chicagotribune--2020-05-20--Family remembers 12-year-old boy who died from COVID-19. ‘Absolutely heartbroken, we are trying to s

Family remembers 12-year-old boy who died from COVID-19. ‘Absolutely heartbroken, we are trying to stay strong’

`` Our hearts remain broken for Ernesto and his family .
Acero Marquez teachers , scholars , staff and families @ @ @ @ @ ’ s family .
We are thankful for the opportunity to be a part of @ @ @ @ @ His spirit fills us with love and only fuels our commitment to service .
He @ @ @ @ @ ” an Acero Marquez Elementary School statement said .

Mourners gather around the casket of 12-year-old Ernesto Guzman at Resurrection Cemetery on May 20, 2020, in Justice. Ernesto was the youngest person to die of COVID-19 in Cook County. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)
Standing 6 feet apart and wearing face masks, Ernesto Guzman’s teachers bid him farewell with white roses Wednesday as his family drove past his elementary school on their way to the cemetery.
Ernesto is the youngest person in Cook County to die from COVID-19. He was 12.
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"Our hearts remain broken for Ernesto and his family. Acero Marquez teachers, scholars, staff and families continue to mourn with Ernesto’s family. We are thankful for the opportunity to be a part of Ernesto’s remembrance. His spirit fills us with love and only fuels our commitment to service. He is our light now,” an Acero Marquez Elementary School statement said.
Nearly 20 teachers and school staff members waited for the procession that briefly stopped in front of the school. As part of a symbolic goodbye, a funeral home worker placed a cross with white flowers by the sidewalk.
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Teachers and staff of Acero Marquez Elementary School watch as the funeral procession for student Ernesto Guzman drives past the school on May 20, 2020, in Chicago. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)
“My little boy left,” said his mother, Rosa Lara, amid tears days after his death.
Ernesto was 6 years old when he underwent his first surgery for a rare disorder that was steadily damaging the nerves in his arms and legs.
Doctors told the family there was no cure, and the young boy would endure at least six more surgeries as he fought the debilitating disease.
“He was very strong and kept positive,” said his uncle and godfather, Sergio Lara. Ernesto hoped to get a job and buy a truck for his father, maybe make enough money so his mother could stop working.
In the last few weeks, Ernesto’s mother began having headaches and a fever, and immediately sought out a testing site for COVID-19. She tested positive. Ernesto and others in her family were tested, too, and the results came back positive for the boy, his older brother and two nephews.
Ernesto worried everyone the most. He had other health problems, including asthma, and struggled to leave his room at times.
Nearly two weeks after he was tested, Ernesto died from pneumonia caused by the coronavirus. His other conditions were listed as contributing to his death.
The boy’s mother is “absolutely heartbroken, we are trying to stay strong for her,” Sergio Lara said.
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Ernesto Guzman. (Family photo)
Ernesto was the baby of the family and a “soul that kept our family close-knitted,” Lara said. “When we had family gatherings, everyone would go to his room to see him, especially the kids, because they knew he couldn’t play with them.”
They would often drop off video games or his favorite food. He loved pizza, cheese sticks and burritos with green salsa his mother made.
More than anything, Lara said, Ernesto loved his nieces and nephews. Many of the photos shared by Lara show the boy carrying them as babies.
The last time Lara saw his godson was on April 10, when he stopped by the home. “He loved his family and always wanted us to be together.”
Ernesto Guzman, shown during a previous hospital stay. (Family photo)
Luis Vega remembered his younger brother as “a bright young man with many hopes and aspirations. He was very caring and thoughtful of others, especially his family. He had many goals to accomplish in life. His main priorities were assisting his parents.”
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Ernesto’s faith seemed to grow stronger as his disease progressed, according to Lara, who was Ernesto’s sponsor for First Communion last year. “He had an image of our Divino Nino (Divine Child Jesus) in his room.”
On a Facebook post, Tania Vega shared a collage of family photos to commemorate her little brother. “Your nephews will know the amazing person you were,” she wrote. “I promise you … please watch over us Ernie ... I know you aren’t going to be suffering no more and you’re somewhere up there with grandpa now.”
Teachers and staff at Acero Marquez Elementary School place white flowers on a chalk memorial in honor of their student 12-year-old Ernesto Guzman on May 20, 2020, in Chicago. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)
Before May 14 the youngest COVID-19 victim in Cook County was a 19-year-old man from south suburban Riverdale, according to the medical examiner’s office. In March, public health officials said a 9-month-old boy from Chicago died after testing positive for COVID-19. But samples are still being tested to confirm the cause, the office said.
In the hours after Ernesto died, Lara created a GoFundMe page to help the family with funeral expenses. He asked for $5,000. Within 24 hours, it had raised more than $24,500.
“Ernesto was such a sweetheart and so funny,” friends of the family posted. “He was a light wherever he went.”
Lara said the family was “extremely” grateful for the kind words and the support. “It is a testament of the impact that Ernie had in this world,” Lara said. “But unfortunately, not even a million dollars will get him back to us.”
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larodriguez@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-05-20--Ford temporarily closed its Chicago Assembly Plant after two employees test positive for COVID-19 a

Ford temporarily closed its Chicago Assembly Plant after two employees test positive for COVID-19 a day after reopening

Separately , automotive supplier Lear Corp. closed its Hammond , Indiana , seat-making facility Wednesday morning after the firm was @ @ @ @ @ the individual tested positive for COVID-19 .
The Southfield , Michigan-based company had 10,100 workers @ @ @ @ @ as of Dec. 31 last year , according to Securities and Exchange Commission filings .
@ @ @ @ @ who may have been in contact with the individual to self-quarantine and not return to @ @ @ @ @ the appropriate medical clearance .

Workers on the assembly line at the Ford Chicago Assembly Plant where the Ford Explorer and Lincoln Aviator sport utility vehicles are worked on June 24, 2019. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)
Ford began reopening its auto plants Monday after a months-long shutdown, but two of its sites experienced temporary closures after employees tested positive for COVID-19, a sign of the challenge automakers are up against.
A day after resuming operations at Ford’s Chicago Assembly Plant on the city’s Southeast Side, the U.S. automaker closed the facility Tuesday for disinfection because two employees tested positive for COVID-19.
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The Torrence Avenue plant, which makes the new 2020 Ford Explorer, Lincoln Aviator and Police Interceptor SUVs, opened Wednesday, Ford spokeswoman Kelli Felker said.
But late Wednesday morning, Ford again had to temporarily close the plant due to a supplier shortage, Felker said. Production was expected to resume Wednesday night, she said. Felker declined to identify the supplier.
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At full capacity, the assembly plant runs with three shifts, seven days a week. Ford’s stamping plant in Chicago Heights also reopened Monday.
The Dearborn, Michigan-based automaker said it notified workers known to have been in close contact with the infected individuals at the Chicago Assembly Plant and asked them to self-quarantine for 14 days.
“It is important to note that due to incubation time, we know these employees did not contract COVID-19 while at work. Our protocols are in place to help stop the spread of the virus,” Felker said in a text.
On Wednesday afternoon, Ford closed its Dearborn Truck Plant in Michigan because an employee tested positive for COVID-19, the Detroit Free Press reported. The facility builds Ford F-150.
Separately, automotive supplier Lear Corp. closed its Hammond, Indiana, seat-making facility Wednesday morning after the firm was notified by an employee that the individual tested positive for COVID-19. The Southfield, Michigan-based company had 10,100 workers in the U.S. and Canada as of Dec. 31 last year, according to Securities and Exchange Commission filings. Lear said it told workers who may have been in contact with the individual to self-quarantine and not return to work until they have received the appropriate medical clearance.
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“The facility has temporarily stopped production for deep cleaning and disinfection, and we have notified our plant team members, UAW (United Automobile Workers) partners and our customer,” Lear said in a statement.
Ford, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and General Motors have struggled financially during the coronavirus pandemic, which forced them to shutter production for almost two months, after pressure from the United Auto Workers union.
Ford said it has implemented worker safety measures like performing temperature scans upon arrival, requiring face masks for everyone entering a Ford facility, providing safety glasses with side shields or face shields when jobs don’t allow for social distancing, and spreading time between production shifts to limit interaction between employees. The company also is asking employees to complete a daily survey that screens them for COVID-19 symptoms.
The automaker also announced last week it signed contracts with health systems in four cities with major Ford facilities to test hourly and salaried employees who show COVID-19 symptoms. In Chicago, Ford employees will be tested through the University of Chicago Medical Center and University of Chicago Medicine Ingalls Memorial Hospital in Harvey.
About 7,000 employees work at the Chicago Assembly Plant and the stamping plant. Workers who have symptoms or who are suspected of having the virus will go through a phone screening and be given a same-day testing appointment when appropriate. Ford’s goal is to have results available within 24 hours.
Ford reported a $2 billion loss for its first-quarter 2020 earnings and said its results were significantly reduced because of the coronavirus pandemic.
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abjimenez@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @abdel1019


chicagotribune--2020-05-20--How graduating high school seniors are being celebrated

An Instagram yearbook was just one way seniors at Holy Trinity High School were honored .
The school also hosted @ @ @ @ @ prom to celebrate the seniors ’ prom looks and give out senior superlatives and more @ @ @ @ @ 2020 senior paraphernalia and gave out lawn signs .
A livestream of a robing and @ @ @ @ @ May 22 .
For graduation , which is set for May 30 , the school @ @ @ @ @ in the parking lot that will also be livestreamed .

