chicagotribune--2020-09-16--Column: Republicans adopt ‘herd mentality’ to Trump’s dangerous rigged-election rhetoric by staying

Column: Republicans adopt ‘herd mentality’ to Trump’s dangerous rigged-election rhetoric by staying silent

And , quite frankly , they would be justified .
But to this point , they haven ’ t had @ @ @ @ @ because no president , Democratic or Republican , has ever done a fraction of what @ @ @ @ @ a presidential election .
Probably because past presidents have possessed at least a modicum of @ @ @ @ @ .

President Donald Trump speaks with reporters as he walks to Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House on Sept. 15, 2020, in Washington. (Alex Brandon/AP)
As President Donald Trump continues to recklessly paint mail-in ballots as nefarious liberal creations, as he tweets and squawks nonsensically about a “rigged election,” there is silence from Republican lawmakers.
They remain quiet as jellyfish, unable to muster a single vertebra let alone a collective spine, while a sitting president sprays disinformation like a crop duster and sets the country up for electoral chaos.
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Understand this: Trump’s unsubstantiated claims of potential voter fraud and his guarantees that the only way he loses is if the other side cheats is real-time election interference. Period.
It’s baseless, shameful nonsense. He’s moving heaven and earth to sow distrust in the voting process, eroding Americans’ faith in a central tenet of our democracy.
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And Republicans seem just fine with it all.
Would they be fine with a Democratic president saying: “The only way we’re going to lose this election is if the election is rigged.”
Would they be fine with a Democratic president spouting lies like this about a Republican governor: “Now he will cheat on the ballots, I have no doubt about it.”
Would they be fine with a Democratic president tweeting: “Because of MAIL-IN BALLOTS, 2020 will be the most RIGGED Election in our nations history.”
Of course not. Their jellyfish bodies would form mighty spines of steel and they would rear up and breathe fire in all directions and Fox News headquarters would spontaneously combust in a poof of unparalleled outrage.
And, quite frankly, they would be justified. But to this point, they haven’t had to worry about it, because no president, Democratic or Republican, has ever done a fraction of what Trump is doing to discredit a presidential election. Probably because past presidents have possessed at least a modicum of integrity and respect for democracy.
Consider just these lines that spanned two tweets Trump sent Monday following a remarkably irresponsible indoor (during a pandemic) rally in Nevada. Trump is directing his anger at Democratic Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak: “Can you imagine this man in charge of the Ballots in Nevada!? Not fair, Rigged Election! @GovSisolak, will use every trick in the book to cheat with Ballots.”
For starters, the governor of Nevada is not “in charge of” ballots. The REPUBLICAN secretary of state, Barbara Cegavske, handles the state’s elections.
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More importantly, what is Trump even talking about? What are the tricks in the book that would allow a governor to cheat an election? How is the election rigged? What evidence does the president have for criminal allegations like these?
On Tuesday morning, our always busy president was on Fox News still harping on Nevada and mail-in ballots saying, “Millions of ballots are going out.”
As Jon Ralston , editor of the Nevada Independent, pointed out: “There are 1.7 million active voters in Nevada.” So Trump is trying to exaggerate the numbers to somehow make a perfectly legal voting process sounds scarier.
According to the Washington Post, “More than 100 times this year, President Trump has peddled false claims or imaginary threats about voting by mail.”
They are false claims and imaginary threats because THERE IS NO EVIDENCE OF WIDESPREAD VOTER FRAUD. Not by in-person voting, not by mail-in voting.
Trump’s own presidential commission tasked with investigating voter fraud shut down because it couldn’t find any.
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Benjamin Ginsberg, a widely respected Republican elections lawyer, wrote a Washington Post op-ed earlier this month that said: “The truth is that after decades of looking for illegal voting, there’s no proof of widespread fraud. At most, there are isolated incidents — by both Democrats and Republicans. Elections are not rigged.”
He cited a voter fraud database run by the conservative Heritage Foundation that holds “every instance of any kind of voter fraud it could find since 1982. It contains 1,296 incidents, a minuscule percentage of the votes cast.”
About 1 out of every 4 Americans cast their vote by mail in the last two federal elections. According to a federal report presented to Congress, more than 31 million people voted by mail in the 2018 general election, nearly 26% of election participants.
And according to the Brennan Center for Justice: “Despite this dramatic increase in mail voting over time, fraud rates remain infinitesimally small.”
Five states have used mail-in voting for years, and 28 other states give voters the right to vote by mail if they want. Mail-in voting has multiple layers of anti-fraud security, from bar codes on envelopes to signature matching and address cross-checks, and contrary to Trump’s fear mongering, election experts agree the idea of criminals rounding up ballots mailed to registered voters and using them to commit election fraud is preposterous.
Richard L. Hasen, an elections expert at the University of California at Irvine School of Law, wrote in April in the Washington Post: “Trump is simply wrong about mail-in balloting raising a ‘tremendous’ potential for fraud.”
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Trump may well win the November election. But if he loses, it’s not going to be because of voter fraud of any sort. His assertion otherwise should be disqualifying. But because it’s Donald Trump and Republicans exist solely to cuddle his ego, it won’t be.
That doesn’t mean you have to let yourself be conned. Read the facts. Consider the stupidly clumsy nature of the lies Trump keeps spilling, like showing he has no clue which Nevada official oversees elections.
Think about, at the very least, the fact that voter fraud is a federal crime that could get a person five years in prison and a $10,000 fine, and how many people you would have to convince to take that risk to truly rig an election.
Then ask yourself this: What does it say about a person who thinks the only way he can lose is if someone else cheats? And what does it say about a person who would sacrifice our democracy for his own gain?
rhuppke@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-09-16--COVID-19 cases have plummeted at Notre Dame since a two-week campus shutdown. Can that work for othe

COVID-19 cases have plummeted at Notre Dame since a two-week campus shutdown. Can that work for other universities struggling to contain the virus’s spread?

“ There was a greater understanding and embrace by the student body at large as to the importance of following @ @ @ @ @ said , `` not only for the obvious reasons of not exposing others ... but @ @ @ @ @ we did not control the spread , we were just going to have to stop @ @ @ @ @ go home and everybody would be online .
I don ’ t think anybody wanted @ @ @

