chicagotribune--2020-09-17--Daniel Biss, former state senator and gubernatorial candidate, announces run for Evanston mayor

“ I welcome residents such as Daniel Biss and others to consider running for mayor of our great city , @ @ @ @ @ text message .
“ This city has had excellent mayors in the past , including @ @ @ @ @ , ( Lorraine ) Morton and ( Elizabeth ) Tisdahl , and deserves to have @ @ @ @ @ lead us into the future , whether I choose to run again or not .
@

Daniel Biss, pictured at a March 2, 2018, gubernatorial primary debate, plans to run for mayor of Evanston. (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune)
Former state senator and gubernatorial candidate Daniel Biss plans to mount a run for Evanston mayor, he confirmed Thursday.
Biss, who ran in the 2018 Democratic gubernatorial primary where he finished second to eventual winner J.B. Pritzker, has been a resident of Evanston since 2006.
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Current Evanston Mayor Steve Hagerty said Thursday he has not yet decided if he will run again for the post.
“This is a moment,” Biss said. “We’re having a national reckoning around issues of racial justice, policing and segregation.”
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Biss said he sees Evanston as a progressive community that wants to be a leading voice in the region on those topics.
“That just strikes me as an incredible thing to be a part of,” Biss said.
The petitioning period opened Aug. 25 for February’s primary consolidated election, with filing papers due between Nov. 16-23, according to the Evanston city clerk’s office website.
All mayoral and aldermanic candidates are required to file for the primary consolidated election, according to the clerk’s office. A consolidated primary election will be held Feb. 23, which includes the mayoral race. Aldermanic primaries will be held for races in which four or more candidates have filed to run.
The consolidated election is April 6, according to the clerk’s office.
Hagerty is finishing up his first term as mayor, which began in 2017.
“I welcome residents such as Daniel Biss and others to consider running for mayor of our great city,” Hagerty said in a text message. “This city has had excellent mayors in the past, including mayors (Jay) Lytle, (Lorraine) Morton and (Elizabeth) Tisdahl, and deserves to have an equally good mayor to lead us into the future, whether I choose to run again or not.”
Biss previously represented Evanston in Springfield as a state representative from 2011-13, and a state senator from 2013-19. He’s now employed as consultant to the Energy Foundation, focused on clean energy campaign work, he said.
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Biss said that if elected, he would keep his job with the nonprofit Energy Foundation while also serving as mayor. Evanston employs a full-time city manager.
Biss said some of his first initiatives as mayor would focus on the city’s economy, affordability issues and public safety.
“For a long time affordability has been a real issue in Evanston,” Biss said. “We have seen middle class families pushed out, and there’s a lot that can be done, especially with the zoning code” to help keep the city within financial reach for more residents.
Biss said he also hopes to work with retailers downtown and elsewhere around the city who are suffering the continued fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic. He looks forward to a larger discussion about policing and public safety as well, Biss said, keeping in line with current events happening nationally.
Biss said he is running for local office after serving at the state level because some of the biggest changes being discussed nationally will happen at the municipal level.
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gbookwalter@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-09-17--Waukegan man sentenced to 60 years for killing woman who was ramming SUV into his car

Under state law , Rakin is not eligible for any credits other than the three years he has spent in @ @ @ @ @ would need to serve about 57 years in prison to be paroled .

Ciera Q. Davis (far left) with her son, William. Farid S. Rakin (right) was sentenced to 60 years in prison Thursday for killing Davis. (Davis family / Waukegan Police Department)
A Waukegan man who opened fire on a woman who was ramming his car was sentenced Thursday to 60 years in prison for the woman’s first-degree murder.
Farid Rakin, 52, was found guilty earlier this year in the June 5, 2017, shooting death of 24-year-old Ciera Davis of Waukegan. He faced a minimum term of 45 years in prison, an enhanced penalty based on his use of a firearm to commit a murder.
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Lake County Judge Patricia Fix lamented the combustible combination of events that led to Rakin firing seven bullets at Davis outside a house party.
“I wish everyone would have walked away that night, but we can’t turn the clock back,” Fix said.
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Davis went to the party, where she got into a fight with Rakin – they had been in a relationship -- after finding him with another woman, according to trial testimony.
Davis got into her SUV and began ramming it into Rakin’s unoccupied car before Rakin fired on her, striking her twice.
Assistant State’s Attorney Jim Newman argued that Rakin’s actions were motivated by anger, and embarrassment at being shown up in front of other party guests.
“He had no excuse to take (Davis') life,” Newman told the judge.
The prosecutor said Rakin’s “voluminous” criminal history merited a 75-year sentence. Before 2017, Rakin had been sentenced to prison five times on various drug and weapons possessions convictions, Newman said.
In passing sentence, the judge calculated that Rakin had been previously sentenced to an aggregate of 33 years in prison, though his actual time served was far less, on various convictions.
“That’s stupefying to the court,” she said.
Rakin made a brief statement of apology to members of the Davis family, who were in court.
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“I lost a brother to gun violence, and I know the pain it caused my family. I know my apology may not be accepted, and I wouldn’t blame them,” Rakin said.
Under state law, Rakin is not eligible for any credits other than the three years he has spent in custody awaiting adjudication, and would need to serve about 57 years in prison to be paroled.


chicagotribune--2020-09-17--Southport Lanes has been a speak-easy, brothel, gambling den and bowling alley. One thing the Lakevi

Southport Lanes has been a speak-easy, brothel, gambling den and bowling alley. One thing the Lakeview institution is not: A COVID-19 survivor.

“ It ’ s going to be a cold , long winter for all of us in Chicago , ” @ @ @ @ @ don ’ t know anybody who ’ s going to want to be outside in @ @ @ @ @ it rained a few days last week , we might as well have closed the @ @ @ @ @ coming in .
At some point you need to stop the bleeding .
”

Part-owner Howard Natinsky watches as Felipe Colorado lowers the Southport Lanes sign and they remove it from the building, July 7, 2021. After closing during the pandemic, Southport Lanes will be gone for good as items from the bar, restaurant and bowling alley go up for auction. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune/Chicago Tribune)
Southport Lanes has lasted nearly a century by evolving, at various times serving as a tavern, bowling alley, speak-easy, brothel and illegal off-track horse betting venue.
But the Lakeview mainstay, which opened not long after another pandemic, couldn’t survive COVID-19.
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The bar, restaurant and bowling alley will close its doors for good Sept. 27, after 98 years in business at 3325 N. Southport Ave.
“It’s another COVID casualty,” said Steve Soble, who has owned the business since 1991 with Howard Natinsky. “... It’s really, really bad out there.”
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The building’s owners, who include Soble, are seeking one or more tenants to move into the space, he said.
[ Here’s our running list of Chicago restaurants that have closed permanently during the pandemic ]
The well-located property adds to what is expected to be a wave of vacant bars, restaurants and shops in need of tenants by the time the health crisis subsides.
Juan Lopez manually loads the pins and returns the balls to bowlers in 2003 at Southport Lanes & Billards in Chicago. (Michael Fryer/Chicago Tribune)
Southport Lanes closed after stay-at-home orders were issued in March because of the coronavirus. It reopened without the bowling lanes in mid-July.
“It’s just really, really hard to maintain the business when your sales are down 75% and you can’t use the bowling alley,” Soble said. “We’re going to shut it down, and I hope this next week and a half people will come in to celebrate the history of this neighborhood institution.”
Southport Lanes has 15 full- and part-time employees, down from about 25 before the pandemic, said Soble, who also owns Burnt City Brewing.
Southport Lanes was losing money to stay open, and revenue was expected to plunge as colder weather arrives, he said.
“It’s going to be a cold, long winter for all of us in Chicago,” Soble said. “I don’t know anybody who’s going to want to be outside in December and January. When it rained a few days last week, we might as well have closed the doors. No one was coming in. At some point you need to stop the bleeding.”
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[ By the numbers: A snapshot of Chicago’s economy six months into the pandemic ]
The Southport Lanes property has a colorful, and at times unlawful, history.
It became a bowling alley and took on its current name amid Prohibition and in the wake of the 1918 pandemic that killed more than 50 million people, which is often referred to as the Spanish flu.
“It’s one of the only businesses in Chicago that was around right after the last pandemic,” Soble said.
Originally known as the Nook, the structure was built around 1900 by the Schlitz Brewery, which constructed several brew houses in Chicago.
Four bowling lanes, pins still set by hand today, were added in 1922. Sometime in the 1920s the building began operating as a speak-easy with a brothel above it, and Mayor Anton Cermak was said to hold weekly poker games in a secret room, according to a history of the building on the Southport Lanes website.
After Prohibition ended, the building was expanded, with the new area serving as an illegal place to bet on horse races on tracks throughout the country. That area was later converted into a billiards room.
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More recently, Southport Lanes once again became a political footnote.
During disgraced former Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s corruption trial in 2010, Deputy Gov. Robert Greenlee described instances of having to “capture” Blagojevich during down times to get him to take important actions.
In one incident, Greenlee described having to interrupt a Blagojevich family dinner at Southport Lanes in order to get the governor “to make needed decisions on bills that had passed the General Assembly and were awaiting his veto or signature,” according to a 2010 Tribune story from the trial. “At that dinner, with the governor’s wife and children in tow, Greenlee said he forced Blagojevich to sit still to review 20 pending measures.”
“Southport Lanes?” asked Assistant U.S. Attorney Reid Schar. “Is that a bowling alley?”
“It’s a bowling alley/bar and grill,” Greenlee said.
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The building’s owners paid $461,335 for it in 1991, Cook County property records show, a fraction of its value today on what has become one of the North Side’s top retail streets.
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Retail brokers from Mid-America Real Estate already have been offering the space to potential tenants in recent months. Marketing materials show options for one tenant to take over the entire two-level, 7,500-square-foot space, or for it to be broken into multiple retail spaces.
There have been no serious inquiries for the space thus far, Soble said.
“I think it’s going to take someone with a different vision than what we’ve been doing,” Soble said. “My guess is that somebody’s going to come around and try to figure out something to do with Southport Lanes. It’s a great building with a lot of character.”
rori@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @Ryan_Ori


chicagotribune--2020-09-17--Child protection supervisor pleads not guilty to child endangerment in death of 5-year-old AJ Freund

Andrew Polovin , a former supervisor for the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services , pleaded not guilty to @ @ @ @ @ County court .
He also faces a similar charge of causing circumstances endangering the health @ @ @ @ @ causing death , and reckless conduct .