Christen A. Johnson, Kasondra Van Treeck

Anya Pierce sets up a graduation sign at the home of one of the Evanston Township graduating seniors on May 11, 2020. The Evanston Township High School Boosters are gifting signs to all the students in the Class of 2020, and the staff was delivering the signs to each senior's home. (Brian OMahoney / Pioneer Press)
The coronavirus pandemic has made high school seniors miss out on some of life’s most memorable moments: prom, senior nights at spring sporting events, graduation, college acceptance day and so much more.
Throughout the state, and the country, many folks are taking advantage of our new virtual lifestyle to honor the class of 2020. Whether it be with a virtual prom featuring some of the generation’s favorite stars, or a special social media shoutout from Chicago’s mayor, people are doing whatever they can to show graduating high school seniors some love.
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Below are some of our favorite ways that the class of 2020 has been recognized and celebrated.
Family car of a Mundelein High School graduate. (Janice Carrier)
Family car of a Mundelein High School graduate. (Janice Carrier)
Mundelein High School honored its seniors with yard signs, among other things, but one family took it a step further by painting their car for their graduate.
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Maine West celebrated its seniors each Friday for more than a month. (Brett Clark / HANDOUT)
Maine West High School tied ribbons around the trees at the school, created a flag display on the field — one for each senior — in the front of the school, and faculty and staff personally delivered caps, gowns and gifts to the seniors.
I've always said that if I were to get on @tiktok_us it had to be for something REALLY special. Today is the day. Get ready. https://t.co/YVCt5h1dLx pic.twitter.com/2h9DtvdMRE — Mayor Lightfoot #StayHomeSaveLives (@chicagosmayor) April 30, 2020
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, also apparently known as Madam Mayor (where’d she get those shoes?) once again graced the internet. Lightfoot, and her awesome social team, made a TikTok and danced to the song “Lottery,” better known as the viral “Renegade” song, to announce and celebrate the city’s first virtual high school graduation — with the one and only Oprah Winfrey delivering the commencement address. The ceremony is set for mid-June.
Seniors at Lane Tech High School took a new approach to the classic yearbook using Instagram. The students sent in a photo of themselves, their plans post-graduation and a fun fact about themselves.
An Instagram yearbook was just one way seniors at Holy Trinity High School were honored. The school also hosted an event in lieu of prom to celebrate the seniors’ prom looks and give out senior superlatives and more. Teachers made deliveries of 2020 senior paraphernalia and gave out lawn signs. A livestream of a robing and awards ceremony will take place May 22. For graduation, which is set for May 30, the school will host a car processional in the parking lot that will also be livestreamed.
Seniors at Kenwood Academy High School have also done a senior yearbook on Instagram, with many students announcing they’ll be attending renowned historically black colleges and universities, such as Howard University, Grambling State University and Clark Atlanta University, among others.
The Instagram yearbooks have been a big trend, with Whitney Young also honoring 2020 classmates with college decisions on the social channel.
Von Steuben Metropolitan High School was another to honor the class of 2020 with an Instagram yearbook. Seniors were also able to submit a senior quote.
NBA superstar LeBron James hosted a one-hour TV special, with notable guests, called “Graduate Together: America Honors the High School Class of 2020” on May 16.
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TeenVogue hosted a virtual prom May 16. There were special performances and celebrities, as well as live DJs and more.
CLASS OF 2020, we respect the grind! 💯👨🏽🎓🧑🏻🎓👩🏿🎓 To help lift your spirits, we’re slangin diplomas! 🥂😛

Just fill in the blank on the degree that matches your hustle or nominate a friend & REPOST w/ the hashtag #FENTYBEAUTYUNIVERSITY for a chance to win some Fenty Beauty! pic.twitter.com/3ojGvwSBnE — Fenty Beauty (@fentybeauty) May 3, 2020
Rihanna’s beauty company, Fenty Beauty, gave out digital diplomas to recognize all the hard work the class of 2020 put in this year.
Libertyville High School honored its seniors with yard signs and travel mugs.
Similarly, Prospect High School in Mount Prospect had staff members make socially distanced deliveries of custom yard signs to members of the senior class.
Main South High School gave signs to its “resilient class of 2020.”
UIC College Prep sent an encouraging and cheery video message congratulating seniors who’ve made a decision about their post-secondary plans.
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Evanston Township High School gave its seniors a shoutout on Instagram, and set the football field clock to 20:20. The school’s boosters also gifted the graduating class with custom yard signs that were hand-delivered.
Deerfield High School used its mascots to send love and congratulations to the graduating class.
New Trier High School seniors were honored with a banner on a viaduct.
Noble Street College Prep’s senior council sent a surprise announcement to classmates, sharing that the school is paying for everyone’s personalized yearbook.
The social studies faculty at Glenbrook North High School sent a touching picture montage to seniors expressing how much they miss and love the graduating class.
Want to share how you’re honoring your seniors? Send an email to chrjohnson@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-05-20--Local TV, radio stations still off-air as Willis Tower electrical substation dries out

The iconic skyscraper remained closed Wednesday , after electricity at the building was shut down because of the intense flooding @ @ @ @ @ to its highest levels in 60 years .
While still available or available again through @ @ @ @ @ Wednesday , some stations ’ broadcast signals remained off-air .

The Willis Tower, formerly known as the Sears Tower, sits in darkness on May 20, 2020 after its electricity was shut down after heavy rain caused flooding in its lower levels. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)
Willis Tower was still dark Thursday after experiencing a power outage that caused a disruption of the broadcast signals of local television channels and radio stations following a series of floods that hit Chicago this week.
The iconic skyscraper remained closed several days after electricity at the building was shut down because of the intense flooding that sent the Chicago River to its highest levels in 60 years. While still available or available again through cable and satellite systems by Wednesday, some stations’ broadcast signals remained off-air.
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As the skyscraper remained dark, social media Tuesday night and Wednesday was filled with photos of the former Sears Tower with no or few lights on.
According to Thomas Dominguez, a spokesman for ComEd, though the building remained closed, the process of restoring power to Willis Tower had begun as of Thursday afternoon.
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“Water has been removed from the vault containing the substation that services the building. ComEd crews conducted a full inspection of substation equipment and completed corrective maintenance," Dominguez said Thursday. "They are now performing tests to ensure the safety of the equipment and the building when it is re-energized.”
David Moore, senior vice president of the EQ Office, said significant progress has been made in flood repair as of Thursday afternoon. After reinstating mechanical systems in key floors and determining it is safe to re-enter, power would gradually be restored, he said Wednesday.
The Willis Tower remained closed Wednesday, after electricity at the building was shut down because of the intense flooding that sent the Chicago River to its highest levels in 60 years. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)
“We have successfully removed the water from the building, and ComEd is conducting a full and thorough assessment," he said. “We expect to restore initial power over the weekend.”
Several television channels and at least one radio station were knocked off the air by the power outage and were still waiting for power to be restored Thursday.
WTTW-Ch. 11 ″was still dark for over-the-air antenna users due to the flooding and power issues at Willis,” Anne Gleason, a spokeswoman for WTTW-WFMT, said Wednesday.
Radio station WFMT also went off the air but has been broadcasting again since Tuesday morning, and the stream did not lose service, according to Gleason. Web streaming and Comcast viewers did not lose service, Gleason added. As of Tuesday evening, WTTW’s RCN service was restored.
CW affiliate WCIU-Ch. 26 also experienced outages due to the Willis Tower power outage. In a statement, the network said viewers can tune into channels with an over-the-air antenna.
“Comcast and most other cable/satellite viewers of CW26, The U, MeTV, Heroes & Icons, Bounce and Decades are not impacted,” the statement in part said.
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WBBM-TV Channel 2 said in an online statement that their ability to broadcast a signal was also affected by recent storms.
“We are working with ComEd and the Willis Tower to restore our broadcast signal just as soon as possible. For all the latest local news check out our new 24/7 digital streaming service, CBSN Chicago,” the statement said.


chicagotribune--2020-05-20--Rent relief in Illinois could be on its way, as state legislators rush to pass bills during 3-day se

Rent relief in Illinois could be on its way, as state legislators rush to pass bills during 3-day session

“ The scope of the problem is huge , ” he said .
“ We anticipate the demand will be @ @ @ @ @ problem is going to happen whether the state steps up or not .
The only @ @ @ @ @ to step in and give people financial assistance , or do we leave them vulnerable @ @ @ @ @ ”

