chicagotribune--2020-06-23--Chicago’s violent weekend renews search for answers in a tense city, points again to entrenched prob

Chicago’s violent weekend renews search for answers in a tense city, points again to entrenched problems

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

Myesha James, center, the mother of 3-year-old Mekhi James, hugs Charles Morrison, Mekhi's father, during a vigil for their son in the Austin neighborhood on June 22, 2020, in Chicago. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)
New Chicago police Superintendent David Brown has been in his post for just two months, but his walk to a lectern at police headquarters had a familiar feel Monday.
Another weekend of stunning bloodshed in Chicago had given way to another round of police and city leaders grasping for explanations.
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“On the heels of Father’s Day, I come to you again with obviously a high level of frustration and disappointment,” Brown said at a press briefing.
This time, on the first official summer weekend of the year, it was 106 people shot, 14 of them fatally — including a 3-year-old boy.
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The tally between Friday afternoon and early Monday marked the most people shot in one weekend here since at least 2012, and the violence took a particular toll on children. Twelve of those shot were younger than 18 years old. Five of them died, including two walking into their backyard after going to get candy at a corner shop.
Six shootings involved three or more victims. One drive-by shooting early Monday in the East Garfield Park neighborhood injured five, including a 16-year-old girl who was left in critical condition.
The Austin District, where 3-year-old Mekhi James was fatally shot Saturday afternoon, had the most shooting victims: 18.
A photo of Mekhi James, 3, who was fatally shot Saturday afternoon, sits on a poster board during a vigil for the child on June 22, 2020, in Chicago's Austin neighborhood. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)
And while shootings were seen across the city, those who work at the front lines of reducing violence also were left to consider what’s happening on blocks that have borne the brunt of the problem for decades. Chicago is an agitated place, they said, dealing with the stress of a global pandemic, recent civil unrest and the fallout from decades of neglect and abandonment in some neighborhoods.
“I think the main thing to understand is that tensions are high,” said David Stovall, a professor of African American studies and criminology, law and justice at the University of Illinois at Chicago. “You have the COVID situation, which is making it harder to get work. The same communities have been disenfranchised for an elongated period of time. They haven’t had access to quality education or quality health care. … In these situations, these stressors are often enacted on the people who are in proximity to you.”
Mayor Lori Lightfoot often talks about long-term disenfranchisement as an underlying factor in the violence problem. But on Monday, Brown was left to handle the more immediate issues.
He appeared somber. Asked about the contributing factors to the escalation of violence, Brown replied, “Gangs, guns and drugs.”
As he took the helm earlier this year, Brown publicly stated he could envision a Chicago with fewer than 300 murders a year, a figure the city is already quickly approaching. For her part, Lightfoot has continued to support Brown, including on Monday, when she addressed his stated goal.
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Police officers and detectives guard the scene where a 3-year-old boy was fatally shot while riding in an SUV with his father in Chicago's Austin neighborhood on Saturday, June 20, 2020. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)
“I think what the superintendent said when he had this ambitious goal of 300, he called it a moon shot,” Lightfoot said. “And the idea was, not so much the number, but making sure that we rallied all the resources, both within the Police Department, but also with our various partners, to really focus on what each of us could to do more around public safety.”
But Brown seemed to blame at least some of those partners for this weekend’s mayhem.
Not enough violent offenders are locked up, and those who are jailed don’t stay there long enough, Brown said at his briefing. He also criticized the tracking of suspects who are arrested and placed on electronic monitoring by Cook County as they await trial.
“There are too many violent offenders not in jail, or on electronic monitoring, which no one is really monitoring,” Brown said. “We need violent felons to stay in jail longer and we need improvements to the home monitoring system.”
When asked how he knew this was to blame, Brown said only that it was his years in law enforcement. He also refused to be specific about what was not working about the electronic-monitoring system.
Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart has long complained that system is stretched too thin.
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Asked about Brown’s comments Monday, Dart spokeswoman Allison Peters noted it is judges who determine who is placed on monitoring. And the number of people on ankle bracelets has grown by about 1,000 since the coronavirus pandemic began, further stressing the system, she said in a statement.
“This increase took place without any additional staff or funding allocated to (monitoring),” she wrote. “In the past, we have routinely made requests for additional funding for positions in EM, but budget restrictions did not allow for the increase.”
Whether that explanation from Brown gains traction remains to be seen, but some police sources who spoke to the Tribune on the condition of anonymity blamed other factors. Some blamed a lack of a cohesive crime-fighting plan as well as the warm weather that drew a lot of people outdoors, creating an opportunity for gang shooters to settle scores with rivals.
Anti-violence outreach teams reached by the Tribune agreed that the first warm, celebratory weekend brought a lot of people outside. The weekend opened with the Juneteenth holiday and ended with Father’s Day.
That recipe put more innocent people in harm’s way, they said. And having neighborhoods newly full perhaps sometimes brought those with disputes in contact with each other.
“We’re working with guys that (have) been into it all year round that probably didn’t see each other,” said Bennie Clark, a program manager for Target Area Development, a South Side anti-violence group that mediates street conflicts. “Now they get a chance to see each other. It just made (it) an opportunity to carry out these acts.”
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Clark said he was sad to see so many people across the city get hurt, and that it reflects the difficultly of street outreach workers to stay ahead of so many conflicts to prevent shootings and retaliatory violence.
“We’re up against a lot,” Clark said. “We can tackle one thing, and then it’d be a whole other situation going on.”
Some noted that the shootings this time happened against the backdrop of not only COVID-19 but also the sustained protests in the wake of the killing of George Floyd by a police officer in Minneapolis.
At the pandemic’s start, deaths from the virus were happening in the same neighborhoods historically suffering from gun violence. Then, in late May and early June, Chicago, like many cities, experienced protests over Floyd’s death, some of which gave way to looting.
Brown, at the news conference, acknowledged that his officers have worked multiple 12-hour days and had much time off canceled in the last 20 days since the civil unrest that began during the last weekend of May.
“They’re human and they’re tired,” he said. “But they are very professional and I am so proud of the work that they’re putting in given the circumstances that they’re under.”
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But whatever the immediate reasons for this weekend’s bloodshed were, UIC’s Stovall and others remarked that the real driver of violence is that so many neighborhoods have been left without access to adequate jobs, education or health care, and that is not a new situation.
Stovall said solutions such as having outreach teams of the kind Brown has sometimes mentioned could help, reaching people swept up in the violence to try and reduce tensions. But the city needs to consider wider, deeper solutions, including access to meaningful jobs, he said.
Asiaha Butler, a longtime community activist in the South Side’s Englewood neighborhood, said she also felt the weekend’s tension.
But on Monday, between her usual community meetings, Butler said the answers to ending Chicago’s violence are found in the long, hard work of demanding better conditions.
“Many of us hear these stories, and believe me, we are not happy to hear about the 3-year-old, but we just know that the work has to keep going,” Butler said.
“And it’s not a quick fix,” she said. “We can’t protest our way out of this. We really have to take some deep assessments. I will continue to go back to the economic stability of neighborhoods and the generational trauma that takes deeper work to address.”
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asweeney@chicagotribune.com
jgorner@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-06-23--2 women dead, 1 wounded in domestic shooting in Gresham neighborhood

A visibly distraught woman was escorted by police officers into the passenger side of a police car with its lights @ @ @ @ @ the car for a while but got out again and walked toward the scene before @ @ @ @ @ and returned to the vehicle .

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


chicagotribune--2020-06-23--Three boys escape from police custody while in transport to Chicago’s juvenile center

Around 7:30 p.m. , officers were in the process of transporting four boys near the 3900 block of South California @ @ @ @ @

Three boys escaped from police custody while being transported to Chicago’s juvenile center Monday evening, police said.
Around 7:30 p.m., officers were in the process of transporting four boys near the 3900 block of South California Avenue when three escaped.
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The incident occurred near the Juvenile Intervention Support Center in Brighton Park, where the children were set to be taken.
There have been no additional updates on their whereabouts, according to police.
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Check back for updates.


chicagotribune--2020-06-23--Daywatch: Illinois to enter phase 4 of reopening on Friday, protests’ impact on coronavirus in Chica

Daywatch: Illinois to enter phase 4 of reopening on Friday, protests’ impact on coronavirus in Chicago and Laurence Holmes’ must-listen radio

