chicagotribune--2020-10-21--As second wave of COVID-19 roils Illinois, here are 5 updated ways doctors say you can stay healthy

A lot of the advice about how to protect yourself against the virus has evolved since the state opened up @ @ @ @ @ Wednesday , the CDC updated its guidance on contact tracing and the definition of “ @ @ @ @ @ with coronavirus .
For those feeling a new urgency about COVID-19 , here ’ s @ @ @ @ @ Chicago-area doctors and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on how to protect @ @ @ @ @ .

Katherine Rosenberg-Douglas, Madeline Buckley

We have lifted the paywall on this story. To support essential reporting, please consider becoming a subscriber .
Paca Kujtim of Arlington Heights self-administers a COVID-19 test in his car at the Arlington International Racecourse on March 31, 2021 in Arlington Heights. Kujtim was getting testing as a precaution for upcoming travel. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)
In recent days, Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Gov. J.B. Pritzker have issued stark warnings about rising COVID-19 rates, cautioning people to stay on guard and refrain from gathering in large groups as a new wave of the pandemic hits Illinois and much of the country.
Illinois officials Tuesday announced it’s time to revert to earlier lockdown levels in parts of the state. Now, even the most responsible residents who’ve sacrificed all year could face their breaking point as the holidays near and Chicagoans face a long, cold, dreary winter.
Advertisement
The end result for many is complacency, said Dr. Emily Landon, an epidemiologist at the University of Chicago Medical Center. For Illinois alone, this uptick in cases could be considered a second wave. But for the country, this is more like the third wave — first were the urban centers, including Chicago, in spring, and second was the Sun Belt in summer.
“The bottom line is cases are going up and it seems to be looking pretty serious this time,” Landon said.
Advertisement
A lot of the advice about how to protect yourself against the virus has evolved since the state opened up in the spring — just Wednesday, the CDC updated its guidance on contact tracing and the definition of “close contact” with someone with coronavirus. For those feeling a new urgency about COVID-19, here’s the most recent guidance from Chicago-area doctors and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on how to protect yourself as COVID-19 cases surge.
1. Do you really still need to wear a mask?
The short answer is yes, experts say.
COVID-19 has led to the death of nearly 220,000 Americans. About 40 million people worldwide, including 8 million Americans, have survived the disease. Those numbers represent the patchwork response from states or regions, versus a single unified strategy, said Dr. Michelle Prickett, an associate professor of medicine at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine.
“Universal masking is 85% effective,” Prickett said. “But everybody has to do it. You can’t approach it as ‘It’s somebody else’s problem and they’ll take care of me.’ ”
As the pandemic has worn on, Prickett’s patients have told her they feel they have to make a risk calculation whenever they leave home. The solution is simple: Wear a mask every time you leave your home. Unless someone in the home is sick or quarantining or people who don’t live there come into your house often, home should be a safe zone where masks aren’t necessary.
“Your risk is less walking down the street than it is indoors, it’s about a twentyfold decrease outside versus inside, we know that. But it’s not zero,” she said.
Fatigue about protection is one big reason cases are spiking again.
Advertisement
“Getting through this is a team effort. It’s every little decision everyone in the community makes,” Prickett said.Landonsaid simply: “We need to treat this like no shoes, no shirt — no mask — no service.”
2. When should you social distance, and is 6 feet enough?
While interacting with others, the “farther apart, the better,” according to a guide from the Infectious Diseases Society of America, and the CDC has consistently recommended at least six feet of distance.
When social distancing is not possible, like on public transportation, the physicians group said masks are especially important.
Social distancing, coupled with masking, is the best guard against the virus, said Dr. Susan Casey Bleasdale, an infectious disease physician and associate professor at the UIC College of Medicine.
“I think it’s an important thing to highlight that it’s not an either/or but both,” she said.
Advertisement
Doctors have also emphasized that the amount of time in contact with someone else affects transmission, so reducing the length of a social interaction can help, and experts still recommend avoiding indoor spaces with groups of people when possible.
“The more you distance the better off you are,” Prickett said.
3. Is wiping down surfaces still necessary?
COVID-19 spreads less commonly through contact with contaminated surfaces, according to the CDC, although the agency still recommends regularly disinfecting frequently used surfaces.
“It is possible that a person could get COVID-19 by touching a surface or object that has the virus on it and then touching their own mouth, nose, or eyes,” according to CDC guidance.
But we know now that transmission through surfaces is not the primary way the virus spreads.
Advertisement
Instead, the virus often spreads through close contact with other people. People are generally exposed through inhaling respiratory droplets produced by infected people when they cough, sneeze, sing, talk and breathe.
Still, Dr. Michael Lin, an infectious disease specialist and associate professor at Rush Medical College, said people should regularly disinfect common surfaces like doorknobs and kitchen countertops. Wiping down surfaces you might touch just before eating is a good idea, Prickett said.
At the grocery store, it’s a good idea to wipe down the shared carts, but it is probably not necessary to wipe down every individual item when you arrive home, he said.
4. Does hand-washing really make such a difference?
Frequent hand-washing is still one of the best ways to prevent coming down with the virus, experts said. If for some reason you can’t or won’t adhere to other best practices, consistently washing your hands still should help reduce spread.
Hand-washing makes disinfecting surfaces less of an issue, Lin said.
Advertisement
“If one is able to do hand hygiene routinely, you don’t need to wipe down groceries and do extraordinary things,” Lin said.
Bleasdale said washing hands every time you get home is a good habit to stick with. She keeps hand sanitizer in her car and uses it whenever she returns to her vehicle.
“More often is better,” she said.
“Hand-washing is absolutely one of our best defenses,” Prickett said. “And it’s by far one of the easiest. ... People will let their guard down and that’s part of the increase we’re seeing in community spread.”
5. When or how often should you get tested?
The kinds of tests and their availability has evolved throughout the pandemic, as have best practices on testing. During the summer, the CDC revised its guidance on when people should consult with a doctor or be tested. Formerly, a person who tested positive was to be tested a second time to see if they were still contagious, but that’s no longer the protocol.
Advertisement
“We did move toward a symptom-based, time-based algorithm for returning to work,” Prickett said.
Coronavirus has a long incubation time. While with the flu you may want to think about what you were doing a day or two before you noticed symptoms, with COVID-19 you need to consider what you were doing a week before symptoms, which often begin with a fever, Prickett said. That has affected contact tracing because people don’t always remember every interaction so far back.
It’s also possible to have a negative test if you are tested too early, she said.
“It’s kind of like a pregnancy test, that’s a fair comparison. Just like it’s possible to test too soon and get a negative result when you’re pregnant, it’s possible to test too early for this,” she said.
With exposure to someone with COVID-19, someone should quarantine and see how they feel. If no symptoms appear, they should get tested after five days. If they have symptoms, they should call a doctor and follow recommendations about whether and when to test.
Without a known exposure but with symptoms, a person should follow the advice of their doctor. Those who test positive for COVID-19 will most likely be told they are considered no longer contagious if they don’t have respiratory symptoms or a fever 10 days after get symptoms or test positive, she said.
Advertisement
kdouglas@chicagotribune.com
mbuckley@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @312BreakingNews
Twitter @mabuckley88


chicagotribune--2020-10-21--CTA to offer PPE vending machines at some train stations

“ We understand the need for our customers to have a safe experience during their commutes , ” CTA President @ @ @ @ @ in a statement .
“ The addition of these new vending machines is a reflection @ @ @ @ @ seek out tools and resources to help reassure our customers that we are doing everything @ @ @ @ @ healthy during this ongoing pandemic .
”

A person rides the Metra Electric District line, May 11, 2021, in Chicago. With some coronavirus pandemic restrictions lifted, some people may be returning to public transit. (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune)
In an effort to provide riders with more travel amenities amid the coronavirus pandemic, the CTA announced a plan Wednesday to install vending machines with PPE at some train stations.
“We understand the need for our customers to have a safe experience during their commutes,” CTA President Dorval R. Carter Jr. said in a statement. “The addition of these new vending machines is a reflection of our unwavering commitment to seek out tools and resources to help reassure our customers that we are doing everything we can to keep customers healthy during this ongoing pandemic.”
Advertisement
The first six machines will be placed at the Belmont, Roosevelt and 79th stations on the Red Line, the Midway station on the Orange Line, the Jefferson Park station on the Blue Line and the Kedzie station on the Green Line.
The vending machines will contain personal protective equipment including hand sanitizer, disposable face masks and gloves and sanitizing wipes. Items will range in price from $3.75 to $10, according to the CTA.
Advertisement
PPE vending machines are a growing amenity offered on public transit. New York City MTA stations have also been installing the machines at train stations.
Twitter @JessicaVillag


chicagotribune--2020-10-21--Closed dorms, online classes, no parties: How college freshmen are coping as the pandemic upends cam

Closed dorms, online classes, no parties: How college freshmen are coping as the pandemic upends campus life in a pivotal year

For college freshmen this fall , campus life was supposed to make up for all the canceled end-of-year rituals they @ @ @ @ @ .
But instead of socializing with classmates at orientation , sitting in their first big @ @ @ @ @ from home , new college students such as Schilt are continuing this semester the same @ @ @ @ @ : with online classes from their childhood bedrooms .

