chicagotribune--2020-09-14--Pritzker, Ezike and Arwady talk about the COVID-19 pandemic at 6 months, and look ahead to what migh

Pritzker, Ezike and Arwady talk about the COVID-19 pandemic at 6 months, and look ahead to what might be  next

“ We were the second state in the United States by a few hours , I think , to put @ @ @ @ @ if we needed to do that , the answer is , it worked , '' @ @ @ @ @ an interview earlier this month about the state ’ s response to the pandemic at @ @ @ @ @ It works , and so if we had to do that , and again we @ @ @ @ @ but if we had to do that , I would not hesitate .
”

Asia Brown, right, and co-worker Lekia Wilson grab bottles of bleach as they shop at Pete's Fresh Market in Oak Park on March 19, 2020. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
Six months after he first issued a disaster proclamation tied to the coronavirus pandemic, followed quickly by a stay-at-home order that shut down businesses and kept people inside for months, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said he wouldn’t hesitate to act in similar fashion if COVID-19 cases bloom exponentially this fall.
“We were the second state in the United States by a few hours, I think, to put a stay-at-home order in and if we needed to do that, the answer is, it worked," Pritzker told the Tribune in an interview earlier this month about the state’s response to the pandemic at its six-month mark. "It works, and so if we had to do that, and again we’re not there, but if we had to do that, I would not hesitate.”
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Since the public health crisis began, more than a quarter-million Illinois residents have been diagnosed with COVID-19 and the virus has been connected to more than 8,300 deaths, according to state-reported totals as of Sunday. Illinois' economy has suffered deep wounds: Businesses have struggled and shuttered, and so many people filed for unemployment benefits that the demand crippled the state’s filing system.
[ 10 things science has learned about COVID-19 in less than a year ]
Looking back, the first-term Democratic governor remains angry over the federal government’s response to the pandemic, while the top state and city of Chicago public health officials say they were surprised early on that there was so much pushback on measures such as mandates to wear masks in public.
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Looking forward, those same health officials are worried about how the seasonal flu could further complicate the ongoing pandemic.
Nobody knows for sure how flu season and COVID-19 will look in Chicago, but the city’s public health commissioner, Dr. Allison Arwady, said she’s “watched with some pleasure” as the flu season in the Southern Hemisphere has been relatively mild.
“We need a light flu season here,” she said. “I am certainly concerned heading into the fall and winter, it would be foolish not to be.”
Dr. Ngozi Ezike, director of the Illinois Department of Public Health, said officials will be pushing hard for more people to get the seasonal flu shot, "just to try to minimize the number of flu illness cases we’re dealing with,” as the flu and COVID-19 present with similar symptoms.
Like many states, Illinois has had an up-and-down ride with the coronavirus. After a brutal spring, the statewide positivity rate dipped below 3% in June and early July, but then was stuck at or slightly above 4% for more than a month. The seven-day statewide positivity rate last week dipped below 4% for the first time since Aug. 5.
Recently the state surpassed the bench mark of processing 50,000 tests in a day, and according to Johns Hopkins University, Illinois ranks sixth among states for per capita testing rate. Pritzker considers that among the biggest achievements in the state’s response to the pandemic.
[ Where’s your closest drive-thru COVID-19 test site? Can you avoid that deep nasal swab? Your top 10 questions about coronavirus testing, answered. ]
The governor has been highly critical of the federal government’s response, especially on testing, saying states were pitted against each other over sourcing needed supplies, making Illinois’ early response “doubly difficult," he said.
“If I knew that we weren’t going to be able to get tests from the federal government, I would have started — that day — building,” Pritzker said of the day in early March when he issued the disaster proclamation. “I was quite angry at the Trump administration, and still am, about the fact that they promised us help. And when they promised it, they didn’t deliver.”
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Through the spring as restrictions stayed in place, Pritzker faced angry protests and lawsuits asserting he’s overstepped his authority under the law. But so far, his orders have largely withstood legal challenges.
Both state and city of Chicago officials are crafting plans for distributing a COVID-19 vaccine once one becomes available. Pritzker has said that the state is “well along the way” toward putting together a distribution plan that prioritizes the most vulnerable people and front-line workers.
After the H1N1 health crisis in 2009, the city of Chicago made a point of remaining stocked up on N95 masks, gloves and ventilators, and Arwady said that preparedness is already at play in devising plans to make sure the city can vaccinate hundreds of thousands of residents when a vaccine is available.
Although she doesn’t expect a vaccine in the short term, Arwady said the city is working through physical locations and logistics, as well as communications plans to spread the word and educate residents. Still, she said there are a number of challenges to work through, including potentially setting up drive-thru vaccine locations.
[ COVID-19 cases in Illinois by ZIP code: Search for your neighborhood ]
“What does it mean to stick your arm out a window versus get out of the car and get in a space? How do we stand up vaccine sites that operate in neighborhoods that work for people with messaging that work for people?” Arwady said.
Eventually, COVID-19 “will become another vaccine-preventable disease,” she said.
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“We will, in the same way we look back at the 1918 flu, we will at some point look back at this major phase of the COVID-19 outbreak,” Arwady said. “I do feel confident about that even if it isn’t gone in the way people are imagining.”
Arwady said she wished there had been more testing available even though Illinois was a leader on screening for the virus.
“Clearly, nationally I wish we’d been able to stand up a stronger testing infrastructure,” Arwady said. “That wasn’t a Chicago-specific issue, but I think it was one that left us not detecting things as soon as we would need to.”
Last week, the country’s top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, named Illinois one of seven states at risk of seeing a surge leading into Labor Day weekend. Three of the others were neighboring states: Iowa, Missouri and Indiana.
Pritzker attributed some of the increased case counts in Illinois to outbreaks in neighboring states.
“I can’t do anything about that other than to warn the people of Illinois that traveling to Iowa, they ought to be extra vigilant,” Pritzker said.
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Two of the biggest decisions the city’s made in responding to COVID have been the travel ban requiring people to quarantine if they visit states with high caseloads and the decision to shut down Chicago’s lakefront. Each highlighted important information for residents and spread the word effectively about COVID dangers.
Requiring people to quarantine helped raise awareness that Chicago is “not an island,” Arwady said.
Since June 26, the state has been in the fourth phase of Pritzker’s reopening plan, coined “Restore Illinois,” which allowed bars and indoor dining to reopen with capacity limits, as well as sanctioning activities that hadn’t been allowed since March, including larger gathering sizes.
This summer, the administration amended the plan to segment the state into 11 regions and threatens to send them backwards in their reopening if they reach certain benchmarks that portend a resurgence in the virus.
Pritzker’s administration has said that allows a more “scalpel-like approach” in clamping down on areas where there’s community spread. That’s happened in two areas so far — first in the seven-county Metro East region outside St. Louis, and then again in the region that includes Will and Kankakee counties.
The harsher rules now in place in those two regions, triggered by three consecutive days with an 8% or higher positivity rate, largely deal with bars and restaurants, as well as casinos and stricter limits on gathering sizes.
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“We have just seen, not just in Illinois but across the country, that the bars are just kind of a setup for potentially superspreading, because you have crowded spaces, often with loud music so people have to scream and we know that normal talking versus screaming — screaming is going to expel droplets even farther,” Ezike said. "So we know that’s a place that we can intervene and decrease some of that high-risk activity.”
Pritzker pushed back on the notion that an increase in the statewide positivity rate through much of the summer could indicate the rules for phase four of his reopening plan, in effect since June 26, are too relaxed. He pinned part of the blame for the uptick in cases the state saw during the summer on inconsistent local enforcement of his orders.
“And so, did we open too early? Well, not if people follow the rules and if local communities enforce the rules, because it can work," he said. “But if they’re not going to enforce or if people are not going to follow the rules, then that’s going to lead to higher positivity rates, and I’m going to have to act in a tougher fashion."
Pritzker said Chicago is “one example where they’re doing a good job of enforcing” capacity limits and other measures meant to stem the spread of COVID-19.
“The problem has been that there are bars and restaurants or other locations, gatherings, where they’re either unable to maintain the capacity because they don’t have the personnel or something else, or they’re unwilling because there are some people who are just resistant,” Pritzker said.
Enforcement of Pritzker’s edicts has proved to be a continuous challenge throughout the course of the pandemic. In the spring, the administration quietly filed an emergency rule that would have made businesses that flouted his reopening plans subject to a Class A misdemeanor, which is punishable by a $2,500 fine and 364 days in jail. Pritzker withdrew that rule amid pushback from lawmakers, largely centered on the jail-time component.
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Three months later, the administration was successful at getting through an emergency rule to enforce a mandatory mask rule that went into effect May 1. The rule doesn’t target individuals, but rather, businesses that refuse to enforce it can be fined $2,500 after two warnings.
“Enforcement has always been a challenge, because we don’t want to cite people, we certainly don’t want to arrest people who aren’t wearing a mask, who aren’t following the provision of our mask mandate or gathering mandate,” Pritzker said at an unrelated news conference in downstate Normal on Wednesday. “But at the same time we need to make sure that the message gets across to people that this is an insidious virus.”
Ezike said the backlash against the mask requirement, which has been in place for most public settings in the state since May, has been the biggest surprise for her.
She also suggested there’s not “enough respect for the virus to understand that as much as we want to get back to our normal life, it has to be done in a slightly different manner to acknowledge the presence of this virus — that it will spread and infect people in these normal activities that we are so eager to get back to.”
“We knew that once we opened up there would be more activity, more connections between people and that the rates would probably go up. I think what was not anticipated was the pushback against the mitigation strategy that could have dampened that,” Ezike said.
“Of course, behavior change is one of the hardest parts of public health. But I didn’t anticipate that a measure that is so cheap, so easy, that could have such broad benefits, that there would be such broad attack against it.”
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Arwady said she was surprised by some of the political opposition to anti-COVID measures, as the increasingly politicized environment at the federal level “was not something that was in my pandemic planning book.”
Though Arwady, who has prior experience fighting public health crises including the 2014 Ebola outbreak, said the city can’t predict when COVID will be a thing of the past, she does believe the handshake will be dead for a while.
In Africa, though, she said the handshake returned after the Ebola crisis, and she thinks people will eventually revert to familiar behaviors.
“We are a resilient species and the things that we value, things like hugging each other, that is all going to come back,” Arwady said. “But I think it will take time and hopefully it will come back at a time we are actually starting to develop true herd immunity through a vaccine here.”
jmunks@chicagotribune.com
gpratt@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-09-15--U.S. attorney’s office gives legislative panel investigating Speaker Michael Madigan the green light

