chicagotribune--2020-07-06--‘Bullets just came from nowhere’:  Fourth of July weekend gun violence kills at least 17, including

‘Bullets just came from nowhere’:  Fourth of July weekend gun violence kills at least 17, including 7-year-old-girl

“ We were a family .
And our parents raised each other ’ s children .
This neighbor slept at @ @ @ @ @ at that neighbor ’ s house .
And we would have block club parties .
@ @ @ @ @ .
It was no adversarial activity .
...
But now things have drastically changed , @ @ @ @ @ With the drug infestation .
The unemployment .
And with the lack of jobs and @ @ @ @ @ crime is on the rise .
But we ’ re yet still here standing trying @ @ @ @ @ possibility of hope to this community , and to those families over here .
”

Paige Fry, Jeremy Gorner, Sophie Sherry, Javonte Anderson

Nine-year-old Nathan Wallace holds balloons during a vigil July 5, 2020, for his 7-year-old sister Natalia Wallace, who was shot and killed as her family gathered to celebrate the July Fourth holiday in the South Austin neighborhood of Chicago. (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune)
As many Chicagoans were celebrating the Fourth of July with barbecues and after-dinner fireworks, relatives of Natalia Wallace were experiencing the worst day of their lives.
The 7-year-old girl was one of at least 80 people shot, at least 17 of those fatally, across the city during the violent holiday weekend, starting Thursday afternoon. Gunfire erupted outside her relative’s home Saturday on the West Side, and she became the latest in a horrific string of children whose lives have been taken away by gun violence in Chicago.
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“Bullets just came from nowhere,” Natalia’s grandmother, Linda Rogers, said Sunday afternoon from the site of the shooting in the Austin community. “Whoever did it, I wish they’d come forward.
“I came out here and my grandbaby (was) lying on the ground,” Rogers said as she started to cry. “I couldn’t do nothing. My baby was lying on that ground. It didn’t take a minute.”
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Elizabeth Perry gets a hug during a vigil for her 7-year-old granddaughter Natalia Wallace. (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune)
A photo of Natalia Wallace is seen on a poster attached to a fence during a vigil. (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune)
Despite the addition of some 1,200 police officers to the streets this holiday weekend, Natalia’s death comes as Chicago continues to struggle with an especially harsh toll of violence that has continued to take the lives of children and other innocent lives.
The weekend’s other young shooting victims included a 14-year-old boy and three others who have not yet been identified. They were killed Saturday night in Englewood after four masked gunmen opened fire at a large gathering, according to police. Four others were injured in the mass shooting, including an 11-year-old boy and a 15-year-old boy.
This marked the third consecutive week that young children have been killed in gun violence. A 20-month-old boy and a 10-year-old girl were killed in separate shootings last weekend. A week earlier, five children were fatally shot, including Mekhi James, a 3-year-old boy who was shot while riding in a car with his father.
Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 29 A shooting victim is transported after being shot in the abdomen in the 600 block of E. 40th Street in the Bronzeville neighborhood, July 5, 2020. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)
On Sunday afternoon, an all-too-familiar scene unfolded in front of Natalia’s home as friends and family were reeling and mourning the sudden death of a child.
A makeshift memorial was set up for Natalia outside the home. Balloons and carnations decorated a nearby front lawn. A big teddy bear and other stuffed animals were affixed to a tree along with magenta and purple ribbons.
On the sidewalk, multicolored messages scrawled in chalk read “NATALIA WALLACE 1/22/13 - 7/4/20,” “RIP,” “GONE TOO SOON” and “WE GONE MISS YOUR SMILE.”
Less than 24 hours after the fatal shooting, family members struggled to make sense of what happened.
Flowers are left on a memorial during a vigil for 7-year-old Natalia Wallace. (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune)
“Just being outside and doing what every other kid would do, and for your life to be cut down short like that. ... It takes a toll on all of us,” said Nathan Wallace, Natalia’s father. “I’m hurt, I’m angry, I’m sad, disappointed. It’s something that no parent wants to do. Who wants to bury your child? It should be the other way around.”
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On Sunday, several yellow smiley face balloons were tied to a fence outside Carpenter Park at 62nd and Carpenter streets, the area where the South Side mass shooting occurred. Debris was scattered all over the ground, including some used fireworks. Nearly 50 bullet casings from 9 mm and .45-caliber guns were found at the crime scene, according to a law enforcement source.
A woman from the block, who declined to be identified for privacy reasons, said Sunday that her son and 11-year-old grandson were among the surviving victims of the mass shooting from the night before.
In a calm tone, she told a Tribune reporter she learned about the shooting through a phone call from a relative, even though it happened down the block from her home.
“I was lying down in the bed, dozing off and I heard the ambulance, but I didn’t think nothing else about it, you know, until I got the phone call,” she said.
Balloons are tied to the fence at 62nd and South Carpenter streets where eight people were shot, four fatally, in the Englewood neighborhood. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)
The attack happened only a few blocks away from the fatal shooting near 60th and Halsted streets of 20-month-old Sincere Gaston, who was among dozens of shooting victims during the last weekend in June.
“That’s all you hear, ‘Somebody got killed. Somebody got shot. A little kid got killed,’” the woman said about watching the news.
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Another shooting with a large number of victims occurred in the Lawndale neighborhood on the West Side, police said. Six people were shot about 1:15 a.m. Sunday after someone in a vehicle fired into a group shooting off fireworks.
A 20-year-old woman was killed, three men are in critical condition and two other men were in good condition as a result of the shooting.
Last year over the long Fourth of July weekend, six people were killed and 63 were wounded by gun violence.
The last time the Fourth of July fell on a Saturday was in 2015, when 10 were killed and 55 others were injured. This year has already surpassed 2015′s death toll with one night left of the weekend.
A chunk of the bloodshed occurred within a short time frame. Within just four hours — from 11 p.m. Saturday to 3 a.m. Sunday — 36 people were shot, nearly half of the weekend’s total so far.
The latest spate of gun violence prompted a small group of community activists to gather on a corner in Little Village on Sunday morning to call for President Donald Trump’s help in restoring “law and order” to Chicago.
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Though the Chicago Police Department added extra officers to work the holiday weekend, Frank Coconate, a political operative and activist, said this was ineffective, due to a lack of cooperation between neighborhood leaders and the police.
Frank Coconate, right, speaks during a news conference in the Little Village neighborhood of Chicago, in response to recent gun violence in the neighborhood and in the city. (Raquel Zaldivar/Chicago Tribune)
“It’s not the police’s fault, they’re just doing what they are told to do,” Coconate said during the Little Village news conference. “A lot of this stuff is showing you what happens when police’s hands are tied by the mayor.”
Mayor Lori Lightfoot took to Twitter on Saturday night to lament the violence, including another child “whose hopes and dreams were ended by the barrel of a gun.”
“As families gather to commemorate the founding of our nation, we must ask ourselves: is this who we are as a city or as a country?” she wrote on Twitter.
“We cannot grow numb to this. We are making progress in slowing shootings, but we have to do better, every single one of us.”
Back on the West Side, Natalia’s family said the area needs more police because of the violence, not less, which has been a rallying cry for some activists since the May 25 death of George Floyd at the hands of police in Minneapolis.
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“You hear this all the time on the news,” Nathan Wallace said, “but it hits home when it’s actually somebody that you know.”
Nathan Wallace, left, father of 7-year-old Natalia Wallace, and Monique Wallace, her aunt, stand together during a vigil for the girl. (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune)
The Rev. James Stevenson, who grew up in the Austin community, said the city is experiencing “another dimension of a pandemic.”
“It’s very violent. It’s senseless. It’s uncalled for. And I think that it’s time for us to bring back the solidarity of the community and some unity and some love,” said Stevenson, pastor of Sweet Relief Baptist Church in Austin. “People got to put the guns down.”
Stevenson, who once lived on the block where Natalia was killed, said Austin had white and Black families before becoming a mostly Black neighborhood as time went on.
“We were a family. And our parents raised each other’s children. This neighbor slept at my house. I slept at that neighbor’s house. And we would have block club parties. ... It was no division. It was no adversarial activity. ... But now things have drastically changed,” said Stevenson. “With the drug infestation. The unemployment. And with the lack of jobs and things of that nature ... crime is on the rise. But we’re yet still here standing trying to bring some hope and possibility of hope to this community, and to those families over here.”


chicagotribune--2020-07-06--Family and friends mourn 7-year-old shooting victim Natalia Wallace

While it might be true that summer ’ s main attraction is a perfectly grilled steak or an unbeatable burger @ @ @ @ @ time to shine .
Say hello to some fun starters — these salsa and dip @ @ @ @ @ and are sure to wow the family .

Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 13 Nine-year-old Nathan Wallace holds balloons during a vigil July 5, 2020, for his 7-year-old sister Natalia Wallace, who was shot and killed as her family gathered to celebrate the July Fourth holiday in the South Austin neighborhood of Chicago. (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune)
Family and friends gather July 5, 2020, for a vigil for 7-year-old Natalia Wallace, who was shot in the head and killed as her family celebrated the July Fourth holiday in the South Austin neighborhood of Chicago.


chicagotribune--2020-07-06--FroSkate hosts a peaceful protest in support of Black lives

A protester with a tattoo reading `` no thanks '' stands in front of a group of Chicago police officers @ @ @ @ @ 4 , 2020 , after a dispute over whether a car associated with FroSkate was @ @ @ @ @ peaceful protest .