Freshmen Lauren Tamborini and Bailey Donahue move out of a dorm at the University of Wisconsin-Madison after the campus announced a two-week pause in in-person classes. (Mark Hoffmann/Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel)
Nicole Ludford should have been in art history class on a recent morning — her only course meeting in person this semester — but instead she stayed inside her apartment near the University of Wisconsin-Madison and reflected on the school’s most sweeping attempt yet to combat rising COVID-19 cases among students.
The day before, UW-Madison announced a two-week pause on all face-to-face courses and put two predominantly freshman dorms under quarantine as total infections linked to campus topped 1,400. In-person courses were canceled and set to resume remotely on Monday.
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Ludford, a senior from Chicago’s River North neighborhood, isn’t sure the strategy will work. Though cases could drop for a short time, she said she worries the actions don’t address the underlying problem: students gathering, not wearing masks and breaking the rules.
“A lot of people are wearing masks but there’s still a good majority that I look at and I’m just like, ‘You’re going to ruin this year for me,’" said Ludford, 21. "It’s a lot of money to spend on rent and on online classes to be stuck in an apartment and looking out your window.”
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On Tuesday, UW-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank said more than 300 students were under investigation for misconduct and 12 face “emergency suspension” for violating COVID-19 precautions. Two dozen sorority and fraternity chapters have also been quarantined.
In announcing the two-week pause, Blank referenced “the precedent set by several other universities” that did the same, according to a Sept. 9 campus message.
While its long-term success remains to be seen, more universities are trying the two-week pause to overcome outbreaks, as opposed to the more dramatic move of permanently sending students home. That also follows recommendations from public health experts, who say turning students loose could seed new infections in the communities where they return.
With 50 new cases on campus last week, Bradley University in Peoria said it would revert to online learning for at least two weeks and is requiring all students to quarantine. Northern Illinois University followed suit on Friday, suspending in-person classes for undergraduates until Sept. 28 after tallying more than 120 new cases. The University of Wisconsin’s LaCrosse campus has also announced a similar pause this week.
The approach has produced mixed results. It seems to have worked, for now, at the University of Notre Dame, which reinstated in-person classes in early September after a temporary shift to remote instruction. More than 400 students got the virus at the Roman Catholic university near South Bend, Indiana, following the first week of classes, an increase also attributed to off-campus gatherings and partying.
But at Temple University in Philadelphia, the hiatus wasn’t enough. The school announced in late August that classes would be moved online for at least two weeks. Five days later, however, Temple abandoned the plan, made most classes remote for the entire fall semester and offered housing refunds to students who wanted to leave campus.
Notre Dame spokesman Paul Browne said the two-week break worked only because students became more aware of their behavior. It also sent a wake-up call to administrators that COVID-19 could multiply more rapidly than expected.
“There was a greater understanding and embrace by the student body at large as to the importance of following health protocols," Browne said, "not only for the obvious reasons of not exposing others ... but also the idea that if we did not control the spread, we were just going to have to stop in-person instruction, students would go home and everybody would be online. I don’t think anybody wanted that.”
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In examining the cases, Notre Dame found off-campus gatherings — both large and small — accelerated the spread if masks weren’t worn, Browne said. Most cases didn’t stem from attending class or living in the dorms. About 87 students have faced disciplinary action for violating health protocols this semester, Browne said.
During its worst stretch about a month ago, Notre Dame recorded nearly 90 new cases in a single day. A campus hotel and off-campus apartments used for quarantine were filling up. And the school’s original testing program was overwhelmed with students waiting to be assessed.
But cases leveled off during the two-week pause and have remained low, according to the school’s public case dashboard. No more than 21 people have tested positive on a single day since Aug. 25. On multiple days since then, new daily cases landed at one or even zero.
“We are not taking this for granted,” Browne said, adding the school is prepared to make additional adjustments. “We certainly are not declaring victory. It’s something we are focused on daily.”
In Peoria, Bradley University is hoping to replicate that tentative success. The school of about 4,600 students announced the two-week mini-lockdown at a time when about 500 students were in quarantine because of potential exposure to COVID-19.
During the quarantine, set to expire Sept. 23, students must participate in surveillance testing, complete an online symptom tracker, continue wearing masks and refrain from socializing with others, the school says. They are allowed to leave their residences to pick up meals, enjoy the outdoors with roommates while masked, run essential errands and go to work.
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Ethan McDougall, a senior at Bradley from the Rockford area, said he was frustrated with the school’s new restrictions. The sports communication major said he thought Bradley’s decision placed too much blame on students and didn’t hold administrators accountable for poor planning, such as not requiring all returning students to get tested for COVID-19 before moving into university housing.
“I don’t think Bradley did enough to ensure our safety,” said McDougall, 21. “There was no infrastructure set up to make sure this didn’t happen. ... I don’t see how they can expect people who live in dorms to socially distance.”
Matthew Sciarabba, a Bradley junior from Alabama, questioned how effective the quarantine period will be. Sciarabba, majoring in game design, said the rules aren’t all that different from what students were already supposed to be doing, particularly for those living off campus.
“It’s really more of a transition to online classes rather than it being an actual quarantine because everything else is very lax,” said Sciarabba, 20, who lives off campus in a Bradley-owned apartment. “We can basically still be on campus and go do things, we just can’t go to class with large groups of people.”
Since Bradley announced the changes, at least 130 new tests came back positive, according to the school’s COVID-19 dashboard. Last week, the campus positivity rate hit nearly 15%, with 325 tests administered by university health services.
Bradley spokeswoman Renee Charles said the school will assess its options moving forward based on the rate of new infections, which include resuming in-person classes if cases decline. If cases remain high, Bradley might extend the all-student quarantine or move classes online and send most or all students home, Charles said.
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“I think most students are abiding by (the restrictions) but there are always those little pockets who push the limits or disregard the rules,” Charles said in an email.
At UW-Madison, the numbers continue to surge. On Monday, the school reported 194 new cases — 134 of which involved students in campus residences, the school’s dashboard says. That brought the positivity rate among students to 9.2% and a rolling average for the past week above 10%. The cumulative case count now exceeds 2,100 since late July.
In another preventive measure, UW-Madison’s faculty senate voted Tuesday to cancel a nine-day spring break next semester to reduce travel to and from campus.
An earlier version of the story misstated how many days of data is displayed by Notre Dame’s dashboard. The story has been updated.
echerney@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-09-16--Coronavirus in Illinois updates: Here’s what happened Sept. 15 with COVID-19 in the Chicago area

“ We will not formally add them today , but we are advising against travel to Wisconsin , ” Arwady @ @ @ @ @ to highlight that Wisconsin has had the most cases that it has had at any @ @ @ @ @ last week , and they are having percent positivities that range from the 13 to @ @ @ @ @ problems across the state .
”

