chicagotribune--2020-12-17--Chicago Teachers Union says ‘all options’ are on the table if it doesn’t agree CPS schools are safe

Chicago Teachers Union says ‘all options’ are on the table if it doesn’t agree CPS schools are safe to reopen

“ But we do have a choice .
The CTU objects to this plan without the board bargaining over our @ @ @ @ @ and trust , ” Sharkey said .
“ Right now we are campaigning and also @ @ @ @ @ will have to have an internal discussion about what to do next if we can @ @ @ @ @ how to make our schools safe for everyone , and when we have those discussions @ @ @ @ @ to be on the table .
”

More than 77,000 students have opted to return to classrooms in person in the new year, accounting for 37% of those who are eligible, according to data presented at Wednesday’s Chicago Board of Education meeting.
That is, of course, if they can return. The Chicago Teachers Union last week filed a motion with the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board for an injunction over Chicago Public Schools’ plan that would have students in pre-kindergarten and moderate to severe special education cluster programs return Jan. 11. Other students in kindergarten through sixth grade, and most seventh and eighth graders, would start a hybrid model on Feb. 1.
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Students who return in person can go remote at any time, but students who stick with remote learning won’t have the same flexibility. CPS doesn’t have survey responses for 33,000 students, and they will default to remote learning along with the 97,000 students who selected the remote option.
White families opted in at the highest rates, with more than 67% of white students selecting the in-person option. The opt-in rate was 55% for multiracial students, 34% for Black students, 33% for Asian students and 31% for Latino students. Students with special education plans, who the district identified as needing in-person learning more than most, opted in at a lower than average rate, 36%, as did economically disadvantaged students, 32%.
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By the numbers, that’s 30,100 Latino students, 23,400 Black students, 18,000 white students, 3,400 Asian students and 1,800 multiracial students. That makes white families significantly overrepresented, accounting for 23% of the total number of elementary school families opting in but only 11% of the CPS student population.
CTU President Jesse Sharkey said there could be "very real consequences for this whole city" if CPS doesn't provide a clear metric for reopening schools and accountability for making sure they're safe. (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune)
While CPS CEO Janice Jackson drew attention to the overall number of Black and Latino students far surpassing the number of white students, Chicago Teachers Union President Jesse Sharkey said that’s only because the district mostly serves students of color and the focus should be on the fact that white students are the most likely to receive in-person instruction come January.
District officials pointed out the majority of students in other big cities such as New York and Houston have chosen to continue remote learning.
Sharkey said it’s not right that while families have the option to continue remote learning for their child, teachers aren’t being given the same choice.
“But we do have a choice. The CTU objects to this plan without the board bargaining over our proposals about safety, equity and trust,” Sharkey said. “Right now we are campaigning and also in court but our union will have to have an internal discussion about what to do next if we can’t reach agreements about how to make our schools safe for everyone, and when we have those discussions, all options are going to be on the table.”
During the public comment period, CPS parent Janine Gustafson said recent statements by CTU leaders were straining parents’ support.
“I trust CPS will delay if case numbers don’t improve,” she said. “My child will happily return to class, as will the vast majority of students at our school. So many parents strongly support the reopening plan but are afraid of speaking up for fear of offending the teachers. I firmly believe in unions but I am disappointed by the extreme position CTU is taking.”
Compromises could include shortening the in-person school day if taking masks down for lunch is too risky and putting on winter coats so that windows can stay open, Gustafson said.
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“CTU must shift from intransigence to accepting that children must return to school and offer constructive plans for how to do it safely, and CPS must show flexibility in supporting creative proposals in a can-do spirit, accepting local ideas and help from parents and communities and bending the bureaucracy,” she said.
Another message of compromise came from Aminah Baker, who has children at two CPS high schools and Burnside Scholastic Academy, where she chairs the Parent Advisory Committee. Baker said it’s important that families have the choice, but suggested staff should be given similar consideration.
“If there are parents that would not like to send their children back to school, that is understandable,” Baker said. “But I believe it is very, very important we do have measures for the parents who do want their children to end up back in the school building.”
Some children need to get out of abusive situations or unsafe environments, a common concern teachers express in advisory council meetings, she said. “If there are teachers that are opposed to it let those stay the online teachers and the teachers who are open to getting back in the school buildings, let’s have them inside.”
Other parents, such as Celeste Adame of Belmont Cragin, brought up continuing worries about asymptomatic spread and enforcement of rules about mask wearing.
“I disagree with sending my kids back to school since we are within the community of high transmission,” Adame said through a Spanish interpreter. “… It’s hard for kids to wear a mask for seven hours straight. As a mom, I know this because my kids can’t even wear one for half an hour. How are kids going to eat their breakfast and lunch? Who will ensure that they wash their hands thoroughly?”
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A parent to two elementary students, Allison Levinsky, asked why CPS doesn’t have a more thorough rapid testing plan and questioned how simultaneous instruction will help with equity when students of color and from low-income households are less likely to be in the physical classroom than their more affluent and white peers.
“Families are tired of the false dichotomy created between the needs of the CTU and CPS families,” Levinsky said. “Teachers and families want the same thing, a transparent, equitable and safe plan to get our kids back to school when the time is right. CPS has not provided a comprehensive plan that demonstrates the infrastructure necessary to make this happen. As a parent I believe that the questions posed by the CTU are reasonable and their concerns are concerns for the entire community.”
Sharkey said he hopes they can resolve the disagreement with CPS and it’s better for everyone if the board and union can present a unified plan, but implied the CTU is ready to take whatever action they find necessary.
“Right now, the lack of a clear public health metric, and the lack of a mechanism by which we can say, ‘Yeah, we know that the things which downtown is saying are going to be true in your school’ — the lack of these two things is going to make our union campaign in a way which is going to have very real consequences for this whole city,” Sharkey said.
Since CPS set the coronavirus case doubling time as the metric to watch, the CTU has said that’s not clear enough and is demanding a 3% positivity rate be the threshold for closing schools.
Marielle Fricchione, a pediatrics and infectious disease specialist with the city health department, pointed out that while New York had used the 3% metric, the city has since dropped it in favor of a testing plan.
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“Other cities may use other metrics,” Fricchione said. “Positivity rate has certainly been shown to be a false metric for school reopening. … Even though it has been used, that doesn’t mean it’s the best metric.”
“What public health is proposing is we use all the data available to us and that changing metrics is not a reflection of chaos,” Fricchione said. “Changing metrics is a reflection of good science.”
Board of Education President Miguel del Valle asked Fricchione to explain why positivity rate was no longer the metric to watch and how people could be assured the metric would not change again in another month or two.
“We’ve said time and time again this is evolving and it continues to evolve, but that metric stuck in people’s minds and it’s still there and it’s being used as a reason to keep from supporting, to keep parents and others, teachers, from supporting a plan that today is based on a metric that you say is the right metric to be used,” del Valle said. “So one more time, what do we say to parents and communities that have been tracking that positivity rate? It was mentioned here today in public participation several times that there are some communities that have higher rates than others, so there is concern about those schools in those ZIP codes.”
The metric might change again, as experts are still learning and have learned so much since the first wave, Fricchione said.
“The doubling time proposition is an interim guidance on school reopening safety. It’s an interim proxy for control of the outbreak,” she said.
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hleone@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-12-17--Mayor Lori Lightfoot apologizes for wrongful raid, said it was a mistake to try to stop CBS from air

Mayor Lori Lightfoot apologizes for wrongful raid, said it was a mistake to try to stop CBS from airing body camera video

“ I want to tell Ms. Young ( that ) I am deeply sorry and troubled that her home was @ @ @ @ @ had to face the humiliation and trauma that she suffered .
That is just not @ @ @ @ @ in an emotional news conference after Wednesday ’ s City Council meeting .
“ It @ @ @ @ @ .
And I will make sure that there is full accountability for what took place @ @