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

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Good morning, Chicago. Here’s the coronavirus news and other top stories you need to know to start your day.
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Runners, walkers, scooter uses and bicyclists use the reopened 606 Bloomingdale trail on June 22, 2020. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)
Gatherings of up to 50 people will be allowed across the state starting Friday as Illinois moves into the fourth phase of its reopening plan.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced Monday that Chicago would be following along with the rest of the state as well. According to the reopening plan, schools, child care programs and restaurants are allowed to resume a range of services and activities as long as they follow public health guidelines. Movie theaters, health clubs and retail stores will also be allowed to open with limits in place for capacity. Employees at “nonessential” businesses are allowed to return to work, as long as employers provide accommodations for those who are vulnerable.
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Myesha James, center, the mother 3-year-old Mekhi James,, hugs Charles Morrison, the father of Mekhi, during a vigil for their son in the Austin neighborhood on June 22, 2020, in Chicago. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)
New Chicago police Superintendent David Brown has been in his post for just two months, but his walk to a lectern at police headquarters had a familiar feel Monday. Another weekend of stunning bloodshed in Chicago had given way to another round of police and city leaders grasping for explanations.
At vigil for slain 3-year-old: ‘Another mother has to bury another son and another dream dies’
At least 106 people shot, 14 fatally, in Chicago weekend violence
An artist's rendering shows the design of an Amazon fulfillment center being built at Harlem Avenue and Vollmer Road in Matteson. (Village of Matteson)
A host of local officials welcomed Amazon Inc.‘s decision Monday to open distribution centers in Matteson and Markham, and the 2,000 jobs that go with them, but asked for more — a company decision to use the long proposed south suburban airport as an air cargo hub.
Crowds cheer during the One Million Man March rally at Daley Plaza in Chicago on June 19, 2020. (Jose M. Osorio/Chicago Tribune)
At the start of June, public health officials wondered whether major street protests over police killings of African Americans would lead to a spike in coronavirus cases. Crowds of people, at times shoulder to shoulder, had marched through Chicago and some suburbs at a time when people had been told for weeks to stay away from each other as much as possible.
WSCR-AM sports talk show host Laurence Holmes during his afternoon segment on Friday, Jan. 24, 2020. (Steven Rosenberg / Chicago Tribune)
Sammy Sosa predictably was the subject du jour on Chicago sports radio the day after “Long Gone Summer” aired on ESPN, much of the chatter echoing themes debated for years about steroids, the Hall of Fame and his relationship with the Cubs.
Then there were the 20 or so minutes on WSCR-AM 670 during which noon-2 p.m. weekday host Laurence Holmes ensured listeners think twice before making fun of Sosa’s lightening complexion. It’s part of what makes Holmes so valuable in local sports talk radio, where the dearth of diversity among front-line daytime hosts is especially evident.


chicagotribune--2020-06-23--Saying Chicago police uphold ‘racist and white supremacist values,’ DePaul tutors refuse to work wit

Saying Chicago police uphold ‘racist and white supremacist values,’ DePaul tutors refuse to work with officers taking classes, call for university to cut ties with department

Kaitlyn Madden , one of the head tutors , said some of her colleagues were assigned to help a class @ @ @ @ @ enrolled .
She said none complained about anything untoward happening with the police officers , @ @ @ @ @ concerns , others were troubled to learn of the FOP program ’ s existence .

After weeks of student calls to end educational programs that serve members of the Chicago Police Department, DePaul University Provost Salma Ghanem turned aside the demands on Monday, saying in a statement that “the actions of a few do not represent the (CPD officers) we teach.”
The provost’s statement also included an account from an unnamed police officer who said she was “devastated” by the students’ appeal.
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“As a CPD Latina I am proud to be who I am and for the past 12 years have worked tirelessly throughout my career to make a difference and I can bet my life savings that many officers (enrolled at DePaul) share the same feelings,” she wrote.
Ghanem’s statement didn’t sit well with some who want DePaul to sever ties with CPD and Chicago’s Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 7. Junior Aneesah Shealey, who was one of the first to criticize educational programs the school offers to the police union, said students will continue to organize to reverse the decision.
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“We’re trying to emphasize that you can’t separate the person from the career,” she said. “It doesn’t matter that there are good cops. They’re still protecting the ones committing the acts of violence.”
A DePaul spokeswoman said Ghanem was not available for an interview, and declined to provide other officials to answer questions on the school’s behalf.
DePaul’s website says the program that serves FOP members includes bachelor’s degree completion, a master of jurisprudence for nonlawyers who encounter legal issues at work, and a doctorate in educational leadership. Classes are held at the Chicago police academy.
Shealey said she learned about the program just after the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer. She is a member of the school’s University Center for Writing-based Learning, which helps students improve their writing, and took her misgivings to others at the center.
Kaitlyn Madden, one of the head tutors, said some of her colleagues were assigned to help a class in which FOP members were enrolled. She said none complained about anything untoward happening with the police officers, but after Shealey aired her concerns, others were troubled to learn of the FOP program’s existence.
“A lot of our tutors are people of color and don’t feel comfortable (assisting police officers),” she said. “The general consensus was not feeling comfortable with people that make them feel unsafe and are part of a larger institution that upholds racist and white supremacist values.”
Members of the writing center issued a petition and went on a brief strike after demanding that the university end its relationship with the police union. They relented after Ghanem agreed to have DePaul employees, not student tutors, assigned to classes taken by FOP officers.
Meanwhile, others launched another petition making similar demands.
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It followed a June 1 statement from university President A. Gabriel Esteban in which he said protests over Floyd’s killing had been “overshadowed by acts of violence and destruction.” He detailed damage to university property during the unrest in the Loop, and pledged to work with the Chicago Police Department.
The petition, which lists more than 2,100 names of students, faculty members and alumni, said DePaul “should be divesting from and breaking ties with police departments in an effort to adequately contest police brutality and anti-blackness,” and called on school officials to sever its connections to the department.
“The Chicago police and the Fraternal Order of Police have demonstrated an indifference to Black lives in instances of police brutality for years and years, and that’s the most important thing at the moment,” said Gil Morejón, an adjunct instructor in DePaul’s philosophy program and one of the petition’s authors.
In her statement, Ghanem said DePaul’s relationship with Chicago police is limited to teaching, and that while she understood the demands to cut ties are “rooted in pain, outrage, and the desire to take a stand against police brutality,” the Catholic university’s religious values call it to provide educational access to all.
John Catanzara, president of FOP Lodge 7, provided a pithier response.
“Those same voices should also push for an autonomous police force so CPD doesn’t have to respond to calls for service on DePaul property,” he wrote in a text message. “I’m going to guess they won’t.”
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Twitter @JohnKeilman


chicagotribune--2020-06-23--At vigil for slain 3-year-old: ‘Another mother has to bury another son and another dream dies'

As the rain let up Monday evening , Mekhi ’ s family joined in a small vigil near the Central @ @ @ @ @ ’ s Austin neighborhood .
They held posters with photos of the little boy .
@ @ @ @ @ Happy first birthday , ” Mekhi appeared in a bright yellow shirt ; in another @ @ @ @ @ house .

Myesha James, center, the mother of 3-year-old Mekhi James, hugs Charles Morrison, Mekhi's father, during a vigil for their son in the Austin neighborhood on June 22, 2020, in Chicago. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)
When Mekhi James’ family members remember their loving 3-year-old, they’ll think of his smile.
As the rain let up Monday evening, Mekhi’s family joined in a small vigil near the Central Green Line stop in Chicago’s Austin neighborhood. They held posters with photos of the little boy. In one that said “Happy first birthday,” Mekhi appeared in a bright yellow shirt; in another he smiled behind a gingerbread house.
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The boy’s mother, Myesha James, held a poster of Mekhi, who had a smile on his face and clouds painted above his head, as she breathlessly called for an end to violence.
A photo of 3-year-old Mekhi James, who was fatally shot Saturday afternoon, sits on a poster board during a vigil for James in Chicago's Austin neighborhood on Monday, June 22, 2020. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)
She questioned how some say Black lives matter when “we take our own lives.”
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“No matter how long I talk to y’all, no matter how long I cry,” James said. “My baby boy is gone.”
The crowd formed a circle and joined in prayer for the family as the speaker’s voice cried out: “Another mother has to bury another son and another dream dies.”
James joined in a cheer: “Black lives have got to matter to Black people.”
And then she started her own cheer: “M 3,” her son’s first initial and age.
Mekhi’s family described him as “a loving little boy” whose “hug was just so tight.”
Marthesha James, the boy’s aunt, said when she thinks of Mekhi, she’ll think of his smile. “He was a caring little boy,” she said. “And it wasn’t his time.”
Charles Morrison, the father Mekhi James, who was fatally shot Saturday afternoon, attends a vigil for his son in Chicago's Austin neighborhood on Monday, June 22, 2020. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)
Latoya Richardson, a close friend of the family, asked how the city can sleep at night. “He’s been robbed,” she said. “There’s no way someone should just be able to just sit back and know they took a 3-year-old.
“He never got a chance to live his life,” she said. “He never got a chance to go to school.”
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Earlier at the vigil, the aunt of a boy shot and killed last year near the neighborhood, spoke to the crowd.
Juanta Griffin said she came out Monday because the shooting of her nephew last year “tore her family apart.”
“For a whole year, I’ve been too broken to do anything from an activist standpoint,” Griffin said. “If I don’t start standing up for somebody else’s child — I need to save somebody because I couldn’t save him.”
Griffin said she originally planned to be silent and stand in solidarity. But she said she decided to speak, hoping it would help her heal. She wants justice for her nephew, she said.
“And there was no memorial for Xavier,” Griffin said, through tears. “And nobody mourned for him and nobody marched for him and nobody gathered for him.”
“I just figured I’d stand for somebody else’s child because I feel like nobody stood for my nephew.”
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mgreene@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-06-23--Illinois Supreme Court to hire chief of inclusion and diversity officer

The court acknowledged its move came in the wake of protests over the death of George Floyd at the hands @ @ @ @ @ events in recent weeks have “ brought to the forefront the disproportionate impact the application @ @ @ @ @ , policies and practices have had on the African American population , the Latinx community @ @ @ @ @ color in Illinois and nationally .
”

