chicagotribune--2020-10-09--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.
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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.
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chicagotribune--2020-10-09--Man indicted for using explosive device at Naperville restaurant in June, federal officials say

Diego Vargas , whose address is unknown , was charged with one count of maliciously attempting to damage and destroy @ @ @ @ @ an explosive device , a statement issued by the offices of the U.S. Attorney for @ @ @ @ @ and the FBI in Chicago said .

A 24-year-old man accused of using an explosive device at a downtown Naperville restaurant has been indicted by a federal grand jury, officials announced.
Diego Vargas, whose address is unknown, was charged with one count of maliciously attempting to damage and destroy a building by means of an explosive device, a statement issued by the offices of the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois and the FBI in Chicago said.
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The indictment says Vargas used the device on June 1 to damage the Egg Harbor Cafe at 175 W. Jackson Ave. in downtown Naperville.
June 1 was the day on which about 250 to 300 people, part of a larger group gathered downtown for an evening Black Lives Matter protest rally, began looting and vandalizing businesses. The release does not say if Vargas' alleged actions occurred during the violent outbreak.
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The Naperville and Aurora police departments were cited in the release as providing assistance in the federal investigation.
Vargas was arrested Wednesday night and in court Friday for a detention hearing. If convicted, he could be sentenced to five to 20 years in federal prison, the release said.


chicagotribune--2020-10-09--Coronavirus at Illinois long-term care facilities: 30,894 confirmed cases and 4,792 deaths

The Illinois Department of Public Health is releasing information on COVID-19 tied to long-term care facilities in Illinois .
The @ @ @ @ @ at 899 long-term care facilities in 80 counties .
Of those , 510 facilities have @ @ @ @ @ , defined as a positive test result in the past 28 days .
In all @ @ @ @ @ be tied to long-term care facilities , with 4,792 deaths , as of Oct. 9

The Illinois Department of Public Health is releasing information on COVID-19 tied to long-term care facilities in Illinois. The data shows outbreaks have occurred at long-term care facilities in 94 counties. Of those, 1,003 facilities have an “active” outbreak, defined as a positive test result in the past 28 days. In all, 71,103 confirmed cases can be tied to long-term care facilities, with 9,263 deaths, as of Jan. 22.


chicagotribune--2020-10-09--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--2020-10-09--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--2020-10-09--Daily Illinois coronavirus graphs: 35 new deaths, 2,818 new confirmed cases and 71,599 new test resu

Daily Illinois coronavirus graphs: 35 new deaths, 2,818 new confirmed cases and 71,599 new test results

Illinois announced 2,818 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 Friday for a total of 313,518 .
The state also announced 35 @ @ @ @ @ of 8,945 and 71,599 new test results for a total of 6.2 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--2020-10-09--Hearing date set for Kyle Rittenhouse after lawyers argue he shouldn’t be extradited to Wisconsin ov

Hearing date set for Kyle Rittenhouse after lawyers argue he shouldn’t be extradited to Wisconsin over Kenosha shooting because he’d be in danger

The filing also argues that sending Rittenhouse to Wisconsin would violate his 14th Amendment due process rights because he would @ @ @ @ @ hazards ” if put in adult jail .
As one piece of evidence for that @ @ @ @ @ Twitter account that describes itself as speaking for an “ imprisoned group of prisoner human @ @ @ @ @ filing cites a tweet reading , “ If he goes to a cell and anyone @ @ @ @ @ location — email it to us .
”