During the car parade that served as Delaney Schilt’s high school graduation this spring, the 18-year-old signaled her enthusiasm for new beginnings in what had otherwise become a disappointing string of events.
There was no prom, no signing of yearbooks with classmates and no ceremonious goodbye to her high school in central Wisconsin. Still, the decorations she added to her graduation cap ― sparkly letters that said “Chicago bound” next to a silhouette of the city’s skyline ― helped her remember that things would improve once college started.
Advertisement
But months into the new school year, Schilt still longs to attend Loyola University Chicago. Her bags were packed and she was preparing for orientation when the university announced Aug. 6 that residence halls would remain closed and most classes would be delivered remotely this fall because of the coronavirus pandemic.
“It’s been sort of difficult for me,” said Schilt, who’s taking classes at home in Neenah, Wisconsin. “I’m the only one of my (high school) friends who is currently remote learning. ... I haven’t had a lot of opportunities to meet new people on my campus because everything is over Zoom.”
Advertisement
For college freshmen this fall, campus life was supposed to make up for all the canceled end-of-year rituals they saw as high school seniors. But instead of socializing with classmates at orientation, sitting in their first big lecture courses or living away from home, new college students such as Schilt are continuing this semester the same way the last one ended: with online classes from their childhood bedrooms.
Though some universities are offering in-person classes, temporary spikes in COVID-19 cases among undergraduate students have led to increased social restrictions, stringent testing requirements and harsh discipline when rules are violated. Caps on gatherings also mean that quintessential freshman year experiences — attending a crowded activity fair or exploring an off-campus party — are off limits.
Schilt, however, never made it campus. She and her mother had driven to Chicago and were staying in a downtown hotel when Loyola changed its plans. Schilt, a nursing major, had arrived early to complete a two-week quarantine in order to attend Loyola’s “Welcome Week.”
“I was absolutely devastated,” Schilt said. “I just kept saying to my mom, ‘I don’t want to go home. I don’t want to leave.' I was really excited to start having more diversity, more opportunities."
At Northwestern University in Evanston, news that dorms and campus facilities would be restricted for freshmen and sophomores came only nine days before campus move-in was to start. As part of the change, administrators also discouraged younger students from relocating to Evanston in the hopes of decreasing the suburb’s density.
Jacqueline McElroy, a Northwestern freshman, had already signed a lease for an off-campus apartment when university officials asked first- and second-year students not to come to the Evanston area. “There was a moment of panic, like, what I am going to do?" she said. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)
That left freshman Jacqueline McElroy, who already signed a lease for an off-campus apartment, confused about what to do. She said she was moving in to her one-bedroom apartment when she got an email about the revised plans.
Advertisement
“There was a moment of panic, like, what I am going to do?" said McElroy, 18, of Falls Church, Virginia. "We paid for the lease. That was done. I don’t think we really could have gotten our money back.”
McElroy, a journalism major, decided to stay because she had a family friend in the area and knew a few other students in the same predicament through social media. While she can stroll campus sidewalks and daydream about what college is like in normal circumstances, she’s not allowed in the library, recreational facilities, dining halls or other school buildings.
Though orientation was held online this year, with many students tuning in from home, McElroy said she’s been able to make some friends since there’s a small community of freshmen living in Evanston. Students typically try to socialize outside on the Lakefill area of campus and in small numbers, with many of the meetups arranged through group text messages.
“This is not the college experience that I wanted but it’s better than me sitting at home,” McElroy said.
Unlike these private schools, some of the state’s largest universities opened residence halls more fully and are offering a limited number of in-person courses. All three schools in the University of Illinois System and Illinois State University in Normal allowed students to return for the fall semester.
At ISU, Isaiah Morton, 18, said he’s struggling to make friends despite living in a campus dorm with a roommate.
Advertisement
Morton, who plans to major in theater and acting, said he doesn’t venture out much for fear of exposing himself to the virus, prefers to pick up food from the dining hall so he can eat in his room and tries to avoid people in Greek life who might be partying irresponsibly.
“I kind of feel like I’m missing out, if I’m being honest,” said Morton, who grew up in Matteson. “For our floor, nobody’s really walking around. I don’t really see that many people. ... I’m doing my best but it’s really hard to make friends when you don’t see everybody.”
All of Morton’s classes are online, which has made the shift to college-level work more challenging. He said a face-to-face setting would help him feel more energized for class and improve his ability to absorb new material.
Overall, though, Morton said he’s glad to be living away from home and charting his own path. While the experience isn’t what he envisioned, he said he can still enjoy the personal autonomy that college life enables.
At the University of Illinois' flagship campus, freshman Eli Shultz gets the unique experience of attending an in-person class. The class, introduction to sports management, also allows students learning from home to participate through video conferencing.
But Shultz, 18, of Buffalo Grove, said the learning environment can be distracting when voices of the remote students, who can’t be seen, are amplified through a microphone. And it’s not easy for him to interact with in-person attendees in the Urbana-Champaign classroom.
Advertisement
There’s no small talk between students because the desks are spaced far apart and the room, which typically seats about 100, has been reconfigured for roughly two dozen, said Shultz, who has not declared a major but hopes to study business.
Outside of class, Shultz had looked forward to Quad Day, an annual tradition when clubs and student organizations seeking new members set up booths in a central spot on campus. The event, however, was moved online, and Shultz said he couldn’t access the virtual version when he tried logging on.
“It’s really hard to find clubs and organizations for extracurriculars, just to get yourself a friend group or to start talking to people,” he said.
University of Illinois at Chicago freshman student athlete Natalie Kowalczuk, center, practices with her teammates on Oct. 10. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
Bonding with others has come more easily for Natalie Kowalczuk, a freshman at U. of I.'s Chicago campus and a member of the women’s track and field team. Though she’s able to partake in campus experiences by living in a suite-style dorm with other athletes, she never has to look too far to recall she’s going to college in the middle of a pandemic.
“Many things are closed in the dorms such as lounge areas, or certain places, like the library, you have to make appointments in order to go in person,” said Kowalczuk, 18, of Mount Prospect. “Masks are worn at all times. It is pretty empty, but I’m glad to just have my teammates around to keep me company.”
It’s unclear if Kowalczuk and the team will be able to compete in their indoor season this winter or the outdoor competitions in the spring. They continue to await word from NCAA.
Advertisement
Being a member of the track and field team and living in a dorm with other athletes has helped freshman Natalie Kowalczuk bond with other students at University of Illinois at Chicago. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)
But for now, Kowalczuk said she’s pleased to be running on a track again after her final high school season ended early, closing most practice facilities.
And she’s grateful to have a built-in community from her sport.
“To make friends, I’d say if I wasn’t on the track team, I would definitely have a hard time finding them,” she said. “Since everything is online, you can’t really meet anyone.”
echerney@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-10-21--Band of Bohemia, the nation’s only Michelin-starred brewpub, files for bankruptcy

“ The 2020 COVID-19 pandemic has been devastating for so many and even though this closing is personal to us @ @ @ @ @ all of us to look at the bigger picture and understand that the reality is @ @ @ @ @ be forced to shut their doors , as they aren ’ t receiving much needed @ @ @ @ @ says , according to a copy provided by Carroll .
“ Please reach out to @ @ @ @ @ , senators and anyone else who can make a difference , so that your other @ @ @ @ @ have to say goodbye as well .
”