The Illinois Supreme Court announced on Monday that it would recruit a chief diversity and inclusion officer for the state’s judicial branch of government, acknowledging a need to address racism and to address “frailties in the disposition of justice” affecting people of color.
“Racism exists, whether it be actualized as individual racism, institutional racism or structural racism, and it undermines our democracy, the fair and equitable administration of justice, and severely diminishes individual constitutional protections and safeguards of full citizenship with the attendant rights and benefits sacred to all,” an unsigned statement from the court said.
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“People of color have no less expectation of fairness, equity and freedom from racial discrimination than others, yet they are continually confronted with racial injustices that the courts have the ability to nullify and set right,” the statement said.
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The state’s highest court said that, through the hiring of a diversity and inclusion officer, it will seek someone to propose practices, procedures and rules for the Illinois court system that protect constitutional rights.
The court acknowledged its move came in the wake of protests over the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police, saying events in recent weeks have “brought to the forefront the disproportionate impact the application of certain laws, rules, policies and practices have had on the African American population, the Latinx community, and other people of color in Illinois and nationally.”
“The administration of justice must be accessible, it must be fair, and it must be equitable,” the court’s statement said. “When frailties in the disposition of justice exist, we will recognize and acknowledge them and seek to rectify any injustice.”
The statement on behalf of Chief Justice Anne Burke and the court’s six other justices said the diversity and inclusion officer was one step in a “long process that requires continuous research on the role of racism in our society and actions necessary for its eradication.”
rap30@aol.com
Twitter @rap30


chicagotribune--2020-06-24--4 injured in drive-by shooting while standing outside residence in Chicago’s Burnside neighborhood,

4 injured in drive-by shooting while standing outside residence in Chicago’s Burnside neighborhood, police say

The victims are a 27-year-old man , who was struck in the shoulder , leg and foot ; a 33-year-old @ @ @ @ @ in the shoulder , back and leg ; a 60-year-old man , who was struck @ @ @ @ @ a 60-year-old woman , who was struck in the back , according to police .

Police work the scene were a 27-year-old man, 33-year-old woman, 60-year-old woman and 60-year-old man were shot on the 9100 block of South Ellis Avenue on June 23, 2020, in Chicago. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)
Four people were shot late Tuesday afternoon while standing outside a residence on Chicago’s South Side, according to police.
The incident occurred about 5 p.m. in the 9100 block of South Ellis Avenue in the Burnside neighborhood when a silver vehicle approached the group and an occupant in the vehicle began to fire shots, police said.
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The victims are a 27-year-old man, who was struck in the shoulder, leg and foot; a 33-year-old woman, who was struck in the shoulder, back and leg; a 60-year-old man, who was struck in the hand; and a 60-year-old woman, who was struck in the back, according to police.
The 33-year-old woman was transported to the University of Chicago Medical Center in serious condition. All other victims were transported to University of Chicago or Advocate Trinity Hospital in good condition.
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No offenders are in custody, and detectives are investigating.
Check back for updates.
Twitter @JessicaVillag


chicagotribune--2020-06-24--DUI charges filed against Chicago woman and man after good Samaritan fatally struck on Dan Ryan Expr

DUI charges filed against Chicago woman and man after good Samaritan fatally struck on Dan Ryan Expressway, police say

Three men in another vehicle stopped to assist the occupants of the Infiniti — the driver , an adult woman @ @ @ @ @ later , the driver of a third vehicle , a Nissan , struck the three @ @ @ @ @ .

Charges have been filed against a woman and a man in a traffic incident in which a 31-year-old good Samaritan was struck and killed while helping victims of a crash early Sunday on the Dan Ryan Expressway, according to Illinois State Police.
The incident happened shortly after midnight, state police said. The male driver of an Infiniti was southbound near 47th Street when he lost control, and his vehicle hit a median and turned over, police said.
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Three men in another vehicle stopped to assist the occupants of the Infiniti — the driver, an adult woman and three youths. Moments later, the driver of a third vehicle, a Nissan, struck the three good Samaritans, police said.
One of those struck, Curtis Deyante Hale Melton of Maywood, died at the scene, police said. The other two men with him were taken to local hospitals with serious injuries.
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The driver of the Nissan, Sabrina Johnson, 45, of Chicago, was charged with aggravated DUI/death, police said. Bail was set at $10,000. Beer and about 15 grams of cannabis were found in her vehicle, according to court reports.
The driver of the Infiniti, Francisco Carreno Jr., 34, of Chicago, was charged with four counts of aggravated DUI and three counts of child endangerment, police said, Bail was set at $20,000.
The occupants of the Infiniti suffered non-life-threatening injuries, police said.
jvillagomez@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @JessicaVillag


chicagotribune--2020-06-23--Coronavirus in Illinois updates: Pritzker offers schools guidance for reopening this fall; 601 new k

Coronavirus in Illinois updates: Pritzker offers schools guidance for reopening this fall; 601 new known cases and 38 more deaths reported

“ While Governor Pritzker and ISBE have so far been helpful and clear on policies and guidance regarding contending with @ @ @ @ @ and geographic diversity was bound to catch up with the state ’ s ability to @ @ @ @ @ CTU said in a Tuesday statement .
“ Today ’ s guidance from ISBE is @ @ @ @ @ vague to serve as a useful road map for CPS .
In short , we @ @ @ @ @ required to figure out many of the most critical features of school work for ourselves @ @ @ @ @