Kyle Rittenhouse, center, walks into the courtroom with attorney Corey Chirafisi for a motion hearing in Kenosha, Wisconsin on Sept. 17, 2021. (Sean Krajacic/The Kenosha News )
A Lake County judge plans to hear arguments at the end of the month as he weighs whether he’ll order Kyle Rittenhouse returned to Wisconsin to face a murder charge and other counts stemming from the fatal shooting of two men and the wounding of a third during protests in Kenosha in August.
Judge Paul Novak said at a brief online hearing Friday morning he’d hear from defense lawyers, prosecutors and any witnesses Oct. 30. Novak did not say when he plans to rule on the Antioch 17-year-old’s potential extradition to Kenosha County.
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Authorities on both sides of the border are seeking to send the teen back to Wisconsin, while his lawyers — who contend he shot the men in self-defense — laid out their objections in a court filing Thursday afternoon. The petition argues, in part, that sending the teen to adult jail in Kenosha County would endanger him.
Kyle Rittenhouse carries a weapon as he walks along Sheridan Road in Kenosha on Aug. 25, 2020, during a night of unrest following the weekend police shooting of Jacob Blake. (ADAM ROGAN/AP)
Rittenhouse is being held without bail in Lake County’s juvenile detention facility. Kenosha County prosecutors charged him with shooting three men with an AR-15-style rifle Aug. 25 during violent protests over white police Officer Rusten Sheskey’s shooting of 29-year-old Black man Jacob Blake a couple of days earlier. Blake was recently discharged from a Wisconsin hospital and is being treated at an Illinois rehabilitation clinic, his uncle told The Associated Press.
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At the video hearing Friday, Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Stephen Scheller pressed for a quick resolution to the extradition question, saying, “The law is pretty clear cut on this.” Rittenhouse defense attorney John M. Pierce argued “there is no reason to rush” and said he wanted the teen to have due process.
The judge called for prosecutors' written position by Oct. 15 and lists of potential witnesses from both sides by Oct. 22. The judge said the hearing Oct. 30 would be held in-person, unlike prior ones that have been held via video because of the ongoing pandemic.
Rittenhouse appeared on video Friday morning in dark jail clothes and a face mask. He said nothing during the discussion of his potential extradition.
The teen’s lawyers have been promoting fundraising efforts for his defense as they argue against his return to Wisconsin.
His attorneys argued in a petition filed late Thursday afternoon that extradition would violate his Fourth Amendment right against unreasonable search or seizure, contending that the video shows “without a shadow of a doubt” he shot in self-defense. Kenosha County prosecutors used video from the scene as the basis of their charges, which accuse the teen of showing “utter disregard for human life.”
The filing also argues that sending Rittenhouse to Wisconsin would violate his 14th Amendment due process rights because he would face a “legion of hazards” if put in adult jail. As one piece of evidence for that, the petition cites a Twitter account that describes itself as speaking for an “imprisoned group of prisoner human rights advocates." The filing cites a tweet reading, “If he goes to a cell and anyone gets a lock on his location — email it to us.”
“To extradite Rittenhouse would be to turn him over to the mob,” the filing states.
The petition also contends there are technical problems with the arrest and charging documents, alleging a missing signature and that the Kenosha County district attorney’s office didn’t show that a prosecutor swore to the facts before a magistrate.
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Lake County State’s Attorney Mike Nerheim said at a news conference outside court Friday morning that he believed the paperwork was in order. He acknowledged there had been threats against Rittenhouse but did not go into detail. Still, he said, “I don’t know that he’s in any more or less danger here than he would be (in Wisconsin).”
Kenosha County prosecutors could not be reached for comment.
Lawyers with experience in extradition cases have told the Tribune that Rittenhouse faces an uphill climb against a process that typically focuses on questions such as whether the person jailed is actually the person charged with the crime.
Chicago attorney Stephen Komie, who has handled numerous extradition cases, said that even if the judge were to find problems with the paperwork, it likely wouldn’t end Rittenhouse’s prosecution. He said that Wisconsin authorities could correct the paperwork and continue to prosecute the teen. Komie said the constitutional arguments “do not make any sense to me” and voiced skepticism they’d succeed.
If convicted of murder as an adult, Rittenhouse could face a life sentence.
Videos show that Rittenhouse — an ardent supporter of police who participated in groups for aspiring officers — was among numerous civilians armed with rifles who interjected themselves into the protests, property destruction and looting that followed Blake’s shooting.
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Kenosha County prosecutors wrote that video showed the teen running across a parking lot, trailed by Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, of Kenosha. Video showed Rosenbaum appearing to throw a plastic bag at Rittenhouse and missing him, prosecutors wrote. A witness told police that Rosenbaum, who appeared on video to be unarmed, had tried to grab the gun before he was fatally shot, prosecutors wrote.
The petition the teen’s lawyers filed Thursday alleges that someone other than Rosenbaum had fired a gun in Rittenhouse’s direction just before the confrontation that killed Rosenbaum. The filing alleges Rosenbaum had threatened Rittenhouse before chasing the teen and lunging for his rifle. The teen fired “under grave risk of immediate harm,” the petition states.
Rittenhouse then ran before someone knocked off his hat, and he tripped and fell, prosecutors wrote. Then, Anthony Huber, 26, of Silver Lake, Wisconsin, approached Rittenhouse with a skateboard as the teen was still on his back, prosecutors wrote. Huber tried to grab the gun as the skateboard “(made) contact” with Rittenhouse’s shoulder before the gunman fired one shot, and Huber collapsed and died, prosecutors alleged.
Rittenhouse’s lawyers argued in their filing that the skateboard hit Rittenhouse’s head and he shot Huber as they wrestled for control of the rifle.
Prosecutors wrote that Rittenhouse then shot a man who had approached him, Gaige Grosskreutz, of West Allis, Wisconsin. Grosskreutz appeared to be holding a handgun when he was wounded in the arm, prosecutors wrote.
The filing the teen’s lawyers made alleges Grosskreutz “lowered his handgun in Rittenhouse’s direction."
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dhinkel@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-10-09--Cicero teachers criticize plan to bring them back into schools to deliver remote lessons in empty cl