A protester with a tattoo reading "no thanks" stands in front of a group of Chicago police officers in Grant Park on July 4, 2020, after a dispute over whether a car associated with FroSkate was able to trail behind a peaceful protest. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)


chicagotribune--2020-07-07--Woman charged with battery after altercation over wearing mask at Home Depot in McHenry, police say

Hill said no one was going to tell her what to do , Waters said .
Waters , who wrote @ @ @ @ @ white , began video recording Hill , who identified herself in the video as white @ @ @ @ @ “ I believe in white power .
”

A woman involved in a dispute over wearing protective face masks at Home Depot in far northwest suburban McHenry was charged with misdemeanor battery, police said Monday.
About 5 p.m. Friday, police said, Teri A. Hill, 54, of McHenry, got into a disagreement with another customer that turned into a physical altercation. Minor injuries were reported, but neither woman requested medical care.
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Hill could not be reached for comment, but the other woman, who shot video of the incident and posted it on Facebook, said in an interview that she was shocked at Hill’s comments and at the confrontation.
Sydney Waters said Hill was wearing a mask but took it off to ask an employee to force other customers to wear a mask as well. When Waters told her Hill needed to wear a mask as well, she said, it was “like a switch flipped.”
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I was at The Home Depot this afternoon looking for storage walking & talking with a kind employee (Thank you to all of... Posted by Sydney Waters on Friday, 3 July 2020
Hill said no one was going to tell her what to do, Waters said. Waters, who wrote on Facebook that she is white, began video recording Hill, who identified herself in the video as white and appears to say, “I believe in white power.”
Waters said Hill hit her, and when they fell to the ground, took off Waters’ mask.
Waters, 34, is a writer and a caregiver for her three children, and writes for the website, strollinwithmyhomies.com, which provides encouragement to woman going through depression and other challenges of motherhood.
Her husband is a retired police officer, so she said she respects both police and Black Lives Matter, and took part in a recent Black Lives Matter protest in McHenry, saying, “It’s time to start speaking out” against racism and hatred.
As for the video, she said, “I think it’s time people are held accountable for what they’re saying and doing. If you tell someone you’re going to cough or spit on someone … or claim white power, that’s a choice you make.”
The dispute was over a mask intended to be used to prevent spread of the coronavirus, police said, and occurred after Hill took off her mask and the other woman was not comfortable with that, Officer Patrick Polidori, a McHenry police spokesman, confirmed.
After talking to witnesses and watching video footage, police charged Hill with battery and disorderly conduct. She was released while waiting for her case to be heard in court Aug. 19.
Anyone with information about the conflict is asked to contact the McHenry Police Department at 815-363-2599. Those wishing to pass along information anonymously are encouraged to call the McHenry Police Tip Line at 815-363-2124.


chicagotribune--2020-07-07--Prosecutors question credibility of publishing CEO bankrolling Marni Yang exoneration effort

As for the subpoena and a separate filing that says Koelling ’ s murder conviction and long prison sentence raise @ @ @ @ @ she responded : “ I think it ’ s an act of desperation on behalf @ @ @ @ @ ’ s attorney ’ s office .
Discrediting a person who has served their time @ @ @ @ @ a comeback and who is struggling every day to start over , is the epitome @ @ @ @

Tammy Koelling meets with defense attorney Jed Stone as they prepare for an appeal for Marni Yang on Feb. 5, 2020, in Waukegan. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)
The Lake County state’s attorney’s office is seeking to subpoena a southern Illinois book publisher with an unusual tie to the Marni Yang case — its proprietor, a woman named Tammy Koelling, met Yang in prison when both were serving time for murder, and is helping to bankroll Yang’s exoneration attempt.
In documents filed last month, prosecutors alleged that Koelling’s company, Salem-based Words Matter Publishing, had provided “financial inducements” to Yang and her family in the form of book deals and media contracts that could affect their credibility as witnesses.
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Yang was convicted in 2011 for the murder of Rhoni Reuter, the pregnant girlfriend of former Chicago Bear Shaun Gayle. Though she admitted her involvement in a conversation secretly recorded by a friend, Yang says she lied to draw prosecutors’ attention away from her son. She is now seeking to have her conviction overturned.
Koelling has been heavily involved in that effort, and prosecutors are seeking all business records her company might have involving Yang and her parents and children, along with any pertaining to a witness named Jessie Delgado.
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Tammy Koelling, shown Feb. 5, 2020, met Marni Yang in prison while serving time and has been heavily involved in Yang’s exoneration effort. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)
Delgado allegedly told a private investigator hired by Koelling that he had stolen a pistol belonging to Yang before Reuter’s murder — a key element of Yang’s exoneration effort.
Koelling said while her company has published a book by Yang’s children, titled “My Mom Marni,” they’ve each received royalties of less than $500.
And though she acknowledged her company has also paid for the services of private investigators and other experts involved in the case, she said she has no business relationship with Yang, her parents or Delgado.
As for the subpoena and a separate filing that says Koelling’s murder conviction and long prison sentence raise questions about her credibility, she responded: “I think it’s an act of desperation on behalf of the Lake County state’s attorney’s office. Discrediting a person who has served their time, who has obviously made a comeback and who is struggling every day to start over, is the epitome of desperation.”
A spokesman for State’s Attorney Michael Nerheim declined to comment, citing the ongoing court case.
Koelling and five co-defendants were convicted in 1987 for the murder of a small-time drug dealer outside Salem. Prosecutors at the time described Koelling, who then went by Tammy Fyke, as the mastermind, saying she wanted to silence a man she thought was going to inform on her own marijuana-selling enterprise.
Koelling, who denies taking part in the killing, served nearly 30 years in prison and met Yang a few years before her 2016 release. Koelling said they did not become close friends; she got involved in Yang’s case after getting out of prison because she believed in Yang’s innocence and wanted to write a book about it, she said.
“I think that the state is trying to paint a picture of a (bond) between Marni Yang and myself that doesn’t exist,” she said. “I knew her very briefly during our incarceration. Literally, I knew her for a few months out of a 30-year sentence, less than a year.”
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The case is due back before a judge next month.
jkeilman@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @JohnKeilman


chicagotribune--2020-07-07--Man charged in July 4 shooting death of 7-year-old Natalia Wallace; Lightfoot calls violence against

Man charged in July 4 shooting death of 7-year-old Natalia Wallace; Lightfoot calls violence against city’s children personal

“ Natalia was a very quiet and sweet little girl .
She completed every assignment during class , got along @ @ @ @ @ , and colored the most precious pictures ever given to me .
Natalia never hesitated @ @ @ @ @ needed .
Sometimes , her quiet spirit gave her the strength to lead the reading @ @ @ @ @ and she soared when it came to doing math .
During e-learning , Natalia was @ @ @ @ @ At the end of each class session , she would type in the chat box @ @ @ @ @ ‘ ”

