for Moms, which collects reusable cloth face masks for pregnant and postpartum women.
Read more here. —Alison Bowen
10:45 a.m.: Chicago Public Schools proposes hybrid of online and in-person classes for fall, despite union opposition
Chicago Public Schools has released a much-anticipated blueprint for fall instruction, saying it plans to adopt a hybrid-learning model that will bring most students back for two-consecutive days of in-person learning on a rotating basis if public health officials say it can be done safely.
Under the “preliminary framework” shared Friday, students in kindergarten through 10th grade will have two days of in-person learning and two days of remote work at home and real-time virtual instruction each Wednesday. When at school, they’ll be grouped into pods of 15 to minimize contact with classmates. High school seniors and juniors will mostly continue to learn at home, except for those who need additional support or those in vocational programs.
Advertisement
[ Read the Chicago Public Schools’ blueprint for hybrid-learning for fall instruction ]
The district also outlined increased hygiene protocols for its buildings to prevent the spread of the coronavirus: 400 additional custodians have been hired to clean facilities, students will have to wear cloth masks and comply with daily temperature checks before entering school and a supply of hand sanitizer and disinfectant wipes will be available in every classroom.
Nothing in the framework is finalized. CPS says it will solicit feedback from parents in five virtual meetings through the end of July, with sessions held in English and Spanish, and parents can also their reactions in a new survey launched by the district. The district will share the final plan in early August.
Read more here. —John Byrne, Elyssa Cherney and Sophie Sherry
7 a.m.: Gov. J.B. Pritzker takes unusual step of filing a lawsuit to ensure school children wear face coverings
The action filed late Thursday in Sangamon County Circuit Court by the state attorney general seeks a judge’s approval of Pritzker’s order that schoolchildren, teachers and staff wear coverings over mouths and noses among other measures to reduce the chance that the highly contagious and potentially deadly virus can spread.
It’s typical for the governor to be in court as a defendant seeking validation of a policy or action. In this instance, no lawsuit has been filed, but a public school district and two private academies have informed the Illinois State Board of Education that Pritzker no longer has authority under emergency rule-making to require face masks in schools and that they will be developing their own safety rules.
It was time to get ahead of the issue, Ann Spillane, Pritzker’s chief legal counsel, told The Associated Press.
Advertisement
With the surging spread of COVID-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus, Pritzker on March 13 ordered public schools closed — eventually for the rest of the term. Despite a leveling off of cases in Illinois, there are concerns here and, especially in other parts of the nation where case numbers are rising again, about reopening the classic community center, the school, in an age where people are urged to wear face masks, stay 6 feet apart, and step up the hygiene protocol dramatically.
Pritzker in June released of a set of guidelines for safe congregation in schools from kindergarten through college, but among others, the state’s two major teachers’ unions have continued worries about keeping congested classrooms, hallways and playgrounds safe.
—Associated Press
6:45 a.m.: What is herd immunity? And how do we get there on COVID-19?
Add to the pandemic lexicon another once-obscure term that’s come into common usage: “herd immunity.”
Along with “flatten the curve,” “social distancing” and “super spreader,” it’s a phrase that prior to COVID-19 was casually uttered mainly by epidemiologists and public health officials. But while the meanings of those other terms are now clear to many, herd immunity is a concept that is more complex, more nuanced and often misunderstood, scientists say.
With no end to the pandemic in sight, some public figures are arguing that nearly all restrictions and required precautions should be lifted so enough people become sick to achieve herd immunity. But epidemiologists and other public health experts say that’s a really lousy idea.
Advertisement
Read more here. —Hal Dardick
6:30 a.m.: Abbott earnings top expectations, with $615M in sales from COVID-19 testing
Abbott Laboratories on Thursday reported second-quarter net income of $537 million.
The company, based in the north suburbs, recorded worldwide sales of $7.3 billion in the second quarter, and noted that $615 million of that was related to COVID-19 diagnostic testing.
Read more here. —Associated Press


chicagotribune--2020-07-17--Column: Gather ’round, French majors, religion majors and more. Let us celebrate what the liberal ar

Column: Gather ’round, French majors, religion majors and more. Let us celebrate what the liberal arts taught us.

In retrospect , that line of study sounds like a luxury , made possible by the economy of the era @ @ @ @ @ people — not all — to believe that they ’ d find a decent job @ @ @ @ @ the economy , like most everything , has changed .
In the past dozen years @ @ @ @ @ have moved away from the humanities and into science and technology .
By one 2019 @ @ @ @ @ English majors had declined by 25 % since the Great Recession of 2008 .

