chicagotribune--2020-06-12--Lawsuit claims Symphony of Joliet nursing home failed to protect residents from coronavirus

Nursing home officials have said the maintenance worker went from room to room , assembling tables for residents , after @ @ @ @ @ closed .
He showed no symptoms at the time , but later became sick with @ @ @ @ @ is believed to have been a “ super spreader ” of the virus , the @ @ @ @

State records show the Symphony nursing home in Joliet, shown in April 2020, had over 130 cases of COVID-19. (Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune)
A lawsuit has been filed against Symphony of Joliet on behalf of an 84-year-old man who died of COVID-19, alleging the nursing home failed to protect him against the coronavirus.
David Mitchell began suffering a fever, loss of appetite and difficulty breathing in late March, according to the suit filed Thursday in Will County. Even though the nursing home said it was keeping residents isolated in their rooms, Mitchell was served breakfast in the communal dining room on March 28.
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That afternoon, Mitchell underwent a chest X-ray and an EKG to check his symptoms, the suit states. On March 30, he was transferred to Amita Health St. Joseph Medical Center in Joliet, where he tested positive for the coronavirus. He died on April 7.
The suit alleges that several members of the staff, including a maintenance worker, began showing symptoms of COVID-19 in early March, but were told to continue to work without protective equipment.
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Even after federal authorities issued guidelines on March 13 to screen all nursing home workers for fever or respiratory problems, the suit claims Symphony of Joliet failed to do so and staff members continued working with residents without masks or other protective gear.
Nursing home officials have said the maintenance worker went from room to room, assembling tables for residents, after the main dining room was closed. He showed no symptoms at the time, but later became sick with COVID-19 and died. He is believed to have been a “super spreader” of the virus, the home has said.
Later that month, Symphony of Joliet reported that it was taking “massive” precautions, checking the temperatures of staff and residents twice a day, disinfecting high-touch surfaces 12 times a day, and mandating personal protective equipment like masks and gloves.
State records show the home had 132 cases of COVID, with 26 deaths, among the most at an Illinois long-term care facility.
Natalie Bauer, a spokesperson for the Symphony Care Network, which operates the home, called the lawsuit “baseless,” saying it ignores the heroic efforts by medical and support staff at the home.
“We mourn the loss of Mr. Mitchell and grieve with his family,” Bauer wrote in a statement, “but we also know Symphony implemented infectious disease prevention protocols long before the federal government’s inconsistent and delayed guidance, and at all times has exceeded the CDC guidelines.”
The home also hired an infectious disease expert and a gerontologist to lead a task force to prevent the spread of the disease, she said.
But Dottie Wallace, Mitchell’s daughter, said the nursing home failed to test for the virus soon enough to protect the residents.
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“They were saying there weren’t any cases there,” said Wallace, the plaintiff in the case. “But the truth was that they just weren’t testing for them. Even after my father developed a fever and a cough, he wasn’t tested.”
Symphony previously cited a nationwide shortage of testing, saying proper testing would have caught such cases and saved lives. Gov. J.B. Pritzker since announced an effort to provide more testing in nursing homes.
A related lawsuit was filed Thursday against the Symphony at the Tillers nursing home in Oswego by the family of Rosemarie Castellano, who died from COVID-19 on May 4. The suit alleges that multiple residents were transferred from the Joliet home to the one in Oswego, where residents continued to share rooms.
Castellano died with COVID-19 on May 4.
The Symphony Care Network reports that it operates 28 nursing homes in four states.


chicagotribune--2020-06-12--Scooters will return to Chicago streets this summer as the city launches an even larger pilot progra

Scooters will return to Chicago streets this summer as the city launches an even larger pilot program

This year ’ s four-month pilot will have 10,000 scooters and three vendors , and the devices will be available @ @ @ @ @ district , the lakefront and The 606 trail .
It will start in late July @ @ @ @ @ central business district is defined as Chicago Avenue on the north , Roosevelt Road on @ @ @ @ @ on the west , with another western boundary on Clark between Chicago and Division Street @

A woman on a electric scooter joins a pack of bicyclists as they zoom past Milwaukee Avenue near Ashland in Chicago during the morning rush hour, Aug. 13, 2019, (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
Chicago is rolling out another electric scooter pilot program this summer, following a popular but controversial trial last year.
This time, the program will have four times as many electric scooters and include most of the city. There also will be new rules, including a requirement that all scooters be locked to something, such as a bike rack or another fixed object, at the end of a ride.
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Last summer, the city tried a four-month pilot with 2,500 scooters over a 50-square-mile area of the North, South and West sides.
A commuter at LaSalle and Randolph Streets in Chicago uses a scooter on July 19, 2019. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)
This year’s four-month pilot will have 10,000 scooters and three vendors, and the devices will be available everywhere except the central business district, the lakefront and The 606 trail. It will start in late July or early August. The central business district is defined as Chicago Avenue on the north, Roosevelt Road on the south, Halsted Street on the west, with another western boundary on Clark between Chicago and Division Street.
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“The goal of the second pilot is to apply lessons learned from the first pilot and focus on issues of equity, parking solutions and safety, especially so during this time of the unprecedented COVID-19 health crisis,” said Chicago Department of Transportation spokesman Michael Claffey.
(Chicago Tribune dataviz)
Claffey said the city will look at whether the rented scooters can be a good option long-term, and in particular, whether they can help people in neighborhoods with transportation and economic issues.
Unlike last year, the companies will not have to round up scooters every night for redistribution in the morning.
. The requirement to lock scooters to a bike rack or other fixed object is intended to eliminate complaints last year of scooters being left in the middle of sidewalks or in doorways, posing a tripping hazard.
Commuters head towards their trains as electric scooters stand parked ready for use on Aug. 13, 2019. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
Because of the risks posed by the coronavirus, companies will need to clean the scooters each time their staff comes in contact with them, and riders will be encouraged to wear gloves and wash and/or disinfect their hands after each use.
The scooters can be rented using a phone app. Last year, pricing varied, with most unlocking for $1 plus 15 cents a minute. Prices are set by the vendors.
The 2019 program was fairly popular, with riders taking about 7,000 trips a day. But it was also controversial, with complaints of unsafe riding and nearly 200 emergency room visits because of scooter-related injuries.
Scooters were ridden on sidewalks, outside of the designated pilot area, and by children, even though the program was meant only for adults. The city issued citations to scooter companies for problems ranging from not having a working front light to not responding to complaints.
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A man on a electric scooter zooms down Milwaukee Avenue near Ashland in Chicago during the morning rush hour on Aug. 13, 2019. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
Last year’s program also drew complaints because there were 10 providers, so riders had to put multiple apps on their phones. This time, the city will only pick three, with each deploying up to 3,333 scooters. Applications are due June 25, and the winners will be announced in July, according to the CDOT.
Under the 2019 program, vendors had to place at least 25% of scooters each morning in two West Side priority areas. The areas were chosen because they had less access to Divvy bikes than other parts of the city.
Despite efforts to encourage people in all parts of the city to use the scooters, a city study found that demand was highest in the West Loop and along Milwaukee Avenue, where there already are multiple transportation options.
Scooter companies this year will be required to deploy half of their devices throughout priority areas on the South and West Sides that will be subdivided into 20 zones, in order to provide equitable and balanced distribution, Claffey said.
Crystal Rosales, a frequent user of electric scooters, prepares to take a ride on Milwaukee Avenue near Ashland Avenue in Chicago on Aug. 13, 2019. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
Vendors also have to offer digital and social media educational material, and work with Chicago Police and the transportation department’s safety ambassadors to host educational events and give away helmets, which are recommended, though not required. An in-app safety quiz will be required for all new riders, the city said.
Chicago gave permits last year to Bird, Bolt, gruv, Jump, Lime, Lyft, Sherpa, Spin, VeoRide and Wheels. The same companies are being allowed to apply this year, though Jump and Lime have merged, Claffey said.
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mwisniewski@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-06-12--Waukegan man charged in fatal unincorporated Gurnee shooting

The driver of the vehicle began to drive away as Jones was attempting to open the car door in an @ @ @ @ @ money , according to the release .
An occupant in the vehicle then shot Jones @

A Waukegan man was charged this week with first-degree murder after the 21-year-old man he planned to rob was shot as he tried to retrieve his stolen money, according to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
Donterrance M. Nixon, 22, of the 600 block of Lenox Avenue, did not shoot Elliot Jones, who was found fatally shot May 29 near his home in unincorporated Gurnee, said Sgt. Christopher Covelli, a spokesman for the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
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He declined to say who shot Jones, citing the ongoing investigation. More than two people were in the car that went to Jones’ home that evening.
Covelli also declined to say whether the other people involved have been identified, and whether charges are pending.
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Nixon was arrested at about 6 p.m. on June 8 after being identified as a “person of interest” in the investigation into what happened to Jones, according to the news release.
Nixon and Jones spent some time together during the day on May 29, but then parted ways that evening, according to the news release. They continued to communicate via electronic messages and Nixon offered to sell Jones marijuana.
He “really intended on robbing Jones,” according to the release.
About 9:50 p.m, Nixon arrived at Jones’ residence in the 36900 block of North Grandwood Drive in a car driven by another person, according to Covelli and the release.
Jones walked to where Nixon was seated, and Nixon robbed Jones of the cash he was going to use to buy the marijuana, according to the release.
The driver of the vehicle began to drive away as Jones was attempting to open the car door in an effort to retrieve his stolen money, according to the release. An occupant in the vehicle then shot Jones.
Nixon, who had an active arrest warrant for violating the sex offender registry, was arrested June 8 during a traffic stop at the intersection of Northfield Avenue and North McAree Road in Waukegan, according to therelease.
He appeared at an initial court hearing Thursday where his bail was set at $3 million. His next court date is scheduled for July 1.


chicagotribune--2020-06-12--Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot to introduce coronavirus tenant protection ordinance

According to the ordinance , the landlord would have the option to offer to spread out repayment of each month @ @ @ @ @ 60 days , to submit the matter for mediation , to apply the tenant ’ @ @ @ @ @ unpaid amount , to offer to waive all or part of the unpaid rent if @ @ @ @ @ or to enter into some other agreement with the renter .