U.S. attorney’s office gives legislative panel investigating Speaker Michael Madigan the green light to call witnesses, says GOP representative

“ We wanted to check with the U.S. attorney ’ s office about whether they would have any objection to @ @ @ @ @ testify , or calling any of those other individuals who are part of that deferred @ @ @ @ @ state Rep. Tom Demmer , a Republican from Dixon .
“ And they informed us @ @ @ @ @ objection to us calling those individuals .
”

House Speaker Michael Madigan, left, stands while Gov. J.B. Pritzker delivers his first State of the State speech before a joint session of the Illinois House and Senate at the State Capitol in Springfield on Jan. 29, 2020. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)
Springfield — The U.S. attorney’s office gave state lawmakers probing the conduct of House Speaker Michael Madigan the green light to call the speaker and others to testify, members of the committee said, but the parameters for the investigative panel’s inquiry were immediately the subject of partisan disagreement.
Tensions have flared along party lines since the inception of the six-member House special investigative committee, raising questions about how it can effectively investigate the powerful politician who has presided over the House for decades.
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The committee officially launched its inquiry last week in light of allegations by federal prosecutors that Commonwealth Edison engaged in a “yearslong bribery scheme” to gain favor with Madigan, who also chairs the Illinois Democratic Party.
One of the first tasks for the panel, which has equal numbers of Democrats and Republicans, was consulting with U.S. Attorney John Lausch’s office to determine whether the legislative investigation would interfere with an ongoing federal corruption probe.
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Democratic Rep. Emanuel “Chris” Welch and Republican Rep. Tom Demmer, who were on a call with the prosecutors office on Monday, agreed the panel was given approval to seek testimony “from whoever we choose,” Welch said Monday night.
Welch said the office “requested we refrain from seeking any materials or testimony related to the (deferred prosecution agreement) that is still confidential or anything in the possession of the federal government. In other words, we can call witnesses but we can’t really ask them any questions.”
Demmer’s takeaway from the call was that the committee would be less restricted, saying prosecutors said they wouldn’t turn over their files to the committee but wouldn’t be opposed to the panel speaking to and seeking information from witnesses.
“They would decline to turn those documents over to us, which, frankly, is expected. That’s what we’ve seen in previous instances of this committee, and not something that we were believing they would do.
"Our request to them was not necessarily for — give us all your information. Instead, it was, we would like the special investigative committee to be able to talk to and request information from individuals who we think have that. And they had no objection to that.”
A spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office did not respond to a request seeking comment.
House Republican Leader Jim Durkin invoked a seldom-used House rule that triggered the disciplinary proceeding two weeks ago. Madigan, Durkin’s political rival, has not been accused of any wrongdoing and has denied doing anything untoward in regard to ComEd.
Madigan issued a statement on the committee’s creation before Republicans had a chance to announce it, decrying it as a “political stunt.
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At the panel’s first meeting last week, Demmer and his Republican colleagues, Reps. Deanne Mazzochi and Grant Wehrli, submitted a voluntary witness list that included Madigan and several other people who have been implicated in the federal investigation, including former ComEd executives and lobbyists.
Welch said the committee’s primary first priority would be to touch base with the U.S. attorney’s office, which Mazzochi suggested was merely an effort to bring the proceedings to a halt.
Welch said he was following precedent set by the last House special investigating committee to get this far in the process, in 2012. That committee was convened to look into then-state Rep. Derrick Smith, who was indicted on charges of accepting a $7,000 bribe.
Following Welch and Demmer’s call with Lausch’s office on Monday, Welch initially declined to specify what was discussed and said a forthcoming letter to “memorialize the call” would be made public.
He followed up with a written statement contending Republicans were playing politics by going public with details of the call before that letter was released.
“As a committee we agreed we would take no actions that could interfere with the work of federal prosecutors,” Welch said. “Today myself and Rep. Demmer spoke with the U.S. Attorney and agreed we would put our request in writing and they would respond. But once again my Republican colleagues have disrespected the process for political gain.”
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Once the U.S. attorney’s office issues its response letter as a follow-up to Monday’s phone call, the committee will schedule its second meeting, Welch said.
The committee is looking into whether there are grounds to discipline Madigan in light of prosecutors' agreement with ComEd, which is paying a $200 million fine.
The charge Durkin entered at the committee’s first meeting asks its members to consider whether Madigan “engaged in conduct unbecoming to a legislator or which constitutes a breach of public trust … including engaging in a bribery scheme, an extortion scheme, conspiracy to violate federal and state laws among other misconduct and misuse of office.”
Authorizing a charge would require support from at least one Democratic member of the committee, as it would take a majority vote by the six-member panel.
Welch said Monday he was unclear what level of participation Madigan planned to take in the process, but that the speaker will be “invited to participate every step of the way.”
jmunks@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-09-15--Smoke from West Coast fires reaches Illinois, turning sky a milky white