Five-year-old Band of Bohemia, whose pioneering vision of brewing beer and serving creative, ambitious food was ultimately rewarded with a coveted Michelin star, is going out of business after filing for bankruptcy.
Launched in 2015 by two former employees of the renowned Alinea restaurant, Band of Bohemia filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation Friday in the Northern District of Illinois.
Advertisement
According to court records, Band of Bohemia is more than $1 million in debt. But in a statement Wednesday, Band of Bohemia founders Michael Carroll and Craig Sindelar blamed the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic for the closure.
“Due to COVID-19, we have filed for bankruptcy and closed our doors,” Carroll said by email. “It has been a great five years of serving Chicago and the world, but it is now time to focus on our health and our families.”
Advertisement
The restaurant has been closed since July, when Band of Bohemia said it would be shuttering temporarily.
The restaurant has about $223,000 in assets and about $1.3 million in debt, according to court records. Its largest creditor is Bancorp Bank, but Band of Bohemia also owes thousands of dollars to dozens of small companies.
Among those owed money are several Chicago-area businesses that range from food, beer and wine vendors to companies that sell plants, ice and firewood. It also owes $100,000 in rent and taxes, records show.
Band of Bohemia secured $400,000 in loans through the Paycheck Protection Program in April, according to court records.
Band of Bohemia co-owners Michael Carroll, left, and Craig Sindelar are seen at their restaurant on Oct. 7, 2019, in Chicago. (Kristen Norman/for the Chicago Tribune)
Ever since announcing its intentions of opening in 2013, Band of Bohemia made its ambition plain. At the time, Carroll, a former baker at Alinea and brewer at Half Acre Beer Co., said he envisioned Band of Bohemia as “an upscale, contemporary style of brewpub leaning toward the Michelin-star mindset.”
The restaurant finally opened in November 2015 and struggled mightily for its first year. It was on the verge of going under until the restaurant was awarded a Michelin star during the fall of 2016.
The honor quite likely saved Band of Bohemia, its founders have said, transforming its dining room from nearly empty to full virtually overnight.
Band of Bohemia retained its Michelin star every year through 2019, when stars were last awarded. Along the way, it became one of the world’s most unique brewpubs by tailoring its food to its arcane approach to brewing, such as a stout brewed with roasted parsnip, sassafras root, fennel, chicory, sarsaparilla, vanilla, cinnamon, ginger, bay rum leaves, cubeb pepper, yucca and molasses.
Advertisement
However, the restaurant was also dogged by controversy. When Band of Bohemia’s former executive chef, Ian Davis, left Band of Bohemia, on New Year’s Eve 2018, it was portrayed as due to creative differences.
At the time, Sindelar told the Chicago Tribune that the restaurant didn’t “want to lose any of our concept or our idea of what Band of Bohemia is ... he was looking for something a bit different.”
Weeks later, however, allegations emerged that Davis had behaved inappropriately toward women at the restaurant.
This summer, allegations emerged both anonymously online and by former employees that Carroll and Sindelar were aware of complaints about Davis’ alleged treatment of female employees, but failed to fully investigate or hold the chef accountable. Carroll and Sindelar denied the allegations to the Chicago Tribune.
In July, apparently fueled by the allegations, and after trying to make a go of it during the COVID-19 pandemic with duck, salmon or vegetarian “picnic packs” priced from $36 to $48, Band of Bohemia announced a temporary closure on Instagram.
“We have decided to close our doors for the next few weeks to learn, and reflect on our faults, our deaf ears and the feelings of those who we have caused harm,” the restaurant said in the posting.
Advertisement
Band of Bohemia beers were rarely familiar as contemporary American craft beers, but could work well with the restaurant's unique menu, which was built off the flavor profiles of its beer. (Kristen Norman/ for the Chicago Tribune)
“It was never our intention to come to this path, but as the voices have said, we need to find a way into a new era of how restaurants are run and focused. We have listened. We hear you. We will continue our discussions on how we will forge a new path forward, and how we will change.”
Band of Bohemia plans to issue a statement on its website announcing the closure, Carroll said.
“The 2020 COVID-19 pandemic has been devastating for so many and even though this closing is personal to us, it is important for all of us to look at the bigger picture and understand that the reality is so many more restaurants will be forced to shut their doors, as they aren’t receiving much needed support,” the statement says, according to a copy provided by Carroll. “Please reach out to your public officials, congressman, senators and anyone else who can make a difference, so that your other favorite establishments won’t have to say goodbye as well.”
According to court records, Band of Bohemia is liquidating furniture, artwork and an array of kitchen and brewing equipment, including stoves, refrigerators, a wood fire grill and walk-in cooler. The restaurant is in the midst of a lease that expires in May 2024.
Sindelar and Carroll each owned 18.75% of the business with an array of investors, according to records.
Band of Bohemia began the process of filing for bankruptcy Sept. 8, when it retained attorneys for the proceeding, according to court filings.
Advertisement
jbnoel@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-10-21--Column: Chicago Architecture Biennial will go on next year with new format and gritty subject matter

Column: Chicago Architecture Biennial will go on next year with new format and gritty subject matter: Finding creative uses for city’s vacant lots

In addition to vacant lots , he said , the biennial likely will address the need to rethink other aspects @ @ @ @ @ cited how , during the pandemic , city officials have converted some roads into “ @ @ @ @ @ be used by vehicles , bikes and pedestrians .

Hayo Tikba (The Fire Inside), 2019 by Santiago X (Koasati/Chamoru) part of the The Chicago Architecture Biennial held at the Chicago Cultural Center on Sept. 17, 2019. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)
The show — the architecture show, that is — will go on.
Advertisement
After weeks of uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, organizers of the Chicago Architecture Biennial on Wednesday announced they will hold the fourth edition of the global architecture festival next year, but with a new, neighborhood-centric format — and a gritty subject matter.
The event, titled “The Available City,” will build on a Chicago architecture professor’s long-term efforts to find creative uses for thousands of vacant city-owned lots. It will ask viewers to ponder how shared spaces, like small community gardens, affect cities' quality of life.
Advertisement
The topic dovetails with Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s $750 million “Invest South/West” program to boost investment in struggling neighborhoods on the city’s South and West sides.
In a news release, the mayor said she was “thrilled” that the biennial “will be focused and grounded in our neighborhoods that can benefit from it the most.”
The decision to proceed comes as the pandemic has caused widespread disruption in the arts, forcing Broadway theaters to remain shuttered until at least May 30, 2021, and turning the large gatherings of global art and architecture fairs into potential health hazards.
In response, organizers have postponed major events like the Venice Architecture Biennale, whose start was put off twice — first, from May to August, then to May 2021.
The Chicago biennial, which bills itself as North America’s largest exhibition of contemporary architecture and design, plans to combine outdoor and online events and exhibitions with indoor events, the latter if health conditions permit.
Because of the uncertainty posed by the pandemic, fewer exhibits may be shown at the Chicago Cultural Center, the palatial former public library across Michigan Avenue from Millennium Park that has served as the event’s main venue since the biennial began in 2015.
“This is an exercise in flexibility,” the event’s chairman, Chicago lawyer Jack Guthman, told me.
David Brown, the 2021 Chicago Architecture Biennial artistic director, is a professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago. (Courtesy of Chicago Architecture Biennial/Nathan Keay)
The biennial’s artistic director will be David Brown, a professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago’s architecture school.
Advertisement
Brown participated in the inaugural 2015 biennial with an exhibition, also called “The Available City,” which explored how 15,000 city-owned vacant lots could be transformed into usable public spaces rather than conventional reuses like urban farms.
Since then, Brown has worked with community-based organizations, connecting them with architects and designers to develop plans to turn individual lots or combinations of lots into small parks, plazas and buildings of various sizes.
In an interview, Brown said he’s been working with a community group in North Lawndale, but, to date, none of his plans have been built.
In addition to vacant lots, he said, the biennial likely will address the need to rethink other aspects of urban life. He cited how, during the pandemic, city officials have converted some roads into “shared streets” that can be used by vehicles, bikes and pedestrians.
The biennial, he said, is about the “latent possibilities for cities.”
Rather than starting from the ground up, the 2021 biennial will expand on Brown’s work — an advantage at a time when the pandemic has cut opportunities for the event’s artistic director to travel and seek out architects for the event.
Advertisement
“That’s one of the reasons we’re really confident we can do this," said Sarah Herda, the co-artistic director of the 2015 biennial and a member of the organization’s board. “We feel like it’s really a good moment” to reunite with Brown and take his research forward, she said.
Previous editions of the biennial have featured models, drawings, installations and other work by more than 350 architects, designers and artists from more than 40 nations.
Stressing that the 2021 biennial will seek to retain that international flavor, Herda said the event might display projects from around the world that deal with issues like those Brown has explored in his research.
Out-of-town architects might communicate with Chicago community groups via Zoom or other online forums, she said.
The Danish Arts Foundation, which participated in the 2019 biennial, will participate with a project developed by a Danish artist or artistic team that follow’s the show’s theme and is done in collaboration with Chicago residents.
In another change from previous years, when the show began in September and ran until January, the 2021 biennial will feature advance programs that lead up to a “critical mass” of events that start in September, Herda said.
Advertisement
“Even before the pandemic, we’ve been working to re-imagine the biennial as a year-round organization,” she said.
Chicago Tribune Opinion Weekdays Read the latest editorials and commentary curated by the Tribune Opinion team. By submitting your email to receive this newsletter, you agree to our Subscriber Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy >
The biennial’s first event, scheduled for Tuesday, will be an online conversation between Brown and California landscape architect Walter Hood, winner of a MacArthur Foundation “genius” grant, who participated in the 2019 biennial.
As in previous years, the nonprofit organization that runs the biennial will present the event in cooperation with the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events. A lead sponsor has yet to be named. “We’re still actively fundraising,” Herda said.
In the past, the free-to-the-public event has drawn crowds that city officials estimated at about 500,000 per year. It remains to be seen if the biennial will have the same drawing power when it is spread across different venues throughout the city.
With Thursday’s announcement, the biennial becomes the second Chicago architecture organization to shift from indoor activity to outdoor events and online platforms in response to the pandemic. Open House Chicago, which normally gives participants access to the interiors of Chicago buildings, is presenting outdoor and online tours before it closes Sunday.
Blair Kamin is a Tribune critic.
Advertisement
bkamin@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @BlairKamin


chicagotribune--2020-10-21--Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle proposes raising Forest Preserves budget next year with