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Paca Kujtim of Arlington Heights self-administers a COVID-19 test in his car at the Arlington International Racecourse on March 31, 2021 in Arlington Heights. Kujtim was getting testing as a precaution for upcoming travel. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)
Illinois health officials on Tuesday announced 1,466 new known cases of COVID-19 and 20 additional fatalities, bringing the total number of known infections in Illinois to 264,210 and the statewide death toll to 8,332 since the start of the pandemic. Officials also reported 39,031 new tests in the last 24 hours. The seven-day statewide positivity rate is 3.6%.
Meanwhile, with Congress and the White House having yet to agree on a coronavirus relief package that would send additional money to ailing state and local governments, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Tuesday that he’s asked the heads of state agencies to prepare for 5% cuts to this year’s budget and 10% cuts next year.
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Also on Tuesday, city officials said Wisconsin is back on the clock to perhaps get added to the COVID-19 rogue’s gallery of states from which people are expected to stay inside for two weeks if they travel from there to Chicago.
Pointing to a recent spike in cases in Illinois' neighbor to the north, city Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said as soon as next week, Wisconsin could again join other states on the mandatory self-quarantine list if numbers don’t improve.
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Here’s what’s happening Tuesday with COVID-19 in the Chicago area and Illinois:
8:10 p.m. (update): Amid reports that Big Ten football is returning this fall, the conference continues to leave its players and fans in suspense
The Big Ten spent another day toying with the emotions of its players, coaches and fans.
Despite leaks from within the conference and a report in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that “Big Ten football is coming back,” a league source said that as of 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, no vote had been taken on a restart.
A Tuesday night vote was still possible on an eight-game, nine-week schedule beginning Oct. 17 with a Dec. 19 conference title game.
The Big Ten, which has botched nearly every aspect of communications since announcing the postponement of fall sports Aug. 11, provided more mixed messaging Tuesday.
Read more here. —Teddy Greenstein
6:05 p.m.: Pelosi says House to stay in session until lawmakers deliver a COVID-19 rescue package
Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Tuesday the House will remain in session until lawmakers deliver another round of COVID-19 relief, a move that came as Democrats from swing districts signaled discontent with a standoff that could force them to face voters without delivering more aid.
“We are committed to staying here until we have an agreement, an agreement that meets the needs of the American people,” Pelosi said on CNBC.
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Pelosi told her Democratic colleagues on a morning conference call that “we have to stay here until we have a bill.” That’s according to a Democratic aide speaking on condition of anonymity but authorized to quote her remarks.
Read more here. —Associated Press
3 p.m.: Utah added to Chicago’s travel order as 6 states removed
Just one state was added to the city’s travel order Tuesday, as Florida, Idaho, Texas, North Carolina, Hawaii and Nevada were removed, leaving 15 states on the list, but officials warned against travel to Wisconsin, even though the state wasn’t added back onto the list.
Utah was added to the revised mandatory quarantine order. Changes will go into effect Friday, according toDr. Alison Arwady, the city health commissioner.
Read more here. —Katherine Rosenberg-Douglas
2:40 p.m.: Hundreds turn out for Barrington rally calling for end to remote learning, restart of student sports
Hundreds of people packed the lawn at Citizens Park in Barrington Monday, protesting against continuation of remote learning and calling for officials to allow students to play fall sports.
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Barrington police estimated that 500 people attended the “Barrington Back-to-School Rally” and officers were out on foot and directed traffic ahead of the anticipated audience turnout.
The rally was to advocate to get children back to school in person.
“I want my kids to be in school,” said parent Erin Matta, of Barrington.
Amid ongoing concerns over the spread of the novel coronavirus, some school districts – including nationwide – opted to start the 2020-2021 academic year with students doing remote learning.
E-learning was a hot topic at the rally in Barrington Monday and the subject of adverse signage.
Read more here. —Karie Angell Luc
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2:25 p.m.: Chicago health commissioner again sounds warning on Wisconsin COVID-19 cases, talks Halloween planning in the city
Wisconsin is back on the clock to perhaps get added to the COVID-19 rogue’s gallery of states from which people are expected to stay inside for two weeks if they travel from there to Chicago, city officials said Tuesday.
Pointing to a recent spike in cases in Illinois' neighbor to the north, city Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said as soon as next week, Wisconsin could again join other states on the mandatory self-quarantine list if numbers don’t improve.
“We will not formally add them today, but we are advising against travel to Wisconsin,” Arwady said. “I want to highlight that Wisconsin has had the most cases that it has had at any point since COVID broke out last week, and they are having percent positivities that range from the 13 to 17% range, and problems across the state.”
It would be the second time the Badger State earned the distinction.
Read more here. —John Byrne
1:20 p.m.: Metra launches $1 million ad campaign to lure commuters back
With its ridership running at about 10% of normal, Metra is launching a nearly $1 million ad campaign touting its increased daily cleaning regimen in an effort to lure commuters back during the pandemic.
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The “My Metra” campaign, which will hit TV, radio, billboards and digital platforms, highlights the transit agency’s focus on more thorough disinfecting and sanitizing of the train cars to combat the spread of COVID-19 and safety concerns among passengers.
“That expanded definition of cleanliness is now our new priority,” Metra CEO Jim Derwinski said as he introduced the campaign at a news conference Tuesday.
Billboards, a large part of the campaign, will feature a worker spraying seats with a new electrostatic disinfecting fogger and slogans such as “Dedicating to Disinfecting” and “Commute with Confidence.”
The budget for the campaign is $967,000 and runs through April, Metra spokesman Michael Gillis said. The campaign was produced by Chicago ad agency LKH&S, which has worked with Metra for several years.
Read more here. —Robert Channik
1 p.m.: 1,466 new known COVID-19 cases and 20 more deaths reported
Illinois health officials on Tuesday announced 1,466 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 20 additional fatalities. The Illinois Department of Public Health is now reporting a total of 264,210 cases, including 8,332 deaths, in 102 counties in Illinois since the start of the coronavirus' spread.
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The seven-day statewide positivity rate is 3.6%. Within the past 24 hours, laboratories have reported 39,031 new tests, according to the IDPH.
1,584 people in Illinois are in the hospital with COVID-19 in Illinois. Of those, 373 patients were in the ICU and 144 patients are on ventilators, according to state health officials.
—Chicago Tribune staff
12:25 p.m.: Wrigleyville struggles to stay open during pandemic without Cubs crowds
From the back patio at Nisei Lounge to the sudsy sidewalks around Murphy’s Bleachers, the fight is on. Same for Sluggers, The Cubby Bear and everywhere in between.
The goal is tomorrow. If you get to tomorrow, it’s the next day. All over Wrigleyville — the quirky neighborhood that surrounds Wrigley Field, the longtime home of the Chicago Cubs — they are counting pennies, searching for help and dreaming of a return to normalcy
“We have no choice but to make it through this,” said Zach Strauss, who runs Sluggers with his brothers David and Ari after their father, Steve, opened the bar in 1985.
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Read more here. —Associated Press
12:15 p.m.: Will the Big Ten announce a football restart decision tonight? A hot mic in Nebraska gives some hope.
The final episode of the Big Ten football soap opera, it appears, will take place Tuesday night.
Exactly five weeks after postponing the fall season, the conference is poised to announce a restart. Or, far less likely, to declare that no football will be played in 2020.
KETV NewsWatch 7 in Omaha reported Nebraska President Ted Carter was caught on a hot mic Tuesday morning saying, “We’re getting ready to announce the Huskers and Big Ten football tonight.”
Carter was engaged in small talk before a news conference in Lincoln.
Asked to clarify by a local TV reporter, Carter said: “I think that was picked up a little out of context. There is work going on and we remain cautiously optimistic that we will get to discovering when it’s safe to play.”
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One Big Ten official reached by the Tribune declined to confirm an announcement will occur Tuesday night. Another declined to reply to a text.
Read more here. —Teddy Greenstein
11:45 a.m.: Pritzker asks state agencies to prepare for budget cuts
With Congress and the White House having yet to agree on a coronavirus relief package that would send additional money to ailing state and local governments, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Tuesday that he’s asked the heads of state agencies to prepare for 5% cuts to this year’s budget and 10% cuts next year.
Pritzker signed a $43 billion spending plan for the budget year that began July 1 which relied heavily on federal aid and borrowing to plug a massive hole caused by revenue lost to the COVID-19-induced economic slowdown.
“Every state in the nation has suffered, every municipality in the nation has suffered from the fiscal effects of COVID-19” the first-term Democrat said at an unrelated event in Chicago’s Bronzeville neighborhood. “However, until Republicans in Washington decide otherwise, middle-class, working-class and poor families across our state and across the nation will likely suffer from cuts to public safety, education, human services and environmental safety. And the potential layoffs will make the economic recession worse.”
Members of Pritzker’s cabinet are reviewing the budgets of agencies under their control to identify potential cuts for the current year “and will need to implement those if there is no action taken by Congress,” he said."I can’t tell you exactly when each cut will take place," Pritzker said.
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Read more here. —Dan Petrella
11:20 a.m.: Virtual learning marred by hacks and pranks, including images of racism, pornography and guns
As if the other challenges of remote learning weren’t enough, schools in the Chicago area and across the country have been dealing with pranks and hacks that in some cases include racist and pornographic depictions and images of weapons.
Educators say they’re learning ways to block such actions, but the situation has left many teachers and parents frustrated.
One incident involve students in a suburban kindergarten class being redirected to an “inappropriate” site.
“They’re supposed to have this stuff on lockdown,” one CPS parent said. “That is something that kids are not supposed to be seeing. ... What are you doing about it? How are you protecting your students?”
Read more here. —Hannah Leone
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10:10 a.m.: Mundelein sisters create made-to-order masks, donate profits
The owners of 2 Little Mask Makers in Mundelein have already earned enough profits to donate money to a food bank and to purchase backpacks for a local school.
Jaina Bartusch, 10, and her sister, Olivia, 11, use their mom’s crafting machine to decorate and sell fabric protective masks with special iron-on designs.
Their aunt encouraged them to start the business after they made a mask for her with a pink sparkly heart and her initial.
They started advertising on social media with a few designs.
“But then, it grew bigger,” Jaina said. “People started asking for quotes. They told us the pictures they wanted. People asked for ballerinas, sayings, flowers, a 20-sided die.” They had never heard of a 20-sided die, but fulfilled the customer’s request.
Read more here. —Sheryl DeVore
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7:05 a.m.: Pritzker to announce a second round of grants to businesses
Gov. J.B. Pritzker was scheduled Tuesday to announce a second round of state tax-funded grants to small businesses across the state whose operations have been severely impeded by state shutdown rules aimed at curbing the spread of the coronavirus.
The first round of $46 million in grants was announced in August. Pritzker was scheduled to announce the second round of grants at a Bronzeville restaurant late Tuesday morning.
—Chicago Tribune staff
6:55 a.m.: School buses, shipping containers and car hops: Winter Design Challenge nets more than 600 entries to extend outdoor dining in Chicago
After submissions for the Winter Design Challenge closed on Labor Day, Samir Mayekar, deputy mayor for Neighborhood & Economic Development, found himself surprised by the sheer volume of entries. More than 600 plans from 13 countries aim solve the problem of outdoor dining come winter and its unforgiving cold, wind and snow.
The submissions, the response to the City of Chicago’s challenge announced in late August, come from restaurant workers and owners, designer firms and architects, and everyday citizens. They’re heavy with heated tables, tents or geodesic domes, wintry versions of Taste and apps. (All are available for public viewing on the website of IDEO, a global design and consulting firm in partnership with the city, along with BMO Harris Bank and the Illinois Restaurant Association.)
Read more here. —Grace Wong
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5 a.m.: 6 months of COVID-19: Timeline of the outbreak and how politics, sports, entertainment and the economy changed
Six months have passed since the hectic weeks when most of life as it was before COVID-19 shut down. Spring gave way to summer and work, school, sports and entertainment all radically transformed as the pandemic became the driving force behind nearly everything.
Of course, before Gov. J.B. Pritzker shut down the state, coronavirus was already spreading around the globe with a devastating impact. The Tribune has put together a timeline of key points in the outbreak of COVID-19 in Illinois, the U.S. and the world, in politics, education, business and sports.
Read more here. —Chicago Tribune staff and wire reports
Breaking coronavirus news Stay up to date with the latest information on coronavirus with our breaking news alerts.
In case you missed it
Here are five things that happened Monday related to COVID-19:


chicagotribune--2020-09-18--Daywatch: COVID-19′s deadly toll on health care workers, star of Netflix’s ‘Cheer’ charged with chil

Daywatch: COVID-19′s deadly toll on health care workers, star of Netflix’s ‘Cheer’ charged with child pornography and Southport Lanes closing for good

More than 100 lives of professionals working in the health care field have been lost in Illinois this past six @ @ @ @ @ deadly march through the state .
The Tribune has identified and interviewed the families of @ @ @ @ @ workers in Illinois to chronicle the devastating loss of life and acts of heroism .