“ It ’ s not something we deal with too often here ( but ) it is something we see @ @ @ @ @ “ Sometimes it ’ s more visible in the sunrise and sunset , ( which @ @ @ @ @ reddish when you have the particulate up in the air there .
”

Streaks of wildfire smoke from western states lower the brightness of the setting sun, Sept. 15, 2020, in Chicago. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)
Smoke from fires rampaging on the West Coast wafted Sunday evening into the atmosphere above northern Illinois, turning the sky a shade of milky white and potentially making the week’s temperatures a bit cooler, forecasters said.
The atmospheric effect comes from mega-wildfires burning significant land the last few days in Oregon, California and Washington state. At least 35 people have been killed, 24 in California alone, and thousands of others have lost their homes in the blazes, which have darkened West Coast skies with ash and smoke.
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It’s not unusual for smoke from various regions to reach northern Illinois, especially from larger fires, according to Mark Ratzer, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Chicago-area office.
Smoke from fires hundreds of miles away can billow high into the atmosphere and get carried to other regions by jet streams and winds aloft, causing cloudier skies and slightly cooler temperatures. Mid- and upper-level winds were carrying smoke this week from the West and Northwest into the Chicago area, creating the same effect.
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Pedestrians walk near the Adler Planetarium as haze from western U.S. wildfires blanket the skyline on Sept. 14, 2020 in Chicago. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)
“It’s not that it’s affecting our air quality (at the) surface,” Ratzer said. “You’re not able to smell it or anything like that, but it has created kind of a smoke layer aloft which is keeping the sun rather dim.”
It’s difficult to predict how long the smoke will linger above northern Illinois based on current models, Ratzer said. It could be here for a few days, though it may not remain as thick over time.
The duration will be dependent on how long the fires out west last, forecasters said. The widespread nature of the smoke suggests the Chicago region’s upper-level atmosphere will remain at least slightly affected for several days to come.
“There’s really not that much in the way of cloud cover over the area,” Ratzer said. “But if you look outside, it almost has the appearance of a real high, kind of faint overcast. It is kind of blocking some of the light of the sun.”
That blockage could make temperatures a few degrees cooler, but it shouldn’t be cause for alarm, he added.
“It’s not something we deal with too often here (but) it is something we see," Ratzer said. “Sometimes it’s more visible in the sunrise and sunset, (which) tends to be more reddish when you have the particulate up in the air there.”
People in northern Illinois were able to see the disc of the Monday morning sun dimly lit from the smoke, he added. The smoke also drifted to the northern Indiana region as it blanketed a considerable swath of the Midwest.
The weather service’s forecast shows temperatures hovering in the low- to mid-70s this week, with a slight chance for showers and a colder front late Wednesday.
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Overall, however, the area should remain dry and temperatures are forecast to warm back up heading into the end of the week, Ratzer said.
For more on the forecast, check the Tribune’s weather page.
kelsmith@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @KelliSmithNews


chicagotribune--2020-09-14--Chicago behind schedule on contact tracing program as Mayor Lori Lightfoot announces plan to work wi

Chicago behind schedule on contact tracing program as Mayor Lori Lightfoot announces plan to work with community groups to hire workers

The interviewer tells them the patient should be isolated at home until they no longer are believed to be contagious @ @ @ @ @ person doesn ’ t have the capability to isolate on their own , they refer @ @ @ @ @ that can help find alternative housing and delivery of food , medicine or health care @ @

Asia Brown, right, and co-worker Lekia Wilson grab bottles of bleach as they shop at Pete's Fresh Market in Oak Park on March 19, 2020. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
With Chicago lagging far behind on its goals for COVID-19 contact tracing efforts established nearly four months ago, Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Monday offered details on how the city plans to catch up.
Lightfoot first announced a $56 million plan in May, to train hundreds of people to track the spread of the coronavirus and warn Chicagoans who’ve had contact with someone who’s carrying the disease so they can quarantine themselves before potentially spreading it further.
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On Monday, Lightfoot aides acknowledged the city and its partners have conditional offers of employment out to about 150 people. The mayor did not directly address the hiring lag, saying she thinks the city is “on track.”
Dr. Allison Arwady, the public health commissioner, told reporters that “there’s always some bumps in the road in terms of figuring out things like payrolls.”
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Later, a public health spokesman blamed hiring delays on civil unrest in May and June that followed the Minneapolis police killing of George Floyd, saying that many of the agencies that would take part in the effort were involved in helping the community at that time.
Now, Lightfoot said, the city will be working with 31 community organizations to hire individuals for an expanded contact tracing program, an effort officials have said is vital in the city’s coronavirus pandemic recovery efforts.
“Contact tracing is a core part of our COVID-19 response,” Lightfoot said. “It truly has been from day one.”
Dr. Allison Arwady, Chicago's public health commissioner, answers questions about the city's contact tracing efforts on Monday, Sept. 14, 2020, at the Greater Western Community Development Project in Chicago. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
Arwady noted, though, that the city has been working on contact tracing through the public health department by shifting employees’ responsibilities. As hiring for the program emerges, the city will put workers back on their original duties. Local hospitals and clinics also are helping out, she added.
The original bid document for the program calls for hiring a total of 580 people. That includes 450 contact tracers and 30 supervisors to oversee them, as well as 90 resource coordinators to ensure that sick and quarantined people get the services they need and 10 supervisors to oversee them.
Contact tracing involves finding, warning and quarantining everyone who has had significant contact with newly diagnosed COVID-19 patients.
It’s a technique that dates back to at least the early 20th century in the United States and has proved useful in containing epidemics caused by a range of communicable scourges, including sexually transmitted diseases, measles and Ebola.
It’s also been credited with limiting the spread of COVID-19 in other countries, including South Korea and Singapore, where the government used digital surveillance and enforcement methods that likely would meet stiff resistance here from privacy and freedom advocates.
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Epidemiologists say a robust contact tracing system is needed across the United States to ensure that future spread of the disease is contained as much as possible. It’s especially important, they say, as cities and states reopen their economies, so that “hot spots” of the disease can be prevented.
Here’s how it works: When a confirmed case of COVID-19 is reported to the state, a contact tracer tracks down the sick person, or their relatives when the person is too ill to talk or has died from the disease.
The interviewer tells them the patient should be isolated at home until they no longer are believed to be contagious. Sometimes, if the person doesn’t have the capability to isolate on their own, they refer them to social service agencies that can help find alternative housing and delivery of food, medicine or health care services.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot greets Karin Norington-Reaves, CEO of Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership, on Monday, Sept. 14, 2020, as they prepare to announce the city's plans to work with community organizations to expand COVID-19 contact tracing efforts. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
The interviewer tries to determine who the patient had contact with up to two weeks before the onset of symptoms. In some cases, a person may have no symptoms at all, making that calculation more difficult.
The tracers then track down those contacts and attempt to speak with them. They suggest precautions to avoid spreading the disease and ask those people to quarantine at home for two weeks from the time of contact with the infected person, or if they are sick, until they have fully recovered.
Ideally, the tracers also would track down the contacts of everyone who is presumptively diagnosed with COVID-19, because that person could be spreading SARS-CoV-2 — the virus that causes the disease — before a test confirms they actually have it, experts said.
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It’s labor-intensive work. According to some estimates, there should be 30 contact tracers for every 100,000 people. In Chicago, with 2.7 million people, that’s 810 contact tracers.
All of Illinois, with a population of nearly 12.7 million, should have about 3,800 contact tracers total, according to the estimates.
Chicago Tribune’s Hal Dardick contributed.
gpratt@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @royalpratt