Mayor Lori Lightfoot plans to introduce a package next week designed to give renters who’ve lost income due to the coronavirus pandemic a measure of protection against evictions, even as some housing advocates hope to strengthen it in the coming days to do more for tenants.
The mayor’s latest proposal comes a month after progressive aldermen ripped another Lightfoot tenant protection ordinance as inadequate and blocked it, at least temporarily, from getting approved.
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The new measure sets rules to follow for people who can’t make their rent payments because of the economic upheaval and rash of layoffs because of the coronavirus.
Under the guidelines the Lightfoot administration plans to submit to the City Council Housing Committee on Monday, tenants who inform landlords they’ve been financially impacted by the pandemic would get seven days to try to engage in some kind of “good faith negotiations” to come to a “mutually satisfactory agreement for repayment of the unpaid rent.”
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According to the ordinance, the landlord would have the option to offer to spread out repayment of each month’s unpaid rent over 60 days, to submit the matter for mediation, to apply the tenant’s security deposit toward the unpaid amount, to offer to waive all or part of the unpaid rent if the tenant moves out, or to enter into some other agreement with the renter.
In a letter to Housing Committee Chairman Ald. Harry Osterman, 48th, the Chicago Housing Justice League said the mayor’s plan has “some promising language that will benefit renters, but its effectiveness is undermined by a few loopholes and otherwise unenforceable provisions.”
In particular, the letter predicted unscrupulous landlords would circumvent the rules by simply terminating month-to-month leases with 30 days notice.
And it raised concerns that the good faith negotiations would be “mere recommendations and the bill places no meaningful obligation on the landlord."
David Zoltan of the Housing Justice League said Osterman has been open to discussions about making the ordinance better. “We need this bill to be strong to protect as many Chicagoans as possible,” Zoltan said.
In May, Lightfoot introduced to the City Council a separate ordinance to require more notice and in some cases payments to renters from landlords who are not renewing their leases.
Opponents said it didn’t go nearly far enough to protect tenants’ rights, and used a parliamentary procedure to shunt it to the Rules Committee, a sort of legislative purgatory. Rules is set to meet Tuesday, however, and Lightfoot could seek to get it voted out of that committee and back on the council docket.
The mayor in May said she was confident she had the votes to pass that legislation without making changes. “I have no expectations that the proposal will be revised,” the mayor said then.
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jebyrne@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @_johnbyrne


chicagotribune--2020-06-12--Lakeview sees packed tables and long waits as outdoor dining takes to the streets

The chamber said Dine Out on Broadway , which closes the street from Belmont Avenue to Diversey Parkway for vehicular @ @ @ @ @ this weekend and next .
Five other street closures are planned as part of the @ @ @ @ @ , and Maneein , Thomas and fellow diner Joshua McKelphin said they plan to take @ @ @ @ @ in the program as they open .

Signage at West Belmont Avenue looking south on North Broadway in Chicago on Friday, June 12, 2020 greets passersby and introduces the program closing the street to make room for restaurant dining tables outdoors. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)
In another universe, the Friday lunch scene running down the middle of a closed North Broadway would be largely unremarkable, as the stretch of Lakeview is a frequent host to street festivals and business activations organized by the Lakeview East Chamber of Commerce.
But as the city awakens from its self-imposed shutdown aimed at slowing the spread of COVID-19, grabbing lunch — even while wearing masks and sitting at tables spaced 6 feet apart — feels like something worth celebrating.
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“The crazy part is that it’s not normal,” said Jonathan Thomas, who met up with a couple of friends for lunch outside Crisp, a popular Korean fried chicken destination. “It looks like a fest, but we know all the festivals are closed.”
His friend, Ying Maneein, said he’d been waiting for this moment since the city announced it would close major streets along six popular Chicago corridors to allow for additional outdoor dining as the city entered phase three of the state’s reopening plan.
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“This might be the best thing we have this summer,” Maneein said. “Three months, that’s all the summer we have, so I hope they keep this going.”
The chamber said Dine Out on Broadway, which closes the street from Belmont Avenue to Diversey Parkway for vehicular traffic, will take place this weekend and next. Five other street closures are planned as part of the city’s pilot program, and Maneein, Thomas and fellow diner Joshua McKelphin said they plan to take a tour of each neighborhood in the program as they open.
Up the street, Benjamin Ramirez was serving diners outside his Mexican restaurant, Buena Vista. Ramirez said he was happy to have the chance to drum up business after a fiscal pummeling brought on by the shutdown.
[ What you need to know about closing Chicago city streets to make room for more outdoor dining space ]
“At the beginning, I told my co-workers, let’s try (takeout and delivery) for a weekend, and if we don’t make it, we’ll have to close,” Ramirez said Friday. “We have to pay rent, and if it’s not enough to pay rent and our employees, then it’s better to stay closed.”
But the amount of business so far has been enough to keep Buena Vista in business, he said. Ramirez was also optimistic that a bustling weekend would further boost sales — enough so that he brought on two additional employees to work Saturday and Sunday.
The chamber asked participating restaurants to make a donation in order to receive rented tables and chairs, which they set up as extensions of already available outdoor dining. Some sidewalk patios covered the width of the sidewalk, as the streets open to pedestrians for the weekend. Additional communal seating, not tied to a specific eatery, provides additional space for people to sit down with their food.
Even on a workday, nearly all tables were full during lunch Friday. At Wilde Bar & Restaurant, which also offered some indoor dining near its large open windows, wait times stretched as long as 45 minutes as diners eagerly awaited a chance to enjoy a meal in public, many for the first time in months.
Still, some worried that the corridor — which draws elbow-to-elbow crowds during street festivals such as the Lakeview East Festival of the Arts and Pride — would become too packed at a time when social distancing is still highly necessary. On Friday, about half the diners and passersby wore masks, while others wandered about with faces unencumbered by the requisite facial coverings — despite signs at restaurants reminding people to don them.
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“I’m hoping people don’t treat it like a street festival,” said Crisp manager Calvin Buckner, who noted that a passing customer of the nearby crepe shop said she came to Lakeview from the suburbs after hearing about the street closure. “We’re all just trying to enjoy the great weather, but still stay safe and healthy. It’s running pretty smooth so far, but we’ll see when tomorrow comes.”
archeung@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-06-12--Jussie Smollett loses bid to have new case dropped on double-jeopardy grounds

“ I don ’ t know exactly how to describe it , ” he said .
“ I ’ ve @ @ @ @ @ ( or ) anything like that .
Perhaps clarity will come about that at some @ @ @ @ @ maybe other people to address that … what didn ’ t happen is that double @ @ @ @ @ .
”

Actor Jussie Smollett leaves the Cook County Jail on March 16, 2022, after he was ordered to be released pending appeal of his conviction and 150-day sentence. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)
Jussie Smollett’s new criminal charges do not violate his right against double jeopardy, a Cook County judge ruled Friday.
The controversial end to Smollett’s case last year — in which the actor entered an informal arrangement to forfeit his $10,000 bond, with no admission of wrongdoing, in exchange for his charges being dropped — does not count as criminal punishment, Judge James Linn ruled.
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“You cannot have any criminal penalty, whether it’s jail, probation, conditional discharge … none of that can be ordered on the innocent or presumed innocent or the unadjudicated,” Linn said in denying the defense’s request to throw out the case.
In addition, Linn noted Smollett’s new case was brought after a different judge, Michael Toomin, ruled that the first prosecution was void in its entirety. That was because Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx improperly recused herself, Toomin said last year. The new case was brought by veteran attorney Dan Webb, whom Toomin appointed special prosecutor.
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With Linn’s ruling, Smollett remains mired in legal drama on many fronts, including a lawsuit brought by the city of Chicago, which is seeking to recoup the costs of the police investigation of the alleged hoax. The actor participated in the Zoom hearing via audio from Los Angeles.
The legal principle of double jeopardy protects defendants from being tried twice for the same crime — but in general, it only kicks in when someone begins a trial or pleads guilty, according to legal experts.
Prosecutors were quick to point out Friday that jeopardy had never “attached" to Smollett’s first case.
Smollett’s attorney, Tina Glandian, argued that the conclusion to Smollett’s case, while unusual, was similar to a pretrial diversion or deferred prosecution program, which were arguments also made by Cook County prosecutors in the aftermath of the case’s dismissal.
And Smollett entered into the agreement with the expectation that if he held up his end of the bargain, it would close the book on his case, Glandian said.
“This money was a fine, it was a penalty that he had to pay in order to resolve this matter, it’s something he agreed to do while maintaining his innocence,” she said.
Double jeopardy protections bar defendants from being punished twice, Glandian pointed out, and the $10,000 bond forfeiture counted as punishment even without a guilty plea.
But that money was paid voluntarily in exchange for dropping the charges — not as a condition of any formal plea agreement or because a judge ordered it as a sanction, argued Sean Wieber of the special prosecution team.
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And actual deferred-prosecution programs have conditions far more involved than what Smollett did, including a year of supervision, full restitution and regular court dates.
“We know he didn’t participate in (deferred prosecution) and instead they say he effectively complied," Wieber said. “But effective compliance is no compliance at all, because there was no actual enrollment.”
In all, the informal nature of Smollett’s agreement with the previous prosecutors offered him “zero certainty of finality,” Wieber said.
In declining to toss out the charges, Linn, echoing many observers before him, said he had never seen anything like what happened the day Smollett’s first charges were dropped.
“I don’t know exactly how to describe it,” he said. “I’ve never quite seen a transcript (or) anything like that. Perhaps clarity will come about that at some later date, there are maybe other people to address that … what didn’t happen is that double jeopardy attached to that proceeding.”
A special Cook County grand jury indicted Smollett in February on six counts of disorderly conduct alleging he orchestrated a racist and homophobic attack on himself in downtown Chicago in January 2019.
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The allegations were similar to charges brought by Foxx’s office last year. Foxx had recused herself from overseeing the prosecution, revealing she’d had contact with a member of Smollett’s family early in the investigation at the request of Tina Tchen, Michelle Obama’s former chief of staff.
But in appointing attorney Dan Webb as special prosecutor last year, Toomin wrote that Foxx botched the recusal by handing the reins to her top deputy. Because the recusal was invalid, the entire process played out without a real prosecutor at the helm, he wrote.
mcrepeau@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-06-12--COVID-19 cases in Illinois by ZIP code: Search for your neighborhood

Search below by street address , ZIP code or city , then click on the map to see the number @ @ @ @ @ state is not providing data for any ZIP code with five cases or fewer .