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Good morning, Chicago. Health officials reported 2,056 new known COVID-19 cases and 25 more deaths in Illinois on Thursday. The statewide seven-day rolling positivity rate stands at 3.6%.
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Meanwhile, a growing life expectancy gap between Black and white Chicagoans has a stark and clear cause, city health officials said in releasing a report on the issue Thursday: decades of segregation and systemic racism.
Also, the Lightfoot administration said it may consider leaving some Chicago police jobs unfilled next year as the city tries to fill a huge pandemic-induced budget shortfall.
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Here’s more coronavirus news and other top stories you need to know to start your day.
Photographs on display show moments in the life of ICU nurse Neuman Kiamco as fellow health care workers from MacNeal Hospital in Berwyn remember the 48-year-old, who died Aug. 30 after a two-month battle with COVID-19. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune)
More than 100 lives of professionals working in the health care field have been lost in Illinois this past six months since COVID-19 began its deadly march through the state. The Tribune has identified and interviewed the families of nearly 50 deceased health care workers in Illinois to chronicle the devastating loss of life and acts of heroism.
Deadly toll of COVID-19 on health care field: A memorial to 46 of those who died
Jerry Harris, a Waubonsie Valley High School graduate from suburban Bolingbrook, appears in the Netflix series "Cheer." (Netflix)
Chicago-area native Jerry Harris rocketed to fame earlier this year as the breakout star of the docuseries “Cheer” on Netflix. But the young star’s image was shattered Thursday when FBI agents arrested him on child pornography charges.
Read the charges against Jerry Harris here.
People eat and drink as others walk by Southport Lanes on Sept. 17, 2020, in Chicago. The establishment is closing after 98 years of business because of the COVID-19 pandemic. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)
Southport Lanes has lasted nearly a century by evolving, at various times serving as a tavern, bowling alley, speak-easy, brothel and illegal off-track horse betting venue. But the Lakeview mainstay, which opened not long after another pandemic, couldn’t survive COVID-19.
Here’s our running list of Chicago restaurants and bars to close permanently due to the pandemic’s economic toll.
White Sox left fielder Eloy Jimenez celebrates his RBI double to take a 4-3 lead against the Twins in the seventh inning Thursday, Sept. 17, 2020, at Guaranteed Rate Field. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)
The White Sox are headed to the postseason for the first time since 2008 after beating the Twins 4-3 on Thursday at Guaranteed Rate Field. “This moment is really special,” said Eloy Jimenez, who drove in the winning run.
Column: No champagne spraying for the White Sox after clinching their 1st playoff berth in 12 years, but they deserve to take a bow, says Paul Sullivan.
Column: Across town, members of the Cubs’ struggling core can decide their futures in the next few weeks — or they could face their final hurrah with no fans to salute them, writes Mark Gonzales.
Pequod’s pizza earned points for its chewy, quasi-burnt cheese crust that forms the outer edge, adding a welcome degree of texture.
As with any “best of” lists, arguments are bound to ensue from the rankings and “The 101 Best Pizzas in America” list for 2020 is sure to do the same. Chicago nabbed six spots out of the 101 selections, compiled by our colleagues at The Daily Meal.


chicagotribune--2020-09-18--Emotional arguments project hope and fear as voters set to decide what could be Illinois’ biggest ta

Emotional arguments project hope and fear as voters set to decide what could be Illinois’ biggest taxation shift in four decades

Of 22 proposed amendments submitted to voters since the 1970 state constitution was adopted , 14 were approved and eight @ @ @ @ @ amendment ratified by voters was in 2016 , when the so-called transportation lockbox was added @ @ @ @ @ attempt to keep transportation construction dollars from being used to fund unrelated parts of government @ @ @ @ @ 67.5 % of those who voted .

Before Illinois voters consider any candidate on the Nov. 3 ballot — the presidential contenders, a member of Congress, a state lawmaker or a local judge — they will be asked to cast a simple yes or no vote on what could become the biggest change in state taxation in decades.
The question at the top of the ballot is whether the Illinois Constitution should be amended to replace a mandated flat-rate income tax with a graduated-rate tax structure that increases the levy as income rises.
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More than any candidate being voted on, the proposed graduated-rate tax amendment represents what could be one of the most fundamental and long-lasting changes in how state government in Illinois functions.
Supporters contend a graduated-rate system is a fair way to shift the tax burden and generate more money to help end Illinois’ long-term financial structural imbalance. Opponents contend it’s a job-killing move that offers no guarantees that higher tax brackets for the wealthy won’t creep down to the middle class.
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[ Illinois income tax calculator: How would Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s proposed graduated income tax affect you? ]
“It’s the ultimate policy wonk question” for voters not often asked to take sides on such weighty policy questions, unlike places like California where ballot initiatives flourish, said University of Illinois at Chicago political scientist Christopher Mooney.
The potential ramifications of the tax change are wrapped in the emotion of millions of dollars of pro and con arguments projecting hope or playing on fear, Mooney said.
"People in Illinois are not used to dealing with this,” Mooney said. “We’re not used to having to think fairly deeply about significant policy issues. We just don’t do it here.”
The debate goes beyond partisan polarization to a larger issue of trust in government in a state with a long history of political scandal, in addition to traditional public wariness of taxes. Those issues are exacerbated by a climate of institutional and economic uncertainty due to a pandemic that has disrupted lives, jobs and paychecks.
Fueling the debate on each side are major infusions of cash from billionaires, organized labor and business groups.
[ Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s graduated-rate income tax: Here’s what you need to know ]
The proposed amendment is the signature agenda item of Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker, worth an estimated $3.4 billion, according to Forbes, and is also backed by a funding arm of the billionaire founder of eBay. Opposing the amendment is Citadel hedge-fund founder Ken Griffin, who’s worth $15 billion, according to Forbes. Pritzker and Griffin are spending tens of millions of dollars to promote their point of view.
Moving to a graduated-rate income tax could mean as much as $1.2 billion in new revenue this budget year for a spending plan that has seen its income decimated by the economic effects of COVID-19.
Ken Griffin, the founder and CEO of Citadel, is shown Nov. 5, 2014. Griffin is spending tens of millions of dollars to defeat the graduated-rate income tax amendment. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)
Pritzker has estimated a revenue loss of $6.5 billion this budget year and next and has helped to keep the spending plan solvent with $5 billion in federal borrowing. But there is uncertainty over how to pay it back as Washington remains stalemated over giving money to state and local governments.
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The income tax is the largest generator of money for state government, accounting for about half of its annual operating budget. On an annual basis, Pritzker predicted the new tax structure would generate about $3.4 billion prior to the pandemic’s effects on the economy.
To become part of the state constitution, the voting requirement is hefty. The proposal needs either 60% support among those voting directly on the ballot initiative or more than 50% of those voting in the election.
Of 22 proposed amendments submitted to voters since the 1970 state constitution was adopted, 14 were approved and eight were rejected. The last amendment ratified by voters was in 2016, when the so-called transportation lockbox was added to the constitution in an attempt to keep transportation construction dollars from being used to fund unrelated parts of government. It won support of 67.5% of those who voted.
[ Where to securely drop off your mail-in ballot in Chicago and the suburbs ]
Individual incomes in Illinois are now taxed at 4.95% regardless of the amount earned. The state income tax was instituted in 1969 at a rate of 2.5%, which held through 1982. The rate has fluctuated over the years, reaching a high of 5% from 2011 to 2014, falling to 3.75% between 2015 to June 30, 2017, and then coming up to the current rate.
Under a law adopted by the Democratic-led General Assembly last year, new rates would take effect on Jan. 1 if the amendment is ratified by voters.
Individual and joint filers would pay 4.75% on their first $10,000 in income, 4.9% on income over $10,000 to $100,000 and the current 4.95% rate on income from $100,001 to $250,000.
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At that point, the income ranges and tax diverge for individuals and people filing jointly. Individuals would pay 7.75% on income between $250,001 to $350,000 and 7.85% on income from $350,001 to $750,000. Joint filers would pay 7.75% on income between $250,001 and $500,000 and 7.85% on income between $500,001 to $1 million.
Individuals making more than $750,001 or married couples earning more than $1 million would see their entire income taxed at 7.99%.
The corporate tax rate, currently at 7%, would rise to 7.99%. Corporations also pay a personal property replacement tax of 2.5%, which is basically added onto their income tax liability.
Pritzker’s office and amendment supporters have estimated that 97% of the state’s 6.2 million tax filers would pay the same amount or less than they pay now under a graduated-rate system. Most of the increase in revenue would be paid by the 0.3% of taxpayers who bring in more than $1 million in net income.
Among the 41 states that levy an income tax, Illinois is one of nine with a flat tax, according to the Federation of Tax Administrators. Federal income taxes in Illinois and the rest of the country are paid through a graduated-rate system.
The amendment is backed by two groups with similar-sounding names: Vote Yes for Fairness and Vote Yes for Fair Tax.
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Pritzker has given $56.5 million to Vote Yes for Fairness, which is the main on-air advertiser on behalf of the amendment. It is run by Quentin Fulks, a deputy manager for Pritzker’s successful 2018 run for governor.
Vote Yes for Fair Tax, with a focus on organization, is led by John Bouman, who formerly headed the Sargent Shriver National Poverty Law Center, which also has backed the proposed amendment.
The group is heavily backed by labor, with $250,000 in funding from the American Federation of Teachers and $100,000 from the National Education Association. It also received $500,000 from the Omidyar Network, which calls itself a “philanthropic investment firm” and foundation started by Pierre Omidyar, the billionaire founder of eBay, and his wife, Pamela.
Opposing the amendment are groups including the Coalition to Stop the Proposed Tax Hike Amendment, which received $20 million from Griffin.
The organization has also received $100,000 apiece from Jay Bergman, president of Hinsdale-based Petco Petroleum Corp; Craig Duchossois, who runs the diversified Duchossois Group; MacNeil Automotive Products of Bolingbrook, which produces WeatherTech products; Richard Uihlein, a nationally conservative megadonor from Lake Forest who owns the Uline office supply company; and Muneer Satter, who started and manages his own investment firm.
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Another opposition group, Say No to More Taxes, was formed last month, funded by $300,000 from the Illinois Opportunity Project, a conservative tax-exempt organization that does not have to disclose its donors. It has connections with Illinois Policy Action, one of several other conservative opposition groups that do not have to disclose their funding along with the Illinois Business Alliance and Illinois Rising Action.
[ Want to vote by mail in Illinois? Here’s how. ]
The messaging by the pro and con groups has stepped up closer to the election, particularly through TV ads, mailings and phone calls. Vote Yes for Fairness has spent $5.5 million on TV since Aug. 20, while the stop coalition has spent $5.1 million since Aug. 28, according to an industry source.
The messages from both sides don’t always tell the whole truth.
A Better Government Association study found that supporters overstated things when they said Illinois was an outlier because in almost every state with an income tax, wealthy people pay a higher tax rate than the middle class. In fact, nearly half of states with an income tax don’t charge higher rates on the wealthy, including some with a graduated rate system.
More recently, the coalition against the amendment has been airing ads leaving out some critical context. In one, Phyllis Barklow, identified as a retired community volunteer from Park Ridge, warns that the proposal would give politicians new “powers to increase income taxes on anyone, including retirees.”
But Illinois is one of three states that does not tax retirement income, and the amendment’s adoption would not change that. Even the AARP’s Illinois arm, a supporter of the amendment, said the proposal would not affect the state’s ban on taxing retirement income, including Social Security, pensions, 401(k)s, and IRAs.
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The opposition group also has been warning that the amendment does not include voter approval of new tax rates, leaving it up to politicians to decide them. But that is already the case in Illinois, where tax rates have never been part of the constitution.
One critical difference with a flat tax, though, is that any increase approved by politicians would affect all Illinois taxpayers, regardless of income, making a tax hike more difficult politically. Under a graduated-rate tax system, lawmakers could change rates on specific income categories — potentially making them less subject to any political backlash by targeting less politically influential groups.
Still, the opposition’s attacks have forced Yes for Fairness into a defensive posture in recent weeks. Rather than singularly promoting an altruistic message like the one that asked if it was fair for first responders to pay the same tax rate as millionaires and billionaires, the group is now engaged in its own form of truth squadding the anti-amendment forces.
Each side has come out with its own studies to buttress its arguments.
The Illinois Chamber of Commerce released a study from a consulting firm that warned approval of the amendment would cost jobs, send higher incomes out of state and hurt women and minorities because it would reduce employment in industries like restaurants and health care. The pro-amendment group cited studies that showed the opposite.
And on Thursday, Yes for Fairness promoted a study from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a left-leaning think tank, that said it found the long term effects of the flat tax over the past two decades deepened economic disparity, significantly impacting minority populations.
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Ultimately, though, the amendment’s fate will likely be tied to voters’ views of Illinois, its politics and their own economic situation.
The federal investigation into a bribery scheme involving ComEd, which admitted providing jobs and contracts in an effort to curry favor with veteran Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan, has added to Democratic concerns about voter attitudes toward the amendment.
Pritzker has said the bribery scheme added to voter cynicism about government but said he believed voters could separate those feelings from support for his amendment proposal.
Mooney, the political scientist, said Pritzker’s support for the proposal is a “powerful argument when you’ve got a billionaire out saying ‘it’s not fair’ that he’s paying the same tax rate as a lower-income person.”
But he said opponents may be finding it easier to “manipulate people’s points of view.”
“It’s taxes and nobody likes taxes. You can throw up smoke and raise fear and fear is a powerful emotion and it’s far more powerful than that of altruism or hope on the other side in trying to make a sort of high-minded fairness argument. It’s not as gut level,” Mooney said. “It’s hard to evoke emotions that counter fear.”
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chicagotribune--2020-09-18--As they focused on others with COVID-19 and refused to walk away, Illinois health care workers bore