chicagotribune--2020-09-14--Coronavirus in Illinois updates: 1,373 new known COVID-19 cases and 5 more deaths reported; Chicago

Coronavirus in Illinois updates: 1,373 new known COVID-19 cases and 5 more deaths reported; Chicago behind schedule on contact tracing program

“ We were the second state in the United States by a few hours , I think , to put @ @ @ @ @ if we needed to do that , the answer is , it worked , ” @ @ @ @ @ an interview earlier this month about the state ’ s response to the pandemic at @ @ @ @ @ It works , and so if we had to do that , and again we @ @ @ @ @ but if we had to do that , I would not hesitate .
”

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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 Monday announced 1,373 new known cases of COVID-19 and 5 additional fatalities, bringing the total number of known infections in Illinois to 262,744 and the statewide death toll to 8,314 since the start of the pandemic.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Monday announced Chicago would work with 31 community organizations to hire individuals for an expanded contact tracing program, though the city is far behind the goals Lightfoot laid out when she initially unveiled her plan nearly four months ago.
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Lightfoot first announced plans this spring to try and train hundreds of people to track the spread of the coronavirus and warn Chicagoans who’ve had contact with someone who’s carrying the disease, an effort officials have said is necessary in the city’s pandemic recovery efforts. The initiative, originally announced in May, was supposed to have hundreds of workers trained by now.
Here’s what’s happening Monday with COVID-19 in the Chicago area and Illinois:
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6:35 p.m.: IHSA waives two-game limit for winter, spring and summer sports, but denies exemption to play high school and club or travel at same time
The Illinois High School Association tweaked its guidelines for returning to play at its regularly schedule board meeting Monday, clearing the way for expanded winter, spring and summer seasons but also creating a possible hurdle for spring and summer athletes.
The board waived restrictions for the 2020-21 season that would have limited winter, spring and summer sports to no more than two games per week. Those seasons will once again follow IHSA bylaws.
Read more here. —Daily Southtown staff
5:50 p.m.: Feds ‘commandeered’ COVID-19 testing supplies ordered by Loyola and Illinois State to detect virus on campus, Sen. Dick Durbin says
At least two Illinois colleges that ordered COVID-19 testing materials from the federal government didn’t receive the supplies because they were abruptly reallocated, curtailing the schools' ability to provide in-person classes and maintain campus safety, U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin said at a news conference Monday.
Durbin said Loyola University Chicago and Illinois State University were expecting COVID-19 testing kits and equipment from the manufacturer Quidel this summer, but the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services redirected the materials to other entities under the Defense Production Act, a form of executive power.
“We’re not arguing the merits of where these tests were sent,” the Democratic senator from Illinois said. “Many were sent to nursing homes and that’s clearly a high priority. ... But it really reflects the lack of planning ahead of time.”
In response to a Tribune inquiry, HHS did not address questions about the schools but provided details about its program to prioritize the country’s 14,000 nursing homes. HHS said it was working with Quidel and another vendor to deliver rapid antigen tests and equipment to nursing homes through September.
Read more here. —Elyssa Cherney
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4:15 p.m.: 57% of Illinois voters approve of Pritzker’s handling of pandemic, poll finds
Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s handling of the pandemic, criticized by some Republicans and rural lawmakers and challenged by lawsuits, had the approval of 57% of Illinois voters at the end of August, according to a survey conducted by a consortium of universities that was released Monday.
The COVID-19 Consortium for Understanding the Public’s Policy Preferences Across States survey also showed Illinois voter approval of President Donald Trump’s handling the pandemic at 29.4%, a drop from nearly 40% in April, with 57% not approving.
Pritzker’s approval has declined from a high of 63% in late April, when the consortium began its polling. The governor’s approval rating was at 54% in early May, 52% in late May, 58% in late June, and back down again to 52% in late July.
A total of 29.4% of voters disapproved Pritzker’s handling of COVID-19 last month, the survey said.
Read more here. —Rick Pearson
3:10 p.m.: Tribune writer Rick Kogan on when he almost died of COVID-19
The Tribune’s Rick Kogan had the unusual chance to read his own obituary, recently, following a harrowing hospitalization in the early days of COVID-19 in Chicago. Read more here.
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2:12 p.m.: Wells Street Market will close, for keeps this time, on Friday
Wells Street Market, which reopened July 6 after weathering the first three months of the coronavirus shut down (and was the first Chicago food hall to resume service) announced it will close for keeps on Friday.
“From all of us at the Wells Street Market, it has been an honor and a joy to serve Chicagoans every day,” the company said in a release. The food hall made its debut, at 205 W. Wacker Drive, in June 2018.
In its final week, the food hall’s Grand Central Bar will be open noon-7 p.m., offering drink specials and wholesale deals on unopened liquor bottles. On Friday, the last day, Fry the Coop will treat guests to a free sandwich, fries and soft drink. More details can be found at wsmchicago.com.
Wells Street Market held out some hope of a return, in some way, at some point, saying, “We hope to one day bring back the excitement that was first created when we opened our doors.”
The food hall was one of several to open in Chicago in recent years, part of a mini boom in that format. Only one other food hall has reopened since the March pandemic shutdown, Time Out Market, which opened in August.
But a new market, Dr. Murphy’s Food Hall, launched in early August in the former Cook County Hospital.
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—Phil Vettel
1:46 p.m.: Chicago behind schedule on contact tracing program as Lightfoot announces plan to work with community groups to hire workers
Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Monday announced the city would work with 31 community organizations to hire individuals for an expanded contact tracing program, though the city is far behind the goals Lightfoot laid out when she initially unveiled her plan nearly four months ago.
Lightfoot first announced plans this spring to try and train hundreds of people to track the spread of the coronavirus and warn Chicagoans who’ve had contact with someone who’s carrying the disease, an effort officials have said is necessary in the city’s pandemic recovery efforts. The initiative, originally announced in May, was supposed to have hundreds of workers trained by now.
Under the initial plan, hiring of the tracers would be phased, with 150 in place by Aug. 1, and the other 300 hired by Sept. 15, according to the city’s bid document.