Jeremy Gorner, William Lee, Gregory Pratt

Nine-year-old Nathan Wallace holds balloons during a vigil July 5, 2020, for his 7-year-old sister Natalia Wallace, who was shot and killed as her family gathered to celebrate the July Fourth holiday in the South Austin neighborhood of Chicago. (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune)
Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Monday said she wants “all of us to feel this loss” after another weekend of violence in Chicago yet again took a toll on the city’s children, including the killing of a 7-year-old girl.
The first charges were filed in that case Monday, a slaying police said was the result of gang violence.
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Lightfoot said she had outlined an “all hands on deck” strategy on Thursday to head off another weekend of bloodshed, a plan that included police and street outreach groups. And yet, “we still saw a four-day weekend of 87 Chicagoans shot, 17 Chicagoans killed, and two of them children. Our children,” the mayor said at a news briefing.
Natalia Wallace, who authorities said was shot and killed July 4, 2020, in Chicago’s South Austin neighborhood, had completed first grade at Crown Community Academy of Fine Arts this spring. (HANDOUT)
“I say our children because I want all of us to feel this loss,” Lightfoot said. “It feels personal to me. Thoughts and prayers are simply not enough at this point. Sorrow itself is not enough. What it says is we need to do better as a city.”
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As she has in the past, Lightfoot aimed her comments at the mostly young men who are driving street violence. Lightfoot praised people who did not shoot, but “to the others who shot indiscriminately into crowds,” she said, “I sincerely pray on behalf of a grieving city that you are able to recognize the consequences of what you have done, the souls you have ruptured, and I pray that you find the purpose … that is obviously lacking in your lives.”
[ ‘Bullets just came from nowhere’: Fourth of July weekend gun violence kills at least 17, including 7-year-old-girl ]
Reginald Merrill, 33, of the 5600 block of West Washington Boulevard, was charged with first-degree murder and aggravated battery in the death of 7-year-old Natalia Wallace, police said. Merrill was taken into custody a little more than two hours after the shooting, police said, driving a car matching the description of one used in the shooting.
He was alleged to be the getaway driver and was expected in court Tuesday. Police said they were looking for three other suspects.
A person leaves flowers during a vigil Sunday, July 5, 2020, for 7-year-old Natalia Wallace, who was shot in the head and killed as her family gathered to celebrate the holiday Saturday night in the South Austin neighborhood of Chicago. (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune)
“This is … ongoing gang-on-gang violence,” said Chicago police Chief of Detectives Brendan Deenihan, who called the shooting retaliatory for a prior killing. “And we have some evidence to support that, and that’s the best possible motive at this time.”
Court records show that Merrill has at least six felony convictions. In 2008, he pleaded guilty to aggravated battery to a police officer and was sentenced to four years in prison.
Natalia, who was due to start second grade at Crown Community Academy of Fine Arts, was shot just after 7 p.m. Saturday in the 100 block of North Latrobe Avenue, according to authorities.
Reached Monday afternoon by the Tribune, Natalia’s father, Nathan Wallace, said “that’s great news” about a suspect being in custody for his daughter’s killing. He said if the police can capture the others as well, “my daughter can rest in peace and justice (would) be served.”
Kamesha Maclin, left, wipes tears from her eyes as she sits with Monique Wallace during a vigil for their 7-year-old niece Natalia Wallace, who was shot in the head and killed in the 100 block of North Latrobe Avenue July 5, 2020. (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune)
A Tribune analysis of crime data in a wider window beginning Thursday that included the long weekend showed at least 90 people were shot, 18 of them fatally. Including Natalia, at least three of those killed were children, among 14 people under age 18 shot during the span.
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[ 7-year-old girl described as ‘very quiet and sweet’ is fatally shot on Chicago’s West Side ]
In remarks Monday morning at a separate press event, Chicago police Superintendent David Brown commented on this weekend’s violence and singled out the fatal shooting of Natalia and also a 14-year-old boy in the South Side’s Englewood community, a teen who was among four killed in that incident.
“We cannot allow this to be normalized in this city,” Brown said. “We cannot get used to hearing about children being gunned down in Chicago every weekend.”
He called the shootings Saturday painful tragedies. “There are no words, no words to describe this pain. Not anymore,” Brown said.
“That’s also, though, why none of us are giving up. Because every police district, every corner of this city, this is on all of us,” he said.
Brown also stuck to familiar themes in responding to the violence, as he has in the last few weeks, calling for “violent offenders” to be locked up longer and for Cook County’s electronic home-monitoring program to be revamped.
[ 8 shot, 4 fatally in Englewood shooting, police say ]
Lightfoot echoed some of those sentiments. She said the violence is “not unique” but she won’t “normalize” the gun violence and anguish.
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“We simply must fundamentally recommit ourselves to focusing on the root causes of the violence,” Lightfoot said, calling it “every bit a public health crisis” as COVID-19.
Lightfoot called for more spending on trauma support and jobs, as well as increased ties between law enforcement agencies, among other efforts to reduce violence.
Like former mayors, Lightfoot also denounced the number of guns on the streets as a significant cause of violence and criticized low bonds for violent offenders, which Brown also had mentioned.
After Natalia’s killing, her school released a statement, attributed to Natalia’s first grade teacher:
“Natalia was a very quiet and sweet little girl. She completed every assignment during class, got along with all of her peers, and colored the most precious pictures ever given to me. Natalia never hesitated to ask for clarity when needed. Sometimes, her quiet spirit gave her the strength to lead the reading lessons within her group, and she soared when it came to doing math. During e-learning, Natalia was always present and participating. At the end of each class session, she would type in the chat box, ‘I Love You.‘”
Natalia was a resident of Chatham on the South Side, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.
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She was on the sidewalk when a vehicle pulled up and people got out and started shooting toward where she was, according to a police media notification.
Police said there was a second victim, a 32-year-old man, who self-transported to Mount Sinai Hospital in fair condition with a gunshot wound to the ankle and a graze wound to the leg.
The shooting Saturday follows the wounding Tuesday night of a 3-year-old girl in the West Englewood neighborhood minutes after a 15-year-old boy was shot blocks away, and after a 20-month-old boy and 10-year-old girl were killed in separate attacks the prior weekend. Two weeks ago, five children were fatally shot, including a 3-year-old boy.
Brown said an additional 1,200 cops were out this holiday weekend, 300 fewer than the same weekend last year. He said there weren’t as many because there were no special events in the city because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
But despite trying to cut back on police overtime, Brown said, in the short term, CPD will likely have to spend more overtime to put even more officers in parts of the South and West sides being hit hard by violence.
“This is a very challenging area,” Brown said. “No job opportunities … There’s no health care system accessible to these people,” he said.
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“Policing is not a substitute for lack of services. Never has been. Never will be. So we can go from 1,200 to 2,400 officers. That is not going to be a substitute for blight and poverty. But it’s all we have now because Chicago police officers are the only people at this podium,” Brown told reporters at an announcement on training restarting at the department’s academy for recruits.
Brown also again criticized Cook County’s bail reform efforts, as he has in recent weeks.
“I just hope that the tragedies here these past three weekends bring us all to the table so that we can revamp the electronic monitoring program, find a way to hold violent offenders in jail longer,” Brown said, insisting he is trying to be “collaborative” instead of pointing the finger at other facets of the criminal justice system. “Chicago deserves us figuring this out.”
Asked about Brown’s comments, Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart’s office released a statement Monday.
“The Sheriff is committed to combating violence and has always believed individuals charged with gun-related or violent crimes should remain in jail while awaiting trial to ensure the safety of the public,” the statement from spokesman Matt Walberg said. “All decisions about bond amounts and conditions of bond — including which individuals are placed on electronic monitoring — rest solely with the judiciary.”
Brown on Monday offered little if any evidence that defendants freed from the Cook County Jail on electronic home monitoring were behind the violence. When asked about it, he said there was a person in a home, apparently at the scene of Natalia’s death, that was on home monitoring after being charged in a robbery. But Brown could not say if that person played any role in the shooting.


chicagotribune--2020-07-06--‘Nothing I’d ever seen before’: Illegal fireworks light up Chicago skies over July 4 weekend

“ Growing up , me and my neighbors ’ favorite game to play : Is it gang shots or fireworks @ @ @ @ @ “ If me and my family were hanging out on our front porch and we @ @ @ @ @ important for us to try and figure out if that was just a firework or @ @ @ @ @ more concerned .
When it ’ s all fireworks , all the time , it @ @ @ @ @ the difference .
”

People look at fireworks for sale at Uncle Sam's Fireworks store in Hammond on June 22, 2020. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune)
Officially, the city’s Fourth of July festivities were canceled due to COVID-19 social distancing considerations. Many enjoyed virtual celebrations instead.
Unofficially, numerous illegal fireworks displays exploded over the Chicago skyline Saturday night.
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Chicago is lit up tonight like I've never seen before. pic.twitter.com/KAzOKvhLE2 — Dylan Doppelt (@DylanDoppelt) July 5, 2020
Dylan Doppelt, 23, tweeted a video of the July 4 fireworks in Chicago from his apartment building in Uptown. Doppelt said he heard fireworks continuously from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m.
“Every year we have tons of fireworks, but this year was definitely nothing I’d ever seen before,” Doppelt said. “It was just nonstop, all day ... much longer, much more intense than any year I’ve seen growing up here.”
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Chicago Fire Department spokesperson Larry Merritt emphasized that fireworks use is illegal in Chicago.
“A lot of people don’t understand fireworks, including sparklers, are illegal in the city of Chicago,” Merritt said. “Our recommendation is people don’t use them at all because they are dangerous and they are illegal.”
Continuing a trend seen throughout the summer, the city received an unusually high number of emergency calls for fireworks disturbances leading up to and during the holiday weekend.
The 911 call center received 9,092 calls between June 28 and Sunday, approximately three times the number of calls received in the same time period last year, according to data provided by Mary May, an Office of Emergency Management and Communications spokesperson.
As of Sunday, the city had received a total of 19,925 fireworks-related calls this year, compared with 4,612 calls by the same date last year — a 332% increase.
Some Chicago suburbs have also seen more fireworks complaint calls than usual.
Doppelt said he thinks people may be shooting off more fireworks because usual activities have been canceled.
“Last year, I had to spend my Fourth of July between three different events, three different kinds of family, and that’s been pretty similar every year,” Doppelt said. “This year, I had nothing to do other than watch the fireworks. I didn’t go and buy any, but if I owned a car, probably would’ve driven to Indiana and gotten some myself.”
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Several Indiana fireworks stores faced shortages in supply leading up to July 4. Illinoisans looking to buy fireworks often travel to neighboring states such as Indiana, where sale and possession of consumer pyrotechnics are legal.
The Chicago Fire Department responded to 33 calls and made 26 transports due to fireworks-related injuries from Friday to Sunday of the July 4 weekend, Meritt said.
According to Merritt, the incidents included hand, wrist, finger, eye and burn injuries, none of which were life-threatening.
Fireworks explode while police investigate the scene of a fatal shooting on July 4, 2020, in Chicago. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)
Though Doppelt said he found the displays visually appealing, especially in such numbers, he said he was concerned for pets and people with post-traumatic stress disorder.
Having lived most of his life in the Hermosa neighborhood on the West Side, Doppelt said he was worried the constant fireworks mask similar-sounding gunshots. He said this is problematic, especially following a series of violent weekends in the city.
“Growing up, me and my neighbors’ favorite game to play: Is it gang shots or fireworks?” Doppelt said. “If me and my family were hanging out on our front porch and we heard something, it was important for us to try and figure out if that was just a firework or if we had to be more concerned. When it’s all fireworks, all the time, it can be hard to tell the difference.”
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Merritt said he could not specify the number of fires started by fireworks in the city.
The Chicago Police Department declined to comment on how many people were arrested on fireworks-related charges over the weekend.


chicagotribune--2020-07-06--Coronavirus in Illinois updates: 614 new COVID-19 cases and 6 additional fatalities reported; Chicag

Coronavirus in Illinois updates: 614 new COVID-19 cases and 6 additional fatalities reported; Chicago fines businesses for violating social distancing rules, shuts down party boat

In an emergency clemency petition to the governor in early April , McDowell ’ s legal team at the Exoneration @ @ @ @ @ mushrooming allegations against former Chicago Detective Reynaldo Guevara , who has been accused by more @ @ @ @ @ manipulating witnesses , fabricating evidence and framing suspects in predominantly Hispanic West Side neighborhoods in @ @ @ @ @ to bolster their argument that McDowell is innocent .