Mayor Lori Lightfoot takes questions from the news media after reading a statement concerning a video of Chicago police mistakenly searching the wrong house, during a news conference at City Hall on Dec. 16, 2020. (Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune)
Mayor Lori Lightfoot apologized to social worker Anjanette Young on Wednesday for the Chicago Police Department’s 2019 raid on her home, during which officers handcuffed her while she was naked, and disavowed her Law Department’s extraordinary attempt to block WBBM-Ch. 2 from airing body camera footage of the incident.
“I want to tell Ms. Young (that) I am deeply sorry and troubled that her home was invaded, and that she had to face the humiliation and trauma that she suffered. That is just not right,” Lightfoot said in an emotional news conference after Wednesday’s City Council meeting. “It simply should not have happened. And I will make sure that there is full accountability for what took place.”
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The apology came one day after the mayor sidestepped questions about the embarrassing raid. Lightfoot also said she would push for changes at the local and state level to make it easier to release body camera footage under circumstances similar to what Young experienced.
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The controversy erupted earlier this week when Lightfoot’s Law Department attempted to block CBS from airing body camera footage of Chicago police officers mistakenly raiding Young’s home in February 2019. Officers arrived at the wrong address and found Young naked, then handcuffed her, the video showed.
City lawyers also filed a request to have Young sanctioned for allegedly violating a confidentiality order on the video, though Lightfoot on Wednesday said Young should not be punished — just her lawyer, if a judge rules in that way.
A federal judge rejected the Lightfoot administration’s unusual request to prevent a television station from airing a news report. The courts long have ruled against efforts to prevent news companies from publishing reports, saying it’s an unconstitutional violation of the First Amendment.
Lightfoot disavowed the move by her Law Department, saying she was “blindsided” by it.
“Filing a motion against a media outlet to prevent something from being published is something that should rarely if ever happen,” Lightfoot said. “And had I been advised that this was in the works, I would have stopped it in its tracks.”
Lightfoot emphasized that the incident happened before she was mayor and said her administration has made reforms to curb bad police raids, though some have questioned whether the city has done enough.
But even as Lightfoot apologized for the incident, she denounced a question asking why her administration had refused to give Young the video in response to a public records request and falsely said her administration had not received a Freedom of Information Act request from Young.
Young filed a FOIA request seeking a copy of the footage in November 2019, but the city denied her request. City officials also resisted turning the video over to Young as part of the lawsuit, until a judge said they had to under seal, according to the Law Department’s filing.
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Lightfoot lawyers objected to providing Young with a copy of the recordings on the raid at her home because they believed it “was an attempt to provide the media with the body worn camera to paint an inaccurate picture of what happened during the subject search warrant,” their filing said.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel famously fought to keep secret a video showing white police Officer Jason Van Dyke shooting Black teenager Laquan McDonald 16 times, but a county judge ordered his administration to release the video. Emanuel has since been dogged by accusations that he covered up the scandal to preserve his 2015 reelection campaign, an allegation he’s denied.
Chicago has since instituted a rule allowing the release of police shooting videos and audio within 60 days.
In an interview with the Tribune earlier this week, Young’s attorney Keenan Saulter criticized the city for its handling of the situation. Saulter said he believes the city’s motivation was more about keeping an embarrassing incident secret.
“This city has a history of attempting to cover up unfavorable video,” Saulter said. “That’s all we’re dealing with here.”
Following news reports on the issue, other politicians weighed in.
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“Words cannot express the outrage we as Black residents of the City of Chicago feel upon hearing of another tragic incident suffered by a fellow Black Chicagoan, Anjanette Young, at the hands of the Chicago Police Department,” the City Council Black Caucus said in a statement.
Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx, who won her first election following public outrage over the McDonald tape and whose reelection was endorsed by Lightfoot, criticized the lack of transparency.
“The audacity that the city calculated its embarrassment over the release of the video is a clear violation of Ms. Young’s body and autonomy. This was a complete and utter dismissal of her humanity,” Foxx said. “Her humanity was, literally, stripped from her. This disturbing video explicitly illustrates who the victim is, who deserves justice, and who holds the power.”
She added: “Let’s be clear, this is her body and this is her trauma. To imagine what Ms. Young experienced at the hands of those who were supposed to protect her is shameful. This is what’s wrong with our criminal justice system, this is why there is a lack of trust.”
This isn’t Lightfoot’s first flap involving the Law Department. City corporation counsel Mark Flessner, a longtime Lightfoot friend, agreed last year to repay the state about $2,500 for the Chicago tax break he received on a South Loop condo while living in west suburban Naperville.
That move came amid questions about whether Flessner was still residing in Naperville while working in the Lightfoot administration in violation of city residency rules. Lightfoot denied Flessner had a residency problem.
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Emanuel had his share of difficulties involving city lawyers.
After a federal judge cited and rebuked five city attorneys for withholding evidence in two separate police misconduct cases, Emanuel said in early 2016 that it was “not possible” his Law Department was part of the cover-up culture that had tainted the Police Department.
But he then reversed course a few days later and initiated his own third-party review of the Law Department’s Federal Civil Rights Litigation division.
Emanuel also faced questions about the way a private lawyer hired by the city treated the mother of 19-year-old Quintonio LeGrier, who was fatally shot by a Chicago police officer.
Court records show an attorney representing the city in the lawsuit filed by Janet Cooksey asked her during a deposition how LeGrier was conceived and if she had engaged in prostitution with LeGrier’s father.
During her run for mayor, Lightfoot campaigned on a pledge to “bring in the light,” and promised to boost transparency at City Hall and reform local government. Since taking office, however, Lightfoot has faced criticism over her handling of some key open government issues.
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Previously, the Illinois attorney general’s office ruled the City Council violated the state’s open meetings law when it held a series of conference calls with Lightfoot during the early days of the coronavirus pandemic. Lightfoot also has repeatedly refused to release the inspector general’s report on the night former police Superintendent Eddie Johnson was found asleep in his car after drinking at a downtown bar known for heavy pours, despite calls from activists, media outlets and some aldermen to do so.
Lightfoot officials also sought to keep secret a top aide’s email about what he called “The Bet” from just before the Chicago Teachers Union went on strike.
“The Bet: 3 cigars and a bottle of scotch of the winner’s choosing. Under: Strike ends before next Weds. Over: Strike extends past Weds,” the aide wrote in the email, which had “confirming our agreement” in the subject line.
Lightfoot officials later said it was a joke and denied the mayor bet on the strike. But they fought to keep the email secret, denying a Tribune open records request while citing exemptions to the Illinois Freedom of Information Act that protect policymaking discussions and attorney-client privilege.
The Illinois attorney general’s office ruled the redaction improper and ordered the email’s release.
gpratt@chicagotribune.com
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jebyrne@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-12-17--Coronavirus in Illinois updates: 7,123 new COVID-19 cases and 146 additional deaths reported as Prit

Coronavirus in Illinois updates: 7,123 new COVID-19 cases and 146 additional deaths reported as Pritzker says shipments of Pfizer’s vaccine significantly reduced over next two weeks

But a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said there have been no changes to the @ @ @ @ @ been made to the states : the first shipment of the Pfizer vaccine , which @ @ @ @ @ went out this week ; the first shipment of a second vaccine from Moderna , @ @ @ @ @ to ship as soon as next week ; and the second shipment of the Pfizer @ @ @ @ @ Tuesday and also would ship next week .