As they focused on others with COVID-19 and refused to walk away, Illinois health care workers bore the brunt of pandemic’s fury

“ Whether we are here for 48 , 80 or even 100 years , our time on earth is like @ @ @ @ @ , snapping his fingers .
“ It ’ s that short .
Our job is @ @ @ @ @ leave something positive behind.
” As he looked out at the crowd , he said @ @ @ @ @ did just that .

We have lifted the paywall on this story. To support essential reporting, please consider becoming a subscriber .
Photographs on display show moments in the life of ICU nurse Neuman Kiamco as fellow health care workers from MacNeal Hospital in Berwyn remember the 48-year-old, who died Aug. 30 after a two-month battle with COVID-19. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune)
This past March, as the nurses in MacNeal Hospital’s intensive care unit were overwhelmed treating COVID-19 patients, Neuman Kiamco did not hesitate to join his colleagues.
The nurse left his post in the Berwyn hospital’s gastrointestinal lab and confronted an invisible enemy in the ICU that many of his colleagues on the medical front line were calling “the beast” or “the killer.”
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His family is scattered across the world, including a father in the Philippines, and so Kiamco sent messages and the kind of photos of himself that have become ubiquitous in medicine’s global battle against the virus: at work, covered from head to toe in a face shield, mask, gown and gloves.
“We are in emergency mode,” he texted his sister, Jeanette Kiamco Perez, on March 19. “The streets are dead. A lot of businesses are closing. The emergency department is getting hammered. It is like a war zone here.”
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[ Deadly toll of COVID-19 on health care field: A memorial to 46 of those who died ]
Not far away, at Community First Medical Center in Chicago, Nancy Veto was caring for infected patients in the ICU, where the nurse worked for about 45 years and mentored younger staff members.
Relatives said she worried about depleted personal protective equipment and described her workplace as a scene out of “M*A*S*H,” the hit television sitcom about an Army hospital during the Korean War.
“We have bodies lying everywhere,” her brother, Dick Cisner, a retired Chicago police officer, recalled Veto telling him.
Before summer’s end, both nurses were dead.
They died of complications related to the coronavirus, likely infected while laboring to save others at a time when most of the world stayed home.
More than 100 lives of professionals working in the health care field have been lost in Illinois this past six months since COVID-19 began its deadly march through the state.
At last count, at least 115 had died and nearly 15,600 had contracted the virus as of Sept. 18, according to state public health officials, who said the exact figure is unknown and likely higher. Four more deaths and nearly 400 infections were listed in a separate category for first responders, not including law enforcement.
Some states do not collect virus data by occupation. Illinois does. But there are limits to what has been gathered. The state relies on county health departments to provide the information, and officials said they have received occupational information back in only about 30% of all confirmed infection cases for ages 17 to 69.
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Christine Sichuan, a nurse at University of Illinois Hospital, listens at a rally Sept. 14, 2020, as more than 4,000 SEIU-represented hospital workers joined nurses on strike. The hospital has lost five staff members during the pandemic. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)
Advocacy groups are calling for more accurate data nationwide to raise awareness and better protect the workforce. To put the problem in perspective, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention acknowledges incomplete information in reporting about 700 health care workers across the country were lost to COVID-19 as of Sept. 18.
National Nurses United has reported about 1,700 deaths, more than double than the CDC, during the same time period. And the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, which tracks nursing homes, reports nearly 900 worker fatalities just in those facilities nationwide, including 45 in Illinois.
The Tribune has identified and interviewed the families of nearly 50 deceased health care workers in Illinois to chronicle the devastating loss of life and acts of heroism.
They include nurses, doctors, medical assistants, technicians, therapists and other support staff who clean rooms, serve food and provide security.
The dead worked in hospitals, nursing homes, private offices or on ambulance crews and in homes as health aides. Most were minorities, including those who were Black and by themselves made up nearly half of the 115 counted. Many had an underlying health condition that made them particularly vulnerable.
Some were near retirement or had delayed it as they refused to leave their careers during a time of such crisis. Relatives compared the dedication of their loved one during the pandemic to that shown by 9/11 rescuers who did not pause when facing danger nearly two decades ago.
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A dedicated nurse
As a veteran ICU nurse, it was hard to rattle Nancy Veto.
She saw it all in her 45 years at the Portage Park hospital that is now called Community First Medical Center. But even she felt fear as the rapidly spreading coronavirus exploded into a pandemic, overwhelming hospitals this past spring.
Nancy Veto, 65, a longtime ICU nurse at Community First Medical Center, died May 26, 2020, of complications related to COVID-19. (Family photo)
Her daughter, Giavanna Veto, said even so, her mother refused to quit.
“Her hospital at one point was making the nurses reuse their masks, reuse their gloves and reuse their gowns,” she said. “My mother was scared and came home shaking, saying, ‘I don’t know what to do.’”
When she asked her mother to stop working, Veto remembered her responding, “‘I can’t. I can’t. I’ve gone through so much already. Why would I stop now? I can’t give up on these people.’”
Veto died May 26 in her River Grove home after a nearly weeklong illness related to COVID-19. She was 65. Her dedication did not surprise her family. Cisner, her brother, said his sister wanted to be a nurse from a young age. She became a mother later in life and treasured that role as well.
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“I’d describe her as very educated, very dignified and very devoted to her profession,” Cisner said. “Not only was she a wonderful nurse, but she was a good mother and provider to her daughter.”
In a statement, hospital officials said the “much-loved ICU nurse” was a “dedicated mentor to many of our ICU nurses and staff. She led by example, demonstrating her commitment to both patients and our hospital every day.”
In her personal life, Veto was the life of the party, decked out in bright, glittery colors with pink nails and lipstick. She loved Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive,” which her daughter played at her memorial service. After the room emptied, she played Donna Summer’s “Last Dance,” another favorite, as a final goodbye to a mother whom she called her best friend.
Giavanna Veto said her mother never wanted a patient to die alone, and so she often stayed at the bedsides of those without family or friends in their final hour. It was a ritual of profound significance during this pandemic, when safety guidelines keep families away.
‘Superwoman’
One day after she was brought into this world, Dorothy Sims’ mother died after suffering complications from her birth.
Relatives on that day in November 1984 named her Dorothy, after the woman who would never get to care for her. The tragedy marked her life and also set her path. It was her 21-year-old mother’s death that inspired Sims to become a nurse when she grew up, relatives said.
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Dorothy Sims, 35, of Schaumburg, died July 7, 2020, after contracting the coronavirus. Relatives say she was a hardworking nurse dedicated to her patients and her three children. (Family photo)
Nurse Dorothy Sims, 35, of Schaumburg. (Family photo)
The 35-year-old Schaumburg nurse died July 7 of complications related to COVID-19. Sims worked at Burr Ridge Senior Living in DuPage County while raising three children and continuing her education to advance her nursing career.
“She knew from a young age that she wanted to help people,” said her sister, Crystal Sims. “She cared about everybody. If you were in her life, she put a smile on your face.”
Dorothy Sims grew up on Chicago’s South Side, the youngest of three girls. She was raised by her mother’s sister, Edna Tellis, who nicknamed the sweet child “Tookie.” She fell in love with her high school boyfriend, Austin McAllister Sr., and the young couple had three children.
Her father, Mario, said his hardworking daughter held down three jobs at times to help support her family.
“She was determined to give her children a better life than what she had,” he said. “She worked full time, went to school and took care of three children. She was a superwoman.”
Her sisters, including Erica, the oldest, said she loved travel, the color purple and throwing lavish birthday parties for her children, ages 17, 15 and 13. Besides “Tookie,” they called her “Nurse D.”
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Relatives said she did not complain about her struggles, including that she had lupus, an autoimmune disease. They were worried about her health during the pandemic and encouraged her to quit, but the rapidly spreading virus had other plans.
Dorothy Sims died at Northwestern Memorial Hospital after more than one month on a ventilator. Her father said the family was optimistic that she would qualify for a double lung transplant, but their hopes were dashed when doctors said she did not meet the medical criteria.
“They had our hopes up real high,” he said. “She’s so terribly missed.”
Several weeks after her death, the young nurse still does not have a headstone on her grave. Relatives say her life insurance company has yet to honor her policy. A fundraising campaign has been set up.
Tellis said Sims’ mother would have been so proud of her daughter. “She tried so hard and reached her goals,” Tellis said. “She
Unanswered prayers
Rosie Swain died two days before turning 65, the age when she planned to retire.
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She was a nursing supervisor at City View Multicare Center in Cicero, where her family said she worked since the 1980s, beginning as a nursing assistant. The single mother of three children managed to continue her education and work her way up to a registered nurse who trained and supervised staff.
Sisters Tina, top left, and Wendy Swain above a photo of their mother, Rosie Swain, along with Rosie's grandchildren, Ama'n, 14, and Summer Lamar, 19, on Sept. 13, 2020. Rosie Swain, 64, was a nurse who died of COVID-19 complications in June. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)
“She took care of herself last,” said her youngest daughter, Tina Swain. “She just always wanted to help people, and that’s what she did with her life. … We heard from so many of her co-workers who said they wouldn’t be the nurses they are today if it weren’t for her.”