Andrew Polovin, center, a former supervisor with DCFS, walks in the courtroom of Judge Robert Wilbrandt during his arraignment hearing at McHenry County Courthouse on Sept. 17, 2020 in Woodstock. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)
A child welfare worker charged with child endangerment in the death of 5-year-old AJ Freund has dedicated his career to protecting children, his lawyer said Thursday.
Andrew Polovin, a former supervisor for the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, pleaded not guilty to the felony charges in McHenry County court. He also faces a similar charge of causing circumstances endangering the health or life of a child causing death, and reckless conduct.
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If convicted, he could face probation or two to five years in prison, said his attorney, Matthew McQuaid.
Judge Robert Wilbrandt said Polovin also could be required to pay up to a $25,000 fine and serve mandatory supervised release for up to one year. He set a status hearing for Oct. 29.
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Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 78 JoAnn Cunningham, 37, reacts as a sentence of 35 years is announced, July 17, 2020, for the murder of son, AJ Freund. (John Starks/Daily Herald)
Police and child welfare workers had looked into numerous reports of child neglect or abuse in AJ’s short life.
The boy was beaten to death in April 2019, and his remains were later found buried in a remote area.
His mother, JoAnn Cunningham, 37, pleaded guilty to his murder and is serving a 35-year prison term. His father, Andrew Freund, 61, remains in jail on $5 million bond and is due in court Friday for an expected guilty plea deal.
Polovin and former DCFS caseworker Carlos Acosta, 54, who investigated AJ’s treatment, both were indicted by a grand jury. Lawyers said it’s rare for prosecutors to bring charges against child protection workers.
Acosta, who also is on the McHenry County Board, is due to enter an initial plea in his case at his arraignment next week.
Outside the courtroom, his attorney said Polovin was dedicated to protecting and caring for children, and McQuaid looks forward to his exoneration.
McQuaid may ask to move the case to a different location if it goes to trial.
“These charges … do not reflect the kind of person he is, his character,” McQuaid said. “He has been a public servant his entire work life. He’s worked in child protection. Obviously these charges do not reflect that.”
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He said Polovin was never interviewed during the grand jury investigation, which is not unusual.
“I can’t say I’m surprised, but I’m disappointed,” McQuaid said. “If anything his career is destroyed, his name is mud and his character has been assassinated.”
Source: Pool report by Amanda Marrazzo of the Northwest Herald.


chicagotribune--2020-09-17--Campaign trail tracker: Where Trump, Biden and their running mates have traveled in presidential rac

Campaign trail tracker: Where Trump, Biden and their running mates have traveled in presidential race’s final weeks

In the final sprint ahead of the Nov. 3 election , both President Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden @ @ @ @ @ travel despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic .
Starting in September , Biden abandoned his monthslong @ @ @ @ @ in Delaware while Trump has accelerated his travel and is once again welcoming crowds at @ @ @

In the final sprint ahead of the Nov. 3 election, both President Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden have ramped up their campaign travel despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Starting in September, Biden abandoned his monthslong virtual campaign from his basement in Delaware while Trump has accelerated his travel and is once again welcoming crowds at some events.
Sign up for The Spin to get the top stories in politics delivered to your inbox weekday afternoons.
Here’s a look at the campaign trail stops made by Trump, Biden and running mates since Sept. 1.
Campaign trail tracker
Tap or click on a dot to see details of the stop.
Don’t see the map? Some mobile browsers disable it. Try this link.


chicagotribune--2020-09-17--By the numbers: A snapshot of Chicago’s economy six months into the pandemic

The difference between home and rental markets is emblematic of what economists call a “ K-shaped ” recovery : Homeowners @ @ @ @ @ portion of the K have fared well throughout the recession relative to renters who make @ @ @ @ @ of the K and who are often low-income and essential workers , Young said .

Asia Brown, right, and co-worker Lekia Wilson grab bottles of bleach as they shop at Pete's Fresh Market in Oak Park on March 19, 2020. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
The coronavirus pandemic quickly inflicted damage on Chicago’s economy as government shutdowns and social distancing restrictions forced business slowdowns and closures.
During a six-month period, hundreds of thousands of area jobs were lost, consumer spending dropped 43%, and more than half of temporary business closures became permanent.
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Despite hopes to “get back to normal,” the recovery has been slow, and it’s unclear what any long-lasting changes are, said Jose J. Vazquez-Cognet, an economics professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
“When a business person and a consumer don’t know what to expect, they can’t make decisions very well,” Vazquez-Cognet said. “That’s the worst thing for the economy.”
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Here is a snapshot of the economic impact of the virus on the Chicago area over the past six months.
Unemployment
Metropolitan areas around the country are bearing a greater share of coronavirus-induced unemployment and Chicago is no exception. The city’s unemployment rate has remained higher than the national average throughout the pandemic.
Experts say that’s because cities like Chicago imposed stringent coronavirus restrictions in an attempt to control the virus among concentrated populations and where many jobs are high-contact, such as in retail, dining, and entertainment industries.
The impact of job losses in Illinois has been uneven. In July, the rate of unemployment for women was 13% higher than the rate for men, while the unemployment rate for Black people was 33% higher than the rate for whites, according to Illinois Department of Employment Security data.
“Women and people of color are overrepresented in the industries that have been most impacted by the pandemic, and this is more so the case in Illinois than nationwide,” said Alan Berube, an expert on metropolitan policy at the Brookings Institute.
In Chicago, the hospitality industry has been most affected, with a nearly 27% drop in jobs from July 2019 to July 2020. During the same time period, education and health services lost 4.7% of jobs and transportation lost 5.4%, according to Labor Department statistics.
Job openings
In August, Chicago-area job postings were down 18% compared with the prior year, with one big exception. The tech sector, which includes all jobs at tech-focused companies, saw a 13-fold increase, according to the online job posting site Glassdoor.
The companies responsible for the bulk of that growth are Amazon, Instacart, Google, Groupon and Grubhub.
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The tech sector has widely benefited from stay-at-home orders that forced workers and consumers to move their activities online.
Business closures
Between May 1 and Aug. 31, 4,993 Chicago-area businesses closed temporarily or permanently, according to the crowd-sourced business review platform Yelp.
As shutdowns wore on, more temporary closures became permanent. As of Aug. 31, more than 60% of Chicago-area business closures were permanent, with restaurants and bars accounting for about a quarter of those, Yelp said.
“Without business, most restaurants can’t survive for more than a few months,” Vazquez-Cognet said. “They are the first to really be hurt because their profit margins are so low.”
As of Aug. 31, Yelp found 638 closed restaurants in Chicago. Several well-known places like Blackbird and Bonci’s Wicker Park location have closed for good.
Vazquez-Cognet believes the restaurant industry will come back eventually, unlike many retail stores, which he said are unlikely to reopen because of a shift in consumer habits toward online shopping.
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Retail stores accounted for 18% of area business closures since March 1 and included big names like Pier 1, J.C. Penney, Nordstrom and Brooks Brothers, which closed some Chicago-area stores.
Housing
A contracting economy normally leads to lower home prices, such as during the 2008 recession. But U.S. home prices are on the rise.
Cheryl Young, a senior economist with online real estate database company Zillow, attributes the anomaly to a lack of inventory, pent-up demand, and a desire for more space.
But while the housing market has run hot, demand for rental properties has cooled.
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The difference between home and rental markets is emblematic of what economists call a “K-shaped” recovery: Homeowners making up the top right portion of the K have fared well throughout the recession relative to renters who make up the lower right portion of the K and who are often low-income and essential workers, Young said.
Consumer spending
Spending by Chicago-area residents remains about 15% below pre-coronavirus levels and is below the national average during the pandemic. Consumers cut back spending in most areas including on restaurants, merchandise, entertainment and transportation.
But after hitting its lowest point in March, spending has increased month over month, according to a data tracker developed by economists at Harvard and Brown universities. The tracker combines anonymous, seasonally adjusted data from private companies, including credit and debit card processors, to measure spending by consumer ZIP code.
“The economy comes back when people feel good about spending money, and the best way to tell how people feel about the economy is consumer spending,” he said.
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Beginning in March, nearly every industry — from retail to health care — saw substantial drops in consumer spending, with transportation and hospitality companies faring the worst. There was one exception: Grocers saw an expansion to an 80% high over pre-pandemic levels during that time period.
Commercial construction
The construction industry is shaping up to be a bright spot for Chicago’s economy, said Daniel Pomfrett, the vice president of Cumming Corp., a project and cost management firm that has studied the construction market.
“We’re starting to see signs of life,” Pomfrett said, referring to Chicago’s commercial construction volume. “When I look at the whole country, the Midwest is well-positioned to come out of COVID strong, stronger than other states.”
That’s partly because Gov. J.B. Pritzker and other Midwestern governors classified construction as an essential industry in shutdown orders, Pomfrett said.
Still, industry watchers are waiting to see how businesses react to the pandemic. If companies invest in larger office spaces for social distancing, commercial construction could see solid growth. However, if companies switch to a work-from-home model, there may be a drop-off in demand for construction.


chicagotribune--2020-09-17--Man shot in leg during road rage dispute in Lake Forest, police say

Police are searching for the driver of the Charger , believed to be in his late 20s or early 30s @ @ @ @ @ Mexican flags displayed in the rear window and an Illinois license plate .
The group @ @ @ @ @ Chicago from Waukegan , Copeland said .
The car was last seen driving west on @ @ @ @ @ a damaged rear window from gunshots .