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Laquitta Boyd, holds her 6-year-old daughter Venisha while receiving her first COVID-19 vaccination at a back-to-school health fair hosted by RUSH University Medical Center at the Salvation Army Freedom Center on July 30, 2022, in Chicago. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)
For the latest updates, click here for Thursday’s live blog.
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and federal officials clashed Wednesday over whether the state’s next two shipments of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine were being cut back, putting on display the logistical complications of a massive vaccination distribution effort that’s slowly getting off the ground.
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Pritzker said anticipated shipments nationwide in the next two weeks both have been cut in half, which “will likely cut our state’s projected Pfizer shipments this month roughly by half.” But a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said there have been no changes to the three official allocations that have been made to the states.
Meanwhile, Illinois Veterans’ Affairs officials acknowledged Wednesday that a complaint has been filed with the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration over employees who tested positive for COVID-19 but continued to work at the state’s home in LaSalle where a deadly outbreak sickened more than 200 residents and staff members, and 33 residents have died.
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Also on Wednesday, Illinois health officials announced 7,123 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 and 146 additional fatalities, bringing the total number of known infections in Illinois to 870,600 and the statewide death toll to 14,655 since the start of the pandemic.
Here’s what’s happening Wednesday with COVID-19 in the Chicago area and Illinois:
7:30 p.m. (updated): More Illinois hospitals begin vaccinating health care workers as state and federal officials clash over size of future shipments
Gov. J.B. Pritzker and federal health officials clashed Wednesday over whether the state’s next two shipments of Pfizer’s new coronavirus vaccine were being cut back, putting on display the logistical complications of a massive vaccination distribution effort that’s slowly getting off the ground in Illinois.
Pritzker began his daily COVID-19 briefing Wednesday by saying anticipated shipments nationwide in the next two weeks both have been cut in half, which “will likely cut our state’s projected Pfizer shipments this month roughly by half.”
“The same is true across the rest of the nation,” the governor said.
But a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said there have been no changes to the three official allocations that have been made to the states: the first shipment of the Pfizer vaccine, which was allocated Nov. 20 and went out this week; the first shipment of a second vaccine from Moderna, allocated Nov. 27 and set to ship as soon as next week; and the second shipment of the Pfizer vaccine, which was allocated Tuesday and also would ship next week.
“Operation Warp Speed remains on track to allocate enough vaccine for about 20 million Americans to receive their first doses before the end of the month,” assuming the Food and Drug Administration authorizes the Moderna vaccine for emergency use later this week, the spokesperson said.
A Pritzker spokeswoman had no immediate explanation for the discrepancy.
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The dispute over the number of available vaccine doses comes as public anticipation and media fervor triggered by the vaccine’s arrival in the state butts up against the painstaking process of receiving, repackaging and distributing the highly delicate doses to regional medical centers.
Those 10 large hospitals will serve as hubs for getting the vaccine to the designated local health departments and hospitals in line to receive the initial doses.
Some Illinois hospitals began giving their employees vaccines Wednesday.
Read more here. —Dan Petrella, Lisa Schencker and Gregory Pratt
6:20 p.m.: State VA official acknowledges employees with coronavirus allowed to work at LaSalle home where 33 veterans died
Illinois Veterans’ Affairs officials acknowledged Wednesday that a complaint has been filed with the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration over employees who tested positive for COVID-19 but continued to work at the state’s home in LaSalle where a deadly outbreak sickened more than 200 workers and residents.
Staff members at LaSalle were not required to work after testing positive for the virus, but some chose to do so, Tony Kolbeck, chief of staff for the state VA department, said after being asked by legislators at a state House committee hearing whether employees were pressured to stay on the job.
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“There were occasions in the overnight shift in which an individual was alerted that they were positive, they were in the COVID unit already,” Kolbeck said during the nearly four-hour House Veterans’ Affairs committee meeting. “They were asymptomatic and they chose to stay the rest of the shift. If they had not, there may have been a concern about not the proper staff being there in that overnight shift.”
The outbreak at LaSalle was first identified on Oct. 31, when a routine test on a staff member came back positive and a resident who was sent to the hospital for a separate issue tested positive.
Since then, 33 residents have died, and more than 200 residents and staff members have been infected. Last week, Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s administration fired LaSalle home administrator Angela Mehlbrech and placed the nursing director on administrative leave pending the outcome of an ongoing inspector general’s investigation.
Read more here. —Jamie Munks
4:45 p.m.: Chicago Teachers Union says ‘all options’ are on the table if schools can’t reopen safely
Less than 40% of Chicago Public Schools students eligible to begin in-person instruction next year plan to do so.
That’s according to survey data released during Wednesday’s Board of Education meeting – data that also showed a significant disparity in the rate of white students opting to return to schools versus students of color.
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But at the same meeting, Chicago Teachers Union President Jesse Sharkey indicated the union remains highly skeptical about CPS’s reopening plans and he all options are on the table if the sides can’t reach an agreement on how to minimize the risk of COVID-19 transmissions in schools.
Sharkey said options could include those that “would have very real consequences for this whole city.”
Read more here. —Hannah Leone
3:15 p.m.: Three Floyds reportedly closes brewpub — this time for good — due to pandemic
Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, Three Floyds Brewing said it would close its brewpub and taproom indefinitely due to the virus. Indefinitely has become forever, according to the Times of Northwest Indiana.
The newspaper reported Wednesday afternoon that the iconic northwest Indiana brewery has informed investors that its brewpub, which operated a full kitchen and poured a broad array of Three Floyds beers, will not reopen after being closed for seven months.
“As many of you know, this pandemic has not been kind to the restaurant industry, and we are no exception,” Three Floyds wrote in a letter to investors, according to the Times. “As of December 1, 2020, we have decided to permanently close 3 Floyds Brewpub. This decision was not easy for us, but at the end of the day, the safety of our customers and staff will always be our top priority.”
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Calls to the brewery and its founder, Nick Floyd, were not returned Wednesday.
Read more here. —Josh Noel
2:24 p.m.: Twin Drs. Brandi Jackson and Brittani James discuss COVID-19 and the Black community on Facebook Live
As part of the largest vaccination effort in American history, Chicago and other parts of Illinois began administering the first doses of the coronavirus vaccine this week.
While the pandemic has impacted all of our lives, it has disproportionately affected Black and brown communities.
Over one-third of Black adults said they know someone firsthand who died after contracting COVID-19. This reflects generations-long disinvestment in communities of color – disinvestment rooted in policy that continues in areas of housing, employment, education, food, transportation, small businesses and access to health care.
This harsh reality has been intensified by the racial tension seen across the nation following accounts of police brutality in the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, among others.
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While some see the vaccine as a silver bullet that will take us back to prepandemic life, others are concerned that the vaccines have been rushed and want to see how the rollout goes before they commit to getting it.
In a recent poll, fewer than half of Black Americans said they would take the vaccine.
Dr. Brandi Jackson, director of Integrative Behavioral Health at Howard Brown Health Center and an adjunct professor of psychiatry at Rush University Medical College, and Dr. Brittani James, a family practitioner with the University of Illinois health system and assistant professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine, discuss the Black community’s response to the vaccine and the disparities and inequities they’ve seen in the past nine months on Facebook Live.
—Darcel Rockett