Rosie Swain was at work the night in November 1987 that her only son, Ronnell, 17, was fatally shot after leaving a Chicago teen dance hall. She persevered, becoming a supervisor while raising two daughters, including Wendy Swain, her oldest. The girls grew up to give her four grandchildren, including a grandson named after the boy she had lost.
She loved to take her grandchildren shopping, to the movies and to dinner. The family gathered for Sunday meals, typically in Swain’s home in the Marquette Park neighborhood, where she served up staples like sweet potato pie. She was known as a sharp dresser who loved the blues.
When Swain tested positive for COVID-19 in April, the nurse warned her family to stay away so she would not infect them, Tina Swain said. She said her mother fought to survive for nearly three months, including stays in four hospitals, but died June 7 after her heart gave out during a blood transfusion.
“My mom taught us to believe in Jesus,” Tina Swain said. “She said, ‘If you’re going to worry, then you don’t need to pray.’ We were hopeful because we believe in prayer.”
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The facility where Swain worked has had 256 positive cases and 15 deaths of patients and staff as of Sept. 18, state officials said.
‘Honey, I have the virus’
At 78, Dr. Joseph Bongiorno Sr. could have retired years ago. But the Chicago psychiatrist loved his work and was committed to his patients, relatives said.
The son of a general practitioner, he earned his medical degree from the University of Wisconsin and completed his residency in Chicago. In the 1970s, he served as a U.S. Air Force Medical Service Corps officer providing mental health services to men returning from the Vietnam War while stationed at the Eglin Air Force Base in Florida.
Dr. Joseph Bongiorno Sr., 78, a private psychiatrist who lived in the city’s Lakeview area, died April 14, 2020, of COVID-19-related complications. (Family photo)
Afterward, Dr. Bongiorno returned to Illinois and opened a private practice in Chicago and Skokie. He also joined the staff of what was then St. Joseph Hospital in Chicago for a decade before focusing solely on his private practice, including counseling priests in the Archdiocese of Chicago.
“He was such a wonderful man,” said his daughter, Maddi Bongiorno, the oldest of four. “He could have hidden out in his house, but he just couldn’t abandon his patients."
She said the family tried without luck to encourage him to take a break during the pandemic. In mid-March, she said her father told her he was ill. “Dad answered (his phone) from the ICU,” she said. “He was like, ‘Honey, I have the virus. I can’t breathe.’”
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He was placed on a ventilator the next day. With most of the family living out of state and unable to travel, his children, including daughter Catherine and sons Joseph Jr. and Carlo, began a “letter reading campaign." His nurses dutifully read their emails to him for encouragement.
“We want you to know that we are with you every single minute,” one letter read. “We have so many friends and family praying with you, sending you healing energy and love. We are all so proud of your courage. You will get through this challenge, we have zero doubt. ...
“Words cannot express how much we love you, Dad.”
Dr. Bongiorno died nearly one month later on April 14 at St. Joseph, where he had once worked.
A policeman’s daughter
Karon Hoffman decided to go back to school and pursue nursing late in life.
Her decision did not surprise her family. The daughter of a decorated Chicago police officer who survived being shot in the chest, Hoffman made a habit of trailblazing through life and embracing new challenges.
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Karon Hoffman, 69, of McHenry, a nurse who died May 18, 2020, of COVID-19-related illness. She worked at Alden Terrace of McHenry. (Family photo)
She graduated from the Chicago police academy and worked for the Sleepy Hollow Police Department as a 911 dispatcher and patrol officer at a time when few women pursued law enforcement as a career. She also worked as a fire department paramedic, a CPR instructor and, later, as a real estate appraiser.
“She never stopped learning and never stopped trying new things,” said her daughter, Jessica Allen.
Hoffman passed the state nursing exam and graduated from community college with high honors at 65. She spent the next few years caring for her husband, Dave, before reentering the workforce so the couple could afford medication not covered by Medicare.
In January, she was excited to begin her first nursing job at Alden Terrace of McHenry but became ill in April. Allen said her mother, who tested positive for the coronavirus, was hospitalized about six weeks before she died May 18. She was 69.
Hoffman did not work with COVID-19 patients, but her family said the staff shared many common areas as the virus spread in the facility. They said the staff lacked adequate personal protective equipment during the early days of the pandemic.
The facility had 87 confirmed cases and 13 deaths of patients and staff as of Sept. 18, state officials said.
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Hoffman had three children, including her oldest daughter Jenny Winkler and a son, Karl Hoffman, and eight grandchildren. She loved farming, animals, canning jelly and vegetables, gardening and attending the county fair. She was so honest she would go back through a drive-thru if given too much change.
Hoffman’s father was Clarence Kerr, who survived being shot in 1955 by a serial robber when she was 5 years old. The shooter was executed three years later for killing another police officer days before injuring Kerr.
When planning Hoffman’s funeral, Winkler recalled how her mother was impressed when seeing long funeral processionals. The deceased must have been someone special, she would say. Winkler ensured her mother’s service was led by police and fire officials from four departments. A bagpiper played “Amazing Grace” at her gravesite.
“To some, she may be remembered as a health care hero who sacrificed to help others,” Winkler said. “To those who knew and loved her, she was so much more. She followed her dreams and achieved a meaningful life helping others.”
Leaving a mark
Neuman Kiamco was a beloved presence at MacNeal Hospital, where the distinctive tap of his shoes could be heard as he hustled up and down the hallways. He was so skilled and meticulous that some colleagues called him “Dr. Neuman” or used the term “Neumanized” when referring to his care of patients.
Neuman Kiamco, 48, of Oak Park, died Aug. 30, 2020 after a two-month battle with COVID-19. Kiamco was a longtime nurse at MacNeal Hospital in Berwyn. (Family photo)
“I’ve been doing this over 30 years and there has never been another Neuman,” said Sylvia Acosta-Janecki, a fellow nurse at the Berwyn hospital.
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Kiamco grew up in Mandaue City, Cebu, the central part of the Philippines. His parents pushed him and his four siblings toward the medical field with the goal of living abroad. Kiamco set his sights on the United States. After nursing school, he joined his uncle’s family in the Chicago area in his early 20s.
He worked at Loyola University Medical Center before joining MacNeal’s staff about 15 years ago. In March, during the pandemic, Acosta-Janecki said her friend did not hesitate to transfer from the GI lab to help in the short-staffed ICU.
More than three months later, when Kiamco showed up for a June 22 shift with a fever, he was admitted as a patient after he tested positive for the coronavirus. No one could predict just how dire the 48-year-old nurse’s condition would become.
Fellow health care workers from MacNeal Hospital remember nurse Neuman Kiamco at a candlelight vigil on Sept. 12, 2020. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune)
His fellow nurses cared for him at MacNeal for nearly two weeks, including in the ICU. Acosta-Janecki said the normally gregarious man was quiet and humble. He preferred his room dark and quiet, even ignoring the Fourth of July fireworks when she raised his room’s window blinds.
“It broke my heart, as bright of a spirit as he was,” she said. “He asked for people to continue praying for him. He kept thanking God. He knew he had a long road ahead of him.”
On July 5, Kiamco asked his nurse to dial longtime friend Gwendolyn Trinidad so he could tell her the staff planned to put him on a ventilator due to his low oxygen saturation level. Trinidad, also a nurse who had previously worked alongside Kiamco, tried to encourage him that he would be OK.
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“I’ll talk to you later,” he said as they ended their video chat call. It was the last time the two ever spoke.
Co-workers sent this photo to Neuman Kiamco to cheer up the longtime nurse while he was in the hospital over the summer fighting the coronavirus. It shows several staff members at McNeal Hospital, making heart signs, wishing him to get well. (Sylvia Acosta Janecki)
Kiamco went into cardiopulmonary arrest. Staff resuscitated him and he was transferred that same day to Loyola, where he eventually was placed on a more advanced life support machine. Kiamco fought the virus another two months, at times in a medically induced coma, but he never regained consciousness and died Aug. 30.
When he still could speak, colleagues say, Kiamco told them he hoped to donate his plasma and volunteer for research studies with the hope of curing other COVID-19 patients.
“That was my friend.” Trinidad said. “He would go out of his way to help you.”
His sister, Jeanette Kiamco Perez, said the family is comforted by all the messages of love and praise. She recalled the image of her younger brother as a child singing his solo part in the song “Climb Every Mountain” with siblings as she played the piano or how he, at times playfully mischievous, messed up her bedroom.
“I didn’t realize that he was so heroic,” said Kiamco Perez, who lives in Canada. “To know he made such an impact, in a way, kind of eases the pain of losing him.”
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More than 100 mourners gathered outside the Berwyn hospital Sept. 12 for a vigil for Kiamco that Acosta-Janecki organized. His cousin, Robin Kiamco, thanked health care professionals and spoke of the importance to heed public safety guidelines. He described Kiamco as a “man with a plan,” always trying to better himself.
“Whether we are here for 48, 80 or even 100 years, our time on earth is like this,” he said, snapping his fingers. “It’s that short. Our job is to leave a mark, leave something positive behind.” As he looked out at the crowd, he said it is clear his cousin did just that.
In social media posts before he became ill, Neuman Kiamco, who was single, occasionally shared inspirational photos or quotes. One was particularly poignant and prophetic.
“Work for a cause, not for applause,” it read. “Don’t strive to make your presence noticed, just make your absence felt.”
(Editor’s note: To read more about the lives of dozens of health care professionals who died in Illinois during the pandemic, click here.)
Chicago Tribune’s John Keilman contributed.
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cmgutowski@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-09-18--Deadly toll of COVID-19 on health care field: A memorial to 46 of those who died