Gather around, French majors and anthropology majors and you who focused your college life on the blessed study of religion. English majors, sociology majors, philosophy majors, you may as well squeeze in, too, because things aren’t looking great for you, either.
Together let us mourn the decline of the college subjects that helped make us who we are today.
Advertisement
This lament is occasioned by the recent announcement that Illinois Wesleyan University, a small liberal arts college in Bloomington, will stop offering degrees in religion, anthropology, Italian and French.
Many of Illinois Wesleyan’s faculty and alumni are shocked and disturbed by the decision, which, as the Tribune’s Elyssa Cherney reported, was “part of an effort to adapt to growing student demand for career-oriented classes.”
Advertisement
Illinois Wesleyan is just one of the liberal arts colleges under similar pressure these days, and I’m not here to argue with its decision-makers. Many liberal arts colleges are struggling to stay relevant and financially afloat, while also figuring out how to educate students who in the past didn’t have access to college. It’s a vital and complicated struggle.
But I do want to offer an appreciation of the kinds of majors — the old-fashioned humanities courses — that don’t seem to lead straight toward a career.
Back in another century, I entered my liberal arts college with a flimsier high school education than many of my fellow students and a blurrier idea of the future. Lots of my peers were majoring in economics, mathematics, chemistry and political science as they aimed toward careers as professors, doctors and lawyers. I’d given no thought to a career. My part-time college waitress job, which consumed 15 to 20 hours a week, kept me from studying as hard as would have been optimal. It helped that my parents weren’t “professionals” and didn’t pressure me to be one either.
So when junior year arrived and we lollygaggers were forced to declare a major, I surveyed the scattered courses I’d already taken and declared I was majoring in “liberal arts with an emphasis on French, English and ancient Greek.”
I wasn’t accomplished in any of those fields, but I managed to graduate.
In retrospect, that line of study sounds like a luxury, made possible by the economy of the era, which allowed many young people — not all — to believe that they’d find a decent job come what may. But the economy, like most everything, has changed. In the past dozen years, many colleges and students have moved away from the humanities and into science and technology. By one 2019 count, the number of English majors had declined by 25% since the Great Recession of 2008.
Students and their parents aren’t crazy to hope that college is preparation for a job that pays the bills, including that jumbo student debt. But preparing for the world also involves skills and knowledge that only the humanities provide.
Chicago Tribune Opinion Weekdays Read the latest editorials and commentary curated by the Tribune Opinion team. By submitting your email to receive this newsletter, you agree to our Subscriber Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy >
From the study of English, I learned many real-world lessons: the power of a well-written story to reveal truth and sway minds, how the mere rhythm of a good poem can shift a mood.
Advertisement
From French, I learned the feel of a different language on my tongue and in my heart, along with the important fact that the United States occupies only a small portion of the world and its history.
A statue of the Greek historian Herodotus, outside Austria's Parliament in Vienna. (Getty)
From ancient Greek I learned, well, honestly, I remember almost nothing about ancient Greek, except the name Herodotus and the Greek professor who would reply to my excuses for late homework by cackling, in English, and with an eye roll, “No problem, as the Greeks say!” (I’ve always wondered if the Greeks really say that.)
None of my coursework looks persuasive on a modern resume, and I wouldn’t advise this kind of hodgepodge major to a student today. At the same time, I can appreciate what many humanities majors know — that these seemingly esoteric lessons can become part of the solid ground of your life.
Humanities courses — taught well — seed not only knowledge of the wide and varied world, but curiosity about it. They teach you that you can’t understand today’s world only by listening to today’s news. A good liberal arts education, whatever your major is, teaches you that learning is always just the beginning of learning. It provides context, perspective, a sense of possibility. In short, it teaches you to think. Even as colleges adapt to changing demands and needs, those are lessons they and we should be careful not to disregard.
I bet Herodotus had something to say about all this, if only I could remember what.
mschmich@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-07-17--1 dead, 8 wounded, including 14-year-old boy in separate shootings Friday on South, West sides

The boy was struck in the facial area , and was taken to Comer Children ’ s Hospital .
The @ @ @ @ @ arm and the woman suffered a wound to the buttocks .
The adults were taken @ @ @ @ @ Medical Center .
All three victims ’ conditions were not immediately known , police said @

A 26-year-old man was killed, and eight others were wounded, including a 14-year-old boy, in shootings Friday on the South and West sides, Chicago police said.
In the fatal shooting, the victim was in the 7700 block of South Carpenter Street in the Gresham neighborhood when a vehicle pulled up and someone fired shots. The man was struck multiple times in his body, police said.
Advertisement
He was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center where he was pronounced dead.
The latest shooting happened about 5:30 p.m. in the East Chatham neighborhood in the 8200 block of South Drexel Avenue.
Advertisement
Police said three people were shot, a 14-year-old boy, a 21-year-old man and a woman, 27. The three were on the sidewalk when a vehicle approached, and someone fired shots.
The boy was struck in the facial area, and was taken to Comer Children’s Hospital. The man was hit in an arm and the woman suffered a wound to the buttocks. The adults were taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center. All three victims’ conditions were not immediately known, police said.
About 2:45 p.m., three people were wounded in the 3200 block of West 13th Street in the Lawndale neighborhood.
Police said the victims, ages 18, 21 and 21, were inside a vehicle when they heard shots and felt pain.
The youngest man suffered a graze wound to the elbow. The second victim, 20, suffered a leg wound and the third, 21, was hit in the buttocks, police said. All three were taken in good condition to Mount Sinai Hospital.
Friday morning, a 15-year-old boy and an 18-year-old man were wounded in a drive-by shooting in the Humboldt Park neighborhood, police said.
Shortly before 10 a.m., the victims were walking west in the 3700 block of West Chicago Avenue, when someone inside a dark-colored SUV, possibly a Range Rover, opened fire.
The boy was hit multiple times to the buttocks, and the man suffered a wound to the foot and a graze wound to the head, police said.
Advertisement
Both were taken in good condition to Stroger Hospital.
No one was in custody.