Housing activists march on East 51st Street in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood on May 1, 2020, calling for a "rent strike" against large apartment rental companies on the city's South Side due to the economic disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)
Measures for statewide rent relief — which would include help for tenants, landlords and homeowners impacted by the coronavirus pandemic — could hit Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s desk in a matter of days.
If signed into law, the COVID-19 Emergency and Economic Recovery Renter and Homeowner Protection Act, which Chicago Democrat Rep. Delia Ramirez introduced Friday, would cancel rent debt and suspend mortgage payments for those experiencing hardships related to COVID-19.
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“We have to make housing an absolute top priority during this special session in Springfield,” Ramirez said during a livestreamed press conference Tuesday. “If we want our families to be able to get through this pandemic, they have to have a roof over their head and not have to decide if they’re going to purchase food — or pay rent.”
The act would:
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Cancel rent debt for tenants who are diagnosed with COVID-19 or advised by a health care provider to self-quarantine; have lost income through furloughs, layoffs or other employment interruption; or are paying more for household expenses, child care or health care during the moratorium.
Prevent landlords and condo associations from fining those residents for missed payments or reporting them to a consumer reporting agency, tenant screening agency or credit bureau.
Compensate landlords and mortgage lenders for canceled payments through a newly created residential housing relief fund. The money could also help pay for moving costs and assist mortgage holders and tenants with payments after the moratorium expires.
Suspend mortgage payments for coronavirus-impacted landlords and homeowners and give those homeowners a 180-day forbearance on taxes, insurance and association fees. Loan terms would be extended for the number of months of missed payments.
Place a moratorium on foreclosures and prevent new eviction filings in court, in addition to the existing moratorium on carrying out evictions. It also gives tenants more time to pay back late rent after the moratorium expires and tightens restrictions on future eviction proceedings and rent increases for a year after the moratorium expires.
Be in effect until the state’s unemployment rate recovers to near prepandemic levels and the governor’s disaster proclamation has expired.
Rep. Will Guzzardi, a Chicago Democrat and co-sponsor, said the goal is to pass the bill through both chambers during the three days the Illinois legislature is in session, which begins Wednesday. That could send the bill to Pritzker to sign with days to spare before June rent is due.
While Pritzker has placed a moratorium on evictions statewide since the stay-at-home order went into effect March 21, he has insisted that he legally cannot repeal the state ban on rent regulation, which would allow municipalities to take action individually.
Local leaders like Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot have said they are unable to enact rent relief while the ban is in place. The need, though, has been clear for months; when Chicago offered 2,000 one-time grants of $1,000 to pay for rent or housing in April, it received 83,000 applications. Tenants have also banded together to form tenant unions and to call for rent strikes if relief cannot be found.
On Wednesday, Lightfoot boosted housing aid with an ordinance giving grants or no-interest loans of up to $75,000 to owners of affordable housing properties to cover lost rent and other pandemic-related costs, which is meant to help as many as 3,400 low-income households. The City Council approved the ordinance during its monthly meeting.
Lightfoot also proposed new tenant rules extending the 30-day notice period for non-renewal of leases and, in some cases, requiring landlords to pay tenants a relocation fee.
While the 1997 ban forbids local governments from regulating rent, the state is able to act as a whole, Guzzardi said. While housing advocates still hope to overturn the ban, their bill would provide immediate relief to the thousands of unemployed and financially stressed residents unexpectedly impacted by COVID-19.
A key component of their plan was relief for landlords and mortgage lenders, Guzzardi said.
“We understand that’s going to create a real hardship on landlords,” he said. “There are a ton of small landlords out there making things work and being as kind and generous as they can, but we can’t just rely on the generosity of individual actors. We need policy to protect people.”
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The relief money would initially come from federal COVID-19 response funds given to the state through the CARES Act, and while Guzzardi said he doesn’t have an exact figure in mind, he expects “hundreds of millions of dollars” will be needed.
“The scope of the problem is huge,” he said. “We anticipate the demand will be there for sure. This problem is going to happen whether the state steps up or not. The only question is are we going to step in and give people financial assistance, or do we leave them vulnerable to eviction and foreclosure?”
Certain groups would be prioritized for funding, such as landlords who show rent cancellation caused a material economic hardship; mortgagors at risk of foreclosure due to COVID-19 hardships or whose property is in a high-poverty area; low-income tenants; and those not eligible for federal funds.
Rep. Tim Butler, a Springfield Republican, has introduced a separate bill in the General Assembly. His would provide rent assistance for coronavirus-impacted households if their landlord agrees to participate in the program.
The COVID-19 Emergency Rental Assistance Program Act would require landlords to not increase rental rates or charge late fees, and in return, they would receive at least 80% of the owed rent, which they would have to accept as full payment, for up to seven months of rent between April 1 and Oct. 31.
Butler did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday.
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Additional housing legislation introduced Monday would provide a 90-day grace period for property tax payments and waive interest penalties for late payments.
archeung@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-05-20--15-year-old boy seriously injured in Waukegan shooting

Investigators with the Waukegan Police Department ’ s criminal investigations division believe that the boy was the intended target but @ @ @ @ @ behind the shooting , according to the release .
Multiple casings were found , but @ @ @ @ @ the exact number or caliber on Wednesday .

Waukegan police on scene of a shooting in the 600 block of Clarke Avenue Wednesday. (Joe Shuman / Chicago Tribune)
A 15-year-old Waukegan boy found lying in the street after being shot Wednesday morning was in serious but stable condition, police said hours later.
The investigation into the shooting remains “open and active,” according to a news release from the Waukegan Police Department. No one has been arrested in connection to the shooting.
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Waukegan officers were dispatched at about 11:45 a.m. Wednesday to the area of Clarke Avenue and Besley Place where they found the boy shot and lying in the street, according to the release.
Waukegan police on scene of a shooting in the 600 block of Clarke Avenue Wednesday. (Joe Shuman / Chicago Tribune)
Waukegan police on scene of a shooting in the 600 block of Clarke Avenue Wednesday. (Joe Shuman / Chicago Tribune)
The boy was taken to an area hospital, according to the release.
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Investigators with the Waukegan Police Department’s criminal investigations division believe that the boy was the intended target but are unclear of the motive behind the shooting, according to the release. Multiple casings were found, but the department did not release the exact number or caliber on Wednesday.
Police are asking anyone with information about this incident to call the department at 847-856-6444.


chicagotribune--2020-05-20--Lake County sheriff drops lawsuit asking that health department release coronavirus patient informat

Lake County sheriff drops lawsuit asking that health department release coronavirus patient information

“ The Court certainly does not mean to minimize the concerns that the Sheriff has raised and the risks to @ @ @ @ @ but the law requires a showing of immediate and irreparable harm if the relief sought @ @ @ @ @ Jasica said in his order .
“ The evidence before the Court , at least @ @ @ @ @ order record , does not support a finding of irreparable injury or harm .
”

The Lake County Sheriff’s Office voluntarily dropped its lawsuit Wednesday after a Lake County judge denied its request for a preliminary injunction requiring the Lake County Health Department to provide dispatchers with the names and addresses of residents who have tested positive for the coronavirus.
Lake County Judge Daniel Jasica disagreed with the sheriff’s office -- which argued state law required the health department to release the information -- in an order he issued Monday.
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Jasica said in the order that the law merely requires the health department to notify local law enforcement of a public health emergency, not release the specific information the sheriff’s office requested.
“Your order was clear, it was crystal clear, and at this point, the sheriff has elected not to appeal it or proceed to a preliminary injunction, ” David McArdle, the Crystal Lake-based attorney representing the sheriff’s office, said during a short hearing Wednesday afternoon.
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While the judge’s ruling closes the door to most of the department’s request, the Lake County Health Department agreed to inform the Lake County jail’s medical care provider whether new inmates have tested positive.
“We are pleased about today’s outcome, as it supports our priority to protect both the safety of our law enforcement personnel and the privacy of our residents who test positive for COVID-19,” health department spokeswoman Hannah Goering said. “We truly value our relationship with the Lake County Sheriff’s Office and will continue partnering together for the health and well-being of all who live, work, and play in Lake County.”
The agreement, which was reached during closed discussions overseen by Jasica, will help the Lake County Sheriff’s Office prevent COVID-19 from entering and spreading through the jail, according to Sgt. Christopher Covelli, the department’s spokesman.
The department is disappointed it will not get all the information it was seeking, but respects the decision of the judge, Covelli said.
“We remain grateful for the hard work of the health department during this time and will continue working with them, as we have, to keep our community safe,” Covelli said. “Sheriff (John) Idleburg remains committed to ensuring his frontline staff and all of his personnel, as well as their families, are safe during this pandemic and always.”
Idleburg had sought the names and addresses as a way to better protect the department’s deputies, other employees and their families – an argument also made by other Lake County police and fire departments who have also asked for that information.
Mundelein Police Chief Eric Guenther, whose village had sent a letter signed by about 20 police and fire departments to the Lake County Health Department asking for the same information, was among the Lake County chiefs watching the case and cheering the sheriff on.
He called Wednesday’s news “unfortunate,” but said it was unlikely Mundelein would pursue it’s own case.
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The Lake County Health Department has argued the information would not help keep first responders safe and could in fact be detrimental by giving police officers and other responders a false sense of security, according to an affidavit submitted by Executive Director Mark Pfister.
The department – echoing other public health experts – has advised law enforcement to treat everyone they interact with as though they have the novel coronavirus, cautioning that testing remains limited and many carriers are asymptomatic and therefore have not sought testing.
“The Court certainly does not mean to minimize the concerns that the Sheriff has raised and the risks to his deputies and employees, but the law requires a showing of immediate and irreparable harm if the relief sought is not granted,” Jasica said in his order. “The evidence before the Court, at least on the limited temporary restraining order record, does not support a finding of irreparable injury or harm.”


chicagotribune--2020-05-20--Police continue to search for Griffith woman who went missing

Dushawnda Glover , 48 , was last seen walking in an industrial complex near the Tri-Union Express Trucking company sign @ @ @ @ @ Lafayette Ct. between 6 a.m. and 6:15 a.m. Saturday morning , Griffith Police spokesman Cmdr @ @ @ @ @ .
A second person on Monday contacted police to confirm they also had seen Glover @ @ @ @ @ from that employee ’ s business showed Glover walking northbound from River Road and Indiana @ @ @ @ @ area at about 6 a.m. May 16 before disappearing from view , Martin said .