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The Fulton Market area of Chicago is no longer the ghost town it was during the depths of the COVID-19 virus pandemic shutdown. As restrictions on restaurants are eased, a worker takes a woman's temperature before she can enter Federales restaurant on Morgan Street on July 1, 2020. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)
The city of Chicago fined five businesses for violating social distancing rules aimed at curbing the coronavirus over the weekend and also shut down the operator of a Lake Michigan party boat.
The measures followed threats Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot made on Friday to shut down bars that violated restrictions during a conference call with hundreds of local business owners.
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On Monday, Lightfoot’s order requiring people who have spent more than 24 hours in 15 high-risk states to self-quarantine for 14 days after entering Chicago went into effect. The states are Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Nevada, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Utah.
Health officials said there are no plans to enforce the order. The city will rely largely on signs posted along highways and at the two airports.
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Illinois health officials Monday reported 614 new known cases of COVID-19 and 6 additional confirmed fatalities, bringing the total number of known cases to 147,865 and the confirmed death toll to 7,026.
[ How to assess your COVID-19 risk when going out in public: Use this chart ]
[ Phase four of Illinois’s COVID-19 reopening: Settle in, folks, we may be here a while ]
[ Illinois enters phase 4 of reopening plan. Here’s a guide to what’s allowed. ]
[ COVID-19 cases in Illinois by ZIP code: Search for your neighborhood ]
Here’s what’s happening Monday regarding COVID-19 in the Chicago area and Illinois:
8:17 p.m.: Health officials fear Fourth of July crowds could fuel worsening COVID-19 outbreak in US
Hospitals rapidly approached capacity across the Sunbelt, and the Miami area closed restaurants and gyms again because of the surging coronavirus Monday, as the U.S. emerged from a Fourth of July weekend of picnics, pool parties and beach outings that health officials fear could fuel the rapidly worsening outbreak.
The seesaw effect — restrictions lifted, then reimposed — has been seen around the country in recent weeks and is expected again after a holiday that saw crowds of people celebrating, many without masks.
“We were concerned before the weekend and remain concerned post-holiday, as anecdotal stories and observed behavior indicate that many continue to disregard important protective guidance,” said Heather Woolwine, a spokeswoman for the Medical University of South Carolina.
Confirmed cases are on the rise in 41 out of 50 states plus the District of Columbia, and the percentage of tests coming back positive for the virus is increasing in 39 states.
Read more here. —Associated Press
7:45 p.m.: Here’s what to know about sex and dating in phase four
In March, we got real. We talked about how we knew you all were having a lot of quarantine sex even though you were supposed to be social distancing (because what else was there to do after watching Tiger King?). And the best part? The experts weren’t even mad about it.
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“If you have someone you’re quarantined with — your spouse, your partner, or whoever — I don’t think there is any problem with having sex because you’re face-to-face all day anyway,” Dr. Lauren Streicher, founder and medical director of the Northwestern Medicine Center for Sexual Medicine and Menopause, said in March.
But there are always a few who don’t follow the rules.
Everlywell, maker of at-home lab testing kits, recently conducted a national survey examining the sexual behaviors of young adults in the U.S. during quarantine after seeing an “explosion” in sales of its at-home sexually transmitted disease tests.
Of the young adults surveyed in Chicago, 53% broke quarantine to have a sexual encounter compared with 25% of the respondents in Los Angeles and 17% in New York City. These three cities made up nearly a third of the more than 500 people ages 20-31 who were surveyed across the United States. The survey asked about their sexual behavior between April 2-30.
Now, more than three months later, many lockdown restrictions have lifted and we’re settling into a new phase. Naturally, more people will want to date and have sex, and with this comes new questions on how to navigate those safely.
Read more here. —Christen A. Johnson
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6:57 p.m.: New ICE guidelines say international students must leave US if their school offers classes entirely online
International students will be forced to leave the U.S. or transfer to another college if their schools offer classes entirely online this fall, under new guidelines issued Monday by federal immigration authorities.
The guidelines, issued by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, provide additional pressure for universities to reopen even amid growing concerns about the recent spread of COVID-19 among young adults. Colleges received the guidance the same day that some institutions, including Harvard University, announced that all instruction will be offered remotely.
President Donald Trump has insisted that schools and colleges return to in-person instruction as soon as possible. Soon after the guidance was released, Trump repeated on Twitter that schools must reopen this fall, adding that Democrats want to keep schools closed “for political reasons, not for health reasons.”
“They think it will help them in November. Wrong, the people get it!” Trump wrote.
Under the updated rules, international students must take at least some of their classes in person. New visas will not be issued to students at schools or programs that are entirely online. And even at colleges offering a mix of in-person and online courses this fall, international students will be barred from taking all their classes online.
It creates an urgent dilemma for thousands of international students who became stranded in the U.S. last spring after the coronavirus forced their schools to move online. Those attending schools that are staying online must “depart the country or take other measures, such as transferring to a school with in-person instruction,” according to the guidance.
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The American Council on Education, which represents university presidents, said the guidelines are “horrifying” and will result in confusion as schools look for ways to reopen safely.
Read more here. —Associated Press
6:05 p.m.: Ordinance to require more COVID-19 help for residents of large Chicago senior buildings sent to City Council for vote
In March, 75-year-old Davetta Brooks became worried when staff at her Chicago senior apartment building did not wear masks or gloves.
That was around the same time Gov. J.B. Pritzker issued a stay-at-home order to guard against the spread of COVID-19. Brooks soon heard that staff members had been diagnosed with the coronavirus.
“No type of wellness tests or testing came after that,” Brooks said Monday at a City Council hearing. “We were just left to fend for ourselves.”
Brooks shared her experience with members of the Committee on Health and Human Relations. The committee recommended Monday the full council approve an ordinance aimed at protecting residents of buildings for older Chicagoans from the pandemic.
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“It pains me to know that you all know and the management knew the impact of this COVID-19 on seniors,” Brooks told committee members. “Some of this could’ve been prevented. … We don’t know what’s going on. All we hear are the ambulances.”
Read more here. —Sydney Czyzon
5:15 p.m.: Snapshot of reopening in Naperville: Alfresco dining popular, few walkers downtown wearing masks
The atmosphere in downtown Naperville the Thursday heading into the July 4 long weekend appeared relaxed and untroubled, not unlike a typical weekend evening in the city’s central business district.
People dined alfresco with groups of friends as masked servers and hosts greeted them, though rarely were the faces of those walking around on downtown sidewalks and the Riverwalk path covered with masks despite the coronavirus pandemic.
The Centers for Disease Control still recommends that people wear cloth face coverings when they are in public and around people they do not live with, particularly when it’s difficult to stay at least 6 feet from others, whether inside or outdoors. Following the guidelines helps to stop the spread of the coronavirus, which can be spread through the inhalation of droplets from an infected person, the CDC warns.
Naperville and other Illinois towns are in the fourth of a five-phased Restore Illinois plan, which allows indoor and outdoor seating under restrictions at restaurants and bars, gatherings up to 50 people, and some reopening of movie theaters, zoos and museums.
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Restaurants and bars throughout Naperville’s downtown offered varying degrees of precautions to ensure employees and patrons are safe and healthy.
Read more here. —Erin Hegarty
4:11 p.m.: Beaches won’t open ‘any time soon,' Lightfoot says
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Monday said the city’s beaches won’t be opening up “any time soon” due to coronavirus concerns.
”We don’t see the beaches opening up any time soon,” she said at an unrelated news conference.
Beaches and swimming pools are ripe for congregate gathering and not social distancing, Lightfoot said, and the city’s not going to take steps that could “tip us backwards.”
—Gregory Pratt
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4:04 p.m.: From museums and restaurants to law firms and supermarkets, thousands of Chicago-area business got PPP loans worth $1 million or more
The Small Business Administration released the names Monday of businesses approved for federal payroll protection loans, and there are a lot of prominent Chicago-area companies that made the list.
From museums and restaurants to law firms and supermarkets, nearly 4,000 Illinois businesses and nonprofits were approved for PPP loans worth $1 million or more, according to SBA data, which was published online.
The Brookfield Zoo, Cubs’ sponsor Sloan Valve, Willow Creek Church and Baird & Warner are among the 255 Illinois organizations with PPP loans between $5 million and $10 million — the most allowed under the program.
Other well-known Chicago-area companies approved for at least $1 million in PPP loans include Rosebud Restaurants, Pete’s Fresh Market, Steppenwolf Theatre and Encyclopaedia Britannica.
Read more here. —Robert Channick
[ 27,412 Illinois companies got PPP loans of more than $150,000: Search our database ]
2:40 p.m. (updated 3:35 p.m.): 614 new known COVID-19 cases, 6 additional fatalities
Illinois announced six new deaths from COVID-19 on Monday and 614 new confirmed cases. Additionally, the state announced 21,134 new test results.
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Two Chicago-area counties hit or passed milestones Monday: Lake County with 10,007 confirmed cases and Kendall County with 1,000.
Comparing cases per capita, the city of Chicago is higher than suburban counties, with 1,983 cases per 100,000 people. Suburban Cook with 1,581, Kane with 1,474 and Lake with 1,428 are the next highest. The lowest are McHenry with 687 cases per 100,000 people, Kendall with 782 and DuPage with 1,008.
—Chicago Tribune staff
2:37 p.m.: After threats from Lightfoot over social distancing, Chicago fines five businesses and shuts down party boat
The city of Chicago fined five businesses for violating social distancing rules aimed at curbing the coronavirus over the weekend and also shut down the operator of a Lake Michigan party boat.
The measures followed threats Mayor Lori Lightfoot made on Friday to shut down bars that violated restrictions during a conference call with hundreds of local business owners.
The Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection issued 10 citations to five businesses “for failing to maintain social distancing over the weekend.”
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But a city spokesman said “the majority of businesses heeded the warnings issued last week.”
”I think they got the message,” Lightfoot said on Monday during an unrelated news conference.
Read more here. —Gregory Pratt
2:18 p.m.: Woman charged with battery after altercation over wearing mask at Home Depot in McHenry, police say
A woman involved in a dispute over facial coverings at Home Depot in far northwest suburban McHenry was charged with misdemeanor battery, police said Monday.
The dispute was over a mask intended to be used to prevent spread of the coronavirus, police said, and occurred after one woman took off her mask and the other was not comfortable with that, said Officer Patrick Polidori, a McHenry police spokesman.
Read more here. —Robert McCoppin
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12:29 p.m.: Chicago police superintendent addresses recruits
Standing in front of a group of Chicago police recruits, Superintendent David Brown wanted to ensure that the soon-to-be police officers understood the gravity and importance of their chosen career.
“This country needs you,” he said, pointing to the crowd.
Brown addressed the recruits Monday morning at the Police Academy at 1300 W. Jackson Blvd. The recruits resumed their training at the facility this week with social distancing and safety precautions in place.
In March, CPD canceled all of the training at the academy in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, sending more than 200 recruits to other police facilities to help distribute shipments of tens of thousands of bottles of hand sanitizer and hand wipes, and disinfect the inside of squad cars.
Brown lauded the recruits for choosing to protect and serve during a time where law enforcement officers are under “hyper scrutiny.”
”No one would volunteer to make a split-second decision, and if it’s wrong, risk being fired and prosecuted. No one raises their hand and volunteers for that except for the few brave and courageous people like you,” Brown said in his remarks.
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”If no one else says it, your superintendent told you ‘thank you.’ I appreciate your coming into the profession.”
Brown reassured the recruits that despite the groundswell of criticism law enforcement have received, their service is needed now more than ever. And he had one piece of advice for the recruits: to keep their non-police friends.
”They keep you normal,” he said. “If you don’t, you are likely to start thinking the world is like everything you experience on a 911 call or an arrest, or a protest ... that’s a small slice of the world’s opinion.”
Brown ended his remarks by encouraging the recruits to “stay humble, stay human, and use their discretion.”
”And you stay alive young lady, young man, you stay alive and make it home to your family,” he told them.
—Javonte Anderson
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11:18 a.m.: Treasury identifies 650,000 small businesses that received Paycheck Protection Program loans
The Treasury Department on Monday released the names of more than 650,000 companies that received funds from the government's small business lending program, a massive effort intended to support the economy as states shut down in April to contain the viral outbreak.
Treasury identified just a fraction of the total borrowers, naming only those companies that got more than $150,000. Those firms made up less than 15% of the nearly 5 million small companies that received loans.
The average loan amount for the entire program was $107,000, the Treasury Department said in a broad summary of the program. The government handed out $521 billion through the paycheck protection program, a crucial piece of the government’s $2 trillion rescue package. The loans can be forgiven if the businesses mostly use the money to continue paying their workers.
Read more here. —Associated Press
11:06 a.m.: 239 experts with 1 big claim: The coronavirus is airborne
The coronavirus is finding new victims worldwide, in bars and restaurants, offices, markets and casinos, giving rise to frightening clusters of infection that increasingly confirm what many scientists have been saying for months: The virus lingers in the air indoors, infecting those nearby.
If airborne transmission is a significant factor in the pandemic, especially in crowded spaces with poor ventilation, the consequences for containment will be significant. Masks may be needed indoors, even in socially distant settings. Health care workers may need N95 masks that filter out even the smallest respiratory droplets as they care for coronavirus patients.
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Ventilation systems in schools, nursing homes, residences and businesses may need to minimize recirculating air and add powerful new filters. Ultraviolet lights may be needed to kill viral particles floating in tiny droplets indoors.
Read more here. —The New York Times
9:38 a.m.: COVID-19 is hastening a cash-free culture. People ‘don’t want to have to touch anything.’
On a typical Sunday, patrons at Julien Cornu’s cheese shop used to load up on Camembert and chèvre for the week, with about half the customers digging into their pockets for euro notes and coins.
But in the era of the coronavirus, cash is no longer à la mode at La Fromagerie, as social distancing requirements and concerns over hygiene prompt nearly everyone who walks through his door to pay with plastic.
“People are using cards and contactless payments because they don’t want to have to touch anything,” Cornu said, as a line of mask-wearing shoppers stood 3 feet apart before approaching the register and swiping contactless cards over a reader.
While cash is still accepted, even older shoppers — his toughest clientele when it comes to adopting digital habits — are voluntarily making the switch.
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Read more here. —The New York Times
7:21 a.m.: Lobbyists tied to Trump helped clients secure more than $10 billion in COVID-19 federal aid, report says
Forty lobbyists with ties to President Donald Trump helped clients secure more than $10 billion in federal coronavirus aid, among them five former administration officials whose work potentially violates Trump's own ethics policy, according to a report.
The lobbyists identified Monday by the watchdog group Public Citizen either worked in the Trump executive branch, served on his campaign, were part of the committee that raised money for inaugural festivities or were part of his presidential transition. Many are donors to Trump’s campaigns, and some are prolific fundraisers for his reelection.
Read more here. —Associated Press
6:45 a.m.: Chicago Police Training Academy reopens following coronavirus shutdown
The Chicago Police Department was scheduled to reopen its Training Academy on Monday, “with social distancing and safety precautions in place,” according to a news release from the department.
Police Superintendent David Brown was scheduled to greet police recruits at the academy, 1300 W. Jackson Blvd., Monday morning with Chief of Detectives Chief Brendan Deenihan. The academy has been closed since the coronavirus shutdown in March,
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After meeting with recruits Brown was scheduled to speak to reporters about violence over the July Fourth holiday weekend. — Chicago Tribune staff
6 a.m.: Long imprisoned, man wins early release amid pandemic, but efforts to clear his name continue
Nearly 23 years after the fateful night that he lost his freedom, Antonio McDowell walked out of a state prison last month a free man eager to put his past behind him and committed to proving he was wrongfully convicted.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker commuted McDowell’s sentence to time served June 22 in another round of executive clemency decisions amid the coronavirus pandemic. Since March, the governor has either pardoned or commuted the prison sentences of 33 men and women convicted of crimes that date to 1978 and range from cannabis possession to murder.
In an emergency clemency petition to the governor in early April, McDowell’s legal team at the Exoneration Project in Chicago cited the mushrooming allegations against former Chicago Detective Reynaldo Guevara, who has been accused by more than four dozen people of manipulating witnesses, fabricating evidence and framing suspects in predominantly Hispanic West Side neighborhoods in the 1980s and 1990s, to bolster their argument that McDowell is innocent.
They also argued his continued confinement was akin to a death sentence given an autoimmune disorder that affects his ability to breathe. At least 13 Illinois inmates have died since March of COVID-19 complications, including 12 at Stateville Correctional Center, where McDowell was housed.
Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx did not object to his possible release, based on his medical condition, but prosecutors still maintain evidence points to his guilt. Read more here. — Christy Gutowski
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Breaking coronavirus news Stay up to date with the latest information on coronavirus with our breaking news alerts.
Here are five things that happened this weekend related to coronavirus in Illinois:


chicagotribune--2020-07-06--Ordinance to require more COVID-19 help for residents of large Chicago senior buildings sent to City

Ordinance to require more COVID-19 help for residents of large Chicago senior buildings sent to City Council for vote

The Tribune found this spring that residents of low-income senior housing in Chicago were being kept in the dark about @ @ @ @ @ and that at least 90 people had died by late May in such buildings in @ @ @ @ @ does not require residents to be notified when someone dies of COVID-19 in their building @ @ @ @ @ deaths in the city is publicly available from the Cook County medical examiner ’ s @ @

Davetta Brooks, a 75-year-old resident of the Congressman George Collins Apartments in Chicago, is shown July 6, 2020. She is a member of the Jane Addams Senior Caucus and spoke out against poor conditions in her senior apartment building amid the COVID-19 pandemic. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)
In March, 75-year-old Davetta Brooks became worried when staff at her Chicago senior apartment building did not wear masks or gloves.
That was around the same time Gov. J.B. Pritzker issued a stay-at-home order to guard against the spread of COVID-19. Brooks soon heard that staff members had been diagnosed with the coronavirus.
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“No type of wellness tests or testing came after that,” Brooks said Monday at a City Council hearing. “We were just left to fend for ourselves.”
Brooks shared her experience with members of the Committee on Health and Human Relations. The committee recommended Monday the full council approve an ordinance aimed at protecting residents of buildings for older Chicagoans from the pandemic.
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“It pains me to know that you all know and the management knew the impact of this COVID-19 on seniors,” Brooks told committee members. “Some of this could’ve been prevented. … We don’t know what’s going on. All we hear are the ambulances.”
Brooks is a member of the Jane Addams Senior Caucus, an organization aimed at addressing social justice issues. Her organization helped craft and finalize the ordinance, which would require personal protective equipment for staff members working with seniors. It also mandates frequent cleaning of buildings.
The Tribune found this spring that residents of low-income senior housing in Chicago were being kept in the dark about coronavirus deaths in their buildings and that at least 90 people had died by late May in such buildings in the city. The ordinance does not require residents to be notified when someone dies of COVID-19 in their building, although information about coronavirus deaths in the city is publicly available from the Cook County medical examiner’s office.
Ald. Maria Hadden, 49th, a sponsor of the ordinance, said members of the senior caucus discussed the issue of not receiving notifications regarding deaths and illnesses in care facilities. But a provision to address this was not added because of questions about privacy, Hadden said.
The ordinance does require staff to conduct wellness checks on seniors multiple times a week, to ensuring residents have needed medications, food and working utilities. Wellness checks can combat the isolation brought on by COVID-19 social distancing guidelines, said Rebecca Murray, manager of clinical behavioral health at Oak Street Health.
A provision would require translations of all communication to residents in their primary languages.
A professional interpreter helped prepare a statement from Maria Perez, a Spanish speaker and member of the Jane Addams Senior Caucus. Perez lives in a Chicago senior apartment building.
For three months, Perez said she carried hot water from her kitchen to her bathroom, unable to tell her building manager there was an issue with her shower water. She recently had back surgery.
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“There is nothing — no communication in our languages, no services, no attention,” Perez said. “They think that we are disposable like trash. We have been abandoned.”
Hadden said she believes it is the duty of elected officials to work with residents in building solutions to issues.
“The pandemic has shaken us to the core, further revealing the gaps and the flaws in our social safety net and decision-making structures,” Hadden said.
“As now a representative of government, I almost feel like I have to apologize for government that we have not been as proactive on this — that we’re discussing it now during a pandemic,” said Ald. Andre Vasquez, 40th, one of more than a half-dozen aldermen who spoke at the hearing.
Recent data shows that infection and death rates in long-term care facilities are dropping. However, outbreaks in nursing homes, assisted living centers and other congregate-care facilities are linked to 55% of Illinois deaths from COVID-19.
Brooks said she hopes the ordinance will be passed to protect seniors.
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“Seniors aren’t buildings or ZIP codes,” she said. “We’re people that belong to people.”
The ordinance is scheduled to be voted on July 22 by the full council.


chicagotribune--2020-07-06--Federal judge orders Dakota Access pipeline, which has proposed controversial expansion in Illinois

Federal judge orders Dakota Access pipeline, which has proposed controversial expansion in Illinois and other states, to shut down pending review