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle proposes raising Forest Preserves budget next year with rainy day funds

The 7.6 % increase for her 2021 budget plan compared with this year ’ s spending blueprint is due in @ @ @ @ @ 40 % of a $ 43.9 million corporate reserve fund maintained by the Forest Preserves @ @ @ @ @ Tuesday speech .
The total proposed budget would land at about $ 134.2 million , @ @ @ @ @ intended for purchasing green lands and catching up on maintenance .
But austerity measures spurred @ @ @ @ @ still reflected in Preckwinkle ’ s plan .

County Board President Toni Preckwinkle’s proposal for the Forest Preserves budget next year would tap rainy day funds in order to increase spending, she announced while warning of the long-term financial outlook of the 70,000-acre district.
The 7.6% increase for her 2021 budget plan compared with this year’s spending blueprint is due in part to tapping more than 40% of a $43.9 million corporate reserve fund maintained by the Forest Preserves, Preckwinkle said during a Tuesday speech. The total proposed budget would land at about $134.2 million, with much of the increase intended for purchasing green lands and catching up on maintenance. But austerity measures spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic are still reflected in Preckwinkle’s plan.
Advertisement
“None of us know how long this pandemic will continue or what turns it will take,” Preckwinkle said. “Because of that and because the Forest Preserves' reserve funds are not an endless resource, this proposed budget does not address bigger issues facing the Forest Preserves.”
Sign up for The Spin to get the top stories in politics delivered to your inbox weekday afternoons.
Advertisement
Despite a swell of visitors during the pandemic, the district’s nontax revenue in 2021 is predicted to drop 26%, mostly due to a continued drop in event permits, campground fees and aquatic centers. There also will likely be less investment income if interest rates dip as expected.
To offset this, an ongoing hiring freeze, started this spring with the exception of the preserves' police department and other essential staff, would possibly last until the spring of 2021, and nonpersonnel cuts between 10% and 13% would strike all departments. This would contribute to a 1.9% dip in the corporate budget, which funds the district’s day-to-day operations.
The overall plan was met with cautious approval from Commissioner Larry Suffredin, D-Evanston, who had voted “no” last year on what he described as another “maintenance budget.” He hopes in 2022, a midterm election year, he can push through a referendum to slightly increase real estate taxes for the preserves, which are limited in funds because it does not have a sales tax levy.
“This is probably the best budget she could present at this point,” Suffredin said. “But we’re in a holding pattern, and while that’s better than slipping backwards, it’s not going forward.”
In Preckwinkle’s plan, no new taxes or fees would arrive with the exception of a routine 1% property tax raise, or about 50 cents per household, to capture inflation. That increase has happened annually for about the past decade. About 83% of the forest preserves' operating budget is funded by property taxes, and that revenue for next year is anticipated to total $97.3 million.
The pension fund appropriation would be reduced from $4.1 million this year to $3.9 million, the most the district can allocate next year under a state law formula, while funds for real estate purchases, capital improvements and self-insurance would go up. About $23.3 million would maintain funds for the Brookfield Zoo and Chicago Botanic Garden, two partners of the district that sit on forest preserves land.
“The Forest Preserves fiscal year 2021 budget will continue to advance its role as an asset for all of us in Cook County, as open space for nature in our densely populated region, a mitigation against climate change, a place for be outdoors, a 70,000-acre classroom and much more,” Preckwinkle said.
ayin@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-10-21--Watch live: Gov. J.B. Pritzker gives a COVID-19 update

Gov .
J.B. Pritzker will give an update on the state ’ s response to the coronavirus in a briefing @ @ @ @ @ the latest updates on COVID-19 in Illinois here .

This website stores data such as cookies to enable essential site functionality, as well as marketing, personalization, and analytics. By remaining on this website, you indicate your consent.


chicagotribune--2020-10-21--Mayor Lori Lightfoot outlined her 2021 budget. Here are 5 things you need to know.

Facing a $ 1.2 billion budget shortfall next year , Mayor Lori Lightfoot outlined her spending blueprint for the 2021 @ @ @ @ @ plan calls for last-ditch cuts and tax hikes to attempt to right Chicago ’ s @ @ @ @ @ pandemic upturned city finances .
The mayor must now sell her proposal to the City @ @ @ @ @ highlights :

Mayor Lori Lightfoot delivers her budget address on Oct. 21, 2020, in Council Chambers at City Hall. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)
Facing a $1.2 billion budget shortfall next year, Mayor Lori Lightfoot outlined her spending blueprint for the 2021 fiscal year. Her budget plan calls for last-ditch cuts and tax hikes to attempt to right Chicago’s fiscal ship after the coronavirus pandemic upturned city finances. The mayor must now sell her proposal to the City Council. Here are some highlights:
Property taxes
There would be a $94 million property tax increase. The city estimates that hike would land at $56 more a year for Chicago’s median home value of $250,000. Chicago property taxes would increase each year based on the Consumer Price Index, under Lightfoot’s plan.
Advertisement
Sign up for The Spin to get the top stories in politics delivered to your inbox weekday afternoons.
Layoffs
About 350 city employees would be laid off. More than 1,900 vacant positions would be eliminated and nonunion workers would be required to take five unpaid furlough days. The layoffs wouldn’t go into effect until March 1.
Advertisement
Debt restructuring
There would be about $501 million in refinancing and restructuring of city debt.
[ Read Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s prepared budget address ]
Funding increase
An additional $5 million would fund community-based violence prevention and mental health groups, a cohort Lightfoot has been criticized for not supporting enough.
Federal assistance
No new federal help is expected by the time the budget takes effect Jan 1.
ayin@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-10-21--Jeanne Ives criticizes Rep. Sean Casten for an upcoming appearance with Pelosi; he says GOP ‘being c

Jeanne Ives criticizes Rep. Sean Casten for an upcoming appearance with Pelosi; he says GOP ‘being captured by a crazy fringe’

“ It seems that the problem with them is that they are effective and have a Republican perspective , ” @ @ @ @ @ email in a response to questions from the Tribune .
“ They are owned by @ @ @ @ @ a conservative .
Last time I checked it wasn ’ t illegal to be a @ @ @ @ @ am sure if Nancy Pelosi had her way . )
...
I think the problem @ @ @ @ @ tries to pass themselves off as unbiased .
”