But on Monday, officials said the city and its partners have about 150 conditional offers of employment out.
Read more here. —Gregory Pratt
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12:09 p.m.: 1,373 new known cases and 5 more deaths reported
Illinois health officials Monday announced 1,373 new known cases of COVID-19 and 5 additional fatalities, bringing the total number of known infections in Illinois to 262,744 and the statewide death toll to 8,314 since the start of the pandemic.
—Chicago Tribune staff
10:30 a.m.: Some northwest suburban parents are calling for District 214 high schools to reopen for in-person instruction
Township High School District 214 school board members heard in person from more than 20 speakers during the public comment portion of the recent board meeting, with nearly all of the speakers urging a quick and complete return to in-person schooling for the district’s 12,000 students.
“Open schools tomorrow,” was the message from parent Tony Roselli, who told board members he represented Re-Open D214, a private group on Facebook with, he said, about 750 members.
He also called on district leaders to form a subcommittee composed of parents to work with administrators “to bring kids back safely.”
Randi Carlson, whose son attends Hersey High School in Arlington Heights, criticized the district’s choice of COVID-19 metrics as too conservative. She recommended the district use data from the eight towns within District 214 boundaries.
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Read more here. —Graydon Megan
9:54 a.m.: The bubble athlete. The beer vendor. The cheerleader. The tailgaters. A snapshot of life in sports during 6 months of COVID-19.
When the NBA suspended its season March 11, it created a ripple effect that quickly shut down the rest of the sports world, perhaps the first clear hint in the U.S. that the coronavirus was about to upend nearly every way of life.
America never fully grasped control of the pandemic, and six months later it remains unchecked in many parts of the country. Yet sports are nearly back in full swing, offering at once a sense of comfort and familiarity while representing a clear picture of how life has been altered as we knew it.
The stands are empty, athletes are separated from their families in bubbles or traveling around the country in isolation, no beer vendors are needed and the NFL season began without tailgating while some college conferences opened their seasons while most others postponed theirs with safety in mind.
Here are 10 snapshots of life in sports during the pandemic.
Read more here —Shannon Ryan and Jamal Collier
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6:45 a.m.: Officials to announce Chicago contact tracing and resources hub
Mayor Lori Lightfoot was scheduled to announce Monday the details of a city contact tracing program alongside health officials and the head of a state- and locally funded organization that works to place unemployed people in jobs.
Lightfoot, Chicago Health Commissioner Dr Allison Arwady and Karin Norington-Reaves, the head of the Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership, were expected to announce details of the contact tracing program at the nonprofit’s West Side headquarters.
In July, the organization and the city announced the Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership was to be the recipient of a $56 million grant to create 600 contact-tracing jobs. The program was to be created in cooperation with the University of Illinois at Chicago’s School of Public Health, NORC at the University of Chicago, Malcolm X College and Sinai Urban Health Institute, according to a release at the time.
Check back for updates. —Chicago Tribune staff
6:30 a.m.: City fund for small business, nonprofit grants opens for applications
A city fund that will award grants of up to $250,000 to small businesses and nonprofit groups was set to open its application process Monday, according to the city.
The Chicago Neighborhood Opportunity Fund application process was scheduled to open applications Monday, according to a news release from the mayor’s office. The application process runs through November.
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The program, started in 2016, puts “zoning fees from downtown construction projects toward commercial corridor improvement projects on the West, Southwest, and South Sides,” according to the city. “Grants may be applied toward costs including building rehabilitation, new construction, design, site acquisition and preparation, technical services, local hiring subsidies, and other expenses.”
The city’s Planning Department was scheduled to hold two online information sessions, one in English on Tuesday and one in Spanish on Friday, according to the city.
—Chicago Tribune staff
5 a.m.: Pritzker, Ezike and Arwady talk about the COVID-19 pandemic at 6 months, and look ahead to what might be next
Six months after he first issued a disaster proclamation tied to the coronavirus pandemic, followed quickly by a stay-at-home order that shut down businesses and kept people inside for months, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said he wouldn’t hesitate to act in similar fashion if COVID-19 cases bloom exponentially this fall.
“We were the second state in the United States by a few hours, I think, to put a stay-at-home order in and if we needed to do that, the answer is, it worked,” Pritzker told the Tribune in an interview earlier this month about the state’s response to the pandemic at its six-month mark. “It works, and so if we had to do that, and again we’re not there, but if we had to do that, I would not hesitate.”
Since the public health crisis began, more than a quarter-million Illinois residents have been diagnosed with COVID-19 and the virus has been connected to more than 8,200 deaths, according to state-reported totals as of Friday. Illinois' economy has suffered deep wounds: Businesses have struggled and shuttered, and so many people filed for unemployment benefits that the demand crippled the state’s filing system.
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Looking back, the first-term Democratic governor remains angry over the federal government’s response to the pandemic, while the top state and city of Chicago public health officials say they were surprised early on that there was so much pushback on measures such as mandates to wear masks in public.
Looking forward, those same health officials are worried about how the seasonal flu could further complicate the ongoing pandemic.
Read more here —Jamie Munks and Gregory Pratt
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 over the weekend related to COVID-19:


chicagotribune--2020-09-14--The Spin: Judge says Dems dumped him over Smollett case | Lightfoot vs. FOP boss Catanzara over cont

The Spin: Judge says Dems dumped him over Smollett case | Lightfoot vs. FOP boss Catanzara over controversial incident at Congressman Rush’s office | Pritzker wouldn’t hesitate to enact another shutdown

First-term Democratic U.S. Rep. Sean Casten ’ s first TV ad of the election cycle hits the airwaves tomorrow , @ @ @ @ @ Titled “ Molecular , '' the ad starts with a reminder that Casten was a @ @ @ @ @ successful company that used technology to clean up pollution '' and pivots to the pandemic @ @ @ @ @ “ Families have been through a lot this year , and it ’ s far @ @ @ @ @ forward is to follow the science to control this pandemic and get our economy back @ @ @ @ @ the ad here .