Note: With Chicago and Illinois moving into phase 5, the Tribune is no longer updating this data. If the state moves back into bridge phase, the Tribune we reassess. Daily metrics on COVID-19, like cases, deaths and hospitalizations, can be found here. And Daily metrics on the vaccination effort can be found here. More on where the coronavirus stands nationally and around the world can be found here.
Illinois releases the number of positive COVID-19 cases by ZIP code daily. The map below shows the cumulative cases for each area as well as other analysis of the data.
• Check out the Tribune’s coronavirus coverage.
• Tracking daily Illinois coronavirus deaths, cases and tests.
Search below by street address, ZIP code or city, then click on the map to see the number of confirmed and probable cases. The state is not providing data for any ZIP code with five cases or fewer.
Data as of June 10.
The map search tool above works best in Chrome or Firefox and may not perform consistently in Internet Explorer.
Note: Because of a coding error this map was displaying the incorrect rates for new cases in the last 7 days per 100,000 people — the issue should now be resolved.. The Tribune adjusted the data shown on the map below to focus on new cases, those the state tracked in the last 7 seven days. The totals for the entire pandemic are still available, but in the pop-up after tapping or clicking on a ZIP.


chicagotribune--2020-06-12--When can Illinois move to phase 4 of reopening plan? Here’s where each region stands.

With each of the state ’ s four regions in Phase 3 of Gov .
J.B. Pritzker ’ s Restore @ @ @ @ @ starts on moving on to Phase 4 , where more businesses and activities are allowed @ @ @ @ @ Illinois — from restaurants and salons to open space to non-COVID-19 procedures at the hospital @ @ @ @ @ depends on a host of metrics laid out by Pritzker .

Chad Yoder, Nausheen Husain, Jennifer Smith Richards, Jonathon Berlin

With each of the state’s four regions in Phase 3 of Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s Restore Illinois plan, the clock starts on moving on to Phase 4, where more businesses and activities are allowed. The plan to reopen Illinois — from restaurants and salons to open space to non-COVID-19 procedures at the hospital to concerts and festivals — depends on a host of metrics laid out by Pritzker.
The metrics focus on a rolling average of positive coronavirus cases and hospitalizations to keep track of the direction of the outbreak as well as availability of hospital beds and ventilators that would be needed to handle a possible surge. There are also benchmarks for testing and tracing positive tests.
[ COVID-19 cases in Illinois by ZIP code: Search for your neighborhood ]
A key element of the plan is that a region can move both forward and backward, where more parts of society can open and shut depending on the seriousness of the outbreak.
Here is a breakdown of where each region stands.


chicagotribune--2020-06-12--Tracking Illinois coronavirus: 6,260 deaths, 1131,198 confirmed cases, 1.14 million tests, 7.82% pos

Tracking Illinois coronavirus: 6,260 deaths, 1131,198 confirmed cases, 1.14 million tests, 7.82% positivity rate for Northeast region

As the coronavirus spreads and local , state and national governments work to contain and mitigate the outbreak , the @ @ @ @ @ .

Johns Hopkins University & Medicine tracked coronavirus cases, deaths and test totals from Jan. 22, 2020 through March 10, 2023, but is no longer providing this data. These charts will no longer be updated.
Check the Illinois Department of Public Health for the most up-to-date data for Illinois.
[ Remembering the lives of those in Illinois who died from coronavirus ]
Can’t see these charts? Go here.


chicagotribune--2020-06-12--From Oak Park to Hyde Park, Sydney Jackson finds her voice

“ We are celebrating Juneteenth , which is really like an independence celebration for Black people .
We are going @ @ @ @ @ of trying to get celebrities and radio hosts and really have more the vibe of @ @ @ @ @ said the University of Chicago rising senior from Oak Park .
“ There ’ ll @ @ @ @ @ handouts and stuff .
My biggest goal right now is trying to figure out how @ @ @ @ @ corporate sponsorships .
”

Sydney Jackson has already helped to organize one South Side Chicago march demanding police accountability, and her next project — “our big, big, big event,” she says — is Friday’s Chicago Peace and Equality Juneteenth Rally & Celebration 2020.
“We are celebrating Juneteenth, which is really like an independence celebration for Black people. We are going at it from the goal of trying to get celebrities and radio hosts and really have more the vibe of a block party,” said the University of Chicago rising senior from Oak Park. “There’ll be fireworks, lots of handouts and stuff. My biggest goal right now is trying to figure out how to secure, like, corporate sponsorships.”
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The aim is to have thousands come to the South Loop Green Space at 2400 S. State St. for causes including redistribution of police funding, opposition to police brutality and the Juneteenth celebration.
“PLEASE WEAR MASKS!!!” says the rally’s Facebook events page. “We are gathering at a legal spot and this is a PEACEFUL DEMONSTRATION. Signs and your voice will do.”
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Portrait of Sydney Jackson outside her home in Oak Park, Wednesday, June 10, 2020. Jackson has been organizing Black Lives Matter events. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune) (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
For Jackson’s first two years at UChicago, though, “some of the campus organizing didn’t seem like it was my calling necessarily,” said the anthropology and race and ethnic studies double major.
This was, perhaps, surprising.
In high school in Oak Park, Jackson led the founding of a group, Roses4Austin, which teaches arts after school in the West Side Chicago neighborhood “to address the vast inequity between the communities of Oak Park and Austin,” as its Facebook site explains.
She worked with and learned from Anthony Clark, the activist Oak Park and River Forest High School teacher. “Mr. Clark is my right-hand mentor,” said Jackson, 21. “Mr. Clark is the person who I can call any time of day and know that I have a listening ear.”
But, she said, “my first couple years of college, I was less active in being involved in social justice initiatives because I really was able to just barely get by in school and working. I ended up in a position right now where I have the time, means and energy to be doing something. I feel like it's only right that I do.”
With all the news percolating over the killing of George Floyd in Minnesota and other injustices, she said she work up one morning in May “feeling galvanized to do something.”
“Being biracial myself, being from Oak Park, being from a very loving family, I have so many resources that I can leverage personally to benefit my fellow black and brown Chicagoans,” she said.
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She put up a Facebook post that day, which drew other supporters and evolved into an afternoon march on May 31 that went from Bronzeville to Hyde Park and drew, Jackson estimated, over 1,000 people.
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Seeing that event come off well “was just affirming,” she said. “Really and truly, I don’t have a personal agenda. It’s not to say I don’t like that I’m doing it, but if it were not necessary, by no means would I be out here organizing and meeting, dedicating my whole life to this right now.
“So to just kind of be able to, with the support of so many other people, come together and create this action — to look around and see people’s voices being heard and to see this demonstration of community — that is 100 percent successful right there.”
Trying to organize things with “very horizontal leadership” and connect with other efforts with similar goals — “providing healing for, particularly, black people,” is how she boils it down — Jackson is energized by the response the movement has been able to generate.
“Right now and in this time, my life has made abundantly clear that this is what I’m supposed to be doing,” she said.
sajohnson@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @StevenKJohnson


chicagotribune--2020-06-12--Remembering the lives of those in Illinois who died from coronavirus

As the number of deaths attributable to COVID-19 ticks upward , the Tribune is working to chronicle those who have @ @ @ @ @ Chicago area or who have connections to our region .
These are some of those @ @

They were mothers and fathers, daughters and sons. Many were proud grandparents. Two were sisters from a tight-knit South Side family. All were loved, relatives say, and will be forever missed.
As the number of deaths attributable to COVID-19 ticks upward, the Tribune is working to chronicle those who have lost their lives in the Chicago area or who have connections to our region. These are some of those victims.
If you know of someone or would like to offer a remembrance of someone please share your information here. To file a death notice, go here.
Subscribe to the Chicago Tribune: Our mission is to deliver trusted and meaningful local news. Your support allows us to continue providing the award-winning, watchdog and in-depth journalism our community deserves. Subscribe here.


chicagotribune--2020-06-12--Burton Natarus dies at 86

Burton Natarus dies at 86

Treja Kelley had been hesitant to come forward after witnessing the murder of her 17-year-old cousin .
But she found @ @ @ @ @ stand last year and helped secure a guilty verdict .
Her testimony , though , @ @ @ @ @ head , prosecutors said .
Just a few months after testifying , Kelley was shot @ @ @ @ @ not far from where her cousin had been slain .
She was 18 and pregnant @

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chicagotribune--2020-06-12--Takeout gets a makeover: How COVID-19 is forcing restaurants to improve the to-go experience

He is also preparing his small restaurant to reopen its dining room , which used to get jam-packed on Friday @ @ @ @ @ who squeezed into rows of two-top tables .
Now he is building booths , separated @ @ @ @ @ comply with social distancing requirements , and is getting rid of bar seating .
He @ @ @ @ @ less than half as many people as he could before .