Griffith Police are still searching for a 48-year-old woman who went missing early May 16 from an independent living apartment on the town’s north side.
Dushawnda Glover, 48, was last seen walking in an industrial complex near the Tri-Union Express Trucking company sign in the 1900 block of Lafayette Ct. between 6 a.m. and 6:15 a.m. Saturday morning, Griffith Police spokesman Cmdr. Keith Martin said Tuesday. A second person on Monday contacted police to confirm they also had seen Glover in the area; video from that employee’s business showed Glover walking northbound from River Road and Indiana Avenue into a lowland wooded area at about 6 a.m. May 16 before disappearing from view, Martin said.
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Martin said the department deployed an officer on an all-terrain vehicle along River Road and the Little Calumet River, where the officer discovered a white flip-flop sandal matching what Glover was said to be wearing just a few hundred feet from where she was last seen.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Aviation Unit, the Hammond Police Department drone unit, members of the Indiana Department of Natural Resources using a boat and all-terrain vehicle, and officers of the Canadian National Railroad searched the area all day Monday, but flooding on the property hindered the search, Martin said. Officers will resume the search once conditions are less dangerous, he said.
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The Griffith Police aren’t ruling out that Glover could have left the area and ask that any information should be given by calling 9-1-1 immediately or by contacting Griffith Police Detective Al Tharp at 219-924-7503, ext. 252.
Griffith Police brought out its K-9 units Saturday, and they caught Glover’s scent up to the Public Storage storage complex at 1915 N. Cline Ave. before it went cold. The Indiana State Police issued a Silver Alert for Dushawnda Glover Saturday; the Lake County Sheriff’s Department also sent up a helicopter, but aviation officers were unable to find her.
Glover was living in a Tradewinds-owned apartment building in the 100 block of 35th Court just two weeks before she went missing. Family members said she’d been morning her mother’s recent death.
Dushawnda Glover is described as 5-feet tall, 180 pounds and soft spoken, police said. She is said to be wearing a white shirt or jacket, blue jeans and slides.
Michelle L. Quinn is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.


chicagotribune--2020-05-20--Nine people have died of COVID-19 in Lake County since Sunday: Indiana health officials

In Gary , as of Tuesday , 573 residents have tested positive for COVID-19 , and 16 Gary residents have @ @ @ @ @ the virus , according to city officials .
The death rate from COVID-19 in Gary @ @ @ @ @ since May 7 , according to city officials .

Since no COVID-19 deaths in Lake County Sunday, nine people have succumbed to the virus as of Tuesday, according to health officials.
Lake County reported five new COVID-19 deaths Tuesday, bringing its total to 149. To date, it reported 3,024 cases with 18,251 tests.
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The Porter County Health Department reported 431 residents were diagnosed with 276 recovered as of Wednesday.
As of Wednesday, Porter County has reported 19 deaths, including 10 in Portage Township, four in Winchester Township, four in Center Township and one in Liberty Township.
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East Chicago continues to see a climb in positive COVID-19 cases, with three new cases reported Wednesday, according to city health department data. As of Wednesday, there were 260 positive cases of COVID-19 in East Chicago, according to the data.
In Gary, as of Tuesday, 573 residents have tested positive for COVID-19, and 16 Gary residents have died as a result of the virus, according to city officials. The death rate from COVID-19 in Gary has remained at 16 residents since May 7, according to city officials.
Across the state, Marion County continues to have the most cases, deaths and testing. In Tuesday’s ISDH report, over 8,600 people have tested positive and 505 have died. Approximately 44,100 have been tested.
Indiana’s COVID-19 death toll is more than 1,700, according to state counts. Another 148 deaths are suspected, but not diagnosed, according to the state. It reported 38 new official deaths Tuesday.
On Tuesday, 581 new positive cases of COVID-19 were reported in the state, according to state counts. As of Tuesday, approximately 195,000 Indiana residents have been tested for COVID-19, according to state counts.
Lake County Commissioners approve reopening plan
In a 3-0 vote, the Lake County Commissioners approved Wednesday a plan to reopen county government building beginning May 26.
Everyone inside Lake County Government buildings will be required to wear a face mask in public areas, according to the plan. Employees and the public will also be required to wear a mask in areas where social distancing isn’t possible, according to the plan.
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Government offices will provide employees one surgical mask a day, if needed, though employees are also able to wear their own facial coverings “provided they do not pose a significant safety risk,” according to the plan.
Any resident who comes to a government building without a mask will also be provided with a mask before entering, said Lake County Board of Commissioners President Michael Repay, D-3rd.
Employees are required to “self-monitor” for symptoms for COVID-19 including persistent cough, shortness of breath or other acute respiratory symptoms or a fever, according to the plan. If an employee has symptoms, he or she should stay home and notify a supervisor.
The commissioners also approved Wednesday, in a 3-0 vote, an amended Lake County Council ordinance to ensure employees who are sick with COVID-19 can be paid their salary without using sick or vacation time through June 9.
No one will be temperature tested before entering government buildings, Repay said.
The plan also requires six-feet social distancing between employees and the public, according to the plan. Department heads can stagger scheduled start times, breaks, lunch, and avoid in-person meetings as much as possible to limit gatherings, according to the plan.
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“Enhanced cleaning” and disinfecting will continue throughout county buildings, according to the plan, including custodial staff disinfecting “high-touch surfaces" like doorknobs, light switches and bathroom fixtures.
Employees should sanitize their workstations, and hand sanitizer will be available for employees and the public, according to the plan.
“We’re hopeful to get to something close to normal, but doing it with good care and common sense,” Repay said.


chicagotribune--2020-05-20--Mayor Lori Lightfoot introduces new tenant rules, advocates say they don’t do enough to protect Chic

Mayor Lori Lightfoot introduces new tenant rules, advocates say they don’t do enough to protect Chicago renters

“ I have no expectations that the proposal will be revised , ” she said at a news conference after @ @ @ @ @ This has been the subject of lengthy , lengthy conversations , meetings , discussions well @ @ @ @ @ .
There are some that aren ’ t happy with it and don ’ t @ @ @ @ @ , but as I said , balance in public policy and governance is critically important @ @ @ @ @ this measure strikes the appropriate balance and gives a measure of important relief to renters @ @ @ @ @ have to scramble with all their possessions in tow with 30 days ’ notice .
@

Mayor Lori Lightfoot listens in as she leads a virtual City Council meeting while in her office at City Hall on April 15, 2020. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
Mayor Lori Lightfoot is moving ahead with an ordinance to require more notice and in some cases payments to renters from landlords who are not renewing their leases, despite some progressive aldermen saying the measure doesn’t go nearly as far as the tenant protections housing advocates have been trying to negotiate with the administration.
The package Lightfoot introduced to the City Council on Wednesday increases to 90 days from 30 days the amount of heads-up landlords would have to give renters if they aren’t renewing the lease.
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And it requires owners of buildings bigger than six units who are removing tenants in order “to substantially rehabilitate or demolish such dwelling unit” to make a one-time $2,500 payment to tenants they evict.
Lightfoot brought forward her plan after months of talks with tenants’ groups and their aldermanic allies failed to produce a compromise plan the two sides deemed workable.
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Northwest Side Ald. Daniel La Spata, 1st, said housing advocates were pressing for much stronger pro-tenant rules, including $10,600 payments to those not renewed for a considerably broader range of reasons than the ones covered in the mayor’s proposal.
La Spata noted the “Just Cause” ordinance backed by tenants’ rights groups would have required the landlords to pay tenants before ending the lease, while Lightfoot’s allows the payment to be made a week later.
“That defeats the purpose of the payment,” La Spata said. “Tenants need that money to help them find new homes, not after they’ve already relocated.”
And he said the Lightfoot plan relies far too much on landlords self-reporting their reasons for ending rental agreements.
“The mayor is basically proposing new rules on notice, and that’s not what we need right now in Chicago to protect tenants,” La Spata added.
That’s particularly true with unemployment spiking due to COVID-19, La Spata said. “I think renters in this city have never found themselves in a more tenuous position,” he said.
And Near South Side Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez, 25th, said the Lightfoot administration should have stayed at the table with tenant advocates to keep trying to work out a compromise, rather than introducing an ordinance that doesn’t do what’s needed.
“We held back on introducing our bill while continuing to work on it with the city for months,” Sigcho-Lopez said. “So my concern is that the administration is now making unilateral decisions while talking about collaboration.”
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Opponents of the Lightfoot plan used a parliamentary procedure Wednesday to send it to the council Rules Committee, rather than the Housing Committee as the mayor preferred. That sets up a vote in Rules to see if it will be moved to Housing for consideration, potentially slowing down how quickly the full council might be able to consider it.
Lightfoot defended the measure Wednesday and said she’s confident she has the votes to pass it as is.
“I have no expectations that the proposal will be revised,” she said at a news conference after the council meeting. “This has been the subject of lengthy, lengthy conversations, meetings, discussions well before this matter was introduced. There are some that aren’t happy with it and don’t think it goes nearly enough, but as I said, balance in public policy and governance is critically important. And I think that this measure strikes the appropriate balance and gives a measure of important relief to renters so they don’t have to scramble with all their possessions in tow with 30 days’ notice.”
Also Wednesday, the council approved a plan for a skyscraper to be built just east of the Tribune Tower building on North Michigan Avenue downtown. Once finished, the new tower would be the second tallest in Chicago.
Aldermen also passed an ordinance aimed at stopping employers from retaliating against workers who stay home for certain coronavirus-related reasons, and a package of rent breaks for businesses at Chicago’s airports.
And they passed a package of $3 million in funding to help affordable housing operators weather the shortfalls they’re expected to suffer because tenants can’t pay rent due to the loss of household income during virus-related layoffs.
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Lightfoot also introduced an ordinance that would loosen Chicago’s long-standing restrictions on homeowners adding rental units within their houses or in backyard coach houses.
The mayor hailed the other housing-related items as part of a broader strategy. "Our future as a city rests on keeping housing fair and affordable,” Lightfoot said.
And at the end of the council’s second livestream meeting since the coronavirus pandemic began, Lightfoot mentioned the possibility that with state legislators reconvening in Springfield this week, the 50-member City Council might again be able meet face to face at the next scheduled meeting in late June.
“The restriction on people gathering in (groups of) 50 or more still has not been lifted, so it’s certainly possible that we may be gathering together in person, but we need to follow the lead of the stay-at-home order, which currently does not allow for us to gather in groups of 50 or more,” Lightfoot said. “But if that changes, we’ll certainly inform members of the City Council and make the necessary preparations.”
jebyrne@chicagotribune.com
gpratt@chicagotribune.com
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Twitter @royalpratt


chicagotribune--2020-05-20--When can Illinois reopen? Check our daily charts on where each region stands.