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The Fulton Market area of Chicago is no longer the ghost town it was during the depths of the COVID-19 virus pandemic shutdown. As restrictions on restaurants are eased, a worker takes a woman's temperature before she can enter Federales restaurant on Morgan Street on July 1, 2020. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)
Illinois officials on Tuesday announced guidance for students and teachers to return to the classroom in the fall.
Every school district, college and university will be asked to develop their own reopening plan, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said. But the guidance issued Tuesday requires the use of face coverings, limits the number of people gathering in one place, calls for social distancing “as much as possible” and requires more school-wide cleaning and disinfection.
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The announcement came as health officials announced 601 new known cases of COVID-19 and 38 additional fatalities, bringing the total number of known cases to 137,825 and the death toll to 6,707 statewide. Officials also reported 20,507 new tests in the last 24 hours.
On Monday, Chicago officials unexpectedly said the city will join the rest of Illinois in going to phase four of the state’s reopening plan Friday. That means museums, the Lincoln Park Zoo, youth summer camps and amenities such indoor dining, gyms and movie theaters will be allowed to open “with limited capacities and appropriate safeguards,” according to Lightfoot’s office.
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[ Illinois will enter phase 4 of reopening plan Friday. Here’s a guide to what’s allowed. ]
[ How will Illinois reopen? Three charts breaking down Pritzker’s plan ]
[ COVID-19 cases in Illinois by ZIP code: Search for your neighborhood ]
[ As the coronavirus spreads, the Tribune is tracking Illinois cases here ]
Here’s what’s happening Tuesday with COVID-19 in the Chicago area and Illinois:
6:37 p.m.: Northwestern offers buyouts to 4,000 employees
Northwestern University is offering buyouts to 4,000 staff members.
The offer is an attempt to cut costs because the university anticipates “reduced revenues and additional expenses next year” because of COVID-19, according to a statement from the university.
“In this context, a voluntary separation plan supplements the cost-containment measures we have taken already, allows us to manage staffing levels to match our outlook and reduces the possibility of potential actions such as further furloughs or involuntary layoffs,” said Jon Yates, a university spokesman, in an email.
Crain’s Chicago Business first reported the buyout offer.
Yates said the university expects 150 to 200 employees to take the buyout, which is voluntary. Staff were given the period between June 8 and June 30 to apply, and the university may not approve every application.
It’s not clear how much money this would save the university. Yates said that would depend on a lot of factors.
In May, the university announced furloughs for about 250 workers, suspended contributions to employee retirement plans and dug deeper into its endowment.
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—Chicago Tribune staff
4:43 p.m.: No decision yet on CPS reopening in the fall, despite governor’s announcement
For Chicago Public Schools’ 355,000 students, how or even whether schools will reopen in the fall remains undetermined, despite the governor’s proclamation.
CPS did announce Tuesday that summer school will remain remote.
As for the fall, though, CPS spokeswoman Emily Bolton said in a statement that the district is “eager to open its doors to students as soon as it is safe to do so, and the district is gathering feedback from families and staff to inform draft reopening guidelines for our schools. We will continue to work closely with (city and public health officials) to ensure we are able to open safely.
“Nothing is more important than the safety of our students, staff and families, and we remain committed to widespread engagement to ensure our plan for reopening supports the diverse needs of our entire school community,” she said.
CPS was already planning, for when its schools do reopen, to require everyone to wear masks and said it would provide a limited number to students and staff at the beginning of the school year.
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Students and staff will also be subject to daily temperature checks, and “stringent” cleaning protocols are planned.
CPS is still working on guidelines for the fall, and seeking input from students, families and employees using surveys and focus groups. But officials said draft reopening guidelines should be released in coming weeks for further community review and feedback.
The Chicago Teachers Union has criticized CPS for not being farther along in planning for the fall but has also stressed the importance of adequate protections for students and staff.
“While Governor Pritzker and ISBE have so far been helpful and clear on policies and guidance regarding contending with COVID-19, Illinois’ size and geographic diversity was bound to catch up with the state’s ability to issue useful guidance,” CTU said in a Tuesday statement. “Today’s guidance from ISBE is both too general and too vague to serve as a useful road map for CPS. In short, we’re going to be required to figure out many of the most critical features of school work for ourselves, in bargaining.”
—Hannah Leone
3:45 p.m.: With only days before phase 4 begins, what do new cases say about direction of outbreak in Illinois?
On Tuesday, the state announced 38 additional deaths from COVID-19 as well as 601 new confirmed cases.
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With only days before the state transitions to phase four, what does 38 deaths and 601 new cases say about the direction of the outbreak in Illinois?
For four weeks in late April and May, the state averaged more than 2,000 new confirmed coronavirus cases a day. During that same period from April 26 to May 23, the state averaged around 100 deaths a day. The average for the week of June 14 is 605 cases and 49 deaths.
Another metric that shows the direction of the outbreak is the positivity rate. That rate looks at the proportion of coronavirus tests that come back positive. This measure has been dropping across the state. Those two metrics are lower than earlier in the outbreak.
Also Tuesday, the state announced 20,507 new test results.
See more coronavirus data here. —Chicago Tribune staff
2:57 p.m.: Illinois officials offer school districts guidance for reopening to in-person classes this fall
State officials on Tuesday announced guidance for students and teachers to return to the classroom in the fall.
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Every school district, college and university will be asked to develop their own reopening plan, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said. But the guidance issued Tuesday requires the use of face coverings, limits the number of people gathering in one place, calls for social distancing “as much as possible” and requires more school-wide cleaning and disinfection.
The rules also call for schools to conduct symptom screening and temperature checks, or that people “self-certify that they are free of symptoms before entering school buildings.”
Schools also should prepare for the possibility that they will need to return to remote learning if there is a coronavirus resurgence in the state, Pritzker said.
Pritzker ordered in-person instruction suspended statewide on March 17, and teachers and students finished out the 2019-2020 in a remote learning capacity.
All of the four regions of the state, as defined by the governor’s “Restore Illinois” reopening plan, are poised to move into the next phase on Friday, which allows for gatherings of up to 50 people.
—Jamie Munks
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2:35 p.m.: Officials report 601 new cases and 38 more deaths
Illinois officials on Tuesday announced 601 new known cases of COVID-19 and 38 additional fatalities, bringing the total number of known cases to 137,825 and the death toll to 6,707 statewide since the start of the pandemic. Officials also reported 20,507 new tests in the last 24 hours.
2:30 p.m.: Unusual salvo of fireworks in Chicago as city sees 700% jump in calls
Already on edge on multiple fronts, many Chicagoans are now having to contend with yet another challenge to their peace of mind, not to mention their sleep — an unrelenting barrage of fireworks.
During late-night hours, the sound of loud explosions has echoed through many Chicago neighborhoods, resulting in a staggering increase in 911 calls. The city has received more than 7,000 emergency calls for fireworks disturbances so far this year, compared with only 842 last year during the same time period, a 736% increase, according to data provided by the Office of Emergency Management and Communications.
The numbers mirror increases in cities throughout the country, which those in the fireworks industry say can be traced to the cancellation of organized shows because of the coronavirus pandemic. There has been a surge in complaints about fireworks in New York, Boston and Hartford, Connecticut. Residents of other cities, including Los Angeles and Baltimore, have taken to social media to vent their frustration.
Read more here. —Javonte Anderson
1:55 p.m.: European Union may bar American travelers as it reopens borders, citing failures on coronavirus
European Union countries rushing to revive their economies and reopen their borders after months of coronavirus restrictions are prepared to block Americans from entering because the United States has failed to control the scourge, according to draft lists of acceptable travelers seen by The New York Times.
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That prospect, which would lump American visitors in with Russians and Brazilians as unwelcome, is a stinging blow to American prestige in the world and a repudiation of President Donald Trump’s handling of the virus in the United States, which has more than 2.3 million cases and upward of 120,000 deaths, more than any other country.
European nations are currently haggling over two potential lists of acceptable visitors based on how countries are faring with the coronavirus pandemic. Both include China, as well as developing nations like Uganda, Cuba and Vietnam.
Travelers from the United States and the rest of the world have been excluded from visiting the European Union — with few exceptions mostly for repatriations or “essential travel” — since mid-March. But a final decision on reopening the borders is expected early next week, before the bloc reopens July 1.
Read more here. —The New York Times
1:19 p.m.: Chicago setting up mobile COVID-19 testing sites to help monitor disease
In an effort to get COVID-19 tests to people who need them, Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Tuesday announced mobile testing for residents in hard-hit African American neighborhoods on the South and West sides, and for first responders on the Northwest and Southwest sides where lots of police and firefighters live.
Mobile testing for residents will operate out of Kennedy-King College in Englewood and the Austin Health Center in that West Side neighborhood. While prior spikes in cases in predominantly Black and Hispanic zip codes are less pronounced now than they were a few weeks ago, city officials this week said infection rates in those neighborhoods are still higher than they would like.
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The mobile sites will be able to test up to 500 people per day, and the city will work with local community organizations to set up events in neighborhoods for residents to get swabbed for the virus.
Meanwhile, with police, firefighters and paramedics at risk to catch the disease because of their daily interactions with the public, the city will run mobile sites for them around neighborhoods where many of them live, the city announced.
If these four sites prove successful, the city will set up more mobile testing, Lightfoot said.
Read more here. —John Byrne
11:10 a.m.: Steppenwolf adjusts season, now plans to resume in December
Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre has reduced its 2020-21 season of shows down to four mainstage productions and now plans to resume live operations in mid-December.
The comeback show, assume nothing changes further, will be Matt Charman’s “Good Night, and Good Luck,” a new stage play adapted from the 2005 George Clooney movie about the conflict between Sen. Joseph McCarthy and journalist Edward R. Murrow.
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Both Broadway In Chicago and the Goodman Theatre, among others, are also hoping to resume live performances in the fall, but theaters are still awaiting city and state COVID-19 guidelines, as well as firm agreements with unions. Read more here. —Chris Jones
9:45 a.m.: Dr. Anthony Fauci, other health officials to testify at House hearing as COVID-19 infections spike in half of US states
With coronavirus cases rising in about half the states and political polarization competing for attention with public health recommendations, Dr. Anthony Fauci returns to Capitol Hill on Tuesday at a fraught moment in the nation's pandemic response.
The government’s top infectious disease expert will testify before a House committee, along with the heads of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration, and a top official at the Department of Health and Human Services. Watch live here starting at 10 a.m. — Associated Press
7:15 a.m.: State officials to give coronavirus update
More than three weeks after Gov. J.B. Pritzker and other state officials ended the practice of holding daily coronavirus updates, they were scheduled to hold a news conference Tuesday afternoon to announced updates on the pandemic situation in Illinois.
Pritzker began the daily updates in mid-March and continued them until the state’s stay-at-home order was allowed to expire at the end of May. The state has since been updating coronavirus illness and death statistics in daily news releases and updates the state health website. — Chicago Tribune staff
6:10 a.m.: Chicago expanding coronavirus testing at community sites
Chicago was launching a pilot program Tuesday to expand coronavirus testing for the public and emergency responders, starting at a health center in Austin and at Kennedy-King College.
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The first community site will be at Austin Health Center, 4800 W. Chicago Ave., starting operations Tuesday, with the second at Kennedy-King College, 6301 S. Halsted St., later this week, according to a news release from the mayor’s office.
The opening of the new tests sites comes as the city moves to phase four of the state’s reopening plan on Friday, and works to meet its goal of 4,500 COVID-19 tests per day.
Tests are being offered without charge to city residents at the clinics. For more information and to register to get a test, people can visit chi.gov/covidtesting. — Chicago Tribune staff
Breaking coronavirus news Stay up to date with the latest information on coronavirus with our breaking news alerts.
Here are five things that happened Monday in Illinois related to COVID-19:


chicagotribune--2020-06-23--Northwestern offers buyouts to 4,000 employees

“ In this context , a voluntary separation plan supplements the cost-containment measures we have taken already , allows us @ @ @ @ @ match our outlook and reduces the possibility of potential actions such as further furloughs or @ @ @ @ @ Jon Yates , a university spokesman , in an email .

Students at Northwestern University make their way to classes in 2016 with University Hall in the background on the Evanston campus. (Chris Walker / Chicago Tribune)
Northwestern University is offering buyouts to 4,000 staff members.
The offer is an attempt to cut costs because the university anticipates “reduced revenues and additional expenses next year” because of COVID-19, according to a statement from the university.
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“In this context, a voluntary separation plan supplements the cost-containment measures we have taken already, allows us to manage staffing levels to match our outlook and reduces the possibility of potential actions such as further furloughs or involuntary layoffs,” said Jon Yates, a university spokesman, in an email.
Crain’s Chicago Business first reported the buyout offer.
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Yates said the university expects 150 to 200 employees to take the buyout, which is voluntary. Staff were given the period between June 8 and June 30 to apply, and the university may not approve every application.
It’s not clear how much money this would save the university. Yates said that would depend on a lot of factors.
In May, the university announced furloughs for about 250 workers, suspended contributions to employee retirement plans and dug deeper into its endowment.


chicagotribune--2020-06-23--University of Chicago closes investigation into economist over Martin Luther King Jr. comments, rein

University of Chicago closes investigation into economist over Martin Luther King Jr. comments, reinstates professor as journal editor

Uhlig , a tenured professor who has worked at the university for over a decade , including a stint as @ @ @ @ @ department , was placed on leave from the editing job earlier this month after a @ @ @ @ @ tweet that the instructor mocked King , discussed holding class on his namesake holiday and @ @ @ @ @ is Black , whether his comments offended him .