A man was shot in the leg Wednesday night in Lake Forest in what police are calling an apparent case of road rage.
Police were called to southbound Route 41 at Route 60 at 7:59 p.m. where they found a man in his 60s in the roadway with a gunshot wound to the right leg, according to police.
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The man was transported to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, according to Lake Forest Deputy Police Chief Rob Copeland.
The dispute began when the man in his 60s, who was driving a dark-colored SUV with a passenger inside, became engaged with the driver of a white Dodge Charger as both vehicles were heading south on Route 41, Copeland said.
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The driver of the SUV and his passenger are both believed to be from Michigan. There were three people inside the Charger, Copeland said.
As the occupants of the two vehicles engaged in a verbal conflict, lights were flashing and horns were blaring, Copeland said. When both vehicles stopped at a red light at Routes 41 and 60, the occupants exited and the dispute escalated to where the driver of the Charger and the passenger in the SUV fired shots, Copeland said.
“It was a road rage incident that went wrong,” Copeland said. “We get road rage incidents all the time, but very rarely do they lead to where they get out of their cars, and that leads to a verbal confrontation and then people taking out a gun.”
Police are searching for the driver of the Charger, believed to be in his late 20s or early 30s. The Charger had two Mexican flags displayed in the rear window and an Illinois license plate. The group may have been heading into Chicago from Waukegan, Copeland said. The car was last seen driving west on Route 60, possibly with a damaged rear window from gunshots.
A handgun and several rounds of ammunition were found at the scene, police said.
Copeland said any potentail charges were not clear as of Thursday morning.
An investigation is ongoing and anyone with information is asked to contact Det. Adam Milczarek at 847-810-3810.
Daniel I. Dorfman is a freelance reporter.


chicagotribune--2020-09-17--Shooting outside Wisconsin apartment complex leaves 4 hurt

The department said Thursday afternoon that the shooter , a 72-year-old white man , knew the other three people .
@ @ @ @ @ apartment complex ’ s parking lot brandishing a gun , and an argument ensued .
@ @ @ @ @ any details about the argument .
At some point the man opened fire and then @ @ @ @ @ said .

Emergency crews work the scene where multiple people were shot outside a senior living apartment complex, Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2020, in Mayville, Wis. (Doug Raflik/AP)
MAYVILLE, Wis. — A man who lives in a senior apartment complex in a small Wisconsin town opened fire on three fellow residents before apparently shooting himself, authorities said Thursday.
All four were airlifted to trauma centers following the shooting Wednesday evening outside Spring Glen Apartments in Mayville. They all are expected to survive, the Wisconsin Department of Justice said. That agency is assisting Mayville police with an investigation.
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The department said Thursday afternoon that the shooter, a 72-year-old white man, knew the other three people. He approached them in the apartment complex’s parking lot brandishing a gun, and an argument ensued. The department did not offer any details about the argument. At some point the man opened fire and then shot himself, the DOJ said.
The victims were two white women, ages 53 and 64, and a 67-year-old Asian American man. The DOJ did not identify the shooter or the victims by name.
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Mayor Rob Boelk said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press that the building houses about 30 people. The mayor said he didn’t know what precipitated the shooting. The gunman was under armed guard at the hospital where he’s being treated, he said.
Boelk described the complex as an assisted living facility, but DOJ officials later said it doesn’t provide any medical care or monitoring services and is best described as a senior apartment complex.
A message left at a possible number for the apartment building wasn’t immediately returned Thursday. The building’s Facebook page describes it as a home for the elderly.
Mayville is a city of 5,000 about 50 miles (80 kilometers) northwest of Milwaukee. There was one homicide in the city from 2015 to 2019, according to statistics compiled by DOJ.
“This is Mayville,” Boelk said. “We don’t ever really have anything like that take place in town.”
Mayville Common Council member Dale Tollner said his ward includes the apartment building. He said no one has told him anything about the shootings. He described the area around the building as “small-town, not rough at all.”
Photos online show Spring Glen Apartments is a long, rectangular, two-story building surrounded by a parking lot on the edge of a wooded area. Across the street stands a McDonald’s, a car wash, storage garages and a family-style restaurant.
“I walk past there every day and the one guy, he was on the stretcher, and it was horrible,” Tyler Sabel told WITI-TV.
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His mother, Kristy Dorsey, described the scene after the shooting as “the worst nightmare I saw in my life.”
Gov. Tony Evers tweeted that the shooting was “heartbreaking news” and that his heart goes out to the victims and the community.


chicagotribune--2020-09-17--Health care workers remember colleague

Health care workers remember colleague

437 N. County Line Road , Hinsdale : $ 1,259,000 | Listed : Sept. 1 , 2020 This 4,820-square-foot home in west suburban Hinsdale has five bedrooms and 4½ bathrooms .
The stone and stucco exterior , complete with 50 windows , is styled like an English Country home .
The rustic theme is carried out in the home 's interiors with hardwood floors , vaulted ceilings and Restoration Hardware fixtures .
Along with a living room and dining room , the home has an open layout that flows from the family room to the kitchen , which is equipped @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and a 20-foot-long island .
The primary bedroom suite features vaulted ceilings , dual walk-in closets and a bathroom with heated floors and a soaking tub .
Professional landscaping includes a French-inspired courtyard , a paver patio and gas lamps .
Four fireplaces , a bar , a theater and a stone wine cellar complete the home .
Agent : Ginny Stewart of Jameson Sotheby 's International Realty , 630-738-0077 *Some photos are “ virtually staged , ” meaning they have been digitally altered to represent different furnishing or decorating options .
To @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or more in Chicago Tribune ’ s Dream Homes , send listing information and high-res photos to ctc-realestate @ chicagotribune.com .

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chicagotribune--2020-09-17--From 79,000 jobs lost to 48,000 cups of milk tea delivered, the numbers show coronavirus pandemic ha

From 79,000 jobs lost to 48,000 cups of milk tea delivered, the numbers show coronavirus pandemic has affected Chicago dining six months in

As the entire city held its breath during the stay-at-home order this spring , summer offered a solution for many @ @ @ @ @ at outdoor spaces .
Then , tentatively , food and beverage establishments were allowed to @ @ @ @ @ capacity .
But as coronavirus cases waxed and waned , restrictions changed , and the @ @ @ @ @ allowance for bars to host patrons inside .
As winter approaches , these businesses now @ @ @ @ @ when the weather shifts .

Grace Wong, Kori Rumore, Jonathon Berlin

Katie Klein, a hostess at Wilde restaurant on Broadway in Chicago, waits to welcome diners June 12, 2020, the first day of the city's dining in the streets program. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)
Six months ago Wednesday at 9 p.m., all Illinois restaurants and bars were shut down for on-premise dining or drinking. Since then, a gradual reopening has allowed some business to return to the struggling establishments.
As the entire city held its breath during the stay-at-home order this spring, summer offered a solution for many with the approval of serving at outdoor spaces. Then, tentatively, food and beverage establishments were allowed to open indoor spaces with limited capacity. But as coronavirus cases waxed and waned, restrictions changed, and the city walked back on its allowance for bars to host patrons inside. As winter approaches, these businesses now grapple with how to operate when the weather shifts.
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Looking back at the past six months and to what the future holds, it’s helpful to consider some of the numbers that help tell the story of what restaurant owners, chefs, bartenders and servers have endured.
SHUTDOWN
0
The number of customers allowed inside restaurants and bars after the state’s March 16 stay-at-home order.
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3
The opening phase where restaurants were allowed to open their outdoor spaces for diners, and a couple weeks later, indoor service again.
6
The number of streets that were to be closed in the city’s program to carve out more outdoor dining space for restaurants hampered by restrictions limiting indoor capacity to 25%. Since the rollout in June, dining tables and chairs have been set up in the streets of several more neighborhoods, and embraced by diners.
Also, the number of feet that tables need to be spaced apart.
1
The number of years cocktails to-go will be allowed in Chicago.
1,000
The number of sidewalk cafe permits the city had approved by June 24.
0
The number of bars allowed to serve patrons indoors starting July 24.
TAKEOUT
(Grace Wong)
(Grace Wong)
45,375
The number of meals Taipei Cafe has delivered through Chowbus, making it the delivery platform’s most-frequented restaurant.
(Grace Wong)
59.5%
The percentage increase of delivery in the Hermosa neighborhood, the highest increase out of other communities like Austin, Garfield Park, South Lawndale, North Lawndale and West Englewood. According to UberEats, Chicago orders were way up this year, and almost all of that growth was in the South and West Sides.
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50,000
The number of people who have signed up since March 1 to deliver with Uber Eats in Chicago, which is significantly more than over any prior period.
AFTERSHOCK
79,700
Number of industry jobs lost in Illinois between February and July, a decline of 17%, according to the Illinois Restaurant Association.
$10,000
The amount a business can be fined by the cIty of Chicago if it is found in violation of COVID-19 reopening guidelines regarding social distancing, masking and other safety measures.
54
The number of Chicago-area restaurants and bars that have confirmed they are permanently closed because of COVID-19 economic pressures, and probably much higher.
2
The number of James Beard Awards ceremonies canceled for 2020 and 2021.
gwong@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-09-17--How Nick Kokonas pivoted hard at the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, launching Tock to Go and oth

How Nick Kokonas pivoted hard at the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, launching Tock to Go and other innovations

So , first night we did 500 short rib beef Wellingtons .
By the following week we were doing 1,250 @ @ @ @ @ do the math it ’ s the same , about 2,000 dishes per night , @ @ @ @ @ dish is the same , a lot less coordination with the guests , a lot @ @ @ @ @ .
It wasn ’ t fun and it wasn ’ t really what Alinea was @ @ @ @ @ such is the state of the world that that ’ s what we had to @ @ @ @ @ t a choice .
The good news was that in March through May we served @ @ @ @ @ ( and donated a lot as well ) and were able to rehire almost all @ @ @ @ @ level .
Reopening patios actually made things worse for us as a restaurant group solely @ @ @ @ @ Go decreased as the weather improved , but we expected that and planned for it @ @ @ @ @ our Roister , Next and Aviary patios , and streamlined staffing schedules .