With thousands of ballots already cast and less than two weeks to go until Election Day, the campaign for the 6th Congressional District has kicked into a new gear.
Republican challenger Jeanne Ives is criticizing first-term Democratic U.S. Rep. Sean Casten for an upcoming scheduled online event with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and highlighted the congressman’s absence from a Tuesday night WTTW forum on the “Chicago Tonight” program.
Advertisement
Casten, in turn, continues to spotlight his messages on climate change and the coronavirus, lambasting Republicans for their stances and saying the party “is now being captured by a crazy fringe.”
“And here’s the thing: there isn’t a single senior GOP official with the political talents or moral fiber to stop it,” Casten posted on Twitter on Tuesday.
Advertisement
The back-and-forth follows a New York Times report that Ives paid $55,000 over three years to a company that publishes stories in local publications that often are based directly on Republican candidates' news releases and talking points. Publications such as the DuPage Policy Journal, the Illinois Valley Times and the North Cook News are run by Brian Timpone, a former television reporter and spokesman for the Illinois State House Republican leader.
Rep. Sean Casten, left, and Jeanne Ives, both shown in 2018, are vying for the Illinois 6th Congressional District seat in Chicago's western and northwest suburbs. (Terrence Antonio James and Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune))
Ives spokeswoman Kathleen Murphy said “we are not paying them in this race” and maintained the business arrangement was “not paying for coverage.”
She also said, “Any media is effective as long as you get your message out."
Sign up for The Spin to get the top stories in politics delivered to your inbox weekday afternoons.
Timpone said in a 2018 Tribune story that his publications could be compared to American journalism in the 18th and 19th centuries in which writers reported from clearly identified political points of view.
“I’m a conservative Republican. I don’t hide from it, and I never will,” Timpone said in that story. “You can call me biased. You can call me one-sided. … I just don’t lie about it. I try to be fair in my coverage.”
The Times quoted Ives as denying paying for positive coverage.
“It seems that the problem with them is that they are effective and have a Republican perspective,” Murphy said in a follow-up email in a response to questions from the Tribune. “They are owned by a businessman who is also a conservative. Last time I checked it wasn’t illegal to be a conservative (although, I am sure if Nancy Pelosi had her way.) ... I think the problem comes in when an outlet tries to pass themselves off as unbiased.”
Advertisement
The Times also reported that employees at the Illinois Opportunity Project, a conservative advocacy group, requested dozens of articles about specific Republican politicians in Illinois. Murphy confirmed she worked for the project as director of communications from 2014 until 2019. She also served as Ives' spokesman when the Republican ran for governor in the 2018 primary against Gov. Bruce Rauner.
As for the WTTW appearance, Ives took part by herself. She said that local schools and sports programs should be allowed to reopen and that there should be “a focused protection on our most vulnerable” while allowing other parts of the economy to reopen. On Facebook, she said Casten’s decision not to take part “just shows how unqualified you are to be a Congressman.”
“Sean, if you want to be a legislator you have to accept that there are people who think differently than you do,” Ives posted. “You’re going to have to have discussions and debates about issues (without calling people names). As a legislator, I was involved in many debates. Some I won. Some I lost. But I never backed away from them.”
Casten campaign spokesman Jacob Vurpillat said the congressman had a scheduling conflict with the WTTW event and a replacement date could not be found. Host Phil Ponce said, “Congressman Sean Casten declined our invitation for tonight’s forum.”
Ives also directed fire toward Casten over his scheduled Thursday event with Pelosi, which comes after weekend online events with New Jersey U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, a onetime Democratic presidential candidate, and California U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff, one of the leaders of the Democrats' impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump.
“We’ve got Nancy Pelosi worried that she will lose one of her most loyal tax-and-spend lackeys: Sean Casten,” Ives said in a statement posted on Facebook. “But voters saw how the candidates in this race reacted when crisis hit. Casten looked to Pelosi for a DC handout. I reached out to you. In this district, you know your choice going into the voting booth: Sean Casten believes in government and politicians. I believe in you.”
Advertisement
poconnell@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-10-21--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--2020-10-21--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--2020-10-21--Daily Illinois coronavirus graphs: 69 new deaths, 4,342 new confirmed cases and 66,791 new test resu

Daily Illinois coronavirus graphs: 69 new deaths, 4,342 new confirmed cases and 66,791 new test results

Illinois announced 4,342 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 Wednesday for a total of 355,217 .
The state also announced 69 @ @ @ @ @ of 9,345 and 66,791 new test results for a total of 6.95 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--2020-10-21--Column: Second stimulus check unlikely, but Americans will get free ‘Went Broke For Amy Coney Barret

Column: Second stimulus check unlikely, but Americans will get free ‘Went Broke For Amy Coney Barrett!’ T-shirts

Look , it ’ s not like there ’ s any reason to hold off on the lifetime appointment of @ @ @ @ @ to an Associated Press report Wednesday , “ served for nearly three years on the @ @ @ @ @ that effectively barred admission to children of same-sex parents and made it plain that openly @ @ @ @ @ ’ t welcome in the classroom.
” ( It ’ s fine .
You ’ @ @ @ @ @ free T-shirt that reads : “ Check Out My Shirt , Gay and Lesbian Friends @ @ @ @ @ Marriages Were Struck Down !
” )

A second stimulus check for American workers struggling through the coronavirus pandemic is unlikely to come anytime soon. That’s the bad news.
The good news for people unable to pay rent or buy luxury products like food or shoes for their children is that their sacrifice will help Republican lawmakers maintain their long-standing commitment to being profoundly unhelpful to people who aren’t wealthy. It will also give Republicans in the U.S. Senate the time they need to rush conservative Judge Amy Coney Barrett onto the U.S. Supreme Court.
Advertisement
Don’t worry. I’m sure every American who would have received a stimulus check and every business that might have benefited from a second COVID-19 relief package will get a T-shirt that reads: “I Went Broke To Get Amy Coney Barrett On the Supreme Court!”
And that’s a really nice thing to have.
Advertisement
On Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, sipping a warm cup of orphan tears, told his Republican colleagues/co-conspirators that voting on a roughly $2 trillion relief deal being worked out between House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin might delay the Senate’s plan to render the word “hypocrisy” meaningless by seating a new Supreme Court justice days before an election.
McConnell also worries a relief bill that could help American families might divide Republican lawmakers, many of whom have a long-standing commitment to callously disregarding the needs of the people they serve.
Coronavirus cases are surging in states across the country, raising the likelihood of new economic shutdowns that would threaten restaurants, bars and other businesses already failing to make ends meet. The unemployment rate remains high and Americans are wildly in favor of lawmakers passing a new stimulus package.
A CNBC/Change Research poll released Tuesday found that 66% of likely voters believe the Senate should make coronavirus relief its top priority, with only 34% saying Barrett’s nomination to the high court should be the priority.
[ Second stimulus check updates: COVID-19 relief talks inch forward, but Mitch McConnell is resistant ]
Again, this sounds like a clear-cut chance for Republican senators to help Americans in a time of crisis and follow the will of the people. But it overlooks one key factor: Republican senators don’t want to do either of those things.
And trust me, it will be fine, because every soon-to-be homeless American will receive a 100% cotton T-shirt that reads: “I Lost My Home And Business So Republican Senators Could Maintain Their Conservative Bona Fides, And All I Got Was This Amazing T-shirt And A Chance To Lift Myself Up By My Bootstraps!”
It’s a totally reasonable trade-off.
Granted, a new Columbia University study found that while aid from the first coronavirus relief package briefly offset growing poverty rates, the number of Americans living in poverty has grown by 8 million since May. And there are now 55 million Americans living in poverty.
Advertisement
But that study did not take into account the emotional lift America’s poor will get when they see a new Supreme Court justice seated by the same people who said seating a Supreme Court justice during an election year is a terrible thing to do. The study also flatly ignored the T-shirt program, which will entitle every unemployed American to one short-sleeve shirt that reads: “It’s Only Bad When Democrats Do It! LOL!”
Look, it’s not like there’s any reason to hold off on the lifetime appointment of a judge who, according to an Associated Press report Wednesday, “served for nearly three years on the board of private Christian schools that effectively barred admission to children of same-sex parents and made it plain that openly gay and lesbian teachers weren’t welcome in the classroom.” (It’s fine. You’re going to love the free T-shirt that reads: “Check Out My Shirt, Gay and Lesbian Friends! Also, Sorry Your Marriages Were Struck Down!”)
Seating Barrett is clearly more important than Americans losing their homes. After all, you can get another home. How often do you have a chance to get a Supreme Court justice whose very willingness to be seated under these conditions raises serious questions about her judgment and character?
While President Donald Trump has said he wants a coronavirus aid package to pass — “I want to do it even bigger than the Democrats,” he told Fox News — he’s presently dealing with far more important matters, like attacking journalist Lesley Stahl of “60 Minutes” because she apparently asked him some tough questions he didn’t like.
Trump spent time Tuesday night tweeting about Stahl, and reportedly even huddled with advisers to figure out how to publicly attack her before “60 Minutes” airs the interview.
At a rally Tuesday night, Trump told the crowd: “Oh, and you have to watch what we do to ’60 Minutes.' You’ll get such a kick out of — you’re going to get a kick out of it. Lesley Stahl is not going to be happy.”
Advertisement
Voters in swing states have been deeply concerned about Lesley Stahl being too happy, so this is unquestionably a winning message for the president.
And I’m sure his supporters, should they lose their jobs or slide into poverty, will believe it’s all worth it once they receive T-shirts that read: “Lost My Television In The Foreclosure, But I Bet The Look On Lesley Stahl’s Face Was Priceless!”
rhuppke@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-10-21--100 million COVID-19 tests and counting. Why test-maker Abbott doesn’t expect demand to slow soon.

“ The consumer behavior that ’ s been created , the new channels that we ’ ve opened up with @ @ @ @ @ ’ s airports , retail stores , more physicians ' offices — the app ecosystem @ @ @ @ @ , all that is going to remain , and it will remain for all the @ @ @ @ @ we currently have and will be rolling out , ” Ford said .