Cicero teachers criticize plan to bring them back into schools to deliver remote lessons in empty classrooms

“ This community really puts a lot of trust in their public educators , and we need to be sure @ @ @ @ @ information , so they can make educational decisions for their children , ” Esposito said @ @ @ @ @ strong community and a united community , and most of them are saying , this @ @ @ @ @ for anyone to be back in school buildings .
”

A decision to reopen Cicero District 99 school buildings so educators can deliver remote lessons from their classrooms is potentially dangerous, especially as the city’s COVID-19 positivity rate remains in the double digits, a teachers union representative said.
The district’s recent request that teachers begin delivering remote lessons from empty classrooms in the coming weeks is particularly alarming to teachers because 90% of the district’s families are from the Latino community, which has been hit particularly hard by the virus, said Rachel Esposito, president of the Cicero Council of the West Suburban Teachers Union.
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“Our Cicero community is full of essential workers, and I personally know of students who have multiple family members who have passed away from COVID,” Esposito said. “This is a Latinx community, which has been disproportionately affected by COVID. ... If they bring 1,300 staff members back into the buildings, I’m afraid of what will happen.”
But District 99 Superintendent Rodolfo Hernandez said Thursday that while educators have been allowed to teach from home since last March, having them deliver remote lessons from empty classrooms is safe and provides better access to technologies that can enhance student instruction.
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“We reviewed our plans in early October, and decided the next step will be to bring teachers in to empty classrooms, as we’re not ready to bring our students back right now, because it would not be safe," Hernandez said.
While the district had hoped to welcome students back to school for a hybrid instructional plan on Nov. 4, at the start of the second quarter, Hernandez said given the current COVID-19 positivity rate in Cicero, that goal is highly unlikely.
On Thursday, Hernandez said the most recent public health data for Cicero showed a positivity rate of about 12.6% — around three times the statewide seven-day average of 3.7%.
Citing a large elderly population living in nursing homes as one factor behind the city’s high positivity rate, Hernandez said district officials are still taking a cautious approach to reopening school buildings by first having teachers return to their classrooms without students.
The Cicero district, which has 17 schools, enrolls around 11,000 students in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade, about 95% of whom are from economically disadvantaged families, according to the most recent state report card data.
“We’re not in any hurry to bring our students back until we are confident that the COVID rates are consistently going down,” Hernandez added.
Still, Esposito said with the positivity rate in the community currently in the double digits, having teachers returning to school buildings even without students present is, "dangerous and unwarranted.”
“This community really puts a lot of trust in their public educators, and we need to be sure they are given the right information, so they can make educational decisions for their children,” Esposito said. “This is a strong community and a united community, and most of them are saying, this is not the right time for anyone to be back in school buildings.”
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Other school systems in suburban Chicago have also asked teachers to return to buildings while remote learning continues and have also faced criticism from teachers unions, though some teachers say they prefer to be in school where they have access to more resources
kcullotta@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-10-09--Column: City’s tallest office building in 30 years opens along Chicago River, mixing drama and banal

Column: City’s tallest office building in 30 years opens along Chicago River, mixing drama and banality

Another plus comes at the tower ’ s north end , where a small , unfinished outdoor plaza will provide @ @ @ @ @ dedicated seating for customers of a restaurant from noted chef Jose Andres and the Gibsons @ @ @ @ @ offers fine views of the handsome Boeing headquarters across the river .
The value of @ @ @ @ @ serve as clearings in the urban forest , can not be overstated .