Former U.S. Attorney Dan Webb takes the oath of special prosecutor before Judge Michael Toomin, during an status hearing concerning Jussie Smollett at the Leighton Criminal Court building on Aug. 23, 2019. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
Six months after he issued a disaster proclamation tied to the pandemic followed by a stay-at-home order that shuttered businesses and kept people inside for months, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said he wouldn’t hesitate to do it again if cases rise exponentially, the Tribune’s Jamie Munks and Gregory Pratt write.
And why shouldn’t he? A new poll, conducted by consortium of universities, shows 57% of registered voters in Illinois approve of his response to COVID-19, despite the criticism and even lawsuits from Republicans over the Democratic governor’s orders.
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The stay-home orders, followed by two rounds of looting tied to the Minneapolis police killing of George Floyd, have practically left downtown Chicago — a big tax revenue generator — a ghost town. The next six months, from the outcome of the presidential election to the development of potential vaccine, may very well determine whether it will recoup its place as a regional hub.
And Mayor Lori Lightfoot, the city’s top Democrat, is holding her nose over some inside baseball politics that’s turned into intraparty intrigue. The Cook County Democratic Party decided against endorsing Circuit Court Judge Michael Toomin for another term; he’s the same judge who said Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx botched the Jussie Smollett prosecution and then appointed a special prosecutor to look into her handling of the case.
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Democratic officials voting against Toomin tied the decision to veteran judge’s record on running the juvenile court system. But Toomin said in a press release and the mayor said separately this all smacks of a payback. Indeed, Foxx is an ally of Cook County Democratic Party Chair Toni Preckwinkle.
Welcome to The Spin.
Former U.S. Attorney Dan Webb takes the oath of special prosecutor before Judge Michael Toomin, during an status hearing concerning Jussie Smollett at the Leighton Criminal Court building on Aug. 23, 2019. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
Cook County Judge Michael Toomin officially lost the backing of the county’s Democratic Party today after a committee voted overwhelmingly in favor of a motion not to endorse him. The party cited its investigation of Toomin’s record overseeing the juvenile justice division but not the Smollett controversy, the Tribune’s Alice Yin writes. Two Chicago aldermen, Brendan Reilly, 42nd, and Tom Tunney, 44th, voted against the motion not to endorse Toomin.
In a news release after today’s vote, Toomin did not mention the investigation into the juvenile division but characterized the vote on him as “retribution” for appointing the special prosecutor to examine how top prosecutor Foxx handled the Smollett case. That special prosecutor, Dan Webb, has since concluded that Foxx and her subordinates abused their discretion and misled the public but did not commit crimes. Read Yin’s full story here.
Cook County Board President Preckwinkle, who heads the county party and is an ally of Foxx, her former chief of staff, said this was a “tough” decision by the committee but that “it’s important to do the right thing."
Mayor Lightfoot, an attorney, was asked to weigh in at an unrelated news conference and said, “I’m deeply concerned, and I expressed my concern to a number of people that were going to be participating in the vote today, that the optics of this are terrible. It looks like retaliation. This is not something that we should have — not in this time.”
The lack of an endorsement isn’t likely to affect a down-ballot race that few voters pay attention to. But when those politicos are rubbing shoulders at virtual cocktail parties, it may be uncomfortable.
Related: O’Brien blames Foxx for killing of Walgreens employee, her campaign says rival is taking page from ‘Trump playbook’ - Read the Chicago Sun-Times story here.
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First-term Democratic U.S. Rep. Sean Casten’s first TV ad of the election cycle hits the airwaves tomorrow, his campaign announced today. Titled “Molecular," the ad starts with a reminder that Casten was a “scientist who built a successful company that used technology to clean up pollution" and pivots to the pandemic — with Casten saying: “Families have been through a lot this year, and it’s far from over. The way forward is to follow the science to control this pandemic and get our economy back on its feet.” Watch the ad here.
The Casten campaign says they’re launching a $2.4 million network TV and cable television ad buy — the first of what is expected to be multiple buys — in the Chicago-area market that will run through Election Day.
Casten, of Downers Grove, is facing Republican challenger and former state Rep. Jeanne Ives, of Wheaton — a hard-line social conservative and backer of President Donald Trump — in the race for the west and northwest suburban 6th Congressional District seat. A formerly GOP stronghold, the district went blue in the 2016 presidential election and the 2018 midterms.
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Wearing a mask with the state of Illinois emblem, Gov. J.B. Pritzker arrives at a coronavirus testing site at Coles Elementary School on Chicago's Southeast Side on July 8, 2020. (Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune)
From the Tribune’s Jamie Munks and Gregory Pratt: “Pritzker pushed back on the notion that an increase in the statewide positivity rate through much of the summer could indicate the rules for phase four of his reopening plan, in effect since June 26, are too relaxed."
The quote: “And so, did we open too early? Well, not if people follow the rules and if local communities enforce the rules, because it can work,” he said. “But if they’re not going to enforce or if people are not going to follow the rules, then that’s going to lead to higher positivity rates, and I’m going to have to act in a tougher fashion.”
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Political divide not anticipated: The city’s public health commissioner, Dr. Allison Arwady, said she was surprised by some of the political opposition to anti-COVID measures, noting it “was not something that was in my pandemic planning book.”
Mask backlash: Dr. Ngozi Ezike, director of the Illinois Department of Public Health, said the backlash against the mask requirement, which has been in place for most public settings in the state since May, has been the biggest surprise for her.
Data point: Illinois health officials today announced 1,373 new known cases of COVID-19 and fives additional fatalities, bringing the total number of known infections in Illinois to 262,744 and the statewide death toll to 8,314 since the start of the pandemic.
Six months into the pandemic, downtown Chicago is a humbled giant: “If we can’t get back to reopening the economy and people wanting to congregate, the attractiveness of all cities is in question,” said Laurence Msall, president of the Civic Federation, a budget watchdog group. My Tribune colleagues Blair Kamin, Ryan Ori and Lauren Zumbach have the full story on the future of the city’s center here.
Downtown view from City Hall: During a virtual presentation today via the City Club of Chicago, Deputy Mayor of Economic and Neighborhood Development Samir Mayekar was asked about the potential impact on the central business district if downtown workers continue to work remotely, as many were forced to do at the start of the pandemic.
He says there’s still a push for in-person working, but his team has been talking with property owners, landlords, and commercial real estate brokers to find out what they’re hearing on that front and everyone seems to be in a holding pattern at the moment.
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“There’s been a lot of — kind of — what I’ll say is indecision, right? A lot of corporate leaders in companies, obviously in this time of crisis, they don’t want to cancel a lease, they might not want to extend the lease, and they’re basically in monitoring mode.”
That said, Chicago and the rest of the country aren’t done with working in offices. “What we’ve heard is many companies are looking to expand space” rather than follow an open office concept where a lot of people work in a small space, Mayekar says.
No doubt, Mayekar says, “there’s kind of this acceptance of remote work and telework, which could lead to slightly more percentages of workers working remotely. But what we’ve heard is that people do want to get back to the office, there’s an intangible benefit of being in person.”
Mayor Lori Lightfoot greets Karin Norington-Reaves, CEO of Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership, as they prepare to announce Chicago's first-ever community-based Contract Tracing Corps and Resource Coordination Hub, during a news conference at the Greater Western Community Development Project in Chicago on Monday, Sept. 14, 2020. At left is Ald. Walter Burnett. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
The Tribune’s Gregory Pratt offers a little deja vu: “Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Monday announced the city would work with 31 community organizations to hire individuals for an expanded contact tracing program, though the city is far behind the goals Lightfoot laid out when she initially unveiled her plan nearly four months ago.
“Lightfoot first announced plans this spring to try and train hundreds of people to track the spread of the coronavirus and warn Chicagoans who’ve had contact with someone who’s carrying the disease, an effort officials have said is necessary in the city’s pandemic recovery efforts. The initiative, originally announced in May, was supposed to have hundreds of workers trained by now.” Read the full story here.
Wisconsin may once again be added to the city of Chicago’s COVID-19 mandatory quarantine order, which would require anyone traveling to Chicago from the state to self-isolate for 14 days.
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Our neighbors to the north were placed on the quarantine order list in July, amid climbing COVID-19 rates and then removed in August as the numbers fell. But the numbers are spiking again.
“Certainly we are watching Wisconsin with huge concern,” the city’s top public health official, Dr. Allison Arwady, said during a news conference. “They had their highest ever number of cases of COVID reported last Thursday,” with a positivity rate in the 13% to 17% range.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot listens as Congressman Bobby Rush announces during a press conference at City Hall, Thursday, June 11, 2020, on how Chicago police officers made popcorn and coffee in his office while nearby businesses were being looted last month. Image in background shows police officers lounging about in the congressman's office. (Antonio Perez/ Chicago Tribune) (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
The mayor today again disputed that Chicago police were asked to protect U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush’s office amid looting this spring, saying the narrative is “false,” but investigations into the controversial incident are ongoing, the Tribune’s Gregory Pratt and Gorner write.
They write: "In June, Lightfoot and Rush released images they said depicted Chicago police officers making popcorn, drinking coffee and sleeping on a couch in the congressman’s South Side campaign office while nearby businesses were being looted.
“Officials said previously that the shopping center at 54th Street and Wentworth Avenue, where Rush’s campaign office is located, was looted on Sunday, May 31, during widespread civil unrest in the wake of George Floyd’s killing by Minneapolis police.” Read the rest of the story here.
Other city news: With deadline looming, Chicago is badly lagging in census response, especially in communities of color - The Tribune’s Sophie Sherry writes, “responses in the city of Chicago are still substantially behind the rest of the state, particularly in communities of color that stand to be hit the hardest by the consequences of an undercount.” Money and political power are at stake: Read the full story, which looks ahead to what’s next, here.
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Mayor announces push to get more apartments built near public transportation on South and West sides: The Tribune’s John Byrne has the story here.
Charles Golbert is the Cook County public guardian. (Zbigniew Bzdak/Chicago Tribune / Chicago Tribune)
The Tribune’s Dan Petrella writes: "The number of children in Illinois Department of Children and Family Services' care who have remained in psychiatric hospitals after being medically cleared for release continues to grow, even as Gov. J.B. Pritzker has vowed to address the many problems facing the long-troubled agency, according to a new report from the Cook County public guardian.
“During the state budget year that ended June 30, 314 children — one as young as 3 years old — remained in a mental health facility “beyond medical necessity,” according to the report. The public guardian filed a federal class-action lawsuit against DCFS over the issue in December 2018, and the case is ongoing.” Read the full story here.
Thanks for reading The Spin, the Tribune’s politics newsletter. Have a tip? Email host Lisa Donovan at ldonovan@chicagotribune.com.
Twitter @byldonovan