Nick Kokonas, co-owner of the Alinea Group and CEO of Tock, said he started rethinking his business early on as the seriousness of the coronavirus pandemic became clear to him back in February. He has continued to adapt in the ensuing months and is planning well into the future. (Tock)
Nick Kokonas is not afraid of bluntly questioning restaurant conventions. Along with helping to create a series of successful projects with chef Grant Achatz as co-owner of the Alinea Group (Alinea, The Aviary, Next and Roister), he’s also the CEO of Tock, a online reservation system that has helped restaurateurs around the world manage guest bookings.
So it makes sense that during one of the most tumultuous years for restaurants in recent history, Kokonas was one of the first to adapt. In late February and early March, not only was he one of the few restaurateurs in Chicago talking about how the coronavirus pandemic could seriously challenge the restaurant industry, he was also attempting to come up with ways to survive.
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After noticing that bookings on Tock were dropping in late February and early March, he came up with five contingency places for his restaurants. When Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced March 15 that restaurants needed to close their dining rooms, most other places were sent scrambling. But Kokonas was able to announce new plans on Twitter. “Here’s something else I never thought I’d write... Alinea To Go is now live!” he wrote. While ordering takeout, especially comfort food, from one of the most acclaimed restaurants on Earth sounded bizarre in March, it was the first of many pivots his restaurants had to take over the ensuing six months.
Marry Hammell of Alinea restaurant places carryout orders in the trunk of a car for a customer June 20, 2020. The restaurant switched to takeout fueled by Tock To Go, a retooling of the Nick Kokonas' restaurant reservations company, Tock. (Nam Y. Huh/AP)
At the same time, he also had to completely retool his reservation company, Tock, for a world where most restaurants had no guests in their dining rooms, and thus didn’t need to pay for a system to deal with reservations. In a shockingly short amount of time, the company launched Tock to Go, a system that allowed restaurants to easily sell meals for pickup.
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And now with winter approaching, he still has plans. While it’s been warm, Kokonas embraced outdoor dining with AIR (Alinea in Air), a version of the restaurant on a large West Loop rooftop. In the upcoming months, Alinea will move once again, this time to a large indoor space where he’ll be able to safely spread out 70 to 80 guests.
We decided to check in with Kokonas to see how he and his businesses were holding up after more than six months, and to see if he had any more ideas for the future of the industry. The interview was conducted over email and has been shortened for clarity.
Q. First, how are you? Are you exhausted?
Overall, pretty good. Though of course, like everyone, I feel the stress of this year. I’ve tried to focus on being productive and positive, but there are many days that have been super tiring, stressful and just plain not fun. I look like s---.
When Alinea launched takeout, it went big with comfort food for the difficult times of the pandemic, including dishes like this beef Wellington with mashed potatoes, photographed March 20, 2020. (Nick Kindelsperger / Chicago Tribune)
Q. Were you worrying about the spread of the coronavirus in February and early March? Did you have any meetings about contingency plans if it got worse, or did you just have to adapt on the spot to orders from Gov. Pritzker?
I spent a decade as a proprietary trader, which means that I was trading my own (at the time and start of my career, meager amount of) money. I mention that because you can’t fake a good or bad decision or day. It just is and it’s reflected in your income and livelihood. It taught me to admit to seeing things as they are, and also taught me a lot about statistics, probabilities and asymmetric outcomes. If something has a 5% chance of happening and it is of no consequence, then you don’t give it much thought and the 1 in 20 is unimportant. If, on the other hand, that 5% chance could kill you, you’d think, “Wow, that 5% is a super high probability!” It was like that with COVID.
In late February, I began to believe that like Italy, the U.S. could face an awful situation and that if we see the spread of COVID here, then our restaurants have an existential risk — Tock too. So in early March I gathered up our restaurant managers, front of house, back of house and the office, and said that we are now doing hourly hand-washing, temp checking the staff, wearing gloves, etc. ... all before the orders from the governor. A few people thought I was nuts or a conspiracy theorist or whatever. I didn’t care. Then we started planning for partial shutdown, full shutdown, etc. ... And then I said, “$30 take out from Alinea is our only option.” We had that in place and ready to go the day that the shutdown was mandated. I was hoping I was wrong, of course. But we had five contingency plans in place, ready to execute.
Q. When the shutdown first happened, it was only supposed to last for a couple weeks. Was there an exact moment when you knew that the coronavirus pandemic was going to seriously alter the restaurant business for much longer?
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I never for a minute thought it was going to last a few weeks, that was just politicians telling people something that they could swallow at that moment without panicking. The 1918-19 (Spanish flu) pandemic didn’t last a few weeks. Viruses are not easily defeated. I was practically yelling at some of my colleagues and friends at other restaurants that they needed a long-term plan and needed to start immediately. We are still in the middle of that. Winter is going to be very difficult in the northern climate and unfortunately I don’t see a ton of planning happening at the moment.
Q. Alinea’s pivot to selling comfort food was extraordinarily quick. How did that idea come about? Did Alinea’s kitchen even have the right kind of equipment to make so many comfort food dishes?
The equipment is a nonissue. During “normal” service, Alinea would do 128 people per night, seven nights per week, and that would amount to 1,950 intricate dishes leaving the kitchen every evening. The week we began doing Alinea To Go, one of our business development team members laid out a template of 125 orders per night, and I said, “Basically, that is worthless.” We cannot keep a staff of 100+ employees on 125 orders at $35 per order. That should be obvious.
So, first night we did 500 short rib beef Wellingtons. By the following week we were doing 1,250 per night. If you do the math it’s the same, about 2,000 dishes per night, but much easier. Every dish is the same, a lot less coordination with the guests, a lot more like an assembly line. It wasn’t fun and it wasn’t really what Alinea was built to do, but such is the state of the world that that’s what we had to do. There wasn’t a choice. The good news was that in March through May we served about 30,000 meals per month (and donated a lot as well) and were able to rehire almost all of our staff at some level. Reopening patios actually made things worse for us as a restaurant group solely because demand for Alinea To Go decreased as the weather improved, but we expected that and planned for it with AIR, expansion of our Roister, Next and Aviary patios, and streamlined staffing schedules.
Q. I can’t imagine a worse time to own a company like Tock than in late March or April, when people stopped making reservations for restaurants. Were you seriously worried about keeping the company going, or did you immediately see an opening for a platform to handle carryout and delivery orders?
Both of course! March 8 I realized that Tock’s bookings would go to near zero, that we couldn’t ethically charge a monthly fee to a restaurant that is closed, and that there was an existential risk to our business. We were growing very quickly over the previous six months, accelerating growth, and were about to do a big fundraising round for expansion. Suddenly, I thought we could go out of business and we had counterparty risk for prepaid events and reservations should restaurants and wineries not be able to process refunds.
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So we quickly built risk assessment tools, identified those risks, and began mitigating them. Then we simultaneously built Tock to Go in about a week. Oddly, both the most stressful week ever but also in a way the most productive and, dare I say, fun. It’s incredible what a great team can do when you really, really need to get it done perfectly and fast. I knew that we’d be able to solve many of the kitchen pacing and cost problems associated with third party delivery apps, and I knew that a whole category of restaurants that didn’t previously do to-go food would eventually realize that they needed to do that (see above about not being a two-week problem). So in early March we built the initial version of the tools restaurants would need for the next two years. It wasn’t the worst time to own a company like Tock; it was the best moment in recent history to innovate, albeit for a terrible reason.
Q. How is Tock doing now? Has it been a huge struggle financially to switch from predominantly reservations to to-go offerings? Or is it growing?
I’ve always believed that Tock would change the industry in meaningful ways: real time two-way pricing, digital payment on egress, reduction of no-shows and inefficiencies, reduction of food waste, elimination of tipping. I didn’t think that to-go would be a catalyst to get to these broader and, I think, inevitable changes. But as it turns out, it was the missing piece I didn’t see coming.
Tock has added over 3,000 new clients since March 15. Crazy. We’ve hired nearly 40 team members, bringing our total number of employees to about 125. We ended up closing that $10 million round in the middle of the beginning of COVID, and we’ve expanded the breadth of our toolset hugely to include contactless ordering, payment, etc. ... We have over 15 million consumer accounts and on a typical day nearly $2 million is transacted through Tock, plus millions of free reservations per month are made (actually about 75% of all Tock bookings are ordinary, free reservations, we aren’t just ticketing and to-go). So we are growing in every respect and keep pushing new tools and innovations to help restaurants literally weekly.
Q. AIR was such an interesting idea. Instead of adapting Alinea’s space, you found a place with plenty of room, but that must have also been a huge logistical issue. How did that concept come about?
We know the building owner and he suggested putting the Aviary up there. Doing the quick “covers times check average” math in my head I realized that wouldn’t work, but also that Alinea needed to do some form of in-person dining as carryout waned. Since we’ve done complicated pop-ups in Madrid, Miami and elsewhere, we figured this would be an easier lift than those, and that we could safely spread out 60-70 seats there in a space that can seat 200+. From signing the temporary lease to opening was only about 10 days. Grant (Achatz) and the team made the menu that quickly as well.
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Q. Obviously, AIR works best when it’s nice outside. Was this always going to be a seasonal concept, or do you have any thoughts on winterizing it?
We cannot winterize that space, but we’ve been searching for a large indoor event space that typically would handle 300+ people indoors, so we can do 70-80 seats that are very spread out. We’ve found that space and are about to sign a temporary lease agreement to do Alinea at least in November and December and hopefully beyond that time as well. We are also going to expand our to-go offerings again, assuming that more people will begin ordering carryout again once the kids are in school and the weather turns cold and rainy.
As an example, we secured 2,000 free-range, organic turkeys from a farm in southern Minnesota and will be doing a really cool Thanksgiving kit from Alinea. We also have an election night series of to-go dinners (complete with Champagne and whiskey — celebrate or drown your sorrows), Christmas dinner (likely goose and prime rib), and are considering opening a permanent Japanese concept, first as to-go only. The current Alinea To Go menu is a test of those dishes. We are also planning on opening several new restaurants (yes, actual physical restaurants) in 2021.
Q. When I talk to other chefs and restaurateurs, what to do during the winter is one of their biggest concerns. Do you have any insights about the colder months?
Carryout will ramp back up, no doubt about it. The time to plan for that is now. There are a lot of unused spaces that can be repurposed — music venues, event spaces, large restaurants that have closed or mothballed temporarily. We are going to have to get creative in order to sustain the businesses and keep as many people employed as is possible.
Q. Finally, are you hopeful about the future of your restaurants in Chicago?
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What do you think? :-)
nkindelsperger@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-09-17--‘Serious injury’ crash involving motorcycle shuts outbound Kennedy Expressway at Addison