The view along the Chicago River of the new Bank of America Tower on Oct. 7, 2020. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)
Here are three big reasons you should care about the just-completed, hauntingly empty, Bank of America Tower on Chicago’s ever-more-alluring downtown riverfront:
1. The city’s tallest office building since 1990, it represents a strong sign of confidence in the coronavirus-hammered central business district.
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2. The owners of the $775 million project expect to pay more than $25 million a year in property taxes — no small thing with the city’s budget drowning in red ink.
3. The modernist design, a mix of bold structural drama, attractive public spaces and reflective-glass banality, will leave its mark on downtown long after the COVID-19 pandemic has passed.
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Holding down a high-profile site at 110 N. Wacker Drive that’s convenient to downtown’s train stations and previously was occupied by the five-story General Growth Properties (originally Morton Salt) headquarters, the 816-foot tower is the latest sign of how the Chicago River has become a focal point of civic and commercial life.
Skyscrapers, like the neighboring Civic Opera Building at 20 N. Wacker, once turned their back on the polluted river. No more.
Here, the star of the show is the riverfront facade, where a trio of three-pronged structural elements, clad in shiny stainless steel, help support the massive tower, as if they were a waiter’s fingers balancing a stack of plates.
A trio of three-pronged structural elements, clad in shiny stainless steel, help support the massive Bank of America Tower, along the Chicago River, on Oct. 7, 2020. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)
In addition to giving tour boat guides something to yak about, this arresting arrangement advances the vaunted Chicago tradition of skyscrapers, like the X-braced 875 North Michigan Avenue (the former John Hancock Center) that powerfully express their underlying structure.
But there’s a difference between creating an attention-getting part of a building and forming a satisfying whole — which is why this tower, despite its many pluses, is unlikely to make it into anybody’s architectural pantheon.
Ghost floors
The lead tenant, Charlotte, N.C.-based Bank of America, expected to have more than 2,600 people working on its 17 floors of the 56-story tower. But fewer than 200 work there now, according to company spokeswoman Diane Wagner.
Moving boxes remain unpacked. Work stations are covered in plastic sheets. A barista bar, part of a fourth-floor suite of amenities, awaits those yearning for their shot of caffeine.
Plans call for the tower to consolidate employees from four downtown locations, including the landmark Art Deco office building at 135 S. LaSalle St. Yet that’s unlikely to happen until there’s a widely distributed coronavirus vaccine. So it’s too soon to assess how the tower functions as a working office space.
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What can be discerned are the strong similarities and telling differences between the Bank of America Tower and its architectural sibling across the river, 150 North Riverside.
That 51-story office building, which opened in 2017, flaunts diagonally sloping lower walls that narrow to the building’s elevator core, creating an effect that has been compared to a tuning fork or a guillotine.
Chicago-based Goettsch Partners designed both towers for Riverside Investment & Development Co. of Chicago, which co-developed the Bank of America project with its majority partner, Texas-based Howard Hughes Corp.
Not without reason, the firm’s namesake, Jim Goettsch, argues that a roughly 800-foot skyscraper will never amount to anything more than a foothill compared to the 1,451-foot Willis Tower. He’s not one to bother with fancy architectural tops.
“The way [a skyscraper] hits the ground is more important than how it hits the sky,” Goettsch said as he showed me around the tower.
Overcoming a tight site
At 150 North Riverside, the sloping walls enabled Riverside Investment & Development to shoehorn the skyscraper into a tight site constrained by commuter railroad tracks below street level. The daring move turned the long-empty plot into a major commercial asset and endowed the riverfront with ample, well-used public space.
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150 North Riverside along the Chicago River. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
Similarly, Bank of America’s thin, trapezoidal site was too narrow for a conventional high-rise that would have had 45-foot-wide expanses of office space flanking its central elevator cores. Further complicating matters, the City of Chicago required a 30-foot-wide riverwalk, which had to be both accessible to the public and open to the sky.