chicagotribune--2020-09-14--‘Oh my God, I didn’t mean to ... Don’t die’: Gurnee man charged with accidentally shooting woman to

‘Oh my God, I didn’t mean to ... Don’t die’: Gurnee man charged with accidentally shooting woman to death

In the moments before the gun fired , Cole had reportedly racked the slide on the semi-automatic pistol , ejecting @ @ @ @ @ the gun ’ s chamber , before he removed the gun ’ s magazine , @ @ @ @ @ reinserted the magazine before the gun fired , reports said .

A Gurnee man was arrested Sunday on charges that he shot a woman to death when a pistol he was handling discharged.
Isaiah J. Cole, 19, appeared via teleconference Monday in Lake County Bond Court on involuntary manslaughter and drug charges stemming from the shooting, which took place early Sunday morning in the 600 block of Creekside Circle. He was ordered held in lieu of $750,000 bail.
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The victim was identified as Ameyah T. Brewton, 21, of Gurnee. Police said Brewton and Cole had a domestic relationship.
At the bond hearing, Lake County Assistance State’s Attorney Tara Ferrari said witnesses reported that after the shooting, Cole cried out, “Oh my God, I didn’t mean to,” and “Don’t die.”
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In the moments before the gun fired, Cole had reportedly racked the slide on the semi-automatic pistol, ejecting a bullet that was in the gun’s chamber, before he removed the gun’s magazine, Ferrari said. Cole then reinserted the magazine before the gun fired, reports said.
The round struck Brewton in the arm and the rib cage, the prosecutor said. She was taken to Advocate Condell Medical Center, where she was later pronounced dead, police said.
Officers responding to the residence found Cole inside and took him into custody, police said.
Police recovered the gun along with marijuana, MDMA and Xanax pills that police say were in Cole’s possession. Authorities allege that Cole would trade drugs for firearms, Ferrari said. She asked Judge Paul Novak to impose a $100,000 cash bond.
The judge set bail at $750,000, which means Cole would need to post a $75,000 cash bond to make bail.
In addition to the involuntary manslaughter charge, Cole has been charged with possession of a stolen firearm, unlawful possession without a FOID card, and five felony counts of possession of cannabis and controlled substances.
He is due to appear in court Friday for a status update.


chicagotribune--2020-09-14--Second whistleblower lawsuit against Chicago Police Department alleges job retaliation over handling

Second whistleblower lawsuit against Chicago Police Department alleges job retaliation over handling of controversial shooting

Blisset ’ s lawyer , Julie Herrera , said Blisset , 55 , plans to retire on Tuesday after 30 @ @ @ @ @ of the allegations outlined in his lawsuit .
She thinks his allegations are “ somewhat @ @ @ @ @ “ code of silence ” — an unwritten understanding that cops protect each other at @ @ @ @ @ led to federal oversight of the department .