German Padilla, left, hands a bag of produce to Alison Fethke outside Bungalow by Middle Brow, on June 10, 2020, in Chicago. The brewpub and eatery is currently selling an assortment of breads, beers and locally sourced produce and grocery items to customers for pickup because of the COVID-19 pandemic. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
It didn’t take long for Pete Ternes to learn that a good restaurant does not automatically make for a good takeout operation.
His Logan Square brewpub, the Bungalow by Middle Brow, tried valiantly to keep churning out its signature thin-crust pizzas for a to-go audience during the first week of the state’s stay-at-home order in March.
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But the demand overwhelmed the kitchen, which wasn’t used to 300 orders coming in at the same time. Wait times stretched to 1½ hours.
“Our customers were angry and gathering into a nice friendly mob outside,” Ternes said.
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He paused, regrouped, and soon Bungalow shifted to selling pizza kits, gourmet pantry goods, homemade bread and fresh produce from local farmers.
Ternes plans to maintain that grocery model even as restaurants are allowed to reopen, and in the next week or two he plans to fire up the ovens again for a takeout program with a limited number of pizza slots that people can reserve in advance.
“The new norm will be highly dependent on takeout still,” Ternes said. “It will be a while, we presume, before people jam restaurants again.”
Co-owners Polly Nevins and Peter Ternes work at Bungalow by Middle Brow. The restaurant sells some items using a grocery model, which it plans to maintain. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
Restaurants built around the bustle of communal dining had to embrace takeout when the COVID-19 pandemic forced them to close their dining rooms. They streamlined menus to focus on dishes that travel well, added little gifts to make meals more memorable, and bundled ingredients together to function more like premium grocery stores.
Many of those changes are expected to stick even as restaurants start to welcome customers back to patios and eventually, to dining rooms in limited numbers. Consumers had been gravitating toward more takeout before the pandemic, and the health crisis has left restaurants with little choice but to get creative to replicate the restaurant experience at home.
“I think what’s going to come out of this is that takeout is going to be better,” said Kevin Boehm, co-owner of Boka Group, whose slate of acclaimed restaurants include Girl & the Goat and Swift & Sons in the Fulton Market district. “What is the Michelin star version of the way we package our stuff?”
Boehm is confident the spectacle and human interaction that attracted him to the restaurant business will return. But long-term, he expects takeout to generate more revenues than before “now that we’ve learned to do it well.”
At Girl and the Goat-ceries, customers can preorder meal kit packages and watch virtual cooking videos with Chef Stephanie Izard. GT Prime, a steakhouse, has been converted to an Italian concept temporarily because Italian food is more of an everyday choice. The brasserie Bellemore has added takeout choices that include a family style jerk chicken feast. Handwritten thank-you notes, signed by staff, are included in each order.
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Though the high-end meals come without the high-end ambience, takeout pricing is the same as dining in because rent and bills haven’t changed and sales are just 20% of what they normally are, Boehm said.
Takeout pricing is even higher at some restaurants because of the additional costs of packaging and third-party delivery platforms, a premium that customers for now, at least, may be willing to pay for the safety of eating from home, said Doug Roth, CEO of Playground Hospitality, a consulting firm.
Restaurants are unlikely to recover their dine-in revenues anytime soon as people remain wary of congregating, and in-dining experiences will have capacity limits in phase four of the state’s reopening plan.
According to a Zagat survey of nearly 7,000 people, just a third of respondents said they plan to return to restaurants the week they reopen, and among those staying away, 20% said they plan to wait three months.
Rebecca Hersh places produce, bread and eggs on her baby stroller as German Padilla assists outside Bungalow by Middle Brow. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
Bars and restaurants pushed to sell cocktails-to-go to help them stay afloat. Gov. J.B. Pritzker this month signed a law that allows pickup and delivery of cocktails in sealed containers, but it is subject to local approval. The Chicago City Council license committee has approved the change but the full council has yet to vote.
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“This is another revenue stream that we’ve never had the opportunity for, and that will be a game-changer,” said Julia Momose, creative director at Kumiko. “In a year from now, I think it’s going to be so much a part of our business model that it will be built into future business models. This is just something that can help us all so much.”
Takeout had been growing fast long before the pandemic, as technology enabled more working and shopping from home, said David Portalatin, a restaurant analyst at market research firm NPD Group.
In January, carryout visits grew nearly 3% compared with a year earlier, drive-thru grew 4% and delivery grew 1%, while on-premise dining was flat, he said.
Stay-at-home orders “probably fast-forwarded where the trend was already going,” Portalatin said.
In April, delivery was up 115% from the prior year and drive-thru was up 19%. Traditional carryout fell 21% as people opted for takeout options with less interaction.
Interest in takeout is expected to persist as people cocoon, like they did in the comfort-seeking years after 9/11, Portalatin said.
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US Foods, a restaurant distributor based in Rosemont, has been helping restaurants move takeout from a sideshow to center stage. Early on, many restaurants that were proud of their in-restaurant brand and plating “felt like they were sending leftovers to people’s home,” said Jim Osborne, senior vice president of customer strategy and innovation.
Restaurants have rethought menus, optimized online ordering and invested in better packaging. US Foods has seen a 25% jump in orders for takeout containers, from basic foam to eco-friendly containers. Specialty vented containers for french fries are up 40% and containers for cakes and desserts are up 80%. There has been particular interest in tamper-evident labels, which are up 160%.
Takeout also has presented a different cash flow reality, as high-margin items like iced tea are generally not ordered to-go, Osborne said. Restaurants can make up for it by charging for extras, like adding bacon or avocado to a burger, or replacing a cooked rib-eye with a steak kit, with all the ingredients for a DIY grilling session, but charging the same.
Some restaurants have been better equipped than others to handle the shift.
The Lou Malnati’s pizza chain adopted curbside pickup at its 60 restaurants to keep people out of its lobbies during the pandemic, and it has been such a hit among customers that the plan is to keep it for good.
“They love being able to stay in their car and listen to the radio station while they wait for the pizza to come out,” said Marc Malnati, chairman of the chain and son of its founder.
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Though the chain’s takeout business is booming, overall revenue is still down because of the closed dining rooms, which normally provide half of sales, Malnati said. Restaurants will have to up their takeout game if they want to survive limited-capacity dining rooms until there is a vaccine, he said.
“At 50%, dining rooms don’t make it,” he said. “They just do not make it. They have to have other ways.”
At the Bungalow by Middle Brow, Ternes is counting on a hybrid model to provide financial stability, so that “at any moment we can push more on the restaurant lever, the grocery lever or delivery lever.” It is acquiring more refrigerator space and reconfiguring its dining room to accommodate the grocery items and improve the speed with which those orders can be filled.
German Padilla moves packs of canned beer to the outdoor counter at Bungalow by Middle Brow. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
The hybrid model could become more lucrative than the original business model, Ternes said. Groceries provide bigger profit margins that can help subsidize the restaurant side of the business.
“What’s cool about having the slate wiped clean is that we can slowly put the pieces together,” Ternes said.
Roth, of Playground Hospitality, said the moment will favor smart restaurateurs who can adapt quickly. But there is a learning curve with doing takeout well.
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They have to figure out what travels well, the packaging to put it in and instruct customers on how to reheat the foodproperly to maintain the quality, Roth said. There is, as far as he knows, no good solution for keeping french fries crisp on their journey to people’s homes.
Most importantly, he said, restaurants have to figure out how to take their brand to go and create an experience that makes the price tag worth it.
“How do you put the concept in the bag?” Roth said.
DineAmic Hospitality, whose restaurants include Siena Tavern and Barrio in River North, spent hours figuring out how to “make our delivery food look as beautiful as our dine-in food,” with nicer plastic cutlery and packaging and numerous other touches, said co-owner Luke Stoioff.
When the company realized pizzas travel better uncut, it included a branded pizza cutter. Pastas come with a branded cheese grater. All orders come with a free cookie and a card that says “You’re a smart cookie for ordering from us.”
Some of those touches will be permanent legacies of the pandemic, Stoioff said.
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While takeout, which comprised just 5% to 7% of DineAmic’s sales pre-pandemic, helped keep people employed the last couple of months, the company’s large dining rooms need to be open to make the business model work, Stoioff said. Sales are down 90% from normal, though the recent reopening of its patios should help.
Chef-owner Rodolfo Cuadros disassembles tables June 10, 2020, at his dining room to comply with social distancing requirements at Amaru in Chicago's Wicker Park neighborhood. Cuadros has pivoted his restaurant to offer dinner takeout and affordable family meals and is remodeling the dining room with partitioned seating areas. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)
Amaru, a Latin American restaurant in the Wicker Park neighborhood, had been open only eight months when the state’s stay-at-home order began. As it shifted its focus to takeout, it created family dinners at much lower prices than its usual menu — $30 for four hefty servings of pollo al carbon with rice, beans and kale salad — to keep employees working and help customers eat well during the pandemic.
“That was our way to support our neighborhood and the people around us,” said chef-owner Rodolfo Cuadros. “We’re trying to feed people healthy stuff they wouldn’t normally eat — garbanzos, vegetables, rice.”
The restaurant is breaking even on the family dinners, with any potential profits eaten up by third-party delivery platforms that take big commissions, Cuadros said. Still, the dinners have been so popular that he plans to keep them on the menu, at the same price point, for the foreseeable future.
He is also preparing his small restaurant to reopen its dining room, which used to get jam-packed on Friday and Saturday nights with people who squeezed into rows of two-top tables. Now he is building booths, separated by wipeable curtains, to comply with social distancing requirements, and is getting rid of bar seating. He will be able to seat less than half as many people as he could before.
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“We hope to get people back into our place,” he said. “There’s nothing better than talking to people, the feel of the restaurant when it’s full of people and you have music playing, it’s hard to duplicate with anything else. It would be a shame if I couldn’t feel that again.”
Adam Lukach contributed.


chicagotribune--2020-06-12--Burton Natarus, colorful former longtime 42d Ward alderman, dies at 86

“ I am always available , ” he said .
“ I don ’ t know how many aldermen have @ @ @ @ @ listed .
I have never had — to the chagrin of a former wife — @ @ @ @ @ people call me .
If I am not home , I pick up the message @ @ @ @ @ , ” he said .