1:29 p.m.: Shipments of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine significantly reduced over next two weeks
The next two shipments of the new Pfizer coronavirus vaccine to Illinois and other states have been significantly reduced by the federal government, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Wednesday.
”This development will likely cut our state’s project Pfizer shipments this month roughly by half,” Pritzker said at his daily COVID-19 briefing. “The same is true across the rest of the nation.”
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Anticipated deliveries of about 8 million and 9 million doses in the next two weeks both have been cut to 4.3 million, Pritzker said.
Pritzker did not immediately provide a reason for the reduction.
Read more here. —Dan Petrella
12:10 p.m.: 7,123 new confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases and 146 additional deaths reported
Illinois health officials on Wednesday announced 7,123 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 and 146 additional fatalities, bringing the total number of known infections in Illinois to 870,600 and the statewide death toll to 14,655 since the start of the pandemic.
Officials also reported 93,278 new tests in the last 24 hours. The seven-day statewide rolling positivity rate for cases as a share of total tests was 8.5% for the period ending Tuesday.
—Chicago Tribune staff
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11:13 a.m.: Chicago teachers union discusses ongoing safety concerns over in-person classes, reiterates demands
The Chicago Teachers Union held an online news conference Wednesday to address its ongoing safety concerns and to reiterate its demands ahead of Chicago Public Schools potentially reopening schools on a hybrid basis Feb. 1.
Numerous teachers and union officials, including its president, Jesse Sharkey, were joined on a Zoom call by environmental consultants to outline what they see as unacceptable conditions that should preclude reopening. Sharkey said there is a path to reopening before widespread access to a coronavirus vaccine becomes available, but that it hinges on a variety of factors which are addressed in a list of demands submitted to CPS by the union.
”The whole point behind the CTU setting out a number of demands is we think we should begin in-person learning when we can meet those demands,” Sharkey said. “We shouldn’t say everyone has to be vaccinated (first). Public health officials are telling us that may take a long time … It depends on there being some guardrails, if you will, that help us be assured of safety, equity and trust.”
Linda Perales, a special education teacher at Corkery Elementary, said that Mayor Lori Lightfoot and CPS have already made empty promises, among them that teachers would have access to adequate disinfectant wipes and that 400 additional custodians will be hired to keep schools clean and safe. She said each teacher would only get three containers of disinfectant wipes and only a quarter of those 400 janitorial positions have been filled to date.”
In addition, the CDC has told us that we should not interact with anyone outside of our household. And with the current CPS reopening plan, teachers and students will be interacting on a daily basis with multiple people that do not live in their household, who will not be able to wear a mask all day and who will not be able to social distance. So this plan is just truly unsafe,” Perales said.
She also said the demands on teachers to instruct students on basic safety precautions – how to socially distance, wear masks and wash their hands – on top of teaching under the hybrid remote and in-person model, are unsustainable.
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”This is an impossible task. Not to mention that clinicians and special teachers, like art and music, will be travelling to multiple (buildings) which increases the risk for the transmission of COVID-19,” she said. “What we need is a real plan that is safe … and we need a better plan for remote learning.”
Sterling Laylock, a behavioral economist and environmental consultant working with the teachers union, said he’s repeatedly heard school and city officials say they are “following the science,” but he said that’s not accurate.
He is concerned about classroom conditions and remains unconvinced that a study provided by CPS, which relied on an air quality inspection of about 20% of CPS classrooms, is a fair assessment of what conditions will be like once they’re in use.
”We’ve got a lot of inconsistencies and a lot of missing information. If you just simply take a look at how the schools were inspected, they inspected 20% of the classrooms for indoor air quality with no persons present. People are the source of this COVID-19 pollution, when we breathe, when we cough,” he said.
The other 80% of classrooms were evaluated with a walkthrough and visual assessment. But Laylock said that beyond the dangers of COVID-19 transmission once rooms are in use, many of the most toxic gasses are colorless and odorless. By simply looking at an empty classroom, no one can say whether that room will be safe, Laylock said.
”We keep hearing, ‘we’re following the science, we’re following the science.’ Well, that sounds nice but we have to actually do the science – and that’s not what’s happening. What’s happening is a marketing presentation, straight away,” Laylock said.
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Short of ongoing monitoring, he said there is no way to use the visual inspections to extrapolate and say with any certainty what conditions will be like in all classrooms.
”I’m so passionate about it because how will we know where we are, and how will we know what we’re doing, and how will we be able to make any kind of corrective action, especially coupled with the fact that this report is incomplete and it focuses on buildings, not children and the adults that are staff and teachers, that are going to be expected to implement all this stuff,” he said.
—Katherine Rosenberg-Douglas
8:38 a.m.: Negotiators nearing agreement on long-delayed COVID-19 aid bill — including direct payments
Top congressional leaders appear closer to an agreement on a long-delayed COVID-19 relief package, hoping to seal an agreement as early as Wednesday that would extend aid to individuals and businesses and help ship coronavirus vaccines to millions.
Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W. Va., a coauthor of a $908 billion bipartisan package, said leadership negotiators are closing in on an agreement that would extend direct payments of $500-$600 to most Americans but would deny Democratic negotiators long-sought aid to state and local governments. Manchin credited his bipartisan group with facilitating the breakthrough.
“I think they’re basically now putting it all together,” Manchin said on CNN. “We were able to break the gridlock.”
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Read more here. —Associated Press
7:20 a.m.: Chicago handing out more than $11 million in relief to performance venues, restaurants and bars
Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s administration was slated to announce that more than $11 million in grants is being handed out this week as part of a city COVID-19 relief fund, according to a news release.
The city’s Hospitality Grant Program has handed out grants of $10,000 to 995 restaurants and bars and grants of at least $10,000 to 100 performing arts venues, according to the release.
The grant money is designed to help those most affected “throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, especially following recent state-wide mitigation measures that have closed indoor service and performances,” according to the release.
The City Council was expected Wednesday to pass ordinances to give what Lightfoot’s office calls “regulatory relief” to businesses, including extending license expiration dates to July 21, after capping fees charged by third-party food delivery companies.
—Chicago Tribune staff
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5 a.m.: ‘Project Cheer’ making Christmas a little brighter for Decatur restaurant employees
A group of anonymous donors are serving up a bit of Christmas cheer to local restaurant and bar employees affected by COVID-19 restrictions, and helping other businesses in the process.
“The mitigation measures faced by the restaurant and bar establishments has taken both a human and economic toll. With the holiday season upon us, our support is needed now more than ever,” said a news release from the Decatur Regional Chamber of Commerce announcing the Project Cheer initiative.
Working with the owners of restaurants that are members of the Chamber, employees most in need were identified to be among the beneficiaries of donations totaling more than $22,000.
The gifts, in the form of Metro Money, are being delivered to the recipients this week. Metro Money can be redeemed at over 45 local businesses and are treated just like cash.
“This gift allows those employees the opportunity to purchase food, Christmas gifts, whatever is needed to lighten their load this December while also putting dollars back into our local community,” the release stated.
The effort grew out of inquiries from Chamber members about ways of helping those in the local restaurant industry.
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The Chamber partnered with the United Way of Decatur and Mid-Illinois to accept additional donations.
—Decatur Herald & Review, via Tribune Content Agency
Breaking coronavirus news Stay up to date with the latest information on coronavirus with our breaking news alerts.
In case you missed it
Here are five things that happened Tuesday related to COVID-19:


chicagotribune--2020-12-17--State VA official acknowledges employees with coronavirus allowed to work at LaSalle home where 33 v

State VA official acknowledges employees with coronavirus allowed to work at LaSalle home where 33 veterans died

“ There were occasions in the overnight shift in which an individual was alerted that they were positive , they @ @ @ @ @ already , ” Kolbeck said during the nearly four-hour House Veterans ’ Affairs committee meeting @ @ @ @ @ and they chose to stay the rest of the shift .
If they had not @ @ @ @ @ a concern about not the proper staff being there in that overnight shift .
”

The Illinois Veterans' Home in LaSalle on Dec. 14, 2020. The deadly coronavirus outbreak at the LaSalle Veterans' Home killed 36 veterans. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune)
Illinois Veterans’ Affairs officials acknowledged Wednesday that a complaint has been filed with the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration over employees who tested positive for COVID-19 but continued to work at the state’s home in LaSalle where a deadly outbreak sickened more than 200 workers and residents.
Staff members at LaSalle were not required to work after testing positive for the virus, but some chose to do so, Tony Kolbeck, chief of staff for the state VA department, said after being asked by legislators at a state House committee hearing whether employees were pressured to stay on the job.
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“There were occasions in the overnight shift in which an individual was alerted that they were positive, they were in the COVID unit already,” Kolbeck said during the nearly four-hour House Veterans’ Affairs committee meeting. “They were asymptomatic and they chose to stay the rest of the shift. If they had not, there may have been a concern about not the proper staff being there in that overnight shift.”
The outbreak at LaSalle was first identified on Oct. 31, when a routine test on a staff member came back positive and a resident who was sent to the hospital for a separate issue tested positive.
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The Illinois Veterans Home in LaSalle on Dec. 14, 2020. The deadly coronavirus outbreak at the home has killed 33 veterans. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune)
Since then, 33 residents have died, and more than 200 residents and staff members have been infected. Last week, Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s administration fired LaSalle home administrator Angela Mehlbrech and placed the nursing director on administrative leave pending the outcome of an ongoing inspector general’s investigation.
Dr. Avery Hart, a consultant for the state Department of Public Health, detailed several changes that have been made at the LaSalle facility and across the state’s network of veterans homes, including additional staff training and interdisciplinary checks.
“We’re not seeing evidence of new transmission within the facility,” Hart said. “You can call this the proof in the pudding, meaning that the process changes that have been implemented have borne fruit.”
Hart testified that allowing an asymptomatic staffer to remain at work after a positive COVID-19 test is allowable under guidance from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in dire circumstances, and only if those workers are caring solely for patients who also are confirmed positive for the illness and are limited to a single unit.
“This is not a preferred strategy or a desirable strategy,” Hart said. “This is a crisis strategy that you use only when you’ve exhausted your other avenues of meeting staffing needs.”
For one staff member, Kolbeck said, “we were talking 2 o’clock in the morning, 3 o’clock in the morning, and they had exhausted all other avenues when she agreed to stay.”
He also detailed an instance when a maintenance worker came in “at the tail end” of a 14-day quarantine after testing positive to operate HVAC systems because other employees who operate those systems were out. He said the employee came into the work area through a separate entrance, had his own bathroom and did not leave the work area.
Rep. Jeff Keicher, a Republican from Sycamore, called for agency officials to accept more responsibility for the deadly outbreak, setting off a testy exchange with Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs Director Linda Chapa LaVia.
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“I haven’t heard why it took two weeks, in the midst of an explosion of this virus in the surrounding community, to screw down on these protocols tighter, to make sure that these obvious issues in hindsight were taken care of,” Keicher said.
“What I’m curious about is, when is someone going to own this?” he asked. “We all feel bad, we all are devastated at the loss of these 33 individuals, but I keep hearing dodges, I keep hearing explanations. I don’t hear ownership.”
Chapa LaVia said she is ultimately responsible for the department, and referenced the ongoing investigation. “If there’s another idea, please bring it forward right now. These are the resources and tools I have to investigate my own department and to see what went wrong,” she said.
She also pointed out the high COVID-19 positivity rate in LaSalle County at the time of the outbreak and implied political pushback on the governor’s restrictions aimed at curbing the spread of coronavirus, noting, “you have a state’s attorney in LaSalle telling people not to adhere to mitigations.”
Rep. Lance Yednock, a Democrat from Ottawa, asked state Veterans’ Affairs officials to “bring back a theory of what happened and support it.”
“I just want to know why it came in and why it went so fast, and I believe all of you do too,” he said. “Let’s not talk around the edges of it.”
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Shortly before a Senate Veterans’ Affairs hearing last month on the outbreak, the state released a pair of reports stemming from infection control site visits at the LaSalle home in mid-November.
The first report that detailed the findings of a Nov. 12 site visit detailed a range of issues including improper mask usage and social distancing by employees. Those issues were found to be corrected on a follow-up site visit days later, and Hart on Wednesday outlined further changes for infection control compliance checks and staff training.
“By closing the identified gaps in infection control practice, transmission within the facility has been controlled,” Hart said. “The staff next will need to maintain a high level of vigilance for the whole duration of this unprecedented pandemic.”
jmunks@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-12-17--The Spin: Lightfoot’s ‘sorry’ for raid on innocent woman’s home | Buttigieg calls O’Hare ‘romantic’

The Spin: Lightfoot’s ‘sorry’ for raid on innocent woman’s home | Buttigieg calls O’Hare ‘romantic’ | Pritzker ‘disappointed’ vaccine shipments cut in half

Samuel Skinner , a Chicago attorney and former Transportation Secretary under then-President George H.W .
Bush , also weighed in @ @ @ @ @ made an excellent decision by nominating Mayor Pete Buttigieg for U.S. Secretary of Transportation .
@ @ @ @ @ challenges facing cities and states across America is critical to achieving success in this role @ @ @ @ @ our nation ’ s economy through safer and smarter travel via air , land , @ @ @ @ @ If confirmed , he will be supported by career government professionals at the USDOT who @ @ @ @ @ service.
” ( Rick Pearson )

During a news conference today, Mayor Lori Lightfoot offered up an apology to social worker Anjanette Young for Chicago police raiding her home and handcuffing her while she was naked. The incident occurred before Lightfoot took office, but the mayor disavowed her Law Department’s recent attempt to block WBBM-Ch. 2 from airing the footage, the Tribune’s Gregory Pratt reports. A judge denied the request.
Former Mayor Rahm Emanuel famously fought to keep secret a video showing white police Officer Jason Van Dyke shooting Black teenager Laquan McDonald 16 times. The cover-up accusation, which Emanuel has denied, continues to dog him to this day.
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Gov. J.B. Pritzker says he’s gotten word from the federal government that shipments of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine to states and cities across the country over the next two weeks have been cut roughly in half. No word on why.
It looks like Congress is closing in on a $900 billion COVID-19 relief package that would deliver additional “paycheck protection” subsidies to businesses, $300 per week jobless checks, and $600 or so stimulus payments to most Americans, The Associated Press reports.
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And former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg called O’Hare International Airport “romantic” after President-elect Joe Biden introduced him as his pick for U.S. transportation secretary. We’ll give it to him, since Buttigieg said he proposed to his husband there. Not every traveler, however, shares his enthusiasm for the airport.
Welcome to The Spin.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker speaks Nov. 4, 2020, at the Thompson Center in Chicago. (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune)
Anticipated deliveries of about 8 million next week and nearly 9 million the following week have both been cut to 4.3 million, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said during a news conference today. The governor said he wasn’t told the reason for the reduction but added that he was “disappointed.”
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services informed the state that “that per the direction of Operation Warp Speed’s” Army Gen. Gustave Perna, the estimated number of doses going out nationally has been cut back, Pritzker said. The Tribune’s Dan Petrella has more here.
What it means for Illinois: Following the national math, it likely means the state’s projected Pfizer shipments this month will be cut in half, the governor said.
Coronavirus in Illinois: The state announced 7,123 confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, with 146 additional deaths.
Did Illinois see a post-Thanksgiving surge in COVID-19? The Tribune’s Joe Mahr reports that the latest data offers a mixed picture.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot speaks Dec. 15, 2020, at Loretto Hospital. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)
Excerpt from Tribune reporter Gregory Pratt’s latest: Mayor Lori Lightfoot apologized to social worker Anjanette Young today for the Chicago Police Department’s raid on her home, in which officers handcuffed her while she was naked, and disavowed her Law Department’s attempt to block local news station WBBM-Ch. 2 from airing the footage.
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“I am sorry,” Lightfoot said in an emotional news conference after today’s City Council meeting.
Lightfoot also said the city would amend its policies to make it easier to release body camera video under circumstances similar to this one. Read the full story here.
City Council’s Black Caucus calls for investigation into why Chicago police officers incorrectly raided a social worker’s Near West Side home last year, the Chicago Sun-Times’ Sam Charles reports.
Lightfoot making good on promise to eliminate exceptions to Chicago’s Welcoming City Ordinance: During a City Council meeting today, the mayor introduced legislation that would close a loophole that allows police to work with federal immigration agents in some cases, my Tribune colleagues John Byrne and Gregory Pratt report. The mayor got some blowback from Latino aldermen when she initially tried to add it to her 2021 budget plan, in hopes of winning their votes for the package. Read the story here.
Other Chicago news: MacKenzie Scott, ex-wife of Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, just gave away $4.1 billion, including millions to Chicago-area charities, The Associated Press is reporting.
Senate confirms Thomas Kirsch as Amy Coney Barrett’s replacement on federal appeals court in Chicago: Kirsch, a U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Indiana, takes Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s spot on a federal appeals court based in Chicago, The Associated Press reports.
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Former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, President-elect Joe Biden's nominee to be transportation secretary, speaks after Biden announced his nomination during a news conference Dec. 16, 2020, in Wilmington, Delaware. (KEVIN LAMARQUE/AP)
You might say Chicago was in the air today when President-elect Joe Biden introduced former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg as his nominee for transportation secretary. Buttigieg, who seemingly edged out Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel for the gig, threw the city’s largest airport some love.
Recalling that he proposed to his husband, Chasten, at the airport, Buttigieg said, “Don’t let anybody tell you that O’Hare isn’t romantic.”
And, oh, how O’Hare is basking in a headline focusing on something other than maddening delays. USA Today reports that O’Hare’s Twitter bio now describes it as a “Place of romance.”
United Airlines, one of the big hubs at O’Hare, followed up with its own tweet noting the proposal site: “B5.″ Buttigieg mentioned that detail in his memoir, USA Today reminds.
Buttigieg would become the first openly LGBTQ Cabinet secretary approved by the U.S. Senate, the Tribune’s Bill Ruthhart reported yesterday.
During his nomination speech, Buttigieg recalled watching James Hormel denied a vote in the Senate to be President Bill Clinton’s ambassador to Luxembourg because he was gay. CNN reminds that Clinton appointed Hormel through what’s known as a recess appointment.
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Samuel Skinner, a Chicago attorney and former Transportation Secretary under then-President George H.W. Bush, also weighed in: “President-elect Biden has made an excellent decision by nominating Mayor Pete Buttigieg for U.S. Secretary of Transportation. His understanding of the infrastructure challenges facing cities and states across America is critical to achieving success in this role and in helping to revitalize our nation’s economy through safer and smarter travel via air, land, sea, and rail. If confirmed, he will be supported by career government professionals at the USDOT who understand the importance of public service.” (Rick Pearson)
Full story: Biden introduces ex-rival Buttigieg as transportation secretary, with coronavirus travel and crumbling infrastructure as immediate issues, Aamer Madhani and Will Weissert write for The Associated Press.
Thank you for appreciating all the connections we make possible, @PeteButtigieg. Looking forward to working with you as we continue to make our airport lovable for decades to come. #ORD21 pic.twitter.com/51rQVjf05R — O'Hare Intl. Airport (@fly2ohare) December 16, 2020
It was B5. Proof that love actually is all around. 💙😊 https://t.co/9sIoUPjmKf pic.twitter.com/fVAcL9ch4r — United Airlines (@united) December 16, 2020
B5 ORD ♥ — Chasten Buttigieg (@Chasten) December 16, 2020
Rep. Rodney Davis, R-Taylorville, announces victory in his race in Illinois' 13th Congressional District on Nov. 3, 2020. (Ted Schurter/AP)
Fraudulent claims for unemployment benefits are on the rise as record numbers of Illinois residents file for benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic, my Tribune colleague Abdel Jimenez reported late last month. At the time, more than 200,000 fraudulent claims for unemployment benefits had been filed with the state since March 1, according to the Illinois Department of Employment Security.
Now Republican Downstate U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis, of Taylorville, reports that “someone attempted to fraudulently file for unemployment in my name.” He’s inviting folks on Twitter to follow his dealing with IDES, which has faced a raft of criticism over fraud and delays amid a flood of unemployment claims during the pandemic.
Late last night, I opened my mail & discovered that someone attempted to fraudulently file for unemployment in my name. I know this is a problem that many in #IL have faced, & we need to do more to fix it. Follow along, & I’ll keep you updated on my own @IllinoisIDES experience. pic.twitter.com/K64Tv3Cmfr — US Rep Rodney Davis (@RodneyDavis) December 16, 2020
Mayor Lori Lightfoot at Wrigley Field on April 16, 2020. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)
My Tribune colleague Gregory Pratt shared on Twitter this morning that Mayor Lightfoot stayed on “Stay Home, Save Lives” message this gift-giving season. On the box of candies she gave each of the 50 alderman was a picture of a stern-looking Lightfoot with the message “Stay home!!! Eat chocolate!!!”
Small and lighter thing: Mayor Lori Lightfoot sent aldermen a box with drink ingredients for her Zoom holiday party last night. Also this box of chocolates. pic.twitter.com/LdEmwZ1l1Z — Gregory Pratt (@royalpratt) December 16, 2020
Programming note: I’ll be off Thursday and Friday. See you Monday.
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Twitter @byldonovan