A University of Chicago economics professor will return to his journal editor post after the school reviewed a claim that he scorned Martin Luther King Jr. during class, determining there was “not a basis” for more investigation.
The university announced on Monday that it finished reviewing claims that professor Harald Uhlig made discriminatory comments during class and that he will be reinstated as lead editor of the Journal of Political Economy, a renowned academic publication printed by the school’s press.
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“The University has completed a review of claims that a faculty member engaged in discriminatory conduct on the basis of race in a University classroom,” university spokesman Gerald McSwiggan wrote in a Monday statement. “The review concluded that at this time there is not a basis for a further investigation or disciplinary proceeding.”
Uhlig, a tenured professor who has worked at the university for over a decade, including a stint as chair of the esteemed economics department, was placed on leave from the editing job earlier this month after a former student claimed in a tweet that the instructor mocked King, discussed holding class on his namesake holiday and asked the student, who is Black, whether his comments offended him.
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“I sat in your class in Winter 2014: (1) You talked about scheduling a class on MLK Day (2) You made fun of Dr. King and people honoring him (3) You sarcastically asked me in front of everyone whether I was offended,” wrote Bocar A. Ba, now a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Pennsylvania Law School.
Uhlig told the Tribune in a statement he does not recall the incident, but he said he wrote to Ba, “My most sincere apology that I may have offended you.”
“Martin Luther King is not only a national hero, he is a global hero, an inspiration to us all and someone I deeply admire,” Uhlig wrote to the Tribune on Tuesday. “I am thus relieved that the university decision has helped rectify a wrong image of mine, which people might have read into the incident.”
The university typically does not intervene when faculty members voice controversial opinions but launched an initial fact-finding probe after Ba’s tweet.
“The University of Chicago does not tolerate intimidating, hostile or offensive discriminatory behavior that targets groups or individuals, and we take seriously any matter that interferes with educational program participation,” McSwiggan wrote.
Ba, who previously told the Tribune he wants to focus on his work, declined an interview, as did other academics who tweeted that they witnessed the apparent incident.
The claim of Uhlig’s classroom comments surfaced after criticism erupted over the professor’s tweets this month likening Black Lives Matter activists who are calling for defunding the police to flat-earthers and creationists.
“Sigh. #GeorgeFloyd and his family really didn’t deserve being taken advantage of by flat-earthers … and creationists,” Uhlig tweeted on June 8. “Oh well. Time for sensible adults to enter back into the room and have serious, earnest, respectful conversations about it all: e.g. policy reform proposals by @TheDemocrat and national healing.”
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That, along with past blog posts, including one asking whether it is OK for football players to wave the Confederate flag and dress in Ku Klux Klan outfits during the national anthem, fed into ire from hundreds of academics and others demanding he resign as the JPE editor.
After realizing the opinions on Twitter and his blog “apparently irritated” people, Uhlig apologized in a June 9 tweet and said he could have used better comparisons and word choice.
The backlash prompted some supporters of Uhlig to deride the so-called cancel culture that they say inhibits freedom of speech in academic settings. In his email, Uhlig condemned the pushback on his comments from other economists such as Janet Yellen, the former Federal Reserve chair who said it would be “appropriate” to reassess his editor role.
“People should speak freely,” he wrote. “It is highly problematic for Janet Yellen as president of the American Economic Association to criticize one of its members for executing its right to free speech.”
But professor Gary Hoover, University of Oklahoma’s economics department chair, said the online outrage is a natural response within the academic ecosystem, which he believes has a long way to go before reaching racial equity. Just over 5% of economics degrees are awarded to Black people each year, according to the American Economic Association.
Hoover, who is Black, said he isn’t certain about whether Uhlig should step down from his editor role. But the entire experience should be treated as a reckoning within economics departments on incentivizing diversity.
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“One thing I find very interesting about us economists is we sure know how to teach economics. We don’t seem to be very good at actually using it,” Hoover said. “When you don’t put proper mechanisms and proper policy in place, then these are the natural outgrowths of that. So no one should be surprised.”
ayin@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-06-23--The Spin: Pritzker clears the way for schools to hold in-person classes this fall | Pressure’s on Ma

The Spin: Pritzker clears the way for schools to hold in-person classes this fall | Pressure’s on Mayor Lightfoot to push back on police contract to win reforms | City fireworks complaints skyrocket

David Stovall , a professor of African American studies and criminology , law and justice at the University of Illinois @ @ @ @ @ I think the main thing to understand is that tensions are high .
You have @ @ @ @ @ is making it harder to get work .
The same communities have been disenfranchised for @ @ @ @ @ .
They haven ’ t had access to quality education or quality health care .
@ @ @ @ @ these stressors are often enacted on the people who are in proximity to you .
@

Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced a short time ago guidance that will allow schools, from kindergarten through the university level, to once again hold in-person classes this fall, pointing to it as proof that residents have adhered to his strict stay-at-home orders — so much so that case numbers are falling.
Meanwhile, activists, experts, police and politicians are once again pondering the ways to end the level of violence that occurred over the weekend in Chicago, where more than 100 were shot and 14 were killed, including five children. The youngest among the dead was 3 years old.
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All eyes were on Chicago police Superintendent David Brown for an answer, even as law enforcement here and across the country are once again facing heavy scrutiny in the wake of the George Floyd killing in Minneapolis.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot has talked about how long-term disenfranchisement is an underlying factor in the violence, my Tribune colleagues Annie Sweeney and Jeremy Gorner write in a new story.
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Experts say Floyd’s death and the disproportionate impact of the coronavirus on African American and Latino communities offer brutally painful reminders of systemic racism that has left neighborhoods in ruins, schools gutted, and good health care along with employment and other economic opportunities sorely lacking.
Fed-up activists, including clergy members, say it’s time for elected officials from the White House on down to muster the same political will it took to respond to a fast-moving deadly pandemic to the long-standing deadly violence that’s led to the death of innocent children.
Welcome to The Spin.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot wears a face mask while addressing police supervisors in the 4700 block of West Madison Street in the West Garfield Park neighborhood on April 24, 2020, in Chicago. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)
In a new piece, Tribune reporters Sweeney and Gorner pull together a variety of viewpoints about the confluence of events that triggered one of the most violent weekends since at least 2012:
Superintendent David Brown says gangs, guns and drugs — as they have been for years — are to blame: During a news conference he also said not enough violent offenders are locked up, and those who are jailed don’t stay there long enough. He also criticized the tracking of suspects who are arrested and placed on electronic monitoring by Cook County as they await trial.
David Stovall, a professor of African American studies and criminology, law and justice at the University of Illinois at Chicago said: “I think the main thing to understand is that tensions are high. You have the COVID situation, which is making it harder to get work. The same communities have been disenfranchised for an elongated period of time. They haven’t had access to quality education or quality health care. … In these situations, these stressors are often enacted on the people who are in proximity to you.”
Anti-violence outreach teams reached by the Tribune said the first warm, celebratory weekend, which began with Juneteenth and ended with Father’s Day, brought a lot of people outside. That recipe put more innocent people in harm’s way, they said. And having neighborhoods newly full perhaps sometimes brought those with disputes in contact with each other.
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An image of police officers lounging about in U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush's office is shown as Mayor Lori Lightfoot and police Superintendent David Brown listen as Rush speaks during a news conference at City Hall on June 11, 2020. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
From the Tribune’s Dan Hinkel: Four years ago, private citizen Lori Lightfoot led a task force that urged the city of Chicago to rewrite police union contracts to eliminate provisions that make it harder to discipline officers.”
At issue: “(C)lauses that allow officers to delay giving statements after shooting people, prevent the city from rewarding cops who blow the whistle on misconduct, and discourage people from filing complaints by generally requiring them to give their names,” Hinkel explains.
It’s going to be a battle: “Chicago Fraternal Order of Police leaders vow not to give up disciplinary protections they won over the decades,” Hinkel writes. “The union’s president told the Tribune he hopes to expand officers’ rights.” Read the full story here.
Lawsuit alleges Chicago police routinely deny arrestees the ability to call, meet with defense attorneys: The Tribune’s Megan Crepeau has the details here.
Commentary: Chicago’s police union contract stands in the way of reform, better policing — Ed Bachrach and Austin Berg, co-authors of the book “The New Chicago Way: Lessons from Other Big Cities,” penned their take for the Tribune’s editorial pages earlier this month.
The divisive use of police officers embedded in schools lands before the Chicago Board of Education tomorrow: The governing board of Chicago Public Schools could vote on whether to end its $33 million contract with the Chicago Police Department, the Tribune’s Hannah Leone reports. She writes: “Chicago Public Schools CEO Janice Jackson and a group of principals spoke Monday on their belief in the importance of school resource officers. Mayor Lori Lightfoot has previously dismissed the idea of removing police from schools, despite a growing call.” Read the full story here.
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Despite student demands to cut ties with Chicago police, DePaul University says educational relationship will continue: Read the Tribune story here.
Northwest Indiana state legislators support banning police chokeholds; ‘I think police departments know they need to rethink training’ — Alexandra Kukulka, at sister paper Post-Tribune, has the details here.
Three boys escape from police custody while in transport to Chicago’s juvenile center: The Tribune’s Sophie Sherry has the details here.
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker announces during a news conference at the Thompson Center in Chicago on March 13, 2020, that all K-12 schools statewide will be closed for a period of time in an effort to curtail the spread of the COVID-19 virus. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago / Chicago Tribune)
From the Tribune’s Jamie Munks: “State officials on Tuesday announced guidance for students and teachers to return to the classroom in the fall.
“Every school district, college and university will be asked to develop their own reopening plan, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said. But the guidance issued Tuesday requires the use of face coverings, limits the number of people gathering in one place, calls for social distancing “as much as possible” and requires more schoolwide cleaning and disinfection.” Read the story here.
The governor said he and his staff were in touch with Lightfoot about lifting restrictions on schools, which were shuttered statewide in March and extended through the balance of the academic year to curb the spread of the virus.
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Reopening sooner: Racing at Arlington to start in July after agreement reached between racecourse owners, horsemen’s group: Representatives for Arlington International Racecourse and the Illinois Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association, which handles collective bargaining for horse owners at the track, struck a deal yesterday that opens the gate to a July-September season, freelance reporter Bob Goldsborough writes.
State law requires such an agreement before the Illinois Racing Board can sign off on a deal that would allow Arlington to open, with a schedule this year of Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, July 23 through Sept. 26. Read the full story here.
Chicago setting up mobile COVID-19 testing sites to help monitor disease: The Tribune’s John Byrne has the story here.
How much did protests spread COVID-19 in Chicago? No way to know for sure, but overall figures continue to trend downward: The Tribune’s Joe Mahr has the details here.
About this week’s free CTA mask, hand sanitizer giveaway: The Tribune’s Mary Wisniewski has details on the times and locations to collect the so-called freebies. She also asked about the question taxpayers want to know: What’s the price tag? Wisniewski writes: The kits were created in-house by the transit agency, using an existing inventory of hand sanitizer and face masks set aside for operators, and the cost was “very minimal,” CTA spokesman Brian Steele said. But he did not have a tally.
The Illinois Supreme Court chamber in Springfield in 2014. Seven Democrats are vying for a seat on the Illinois Supreme Court once held by the high court's first black justice in the Sept. 17, 2020, Illinois primary. Democrat Charles Freeman held the post from 1990 to 2018, when he retired. Freeman died March 2 at 86. (Seth Perlman/AP)
Job description: The state’s highest court will hire a diversity and inclusion officer to propose practices, procedures and rules for the Illinois court system that protect constitutional rights, the Tribune’s Rick Pearson reports.
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The unsigned letter sent on behalf of Chief Justice Anne Burke and the six other justices on the Illinois Supreme Court, Pearson writes, notes the move comes amid protests over the death of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man, at the hands of a white Minneapolis police officer. The statement read in part that the events in recent weeks have “brought to the forefront the disproportionate impact the application of certain laws, rules, policies and practices have had on the African American population, the Latinx community, and other people of color in Illinois and nationally.”
Sales manager Costa P. Kara passes boxes of fireworks to customers shopping at busy Uncle Sam's Fireworks store in Hammond on Monday, June 22, 2020. (Zbigniew Bzdak/Chicago Tribune) (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune)
From the Tribune’s Javonte Anderson: “Already on edge on multiple fronts, many Chicagoans are now having to contend with yet another challenge to their peace of mind, not to mention their sleep — an unrelenting barrage of fireworks.
“During late-night hours, the sound of loud explosions has echoed through many Chicago neighborhoods, resulting in a staggering increase in 911 calls. The city has received more than 7,000 emergency calls for fireworks disturbances so far this year, compared with only 842 last year during the same time period, a 736% increase, according to data provided by the Office of Emergency Management and Communications.” Read the full story here.
First Sears Tower became Willis Tower. Now Sears Centre Arena, near the retailer’s Hoffman Estates headquarters, is being renamed: The Tribune’s Lauren Zumbach has the details here about the onetime Chicago-based retail behemoth seemingly fading into the distance.
Thanks for reading The Spin, the Tribune’s politics newsletter. Sign up here to have it delivered to your inbox weekday afternoons. Have a tip? Email host Lisa Donovan at ldonovan@chicagotribune.com.
Twitter @byldonovan