The metrics focus on a rolling average of positive coronavirus cases and hospitalizations to keep track of the direction of @ @ @ @ @ availability of hospital beds and ventilators that would be needed to handle a possible surge @ @ @ @ @ for testing and tracing positive tests .

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

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


chicagotribune--2020-05-20--COVID-19 cases in Illinois by ZIP code: Search for your neighborhood

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

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


chicagotribune--2020-05-20--Tracking Illinois coronavirus: 4,525 deaths, 100,418 confirmed cases, 642,713 tests,  30% ICU beds a

Tracking Illinois coronavirus: 4,525 deaths, 100,418 confirmed cases, 642,713 tests,  30% ICU beds and 62% ventilators open

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

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


chicagotribune--2020-05-20--Off-duty Chicago police sergeant thwarts robbery outside station

But after he distracted them and “ announced his office , ’ ’ the four fled but were placed into @ @ @ @ @ said .
Nothing was actually taken during the incident .

Four young men, one of whom is on parole for robbery, were arrested overnight steps away from a Wrigleyville police station after their would-be robbery victim let them know he was an off-duty Chicago police sergeant.
Shortly before 2:20 a.m., the four, who are 22, 19, 17 and 16, accosted the man and attempted to take his personal belongings as he was entering a home in the 900 block of West Addison Street.
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But after he distracted them and “announced his office,’’ the four fled but were placed into custody shortly after, police said. Nothing was actually taken during the incident.
The 19th District is located at 850 W. Addison St.
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One of the four suspects is a 16-year-old boy who has been charged with attempted robbery while charges were pending for the three others, including the 22-year-old parolee.
The 22-year-old was sentenced to three years following a 2018 conviction for robbery and theft, according to the Illinois Department of Corrections. He was released on parole in November 2019.
rsobol@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-05-20--Watch live: Gov. J.B. Pritzker and health officials provide an update on the coronavirus in Illinois

Gov .
J.B. Pritzker and state health officials are scheduled to provide an update on the coronavirus in Illinois at @ @ @ @ @ the latest coronavirus updates here .

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chicagotribune--2020-05-20--Families of students in special education fear losing school services in coronavirus shutdown

“ It is inappropriate that they are asking everyone to sign these forms to take it or leave it , @ @ @ @ @ we will have you waive your rights , ” said the parent , whose son @ @ @ @ @ Area Special Education District and who asked to remain anonymous to keep his child ’ @ @ @ @ @ There are going to be thousands of parents who have no idea they have other @ @ @ @ @ be forced to waive their rights without realizing they didn ’ t have to do @ @ @

Gabriel, who does not speak but can sign a few words, hugs his mother, Laura Myers, before bedtime in their Centralia home. Myers declined some of the virtual learning for school because her son doesn’t have the attention span to handle it. (Zbigniew Bzdak/Chicago Tribune)
This story is a collaboration between the Tribune and ProPublica Illinois.
In Sangamon County in central Illinois, a father whose 10-year-old receives occupational and vision therapy at school was already concerned about how remote learning would affect his son and other students with disabilities.
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Then he got a letter from his son’s school district that made him worry even more. The letter asked parents to either accept the remote learning being offered, which amounted to a scaled-down version of what was provided when children were at school, or decline and acknowledge that they were “voluntarily waiving” their rights to a “free appropriate public education” and the ability to seek services from the school later.
The father and other parents of special needs students said the letters have stoked fears that their children won’t get the education and other services, such as speech therapy or counseling, they are entitled to under federal law while schools are shut down to stem the spread of COVID-19. And if their children lose those services now, they worry, they may not be able to make them up or get them back when schools reopen.
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“It is inappropriate that they are asking everyone to sign these forms to take it or leave it, and if you decline, we will have you waive your rights,” said the parent, whose son receives services through the Sangamon Area Special Education District and who asked to remain anonymous to keep his child’s identity private. “There are going to be thousands of parents who have no idea they have other options, and they will be forced to waive their rights without realizing they didn’t have to do it.”
After ProPublica Illinois and the Chicago Tribune obtained copies of letters from the Sangamon district and two other school districts and asked the Illinois State Board of Education about them this month, the state agency told school districts to stop using such language. The federal law that governs special education, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, or IDEA, guarantees students access to school and services to help them learn.
“At no time shall a school district request that a parent voluntarily waive their child’s right to a (free appropriate public education)” or FAPE, according to the new guidance, which said federal law does not permit such waivers.
Despite the state agency’s intervention, some parents of special education students, who number about 317,500 in Illinois, remain concerned. Those families often rely on a team of experienced school workers to help their children, and they have had to advocate for the services they receive.
In Chicago, the struggle over how to serve students with special needs came to a head this week. The Chicago Teachers Union filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday over the handling of special education during the pandemic, alleging that Chicago Public Schools and the U.S. Department of Education have failed to provide adequate resources and guidance. A directive to rewrite tens of thousands of individualized learning plans, in particular, has created an “impossible burden,” according to the lawsuit.
Students and their families also are facing a hardship, according to a group of Chicago advocates who appealed last week to city and state education officials to issue new, clear expectations for what remote learning should include for students with disabilities. The group, Special Education Advocacy Coalition of Chicago, wrote that it had “grave concern” that too many Chicago Public Schools students weren’t receiving meaningful schoolwork or other assistance. The level of access to schoolwork varies from school to school, the coalition wrote, and some students don’t have assistive technology to help them communicate.
Emily Bolton, a Chicago Public Schools spokeswoman, said the district has not asked educators to rewrite students’ entire learning plans but to “make basic accommodations and plans” to serve them. “Make no mistake: this lawsuit against the district is not about helping students — it’s about avoiding the necessary steps to ensure our most vulnerable students are supported during this unprecedented crisis.”
Department of Education spokeswoman Angela Morabito said: “This is nothing more than political posturing for a headline. It’s sad to see the union making excuses for why they can’t educate all students instead of figuring out a way to make it happen.”
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It doesn’t appear that Chicago asked parents to sign the questionable waivers if they declined a remote learning plan. But an ISBE spokeswoman said she knew of three school districts that had sent letters including waiver language. It’s unknown how many more districts might have sent them, but the agency’s new guidance puts districts on notice that they shouldn’t try to force parents to make such a decision.
ISBE also has told districts they should “communicate and collaborate creatively with parents” and determine with each student whether services will need to be made up when schools resume normal operations.
School officials and attorneys for the three districts said that parents and special education advocates misinterpreted the letters and that they had no intention of forcing parents to “take it or leave it.” The option for parents to waive remote learning, they said, was intended for families who had decided they didn’t want or need the distance-learning education and other services the district provided. If they didn’t think the remote learning plans were sufficient, parents were allowed to request more or different services, district officials said.
The Department of Education reiterated last month that schools are obligated to educate students with disabilities during the coronavirus crisis. The Education Department’s guidance came as schools in New Jersey drew attention for forcing parents of students with disabilities to sign waivers saying they wouldn’t sue before the districts agreed to provide services online, according to HuffPost.
Federal law requires schools and families to work together to design individualized plans that set specific academic goals for students and the number of minutes schools will devote to meet them. The plans also specify other services, such as social work or physical therapy, that will be provided to students.
Mark Strawn, director of special education for the Sangamon district, said his teachers and other workers have “been going above and beyond to meet the needs of our students.”
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“You have to realize that IDEA was not written and adopted with a pandemic in mind,” Strawn wrote in an email.
Cassie Clark, director of the Kaskaskia Special Education District in southern Illinois, also sent parents a letter that required them to accept remote learning, through online or paper learning packets, or to decline services. Families who opted out were asked to acknowledge that they were not entitled to the education.
“We had a duty to inform parents of that, as other programs were indicating some parents were seeking to simply opt out of services during this period,” Clark said. She said no parents of students at the district’s Bridges Learning Center, which serves students with special needs, declined services.
Attorney Brandon Wright, whose firm represents the Sangamon and Kaskaskia special education districts, said the option to decline services was intended for the small number of families who decided not to finish the school year, not for families who disagreed with the services offered.
“Certainly there was never any attempt for it to be misconstrued,” Wright said. “In special ed, there is never a final answer. A parent can opt out today and tomorrow change their mind.”
Yet Laura Myers, whose son is enrolled at Bridges, was concerned when she got the letter. She declined some of the virtual learning because her 7-year-old son Gabriel, who has autism and is nonverbal, doesn’t have the attention span to handle it. She opted instead to work with him on paper packets and on sign language skills. She signed the form accepting the remote learning but also wrote that she wasn’t promising not to challenge it in the future.
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“It’s all new and we are all trying to do the best we can, and we don’t need people trying to trick us,” Myers said. “That’s how it felt.”
Olga Pribyl, vice president of the special education clinic at the disability rights group Equip for Equality, said she was “alarmed” after learning of the letters and contacted ISBE. She commended the agency for taking “swift action to stop this illegal practice” and said any waivers signed by families should not be enforceable.
The group has advised parents to expect “some trial and error” during the pandemic and not to expect all services outlined in their child’s individualized education plan. But it remains concerned that students with disabilities are getting “minimal” education and services.
“Now more than ever, it is critical that children and youth in special education get the supports and services they desperately need so they don’t fall even further behind in school,” Pribyl said.
Crystal Lake District 47, in Chicago’s northwest suburbs, didn’t request parents waive their rights but asked them to sign forms acknowledging that if they don’t agree to the remote learning plan, they couldn’t seek services later to make up for what they didn’t receive.
Under federal law, students who aren’t given the services mandated in their individualized education plan can get those services later. But it’s unclear how schools will manage that because learning has been disrupted for the country’s tens of millions of students.
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The parents of a fifth grade student in the Crystal Lake district initially refused to sign off on their daughter’s remote learning plan. While it included writing and math, it didn’t have the occupational therapy or social work that help her with her ADHD.
The parents, who requested anonymity to protect their child’s privacy, asked the district to reconsider the decision, but the district declined. In an email to the family, director of special education Kelli Catini said that COVID-19 was an unprecedented crisis and that “it is not reasonable to expect that your child will continue to receive the same type of special education instruction or related services that he/she would have received if schools remained open.”
The parents eventually signed off on their daughter’s remote learning plan in late April but added language saying they did not waive their right to seek makeup services.
“Parents most likely will sign it and be OK or be done with it. Parents are overwhelmed trying to meet the needs of their students,” said the girl’s mother, a social worker in another school district.
“As a social worker myself, this is not the time I would abandon my services.”
Catini said some parents have opted out of remote learning because of various concerns, including that the district could not guarantee confidentiality or privacy using electronic communications for such sensitive services as counseling. She said parents can always change their mind later and can file a due process complaint, a formal means of settling disputes.
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Attorney Darcy Kriha, whose firm represents about 100 school districts, including Crystal Lake, said districts are facing huge challenges, including sick staff members, and may face limitations in what they can do while the pandemic is still raging. “I feel like it is kinder to let parents know the consequences of their decisions. It doesn’t mean they don’t have further rights” to fight for more services, she said.
“A parent’s right to challenge what a district does is sacrosanct,” Kriha said. “Those rights need to be respected at all times.”
Cohen is a reporter for ProPublica Illinois. Smith Richards is a Tribune reporter.
jrichards@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-05-20--Can Michelin-star chef Phillip Foss change one more time? ‘I went through my own pandemic before. I