chicagotribune--2020-12-16--Lightfoot introduces plan to close loopholes allowing Chicago police to cooperate with immigration a

Lightfoot introduces plan to close loopholes allowing Chicago police to cooperate with immigration agents

Lightfoot on Wednesday also introduced an ordinance to increase fines for air pollution caused by demolitions such as the April @ @ @ @ @ coal power plant that sent a cloud of dust through the Little Village neighborhood .
@ @ @ @ @ plan , pollution caused by demolition would result in fines of between $ 5,000 and @ @ @ @ @ would increase fines for pollution caused by facilities such as General Iron , the troubled @ @ @ @ @ ’ s facing pushback from Southeast Side residents opposed to plans for the company to @ @ @ @ @

Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Wednesday followed through on a pledge to introduce a plan to the City Council that would eliminate loopholes in the city’s Welcoming City Ordinance that allow police to in some cases cooperate with federal immigration agents.
Lightfoot drew the ire of some Latino aldermen and activists this fall when she tried to include the changes in her 2021 budget as a way to try to get their support for the overall package. Facing criticism, the mayor removed the language from the budget, and it passed 29-21.
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The mayor’s proposed ordinance would no longer let Chicago police cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents if arrestees’ names are in Chicago’s gang database, if they have charges or convictions in their background, or if they have criminal warrants.
It also would prohibit city agencies from detaining people solely because they might be in the U.S. without legal permission, or transferring anyone to ICE custody for immigration enforcement.
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Police would be barred from setting up traffic perimeters to aid ICE immigration actions, and police supervisors would be required to sign off on any requests for assistance from ICE. If the supervisor determined the agency wanted help enforcing civil immigration laws, the supervisor “shall decline the request,” according to the proposal.
Southwest Side Ald. Raymond Lopez, 15th, used a parliamentary procedure Wednesday to shunt Lightfoot’s ICE ordinance to the council Rules Committee. The Rules Committee will need to meet and vote on whether to send it to the Committee on Immigrant and Refugee Rights for a hearing, which will at least delay the process.
Lopez, an outspoken Lightfoot critic, said he took the step because he does not want the “positive narrative” of hardworking immigrants coming to Chicago in search of a better life to “be hijacked by individuals wanting sanctuary for the small number of criminals in our midst solely because they also happen to be undocumented too.”
“Those few people that are committed to violence and terrorizing our neighborhoods should not be given the same respect and concern we give to those wanting to actually lift up Chicago,” Lopez said in a statement.
Asked about Lopez moving the package to Rules, Lightfoot said he “has made a series of racist and offensive statements about immigrants and refugees. And unfortunately, today is no different.”
Lightfoot on Wednesday also introduced an ordinance to increase fines for air pollution caused by demolitions such as the April work at a Southwest Side coal power plant that sent a cloud of dust through the Little Village neighborhood. Under the mayor’s plan, pollution caused by demolition would result in fines of between $5,000 and $20,000. It also would increase fines for pollution caused by facilities such as General Iron, the troubled North Side scrap shredder that’s facing pushback from Southeast Side residents opposed to plans for the company to move to their neighborhood.
And the mayor introduced a new plan designed to “reduce displacement of low- and moderate-income residents” in Pilsen by prohibiting construction of single-family homes and two-flats within certain zoning designations, after a landmark designation plan and a demolition moratorium plan for the fast-gentrifying neighborhood both failed earlier this month.
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Lightfoot brought forward a similar ordinance Wednesday to also try to stem displacement of low-income residents around The 606 elevated trail that runs through fast-gentrifying parts of Humboldt Park and Logan Square, by outlawing the conversion of multiunit buildings into single-family homes within certain boundaries near the former railroad tracks.
The council also passed another ordinance Wednesday that supporters hope will increase affordable housing, creating a pilot program in three parts of the city to legalize construction of coach houses and so-called in-law apartments in attics and basements.
The council also unanimously approved Lightfoot’s ordinance to allow the Cubs to defer a $250,000 payment for infrastructure work in the neighborhood around Wrigley Field, which the mayor has defended on the grounds the team is struggling like many other businesses during the pandemic.
The council agreed Wednesday to award a $300,000 settlement to Dnigma Howard, a girl who was shocked with a Taser by police during a scuffle inside her school, Marshall High School on the West Side. Howard, who was 16 at the time, filed a federal civil rights lawsuit after the 2019 incident.
During debate Wednesday on the Howard settlement, Southwest Side Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez, 25th, turned the discussion to the case of Anjanette Young, whose home was wrongly raided by Chicago police. Officers handcuffed her while she was naked and protesting that they were in the wrong place.
It’s important for the city to recognize it has a “systemic issue” with police brutality, Sigcho-Lopez said.
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Lightfoot interrupted to call him out of order, but Sigcho-Lopez said there should be a hearing on the raid “because the public deserves an explanation for what happened.”
In response, Lightfoot said the images were “upsetting” but asked him to “get the facts.”
“You have spent a significant amount of your time talking about issues for which you have no facts and that is highly problematic, it is irresponsible, it undermines your credibility,” she said.
Northwest Side Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa, 35th, then could be heard on the council Zoom call admonishing the mayor for making a personal attack against Sigcho-Lopez.
jebyrne@chicagotribune.com
gpratt@chicagotribune.com
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Twitter @royalpratt