“ The economic implications of the Judge ’ s order are too big to ignore and we will do all @ @ @ @ @ continued operation , ” she said .
“ Billions of dollars in tax and royalty @ @ @ @ @ state , local and tribal governments in North Dakota , South Dakota , Iowa and @ @ @ @ @ as crude transportation will move to rail , displacing corn , wheat and soy crops @ @ @ @ @ to market .
Ironically , the counties along these rail lines will face increased environmental @ @ @ @ @ amount of crude oil traveling by rail .
”

America Indians and their supporters march toward the White House in Washington on March 10, 2017, to rally against continued construction of the disputed Dakota Access pipeline. (Manuel Balce Ceneta / AP)
FARGO, N.D. — A judge on Monday ordered the Dakota Access pipeline, which flows to a hub in central Illinois, shut down for additional environmental review more than three years after it began pumping oil — handing a victory to the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and delivering a blow to President Donald Trump’s efforts to weaken public health and environmental protections it views as obstacles to businesses.
In a 24-page order, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg in Washington, D.C., wrote that he was “mindful of the disruption” that shutting down the pipeline would cause, but that it must be done within 30 days. Pipeline owner Energy Transfer Partners plans to ask a court to halt the order and will seek an expedited appeal, spokeswoman Vicki Granado said.
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Jack Darin, director for the Illinois Chapter of the Sierra Club, said the ruling is a monumental win for environmental protections and could set precedent to stop the pipeline from expanding in Illinois.
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“The pipeline was a bad idea and a worse idea now when the demand of oil is crashing,” Darin said, referring to one of the results of the coronavirus pandemic on the oil industry. “For far too long the concerns of Native Americans and their efforts to protect their waters have fallen on deaf ears. Today’s ruling is testament to the perseverance of Indigenous people and the value that they hold in their water resources.”
The pipeline connects to an existing pipeline in Illinois, Darin said. Prior to the order, there were talks to double the pipeline’s capacity in Illinois which could lead to potential risk for oil spills.
“It’s time to abandon this project for good,” he said. “It does not seem timely for Illinois to be considering approval for one section of the project just as another part of the project is being shut down.”
The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe initiated litigation against the pipeline in 2017. Meanwhile, last year, Energy Transfer proposed increasing the volume, pumping up to 1.1 million barrels from the oil-rich Bakken region in North Dakota through South Dakota and Iowa into Illinois.
The oil companies filed a petition for upgrades with the Illinois Commerce Commission seeking authorization to build a new pump station in Hancock County, north of Quincy, and replace and add pumps at the oil tank complex in Patoka, about 80 miles east of St. Louis.
But the filing drew objections from environmental groups Sierra Club and Save Our Illinois Land and a landowner with property near the pipeline. The company has said the increased volume would not create more risks of spills.
The Monday order comes after Boesberg said in April that a more extensive review was necessary than what the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers already conducted and that he would consider whether the pipeline should be shuttered during the new assessment.
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“The Court does not reach its decision with blithe disregard for the lives it will affect,” Boasberg wrote Monday.
“Yet, given the seriousness of the Corps’ NEPA (National Environmental Policy Act) error, the impossibility of a simple fix, the fact that Dakota Access did assume much of its economic risk knowingly, and the potential harm each day the pipeline operates, the Court is forced to conclude that the flow of oil must cease,” he added.
The findings may challenge the legal footing for the Trump administration’s most momentous environmental rollbacks. Trump surrounded himself with industry leaders and workers in hard hats this January when he announced plans to overhaul the rules for enforcing NEPA.
The Dakota Access pipeline was the subject of months of protests in 2016 and 2017, sometimes violent, during its construction near the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation that straddles the North Dakota-South Dakota border.
The $3.8 billion, 1,172-mile pipeline crosses beneath the Missouri River, just north of the reservation. The tribe draws its water from the river and fears pollution.
“This pipeline should have never been built here. We told them that from the beginning,” Standing Rock Sioux Chairman Mike Faith said in a statement.
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Texas-based Energy Transfer Partners contends proper procedures were followed in granting the original easement for the pipeline, Granado said.
“The economic implications of the Judge’s order are too big to ignore and we will do all we can to ensure its continued operation,” she said. “Billions of dollars in tax and royalty revenue will be lost by state, local and tribal governments in North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa and Illinois. Farmers will suffer as crude transportation will move to rail, displacing corn, wheat and soy crops that would normally be moved to market. Ironically, the counties along these rail lines will face increased environmental risks due to the increased amount of crude oil traveling by rail.”
Ron Ness, president of the North Dakota Petroleum Council, decried what he called a “shocking” ruling and noted that the pipeline is moving 570,000 barrels of Bakken oil a day.
Before the coronavirus pandemic devastated the U.S. oil industry, daily oil production in North Dakota — the nation’s No. 2 oil producer behind Texas — was at a near-record 1.45 million barrels daily. The state’s output slipped to below 1 million barrels daily in May amid low energy prices and sparse demand.
Permits for the project were originally rejected by the Obama administration, and the Army Corps of Engineers prepared to conduct a full environmental review. In February 2017, after Trump took office, the Corps scrapped the review and granted permits, concluding that running the pipeline under the Missouri River posed no significant environmental issues.
The Corps said that opinion was validated after an additional year of review, as ordered by Boasberg, an Obama appointee, in 2017.
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Boasberg ruled then that the Corps “largely complied” with environmental law when permitting the pipeline but ordered more review because he said the agency did not adequately consider how an oil spill under the Missouri River might affect the Standing Rock Sioux’s fishing and hunting rights, or whether it might disproportionately affect the tribal community.
Associated Press writers James MacPherson in Bismarck, North Dakota, and Ellen Knickmeyer in Oklahoma City and Chicago Tribune’s Jessica Villagomez contributed.


chicagotribune--2020-07-06--Teen shot near July 4 party in Zion that drew hundreds

The teen had a single gunshot wound to the neck and was transported to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville @ @ @ @ @ transferred to Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge for surgery , police said in @ @ @

A 17-year-old Zion man was in serious condition following a Saturday night shooting near a party that drew hundreds of people, according to a press release issued by Zion police.
Police had been investigating a fight from a large party at the nearby Hebron Townhouse Apartments when they were called about the shooting at Galilee Avenue and 27th Street, according to the release.
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“Officers located at least six spent shell casings and recovered a loaded 9mm handgun. The crowd size at the party is estimated at over 200 people,” according to the release.
The teen had a single gunshot wound to the neck and was transported to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville for treatment. He was transferred to Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge for surgery, police said in the release.
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Anyone with information should call Zion police at 847-872-8000 or Lake County Crime Stoppers at 847-662-2222.


chicagotribune--2020-07-06--Watch live: Chicago police announce charges in shooting death of 7-year-old girl

Chicago police officials announce charges in the killing of a 7-year-old girl , who was fatally shot on Saturday as @ @ @ @ @ the South Austin neighborhood .

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chicagotribune--2020-07-06--Gurnee standoff ends with self-inflicted fatal gunshot, police say

At roughly 9:30 p.m. Friday , police found a woman with a gunshot wound to the stomach on the floor @ @ @ @ @ 6700 block of Derby Drive , according to a press release .
A child also @ @ @ @ @ , and both were removed .
The woman was transported to Advocate Condell Medical Center @ @ @ @ @ listed in critical condition , according to a Saturday press release .
The child was @ @ @

An hourslong standoff after police say a man shot a woman in a Gurnee residence ended after police sent a drone inside the apartment and found the suspect dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, Gurnee police said.
At roughly 9:30 p.m. Friday, police found a woman with a gunshot wound to the stomach on the floor of an apartment in the 6700 block of Derby Drive, according to a press release. A child also was found in the home, and both were removed. The woman was transported to Advocate Condell Medical Center for treatment. She was listed in critical condition, according to a Saturday press release. The child was not harmed.
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Police then determined a man was still inside the apartment, but he would not come outside.
“A few hours into the standoff, a drone entered the apartment to determine the location of the subject inside. The subject was located in the apartment with a fatal, self-inflicted, gunshot wound,” according to the police department press release.
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The Northern Illinois Police Alarm System’s (NIPAS) Emergency Response Team was assisted with the response. The incident remained under investigation Saturday, police said.


chicagotribune--2020-07-06--Police investigating shooting at Griffith party; 2 south suburban men wounded

In late May , a 19-year-old Merrillville woman at Park West Apartments told police she ’ d been shot as @ @ @ @ @ she and her boyfriend were visiting by an unknown person she couldn ’ t describe @ @ @ @ @ was shot on the couch inside the apartment she was visiting with her boyfriend , @ @ @ @ @ Mance said .