The motorcyclist , a man from Chicago , was in the left lane heading north , then left the road @ @ @ @ @ crossing all four lanes of traffic to the right , according to a police news @ @ @ @ @ a blue 2002 Mercury Mariner , which was merging onto the Kennedy from Addison .

An Illinois state trooper talks to a driver near the scene of a motorcyle crash on the Kennedy Expressway that left a man with serious injuries on Sept. 17, 2020. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)
A crash involving a motorcycle left the motorcyclist with life-threatening injuries Thursday morning and shut down the outbound Kennedy Expressway south of the Irving Park neighborhood, according to state police.
The crash about 5:50 a.m. near Addison Street on Interstate 90/94 left the 38-year-old motorcyclist with serious injuries, according to an Illinois State Police spokesman.
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The motorcyclist, a man from Chicago, was in the left lane heading north, then left the road, veering left, before crossing all four lanes of traffic to the right, according to a police news release. The motorcycle rear-ended a blue 2002 Mercury Mariner, which was merging onto the Kennedy from Addison.
Police didn’t say what might have caused the man to cut across the lanes or if he may have lost control of the motorcycle.
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The motorcyclist was taken to a hospital with “life-threatening injuries," while the driver of the Mercury declined medical treatment, according to the release.
All outbound lanes were still closed about 8 a.m. as police investigated, according to police and the Illinois Department of Transportation. They were reopened a short while later.
Check back for updates.


chicagotribune--2020-09-17--COVID-19 in Illinois by the numbers: Here’s a daily update on cases, positivity rate and hospital da

COVID-19 in Illinois by the numbers: Here’s a daily update on cases, positivity rate and hospital data in your area

Among the metrics ( see below ) tracked under guidelines set by Gov .
J.B. Pritzker are the percentage of @ @ @ @ @ , the number of people hospitalized for COVID-19-like illnesses , and the capacity of hospitals @ @ @ @ @ state will decide how much or how little to restrict activities based on these metrics @

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.
To assess how different parts of Illinois are handling the COVID-19 pandemic, officials look at the state through the 11 regions of Emergency Medical Services. The city of Chicago is one region, for example, and the rest of Cook County is another.
Among the metrics (see below) tracked under guidelines set by Gov. J.B. Pritzker are the percentage of coronavirus tests that return positive, the number of people hospitalized for COVID-19-like illnesses, and the capacity of hospitals to take in new patients.The state will decide how much or how little to restrict activities based on these metrics. (Cases, deaths and tests data is as of Dec. 31).
• Check out the Tribune’s coronavirus coverage.
• Remembering the lives of those in Illinois who died from coronavirus.
• Other Chicago, suburbs and Illinois COVID-19 metrics.
• See how the governor’s plan to manage the regions works.
Source: Illinois Department of Public Health
Created by the Chicago Tribune dataviz team. On Twitter @chitribgraphics


chicagotribune--2020-09-17--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--2020-09-17--Daily Illinois coronavirus graphs: 25 new deaths, 2,056 new confirmed cases and 57,800 new test resu

Daily Illinois coronavirus graphs: 25 new deaths, 2,056 new confirmed cases and 57,800 new test results

Illinois announced 2,056 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 Thursday for a total of 268,207 .
The state also announced 25 @ @ @ @ @ of 8,392 and 57,800 new test results for a total of 4.92 million .

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--2020-09-17--Coronavirus in Illinois updates: Here’s what happened Sept. 16 with COVID-19 in the Chicago area