Can Michelin-star chef Phillip Foss change one more time? ‘I went through my own pandemic before. I can do this.’

This led him to create one of the nation ’ s most unprecedented restaurants : EL Ideas , which started @ @ @ @ @ prix fixe menu , even though it was located far from downtown and the local @ @ @ @ @ King .
While technically located in Douglas Park , EL Ideas is cut off from @ @ @ @ @ by train tracks in almost every direction , and during the day , noise from @ @ @ @ @ .
In his 2013 review , Phil Vettel lovingly described the restaurant as being located @ @ @ @ @ stretch of West 14th Street .
”

On the night of March 15, a private party packed the dining room of EL Ideas, Phillip Foss’ trailblazing restaurant southwest of downtown. As guests prepared to eat the restaurant’s signature dish of ice cream and french fries, inspired by watching one of his daughters dip fries into a milkshake at McDonald’s, Foss stood before them to announce the course. But as he attempted to talk, he started to cry. “I couldn’t announce the course,” says Foss. “I broke down.”
Moments before, he, his team and their guests had learned that Gov. J.B. Pritzker had ordered all restaurant dining rooms to close because of the coronavirus pandemic. “I already knew this wasn’t going to be a couple of weeks,” says Foss. “It was going to be a prolonged affair.”
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Once again, Foss would have to find a way to adapt. “I feel a little like the dinosaurs after the asteroid hit,” says Foss. “The ones that weren’t wiped out immediately probably looked around and thought, ‘Now what?’”
Phillip Foss, chef and owner of the restaurant EL Ideas, 2419 W. 14th St. in Chicago, prepares ice cream for meals that customers have ordered for pickup on May 13, 2020. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)
Fortunately, Foss has extensive practice in doing just that.
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Foss once made six figures as the executive chef at Lockwood in the Palmer House. But a joke aimed to defuse an argument on Twitter, “Can’t we all just smoke a bong?” got him fired. (This was long before marijuana became legal in Illinois.)
Without a job, he decided to test Chicago’s nascent food truck scene with The Meatyballs Mobile, which, appropriately, sold hulking meatball sandwiches. But due to strict Chicago food truck regulations, he couldn’t prepare anything on board, so he rented a cheap kitchen space in a building at 2419 W. 14th St., located in an industrial enclave with little to no local foot traffic.
Phillip Foss has adapted his tasting menu of complicated, experiential dishes to meal kits for home consumption. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)
When a city health inspector came to approve the space, the person didn’t know how to classify it. “We got done with the inspection, and the inspector said, ‘I’m not sure what kind of license to hand out, so I’ll give you a restaurant license,’” says Foss. “It happened by mistake. As soon as the space was approved for a restaurant, the thought hit me.” Perhaps he could delve back into the world of fine dining, albeit on his own terms.
This led him to create one of the nation’s most unprecedented restaurants: EL Ideas, which started off serving a $135 prix fixe menu, even though it was located far from downtown and the local dining competition was a Burger King. While technically located in Douglas Park, EL Ideas is cut off from the rest of the neighborhood by train tracks in almost every direction, and during the day, noise from rattling trucks fills the air. In his 2013 review, Phil Vettel lovingly described the restaurant as being located on “a decrepit dead-end stretch of West 14th Street.”
Supplies for packaging pickup orders are ready at EL Ideas. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)
That didn’t stop the restaurant from gaining almost instant acclaim. Reservations were booked months in advance. Vettel ended up giving the restaurant three stars. In 2013, it picked up a Michelin star.
But looking back, Foss notes that everything wasn’t going well under the surface. “The same week I opened up EL Ideas, I got divorced,” says Foss. “But I just put my head down and kept moving forward.” He tried running the Meatyballs Mobile at the same time, but after an employee stole a large sum of money, he had to shut down the food truck.
In a post on Medium, he admits he was also drinking too much, and, after an altercation with an employee while cooking, he eventually had to take an anger management class.
That’s when the snarky Twitter messages ended. Instead of swiping through social media apps, he taught himself to play chess. He remarried. He also started meditating, and began working on a graphic novel with his cousin, Tim Foss, which eventually became “Life in EL, The Saga of the Immaculate Toque.” He calls it an “autobiographical culinary fantasy,” which contains “all my triumphs, neuroses and creative energy laid bare.”
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Joshua Mutchnick, left, chef de cuisine, and Phillip Foss, prep meals for pickup. “We’re working our tails off. But people have been incredibly supportive,” says Foss. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)
All this would seem like enough upheaval for any one chef. But due to the coronavirus pandemic, Foss, like every other chef in Chicago, is now forced to completely rethink his business one more time. “My wife was watching me go through all this,” says Foss. “She put it well. I kind of already went through my own pandemic before. I can do this again.”
Before he could even think about what he wanted to do next, he had to deal with all the food in the restaurant.
“Because there was no notice, we were all stuck with fridges full of ingredients,” says Foss. He decided to offer what he dubbed “Michelin-caliber meal kits” for curbside pickup. Unfortunately, they didn’t sell well.
“We priced (the meals) at $42, which we realized later was too high,” says Foss. “By the end of the week, we felt the full force of the hurricane that slammed into us.” He credits chef Grant Achatz, who sold to-go comfort food meals from Alinea for only $34.95 per person, for helping him realize he needed to adjust. “His food, as always, is an inspiration,” says Foss. “We lowered the price and hit our sweet spot.”
The to-go meals allowed him to keep his crew working, though one chef left to be with his family. Still, it hasn’t been easy. “It feels like the food truck days,” says Foss. “We’re working our tails off. But people have been incredibly supportive.”
Along with the prepared meals, Foss also wants to start selling other goods. “When I thought of EL Ideas, I wanted it to be more of a community center than a restaurant,” says Foss. “But now I think we will actually become more like that. I’ve talked to all of our purveyors about putting some of their products up for sale through us.”
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[ RELATED: Chicago restaurants pivot to offer groceries, household goods and more, along with meal kits and other takeout foods. ]
Phillip Foss checks the meals that customers have ordered for pickup on May 13, 2020. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)
Foss says that what he misses the most is connection. “I’m craving to connect with other people,” says Foss. “True, it can’t be in the same old ways that we connected, but we have mediums in which we can.”
This led him to create an interactive tasting menu, where guests picked up a five-course meal, ate it separately, and then chatted about it online. “We went on Zoom and talked about the courses,” says Foss. “I want to do more of that.”
As long as there are ways to interact with guests, Foss thinks he’ll figure out a way to make it work. “Just because the game has changed, there are still ways to connect with people,” says Foss. “That’s why I got in. I didn’t want to get rich. I wanted to connect with people.”
For meal kits and other menu options, visit EL Idea’s website.
To purchase “Life in El,” Foss’s graphic novel, go here.
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nkindelsperger@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-05-20--Three Floyds closes legendary brewpub indefinitely due to coronavirus, even as Indiana moves to reop