chicagotribune--2020-06-23--Cops: 2 women killed in Gresham were trying to help relative escape domestic abuse

The women were identified as Frances Neal , 56 , and Jasmine Neal , 27 , both of Chicago , @ @ @ @ @ medical examiner ’ s office .
The two were shot to death in the 8600 @ @ @ @ @ in the Gresham neighborhood Monday afternoon , and police said they were looking for a @ @ @ @ @ him custody as of Tuesday afternoon .

A Chicago police officer escorts a distraught woman to a police vehicle near where three women were shot June 22, 2020, in the 8600 block of South Wood Street. (Erin Hooley/Chicago Tribune)
Two women fatally shot in the Gresham neighborhood Monday were trying to rescue a family member from an abusive partner, according to police.
The women were identified as Frances Neal, 56, and Jasmine Neal, 27, both of Chicago, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office. The two were shot to death in the 8600 block of South Wood Street in the Gresham neighborhood Monday afternoon, and police said they were looking for a suspect but did not have him custody as of Tuesday afternoon.
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The shootings began with a domestic attack. A man began beating his 22-year-old girlfriend Monday afternoon after she did not make him breakfast, according to police. The 22-year-old woman then called her relative Frances Neal to come to pick her up.
Frances Neal arrived at the home on the 8600 block of South Wood Street around 12:45 p.m. with Jasmine Neal, another relative of the 22-year-old woman.
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The 22-year-old walked out of the house with the man, who then pulled out a handgun and shot all three women, according to police.
Frances Neal was struck in the arm, leg and stomach, and Jasmine Neal was shot once in the head, police said. Both women were pronounced dead at the scene.
The 22-year-old woman was struck in the shoulder and taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn. She was stable, according to police reports.
The men fled from the scene and was still being sought Tuesday, according to police.
Chicago Tribune’s Rosemary Sobol contributed.


chicagotribune--2020-06-23--Unusual salvo of fireworks in Chicago as city sees 700% jump in calls

The numbers mirror increases in cities throughout the country , but those in the fireworks industry say they can be @ @ @ @ @ organized shows because of the coronavirus pandemic .
There has been a surge in complaints @ @ @ @ @ , Boston and Hartford , Connecticut .
Residents of other cities , including Los Angeles @ @ @ @ @ to social media to vent their frustration .

Daniel Mota and Peter Koun offer large Roman candles to customers at Uncle Sam's Fireworks in Hammond, Indiana in 2020. Illinoisans looking to buy fireworks often travel to neighboring states such as Indiana, where sale and possession of consumer pyrotechnics are legal. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune)
Already on edge on multiple fronts, many Chicagoans are now having to contend with yet another challenge to their peace of mind, not to mention their sleep — an unrelenting barrage of fireworks.
During late-night hours, the sound of loud explosions has echoed through many Chicago neighborhoods, resulting in a staggering increase in 911 calls. The city has received more than 7,000 emergency calls for fireworks disturbances so far this year, compared with only 842 last year during the same time period, a 736% increase, according to data provided by the Office of Emergency Management and Communications.
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The numbers mirror increases in cities throughout the country, but those in the fireworks industry say they can be traced to the cancellation of organized shows because of the coronavirus pandemic. There has been a surge in complaints about fireworks in New York, Boston and Hartford, Connecticut. Residents of other cities, including Los Angeles and Baltimore, have taken to social media to vent their frustration.
There’s always a jump in people setting off firecrackers, bottle rockets and shells in the Chicago area in the weeks leading up to July 4, but residents have noticed something different this year. And many have grown fatigued after hearing explosions into the wee hours of the morning.
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Carly Oishi, who lives in the East Beverly neighborhood, said she has been hearing fireworks for the last few weeks, and said the explosions over her house sound like “shells raining down.”
“It’s exceptionally loud, like professional-grade-sounding sonic booms, not your normal crackling.”
After being awakened in the middle of the night to the sound of thunderous fireworks, Laurie Rich said she spoke with some of the people igniting fireworks in her Brighton Park neighborhood.
Since then, “things have settled down,” and the fireworks usually stop around 11 p.m., Rich said.
The fireworks frighten many house pets disturbed by the sudden bangs and bright flashes.
Fearful of the looming pyrotechnics, Rich said her cat would hide when the sun set “because he knew the freaky loud noises were going to come.”
The Anti-Cruelty Society has heard from pet owners concerned about their animals because of the proliferation of explosions.
“We have noticed a number of people saying that there are a lot more complaints and their dogs are very sensitive to fireworks,” spokeswoman Bridget Bittman said.
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[ How to help and protect your pets during fireworks ]
The intensity of this year’s premature fireworks, amid a groundswell of demonstrators calling for racial justice, has piqued some people’s suspicions and led to online speculation that the proliferation of fireworks has behind it some sort of government or police plot.
But nationwide, those in the fireworks industry say they’ve seen an increase in sales as the coronavirus pandemic has led to the cancellation of many public fireworks displays.
“With a lot of the canceled shows, people still want to celebrate with consumer fireworks, so they’re going to bring the shows to their homes,” said Larry Farnsworth, a spokesman for the National Fireworks Association.
While fireworks are illegal to sell, buy or pop in Chicago, they are still accessible as people can easily travel to northwest Indiana or Wisconsin to purchase them.
George Kanavos, manager at Big Daddy K’s Fireworks Outlet in Highland, Indiana, said his store had seen a significant increase in sales this year.
“I think it’d be fair to say it’s definitely correlated to there being a lot more new customers in the market, being there are no more shows,” he said.
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Phantom Fireworks, which bills itself as the top chain of fireworks retailers in the country, said in a release Monday that it “anticipates a sharp increase in first-time, at-home personal fireworks users” this year.
And Ohio-based Phantom noted that “In order to ensure a safe shopping experience, Phantom is encouraging customers to make their purchases early, in order to minimize last-minute shopping crowds.”
Some people in the industry also believe the surge in firework purchases has been spurred by months of quarantine and severe restrictions on social gatherings.
“Fireworks allow you to kind of come out on your neighborhood block, and friends can gather and watch,” Farnsworth said. " And it allows you to be socially distant. It gives you, in this particular time, a sense of normalcy.”


chicagotribune--2020-06-23--Aurora man gets 11 years in prison for running over his ex-girlfriend’s mom with a minivan