Illinois public health officials Thursday announced 2,056 newly diagnosed cases of COVID-19 and 25 more deaths .
That raises the statewide known case tally to 268,207 throughout the course of the pandemic .
The state reported death toll is now 8,392 .
The statewide seven-day rolling positivity rate stands at 3.6 % .
The region that includes Will and Kankakee counties , which had harsher rules imposed by the state after it surpassed a positivity rate of 8 % for three straight days , stood at 6.4 % as of Wednesday , below the threshold that would restore rules in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Gov .
J.B. Pritzker ’ s reopening plan .
Meanwhile , the Big Ten announced Wednesday that football will resume this fall , declaring a unanimous vote and a plan to play eight regular-season games in eight weeks beginning the weekend of Oct. 23-24 .
However , Pritzker slammed the door on the possibility that Illinois ' high school athletes might join their college counterparts , saying football and other contact sports are still too risky in the midst of the pandemic .
Additionally , some suburban schools have decided to reopen closed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ limited number of elementary-age kids , but for a fee .
4:35 p.m. : Do you actually need to wipe down everything to protect yourself from COVID-19 ?
If you were wiping down every single Amazon package , can of chickpeas , and takeout container at the start of the pandemic , you certainly weren ’ t alone .
Clorox , the world ’ s biggest maker of disinfectant cleaning materials , says it ’ s still recovering from high demand of its popular disinfectant wipes , not expected to return to shelves @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we were all encouraged to take every precaution that we could .
But do we still need to sanitize everything in sight ?
With months of research now behind us , experts say the answer is probably not .
Yet , that doesn ’ t mean surfaces present zero risk .
3:06 p.m. : Southport Lanes has been a speakeasy , brothel , gambling den and bowling alley .
One thing the Lakeview institution is not : A COVID-19 survivor .
The bar , restaurant and bowling alley will close its doors for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in business at 3325 N. Southport Ave. “ It ’ s another COVID casualty , ” said Steve Soble , who has owned the business since 1991 with Howard Natinsky .
“ It ’ s really , really bad out there.
” 2:57 p.m. : When will you be able to get a coronavirus vaccine ?
Scientists say one thing , President Trump another .
Here is what we know .
Americans are desperate to know when a coronavirus vaccine will be available to finally curb the pandemic that has already taken nearly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and allow schools and the broader economy to reopen .
Scientists and vaccine makers have long said that a handful of vaccines could be available by the end of the year , if everything goes according to plan .
But in recent weeks , President Donald Trump has insisted that a vaccine will be ready before the presidential election Nov. 3 , raising fears that one could be rushed against the advice of scientists and regulators .
Testing and producing a vaccine is a complex process with a lot of uncertainties .
But @ @ @ @ @ @ @ say , is this : If every aspect of the vaccines ' development and distribution goes exactly as planned — and history has shown that rarely happens — certain people in high-risk groups could get vaccinated this year .
Most other Americans , however , will quite likely have to wait until well into next year .
2:19 p.m. : A snapshot of Chicago ’ s economy six months into the pandemic During a six-month period , hundreds of thousands of area jobs were lost , consumer spending dropped 43 % , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ became permanent .
Despite hopes to “ get back to normal , ” the recovery has been slow , and it ’ s unclear what any long-lasting changes are , said Jose J. Vazquez-Cognet , an economics professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign .
“ When a business person and a consumer don ’ t know what to expect , they can ’ t make decisions very well , ” Vazquez-Cognet said .
“ That ’ s the worst thing for the economy.
” Here is a snapshot of the economic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ area over the past six months .
1:50 p.m. : How the coronavirus pandemic has affected Chicago dining six months in Six months ago Wednesday at 9 p.m. , all Illinois restaurants and bars were shut down for on-premise dining or drinking .
Since then , a gradual reopening has allowed some business to return to the struggling establishments .
As the entire city held its breath during the stay-at-home order this spring , summer offered a solution for many with the approval of serving at outdoor spaces .
Then , tentatively , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ open indoor spaces with limited capacity .
But as coronavirus cases waxed and waned , restrictions changed , and the city walked back on its allowance for bars to host patrons inside .
As winter approaches , these businesses now grapple with how to operate when the weather shifts .
Looking back at the past six months and to what the future holds , it ’ s helpful to consider some of the numbers that help tell the story of what restaurant owners , chefs , bartenders and servers have endured .
1:45 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at the onset of the coronavirus pandemic , launching Tock to Go and other innovations Nick Kokonas is not afraid of bluntly questioning restaurant conventions .
Along with helping to create a series of successful projects with chef Grant Achatz as co-owner of the Alinea Group ( Alinea , The Aviary , Next and Roister ) , he ’ s also the CEO of Tock , a online reservation system that has helped restaurateurs around the world manage guest bookings .
So it makes sense that during one of the most tumultuous years @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was one of the first to adapt .
In late February and early March , not only was he one of the few restaurateurs in Chicago talking about how the coronavirus pandemic could seriously challenge the restaurant industry , he was also attempting to come up with ways to survive .
1:15 p.m. : After four years , during the worst health crisis in a century , the unkept promise of ‘ a great health plan ’ may be catching up to President Trump When Donald Trump first ran for the White House @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with a great health plan , ” one that would repeal the Affordable Care Act but replace it with something better , something that would maintain its biggest selling point : protecting people with preexisting medical conditions .
Once elected , he swore he had a “ wonderful plan ” and would be “ putting it in fairly soon.
” After four years , during the worst health crisis in a century , the unkept promise may be catching up to Trump .
There still does not seem to be any plan , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Act — which requires insurers to cover preexisting conditions and which the White House is asking the Supreme Court to overturn — the Republican Party can not agree on one .
And with tens of thousands of Americans losing their health insurance to a coronavirus-induced recession , fears of inadequate or nonexistent health care coverage have never been greater .
12:10 p.m. : 2,056 new known COVID-19 cases and 25 more deaths reported Illinois health officials on Thursday announced 2,056 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 25 additional fatalities .
The Illinois Department @ @ @ @ @ @ @ total of 268,207 cases , including 8,392 deaths , in 102 counties in Illinois since the start of the coronavirus ' spread .
The seven-day statewide positivity rate is 3.6 % .
Within the past 24 hours , laboratories have reported 57,800 new tests , according to the IDPH .
1,558 people in Illinois are in the hospital with COVID-19 .
Of those , 359 patients were in the ICU and 144 patients are on ventilators , according to state health officials .
10:49 a.m. : Lincoln Park ZooLights will go on , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ charge Park Zoo ’ s holiday ZooLights festival will go on this year , but with a first-time-in-decades cover charge to help the zoo offset pandemic-year losses , the institution announced Thursday .
Tickets to the annual bedecking of zoo grounds with holiday lights will be $ 5 per person regardless of age or membership status , and they go on sale to zoo members Sept. 24 and to the general public Oct. 1 .
10:27 a.m. : 42 Wisconsin football players and staff members — 29 since Sept. 1 — test positive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for its season Forty-two players and staff with the Wisconsin football team have tested positive for COVID-19 as the Big Ten makes plans to get the season started .
Public Health Madison & Dane County says the 42 people tested positive since June when athletes and staff returned to campus .
Twenty-nine of the positive tests were from Sept. 1 through Sept. 15 .
Health officials in Madison and Dane County are urging fans not to gather to watch football games when the Badgers begin their season in October .
8:45 a.m. : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ only to slavery as government intrusion on liberty In remarks Wednesday night at conservative Hillsdale College in Michigan , Barr had called the lockdown orders the “ greatest intrusion on civil liberties in American history ” since slavery .
“ You know , putting a national lockdown , stay at home orders , is like house arrest .
Other than slavery , which was a different kind of restraint , this is the greatest intrusion on civil liberties in American history , ” Barr said to applause from the crowd .
Rep. James @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 3 House Democratic leader , told CNN that Barr ’ s remarks were “ the most ridiculous , tone-deaf , God-awful things I ’ ve ever heard ” because they wrongly equated human bondage with a measure aimed at saving lives .
“ Slavery was not about saving lives .
It was about devaluing lives , ” Clyburn said .
“ This pandemic is a threat to human life.
” 8:18 a.m. : COVID-19 danger continues to drive joblessness in US , even as unemployment claims fall The number of Americans applying for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , a historically high figure that reflects economic damage from the coronavirus outbreak .
Before the pandemic hit the economy , the number signing up for jobless aid had never exceeded 700,000 in a week , even during the depths of the 2007-2009 Great Recession .
The Labor Department said Thursday that U.S. jobless claims fell by 33,000 form the previous week and that 12.6 million are collecting traditional unemployment benefits , compared with just 1.7 million a year ago .
“ The staff member is now in isolation .
We are closely @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on contact tracing .
The health department will contact the staff member directly and any close contacts will be identified , contacted and provided guidance , ” Anderson said in the notification .
Township High School District 113 spokeswoman Karen Warner said the staff member had been at the school recently .
Anderson stated in the notification and Warner also said Wednesday that federal privacy laws prevent the district from releasing the individual ’ s identity or any additional information about the individual .
5 a.m. : Remote learning , in school ?
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ have reopened for e-learning supervision — at a price to taxpaying parents .
After being inundated with emails and calls from frustrated parents who wanted their kids back in class this fall , Arlington Heights School District 25 officials sought a way to help .
Working with the Park District , they decided to reopen closed schools for moderately priced remote learning supervision to a limited number of elementary-age kids .
But as Arlington Heights resident Chuck Miller sees it , the flaw in the program comes down to a math problem his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 50 per student per day , it would cost the Millers $ 1,000 a week to enroll their four children — a sum he said is unrealistic for many families , including his .
The irony isn ’ t lost on him that the program is taking place in schools that were deemed unsafe to fully open for in-person classes .
Here are five things related to COVID-19 that happened Wednesday : Citing the pandemic ’ s ‘ unprecedented ’ impact on November vote , Gov .
J.B. Pritzker asked election officials to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ election judge recruitment .
Chicago Public Schools reported it ’ s seen 258 coronavirus cases and eight deaths since March among staff and contractors .
Big Ten football is coming back in October with at least 8 games in 9 weeks — and ‘ significant medical protocols.
’ Wisconsin Dells ' Tommy Bartlett water ski show , closed by coronavirus , is shutting down for good .
Chicago ’ s architectural biennial keeps the city at the forefront of design .
But will it be held in 2021 ?