Ald. Burton Natarus expresses his doubts that the city will ever be out from under the Shakman decree during discussion of the city's settlement before the city council Wednesday, April 11, 2007 in Chicago. Natarus did vote in favor with the unanamous council. (Chicago Tribune photo by Chuck Berman) ..OUTSIDE TRIBUNE CO.- NO MAGS, NO SALES, NO INTERNET, NO TV, CHICAGO OUT.. 00277428A Council (Chuck Berman / Chicago Tribune)
Burton Natarus was alderman of Chicago’s 42nd Ward for 36 years, delivering a scrappy, stream-of-consciousness style leadership to a bustling downtown ward with an oratory that marked a bygone era of a more colorful City Council.
Natarus, 86, who won nine elections from 1971 until his defeat in 2007 and was among the city’s longest-serving aldermen, died Thursday. His family did not provide a cause of death.
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The 42nd Ward has the highest profile in the city, encompassing the Loop, River North, the Magnificent Mile, Streeterville and the Gold Coast neighborhoods. It provided a vast stage and big political spotlight for Natarus, who was equal part showman and workhorse.
He was a power player in the development of the city’s downtown landscape while also performing nitty-gritty services to a wealthy constituency. At the same time, he had a proclivity for honorary street signs and for rants against urban ills including boom boxes, the effluence of horse-drawn carriage rides, 4 a.m. bars, smoking, in-line skaters on sidewalks and parasailors on Lake Michigan.
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“I got to have a little fun,” Natarus once told the Tribune, acknowledging some of his council colleagues viewed him as an antiquated “buffoon.”
“You got to lighten up a little bit. Sometimes when you lighten up, you get clear thoughts,” he said.
Natarus was born and raised in Wausau, Wisconsin, where his mother and father operated a dry goods store with a lunch counter. He came to Chicago after graduating from the University of Wisconsin Law School and became a resident of the city’s Near North Side in 1960.
He also was a graduate of the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and later taught at Loyola University Chicago on the subject of local government. He served in the U.S. Army and the Army Reserves, earning the “jump wings” of a paratrooper.
He launched his political career as a volunteer for John F. Kennedy’s 1960 presidential campaign, a move that later led to his induction into the political operation of George Dunne, the powerful Cook County Board president.
His first aldermanic victory came in 1971 and he held the office until his 2007 defeat by current Ald. Brendan Reilly by about 10 percentage points.
“Being an alderman down here, whether people know it or not, is just plain hard work,” said Natarus, who had often likened the post to being the “janitor” of his ward.
“I am always available,” he said. “I don’t know how many aldermen have their (home) phones listed. I have never had — to the chagrin of a former wife — an unlisted phone, and people call me. If I am not home, I pick up the message and I call them back,” he said.
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Natarus is survived by his son, Michael; daughter, Jill; and two grandchildren.
Services will be private.
rap30@aol.com


chicagotribune--2020-06-12--Architecture tour boats return to the Chicago River today after being sidelined by the virus

People on the boat tours were required to wear masks .
Seating capacity was dramatically reduced to enforce social distancing @ @ @ @ @ given the absence of conventioneers , tourists and others downtown , as well as unusually @ @ @ @ @ — attendance on the river boats was extremely light .

A Shoreline Sightseeing architecture tour boat makes it's way to the Chicago River from Navy Pier as tour boats start operating again on June 12, 2020, in Chicago. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
It’s one of the signature images of summer in Chicago: Architectural tour boats plying the skyscraper canyons of the Chicago River, their guides spitting out facts to packed crowds as the low-slung craft slip beneath river bridges.
The coronavirus pandemic erased such vibrant scenes, turning the docks along the river’s main branch into mini ghost towns and costing tour operators thousands of dollars in lost revenue.
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On Friday, however, a hint of normalcy returned to the river as some tour boat operators reopen for the first time since the pandemic forced them to shut down in mid-March.
The resumption came as the city reopened the downtown Riverwalk, with restrictions aimed at limiting activity and crowds.
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“We thought it was important to get back on the water, even as a sign of hope,” said Amy Hartnett, director of sales and marketing for Shoreline Sightseeing.
Yet this was anything but a full-fledged return to normal.
Customers line up to be checked at Navy Pier by a masked Shoreline Sightseeing boat tour operator as architecture tour boats start operating again on the Chicago River, June 12, 2020. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
People on the boat tours were required to wear masks. Seating capacity was dramatically reduced to enforce social distancing. And not surprisingly — given the absence of conventioneers, tourists and others downtown, as well as unusually cool temperatures by the lake — attendance on the river boats was extremely light.
Shoreline and the Wendella company, which also began running riverboats Friday, were averaging only about 10 to 15 paying customers on boats whose normal capacity is at least 200, people at both companies said.
A 12:30 p.m. Shoreline cruise had just two people on its upper deck. The tour guide could be seen standing just a few feet away from them rather than speaking from behind a podium equipped with a plexiglass shield.
Another company that started river tours Friday, Seadog, had just a few customers on a boat whose normal capacity is around 100, according its senior communications director, Nicola McShane-Bau.
“It’s not too busy,” acknowledged Britney Hodgkins, an assistant general manager at Wendella’s Wrigley Building dock.
The restart of the river tours closely follows the resumption of Lake Michigan architectural cruises from Navy Pier. That reopening came Wednesday when the outdoor portion of the pier welcomed visitors for the first time in months.
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Shoreline Sightseeing tour boats start operating again on the Chicago River on June 12, 2020. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
Daphne Lester, 40, of Memphis, Tennessee, who was in Chicago on vacation, was one of those waiting in line Thursday to board Shoreline Sightseeing’s Marlyn lake tour boat.
Lester, who was wearing a mask, said she was eager to take in Chicago’s giant-sized skyline. The tallest building in Memphis rises just 430 feet, less than a third the height of Willis Tower.
She cast aside any concerns about picking up the virus while on tour. "As long as you’re taking the necessary precautions, I think everything will be OK,” she said.
Under phase three of Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s five-phase reopening plan, outdoor attractions like the architectural tour boats can only operate at 25% capacity, according to Lynn Osmond, president and CEO of the Chicago Architecture Center. The center, whose river tours depart from the downtown Riverwalk, expects to reopen those cruises June 26.
In phrase 4, the boats can be half full, Osmond said.
The capacity restrictions put the tour operators in a bind because summer is their high season, producing revenue that carries the companies through winter, when they either go on hiatus or run sharply reduced schedules.
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“It’s going to be challenging to make a profit big enough for the winter months,” Hartnett said.
The company is operating at about 35% of its normal staff level of more than 300 people, including ticket agents, greeters, crew and captains, she said.
She added that Shoreline has held its ticket prices at 2019 levels. A 75-minute architecture tour on the Chicago River costs $37 to $41 per adult, she said.
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To make up for the loss for business from conventioneers and overseas tourists, Shoreline is considering new marketing strategies, like pitching its tours to residents of surrounding Midwestern states who may drive to Chicago for a vacation.
The prospect of warmer weather also raised the possibility that attendance on Saturday and Sunday would be better than on Friday.
“We’re hopeful for tomorrow,” Hartnett said. “It’s going to be a beautiful weekend.”
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Blair Kamin is a Tribune critic.
bkamin@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @BlairKamin


chicagotribune--2020-06-12--Ex-Northwestern professor charged in alleged fetish slaying turned away in request for release to fi

Ex-Northwestern professor charged in alleged fetish slaying turned away in request for release to fight coronavirus

As the victim awoke and fought back , Lathem called out for help , so Warren put his hands over @ @ @ @ @ , hit him in the head with a heavy metal lamp and stabbed him in @ @ @ @ @ force that he broke the blade of one of the knives he used , prosecutors @ @

The ex-Northwestern professor accused of stabbing his boyfriend to death in what prosecutors have said was an attempt to fulfill a sexual fetish was again denied release from Cook County Jail on Friday, but not before new allegations were revealed about the slaying and the professor’s time on the lam.
Wyndham Lathem sent a video to his mother after the slaying with a straightforward confession: “I killed him, I did do it, it wasn’t an accident but it was a mistake,” Assistant State’s Attorney Craig Engebretson said during a hearing on Lathem’s bond.
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“This was a thrill kill,” Engebretson continued, alleging that Lathem got “despondent” and killed his boyfriend to get a rush. “He may do this again if he gets sad or depressed and wants that thrill again; this is an extremely random, frightening murder."
Lathem’s attorneys have argued for weeks that Lathem, a microbiologist and immunologist who previously studied the plague, should be released so that he can help research COVID-19.
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A professor in North Carolina had arranged for Lathem to do research, and Lathem’s friends had even rented him an apartment in the Andersonville neighborhood where he could live with an ankle bracelet and a court-appointed monitor, defense attorneys argued.
The monitor would be tasked with checking on Lathem daily and reporting to the court his compliance with the conditions of his release, defense attorneys said. Such “third-party custodian” arrangements are rare in state court.
But given Lathem’s aptitude for covering his tracks, Judge Charles Burns said, his release from jail would not be appropriate.
And letting him out to research the novel coronavirus “opens up more problems than it solves,” Burns said.
“I’m sure he’s very intelligent, everybody acknowledges that,” Burns said. “He is renowned, possibly even an international expert. ... I understand we’re in a pandemic here, but we got ourselves in this situation and Dr. Lathem alone is not going to get us out of this situation.”
The salacious details of his case made international headlines. Trenton Cornell-Duranleau, 26, was stabbed some 70 times in Lathem’s posh high-rise apartment in the Near North neighborhood in July 2017.
Prosecutors have said that Andrew Warren, from England, and Lathem, then an associate professor of microbiology at Northwestern, killed him to fulfill a sexual fantasy that they had plotted online for months beforehand.
As part of a plea deal, Warren agreed to testify against Lathem in return for a recommendation from prosecutors that he be sentenced to 45 years in prison. Prosecutors also said they would not object to his eventual repatriation to England, where he could serve a sharply reduced sentence.
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Prosecutors have alleged that Lathem lured his boyfriend to his high-rise apartment. Early on the morning of July 27, 2017, Warren stood in the doorway to the bedroom with his cellphone in hand as Lathem repeatedly stabbed Cornell-Duranleau as he slept, according to prosecutors. Lathem had asked Warren to video-record the killing, prosecutors said, but he never did.
As the victim awoke and fought back, Lathem called out for help, so Warren put his hands over the victim’s mouth, hit him in the head with a heavy metal lamp and stabbed him in the chest with so much force that he broke the blade of one of the knives he used, prosecutors alleged.
As the victim bled to death in the bedroom, Lathem and Warren showered and then tried to clean up the scene, prosecutors said.
The two fled Chicago, setting off an intense nationwide search for more than a week before they were captured without incident in California. Both were ordered held without bail.
mcrepeau@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-06-12--Illinois state fairs in Springfield, Du Quoin canceled due to coronavirus