Two men were shot during a Griffith house party after another group got kicked out of it for “being unruly” early Sunday morning, police said.
Griffith police responded to a shots fired call in the 1900 block of Arbogast Avenue in Park West Apartments at approximately 2 a.m. July 5, Griffith Police Chief Greg Mance said in a release Monday. They were told a person had been shot as well, Mance said.
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Preliminary investigation indicates that a Park West resident hosting a party kicked out an unwelcome group and as they left, they started shooting, Mance said. Two men – a 20-year-old from Lansing, Illinois; and a 27-year-old man from Harvey, Illinois – were injured, but neither suffered life-threatening injuries, he said.
Additionally, several residents’ vehicles near the scene were damaged by stray bullets, Mance said.
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The Griffith Police Department encourages anyone with information to contact Detective Sgt. Jim Sibley at 219-924-7503, Ext. 239. Anonymous tips may be provided to police by calling 219-922-3085.
In late May, a 19-year-old Merrillville woman at Park West Apartments told police she’d been shot as she was leaving an apartment she and her boyfriend were visiting by an unknown person she couldn’t describe, but then said she was shot on the couch inside the apartment she was visiting with her boyfriend, his family and friends, Mance said.
The Griffith Police Department was assisted by the Griffith Fire Department, Highland PD, Munster PD, and the Lake County Sheriff’s Department.
Michelle L. Quinn is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.


chicagotribune--2020-07-06--Man convicted of shooting into murder victim’s grave sentenced to 15 years in prison

“ The mourners were all in the immediate vicinity of the defendant when he produced the loaded weapon and were @ @ @ @ @ defendant ’ s reckless firing of the weapon into the gravesite .
”

Elston Stevenson was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison after he was convicted of firing a gun at Evergreen Cemetery in Evergreen Park on Nov. 22, 2017, during a graveside funeral service for Murad Talib, 39, who was found Nov. 20, 2017, shot to death in his Palos Heights home. (Cook County sheriff's office)
A Chicago man with a long criminal history was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison after he was convicted of firing a gun into the open grave of a man murdered just two days prior, authorities said.
U.S. District Judge John J. Tharp Jr. handed down the sentence Wednesday after Elston Stevenson, 57, pleaded guilty to one count of illegal possession of a firearm by a felon, according to a news release Monday from the U.S. attorney’s office in Chicago.
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Stevenson, who has a criminal background dating to the 1980s, was accused of firing a single shot into the grave of Murad Talib during a November 2017 funeral service at the Evergreen Cemetery, 3401 W. 87th St. in south suburban Evergreen Park.
He was prosecuted through the Department of Justice’s Project Guardian and Project Safe Neighborhoods crime-reduction strategies, along with assistance from the Cook County state’s attorney’s office and the Evergreen Park police, officials said.
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“When a felon brings a loaded gun to a populated area and uses the gun to threaten and endanger strangers, this conduct will not be tolerated,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Cornelius A. Vandenberg argued in the government’s sentencing memorandum.
“The mourners were all in the immediate vicinity of the defendant when he produced the loaded weapon and were placed in danger by the defendant’s reckless firing of the weapon into the gravesite.”
Prior to the federal case, Cook County prosecutors originally charged Stevenson with unlawful use of a weapon by a felon and aggravated discharge of a firearm.
Appearing before a county judge for a Thanksgiving Day bail hearing in 2017, prosecutors at the time said Stevenson was among at least 20 mourners present for Talib’s burial when he pulled a handgun, fired a shot and said, “you deserved it.” In their statement, federal authorities added that Stevenson also allegedly said: “You ain’t (expletive).”
Just two days before the graveside shooting, Talib, 39, was found fatally shot inside his home in Palos Heights. The Cook County medical examiner’s office found that Talib had suffered multiple gunshot wounds and ruled his death a homicide--the only one in the suburb in the last 30 years.
At the time of the shooting, Palos Heights police said Talib’s slaying was not a random act and police believe he was targeted, but offered no other details.
Federal authorities didn’t provide a motive for Stevenson’s actions and a representative from Evergreen Park police wasn’t available for comment. Palos Heights police on Monday said Talib’s case remains open. Suburban investigators are continuing to pursue leads, but criminal charges aren’t forthcoming, according to deputy police chief Dave Delaney.
wlee@chicagotribune.com
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Twitter @MidNoirCowboy


chicagotribune--2020-07-06--27,412 Illinois companies got PPP loans of more than $150,000: Search our database

More than 200,000 Illinois companies received loans through the federal government ’ s Paycheck Protection Program .
The U.S. Department @ @ @ @ @ the names of companies that received loans of more than $ 150,000 .
Those 27,412 @ @ @ @ @

More than 200,000 Illinois companies received loans through the federal government’s Paycheck Protection Program. The U.S. Department of Treasury is only releasing the names of companies that received loans of more than $150,000. Those 27,412 companies are listed below.


chicagotribune--2020-07-06--Man rescued from Lake Michigan near Buckingham Fountain, taken to hospital in critical condition

Fire and police crews responded to reports of a man in the lake about 12:50 p.m. , according to Fire @ @ @ @ @ Crews rescued the man near 500 S. Lake Shore Drive and transported him about 1:20 @ @

A 24-year-old man was pulled out of Lake Michigan near Grant Park and taken to a hospital Monday afternoon, according to Chicago police and fire officials.
The man had jumped in the lake on his own to go for a swim, police said.
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Fire and police crews responded to reports of a man in the lake about 12:50 p.m., according to Fire Department spokesman Larry Merritt. Crews rescued the man near 500 S. Lake Shore Drive and transported him about 1:20 p.m.
The man was in critical condition after being taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital for treatment, according to police.


chicagotribune--2020-07-06--From museums and restaurants to law firms and supermarkets, thousands of Chicago-area businesses got

From museums and restaurants to law firms and supermarkets, thousands of Chicago-area businesses got PPP loans worth $1 million or more

The SBA released the names of more than 660,000 businesses nationwide that received PPP loans of $ 150,000 or more @ @ @ @ @ of the more than 4.9 million loans approved during the program , as the names @ @ @ @ @ were not released .

Guests with face masks enter at the South Gate as Brookfield Zoo reopens, although only with outdoor exhibits. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
The Small Business Administration on Monday released a list of some of the businesses approved for federal payroll protection loans, and a lot of prominent Chicago-area companies received funds to help them through the coronavirus pandemic.
From museums and restaurants to law firms and supermarkets, nearly 4,000 Illinois businesses and nonprofits were approved for PPP loans worth $1 million or more, according to SBA data, which was published online. Others received smaller sums.
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The Brookfield Zoo, Cubs sponsor Sloan Valve, Willow Creek Church and Baird & Warner are among the 255 Illinois organizations with PPP loans between $5 million and $10 million — the most allowed under the program.
Other well-known Chicago-area companies approved for at least $1 million in PPP loans include Rosebud Restaurants, Pete’s Fresh Market, Steppenwolf Theatre and Encyclopaedia Britannica.
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[ 27,412 Illinois companies got PPP loans of more than $150,000: Search our database ]
The SBA released the names of more than 660,000 businesses nationwide that received PPP loans of $150,000 or more. That represents a fraction of the more than 4.9 million loans approved during the program, as the names of borrowers under $150,000 were not released.
The list is notable for its breadth and diversity, emblematic of the widespread economic devastation wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic and the statewide stay-at-home orders that have disrupted business since March.
In addition to the Rosebud group, Chicago-area restaurants approved for $1 million or more in PPP loans include Buona Beef, Eataly, Home Run Inn, City Winery and the Purple Pig.
The Crescent Garden, which contains flowers with colors conducive to pollinators, is seen July 23, 2019, at the Bees and Beyond exhibit at the Chicago Botanic Garden in Glencoe. The garden received a Paycheck Protection Program loan. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)
The Adler Planetarium, the Museum of Science and Industry and the Shedd Aquarium are among the museums that received the $1 million-plus PPP loans.
The Chicago Botanic Garden, Lincoln Park Zoo, Navy Pier, Morton Arboretum and the Joffrey Ballet are among other cultural destinations that received loans.
Also receiving them were media companies including public TV station WTTW-Ch. 11, public radio station WBEZ-FM 91.5, the Chicago Sun-Times and the Arlington Heights-based Daily Herald.
Real estate development companies including Lincoln Yards developer Sterling Bay, Oxford Hotels and Inland Real Estate Investment Corp. also received $1 million or more in PPP loans.
Chicago’s Admiral Theatre, which sued the SBA for allegedly shutting adult nightclubs out of the PPP program, was approved for a loan of between $350,000 and $1 million last month.
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Launched April 3, the federal paycheck program offers businesses with fewer than 500 employees forgivable loans of up to $10 million to cover eight weeks of payroll. The initial $349 billion in funding ran out in less than two weeks, with many smaller businesses shut out, as banks allegedly prioritized larger clients ahead of mom-and-pop businesses.
That led to a number of class-action lawsuits and pushback from lawmakers and small-business advocates, pressuring some “larger” small businesses like Ruth’s Chris, Shake Shack and Chicago-based Potbelly to give back their loans.
The $310 billion second round of PPP, which began April 27, focused on smaller businesses, but demand fell off amid concerns about loan forgiveness. Last month, Congress approved legislation making the terms more flexible, extending the covered period to 24 weeks and reducing the portion of the loan that must be used for payroll to 60%.
When the program expired June 30, the government had approved nearly 4.9 million loans worth more than $521 billion, with an average loan size of about $107,000. In Illinois, the SBA approved 202,143 loans worth nearly $22.5 billion, with an average loan of about $111,000.
The SBA reopened loan applications Monday, extending the deadline through Aug. 8 in an effort to distribute the remaining $138 billion in funds.
rchannick@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-07-06--Indiana officials investigate report of assault on Black man, say white men threatened to ‘get a noo

Indiana officials investigate report of assault on Black man, say white men threatened to ‘get a noose’

In his Facebook post , Booker said that he apologized after the men told him they were trespassing , but @ @ @ @ @ attacked him .
Booker wrote that the men threatened to break his arms and said @ @ @ @ @ , ” while telling his friends to leave the area .
He also said one @ @ @ @ @ hat with a Confederate flag on it and that the men made statements about “ @ @ @ @