The Tribune has identified and interviewed dozens of families to chronicle the devastating loss of life and acts of heroism @ @ @ @ @ you would like to submit to this memorial , please contact us here .

Christy Gutowski, John Keilman, Jonathon Berlin

More than 100 professionals working in the health care field have died in Illinois since COVID-19 began its deadly march through the state this past spring, according to public health officials, who said the exact figure is likely higher.
They include nurses, doctors, medical assistants, technicians, therapists and other support staff who clean rooms, serve food and provide security. They worked in hospitals, nursing homes, private offices or on ambulance crews and in homes as health aides. Most were minorities.
[ As they focused on others with COVID-19 and refused to walk away, Illinois health care workers bore the brunt of pandemic’s fury ]
The Tribune has identified and interviewed dozens of families to chronicle the devastating loss of life and acts of heroism. If you know someone you would like to submit to this memorial, please contact us here.


chicagotribune--2020-09-18--Column: Trump’s coronavirus vaccine is coming … in two weeks! And it will make you more patriotic.

There are , of course , seething , murderous , anti-American liberals out there who will claim that President Trump @ @ @ @ @ two weeks from now !
— can not be trusted .
But these are the @ @ @ @ @ should not honor historical figures simply because they committed acts of treason and killed fellow @ @ @ @ @ maintain their right to own human beings brought from Africa to America in chains .