Corrections and clarifications

· A story on COVID-19 vaccine myths in the main news section of Wednesday ’ s paper gave the incorrect @ @ @ @ @ who tweeted about the vaccines ’ effectiveness and misspelled the name of a local infectious @ @ @ @ @ came from Sen. Rand Paul , and the specialist ’ s name is Dr. Robert @ @

· A story on COVID-19 vaccine myths in the main news section of Wednesday’s paper gave the incorrect name of the U.S. senator who tweeted about the vaccines’ effectiveness and misspelled the name of a local infectious disease specialist. The tweet came from Sen. Rand Paul, and the specialist’s name is Dr. Robert Citronberg.
The Tribune regrets the errors.
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Publishing information quickly and accurately is a central part of the Chicago Tribune’s news responsibility and a value shared in all our publications. Our editorial code of principles governs professional behavior and journalism standards. Everyone in our newsroom must agree to live up to this code of conduct. Download the file.
To report an error, fill out this form.


chicagotribune--2020-12-16--Police investigate three shooting deaths in East Chicago, Gary

The violence kicked off early in East Chicago with the death of Max Reed , 31 , of East Chicago @ @ @ @ @ from the Lake County coroner , Reed was found dead at 6:42 a.m. in the @ @ @ @ @ .
The coroner listed his manner of death as “ pending , ” but Lake @ @ @ @ @ the scene , the release said .

A wave of violence in Gary and East Chicago on Tuesday left two men and a 17-year-old dead.
The violence kicked off early in East Chicago with the death of Max Reed, 31, of East Chicago. According to a release from the Lake County coroner, Reed was found dead at 6:42 a.m. in the 3600 block of Michigan Court. The coroner listed his manner of death as “pending,” but Lake County CSI did respond to the scene, the release said.
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Later in the day, officers responded to the 3500 block of Guthrie Street in reference to shots fired, East Chicago Police Chief Jose Rivera said in an email. They found an unconscious but breathing man on the sidewalk, Rivera said; two more men were found inside an apartment at the address.
Both men in the apartment had been shot multiple times, Rivera said, but both were conscious. Numerous shell casings and three handguns were found inside the apartment, he said.
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The two conscious men were taken to area hospitals in critical condition, Rivera said. The third, 17-year-old Jayden Brown, of East Chicago, died in the shooting, the coroner said in a release.
In Gary, Dontae Kelly, 27 was shot and killed in his home around 2:32 p.m. in the 3600 block of Jackson Street, the coroner said in a release. Gary Police didn’t respond to a request for further information.
The investigation into the Guthrie Street shootings is still ongoing, and no further information was available, Rivera said. Anyone with information should contact Detective Luis Semidei at 219-391-8318 or lsemidei@eastchicago.com.
Michelle L. Quinn is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.


chicagotribune--2020-12-16--Abbott’s rapid COVID-19 test receives FDA approval for at-home use

Abbott and eMed will require people to answer a series of questions through Abbott ’ s smartphone app Navica about @ @ @ @ @ testing from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in order to receive a test @ @ @ @ @ must be suspected by their health care provider of having COVID-19 and be within the @ @ @ @ @ symptoms in order to be eligible for the test .

Abbott Laboratories said Wednesday it received federal emergency use authorization for its in-home rapid COVID-19 test, with results available in 15 minutes.
The north suburban-based medical device company is the latest to win approval for an at-home coronavirus test from the Food and Drug Administration after Australian manufacturer Ellume received approval Tuesday to sell its test at drugstores. The FDA approved the first at-home test, made by Lucira Health, Nov. 17.
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The announcement comes as the nation sees a spike in COVID-19 cases and a vaccine made by Pfizer, initially administered to health care workers, enters the market.
Abbott Laboratories' BinaxNOW Ag Card COVID-19 home test. (Abbott Laboratories)
Abbott plans to make 30 million BinaxNOW rapid antigen tests available in the first quarter of 2021, with an additional 90 million tests in the second quarter, the company said in a news release Wednesday. The test will cost $25.
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Abbott is partnering with digital health service provider eMed to deliver and oversee the administration of the tests. Dr. Partice Harris, CEO of eMed, said the company plans to begin the process Jan. 1, starting with a questionnaire that will help determine whether consumers can buy the test.
Abbott and eMed will require people to answer a series of questions through Abbott’s smartphone app Navica about their symptoms following guidelines on testing from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in order to receive a test, Harris said. People must be suspected by their health care provider of having COVID-19 and be within the first seven days of experiencing symptoms in order to be eligible for the test.
Once eligibility is determined, eMed will ship the test kits, which include a nasal swab and test card, within 24 hours, she said. Then, individuals will take the test during a video session under the supervision of a certified eMed guide, whose role is to authenticate and confirm that tests are done properly, Harris said.
“That’s what really sets us apart,” she said.
Before receiving FDA emergency approval, Abbott’s rapid test was administered by health care providers.
Harris said the company is working with states to determine options for people to pick up test kits at places like pharmacies.
Ellume’s COVID-19 rapid test is the first at-home test that doesn’t require a prescription and costs $30, with results ready in about 20 minutes. The company said it expects to produce 3 million tests next month before it increases production over the first half of 2021. Ellume said the tests will be available at pharmacies and for purchase online.
abjimenez@chicagotribune.com
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chicagotribune--2020-12-16--Three Floyds reportedly closes brewpub — this time for good — due to COVID-19 pandemic

“ As many of you know , this pandemic has not been kind to the restaurant industry , and we @ @ @ @ @ Three Floyds wrote in a letter to investors , according to the Times .
“ @ @ @ @ @ 2020 , we have decided to permanently close 3 Floyds Brewpub .
This decision was @ @ @ @ @ but at the end of the day , the safety of our customers and staff @ @ @ @ @ priority .
”

Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, Three Floyds Brewing said it would close its brewpub and taproom indefinitely due to the virus. Indefinitely has become forever, according to the Times of Northwest Indiana.
The newspaper reported Wednesday afternoon that the iconic northwest Indiana brewery has informed investors that its brewpub, which operated a full kitchen and poured a broad array of Three Floyds beers, will not reopen after being closed for seven months.
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“As many of you know, this pandemic has not been kind to the restaurant industry, and we are no exception,” Three Floyds wrote in a letter to investors, according to the Times. “As of December 1, 2020, we have decided to permanently close 3 Floyds Brewpub. This decision was not easy for us, but at the end of the day, the safety of our customers and staff will always be our top priority.”
Calls to the brewery and its founder, Nick Floyd, were not returned Wednesday.
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The initial decision to close indefinitely in late May bucked early conventional wisdom about operating during the pandemic; at the time, Indiana was trying to get bars and restaurants open again. Yet Floyd said — accurately, it turned out, based on the pandemic’s unrelenting spread — that he didn’t believe reopening was safe.
“I can’t put people in danger. No one should die over a beer,” Floyd said at the time. “I would die for beer and probably will, but I’m not going to make people endanger themselves.”
The pub, which could accommodate 70 people in about 2,000 square feet, would not reopen “until it’s safe to operate again,” Floyd said at the time, expressing concern for both customers and employees.
“It’s too many people jammed in,” he said.
In an era where breweries make vast profits by selling beer directly to customers, odds would seem good that Three Floyds will eventually open another version of a taproom at its Munster brewery.
Known for its Alpha King and Zombie Dust pale ales, Gumballhead wheat ale, Dark Lord imperial stout and an early embrace of aggressively using hops, Three Floyds has been one of the nation’s most influential craft breweries since launching in 1996.
jbnoel@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-12-16--‘Appalling’ video shows man facing murder charge escaping at McDonald’s drive-thru in Gary, Lake Cou

‘Appalling’ video shows man facing murder charge escaping at McDonald’s drive-thru in Gary, Lake County sheriff says

The surveillance videos released Wednesday show a man wearing a police-style uniform , with a star badge on his chest @ @ @ @ @ s seat of a black SUV that ’ s pulled up at the drive-thru window @ @ @ @ @ .
They show a man hop out of the passenger-side back door of the SUV @ @ @ @ @ second , then run out of the McDonald ’ s parking lot as the driver @ @ @ @ @ out of the SUV but is blocked by the side of the restaurant , then @ @ @ @ @ the escaping man .