Abbott Laboratories has sold more than 100 million COVID-19 tests, and expects demand for the tests to remain strong throughout next year.
Demand for the tests helped increase north suburban-based Abbott’s sales by nearly 10% for the quarter that ended Sept. 30, compared with the same time frame last year, said Robert Ford, president and CEO, during an earnings call Wednesday. The company sold $880 million worth of the tests in the last quarter.
Advertisement
Abbott’s seventh COVID-19 test, an antibody test meant to show whether a person recently had COVID-19, gained emergency use authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration earlier this month. And in August, Abbott announced it would hire 2,000 temporary workers in Gurnee to make a rapid antigen test.
Advertisement
Although Ford said Wednesday he expects a strong testing environment through 2021, he sees demand for COVID-10 testing eventually slowing down and looking more like demand for flu tests.
He was optimistic, however, about Abbott’s prospects, saying that the company will build on habits created by its COVID-19 testing, namely that the tests are often processed at the places where patients seek care, rather than being sent to outside labs.
Abbott Laboratories' BinaxNOW rapid COVID-19 nasal swab test was approved by the Food and Drug Administration on Aug. 26, 2020. BinaxNOW is the first rapid coronavirus test that doesn’t need any special computer equipment to get results. (Abbott Laboratories)
“The consumer behavior that’s been created, the new channels that we’ve opened up with rapid testing — whether it’s airports, retail stores, more physicians' offices — the app ecosystem that we’re building, all that is going to remain, and it will remain for all the other assays (tests) we currently have and will be rolling out,” Ford said.
A company called XpresCheck recently announced plans to offer COVID-19 tests developed by Abbott at JFK and Newark Liberty international airports and said it was in talks about offering the tests at O’Hare International Airport as well.
Ford said Abbott’s other lines of business are also moving in a positive direction. The company’s sales of medical devices and nutritional products, such as Ensure and Pedialyte, were up during this last quarter compared with the same quarter last year. Sales of established pharmaceuticals were down 9.3%.


chicagotribune--2020-10-21--Human remains found in field near Champaign identified 25 years later as a woman never reported miss

Human remains found in field near Champaign identified 25 years later as a woman never reported missing

Since her remains were identified , investigators have determined that she worked at a number of fast food restaurants in @ @ @ @ @ a gas station in Fina , Texas .
Authorities say she gave birth to a @ @ @ @ @ she was living in Kewanee , Illinois , but gave the boy to a friend @ @ @ @ @ at for a carnival at the Henry County Fair in Cambridge , Illinois .

URBANA — The remains of a woman have finally been identified a quarter of a century after they were discovered in a central Illinois field about 150 miles from her family home.
The Champaign News-Gazette reported Wednesday that authorities were able to identify the woman as Keri Lyn Wyant by comparing DNA extracted from bones found in 1995 near Thomasboro to DNA that had been uploaded to open source genealogy sites.
Advertisement
And while authorities declined to talk about a cause of death, citing the ongoing criminal investigation, they did report just last year that she died either by blunt-force trauma or was fatally shot.
Now authorities know her name, they say they are hopeful they can find someone who knew Wyant and investigate her death.
Advertisement
“We owe it to her and to her family to bring them closure,” Champaign County Sheriff Dustin Heuerman said at a news conference Tuesday at the coroner’s office.
Wyant was born in Galesburg in October 1971, attended high school in nearby Galva, and left home when she was about 14 years old. After she left home, she lived with relatives for a while then may have moved to a shelter in Peoria, according to her parents, who are still alive.
Since her remains were identified, investigators have determined that she worked at a number of fast food restaurants in the area and even at a gas station in Fina, Texas. Authorities say she gave birth to a son in May 1994 while she was living in Kewanee, Illinois, but gave the boy to a friend before she went to work at for a carnival at the Henry County Fair in Cambridge, Illinois.
Investigators believe it was the carnival that might have brought her to Champaign County in 1994, since its operator had bookings at fairs in the area at that time.
Wyant was 23 or 24 when she was last seen alive, but perhaps because of her somewhat nomadic lifestyle, nobody ever reported her missing.
“It certainly does seem like she was moving around a lot,” said Dwayne Roelfs, a Champaign County Sheriff’s office investigator.
Now, though, Northrup and Roelfs hope that somebody who worked with Wyant will learn about her death and provide information to investigators that might point them to Wyant’s killer.


chicagotribune--2020-10-21--Read Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s prepared budget address

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot delivered her 2021 budget address on Wednesday .
Here are her prepared remarks .
Read the @ @ @ @


chicagotribune--2020-10-21--Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s budget address

The new owners of the pie-wedge-shaped , two-bedroom house near downtown Deerfield put it on the Airbnb market .


chicagotribune--2020-10-21--Watch live: Mayor Lori Lightfoot delivers her 2021 budget address

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot will deliver her 2021 budget address at 10 a.m. Read the latest here .
And read @ @ @ @ @


chicagotribune--2020-10-21--Trump cuts short a ‘60 Minutes’ interview, then taunts Lesley Stahl

The person familiar with the situation noted that the image tweeted by Trump was taken immediately after the interview with @ @ @ @ @ of whom had been tested for coronavirus .
Stahl was wearing a mask leading into @ @ @ @ @ , this person said .
The White House had previously agreed its tape the interview @ @ @ @ @ purposes only .
A representative for “ 60 Minutes ” declined to make producers available @ @ @ @

President Donald Trump has done two interviews for ‘‘60 Minutes” with its veteran correspondent Lesley Stahl. The third, as it turns out, could be the last.
Trump cut short an interview with Stahl Tuesday at the White House that was being taped for presentation on the CBS News program this Sunday, according to a person familiar with the matter, confirming reports posted earlier on Twitter. The president subsequently posted a clip of Stahl at the White House today, noting that she was not wearing a mask, and then, in a second tweet, suggested he might make available a tape of his exchange with Stahl before “60 Minutes” airs this weekend.
Advertisement
The person familiar with the situation noted that the image tweeted by Trump was taken immediately after the interview with the CBS team, all of whom had been tested for coronavirus. Stahl was wearing a mask leading into her interview with the president, this person said. The White House had previously agreed its tape the interview would be used for archival purposes only. A representative for “60 Minutes” declined to make producers available for immediate comment.
Lesley Stahl of 60 Minutes not wearing a mask in the White House after her interview with me. Much more to come. pic.twitter.com/0plZG6a4fH — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 20, 2020
Stahl, who recovered from an infection of coronavirus earlier this year, interviewed Trump right after he won election to the Oval Office, and again during his presidency – both for “60 Minutes.” The CBS newsmagazine has already announced its plans to present interviews with both candidates in the 2020 race for the White House, as well as the candidates for Vice President – something it usually does in each presidential election cycle.
Advertisement
Trump had been slated to take part in a segment with Vice-President Mike Pence, but did not do so, according to the person familiar with the matter.
The president has in recent days been verbally assailing many journalists via social media — particularly those who are involved with interviewing him for events related to the election. Trump has made derogatory remarks about NBC News Kirsten Welker, who is expected to moderate a second presidential debate later this week between Trump and challenger Joe Biden. His campaign impugned NBC News' Savannah Guthrie last week after she moderated a town hall event with him in Miami.
Later in the day, at a rally in Erie, Penn., Trump again attacked the newsmagazine show. “Oh, and you have to watch, you have to watch what we do to “60 Minutes.” You’ll get such a kick out of it. You’re gonna get a kick out of it. Lesley Stahl’s not gonna be happy.”


chicagotribune--2020-10-21--As opioid crisis marches on, the subject of drug addiction is barely a blip in the presidential elec

As opioid crisis marches on, the subject of drug addiction is barely a blip in the presidential election

After a one-year drop in 2018 , U.S. opioid overdose deaths increased again in 2019 , topping 50,000 for the @ @ @ @ @ provisional data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention .
That accounted for @ @ @ @ @ fatal overdoses from all drugs .
While national data isn ’ t available for most @ @ @ @ @ Press surveyed individual states that are reporting overdoses and found more drug-related deaths amid the @ @ @