To squeeze the tower’s 1.5 million square feet of office space onto the challenging site, Goettsch and his team, which included senior designer Scott Seyer and project architect Erik Harris, dispensed with a typical box in favor of a tower that gets progressively skinnier from its southern edge along Washington Street to its northern edge along Randolph.
The elevator cores become narrower. A serrated wall along the riverfront steps inward every 30 feet. And that’s just the beginning.
At the tower’s base, a trio of three-pronged columns, each a staggering 83 feet tall, channel the huge gravity loads from the tower’s office floors to a triangle-shaped structural anchor.
By drastically reducing the number of columns that come to the ground, this structural tour de force allows the tower’s caissons to reach bedrock without hitting the remaining caissons of the old Morton Salt building. It also opens up the riverwalk, which would have felt constricted had it been hidden behind a row of columns.
An alluring riverwalk and bland glass
To some, the arrangement may appear unstable. But new section of riverwalk, with its long, curving benches and still-to-be-planted greenery, is among the strongest contributions the tower makes to the public realm. It will not become a windblown cavern, the architects assure.
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As a result of a compromise the developers struck with federal and state officials, crenelated stainless steel panels from the old Morton Salt building are woven into river-level exterior walls, retaining a trace of mid-20th century modernism.
Another plus comes at the tower’s north end, where a small, unfinished outdoor plaza will provide seating for the public and dedicated seating for customers of a restaurant from noted chef Jose Andres and the Gibsons Restaurant Group. The plaza offers fine views of the handsome Boeing headquarters across the river. The value of such open spaces, which serve as clearings in the urban forest, cannot be overstated.
Yet the tower itself doesn’t match the standard set by 150 North Riverside. Along the riverfront, the serrated glass produces strong vertical lines when the high-rise is glimpsed from the north, but when seen from the south, the wall devolves into a flat mass of glass. In contrast to the unified sculptural presence of 150 North Riverside, the muscular base and meek upper levels speak different, disjointed architectural languages.
The Wacker Drive facade is equally underwhelming, despite the presence of stainless steel and glass fins as well as the sculptural character created by the tower’s upper-level setbacks. The high-rise is the latest icy-cool behemoth to line a street that, for all its economic might, can’t compete with the urban character of the LaSalle Street financial canyon.
The Bank of America Tower seen from Wacker Drive. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)
The blandness is countered, but only so much, by some alluring ground-level features, like the stainless steel columns that gesture to the arcade of the Civic Opera Building. Pedestrians also should enjoy the peek-a-boo views of the three-pronged columns that can be glimpsed through the high-ceilinged lobby’s remarkably transparent, cable-supported glass walls.
Pandemic-proofing the interior
With COVID-19 still a significant threat, the developers have put several safeguards in place, including walk-through temperature scanning in the lobby, antimicrobial cladding on the building’s entry doors and upgraded air filtration systems. Tenants can swipe their smartphones on high-tech turnstiles that call an elevator. There’s also none of the welcoming seating that animated other downtown office building lobbies before the pandemic struck.
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The lobby of the new Bank of America Tower. The walls of the elevator cores are clad in Italian marble. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)
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Upstairs, Bank of America’s floors bring together eight lines of business, from private banking to commercial real estate banking. The interior design, by the global firm IA , includes touches that reflect the company’s sponsorship of the annual Chicago Marathon.
The offices provide more natural light and views than the bank’s former offices at 135 S. LaSalle, yet the tightly bunched work stations and ample use of “hoteling,” in which desks are shared rather than assigned to individuals, are ill-suited to the pandemic.
It’s premature, then, to judge whether the Bank of America Tower successfully combines form with function. But it is clear that the tower’s architectural ledger is marked by pluses and minuses, and that its contribution to the public realm is defined more by its memorable bottom than its forgettable top.
The prophet of the skyscraper, Chicago architect Louis Sullivan, famously wrote that the tall office building should be "every inch a proud and soaring thing.” This one is more proud than soaring.
Blair Kamin is a Tribune critic.
bkamin@chicagotribune.com
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Twitter @BlairKamin