President Donald Trump speaks during the White House Conference on American History at the National Archives in Washington on Sept. 17. (Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images/AFP via Getty Images)
Hello, fellow patriots. My name is Rex Huppke and I’m a proud member of President Donald Trump’s Council On Patriotism-Inducing Coronavirus Vaccines That Will Be Ready In Two Weeks.
We here at the Council On Patriotism-Inducing Coronavirus Vaccines That Will Be Ready In Two Weeks have a surprise announcement: President Trump will soon introduce a patriotism-inducing coronavirus vaccine! And do you know how soon it will be ready? In two weeks!
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Much like President Trump’s truly amazing health care plan, which will also be ready in two weeks, as it has been for the past four years, this vaccine will be the best thing to ever happen to America.
That’s because it will not only protect you from COVID-19 (COVID-19 protection not guaranteed), it will also dramatically enhance your patriotism by erasing any education you received that focused on negative parts of America’s past.
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If you thought slavery was a dark chapter in American history, worry no more. This vaccine, much like President Trump’s recently announced National Commission to Promote Patriotic Education, will whitewash (emphasis on the white!) any American historical blemishes.
“Many young Americans have been fed lies about America being a wicked nation plagued by racism,” Trump said while announcing the new commission Thursday.
Now we’re a nation plagued by an actual plague, and also plagued by liberals teaching children that racism might exist. It’s hard to know which is worse!
But the good news is a perfectly safe (safety, perfect or otherwise, not guaranteed) vaccine is going to wipe out both those plagues — and it’s coming in two weeks!
Some of you all are probably thinking, “Gosh, I know Donald Trump is incredibly smart and the greatest president in American history, but how is it possible that he can produce a coronavirus vaccine so quickly and manage to, completely coincidentally, deliver it right before the presidential election?”
Good question, some of you! The answer is simple. The president is using outside-the-box thinking and ignoring the tired vaccine path usually followed by swamp-dwelling politicians and people who understand medicine.
The Trump path sidesteps bureaucratic nonsense like “rigorous safety testing” and “clinical trials” and “science” by having several former business associates of the president who are not in prison formulate an injectable liquid that will protect you from the dreaded coronavirus (protection from coronavirus, dreaded or otherwise, not guaranteed) and shut down the parts of your brain that store unflattering information about American history (safety of other parts of the brain not guaranteed).
There are, of course, seething, murderous, anti-American liberals out there who will claim that President Trump’s vaccine — coming two weeks from now! — cannot be trusted. But these are the same people who think we should not honor historical figures simply because they committed acts of treason and killed fellow Americans in an effort to maintain their right to own human beings brought from Africa to America in chains.
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Ridiculous! As the president pointed out Thursday, “America’s founding set in motion the unstoppable chain of events that abolished slavery.” No need to get hung up on all the stuff that happened prior to slavery being abolished. Just focus on American exceptionalism!
And speaking of American exceptionalism, this vaccine is going to be exceptional! It has already been tested on several leftover Trump Steaks, and they have been coronavirus-free and perfectly fine (the fineness of said steaks cannot be guaranteed).
So if you want to be 100% safe from the ongoing pandemic (actual safety rate may range from -50% to 0%) and never again worry about the term “systemic racism,” reserve your dose of Donald Trump’s Patriotism-Inducing Coronavirus Vaccine That Will Be Ready In Two Weeks.
You can order a vial right now with a $250 nonrefundable deposit payable to: “Dr. Eric Trump, Holder of Vaccineologism Degree.” You’ll get your vaccine (product may not fit legal definition of “vaccine” and may smell like bleach) in two weeks! Syringes (product may not fit legal definition of “syringe”) will be shipped two weeks later.
Side effects may include: coronavirus; cerebral melt; chronology amnesia; forgetting everything bad about America, including this vaccine and its creator; voting against your self-interest; colon erasure; elbow bloat; tendon malfunction; and ocular fascism.
rhuppke@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-09-18--Small plane crash lands on a road in suburban Palatine: ‘I saw a plane flying really low and expecte

Small plane crash lands on a road in suburban Palatine: ‘I saw a plane flying really low and expected the worst’

No one was injured in the rush-hour wreck , Palatine police Sgt .
Michael Campbell said , and the lone @ @ @ @ @ walked away from the crash and was talking to authorities nearby .
No cars were @ @ @ @ @ it landed .

A small plane crash-landed onto a road in a residential area in Palatine Thursday evening.
No one was injured in the rush-hour wreck, Palatine police Sgt. Michael Campbell said, and the lone occupant of the single-engine aircraft walked away from the crash and was talking to authorities nearby. No cars were hit by the plane as it landed.
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The aircraft came down at about 6 p.m. on Quentin Road, just north of the Metra tracks and south of Northwest Highway. The Cessna 177 Cardinal appeared to be banged up but largely intact.
The scene was about 10 miles due west of Chicago Executive Airport in Wheeling.
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Palatine resident Michael Stammer said he was out walking his labradoodle and then "I saw a plane flying really low and expected the worst.”
“I heard fire trucks and sirens and knew something bad had happened,” Stammer said.
Max Medvid, a pilot who lives nearby and came to the scene, speculated that the Cessna’s engine cut out before the aircraft landed on the road, likely while heading to or after taking off from Chicago Executive Airport.
The plane, which was towed from the scene a few hours after the crash, has a pending registration application with the Federal Aviation Administration submitted by Zain Aviation, according to the FAA website. Zain offers aircraft rental and flight training and is based at Chicago Executive Airport, its website states.
No one from Zain could immediately be reached.
The village closed Quentin between Northwest Highway and Colfax Avenue and the FAA was notified, according to a village notification.
kcullotta@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-09-18--Campaign trail tracker: Where Trump, Biden and their running mates have traveled in presidential rac

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

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

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


chicagotribune--2020-09-18--Federal judge rules against Cook County GOP’s effort to prevent expanded vote-by-mail

“ Because Plaintiff ’ s allegations rest primarily on unsupported speculation and secondarily on isolated instances of voter fraud in @ @ @ @ @ from Illinois during the prior century , Plaintiff can not demonstrate either that it is @ @ @ @ @ or that it has some chance of success on the merits .
Thus , the @ @ @ @ @ motion for preliminary injunction , ” the judge wrote .

A federal judge on Thursday rejected a bid by the Cook County Republican Party to block the state’s enhanced vote-by-mail program, rejecting as conjecture allegations that the program was a scheme aimed at disenfranchising GOP voters.
U.S. District Judge Robert Dow ruled the Cook County GOP also was tardy in filing its lawsuit in August seeking a preliminary injunction over the law approved in May as an effort to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic by offering an alternative to traditional in-person voting.
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Dow’s ruling also noted existing state statute is aimed at preventing so-called ballot harvesting by political operatives, requiring a voter authorization signed on the exterior of vote-by-mail ballots that are dropped off to election authorities or at drop boxes as an alternative.
The legislation passed by the General Assembly this spring authorized election officials to send millions of vote-by-mail ballot applications to people who voted in the 2018 general election, the 2019 municipal elections or the 2020 March primary. Officials have said more than 1.3 million ballot requests have been received, with many more expected as people seek to avoid in-person voting amid the pandemic.
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The Cook County GOP lawsuit, filed Aug. 10, alleged Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed the measure into law to create “a partisan voting scheme that is designed to harvest Democratic ballots, dilute Republican ballots, and, if the election still doesn’t turn out the way he wants it, to generate enough Democratic ballots after election day to sway the result.”
But Dow’s ruling against the GOP’s request for a preliminary injunction said the local political party failed to prove that it was “likely that the type of wide scale fraud it describes will occur” as a result of the new law. Dow also said the GOP failed to show “irreparable harm” could occur.
“Looking at the record compiled to date in this litigation, however, Plaintiff (the Cook County GOP) has provided no basis for concluding that its alleged harms are anything but speculative and therefore fails to demonstrate that ‘irreparable injury is likely in the absence of an injunction,’” Dow wrote.
“Because Plaintiff’s allegations rest primarily on unsupported speculation and secondarily on isolated instances of voter fraud in other states and historical examples from Illinois during the prior century, Plaintiff cannot demonstrate either that it is likely to suffer irreparable harm or that it has some chance of success on the merits. Thus, the court denies Plaintiff’s motion for preliminary injunction,” the judge wrote.
The Republicans alleged that a provision of the law that made Nov. 3 a state holiday, allowing government buildings such as schools to be used as Election Day polling places with fewer people inside, was an attempt to use government workers, as well as teachers and students, to create “an army of workers to harvest” ballots.
Harvesting ballots is a method in which a political organization or an individual collects ballots cast at home and deposits them with local election authorities.
But Dow noted the state’s election law generally makes it “unlawful for any person not the voter or a person authorized by the voter to take the ballot and ballot envelope of a voter for deposit into the mail.”
The state’s election code notes that if a voter “authorized a person to deliver the ballot to the election authority,” it requires “the voter and the person authorized to deliver the ballot” to “complete (an) authorization printed on the exterior envelope supplied by an election authority for the return of the vote by mail ballot.”
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Dow said contrary to the GOP’s allegation, “the Election Code does not permit just anyone to return the voter’s ballot. And it certainly does not permit anyone to systematically collect but fail to submit Republican ballots.”
Dow joined the federal bench in 2007 as an appointee of Republican President George W. Bush.
Attorneys for the Cook County GOP sought to portray the ruling as a victory against ballot harvesting. The GOP was represented by the Liberty Justice Center, a legal arm affiliated with the conservative-leaning Illinois Policy Institute and connected to the Illinois Opportunity Project.
“While we are disappointed that the judge did not grant our motion for preliminary injunction, we are pleased with his ruling regarding ballot harvesting,” attorney Brian Kelsey said in a statement.
“As election officials begin counting ballots, we will closely monitor the execution of this new program and are committed to ensuring every vote counts,” Kelsey said.
rpearson@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-09-18--Southport Lanes has been a speak-easy, brothel, gambling den and bowling alley. One thing the Lakevi

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

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

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