Sometime after 1 a.m. four days later , the woman arrived home from work and saw Nieto waiting there with @ @ @ @ @ weapon in his hand .
She drove away and Nieto got in his car and @ @ @ @ @ ’ s vehicle at one point , prosecutors said .
The woman drove back home @ @ @ @ @ tried to run across the street to her house where her parents were waiting outside @

An Aurora man has been sentenced to 11 years in prison for attempted murder and other felonies after he purposely struck his ex-girlfriend’s mom with a minivan last year, officials said.
Jordi Nieto, 21, of the 700 block of Spring Street, agreed to the sentence Tuesday in exchange for guilty pleas to attempted first-degree murder, aggravated domestic battery and aggravated stalking, Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office officials said in a news release.
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During the evening of June 20, 2019, Nieto was upset that his girlfriend had ended their relationship and went to where she worked in Montgomery, prosecutors said. He climbed a security fence, entered her vehicle and waited for her to come to the car during a break.
Jordi Nieto (Aurora Police Department)
When she entered the car, Nieto grabbed her, prevented her from exiting and threatened at least once to kill her, prosecutors said. Nieto eventually drove them to his uncle’s home in Aurora where the two spent the night.
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The woman left the next morning after her parents were concerned that she didn’t return home after work and tracked her down, prosecutors said. No reports of the incident were made to the police.
Sometime after 1 a.m. four days later, the woman arrived home from work and saw Nieto waiting there with what she believed was a weapon in his hand. She drove away and Nieto got in his car and followed, ramming the woman’s vehicle at one point, prosecutors said. The woman drove back home, exited the car and tried to run across the street to her house where her parents were waiting outside.
The woman’s mother stepped into the street to help her and Nieto swerved his vehicle, striking the woman and running over her mother. Nieto’s car then struck a parked car and a tree.
The mother suffered a fractured knee, heel and ankle and continues to receive physical therapy for her injuries, officials said. Her daughter suffered a minor leg injury.
In addition to his prison sentence, Nieto must pay $30,000 in restitution to the woman’s insurance company for medical costs for the woman and her mother. The judge also granted an order of protection that remains in effect for two years after Nieto completes his four-year period of mandatory supervised release after he is out of prison.
mejones@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-06-23--Social distance ambassadors patrol lakefront

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 @

Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 8 Colleen Lammel-Harmon, right, project manager who created the social distancing ambassador program for the Chicago Park District, talks to Taniyah Bates, 19, left, and Tristan Ramirez, 22, as they walk along Lakefront Trail at Promontory Point on June 23, 2020. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune)
About 300 social distance ambassadors have been assigned to patrol the lakefront to ensure that people don’t congregate or lie on the beaches.


chicagotribune--2020-06-23--Lawsuit alleges Chicago police routinely deny arrestees the ability to call, meet with defense attor

Lawsuit alleges Chicago police routinely deny arrestees the ability to call, meet with defense attorneys

Even before the protests and unrest , the public defender ’ s office was polling its clients about when and @ @ @ @ @ access to a phone call .
Out of 1,468 defendants surveyed between mid-April and early @ @ @ @ @ police never offered them access to a phone , according to the lawsuit .
Of @ @ @ @ @ phone call , the average wait time was 4.2 hours after they were taken into @ @ @ @ @ .

Cook County Public Defender Amy Campanelli, shown April 3, 2020, is among those suitng the city of Chicago, alleging police routinely deny suspects the ability to make phone calls and deny attorneys access to their clients. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)
Activists and attorneys, including the Cook County public defender’s office, sued the city Tuesday, alleging Chicago police routinely deny suspects the ability to make phone calls and deny attorneys access to their clients.
“Police want, and they deserve, to be respected. But their job is to serve and protect, which means giving respect to the people they serve,” Public Defender Amy Campanelli said at a news conference outside police headquarters in the Bronzeville neighborhood. “... The disappearing acts of clients by the police and the lack of phone calls for our clients must stop now.”
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The suit, filed in Cook County court early Tuesday, asks a judge to make the city comply with state rules that require police to let arrestees see their attorneys and give them access to a phone call within about an hour of being taken into custody.
A spokeswoman for the city’s Law Department said in a statement that the city intends to “vigorously” fight against the suit’s allegations.
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“We strongly disagree that the city, through its agents at the CPD, maintains policies intended to prevent detainees from accessing legal representation,” Kathy Fieweger wrote. “Indeed, the complaint itself makes clear that the CPD continues to allow lawyers to consult with their clients.”
Fieweger declined to provide further comment on the allegations that detainees were denied speedy access to phone calls.
While activists allege the problem has been ongoing and is widespread, the suit particularly highlights the chaos surrounding protests in recent weeks. Thousands of Chicagoans took to the streets to protest police killings after George Floyd, a Black man, died last month when a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes.
Police made hundreds of arrests during the protests and unrest, and attorneys trying to locate their clients have said they were repeatedly stonewalled.
One attorney said he didn’t know where his client was until the client’s family used a GPS location service to see his phone was at the Central District station. A sergeant there allegedly told the attorney there was nobody there by the client’s name and a lieutenant declined to search for the client — who was released from that very district the next morning.
Another attorney called the Near North District station 13 times the night of May 31 to check on a legal observer who had been arrested during the protests, only to be placed on hold or ignored, the suit states.
On the 14th call, she was told there was no record of her client being detained there. But when she called six hours later, she was told the legal observer had in fact been locked up there but had already been released.
“You know the first thing anybody’s supposed to get is their rights read and a phone call,” Damon Williams told reporters Tuesday. Williams alleges he was never offered a phone call and says his attorneys waited four hours to see him at the Wentworth District station after he was arrested at a protest May 31.
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“This is a system of disappearance, this is a system of torture,” he said. “We need to know that our institution that we pay to so-called protect and serve, which they don’t do, they hunt and capture, that hunting and capturing is not even done within the very basic laws that we have set up.”
Even before the protests and unrest, the public defender’s office was polling its clients about when and whether they had been given access to a phone call. Out of 1,468 defendants surveyed between mid-April and early June, 33% said police never offered them access to a phone, according to the lawsuit. Of those who did get a phone call, the average wait time was 4.2 hours after they were taken into custody, the suit states.
And according to an affidavit from Eliza Solowiej, executive director of First Defense Legal Aid, less than 2% of arrestees had a lawyer at any point during their time in Chicago police custody during 2019 — the highest rate since the police began keeping track.
Before her election as mayor, Lori Lightfoot helped author a report calling on the city to ensure better access to phone calls, Solowiej wrote. But in January of this year, Lightfoot’s office told Solowiej that it “would not allow a legislative fix” and would “do only what is required by a judge,” according to the affidavit.
Reports of police detaining people without access to counsel came early in the unrest following Floyd’s death.
In early June, activist groups complained to the court-appointed monitor overseeing reforms to the Police Department that some people had been held without access to counsel for more than a day. The groups called on former federal prosecutor Maggie Hickey to investigate those reports and other protest-related abuse allegations as part of her work monitoring the city’s halting progress toward fulfilling a consent decree that requires broad changes to the troubled police force.
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Hickey announced the next day she would investigate and prepare a report.
Chicago Tribune’s Dan Hinkel contributed.
mcrepeau@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-06-23--Oak Brook officials considering legal action to remove red-light cameras

“ If for any reason you choose to ignore this request , you will leave the Village of Oak Brook @ @ @ @ @ take the necessary legal steps on behalf of the taxpayers of the State of Illinois @ @ @ @ @ removed , ” he wrote .
“ It is the village ’ s sincere hope @ @ @ @ @ attention to this matter , which will undoubtedly bring more embarrassment to your office as @ @ @ @ @ your office that capitulated to the threats from the Illinois senator .
”

Oak Brook officials say taking legal action remains an option a month after Village President Gopal Lalmalani sent a second letter to the Illinois Department of Transportation asking that red-light cameras at Route 83 and 22nd Street in Oakbrook Terrace be removed.
Lalmalani has contended for some time that the process that led to IDOT granting a permit for the cameras was corrupt. His first letter at the end of January to Omer Osman, acting secretary of transportation for IDOT, was sent three days after former state Sen. Martin Sandoval pleaded guilty to bribery and tax charges.
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Those charges stemmed from his involvement with a red-light camera operator. Sandoval admitted in federal court to taking more than a combined quarter of a million dollars in bribes in exchange for his political influence or official action, including at least $70,000 in government-supplied cash from a SafeSpeed representative who was working with authorities. SafeSpeed installed and operates cameras just outside of Oakbrook Center.
Lalmalani sent a second letter to Osman on May 22, about a week after receiving a response from Osman that failed to mention anything about the corruption charges. Instead, Osman wrote that a review of crash data for the Route 83/22nd Street intersection was being reviewed, along with data from other red-light intersections, before IDOT decides which red-light permits will continue and which will be revoked.
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State Rep. Deanne Mazzochi, R-47th, Elmhurst, joined the cause for Oak Brook when she sent a letter to Osman April 20. She received same response letter as did Lalmalani.
The Oak Brook village president said Monday that he had not received a response to his May 22 letter.
“They are not responding or working with us,” Lalmalani said. “It is without dispute that, but for the illegal and unethical intervention by the state senator, who specifically admitted to the illegal activity pertaining to the red-light camera at the location in dispute, that the permit would have never been granted.”
In his most recent letter, Lalmalani mentioned legal action by the village as a possibility
“If for any reason you choose to ignore this request, you will leave the Village of Oak Brook with no alternative but to take the necessary legal steps on behalf of the taxpayers of the State of Illinois to have the red-light camera removed,” he wrote. “It is the village’s sincere hope to avoid any further public attention to this matter, which will undoubtedly bring more embarrassment to your office as well as those individuals within your office that capitulated to the threats from the Illinois senator.”
Lalmalani said that IDOT’s delay in taking action leads Oak Brook officials to believe that IDOT is taking the position that the red-light camera should continue to remain in place.
“Such a position is completely unacceptable and flies in the face of fundamental fairness and the underlying purpose of your agency,” he wrote.
When asked earlier this month if IDOT had a response to Lalmalani’s second letter, IDOT public information officer Maria Castaneda replied that the agency will let its previous letter, which did not address corruption, speak for itself.
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“The department looks forward to continued communication with the village and local officials,” she wrote in an email.
In response to a request from The Doings for comment Tuesday, Castaneda only wrote the following: “We have received the letter you referenced and are working to address.”
Mazzochi sent a second letter to Osman June 12, stating that she is not satisfied IDOT is moving quickly or diligently to address the public corruption that occurred. She said Tuesday that she, too, had not received a response.
“They say they want to work with us on this, but they won’t even schedule a phone call,” Mazzochi said.


chicagotribune--2020-06-23--Rosati’s Pizza CEO dead at 70. ‘He was the ringleader all the way through.'