In order to get to the fifth phase of Pritzker ’ s plan to reopen Illinois ’ economy , when @ @ @ @ @ conventions can resume , there ’ s a high bar to clear : there would @ @ @ @ @ vaccine , widely-available treatment or no new cases “ over a sustained period .
”

People ride the aerial tram over the carnival midway area at the Illinois State Fair in 2019 in Springfield. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)
This summer’s state fairs in Springfield and Du Quoin have been canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic, officials said Friday.
The announcement made official what had long been expected, as many large-scale gatherings, events and festivals in Illinois and nationwide have been called off this summer over concerns about the spread of COVID-19.
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The annual fairs, which combined attracted more than 600,000 visitors last year, are set to return in August 2021.
The Illinois State Fair, held annually in August in Springfield, was canceled from 1942 to 1945 during World War II, and the fairgrounds were used as a supply center for the Army Air Forces.
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This year is the first time the Du Quoin State Fair has been canceled since the state took over the fairgrounds in 1986. Camping at the fairgrounds in Du Quoin will still be allowed.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker called canceling the fairs “the right choice based on guidance from the Illinois Department of Public Health and other experts,” in a statement Friday.
Senate Republican Leader Bill Brady of Bloomington was critical Friday of Pritzker canceling the State Fair by executive action, a building source of frustration among Republicans this spring.
“Leader Brady is disappointed that once again a decision of critical importance, with significant economic impact, is being made unilaterally by the Governor without any legislative input,” Brady spokesman Jason Gerwig said in a statement.
In order to get to the fifth phase of Pritzker’s plan to reopen Illinois’ economy, when large events, festivals and conventions can resume, there’s a high bar to clear: there would either need to a coronavirus vaccine, widely-available treatment or no new cases “over a sustained period.”
The state Department of Agriculture will host a Junior Livestock Expo in Springfield in September for exhibitors aged 8 to 21 to show their animals, and the 4-H General Project Show will take place virtually.
Anyone who has purchased Illinois State Fair passes or admission booklets can contact the State Fair office at 217-782-6661 or email agr.fairinfo@illinois.gov.
jmunks@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-06-12--Public defender cites backlash from sheriff’s deputies after Black Lives Matter rally, asks for disc

Public defender cites backlash from sheriff’s deputies after Black Lives Matter rally, asks for discipline

“ The very purpose of our protest , as was the purpose of all protests around the country , was @ @ @ @ @ exhibited by law enforcement , ” Campanelli wrote in the letter , dated Thursday .
@ @ @ @ @ social media as a banner for all to see , members of law enforcement are @ @ @ @ @ and even suggesting there will be consequences to my staff and my clients .
”

Public defenders and their allies march around the Cook County jail in Chicago on June 8, 2020, to show their support for the Black Lives Matter movement. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)
The Cook County public defender is calling for an investigation into a handful of sheriff’s deputies who reportedly made insulting or threatening social media posts after public defenders marched around the jail in support of Black Lives Matter this week.
In a letter to Sheriff Tom Dart and County Inspector General Patrick Blanchard obtained by the Tribune, Public Defender Amy Campanelli called for an investigation and discipline for the deputies who reportedly made the posts, including firing if appropriate.
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“Good luck to them all when the courts open up!” one deputy assigned to the Leighton Criminal Court Building wrote on Facebook, according to screenshots shared with the Tribune.
A spokesman for the sheriff’s office said Friday the office was in the process of identifying the deputies behind the posts in question and placing them on desk duty. An internal investigation was launched within an hour of receiving the letter Thursday, according to the office.
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Assistant Public Defender Camille Durham, center, and allies rally outside Cook County Jail in Chicago on Monday, June 8, 2020, to show their support for the Black Lives Matter movement. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)
Campanelli also cited other posts, including one that read, “Bring in the fire hoses and horses this is not a protest,” and another saying, “If you support what is happening around our country you’re a HUGE POS ... (expletive) animals."
“If the custodians of the jail think someone is an ‘animal,’ how can I or anyone have confidence that they are housing, feeding, and providing care for those in custody equitably and humanely?” Campanelli wrote.
Some 200 people, including many public defenders, demonstrated at the Leighton Criminal Court Building on Monday in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.
“The very purpose of our protest, as was the purpose of all protests around the country, was to oppose racism and discrimination exhibited by law enforcement,” Campanelli wrote in the letter, dated Thursday. “Now, posted on social media as a banner for all to see, members of law enforcement are expressing their intolerance for justice and even suggesting there will be consequences to my staff and my clients.”
mcrepeau@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-06-12--Watch live: CDPH Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady makes an announcement

CDPH Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady will provide an update on data metrics as the city has moved into phase three @ @ @ @ @ ” re-opening framework and will discuss the updated metrics the city will be using as @ @ @ @ @ to phase four at 1 p.m. CDT .


chicagotribune--2020-06-12--Seeking to cut wait times, Illinois Secretary of State’s office launches online pre-registration for

Seeking to cut wait times, Illinois Secretary of State’s office launches online pre-registration for licenses, ID cards

The online form will allow customers to choose a license type ; an application type ; make any needed corrections @ @ @ @ @ s on file ; enter data from required documents , such as a birth certificate @ @ @ @ @ with a bar code .
The form and all required paperwork for verification will then @ @ @ @ @ the driver ’ s services facility .

People line up outside of the the Secretary of State Motor Vehicle Facility in Chicago's Lawndale neighborhood on June 11, 2020. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)
Springfield — The Illinois Secretary of State’s office is launching an online preregistration program for driver’s licenses and ID cards in an effort to speed up wait times at driver’s service facilities.
Residents can access a preregistration application for a driver’s license or identification card at www.cyberdriveillinois.com. The form covers some of the information that a Secretary of State’s office employee would normally have to take down during a visit to a state facility.
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People in line outside of the Secretary of State facility in the Lawndale neighborhood of Chicago on June 11, 2020. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)
The preregistration process is only available to those who have an Illinois driver’s license or ID card that is not suspended, canceled, revoked or expired for more than a year.
The online form will allow customers to choose a license type; an application type; make any needed corrections to the information that’s on file; enter data from required documents, such as a birth certificate, and print a receipt with a bar code. The form and all required paperwork for verification will then have to be brought to the driver’s services facility.
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Since reopening after coronavirus-related closures, driver’s services facilities are only open to new drivers, customers with expired driver’s licenses and ID cards and vehicle transactions through the end of July.
Driver’s service facilities statewide closed due to the coronavirus pandemic in mid-March and reopened with the limited services earlier this month.
The expiration dates for driver’s licenses and ID cards and vehicle registration stickers have been extended to Oct. 1. Customers can complete some SOS transactions online, such as renewing an expired vehicle registration.
jmunks@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-06-12--After a few lawsuits and defiant services, more Chicago-area houses of worship gradually reopening a

After a few lawsuits and defiant services, more Chicago-area houses of worship gradually reopening after months of COVID-19 shutdown

During the state ’ s stay-at-home order , there has been conflict between some faith leaders and city and state @ @ @ @ @ which some religious leaders believed infringed on their constitutional rights .
As faith leaders complained @ @ @ @ @ remaining open during the pandemic shutdowns , a handful of Illinois churches sued Gov .
@ @ @ @ @ services , with three Chicago churches being cited by the city .

A woman walks past St. George Greek Orthodox Church in the 2700 block of North Sheffield Avenue on April 11, 2020, in Chicago. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)
After months of virtual services, and faith leaders scrambling to adjust during a public health crisis, religious leaders are now shifting their focus to how to safely resume in-person services and accommodate the faithful eager to gather for worship again.
During the state’s stay-at-home order, there has been conflict between some faith leaders and city and state officials over church closures, which some religious leaders believed infringed on their constitutional rights. As faith leaders complained about hardware and liquor stores remaining open during the pandemic shutdowns, a handful of Illinois churches sued Gov. J.B. Pritzker and and held services, with three Chicago churches being cited by the city.
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Now that Pritzker has moved to lift restrictions after reclassifying religious activities as essential, religious leaders across all denominations and faiths are working to find a balance between meeting people’s desire to worship together and guarding against spreading COVID-19.
After church doors were closed three months ago, almost half of the Archdiocese of Chicago’s 316 parishes have been approved to reopen and celebrate Mass for larger groups, according to church officials.
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Chicago’s Catholic church, like other religious institutions, has put in place a series of guidelines and is closely monitoring its churches as they reopen. Under rules worked out in conjunction with health officials, before a Catholic church can hold larger Masses, it must first be approved by the archdioceses and must comply with a series of safety measures.
The Rev. Noel Reyes, pastor of St. Jerome Catholic Parish in Rogers Park, looked out into the pews of his church as he preached last Saturday, and for the first time in months, saw the welcoming faces of his parishioners.
The 50 worshippers looking back at him made for a markedly smaller congregation than before the coronavirus outbreak, but they were like family.
“It was just an amazing feeling to see them in front of me, and pray with me and listen to the Gospel of Jesus on that day,” he said this week.
After celebrating Mass inside the church Saturday with only 50, church officials held Mass outside the following day so more people could attend. The church set up an altar on a platform in the church parking lot and held three services with a total of more than 115 cars in attendance, Reyes said.
Reyes said his church, which has a seating capacity of 1,200, will increase the number of people who can attend in-person services.
The Rev. John Trout, pastor at St. Joseph Catholic Parish in Libertyville, said he decided to hold a drive-in Mass this Sunday to allow older parishioners and people with underlying health conditions to participate.
The past two weeks, St. George Greek Orthodox Church in Lincoln Park has celebrated Divine Liturgy with only 10 people, the Rev. Chrysanthos Kerkeres said. This weekend, the church will be expanding its capacity to 50 people.
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Before the coronavirus pandemic, the church usually averaged about 300 people for its main service, so churchgoers must make a reservation to attend.
In Chicago Lawn, the Rev. Gary Cox, pastor at Santa Teresa de Avila Episcopal Church, said his church would cautiously reopen this weekend with its first in-person service. However, the church will be holding an outside service and limiting attendance to 10 people.
Cox said the church decided to conduct an outdoor service because there are fewer objects for people to touch, thereby decreasing the risk of contamination, making it safer for those in attendance.
“We still have an obligation to keep people safe,” he said.
Similar precautions are being taken in synagogues across the city.
Rabbi Baruch Epstein of Lubavitch Chabad of Illinois said his synagogue opened two weeks ago, allowing a maximum of 10 adults in each service.
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This weekend, they will be expanding their capacity and allowing children older than 10 to attend.
"We're incrementally taking baby steps," Epstein said.
The vast majority of synagogues in his “general neighborhood” have opened or are opening this weekend, Epstein said.
“Everybody’s dipping their toe in the water to see how it goes."
jaanderson@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-06-12--For teachers retiring during the COVID-19 pandemic, a bittersweet end: ‘There’s no closure without b