Three Floyds closes legendary brewpub indefinitely due to coronavirus, even as Indiana moves to reopen businesses

`` That was a pie-in-the-sky uber-brewpub that I was wanting to do , but the cost was too high and @ @ @ @ @ infrastructure to support it , ” he said .
“ If we would have done @ @ @ @ @ done right now for sure .
It was a grandiose plan .
”

Northwest Indiana’s legendary Three Floyds Brewing has shuttered its brewpub indefinitely due to safety concerns during the coronavirus pandemic.
Even as Indiana allows businesses to reopen, brewery founder Nick Floyd said he chose to furlough staff at his Munster pub, which has become one of the nation’s quintessential brewpubs.
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“I can’t put people in danger. No one should die over a beer," Floyd said late Tuesday. “I would die for beer and probably will, but I’m not going to make people endanger themselves.”
The pub, which can accommodate 70 people in about 2,000 square feet, will not reopen “until it’s safe to operate again,” Floyd said. He expressed concern for both customers and employees.
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“It’s too many people jammed in,” he said.
The bar area at Three Floyds Brewing Co. & Brewpub, in Munster, Ind., in October 2013. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
Chicago-based Guys Drinking Beer website reported Tuesday that the Three Floyds brewpub wouldn’t reopen, possibly ever, even after COVID-19 restrictions are lifted. The website reported that brewpub employees were notified Monday that they were losing their jobs.
Floyd said he plans to eventually reopen the brewpub or a new taproom, but that he doesn’t trust the state’s reopening timeline. Indiana allowed restaurants to open at half capacity May 11 and will allow bars to do the same June 14.
“I don’t trust anyone’s word until there’s a vaccine," he said.
He said it may take a year or even two to reopen. In the meantime, Three Floyds’ brewery and distillery continue to operate, Floyd said. He refuted speculation that Three Floyds is being sold.
Floyd said brewpub staff was being paid until this week’s furloughs. About 50 to 60 people have lost their jobs, which Floyd called “the most painful thing I have had to do.” He described affected employees as ”cohorts of years and years.”
Three Floyds joins other high-profile restaurants including Chicago’s Fat Rice that are choosing not to reopen even when government allows. In April, the James Beard Award-winning restaurant announced it would convert to a grocery store called Super Fat Rice Mart for the foreseeable future.
Like many breweries during the COVID-19 pandemic, Three Floyds has adopted online sales and contact-free curbside pickup for its beer, spirits and other items.
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[ Low-cal craft beer becomes timely during quarantine. We taste 18 and pick the winners and losers. ]
Its annual Dark Lord Day festival, one of the nation’s legendary beer releases and festivals, scheduled for last weekend, was canceled.
Three Floyds, the nation’s 31st-largest craft brewery according to the Brewers Association, is also pausing plans for an expanded brewpub, Floyd said.
In early 2018, plans were revealed to triple the brewery’s size into an elaborate campus. Though Three Floyds launched both a second Munster brewery to can its beer and a distillery and cocktail bar last year, brewpub expansion won’t happen anytime soon, Floyd said.
"That was a pie-in-the-sky uber-brewpub that I was wanting to do, but the cost was too high and there’s not enough infrastructure to support it,” he said. “If we would have done that, we would be done right now for sure. It was a grandiose plan.”
Floyd didn’t rule out an ambitious brewpub eventually, "but it’s not in the cards yet,” he said.
jbnoel@chicagotribune.com
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chicagotribune--2020-05-20--Man wanted in Houston child sexual assault arrested in unincorporated Mundelein

Tillman is thought to have spent time in Hawaii and New York before the child ’ s mother contacted the @ @ @ @ @ information indicating Tillman might be staying with extended family in the Lake Zurich area , @ @ @ @ @

A man wanted for the aggravated sexual assault of a child under the age of 14 was arrested in unincorporated Mundelein Tuesday after initially fleeing the Houston area and traveling to Hawaii and New York, according to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
The Houston Police Department issued an arrest warrant April 7 for Patrick H. Tillman, 30, who had fled the area during the department’s investigation, according to a news release.
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Tillman is thought to have spent time in Hawaii and New York before the child’s mother contacted the Lake Zurich Police Department with information indicating Tillman might be staying with extended family in the Lake Zurich area, according to the release.
An investigation, initially by Lake Zurich police and later the Lake County Sheriff’s Office warrants team, determined that Tillman was staying with his wife in a home in the 24300 block of West Old Oak Drive in unincorporated Mundelein, according to the release.
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Members of that team, working with the U.S. Marshals Service’s Great Lakes Regional Task Force, arrested Tillman there without incident Tuesday, according to the release. Tillman was taken to the Lake County jail.


chicagotribune--2020-05-20--Dislocation and silver linings: Chicago artist Nate Young on showing new work during a pandemic

“ But with this weird moving target I think it adds in some ways a different kind of fear and @ @ @ @ @ it coming the whole time .
And then it got closer and it got closer @ @ @ @ @ And then it arrived here .
We know it ’ s here , but you @ @ @ @ @ .
And the anxiety is there but you can ’ t pinpoint specifically where it @ @ @ @ @ It ’ s maybe more daunting because of that slow burn .
”

This was going to be a big spring for Nate Young.
The Chicago artist, whose elegant sculptures merge refined woodworking with more visceral references to his family’s and the nation’s past, had an exhibition scheduled at Monique Meloche Gallery.
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That was going to run concurrently with his and artist Mika Horibuchi’s joint installation at the Driehaus Museum, the gilded age mansion’s second foray into bringing contemporary art into its lavishly decorated rooms.
But, you know the story: The pandemic came, and in mid-March individual places and then the state of Illinois began shutting down to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Young was making or preparing to show work for an audience that would not be able to see it live for a matter of, at least, months.
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“I was and still am excited for these exhibitions, for this work, to be seen,” said Young, 39, who relocated from Minneapolis-St. Paul in 2016 to teach at the University of Illinois Chicago.
“I don’t know. So when you have multiple exhibitions going on at the same time, it can be pretty stressful. So in some ways it was a release of that stress to have extra time to go back and look at the work again and make tweaks and changes that I probably wouldn’t have done otherwise.”
But along with some relief came a sense of, sort of, dislocation.
“The show at Monique’s is already installed. The Driehaus show is getting pushed back to who knows when. The nature of this thing is so weird because if we knew that June was going to be the time when things opened up again, at least you could see a deadline and an end in sight," he said.
Chicago artist Nate Young at Monique Meloche Gallery, where his current show had planned a spring opening; it's now just online and may be open to the public in June. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)
“But with this weird moving target I think it adds in some ways a different kind of fear and anxiety. We could see it coming the whole time. And then it got closer and it got closer and it got closer. And then it arrived here. We know it’s here, but you can’t see it. And the anxiety is there but you can’t pinpoint specifically where it’s coming from. It’s maybe more daunting because of that slow burn.”
The museum and the gallery reacted. Meloche is showing a virtual version of Young’s show, called “The Transcendence of Time,” and extended it through June 27 in hopes that small numbers of people might be allowed into the gallery by then.
“It’s much easier for galleries than it is for institutions, right?” Meloche said, meaning museums and such. One change: “I don’t foresee opening parties where you have 100 people crowded in for some bad wine.”
Her photographer suggested shooting video of “Transcendence” and “we made our first video walk-through,” Meloche said, a practice that she now intends to incorporate with future exhibitions no matter the public health situation.
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“It was just so important to me to not go dark. I didn’t want the work to languish in his studio,” she said. They’ve even been able to sell some work this way.
“Only a handful will physically see it in June, but I feel good that we successfully mounted a virtual exhibition with zero practice,” she said.
And Meloche and other leading Chicago galleries are taking part this week in “Not Cancelled Chicago,” a weeklong “digital art event” showcasing work from the galleries.
As for Young’s Driehaus show, Meloche said the museum has told her that when it is able to open back up, it plans to open with it.
The artist’s work is a kind of inquisition into his past. It incorporates the impeccably crafted cabinets, frames and vitrines he creates and then animates them with fragments from a family’s past: the bones the artist believes were from the horse his great grandfather rode to escape the South, to migrate north; the text of a letter he wrote before a suicide attempt.
Young now finds himself similarly questioning where an artist will fit in if society comes out of the pandemic stunted to some degree.
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“I’ve been thinking a lot about downsizing the studio, downsizing the apartment,” he said. “Even thinking about, in the new, post-pandemic social structure, what role does art play? I don’t have any answers for that, but that’s where my mind has gone, just thinking about the role of an artist in a really different paradigm.”
His work for the Driehaus show, he said, was already responding to how ornate the setting is, and now he’s had extra time to augment with touches like moldings.
“Part of what I wanted to do with the work at the Driehaus is make objects that look as though they belong in the space,” he said. Some of the recognizable simplicity of his gestures is still there, “but they’re embedded in a kind of vessel that matches more the detail and decorative architecture of the space.”
Amidst this sense of being apart from the norm, Young has found what he calls “silver linings.” One is that the new, forced focus on online presentation is making art and talking about art in some ways “more accessible,” he said.
Another is that when people are allowed to visit a gallery or museum again, it will likely be in smaller groups, leading to “a more intimate individual experience with the work.”
Yes, “I feel like I’ve had more faculty meetings since this pandemic started than I had in two years,” he said. “It’s like two years of faculty meetings crammed into two months.”
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But, said Young, “there is a benefit to the art world, the gallery world, better figuring out how to present things online and how to bring in things from farther away. People are forced to learn things that they wouldn’t necessarily have taken the time to learn before.”
Still, it’ll come as a relief to artists and, you’ve got to trust, patrons alike when the new methods are no longer the only option.
“When things start to open up, I think people are going to be eager to get out and see art again,” he said.
sajohnson@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @StevenKJohnson


chicagotribune--2020-05-20--Demand for RVs grows as coronavirus crisis changes the way we travel. ‘I can see so many people doin

Demand for RVs grows as coronavirus crisis changes the way we travel. ‘I can see so many people doing it this summer.’