chicagotribune--2020-10-09--Illinois U.S. Rep. Mike Bost of Murphysboro says he’s tested positive for the coronavirus

Also in his statement , Bost said all staff that he has been in close contact with will quarantine until @ @ @ @ @ .
He also said any constituents he has had close contact with will be notified @ @ @ @ @

President Donald Trump with U.S. Rep. Mike Bost in Murphysboro, Ill., on Saturday, Oct. 27, 2018. (Nuccio DiNuzzo / Chicago Tribune)
In a statement posted Friday morning on Facebook, U.S. Rep. Mike Bost announced he has contracted COVID-19.
Bost, a Republican from Murphysboro, wrote that he was made aware of his diagnosis Thursday night.
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“Despite taking my temperature regularly and having no evidence of a fever, I experienced a mild cough and a rapid loss of both taste and smell and recognized it was important to get tested immediately,” Bost wrote.
I learned last night that I have tested positive for COVID-19. Despite taking my temperature regularly and having no... Posted by Rep. Mike Bost on Friday, October 9, 2020
Also in his statement, Bost said all staff that he has been in close contact with will quarantine until they receive their test results. He also said any constituents he has had close contact with will be notified of his COVID-19 diagnosis.
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Bost said he will suspend his public schedule and will hold virtual meetings while he isolates at home.
“We are taking this situation seriously and will continue to serve the people of Southern Illinois while doing our best to ensure their health and safety,” Bost wrote in the post.
Bost is opposed in the November election by Democrat Ray Lenzi.
This story will be updated.
isaac.smith@thesouthern.com
618-351-5823
On Twitter: @ismithreports
___
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chicagotribune--2020-10-09--Got stamps? Pandemic is fueling a boom in greeting card sales and some are pretty cheeky

Many of those holiday card sales will happen online this year .
Even before the pandemic , the way customers @ @ @ @ @ to shift away from bricks-and-mortar stores and into e-commerce .
The advent of online marketplaces @ @ @ @ @ the shift to online card buying and in 2019 , retailers like CVS Pharmacy and @ @ @ @ @ in stores to greeting cards .
As with other consumer goods , the virus accelerated @ @ @ @ @ retailers set up for online sales , pickup and delivery capitalized on the shift .