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Like millions of Americans, Diane Urban watched the first presidential debate last month at home with her family. When it was over, she turned off the television and climbed into the bed her 25-year-old son Jordan used to sleep in.
It was where she found Jordan’s lifeless body after he overdosed on the opioid fentanyl one morning in April 2019.
Advertisement
After watching President Donald Trump target the son of former Vice President Joe Biden for his history of substance abuse, Urban was reminded again of the shame her son lived with during his own battle with addiction.
“I just think that Trump doesn’t understand addiction,” said Urban, 53, a Republican from Delphos, Ohio, who voted for the president in 2016.
Advertisement
The exchange over Hunter Biden’s struggle with addiction was brief, and neither candidate was asked a follow-up question about their plan to tackle the nation’s drug addiction and overdose crisis.
Though Biden’s campaign has a policy paper on addiction, the issue has barely registered in this year’s presidential campaign, overshadowed by the human and economic toll of the coronavirus outbreak and the Trump administration’s response to the pandemic. Yet drug addiction continues its grim march across the U.S., having contributed to the deaths of more than 470,000 Americans over the past two decades.
And it’s only getting worse.
After a one-year drop in 2018, U.S. opioid overdose deaths increased again in 2019, topping 50,000 for the first time, according to provisional data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That accounted for the majority of the 71,000 fatal overdoses from all drugs. While national data isn’t available for most of 2020, The Associated Press surveyed individual states that are reporting overdoses and found more drug-related deaths amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Ohio, a battleground state in the presidential contest, is on track to have one of its deadliest years of opioid drug overdoses. More residents died of overdoses in May than in any month in at least 14 years, according to preliminary mortality statistics from the state health department.
As Trump nears the end of his first term, some supporters, including Urban, feel left behind by his administration’s drug policies.
During Trump’s first two years in office, 48 of the 59 Ohio counties with reliable data saw their overdose death rates get worse, according to an analysis of CDC data by The Associated Press. The data was compared to overdose death rates in 2015 and 2016, the last two years of the Obama administration.
What that looks like on the ground is mothers donating to GoFundMe accounts and Facebook campaigns so other mothers can bury their children who’ve overdosed. Some parents even reserve a casket while their child is still alive so they are prepared for what they believe is inevitable.
Advertisement
Others become legal guardians of their grandchildren. Among them are Brenda Stewart, 62, and her husband, who adopted their grandchildren a decade ago as their son struggled with addiction. That led Stewart to start The Addict’s Parents United, a non-political support group for parents of children with the disease or who have lost a child to it.
She said what she saw during the debate was “two people yelling at each other,” instead of the substantive policy discussion she believes the issue deserves.
“I feel there needs to be more discussion about this disease on a national stage,” said Stewart, who lives in Columbus, the Ohio state capital. "Kids are dying here every day. I have mothers and fathers losing children almost daily. "
The longtime Republican said she plans to vote for Trump again, but also notes that this disease has no political bias and that it can touch anyone.
The candidates have a chance to address opioid addiction with more substance in their final debate Thursday in Nashville. “American Families” is one of the topics.
Biden talked more frequently of the opioid crisis during the primary. Among his priorities is expanding insurance coverage for drug addiction, including requiring insurers to cover rehabilitation services and mental health treatment.
Advertisement
Biden has sometimes noted his personal connection to drug addiction, citing his son Hunter’s struggles. Trump brought up the matter during the Sept. 29 debate as a point of attack. Biden responded by casting his son as no different than many other Americans who struggle with addiction.
“He’s overtaking it. He’s fixed it. He’s worked on it,” Biden said. “And I’m proud of him. I’m proud of my son.”
Trump at times has spoken sympathetically about addiction, often in reference to his late brother, Fred, who had a lifelong struggle with alcoholism. He was active in addressing the opioid crisis early in his administration.
In 2017, Trump became the first president to declare the opioid crisis a national health emergency. In 2018, he signed a bill increasing federal opioid funding to record levels. A Bipartisan Policy Center study found that opioid-specific federal funding more than doubled in Trump’s first full year in office. As part of that, federal treatment and recovery money increased fourfold.
But with a shortage of medical professionals, states have not been able to spend their entire allocations, and some worry that grants lasting just a year or two will not be sustainable, the report found.
Those involved in addiction treatment and the government’s response say Trump’s approach has been inconsistent and lacked sustained attention.
Advertisement
For example, his policies eased access to drugs that are meant to control opioid addiction, especially for people receiving health coverage through Medicaid. But he also has aligned with Republican lawmakers in trying to repeal President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act, which allows states to make more people eligible for the program.
Trump also has repeatedly tried to slash the budget of the drug control policy office, which is intended to set policy for a drug response that is carried out largely by law enforcement and health agencies. Congress has so far maintained the office’s funding.
Patrick Kennedy, a Democratic former member of Congress appointed to a bipartisan commission Trump formed to address the opioid epidemic, said the president started in the right direction but did not show up at any of the commission’s meetings or follow up sufficiently.
“Trump, for all of his enormous faults, could have really made this a defining achievement of his presidency,” Kennedy said.
Despite the commission’s 56 policy recommendations, the Trump administration has focused most of its efforts on law enforcement to stop the flow of fentanyl, produced mostly in Mexico and China and smuggled into the U.S. Seizures have increased during Trump’s presidency, and experts cite the drug’s potency as a main factor in the rising opioid death toll.
But emphasizing punishment can run counter to a key goal for many recovery advocates — reducing the stigma of addiction and making sure it’s understood as a disease rather than a crime.
Advertisement
“This administration has prioritized a very punitive approach to substance use,” said Grant Smith, director of national affairs for the Drug Policy Alliance, “just like previous administrations.”
The continued stigma is a major obstacle to the nation turning the corner on the opioid crisis, said both Urban and Stewart. The Ohio mothers-turned-activists got involved in addiction recovery work after they saw the gaps in the system when the disease struck home.
“I applaud Biden for standing up for his son because I feel I’m not afraid to speak about my son’s addiction,” Urban said. “If we all just sleep under the rug and close our eyes, it will just continue to get worse.”
Mulvihill reported from Davenport, Iowa. Associated Press data editor Meghan Hoyer in Washington and write Bill Barrow in Atlanta contributed to this report.
Farnoush Amiri is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.


chicagotribune--2020-10-21--2 Milwaukee women charged with drugging men in River North bars and robbing them, netting $85,000 in

2 Milwaukee women charged with drugging men in River North bars and robbing them, netting $85,000 in cash and valuables

Neither woman had a significant criminal history and both are mothers of young children , according to their attorneys .
@ @ @ @ @ person without their knowledge or consent was “ an act of violence , ” and @ @ @ @ @ for Trammell and $ 45,000 for Rainey .
Both are barred from having contact with @ @ @ @ @ was barred from returning to Wisconsin during the case .

Tiana Trammell, left, and Tjwana Rainey, both of Milwaukee, are accused of drugging 10 men who were partying in River North and then robbing them. (Chicago Police Department)
Two Milwaukee women, an expectant mother and a 32-year-old phlebotomist, are accused of drugging 10 men who were partying in River North and then robbing them after they fell unconscious — netting $85,000 in cash, phones and jewelry.
Tiana Trammel, 25, and Tjwana Rainey, 32, ran the scheme from late January until last Sunday, authorities told a Cook County judge on Tuesday.
Advertisement
The two would lead drunken men from the bars and nightclubs of River North, often with an invitation to go back to their place, and then give them a drink from a small glass vial, prosecutors said during a bail hearing.
After downing the drink, the men would black out and later awake either in their own homes or by the side of the road, unharmed but missing their wallets and valuables, prosecutors said.
Advertisement
“We had one victim that awoke at the Lake Forest oasis,” Assistant State’s Attorney Paul Kiefer told Judge Charles Beach II during the hearing broadcast on YouTube.
The women used the stolen credit and debit cards at ATMs at Walmart and Target stores in the Milwaukee area where they live, Kiefer said.
The women were arrested early Sunday in River North after carrying a man from a downtown club to Trammell’s car, authorities said. Both were already on law enforcement’s radar by this time and a tracker had been placed on Trammell’s vehicle.
“The last couple of victims we have in the case, obviously the tracker aligns with what happened to those victims,” he said. Kiefer added that authorities also have surveillance video and license plate readers that captured Trammell’s movements.
Police recovered vials of suspected alcohol that are being analyzed to see what chemicals were used on the men, authorities said.
Trammel and Rainey, who appeared separately before the judge, each face charges of continuing a financial criminal enterprise and possession of a controlled substance.
Neither woman had a significant criminal history and both are mothers of young children, according to their attorneys. But Beach said drugging a person without their knowledge or consent was “an act of violence,” and set bail at $55,000 for Trammell and $45,000 for Rainey. Both are barred from having contact with the victims, and Trammell was barred from returning to Wisconsin during the case.
The criminal tradition of robbing bar hoppers by knocking them out with tainted drinks has its supposed origins in late 19th-century Chicago, where the legendary saloon owner Mickey Finn gave customers laced drinks, stealing money and sometimes clothing.
Advertisement
In recent years, the focus has been on protecting against “date rape” drugs put into cocktails in order to leave people vulnerable to sexual assault.


chicagotribune--2020-10-21--Voters offered a clear contrast in contest between U.S. Rep. Lauren Underwood and state Sen. Jim Obe

Voters offered a clear contrast in contest between U.S. Rep. Lauren Underwood and state Sen. Jim Oberweis

“ I 100 % support someone ’ s right to protest or demonstrate if they see something wrong , ” @ @ @ @ @ criticized Underwood ’ s reaction to recent social unrest around the country .
“ I @ @ @ @ @ .
...
I would also would agree that there have been some very serious mistakes @ @ @ @ @ a few police officers .
And where they are making mistakes , they need to @ @ @ @ @ .