“ Millions of American families have had their vacation plans crushed by COVID , ” he said .
“ Many @ @ @ @ @ fairly low risk of job losses .
So , it would seem very likely that @ @ @ @ @ or buy RVs to replace the vacation they can not have because of social distancing @ @ @ @ @ etc .
I can imagine a period of time where an RV would offer a @ @ @ @ @ vacation plans , both in 2020 and potentially 2021 .
”

An avid traveler who’s flown all over the world, Pam Katz admits she was a rookie when it came to RVs.
Before COVID-19, the Deerfield mom never gave much thought to recreational vehicles, a broad category that includes everything from towable pop-up campers to luxe motor homes tricked out with heated floors, fancy entertainment centers and walls that expand with the push of a button.
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“An RV trip was never on my bucket list,” said Katz, who nonetheless found herself at 83RV in Long Grove in late April, paying a little over $2,000 to rent a Coachmen Freelander.
Katz and her husband, an ophthalmologist, needed to get their college senior daughter back to campus in North Carolina. They also wanted to pick up Katz’s parents in Florida so the octogenarian snowbirds didn’t have to fly back to the Midwest in the midst of a pandemic.
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“It was my daughter’s idea to rent an RV so we wouldn’t have to stay in hotels,” Katz said.
Elon University senior Nikki Katz, of Deerfield, poses in her cap and gown on the Coachmen Freelander RV her parents rented to drive her back to campus in Elon, North Carolina. (Pam Katz)
The Katzes drove 3,200-plus miles in a little over a week, spending nights parked in various friends’ driveways and “boondocking” — camping with no water, electric or sewer hookup — at a Walmart lot in Nashville, Tennessee.
“It ended up being a really fun vacation,” Katz said. “We were totally self-sufficient. We only used our bathroom. We got pizza once. We never went to a store.
“I can see so many people doing it this summer. Everyone is sick of being at home, and I don’t think anyone is rushing to get on an airplane.”
The travel industry has taken it on the chin during the coronavirus crisis, but the RV market is showing signs of resiliency despite a beleaguered economy and sky-high unemployment rates. Production began ramping up again this month at major RV manufacturers like Thor and Winnebago Industries, which suspended operations for several weeks during the pandemic. Dealers report strong demand for RV rentals and sales as would-be travelers look for options that minimize the risk of catching the virus.
“They see an RV as a way of getting outside in a safe and secure environment that they can control,” said economist Richard Curtin, director of the University of Michigan’s monthly surveys of consumer sentiment. “I think the industry is in a really good place.”
Tony Mucerino, left, owner of Hometown RV, speaks with customer Walt Pietrus at his Carol Stream business on May 19, 2020. Mucerino has been in the RV business since 1989 and has seen a lot of ups and downs over the years. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)
The online peer-to-peer rental service RVshare — the recreational vehicle version of Airbnb — said business is booming among its 100,000 listings across the country. In the Midwest, bookings for RV rentals were up 30% the second week in May compared with the same period last year, said spokeswoman Maddi Bourgerie. Reservations have climbed 331% since early April, she said.
Shares of Lincolnshire-based Camping World Holdings, which hit a record low of $3.87 a share in mid-March, made a healthy jump to $14 on May 8, shortly after the major retailer of RVs, outdoor supplies and services reported better-than-expected first-quarter results.
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“In mid-March, we did start to feel the effects of the pandemic and saw a slowdown that lasted into mid-April,” CEO Marcus Lemonis said on the May 7 earnings call. “I’m proud to tell you that last weekend, our Friday, Saturday and Sunday in May was the biggest weekend in our company’s history, period, end of story, in all aspects, every part of our business. And so we feel good about where those trends are going.
“If I could pick any business in the world to be in right now, as I sit here, the RV business is the one that I want,” said Lemonis, star of CNBC’s “The Profit.”
Travel of any type continues to be way down as many parts of the country remain shuttered and shelter-in-place orders are in effect. AAA anticipates this year’s Memorial Day holiday will set a record low for travel volume, despite dirt-cheap gas prices.
Motor homes, especially larger ones, are notorious gas guzzlers, usually getting fewer than 15 miles to the gallon and in some cases, much less, according to RVshare. But as more places reopen — the Grand Canyon began welcoming visitors to some areas of the national park last weekend — and a hunkered down populace starts to venture out again, RVs could be all the more appealing in the new normal.
Pam Katz serves breakfast to her mom, Judy Marans, in their RV rental parked in a Walmart lot in Nashville, Tennessee. Katz said they packed enough food for their weeklong journey and didn't need to stop at a grocery store during their road trip. (Bob Marans)
A recent survey by MMGY Global for the U.S. Travel Association found that 68% of people feel safe traveling in a personal vehicle. Only 18% say the same about taking a domestic flight, and even fewer — 11% — feel safe flying internationally. Parks topped the list of places most survey respondents are comfortable going, and the great outdoors have always been a good fit for RV travel.
Tony Mucerino, owner of Hometown RV in Carol Stream, has been in the business since 1989. His company sells, rents and services RVs. Mucerino has seen the market go through a lot of ups and downs over the years, with the nadir being in 2008 and 2009 during the Great Recession. That’s when the number of RV shipments in the U.S. fell by 33% to 237,000 in 2008, according to RV Industry Association data. Manufacturers’ shipments dropped another 30% in 2009, to just below 166,000 vehicles.
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Tony Mucerino sits in a 2016 Allegro Open Road 34-foot motorhome, one of the many RV models he sells at Hometown RV in Carol Stream. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)
“It was pretty much dead — a very dark time for the RV industry,” Mucerino said. “It doesn’t feel that way now. Certainly there’s been damage to the economy, and we have a discretionary income product. Rentals were flat when people heard national parks and campgrounds were closing. People were holding back to see what would happen. But as they’ve had a stronger dose of cabin fever and parts of the country are opening up again, we’re seeing a significant increase.”
Roughly 11 million U.S. households own an RV. The industry association says list prices for new RVs typically start at $6,000 for folding camping trailers and truck campers that rest in the bed of a pickup. Class C motor homes, like the Coachmen Freelander the Katzes rented, often start around $60,000.
The pandemic has had — and will have — some interesting repercussions for the RV business, Mucerino said. Some of his customers are using RVs not to travel, but to isolate and quarantine during the health crisis. Those who are traveling are making more last-minute rentals, which should help offset some of the business he’ll lose on reservations booked long ago for now-canceled RV-friendly events this summer, like EAA AirVenture Oshkosh in Wisconsin and Iowa’s RAGBRAI bike ride.
And with COVID-19 causing many to work from home, he expects that trend to stick. More people might be inclined to occasionally take their work on the road, with an RV serving as a mobile office.
Hometown RV owner Tony Mucerino, right, talks to customer John Esposito on May 19, 2020, in Carol Stream. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)
“There’s a momentum building, especially toward sales,” Mucerino said. “The RV industry is often thought of as the canary in the coal mine. If that’s true, the good news for the rest of the business world is that the canary is doing well and thriving in the current situation.”
Michael Hicks studies the industry as an economist at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana, about 130 miles south of Elkhart, the self-proclaimed “RV Capital of the World.” Most of the country’s recreational vehicles are manufactured in northern Indiana.
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Hicks said RV shipments, which are a good indicator of RV sales, started to rebound in the previous decade. They hit a high point in 2017, surpassing the half-million mark. Sales started to slide in the latter part of 2018 and continued to drop in 2019, when manufacturers shipped 406,000 RVs — a downturn Hicks attributes to the Trump administration’s tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, two commodities needed to build campers and motor homes.
Pam Katz and her husband, Dr. Jim Katz, of Deerfield, spent some time on their recent RV road trip parked at the Atlanta house of Dr. Priyanka Sood, who took this selfie. Pam Katz's mother, Judy Marans, pokes her head out of the back window. (Priyanka Sood)
“The tariffs remain a drag on the industry,” Hicks said in an email. That, along with high unemployment rates, means 2020 isn’t shaping up to be a banner year for RV sales. But Hicks doesn’t see a return to the dark days of 2007-2009, either.
“Typically, a major recession, which we are in, will hurt RV sales, but this will be different,” he said, noting that the current low interest rates could help move more product off showroom floors.
“Millions of American families have had their vacation plans crushed by COVID,” he said. “Many continue to work and have fairly low risk of job losses. So, it would seem very likely that families will want to rent or buy RVs to replace the vacation they cannot have because of social distancing or closures of Disney, etc. I can imagine a period of time where an RV would offer a pretty attractive substitute for other vacation plans, both in 2020 and potentially 2021.”
Pam Katz, who’s already had several trips torpedoed by the pandemic, said her recent RV experience probably won’t be her last.
“If there’s no vaccine and I’m stuck at home and the national parks are open ... I haven’t done Glacier or Acadia. Maybe we’d do that in an RV,” Katz said. “It wouldn’t have been high on my list prior to this. But now? I’d do it again.”
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lrackl@chicagotribune.com