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Paca Kujtim of Arlington Heights self-administers a COVID-19 test in his car at the Arlington International Racecourse on March 31, 2021 in Arlington Heights. Kujtim was getting testing as a precaution for upcoming travel. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)
Illinois public health officials on Wednesday announced 1,941 newly diagnosed cases of COVID-19 and 35 more deaths. That raises the statewide known case tally to 266,151 throughout the course of the pandemic. The state reported death toll is now 8,367. The statewide seven-day rolling positivity rate stands at 3.7%.
The region that includes Will and Kankakee counties, which had harsher rules imposed by the state after it surpassed a positivity rate of 8% for three consecutive days, stood at 6.4% as of Wednesday, below the threshold that would restore rules in place statewide under the fourth phase of Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s reopening plan.
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Meanwhile, the Big Ten announced Wednesday that football will resume this fall, declaring a unanimous vote and a plan to play eight regular-season games in eight weeks beginning the weekend of Oct. 23-24. The schedule has not been released, but teams will play all six division opponents and two crossover games.
However, Pritzker slammed the door on the possibility that Illinois' high school athletes might join their college counterparts, saying football and other contact sports are still too risky in the midst of the pandemic.
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Here’s what’s happening Wednesday with COVID-19 in the Chicago area and Illinois:
7 p.m. (update): Trump contradicts top US health officials after CDC director estimates COVID-19 vaccine won’t be widely available until middle of 2021
Openly contradicting the government’s top health experts, President Donald Trump predicted on Wednesday that a safe and effective vaccine against the coronavirus could be ready as early as next month and in mass distribution soon after, undermining the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and calling him “confused” in projecting a longer time frame.
Trump also disagreed with Dr. Robert Redfield about the effectiveness of protective masks — which the president recommends but almost never wears — and said he’d telephoned Redfield to tell him so.
Earlier in the day, the CDC sent all 50 states a “playbook” for distribution of a vaccine to all Americans free of cost when one is proven safe and effective — which is not yet the case. Redfield told a congressional hearing that health care workers, first responders and others at high risk would get the vaccine first, perhaps in January or even late this year, but it was unlikely to be available more broadly, again assuming approval, before late spring or summer.
After Trump’s comments, CDC officials said Wednesday night that the director had thought he was answering a question about when vaccination of all Americans might be completed.
Read more here. —Associated Press
6:25 p.m.: Citing pandemic’s ‘unprecedented’ impact on November vote, Pritzker asks election officials to put federal funds behind drop boxes, election judge recruitment
Anticipating “the most logistically challenging election of our lifetimes,” Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Wednesday asked state election officials to redirect at least $4 million in federal funding to expand the availability of mail-in ballot drop boxes and to assist with recruiting election judges.
“This election cycle, where the presidential contest may not be decided on election night while vote by mail ballots are tabulated, will test the limits of our democracy and the faith of our people in it,” Pritzker wrote in a letter to State Board of Elections Executive Director Steve Sandvoss. “These unprecedented times require unprecedented involvement and action by the State Board of Elections.”
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The $4 million would come from the $27.1 million the elections board received in federal election security grants through the Help America Vote Act for 2018 and 2020. The U.S. Election Assistance Commission has issued guidance authorizing such uses.
Read more here. —Dan Petrella
5:20 p.m.: Chicago health commissioner looks ahead to building vaccine trust, eventual distribution
Chicago’s health commissioner on Wednesday said the coronavirus fight in 2021 could shift to convincing people to get the vaccine and then figuring out how to safely administer it to huge numbers of residents.
In her latest update to aldermen, Dr. Allison Arwady said it’s tough to predict whether the city will see its healthcare facilities heavily taxed by the combination of COVID-19 and flu cases this winter.
The flu season has been light this year in parts of the southern hemisphere, she said, possibly because people are wearing masks and distancing because of the coronavirus. “It’s very clear we’re still learning about this virus,” Arwady said.
Looking ahead, Arwady told the City Council Health Committee that while a vaccine might be medically available before the end of 2020, it still would need more testing before the huge task of distributing it could begin.
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Then, when it does become widely available, how to get it to people? Arwady said the city is thinking about different ways to administer this year’s flu vaccines as a precursor to the coronavirus effort.
Read more here. —John Byrne
5 p.m.: GOP shrugs off President Trump’s call for ‘higher’ offer on coronavirus aid
President Donald Trump parachuted into the coronavirus aid debate Wednesday, upbraiding his Republican allies for proposing too small of a relief package and encouraging both parties to go for a bigger one that would include his priority of $1,200 stimulus checks for most Americans.
But his top GOP allies — who worked for weeks with the White House to construct the very aid package Trump criticized — shrugged off the president’s mid-morning tweet. They also weighed in against a $1.5 trillion aid package backed by moderates in both parties that earned praise from the White House.
Read more here. —Associated Press
3:55 p.m.: Student in Hinsdale South High School football camp has positive COVID test
Hinsdale High School District 86 has not started in-person classes yet, but the second case of coronavirus was reported.
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A student who was participating in a football camp at Hinsdale South High School tested positive for COVID-19, the principal Arwen Pokorny Lyp said in a Sept. 14 letter to families with students attending the camp.
All football-related activities have been suspended for 14 days and all students and staff who were at the camp have to quarantine until Sept. 24, Pokorny Lyp said.
Illinois postponed the high school football season until the spring, but is allowing sports, such as football, wrestling and competitive cheerleading, to hold up to 20 days of no-contact practice this fall. South’s football camp started Sept. 8 and was scheduled to run until Oct. 2.
Read more here. —Kimberly Fornek
3:50 p.m.: Neighborhood shops used to think it wasn’t worth the hassle to sell online. Now they can’t afford to ignore it.
Two years ago, Esther Fishman shut down her Lincoln Park-area clothing and gifts shop’s online store.
Art Effect’s bricks-and-mortar business was strong, and selling online seemed like more trouble than it was worth.
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It seemed like the right call until this spring.
When the coronavirus pandemic forced all but essential retail stores to close, Art Effect rushed to get its online store back in business. Fishman has since hired a company to build a new, easier-to-use site.
Small neighborhood retailers used to compete with Amazon by catering to local shoppers who enjoy browsing in person. That’s still true — but in the six months since the pandemic began, a growing number are venturing onto Amazon’s turf.
Most say online sales are a long way from making up for sluggish in-store sales, and some struggled to shift businesses built for in-person shoppers online. Others say it’s a service they can no longer afford to avoid, especially if a surge in cases forces stores to shut down again
Read more here. —Lauren Zumbach
2:08 p.m.: Chicago Public Schools reports 258 coronavirus cases and eight deaths since March
Since schools closed to students in March, at least 258 Chicago Public Schools and charter school employees or vendors have tested positive for COVID-19, and eight have died, according to the district.
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The number, through Sept. 9, includes both staff working remotely and those who the district has been requiring to report to work at school buildings.
Only a small number of those have been tied to a cluster in a specific schools, officials said.
Read more here. —Hannah Leone
1:20 p.m.: Stefani group seeks court order to stop Navy Pier from evicting Riva and The Crystal Gardens amid rent dispute
Adjacent to an ongoing rent battle between the Stefani properties and Navy Pier, the restaurateur is seeking a court order that would prevent Navy Pier from removing its properties from the lakefront venue.
After Navy Pier allegedly terminated the two Stefani leases and restricted access to its properties, Stefani’s Pier Front Inc. filed for a temporary restraining order and injunctive relief Monday. If granted, the order would temporarily halt any efforts to remove the Stefani businesses from Navy Pier.
Read more here. —Grace Wong
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12:31 p.m.: Will and Kankakee counties could soon see bars and indoor dining reopen; statewide eviction moratorium extended
Will and Kankakee counties could soon see bars and indoor dining reopen if the trend of a declining coronavirus test positivity rate holds.
The region including those two counties saw its positivity rate drop to 6.4%, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Wednesday, the first time the region has dipped below the state-set threshold of 6.5% since the state instituted stricter rules aimed at curbing the spread of COVID-19. If the region stays under 6.5% for three consecutive days, the region will join most of the rest of the state in Phase 4 of Pritzker’s reopening plan.
Pritzker also announced Wednesday he would extend the statewide eviction moratorium for another 30 days.
Read more here. —Jamie Munks
12:06 p.m.: 1,941 new known COVID-19 cases and 35 more deaths reported
Illinois health officials on Wednesday announced 1,941 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 35 additional fatalities. The Illinois Department of Public Health is now reporting a total of 266,151 cases, including 8,367 deaths, in 102 counties in Illinois since the start of the coronavirus' spread.
The seven-day statewide positivity rate is 3.7%. Within the past 24 hours, laboratories have reported 52,311 new tests, according to the IDPH.
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1,565 people in Illinois are in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 345 patients were in the ICU and 143 patients are on ventilators, according to state health officials.
—Chicago Tribune staff
11:26 a.m.: Big Ten football is coming back in October with at least 8 games in 9 weeks — and ‘significant medical protocols’
For a while there, it looked as if Big Ten football would produce only one score this fall: 11-3.
As in, 11 schools voted to postpone fall sports and three (Ohio State, Nebraska and Iowa) dissented.
But after weeks of criticism and cajoling from the likes of Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields, Iowa football parents, Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh and President Donald Trump, the Big Ten crossed the 1-yard line — as Trump alluded to in a tweet.
The conference announced its restart Wednesday, declaring a unanimous vote to start playing Oct. 23-24 with a slate of at least eight games in nine weeks and a conference title game Dec. 19.
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Read more here. —Teddy Greenstein
10:58 a.m.: US outlines sweeping plan to provide free COVID-19 vaccines in two doses — 21 to 28 days apart
The federal government outlined a sweeping plan Wednesday to make vaccines for COVID-19 available for free to all Americans, assuming a safe and effective shot is established and widely accepted though polls show skepticism remains across America.
In a report to Congress and an accompanying “playbook” for states and localities, federal health agencies and the Defense Department sketched out complex plans for a vaccination campaign to begin gradually in January or even later this year, eventually ramping up to reach any American who wants a shot. The Pentagon is involved with the distribution of vaccines, but civilian health workers would be the ones giving shots.
Read more here. —Associated Press
10:54 a.m.: Wisconsin Dells' Tommy Bartlett water ski show, closed by coronavirus, is shutting down for good
The coronavirus pandemic has forced an iconic Wisconsin Dells-area water ski show to shut down forever.
Tom Diehl, president and co-owner of the Tommy Bartlett Show in Lake Delton, said Wednesday that the show can’t recover from the loss of revenue this summer. The show was preparing for its 70th season when the pandemic happened, forcing Diehl to cancel the season. He said investing in a 2021 season would have been too risky given the uncertainty surrounding the virus and its dampening effect on travel.
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Read more here. —Associated Press
10:48 a.m.: Chicago’s architectural biennial keeps the city at the forefront of design. But will it be held in 2021?
Will there be a Chicago Architecture Biennial next year at this time? Even if you’ve never attended the biennial, which bills itself as North America’s largest survey of contemporary architecture, you have a stake in the answer.
By showcasing rising stars in Chicago’s architecture firmament and introducing Chicagoans to global design talents like Mexican architect Tatiana Bilbao, the biennial brings Chicago to the world and the world to Chicago.
Read more here. —Blair Kamin
9:48 a.m.: Kohl’s to cut 15% of office jobs due to coronavirus-related slump
Department store chain Kohl’s, whose sales have been hurt by the pandemic, said Tuesday that it will cut 15% of its office workers to save money.
The company declined to say how many people will lose their jobs. The layoffs will be at its headquarters in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, as well as offices in New York and Milpitas, California.
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In recent months, other major retailers including Levi’s and Victoria’s Secret owner L Brands have also announced job cuts for corporate staff.
Read more here. —Associated Press
9:23 a.m.: U-46 officials watching COVID-19 cases as plans to return to in-person classes being made for October
More than 200 School District U-46 students and staff have been diagnosed with COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic in March, Superintendent Tony Sanders told the school board this week.
The case count was discussed Monday as part of pending plans to move from all remote-learning program to a hybrid model in which students will do a mix of in-person classes and e-learning, possibly starting in early October.
Initial plans call for the Elgin-based district’s youngest students and those in special education to make the transition first.
According to district data, there have been 217 coronavirus cases among students, staff and their family members in the last six months based on information provided by the Kane, Cook and DuPage county health departments. The case breakdown is 58 student cases, 107 staff cases and 52 involving people who live with students or staff.
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Between Sept. 5 and 11, five students and 10 staff members tested positive, data shows.
Read more here. —Rafael Guerrero
8:13 a.m.: Italian restaurant Nonnina faced closing until it struck a creative partnership with the landlord
Chef/owner Tony Priolo was blunt about the prospects of Nonnina, one of his three restaurants (Piccolo Sogno and Maillard Tavern are the others).
“We were overextended, and about to lose Nonnina,” he said. “But then Friedman Properties stepped in and said, 'Let’s figure out a way to save it.”
Thus began a creative joint venture between Priolo’s company and his landlord, Friedman Properties (which has extensive River North holdings). As a result, Nonnina not only remains open, but also has been able to retool and revamp in a way to increase its chances of long-term survival.
Read more here. —Phil Vettel
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7:25 a.m.: East Moline Correctional Center has COVID-19 outbreak and inmate alleges protocols aren’t being followed
Olegario Banuelos started feeling sick Sept. 6. It began with body aches, fever and a headache.
Banuelos, 45, is an inmate at the East Moline Correctional Center. In a phone call, Banuelos alleged correctional officers have not been keeping their face masks on and are not properly using PPE, including gowns and gloves. He said most officers kept masks down around their chins, leaving their mouths and noses exposed.
Prison officials disputed his charge, which came as a COVID-19 outbreak at the facility has sickened more than a quarter of inmates and 11 staff members. The number of cases has spiked in the last 10 days.
“If one of their supervisors passes by the unit, they’ll put on the mask real quick,” Banuelos said. "But if no one is around, they won’t wear it.
“The majority of (officers) don’t wear them properly. Since this started it’s been like this. We’ll get yelled at if we don’t have our masks on, but they can walk around (without masks.) They are not being cautious.”
Read more here. —The Quad City Times
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5 a.m.: As other states play high school football, Pritzker says COVID-19 makes the sport still too risky for Illinois
Gov. J.B. Pritzker appeared to slam the door on the possible return of high school football and other sports in Illinois this fall, saying they were still too risky in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic even though athletes in other Midwestern states have begun to play.
“Fine, if they’ve decided to endanger children and families in those states by allowing certain contact sports to take place, that’s their decision,” he said at a news conference Tuesday. “That’s not something that’s good for the families, the children of Illinois.”
The Illinois High School Association, deferring to state officials, moved high school football, boys soccer and girls volleyball — sports considered to be at medium to high risk of virus transmission — to the spring. But the organization recently sought to resume authority over its calendar after surrounding states began playing contact sports without reports of major outbreaks.
Following Pritzker’s remarks, Executive Director Craig Anderson said that effort is over.
“I think our hands are kind of tied with the governor saying we’re not going to proceed,” he said.
Read more here. —John Keilman
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5 a.m.: COVID-19 cases have plummeted at Notre Dame since a two-week campus shutdown. Can that work for other universities struggling to contain the virus’s spread?
Nicole Ludford should have been in art history class on a recent morning — her only course meeting in person this semester — but instead she stayed inside her apartment near the University of Wisconsin-Madison and reflected on the school’s most sweeping attempt yet to combat rising COVID-19 cases among students.
The day before, UW-Madison announced a two-week pause on all face-to-face courses and put two predominantly freshman dorms under quarantine as total infections linked to campus topped 1,400. In-person courses were canceled and set to resume remotely on Monday.
Ludford, a senior from Chicago’s River North neighborhood, isn’t sure the strategy will work. Though cases could drop for a short time, she said she worries the actions don’t address the underlying problem: students gathering, not wearing masks and breaking the rules.
“A lot of people are wearing masks but there’s still a good majority that I look at and I’m just like, ‘You’re going to ruin this year for me,’” said Ludford, 21. “It’s a lot of money to spend on rent and on online classes to be stuck in an apartment and looking out your window.”
On Tuesday, UW-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank said more than 300 students were under investigation for misconduct and 12 face “emergency suspension” for violating COVID-19 precautions. Two dozen sorority and fraternity chapters have also been quarantined.
In announcing the two-week pause, Blank referenced “the precedent set by several other universities” that did the same, according to a Sept. 9 campus message.
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While its long-term success remains to be seen, more universities are trying the two-week pause to overcome outbreaks, as opposed to the more dramatic move of permanently sending students home. That also follows recommendations from public health experts, who say turning students loose could seed new infections in the communities where they return.
Read more here. — Elyssa Cherney
Breaking coronavirus news Stay up to date with the latest information on coronavirus with our breaking news alerts.
In case you missed it
Here are five things that happened Tuesday related to COVID-19:


chicagotribune--2020-09-17--Man shot, another stabbed in separate attacks in downtown Chicago overnight

The man was walking on the sidewalk when someone walked up and stabbed him in the neck .
He was @ @ @ @ @ Northwestern Memorial Hospital , police said .

One man was stabbed and another was shot in separate attacks in downtown Chicago Wednesday night and early Thursday, according to police.
The first attack happened about 10 p.m. as a 30-year-old man was walking on the sidewalk in the first block of West Hubbard Street, police said.
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Shots were fired and the man was hit in the head. He was taken in serious condition to Advocate Illinois Masonic Hospital, police said.
About two hours later, a 38-year-old man was stabbed in the first block of East Balbo Drive at Grant Park, police said.
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The man was walking on the sidewalk when someone walked up and stabbed him in the neck. He was taken in serious condition to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, police said.
No one was in custody for the attacks.


chicagotribune--2020-09-17--Man charged after Markham family members find severed head, body parts in his duffel bags

Martin had been staying with family for about a week , and family members became curious after he asked them @ @ @ @ @ to purchase clothing for him despite arriving on a Greyhound bus in Chicago toting the @ @ @ @ @

A Kentucky man has been charged in connection with the gruesome discovery earlier this week in Markham of a dismembered woman’s body that had been stuffed into duffel bags, a spokesman for the city said.
Melvin Martin Jr. has initially been charged with fleeing prosecution. He had been staying with family in Markham, according to police and Markham spokesman Michael Taylor.
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Martin was arrested Monday at the Markham Public Library after curious family members peeked into the bags that Martin seemed preoccupied with during his stay, Taylor said.
A severed head and other body parts were found in the bags, while police in Kentucky found the woman’s torso, he said.
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Martin had been staying with family for about a week, and family members became curious after he asked them on at least two occasions to purchase clothing for him despite arriving on a Greyhound bus in Chicago toting the bags, Taylor said.
Melvin Martin Jr. (City of Markham)
Martin eventually moved the two bags to the home’s garage, and the family made the discovery after Martin had left for the library, Taylor said.
At a news conference Wednesday, Markham police Chief Terry White said the woman was Martin’s girlfriend, and that it appears the woman’s death was the result of a domestic dispute that occurred about a month ago.
Taylor said that Martin had made efforts to conceal any foul odors that would have come from the body parts.
Taylor said he did not know the relationship between Martin and the Markham family.
mnolan@tribpub.com


chicagotribune--2020-09-17--Daywatch: Trump clashes with CDC on vaccine timeline, some schools open for e-learning supervision a

Daywatch: Trump clashes with CDC on vaccine timeline, some schools open for e-learning supervision and the city’s most Instagrammable rentals

Earlier in the day , the CDC sent all 50 states a “ playbook ” for distribution of a vaccine @ @ @ @ @ cost when one is proven safe and effective — which is not yet the case @ @ @ @ @ hearing that health care workers , first responders and others at high risk would get @ @ @ @ @ in January or even late this year , but it was unlikely to be available @ @ @ @ @ approval , before late spring or summer .

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Good morning, Chicago. Health officials reported 1,941 new known COVID-19 cases and 35 more deaths in Illinois on Wednesday. This news came as Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced that Will and Kankakee counties may soon be able to return to looser phase 4 restrictions.
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An update for football fans out there: the Big Ten is returning after all. The season will resume in late October and consist of eight games for each team — along with daily rapid coronavirus testing.
Here’s more coronavirus news and other top stories you need to know to start your day.
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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Robert Redfield holds up his mask as he speaks at a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing on a "Review of Coronavirus Response Efforts" on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2020, in Washington. (Andrew Harnik/AP)
Openly contradicting the government’s top health experts, President Donald Trump predicted on Wednesday that a safe and effective vaccine against the coronavirus could be ready as early as next month and in mass distribution soon after, undermining the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and calling him “confused” in projecting a longer time frame.
Earlier in the day, the CDC sent all 50 states a “playbook” for distribution of a vaccine to all Americans free of cost when one is proven safe and effective — which is not yet the case. Redfield told a congressional hearing that health care workers, first responders and others at high risk would get the vaccine first, perhaps in January or even late this year, but it was unlikely to be available more broadly, again assuming approval, before late spring or summer.
CDC director says masks may do more than vaccine to protect against COVID-19
At South Middle School in Arlington Heights, students work indivdually on remote learning lessons. Though schools are closed for in-person classes, families are paying to have their children supervised in school buildings. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)
After being inundated with emails and calls from frustrated parents who wanted their kids back in class this fall, Arlington Heights School District 25 officials sought a way to help. Working with the Park District, they decided to reopen closed schools for moderately priced remote learning supervision to a limited number of elementary-age kids.
Such programs have sprouted up across the Chicago suburbs in recent weeks, and while many critics do applaud officials for stepping up to help families, some say the concept seems both puzzling and hypocritical.
CPS reports 258 cases of COVID-19 among staff and vendors, including eight deaths, in six months since schools shut down
AlleyCat Comics owner Selene Idell staffs the cash register Sept. 15, 2020, at her store in Chicago's Andersonville neighborhood. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the store has a new online ordering system for some products. (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune)
Small neighborhood retailers used to compete with Amazon by catering to local shoppers who enjoy browsing in person. That’s still true — but in the six months since the pandemic began, a growing number are venturing onto Amazon’s turf.
Writer and disability activist Melissa Blake, 39, is seen outside her DeKalb home Sept. 15, 2020. Blake is dressed in clothes by the Zappos Adaptive Line and is appearing in New York Fashion Week. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)
As a teenager in the 1990s, Melissa Blake was interested in fashion. Unfortunately, fashion wasn’t much interested in her. Blake, who has a genetic bone and muscle disorder and stands a little under 4 feet tall, couldn’t find jeans or dresses in her size. Paging through Glamour and Cosmopolitan magazines, she didn’t see a single person who looked like her.
Now, Blake is a fashion role model herself.
Two townhouses in River West provide eight bedrooms and 7½ baths for at least two dozen people to rest comfortably. (VRBO)
With new COVID-19 cases going up in Michigan and Wisconsin, you might want to vacation locally. But staying in the vicinity doesn’t mean you can’t do it in style. Here are some Chicago rentals that offer a change of scenery for a staycation that is still very Instagrammable.