Wearing an “Oberweis for Congress” mask, the Republican candidate for the 14th Congressional District Jim Oberweis sat in a corner booth at his restaurant in west suburban Geneva, talking about the coronavirus pandemic, government waste and jobs.
As he spoke about the need for less government regulation, his puzzlement over how wearing masks has become politicized and President Donald Trump, patrons munched on wood-fired pizza and gulped milkshakes behind him. Half of the restaurant’s tables were closed to promote social distancing.
Advertisement
One man lingered, then told Oberweis that he and others he knew were backing the Republican. Oberweis smiled and rose from his seat, giving the man a fist-bump.
“Good luck, Jim!” another man called out.
Advertisement
Despite the good vibes in his restaurant, Oberweis is running in a tightly split district that was reliably Republican until Rep. Lauren Underwood flipped it for Democrats two years ago.
Oberweis, a dairy magnate from Sugar Grove, has run unsuccessfully for Illinois governor, U.S. senator and U.S. representative, while winning a bid for the state Senate in 2012.
Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 47 U.S. Rep. Lauren Underwood crosses her fingers while talking with supporters after arriving at her election night gathering for the 14th Congressional District race on Nov. 8, 2022, in Plainfield. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)
Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 22 A day after Election Day, Jim Oberweis appears in his office and store at 951 Ice Cream Drive in North Aurora, Nov. 4, 2020. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune)
As the youngest Black women to join the U.S. House, Underwood quickly became a rising star in Democratic circles. The former nurse and health policy adviser during the Barack Obama administration also is well positioned as Americans focus on the coronavirus pandemic.
The two candidates agree on one point: each believes their opponent is out of step with voters in the district that sprawls from Lake County west into DeKalb County and south to Interstate 80. The district, which favored President Donald Trump by 3.9% in 2016, is a mix of dense suburbs, new subdivisions, small towns and farmland.
“I think that the choice between the two of us is very clear for voters,” Underwood said in an interview. “My opponent spends a lot of time attacking me and distorting my record, but not a lot of time talking about legislation. I think that says a lot about his campaign. I mean, he doesn’t have a positive agenda to share with voters.”
“It is a clear contrast and choice,” Underwood said. “We are completely different.”
Oberweis is pinning his hopes on his conservative bona fides: a push for lower taxes, less regulation and a resistance to efforts to defund law enforcement. He has been outspoken on immigration issues in the past and he backs both a southern border wall and the use of technology to thwart illegal immigration.
Underwood, he says, is not a match for the district’s constituents.
Advertisement
“Oh my gosh, she’s way too far to the left,” Oberweis said of Underwood. “She pretends she’s this nice, moderate Democrat who is bipartisan. Nothing could be further from the truth. She’s voted with Nancy Pelosi 100% of the time. She represents Nancy Pelosi, not the district.”
Underwood says it’s Oberweis who is the district’s outlier.
“He’s completely out of touch with our community’s values on issues that are the most important issues in our election: COVID-19 and health care, lowering health care costs. We have not heard an articulation of a plan forward or a point of view that keeps are families safe and healthy," Underwood said.
In a telling sign of the state of the campaign, Underwood was endorsed by the Illinois Farm Bureau’s political action committee in an event featuring a Minooka pumpkin farmer. It’s a key backing since agricultural groups have traditionally supported Republican candidates, and two years ago backed Underwood’s opponent, incumbent Randy Hultgren.
The rookie congresswoman, 40 years younger than her opponent, is also bolstered by a well-stocked campaign fund, allowing her to flood the airwaves and social media will advertising as early voters flock to the polls. Underwood upset Republican Hultgren in 2018, delivering the once reliable GOP territory to the Democrats and helping her party take control of the House during the midterms.
Underwood raised $1.8 million in the third quarter, her campaign reported. She began July with nearly $3.2 million, spent $2.7 million through September and began October with $2.3 million for the final stretch run. Underwood’s campaign has received numerous donations from West Coast tech sector moguls, as well as local money from Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Chicago Cubs co-owner Laura Ricketts.
Advertisement
Underwood last week also released a new television ad today highlighting her legislation, the Lower Insulin Costs Now Act, which Trump signed into law at the end of 2019.
Oberweis reported having $875,841 on hand to start the month after giving his campaign a $600,000 loan. Overall, Oberweis has given his congressional campaign $1.7 million, federal records show. Unlike two years ago, when money from the national parties poured into both 14th District campaigns, Republicans this time around have mostly steered their money elsewhere.
Oberweis shrugged when asked about the lack of money coming from national Republicans.
“We’d always like more support,” he said, theorizing that either people thought he could self-fund his campaign or that the money wasn’t likely to swing the race one way or the other.
Sign up for The Spin to get the top stories in politics delivered to your inbox weekday afternoons.
In 2018, Underwood won with 52% of the vote. Republicans continue to hold considerable sway throughout the 14th District, with many state, county and local positions held by GOP members. The 14th takes on added importance this year because Illinois stands to lose at least one congressional district in the aftermath of the 2020 census. If Underwood holds on to her seat, the Democratically-controlled state legislature will be able to draw new districts with her in mind.
Advertisement
Congressional reapportionment is done after the census results are released. The redistricting process will take place next year.
As health officials warn of the continued dangers of coronavirus, Underwood said the federal government should have been much better prepared for COVID-19.
“The truth is, it didn’t have to be this bad,” Underwood said. “This has been a remarkable failure of leadership from the White House. At the end of the day, we need to get control of this deadly virus with an aggressive national strategy, including robust COVID testing, contact tracing and treatment for patients as we work to develop a vaccine.”
The congresswoman took her criticism a step further, saying that Republican leaders have not only mishandled the response to the pandemic, but “spread misinformation" about the virus, its severity and best practices for how the public should respond.
“That’s so disturbing and inappropriate,” she said.
Trump, she said, “is not a trusted source of information on health care matters.”
Advertisement
Oberweis gives Trump a “B” grade on his handling of the pandemic, crediting the White House for “realizing it early” and banning flights from China. But Oberweis said he is puzzled by the hesitation by some to wear masks, which he says are key to reducing transmission and slowing the spread of the virus.
The different campaign styles of the candidates during the pandemic have showcased the differences over how the two parties are approaching COVID-19.
Oberweis has been active in the field throughout the campaign, holding a series of in-person campaign events on weekends. This past weekend, he also visited several police stations throughout the district in an effort, he said, “to tell them ‘thank you’ for what they do to keep our businesses and lives safe.”
“I 100% support someone’s right to protest or demonstrate if they see something wrong,” said Oberweis, who has criticized Underwood’s reaction to recent social unrest around the country. “I’ve done it myself. ... I would also would agree that there have been some very serious mistakes that have been made by a few police officers. And where they are making mistakes, they need to be held responsible for those.
“But to therefore jump from there to saying we should defund our police departments and that a large number of our men and women in blue are bad people is just absolutely ridiculous.”
Underwood has mostly held her meetings online or in small, socially distant gatherings in supporters' backyards. She calls them “porch parties.” She touts her record on health care matters, including a bill that reduces the cost of insulin that was signed into law by the president, and said she remains focused on making health care more affordable and accessible.
Advertisement
While Oberweis is still campaigning in person, going door-to-door throughout the district, he said he always wears a mask and steps back from the door after someone answers. Most people, he said, are understanding and appreciative, although he has encountered one person who was so angry at the mask they asked him to remove it.
Oberweis said he believes the decision to open schools should be made at the local level and that it is important for them to do so as soon as it is safe because of the benefits to in-person education for students and the detriments of online-only learning on children’s social growth and mental well-being.
Oberweis also said he has been encouraging voters to cast their ballots through the mail if they are hesitant to vote in person. He said he has no concerns about the security or validity of mail-in voting (except, he said, in Cook County).
Oberweis is trying to elevate his message on fighting government waste and corruption, highlighting his work in Springfield on budget issues, streamlining his staff and office space to save taxpayer dollars and focusing on “growing and creating more jobs.”
Underwood, he said, " has never been in the private sector, has never created a job."
With a new batch of early voting sites opening across the district this week, voters will soon decide whose vision for the future aligns more closely with their preferences.
Advertisement
“We’ll find out,” Oberweis said when asked how he was doing, “in about two weeks.”
poconnell@chicagotribune.com