A Hammond man arrested on a murder warrant — who this week escaped when a private driver who was extraditing him from Texas stopped at a McDonald’s drive-thru in Gary — remained at large Wednesday as police released video of the escape.
The escape prompted a harsh rebuke from the Lake County sheriff where he escaped, and allegations the company issued “conflicting statements” about the escape.
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Video was released that authorities say shows Leon Taylor, 22, opening a rear passenger-side door as the vehicle was stopped Monday in a McDonald’s drive-thru in Gary and running away across a busy street, successfully evading the driver of the SUV he had been transported in. Taylor, who faces charges in connection with an East Chicago homicide, was being taken to the Lake County Jail in Crown Point by an employee with REDI Transports, of Green Bay, Wisconsin, when he escaped in the area of 35th and Grant Street about 3 p.m., according to a release from the Lake County Sheriff’s Department.
Leon Taylor (Lake County Sheriffs Dept. / HANDOUT)
“After watching this video, I am highly disturbed and disappointed by the procedures the private transportation driver used during the transfer of this suspect to our jail,” Lake County Sheriff Oscar Martinez Jr. said in a news release.
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“I find it appalling that REDI Transports failed to use appropriate caution and may have put the public at risk,” he said.
Taylor is about 6 feet tall and weighs about 162 pounds, according to authorities. He has hazel eyes and brown hair and was wearing a chain around his midsection, handcuffs and a restraint on his leg when he took off running from the SUV. Authorities previously said he was shackled, but Martinez contested that claim after viewing the video.
The surveillance videos released Wednesday show a man wearing a police-style uniform, with a star badge on his chest, in the driver’s seat of a black SUV that’s pulled up at the drive-thru window of a McDonald’s. They show a man hop out of the passenger-side back door of the SUV, lean down for a second, then run out of the McDonald’s parking lot as the driver at first tries to get out of the SUV but is blocked by the side of the restaurant, then pulls around to run after the escaping man.
Martinez said the video appeared to show Taylor “struggling with his leg brace,” adding, “and no shackles were used.”
“We believe shackles could have prevented the suspect from getting away,” he said. “We also believe the suspect may have been manipulating his leg brace during the trip and was apparently continuing to disable the device when he exited the SUV,” the sheriff said.
Once the agent called Gary police, the Lake County Sheriff’s Department was requested to assist in the search for Taylor, the release said. Lake County sheriff’s officers responded to the scene along with the Lake County aviation unit helicopter and K-9 unit, all to no avail.
“After acquiring these surveillance videos, Lake County Sheriff’s Department investigators were able to reveal conflicting statements made to our officers by the driver,” Martinez said. “This driver initially told our officers the suspect jumped out of a window, but the video clearly shows him exiting through a door to the vehicle. We are looking into this matter as part of an extensive review of the case.”
Anyone who sees Taylor or who has information about Taylor’s whereabouts should call 911, officials said.
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kdouglas@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @312BreakingNews


chicagotribune--2020-12-16--COVID-19 in Illinois by the numbers: Here’s a daily update on cases, positivity rate and hospital da

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

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

Note: With Chicago and Illinois moving into phase 5, the Tribune is no longer updating this data. If the state moves back into bridge phase, the Tribune we reassess. Daily metrics on COVID-19, like cases, deaths and hospitalizations, can be found here. And Daily metrics on the vaccination effort can be found here. More on where the coronavirus stands nationally and around the world can be found here.
To assess how different parts of Illinois are handling the COVID-19 pandemic, officials look at the state through the 11 regions of Emergency Medical Services. The city of Chicago is one region, for example, and the rest of Cook County is another.
Among the metrics (see below) tracked under guidelines set by Gov. J.B. Pritzker are the percentage of coronavirus tests that return positive, the number of people hospitalized for COVID-19-like illnesses, and the capacity of hospitals to take in new patients.The state will decide how much or how little to restrict activities based on these metrics. (Cases, deaths and tests data is as of Dec. 31).
• Check out the Tribune’s coronavirus coverage.
• Remembering the lives of those in Illinois who died from coronavirus.
• Other Chicago, suburbs and Illinois COVID-19 metrics.
• See how the governor’s plan to manage the regions works.
Source: Illinois Department of Public Health
Created by the Chicago Tribune dataviz team. On Twitter @chitribgraphics


chicagotribune--2020-12-16--COVID-19 cases in Illinois by ZIP code: Search for your neighborhood

Search below by street address , ZIP code or city , then click on the map to see the number @ @ @ @ @ .
The state is not providing data for any ZIP code with five cases or @ @

Note: With Chicago and Illinois moving into phase 5, the Tribune is no longer updating this data. If the state moves back into bridge phase, the Tribune we reassess. Daily metrics on COVID-19, like cases, deaths and hospitalizations, can be found here. And Daily metrics on the vaccination effort can be found here. More on where the coronavirus stands nationally and around the world can be found here.
Illinois releases the number of positive COVID-19 cases by ZIP code daily. The map below shows the cumulative cases for each area as well as other analysis of the data.
• Check out the Tribune’s coronavirus coverage.
• Tracking daily Illinois coronavirus deaths, cases and tests.
Search below by street address, ZIP code or city, then click on the map to see the number of confirmed and probable cases. The state is not providing data for any ZIP code with five cases or fewer.
Data as of June 10.
The map search tool above works best in Chrome or Firefox and may not perform consistently in Internet Explorer.
Note: Because of a coding error this map was displaying the incorrect rates for new cases in the last 7 days per 100,000 people — the issue should now be resolved.. The Tribune adjusted the data shown on the map below to focus on new cases, those the state tracked in the last 7 seven days. The totals for the entire pandemic are still available, but in the pop-up after tapping or clicking on a ZIP.


chicagotribune--2020-12-16--Watch live: Gov. J.B. Pritzker gives a COVID-19 update

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

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chicagotribune--2020-12-16--Daily Illinois coronavirus graphs: 146 new deaths, 7,123 new confirmed and probable cases and 93,278

Daily Illinois coronavirus graphs: 146 new deaths, 7,123 new confirmed and probable cases and 93,278 new test results

Illinois announced 7,123 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 Wednesday for a total of 870,600 .
The state also @ @ @ @ @ a total of 14,655 and 93,278 new test results for a total of 12.1 million @

Johns Hopkins University & Medicine tracked coronavirus cases, deaths and test totals from Jan. 22, 2020 through March 10, 2023, but is no longer providing this data. These charts will no longer be updated.
Check the Illinois Department of Public Health for the most up-to-date data for Illinois.
[ Remembering the lives of those in Illinois who died from coronavirus ]
Can’t see these charts? Go here.


chicagotribune--2020-12-16--‘A good story, finally.’ Boy rescued after falling through icy pond in Fox Lake

The boy was placed into an ambulance and given blankets and dry clothes .
He didn ’ t need to @ @ @ @ @ , and his mother got there and the two went home .

A boy around 12 years old was rescued by firefighters after plunging through thin ice on a retention pond Wednesday morning in Fox Lake.
“This is a good story, finally,” said Fox Lake Fire Protection District Deputy Chief Ed Lescher.
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Rescue crews were called to the 200 block of South Illinois Route 59 around 10:40 a.m. They saw the boy gripping the sides of an ice shelf about 50 feet out. “We yelled to him,” Lescher said, and the boy yelled back.
A diver jumped in, swam out and grabbed the boy, who was conscious and alert. “The early stages of hypothermia were setting in,” Lescher said.
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The boy was placed into an ambulance and given blankets and dry clothes. He didn’t need to be taken to a hospital, and his mother got there and the two went home.
The pond is surrounded by an apartment complex and is about 25 feet deep at points, Lescher said.
He reminded the public not to walk out onto ice this early in the winter. “Stay off the ice.”
rsobol@chicagotribune.com