Emily Anderson and Chris Barlow shop for cards and gifts for Anderson's sisters at Foursided Card Gift & Vintage, Sept. 29, 2020, in the Andersonville neighborhood of Chicago. (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune)
Early this year, Lynda Junge watched her Downers Grove wedding invitation business grind to a halt as the coronavirus pandemic caused couples to postpone their nuptials.
On a whim, she designed a handful of Mother’s Day cards for her business, Greenstar Paperie, riffing on social distancing and other related themes. She posted the cards to the online marketplace Etsy and started hearing cash-registerlike notifications on her smartphone.
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“They went off like crazy,” she said.
Among her bestsellers are cards that say, “Hi friend, this is your snail mail sanity check. You good?” and “Waving from a safe distance. It’s just not the same over Zoom.”
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Greeting cards on display at Lynda Junge's store, Greenstar Paperie, in Downers Grove. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
Junge, 41, is expecting an even bigger boom heading into the holiday season as people socially distanced from friends and family look to connect during the emotional roller coaster that is 2020.
A July study by the online photo company Shutterfly found the number of people buying holiday cards this year is expected to increase by 7% compared with last year, and that about a third of consumers plan to send more holiday cards this year than last year.
Chicago-based Paper Source said customers are shopping for holiday cards earlier, with some requesting them as early as September. Etsy saw a 23% increase in searches for holiday cards last month compared with September of last year.
It’s a welcome turnaround for the $7 billion greeting card industry, which has been on the decline in recent years. Last year, Americans sent about half as many greeting cards in the mail compared with a decade earlier, according to U.S. Post Office data. That’s in part because of the rise of digital alternatives like email, social media and companies that publish photo cards online, like Shutterfly, according to research firm IBISWorld.
But the coronavirus has given an unexpected boost to the industry, with online sales soaring and increased demand from affluent shoppers.
Cardmakers expect higher-than-normal sales during the holidays as people shelter at home with more time on their hands to write and send cards, said George White, president of the Greeting Card Association.
“This could be a powerful moment for our industry,” White said, referring to the pandemic. “Greeting cards have a unique ability to forge connections.”
Owner of Greenstar Paperie Lynda Junge works at her shop in Downers Grove on Sept 25, 2020. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
Many of those holiday card sales will happen online this year. Even before the pandemic, the way customers shop for greeting cards started to shift away from bricks-and-mortar stores and into e-commerce. The advent of online marketplaces like Amazon and Faire.com kick-started the shift to online card buying and in 2019, retailers like CVS Pharmacy and Walmart started giving less space in stores to greeting cards. As with other consumer goods, the virus accelerated the trend, and card retailers set up for online sales, pickup and delivery capitalized on the shift.
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From April to June, Paper Source, whose 135 stores were affected by government shutdown orders, saw sales of greeting cards from its website increase tenfold compared with the same time period last year, according to CEO Winnie Park.
Hallmark’s chief marketing officer, Lindsey Roy, said business from hallmark.com increased threefold this year, which Roy attributed to demand for greeting cards. Hallmark, a privately held company that also sells small gifts, ornaments and home decor, declined to disclose sales data.
Roy said the company’s market research shows people are gravitating toward buying cards that reference connection, encouragement and gratitude — themes connected to the pandemic. Paper Source also saw a large increase in purchases of cards in those categories, according to Park.
Emily McDowell, who sells her Emily McDowell & Friends greeting cards through Paper Source and Chicago’s Foursided stores, knows it’s difficult to find the right words to say to someone who has lost their job, a loved one or their source of community. She built her business around making sure people who don’t know what to say to a grieving friend can find a way to connect.
McDowell’s cards contain empathetic messages like, “No card can make this better. But I’m giving you one anyway,” and “I’m really sorry I haven’t been in touch. I didn’t know what to say.”
“People are afraid of saying something wrong and it prevents people from actually reaching out and showing up,” McDowell said. “Cards are an opportunity to start a conversation and to connect at this time when we’re at our lowest and our loneliest.”
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Chicagoan Cat Hildner, who owns the online card boutique Kitty Meow, said her sales jumped starting in March and have remained high. She credits her success to the presence she’s built on social media platforms Pinterest and Instagram, where she forges personal connections with customers.
“I think giving people the opportunity to get to know me, the person behind the small business, really, really helped sales,” said Hildner, 35.
One of Hildner’s coronavirus-themed cards says, “You’re essential every day. But especially this holiday season.”
Emily Anderson shops for cards and gifts at Foursided Card Gift & Vintage in the Andersonville neighborhood of Chicago. (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune)
Card-makers set up for online commerce that cater to wealthier markets have fared the best. Those customers tend to shop at specialty stores and seek out cards with unique messages, which generally sell at higher prices. Those markets are better able to weather economic downturns, which is a competitive advantage, said Kevin Kennedy, an analyst for IBISWorld.
Greeting cards range in price from 50 cents to more than $10, according to the Greeting Card Association. Most cards found in grocery and drugstores range between $2 and $4.
Searches for greeting cards on Etsy, where Junge’s cards sell for $5 to $7, have jumped 73% over the last three months compared with the same period last year.
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Paper Source, where cards sell for about $5 to $12, bills itself as a lifestyle brand, curating cards from independent card-makers. That’s appealing for the demographic that spends more money on greeting cards than any other: millennials. Members of that group are more likely to opt for specialty goods than mass-market brands, according to a McKinsey consumer study.
Park said the company’s overall greeting card sales, including in-store purchases, will reach $16 million this year, with income from online sales offsetting declines from the coronavirus' effect on its bricks-and-mortar stores.
But while some card sellers have gotten a boost from the pandemic, much of the industry has experienced significant declines, according to Kennedy. He said revenue for greeting cards and related products declined 18.4% during the second quarter at the height of the pandemic, compared with last year.
In July, Hallmark announced plans to lay off 120 workers. In the same month, The Paper Store, which is a Hallmark partner and part of its Gold Crown stores, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, citing the impact of the coronavirus on its bricks-and-mortar stores.
Todd Mack, who owns Foursided, a greeting card and picture framing shop, said sales from his four Chicago-area stores dropped close to 95% during Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s stay-at-home order, with scant online purchases coming in, mostly for empathy-themed greeting cards.
“Thankfully, the human need is to still send cards to loved ones regardless of the current state of the pandemic,” said Mack, who reopened his store in late May. “Greeting cards continue to be the little rent payers of our businesses.”
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Mack said as of September, card sales have come back to about the same level they were last year, but restrictions on how many people can enter the store and an unwillingness to shop in person are a challenge.
Although a number of locally owned shops near Foursided’s flagship location in the Andersonville neighborhood have closed under the strain of the pandemic, Mack said he has no plans to close and will “suffer through it at all costs.”
Paper Source, boosted by enormous online growth early in the pandemic, has no plans to close its bricks-and-mortar operations despite acquiring 27 stores from bankrupt greeting card and gift retailer Papyrus right before the pandemic. Park said 21 of those locations have been converted to Paper Source stores with the remainder opening by the end of October. Still, the company has made adjustments like imposing pay cuts and reducing in-store staff.
"We’re just trying to survive this period and the down cycle in business because of COVID,” Park said.