A Black man says a group of white men assaulted him and threatened to “get a noose” after claiming that he and his friends had trespassed on private property as they gathered at an Indiana lake over the Fourth of July weekend.
Vauhxx Booker, a local civil rights activist and member of the Monroe County Human Rights Commission, posted cellphone video on Facebook that shows part of the altercation. He said he called 911 Saturday after the men assaulted him and pinned him to a tree at Lake Monroe, south of Booker's hometown of Bloomington.
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Law enforcement officers with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources responded and are investigating, said Capt. Jet Quillen. A final report will be forwarded to the Monroe County Prosecutor’s Office, Quillen said, providing no other details about what happened or whether any arrests have been made.
The Monroe County Prosecutor’s Office did not immediately respond to The Associated Press’ request for comment.
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In his Facebook post, Booker said that he apologized after the men told him they were trespassing, but that five white men then attacked him. Booker wrote that the men threatened to break his arms and said, “get a noose,” while telling his friends to leave the area. He also said one of the men had a hat with a Confederate flag on it and that the men made statements about “white power.”
One video clip that he posted shows a white man holding Booker up against a tree. Another depicts a different man calling someone off-camera a “nappy headed (expletive).” In another, the same man yells, “You invaded us!” and calls someone in Booker’s group a “stupid (expletive) liberal (expletive).”
“We were calm and polite, but looking back now, it’s apparent that these individuals began targeting our group the moment they saw myself, a Black man, and were looking to provoke a conflict,” Booker wrote.
Booker said he suffered a minor concussion, cuts, bruises and had patches of his hair pulled out.
Bloomington Mayor John Hamilton and Bloomington City Clerk Nicole Bolden issued a statement Monday expressing their “outrage and grief” over what they said was a racially motivated attack.
State Sen. Mark Stoops, a Bloomington Democrat, said he was “horrified by the racist attack” and called on Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb to suspend and investigate the Department of Natural Resources officers who responded to the scene for failing to make any arrests.
“This is not just an issue of violence,” Stoops said in a statement Monday, “this is clearly a hate crime and must be treated as such.”
In 2018, Booker spoke out after a Bloomington Transit employee accused Booker of stealing a bus pass shortly after he bought a ticket. Booker said the employee sold him the pass, then could not find proof of the transaction and called the police. The unnamed Bloomington Transit employee was fired.


chicagotribune--2020-07-06--Where does Illinois stand on the reopening plan? Here are the charts

With each of the state ’ s four regions in Phase 3 of Gov .
J.B. Pritzker ’ s Restore @ @ @ @ @ starts on moving on to Phase 4 , where more businesses and activities are allowed @ @ @ @ @ Illinois — from restaurants and salons to open space to non-COVID-19 procedures at the hospital @ @ @ @ @ depends on a host of metrics laid out by Pritzker .

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

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


chicagotribune--2020-07-06--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--2020-07-06--Sixth straight air quality alert issued as Chicago heads into hot week

“ Having five days here straight , that ’ s a long stretch , ” Biggs said , before the @ @ @ @ @ .
“ The last one I can remember like this is back in 2012 , @ @ @ @ @ summer .
As weather systems start moving through the area , if we get some @ @ @ @ @ break it up that ’ ll certainly help things .
”

An air quality alert was issued for the Chicago area until midnight Tuesday by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency as the region heads into a hot week, with temperatures predicted to reach the 90s.
The air quality alert follows a hot Fourth of July weekend and is the sixth straight issued since Thursday. Active adults and children are advised to limit outdoor activity, especially if they have a pulmonary or respiratory disease.
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The alerts have been issued in part because of particulate matter still in the air from July Fourth displays, said Illinois EPA spokesperson Kim Biggs. The Chicago area is seeing elevated ozone levels caused by a chemical reaction between sunlight and emissions from vehicles or industry.
“With the fireworks as well as the heat and temperatures without any rain and low wind, we expected air quality to be stagnant in the area,” Biggs said.
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The Illinois EPA declared Monday an air pollution action day, meaning people are encouraged to take action to reduce contributions to air pollution.
The Illinois EPA’s warnings this week mark a particularly long stretch of air quality alerts, Biggs said.
“Having five days here straight, that’s a long stretch,” Biggs said, before the alert was extended to Tuesday. “The last one I can remember like this is back in 2012, when we had another hot summer. As weather systems start moving through the area, if we get some rain or winds to help break it up that’ll certainly help things.”
Taking public transit to reduce driving is one way people can help, Biggs said. Sensitive groups are advised to take special precaution and go indoors if they experience difficulty breathing or tightness in the chest.
Along with higher levels of air pollution, Chicagoans can expect the week’s high temperatures to range in the 80s and 90s, according to the National Weather Service.
There is a slight chance of rain or thunderstorms Tuesday and toward the end of the week, although most areas should stay dry, said Rafal Ogorek, a meteorologist with the weather service.
“We’re getting into that time of year where several days are dry but with the hot temperatures you can occasionally get some scattered showers and thunderstorms in the area,” Ogorek said.
Chicago is usually in the low to mid-80s for high temperatures at this time of year, meaning the week’s forecast is about 10 degrees warmer than average, Ogorek said.
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“The primary variable will definitely be the heat,” Ogorek said. “I’d recommend if you’re working outside, definitely take frequent breaks because it can get hot pretty quick in the afternoon hours.”
For more details and updates on the forecast, check the Tribune’s weather page.
kelsmith@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-07-06--Illinois coronavirus graphs: 7,026 deaths, 147,865 confirmed cases, 1.78 million tests, 4.18% positi

Illinois coronavirus graphs: 7,026 deaths, 147,865 confirmed cases, 1.78 million tests, 4.18% positivity rate for Chicago area

Comparing cases per capita , the city of Chicago is higher than suburban counties , with 1,983 cases per 100,000 @ @ @ @ @ 1,581 , Kane with 1,474 and Lake with 1,428 are the next highest .
The @ @ @ @ @ cases per 100,000 people , Kendall with 782 and DuPage with 1,008 .

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--2020-07-06--Officials: Aurora child dies after she was attacked by dog

When fire crews arrived , the child ’ s father was outside the house holding the girl in his arms @ @ @ @ @ said .
She was unresponsive but had a pulse , and she was transported to @ @ @ @ @ Center in Joliet .

A 1-year-old Aurora girl was killed by a dog over the weekend in Joliet, officials said.
Joliet Fire Department officials said they responded to a call at 1:27 a.m. Sunday of a child who was attacked by a dog in the 1800 block of Cumberland Drive in Joliet.
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When fire crews arrived, the child’s father was outside the house holding the girl in his arms, Fire Chief Greg Blaskey said. She was unresponsive but had a pulse, and she was transported to AMITA Health St. Joseph Medical Center in Joliet.
Will County Coroner’s Office officials reported an autopsy performed Monday showed the girl sustained multiple injuries after she was wounded by a dog.
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mejones@chicagotribune.com
This story is developing and will be updated


chicagotribune--2020-07-06--Holiday weekend marked by fatal drownings: One in Lake Michigan at Illinois Beach State Park, anothe

Holiday weekend marked by fatal drownings: One in Lake Michigan at Illinois Beach State Park, another on Chain O’Lakes involving Palatine police officer

The boy was taken to Vista Medical Center East in Waukegan , Torbert said .
Both Torbert and the Beach @ @ @ @ @ release said they did not know his condition as of Monday .

Illinois Beach State Park was the site of a fatal drowning and a near drowning Sunday. (Joe Shuman/Lake County News-Sun) (Joe Shuman / Pioneer Press)
The drowning of a Palatine police officer on the Chain O’Lakes Friday was followed by a near drowning and another fatal drowning, both in Lake Michigan at Illinois Beach State Park Sunday, Lake County authorities said.
The Lake County Coroner’s Office identified the 49-year-old Round Lake Beach man who died Friday as Victor Lopez.
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A second man, identified by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources as a 27-year-old, has not yet been identified. An autopsy is planned for Tuesday, after which Coroner Howard Cooper said he plans to release further information.
Illinois Beach State Park was open Monday. (Joe Shuman/Lake Countu News-Sun) (Joe Shuman / Pioneer Press)
The man was pulled from Lake Michigan at Illinois Beach State Park, according to Lake County Sheriff’s Office spokesman, Sgt. Christopher Covelli. Sheriff’s deputies, who were the first to arrive at the scene, performed CPR and used an automated external defibrillator until paramedics arrived.
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The incident occurred shortly after a near drowning at another location in the park, IDNR spokeswoman Rachel Torbert said. Illinois Conservation Police and the Beach Park Fire Department responded at 4:30 p.m. Sunday for a water rescue of a boy on Illinois Beach State Park’s south end.
Emergency responders drove about 1.3 miles through trails with an ATV and IDNR vehicle to reach the 12-year-old boy, according to a news release from the Beach Park Fire Department. Paramedics took over CPR once they arrive.
The boy was taken to Vista Medical Center East in Waukegan, Torbert said. Both Torbert and the Beach Park Fire Department in the release said they did not know his condition as of Monday.
Illinois Conservation Police, Gurnee Fire Department and the Lake County Sheriff’s Office responded to park’s main parking lot for the fatal drowning at 4:55 p.m. Sunday, Torbert said. The man was also taken to Vista Medical Center East in Waukegan where he was pronounced dead at 6:58 p.m. Sunday.
The investigation into his death remains ongoing, she said.
The investigation into Lopez’s death also continues, but the preliminary autopsy results indicate he died as a result of drowning, Cooper said. Toxicology results are pending.
Lopez, who was identified by the Palatine Police Department as 21-year veteran of the force, had gone missing while swimming with friends at a place in Petite Lake known as the Sandbar, according to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
Lopez’s friends found him under the water near their boat unconscious, began CPR and brought him to shore, according to a preliminary investigation by the sheriff’s office.
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Palatine Police Officer Victor Lopez - Original Credit: (Palatine Police Department / HANDOUT)
Patrol deputies and the marine unit for the Lake County Sheriff’s Office responded about 5:45 p.m. Friday to the 38800 block of North Cedar Crest Drive in unincorporated Lake Villa to assist, according to a news release. The deputies used an automated external defibrillator and attempted to shock the man’s heart back into rhythm.
When paramedics arrived, the man was taken to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville where he died, according to the release.
Lopez, a graduate of Western Illinois University who served as a military police officer in the U.S. Army, joined the Palatine Police Department in June 1999, according to the department. He worked as a field training officer, a juvenile officer and a school resource officer, serving at District 211 Academy’s North campus from 2008 to 2011 and 2015 to 2017.
Lopez received the department’s Life Saving Award following an August 2007 incident where he was credited with saving the life of a distraught teenager.
The teenager had produced a large knife and held it to his own neck, according to a department release. The teenager then cut himself with the knife, causing “significant” injuries, but Lopez’s “quick actions and life saving measures saved the teen’s life.”
Lopez was also commended for his bravery after a June 2019 car crash where Lopez extricated a driver from a burning vehicle, according to the release.
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A memorial service is in the works for Lopez with details to come.