For teachers retiring during the COVID-19 pandemic, a bittersweet end: ‘There’s no closure without being able to say goodbye to my students’

“ The world around us has changed , and some students are coming to school with more needs these days @ @ @ @ @ had a need for structure , safety and to have someone in the classroom they @ @ @ @ @ Pinns said .
“ These fifth graders are getting ready for junior high , so @ @ @ @ @ , because they think it ’ s going to be so much harder , and @ @ @ @ @ word .
Even though we ’ re doing remote learning , I let all of @ @ @ @ @ ’ re ready , I ’ m proud of you , and off you go @ @ @

Donna Wielgolewski, a history teacher at Wheaton North High School, hands out graduation bags and bids farewell to seniors. Wielgolewski is retiring after teaching for 32 years. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)
For the roughly 1,600 Illinois public school teachers who are retiring this month, stepping away from the classroom in the midst of a pandemic that shuttered schools is proving especially heart-rending.
With scuttled in-person goodbyes and their final days as educators unfolding on computer screens in their home offices instead of in classrooms, teachers retiring at the end of this tumultuous school year leave their schools under conditions they never could have imagined when they began their careers decades ago.
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Here are the stories of four retiring Chicago-area teachers, whose combined service adds up to more than 120 years in the classroom, and who despite facing a twist to the final chapter of their careers, are united by their resolve to reflect back with pride, and look ahead with hope.
Darcia Scafidi, fourth grade teacher at Nerge Elementary School in Roselle
After 35 years as an elementary school teacher, Darcia Scafidi says she never grew tired of her profession, but as a woman of faith, she decided to retire in order to answer a call to civil rights work.
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“Well, it didn’t take long for my new calling to start ... exactly one day,” said Scafidi, 60, whose childhood memories include marching with her parents alongside the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. when he visited Chicago.
Darcia Scafidi on the playground outside of Nerge Elementary School in Roselle, Scafidi is retiring after teaching fourth grade for 35 years and plans to focus now on civil rights work. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)
“I feel like I’m being called, and my skills can be used elsewhere,” Scafidi said. “I love children, but it’s time.”
During her years at Nerge, Scafidi was known for keeping a special notebook each school year, inscribed with observations of her students. Those detailed anecdotes — the time a student noticed a classmate was crying, and patted them on the back, the student who could always sense if she was having a rough day — were then revealed to the children on the last day of school, along with ideas of possible careers that would fit their talents and strengths.
“I wouldn’t tell them this is what they should do, but I let them know that the world is waiting for them to step up to make life better for others,” Scafidi said.
On May 30, Scafidi organized a peaceful, socially distanced racial justice rally in Wheaton.
“I have been educated by my work as a District 54 teacher, and now, I have everything I need to take the next steps,” Scafidi said, adding: “Not only is my mind open, but my heart is open too.”
Margo Pinns, fifth grade teacher at Salt Creek Elementary School in Elk Grove Village
Growing up in a large family, Margo Pinns would often recruit her brothers and sisters to play school, and when her siblings wouldn’t comply, she lined up her menagerie of stuffed animals in a treehouse “classroom.”
“When people ask me how I decided to become a teacher, I tell them teaching found me," said Pinns, 55. “I can’t explain why, but I always knew I wanted to help.”
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After graduating from Illinois State University in 1986, Pinns began her career as a first-grade teacher at Juliette Low Elementary School in Arlington Heights. She would remain at Community Consolidated School District 59 for her entire 34 years as an educator.
“The world around us has changed, and some students are coming to school with more needs these days, but children have always had a need for structure, safety and to have someone in the classroom they can count on," Pinns said. “These fifth graders are getting ready for junior high, so they want to be ready, because they think it’s going to be so much harder, and they hang on your every word. Even though we’re doing remote learning, I let all of them know, ‘You’re ready, I’m proud of you, and off you go.’ ”
Donna Wielgolewski, AP human geography, world civilizations, Wheaton North High School
Longtime Wheaton North High School teacher Donna Wielgolewski, 70, said she was devastated when she learned in mid-March that the state’s schools were being closed for the remainder of what was to be her final year of teaching.
“My heart broke. ... I was so sad, especially because this senior class was a group of kids I am particularly close with,” Wielgolewski said.
“There’s no closure without being able to say goodbye to my students, and I’m not able to do my end-of-the-year traditions," she said.
Donna Wielgolewski, a history teacher who is retiring this year from Wheaton North High School, hands out graduation bags and bids farewell to seniors. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)
Fondly called “Mrs. Wiggs” by legions of Wheaton North students, both past and present, Wielgolewski was known for distributing decorative pencils she bought during summer visits to Europe with her husband, awarding the souvenirs for achievements such as the most improved student.
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History class was never boring with Wielgolewski at the helm, where an industrial revolution lesson featured students role-playing factory workers on an assembly line.
“I would slowly dim the lights in the classroom, and play music that sounded like a factory, and I would play the foreman, and start yelling and shouting at them, ‘You’re lazy! You’re not meeting quota,’ ” Wielgolewski said.
Raised on Chicago’s Southwest Side, where her father was a CTA bus driver, Wielgolewski received a scholarship for education majors, making her the first in her family to go to college.
“My mother died at the age of 62, during my freshman year of college, and when I saw her for the last time, she told me, ‘Whatever happens, just finish school,’” Wielgolewski said.
Eva Tarini, first grade teacher, Crow Island School in Winnetka
For the past three decades, a first grade classroom at Crow Island School in Winnetka has been “home” to Chicagoan Eva Tarini.
This month, Tarini, 60, who is retiring from her lifelong career as an elementary school teacher, said in addition to painting and traveling, the next chapter of her life will include volunteering for nonprofit organizations championing causes the Evanston native holds close to heart.
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Eve Tarini, first grade teacher at Crow Island School in Winnetka, with some of her students earlier in the school year. (Winnetka School District 36)
“I miss my students terribly, because I love being with them as a group, and as individuals, as it’s always amazing to see how they think,” Tarini said.
A passionate advocate of progressive education, which centers on creative, experiential learning, Tarini said although the jump from kindergarten to first grade means a longer day, and more academic instructional time, she always made room for her students to play.
“I still love it, and it’s been a wonderful job,” Tarini said. “Every day in the classroom was so interesting, and so challenging, and I was always working hard to make my curriculum better.”
Tarini said she can still recall the excitement she felt when she was offered her job at Crow Island in the 1980s.
“I had interviewed all over the North Shore, and when I got that call from Crow Island, telling me I got the job, I was over the moon,” Tarini said.
kcullotta@chicagotribune.com
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Twitter @kcullotta


chicagotribune--2020-06-12--Why ‘defund the police’ and other ideas for change may face a greater challenge in Chicago than in o

Why ‘defund the police’ and other ideas for change may face a greater challenge in Chicago than in other cities

Lightfoot ’ s position against defunding has support from several City Council members .
Ald .
Anthony Napolitano , who @ @ @ @ @ 41st Ward and has been a cop and firefighter , described himself on Facebook as @ @ @ @ @ defunding movement and said he planned to introduce a resolution calling on aldermen to voluntarily @ @ @ @ @ to the neighborhoods of council members who want them .
The resolution — different from @ @ @ @ @ be passed into law — suggested that be followed by a report on crime across @ @ @