“ Without Rick we probably would have only two or three stores , ” Jeff Rosati said .
“ I @ @ @ @ @ would have gotten this far if he didn ’ t have the ideas of where @ @ @ @ @ was the ringleader all the way through .
”

Rosati’s Pizza CEO Fredric “Rick” Rosati, second left, who turned his family’s business from mom-and-pop shop into a nearly 200-restaurant chain, died last week. He was 70. (Rosati’s Pizza)
Rosati’s Pizza CEO Fredric “Rick” Rosati, who turned his family’s business from a mom-and-pop shop into a nearly 200-restaurant chain, died last week. He was 70.
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Rosati’s Pizza CEO Fredric “Rick” Rosati. (Rosati's Pizza)
Rosati, who lived in Crystal Lake, was in Arizona at the time to open a new restaurant for Warrenville-based Rosati’s and had worked a regular day, said his brother Jeff Rosati. When they spoke by phone that night, everything was fine. He went to sleep and never woke up, his brother said.
“His heart gave out,” said Jeff Rosati, chief financial officer at the pizza chain. “We’re not sure why.”
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His death closely follows that of his father, Rosati’s co-founder Ferdinand “Fred” Rosati, who died in March in the same home in Cave Creek, Arizona. He was 102.
Jeff Rosati said his older brother spearheaded the growth of the family business and instilled dozens of cousins and employees with an entrepreneurial spirit.
“He was the first one to realize that we had a good product and we could even franchise it,” Jeff Rosati said. “They (family members) couldn’t even believe it. That someone would pay us to use our name.”
Rosati’s, known for its thin-crust pizza, has nearly 200 restaurants in 15 states and has been growing at a rapid clip of 10 to 12 new restaurants a year.
“Without Rick we probably would have only two or three stores,” Jeff Rosati said. “I don’t think it would have gotten this far if he didn’t have the ideas of where it could go. He was the ringleader all the way through.”
Rick Rosati, the third of seven children, was 14 when he started working at his family’s just-opened Mount Prospect restaurant in 1964 as a dishwasher and pizza maker. By the time he was 20 he opened the third Rosati’s location, in Arlington Heights, and a decade later drove an effort to franchise the concept.
He pulled in family members to open franchises and helped dishwashers rise through the ranks so they could open restaurants of their own, giving many a career path straight out of high school, his brother said. About 50 of the restaurants are owned by members of the Rosati family.
“He brought a lot of people along with him,” Jeff Rosati said. “People who never felt they would be an owner of a business, he mentored them to be entrepreneurs of their own.”
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At 70, Rosati was still going to the office every day, intent on improving service and the product, Jeff Rosati said.
He was also “by far the favorite uncle” to his legions of nieces and nephews, taking them on golf cart rides, holding fishing contests and showing a genuine interest in their lives, his brother said.
Jeff Rosati, 55, the youngest of the siblings, will take the reins of the company. “I don’t have anyone to bounce it off of anymore,” he said.
Visitation will be Wednesday from 2:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at Ahlgrim & Sons Funeral Home, 330 W. Golf Road in Schaumburg. A prayer service will begin at 5 p.m.
Private goodbyes and a mass are scheduled for 11 a.m. Friday at Stella Maris Catholic Parish, 2410 S. Bay Shore Drive in Sister Bay, Wisconsin.


chicagotribune--2020-06-23--Portage man sentenced to 30 years for fatally injuring his girlfriend’s 19-month-old toddler

“ Everything from the very beginning I did for those children .
I didn ’ t think the mother was @ @ @ @ @ for them but I didn ’ t realize my own addiction and my own issues @ @ @ @ @ of my caring for the children , ” he said , adding there were previous @ @ @ @ @ called 911 or Child Protective Services .

Gary Hanney confirmed on the stand during his Tuesday sentencing hearing that he knew his then-girlfriend’s toddler daughter was seriously injured and he delayed calling 911 and the girl’s mom, and that those injuries, which witnesses said were abusive head trauma, led to her death.
Hanney, said defense attorney Bryan Truitt, has had nearly three years to reflect on the crime, which occurred July 18, 2017, at the Portage mobile home Hanney shared with Tamika Conley, his girlfriend at the time, and her three children.
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“To say that I feel sorry is a complete understatement,” Hanney, 32, said, adding something reminds him of the 19-month-old, referred to as C.B. in court documents, every day. “I still have pictures of her on my phone.”
Porter Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Clymer sentenced Hanney to 30 years in prison, with no time suspended, as requested by Deputy Prosecutor Rebecca Buitendorp. He will have to serve 75% of his sentence and will receive 104 days credit for time served at Porter County Jail. Hanney plans to appeal the sentence.
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Hanney, who was released on bond and has been living with his parents, said he’s “had to go through hell,” though it’s nothing compared to what Conley’s children went through. Though witnesses testified about Hanney’s struggle with pill and heroin addiction and drugs were found in his system, Hanney said he was not using the night C.B. was injured.
Sitting in the witness stand, Hanney, who sometimes wept during his statement, turned to address Clymer.
“Everything from the very beginning I did for those children. I didn’t think the mother was adequate enough to be responsible for them but I didn’t realize my own addiction and my own issues would get in the way of my caring for the children,” he said, adding there were previous incidents when he should have called 911 or Child Protective Services.
“I fell in love with those children immediately because I could see how much pain they were in every day.”
The two older children, a boy and a girl, then ages 6 and 4, were often locked in a room and C.B. was left in her crib, he said. He put the children first, teaching C.B. how to walk and talk and referring to her as “my baby.”
“I’m really not a violent person. I always tried to do the right thing. I take full responsibility for my actions. I don’t know what else to say,” he said. “I just wish the circumstances never arose.”
Yet Hanney also shook C.B. until she later died at Riley Children’s Hospital in Indianapolis of abusive head trauma, witnesses said, suffering a skull fracture, bleeding in and around the brain, and hemorrhaging to her optic nerve. She also had bruises in varying stages of healing over much of her body.
“I think everyone in this courtroom would agree this is a tragedy and would wish (C.B) was still alive,” Clymer said, adding the case was not about what kind of mother Conley is.
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He agreed that Hanney took responsibility for his actions and added that if the case had gone to trial, Conley’s surviving children, who have since been adopted, would have been forced to testify in court.
The case, Clymer said, “is kind of like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,” in that Hanney injured the child and delayed seeking help for her, while also being described by witnesses as a good person.
Hanney, family members said, was never violent despite struggling with addiction, was more likely to shoo a fly away than swat at it and provided the attention and guidance to the Conley’s children that she never provided.
Julianne Hanney, his mother, described her son as “the perfect child” who planned to join the Army after four years in the Reserve Officer Training Corps in high school. Since he was only 17, she refused to sign the paperwork because of the war in Iraq and told him he could enlist when he turned 18.
Before that happened, a family member turned him on to pills, she said, “and I lost him, and that’s my greatest regret. I could have put him on a totally different trajectory.”
Her son, Conley and the three children lived for several months in the home Julianne Hanney shares with Hanney’s father, where she witnessed Hanney care for the children, particularly C.B.
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“He was wonderful. I cannot for the life of me understand any violence coming out of him,” she said.
Hanney initially told police he sat down on the bed C.B. was on and “launched” her onto the floor, witnesses said, but her bruising was not consistent with that story. He also waited before contacting the girl’s mother, doing internet searches about her symptoms and not calling 911 until Conley returned home from her job as a stripper.
Hanney faced a sentence of 20 to 40 years. Truitt, noting that Hanney was the only positive in the lives of Conley’s children and that he did not pose a danger to others, asked for a sentence of 25 years, with five years suspended.
During the first portion of Hanney’s sentencing, held earlier this month, Portage Police Sgt. Janis Crafton, who was a detective specializing in child abuse cases at the time of C.B.‘s death, said Hanney “was probably the most stable thing these children ever had,” though the couple and children lived in squalor in their mobile home in Camelot Manor, and the children often begged the neighbors for food.
Conley, Crafton said then, kept the children locked in a room so she didn’t have to care for them and gave them antihistamine pills so they would sleep at night.
Conley, who remains in Porter County Jail, has pleaded guilty to three felony counts of child neglect. She is scheduled to be sentenced in Clymer’s courtroom on July 24; under the terms of her plea agreement, she faces a sentence of 30 years of probation.
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Amy Lavalley is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.