The main avenue for fixing the Chicago Police Department has been a laborious, yearslong court process forcing hundreds of reforms in the hopes that better training, discipline and supervision would mold a force that consistently treats people humanely.
But in a span of weeks following the death of George Floyd beneath the knee of a Minneapolis cop, the public conversation in Chicago and the nation shifted from improving the police to having fewer of them — or none at all.
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The idea of “defunding the police” quickly got at least limited traction in other big cities as mayors in New York and Los Angeles vowed to reroute policing money to social programs. That leaves Chicago as the biggest U.S. city that hasn’t made such a move.
Local activists and a few aldermen have argued that Chicago should also cut the law enforcement budget to fight police abuse and bolster programs that could help black and brown neighborhoods. But the idea of reducing police funding, and calls for even more drastic change, may face a greater challenge in Chicago than in other cities.
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First, those who advocate cutting police funding will need to contend with reluctance from officials who believe thinning the force could exacerbate the city’s intractable violent crime, which particularly plagues the South and West sides.
Department of Justice Deputy Chief Christy Lopez, left, listens in as citizens voice their opinions about negative Chicago police practices during a community forum at Kennedy-King College in Chicago's Englewood neighborhood on June 22, 2016. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune)
Beyond that, Mayor Lori Lightfoot has responded to the defunding movement by pointing to the court order that already mandates changes to policing. Numerous local politicians have advocated for that consent decree, and it could give political cover to those who don’t want more radical change.
Still, at least one person prominently involved in bringing court-overseen reform to Chicago now believes a more fundamental shift is also needed. Georgetown University law professor Christy Lopez, who helped lead the federal investigation into the Chicago police that gave rise to the court order, said that inquiry was "one of the key reasons my thinking has evolved on this.”
She authored a Washington Post essay saying resources should be shifted to social programs even as cities continue to pursue court-mandated reforms. She told the Tribune that distrust among Chicagoans toward police is so high that more drastic changes are needed, adding that the police struggle to solve crimes because their aggressive tactics have damaged their credibility.
“(I) have come to believe we can’t just fix policing by asking officers to obey the law and by changing the law,” she said.
Ald. Chris Taliaferro, an African American former cop who heads the City Council’s public safety committee, countered that it would be “careless and irresponsible” to cut the police budget, saying it would worsen crime and lead civilian workers into dangerous situations. Taliaferro, of the 29th Ward on the West Side, said the department should be improved through better training and other reforms.
Ald. Chris Taliaferro, 29th, speaks at a news conference at City Hall in Chicago in 2019. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)
“It’s our responsibility to submit to this city a police department that they can be proud of and that’s our goal,” he said.
Cutting police funding is part of a suite of big ideas raised after Floyd’s death drove protesters into streets across the country.
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Those concepts include making cops carry their own liability insurance, rather than being indemnified by employers, to enforce personal financial consequences for bad cops. Enacting that here would be an uphill fight, as state law and the Fraternal Order of Police contract call on the city to cover cops.
Activists and lawmakers have also sought an end to the legal doctrine of qualified immunity, which makes it harder to successfully sue cops by requiring plaintiffs to show that officers violated their rights in a way “clearly established” in a prior, similar case. Legislators in Washington have introduced a bill to scrap the doctrine, but the White House has said limiting immunity is a “non-starter.”
And on Thursday, Lightfoot reacted to the revelation that officers were videotaped resting in U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush’s office during looting in the neighborhood by saying that her administration would push for state licensing of police.
Cutting police dollars
In Chicago, the conversation has centered largely on “defunding.” That term has come to mean many things to many people, ranging from the outright abolition of policing to a more modest drawdown of resources. The defunding movement has coincided with outrage over the controversial plan for a $95 million police and fire academy and demands to pull cops from Chicago Public Schools.
Black Lives Matter Chicago demands “immediate disinvestment” in policing. The idea is rooted in part in the Police Department’s decadeslong history of violence against African Americans, including the killing of Black Panther Party leaders Mark Clark and Fred Hampton and the torture of black men under the late Cmdr. Jon Burge, said Aislinn Pulley, a co-founder of the group. Police misconduct has raised "a fundamental question of their legitimacy,” Pulley said.
Pulley said the group wants the entire police budget reallocated. She allowed for the possibility of less sweeping changes but said the situation calls for “a fundamental shift.”
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“The priorities are upside down. The fact that teachers have to fight for education. We need massive health care. That 70% of the people who are dying (from the COVID-19 pandemic) are black is because our health care is segregated,” she said.
Defunding has caught on with six democratic socialist aldermen who penned a Sun-Times op-ed that made no specific proposal but said that, “The best way to keep our communities safe and address police brutality is not by spending more on policing, but instead by investing in jobs, education and health care.”
One of those council members, Ald. Rossana Rodriguez Sanchez, of the Northwest Side 33rd Ward, told the Tribune that defunding the police sounds radical but the movement aims to use housing, mental health care and job programs to prevent crime and ease long-standing racial inequalities.
“It’s about having good government,” she said.
Faced with consistent questions on defunding, Lightfoot at first flatly rejected the idea, calling it “irresponsible." But her response softened during a question-and-answer session Tuesday as she said struggling parts of the city need aid and vowed “critical investments in neighborhoods.”
Lightfoot’s position against defunding has support from several City Council members. Ald. Anthony Napolitano, who represents the Far Northwest Side 41st Ward and has been a cop and firefighter, described himself on Facebook as “disheartened” by the defunding movement and said he planned to introduce a resolution calling on aldermen to voluntarily shift cops from their wards to the neighborhoods of council members who want them. The resolution — different from a proposed ordinance that could be passed into law — suggested that be followed by a report on crime across the city.
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It’s hard to definitively say how crime would respond to the drastic cuts to policing some activists want, as no major city has enacted them, and scholars disagree on how aggressive policing impacts crime. One study found that reports of major crimes dropped in New York as police pulled back enforcement of low-level crimes.
Meanwhile, Princeton University sociology professor Patrick Sharkey wrote in a Washington Post essay that research shows that “putting more officers on the street leads to less violent crime.” But he added that local organizations can also make streets safer and could help more if their funding was increased.
The current reality
In Chicago, defunding the police would almost necessarily mean employing fewer cops, and that would cut against the recent trend.
The Chicago Police Department budget has grown by roughly 20% since 2015, when it was about $1.5 billion, including grant funds. This year’s outlay was nearly $1.8 billion, some 15% of the city’s whole budget. More than 85% of the 2020 Police Department budget goes to personnel costs.
The budget expanded over those years as then-Mayor Rahm Emanuel responded to surging gun violence by vowing to add 1,000 cops. The department stood at just under 13,000 sworn officers this month, department spokesman Luis Agostini said.
Those officers make relatively ample salaries. Chicago cops, who generally need the equivalent of two years of college, typically make $72,510 per year after 18 months on the job, meaning young cops make about $17,000 more than the city’s recent median household income. Those who ascend up the ranks can make well over $100,000. Overtime, meanwhile, has substantially boosted the income of some police.
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The police also cost the city in other ways. For example, the department’s failings have led to piles of lawsuits, and since 2004 the city has spent more than $757 million on settlements, losses at trial and other payouts in police cases. In civil rights cases alone, the city has paid more than $213 million for private lawyers for cops since 2004.
Some reforms already underway
Lightfoot and others have acknowledged that changes to policing are needed, and they note that the city is already undergoing court-overseen reforms to policy and practice mandated by the consent decree.
The court order was one of the most substantive results of the November 2015 release of video of white Officer Jason Van Dyke shooting black teenager Laquan McDonald 16 times. The shooting led to furious protests and spurred the wide-ranging Justice Department investigation that found Chicago’s police to be badly trained, loosely supervised and prone to excessive force, especially against minorities.
Emanuel took a halting approach toward acting on that report, but he agreed to a consent decree after then-Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan sued him to force it in 2017. The book-length court order calls for changes ranging from the philosophical to the technical, including those aimed at further restricting the uses of force that have often driven scandal.
The city, however, has moved slowly, missing 37 of its 50 deadlines during the first six months the order was in force, and Attorney General Kwame Raoul has blasted the city for failing to meet its obligations.
The elemental debate over whether to stick to that court order, defund the department or both kicked off just after new police Superintendent David Brown took the helm.
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Supporters of cutting police budgets have noted a speech Brown gave in 2016, when he led the Dallas Police Department, asking for other programs to relieve the burden on police who are asked to “do too much in this country.” In an echo of what activists are now saying, the future superintendent cited a lack of funding for efforts ranging from treating mental illness to catching loose dogs.
“Every societal failure, we put it off on the cops to solve,” he said. “That’s too much to ask. Policing was never meant to solve all those problems.”
[ A long look at the complicated life of George Floyd ]


chicagotribune--2020-06-12--Lakeview first in the city to test street closures for outdoor dining program

The event , dubbed Dine Out on Broadway , will repeat again next weekend .
More than 30 restaurants will @ @ @ @ @ delivery , or for some , dining alfresco .
With streets blocked to vehicles , @ @ @ @ @ sidewalk cafes farther out to allow for more outdoor seating .

Lakeview brewpub DryHop will be among the participating restaurants during Dine Out on Broadway. (DryHop Brewers)
As outdoor dining in Chicago continues into its second weekend, the Lakeview East Chamber of Commerce is taking it a step further through Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s pilot program, with plans to be the first area in the city to shut down a main street for outdoor dining.
On Friday, from noon until 10 p.m., Broadway will be open only to pedestrians between Belmont Avenue and Diversey Parkway, and again from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
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The event, dubbed Dine Out on Broadway, will repeat again next weekend. More than 30 restaurants will be open for takeout, delivery, or for some, dining alfresco. With streets blocked to vehicles, the business can extend their sidewalk cafes farther out to allow for more outdoor seating.
Participating eateries include Black & Caspian, Chilam Balam, Crisp, DryHop Brewers, Fancy Plants Cafe, Johnson’s Real Ice Cream, Maison Marcel, Mortar & Pestle and Wilde Bar & Restaurant. Some will offer reservations, while others are first-come, first-served. It’s recommended to make reservations if possible.
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All social distancing, face covering and other guidelines will be followed, according to the Lakeview East Chamber of Commerce. The No. 36 bus on Broadway will be rerouted, and Barry Avenue, Oakdale Avenue and Briar Place will become two-way streets.
[ What you need to know about closing Chicago city streets to make room for more outdoor dining space ]
It has been two weeks since Lightfoot announced a pilot program to close residential streets and commercial corridors in six Chicago neighborhoods so that restaurants can seat guests outside.
The city pilot program identified six major areas in the city where main thoroughfares will close in the hopes of boosting sales for restaurants in that area.
Designated areas included:
75th Street, from Calumet Avenue to Indiana Avenue, in Chatham
Broadway, from Belmont Avenue to Diversey Parkway, in Lakeview
26th Street, from Central Park to Harding Avenue, in Little Village
Rush Street, from Oak Street to Cedar Street, in the Near North area
Taylor Street, from Loomis Street to Ashland Avenue, in Little Italy
Randolph Street, from the Kennedy Expressway no farther than Elizabeth Street, in the West Loop
Have more questions? Check out our breakdown here.
gwong@chicagotribune.com