Chicago police Sgt. Isaac Lambert talks about his lawsuit against the city in Chicago on March 4, 2019. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune)
The fallout over a controversial police shooting that wounded a young man with developmental disabilities has spurred a second whistleblower lawsuit filed by a ranking Chicago police officer alleging he was retaliated against over the handling of the case.
In the first, filed last year, Sgt. Isaac Lambert complained he was moved out of the department’s detective bureau for refusing to falsify reports to justify the actions of Sgt. Khalil Muhammad when he shot Ricardo “Ricky” Hayes, who was then 18 and has autism.
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Now one of Lambert’s former bosses in the detective division, Rodney Blisset, has filed a whistleblower lawsuit of his own, saying he was unfairly stripped of his commander rank and demoted to captain amid the controversy surrounding Lambert’s complaint.
“No reason for this demotion was given to Blisset,” according to Blisset’s lawsuit, which will be back in court in Cook County next month. “There was no legal or legitimate reason to demote Blisset.”
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Lambert filed suit in March 2019 and Blisset filed over the summer. Both allege the department violated the Illinois Whistleblower Act.
Blisset was Lambert’s commander at the Area South detective division at the time of the 2017 shooting in the Far South Side’s Morgan Park neighborhood. According to his lawsuit, Blisset learned from top department brass that Lambert was being transferred out of the detective bureau.
When Blisset asked about the reason for Lambert’s transfer, a top police official wouldn’t tell him, according to the suit. Blisset then informed Lambert of his transfer that same day in February 2019.
It wasn’t long after that, on March 5 of last year, when Lambert filed his lawsuit.
Blisset met with the city’s Law Department twice to discuss Lambert’s case in 2019, according to his lawsuit. During the second meeting, a city attorney told Blisset that another police official who ordered Lambert’s transfer did so because Blisset had said Lambert was causing problems in the detective bureau, according to Blisset’s filing.
Blisset responded that the police official was lying and that he would not give that version of events in Lambert’s case, according to Blisset’s lawsuit; “that Blisset would not lie; and that they needed to get it straight before they went to court.”
Then four months later, in January, Blisset was demoted from commander of the Area South detective division to captain.
As of July, Blisset was in charge of the alternate response section, a unit that handles nonemergency calls and is staffed by officers on light duty or cops who are unable to carry their badge or gun because they’re under internal investigation.
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The apparent demotion occurred at a time when then-interim police Superintendent Charlie Beck announced the biggest shake-up in the department’s command staff in years, moving more than 30 people into new positions.
But according to the suit, Blisset learned after his demotion that the city attorney he had spoken to had told the police official in question that Blisset accused that official of lying.
“As a result of his demotion, Blisset has lost wages and will continue to lose wages (at a rate of approximately $32,000 per year),” his suit alleges. “The demotion has harmed (and will continue to harm) Blisset’s reputation.”
Blisset and Lambert have asked to be reinstated to their old positions in the department as well as monetary compensation.
“... If the reason for his demotion had been legitimate, the City would have informed Blisset of the reason,” according to his suit. “Instead, the City refused to provide Blisset with a reason for his demotion, much like it refused to provide a reason for Lambert’s transfer.”
A Police Department spokesman referred all inquiries about Blisset’s lawsuit to a spokeswoman for the city’s Law Department, which is representing the city in the case. The spokeswoman, Kathleen Fieweger, said the department doesn’t think Blisset’s accusations are true.
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“The Law Department believes the allegations in the lawsuit are false and without merit,” said Fieweger, who didn’t elaborate.
Blisset’s lawyer, Julie Herrera, said Blisset, 55, plans to retire on Tuesday after 30 years with the department because of the allegations outlined in his lawsuit. She thinks his allegations are “somewhat worse” even than the “code of silence” — an unwritten understanding that cops protect each other at all costs — that has led to federal oversight of the department.
“I mean, we’re talking more than just silence,” said Herrera. “(Blisset) said ... ‘I am not going to be lying for anyone.’”
About 5 a.m. Aug. 13, 2017, Muhammad was off-duty near his home in Morgan Park when he said he saw a suspicious Black male near his neighbor’s car, according to an investigative report by the Civilian Office of Police Accountability, the city agency that investigates police shootings.
Muhammad was dressed in civilian clothes, having just finished his late-night patrol shift. He told investigators he pulled up in his girlfriend’s SUV, identified himself as a police officer and asked Hayes what he was doing, but that Hayes ran off.
Video released last year shows an off-duty Chicago police sergeant opening fire from his vehicle and wounding an apparently unarmed teen as he stood on a sidewalk in front of a home on the Far South Side. (Civilian Office of Police Accountability) (Chicago Copa/Handout)
After making a U-turn, Muhammad said he again announced his office to Hayes and said, “Let me see your hands,” the report said.
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Muhammad told COPA that Hayes turned toward him, reached back and started to pull a dark object out of his waistband. Those actions were “consistent with someone pulling a weapon,” Muhammad told investigators.
Still sitting in the vehicle, Muhammad said, he feared for his life and fired his semi-automatic pistol twice. Shortly after the shooting, a neighbor found a black cellphone near where Hayes had been standing, according to reports on the case.
Hayes suffered a gunshot wound to his left armpit and a graze wound to his upper left arm.
According to a federal lawsuit filed by Hayes against Muhammad and the city, he was “born with intellectual and developmental disabilities.”
While Hayes was 18 at the time of the shooting, “he functions at the cognitive level of a child, and he has difficulty communicating,” according to that suit. In May, the Chicago City Council approved a $2.25 million settlement to Hayes in his lawsuit against Muhammad for the shooting.
COPA concluded Muhammad acted in an “objectively unreasonable” fashion yet initially recommended only a suspension of 90 days without pay. After consulting with then-Superintendent Eddie Johnson, though, COPA agreed Muhammad’s punishment should be doubled to six months without pay.
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The Chicago Police Board officially suspended Muhammad for the six months in December after he admitted he unjustifiably used deadly force in shooting. It was a rare decision by the nine-member board, which typically hears evidence from a disciplinary hearing before deciding whether cops should be punished.
jgorner@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-09-14--Feds ‘commandeered’ COVID-19 testing supplies ordered by Loyola and Illinois State to detect virus o

Feds ‘commandeered’ COVID-19 testing supplies ordered by Loyola and Illinois State to detect virus on campus, Sen. Dick Durbin says

In response to a Tribune inquiry , HHS did not address questions about the schools but provided details about its @ @ @ @ @ ’ s 14,000 nursing homes .
HHS said it was working with Quidel and another @ @ @ @ @ tests and equipment to nursing homes through September .

Sen. Dick Durbin speaks at a Labor Day groundbreaking at Pullman National Monument last week. On Monday, he said the federal government abruptly redirected COVID-19 testing equipment that Loyola and Illinois State universities were expecting. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)
At least two Illinois colleges that ordered COVID-19 testing materials from the federal government didn’t receive the supplies because they were abruptly reallocated, curtailing the schools’ ability to provide in-person classes and maintain campus safety, U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin said at a news conference Monday.
Durbin said Loyola University Chicago and Illinois State University were expecting COVID-19 testing kits and equipment from the manufacturer Quidel this summer, but the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services redirected the materials to other entities under the Defense Production Act, a form of executive power.
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“We’re not arguing the merits of where these tests were sent,” the Democratic senator from Illinois said. “Many were sent to nursing homes and that’s clearly a high priority. … But it really reflects the lack of planning ahead of time.”
In response to a Tribune inquiry, HHS did not address questions about the schools but provided details about its program to prioritize the country’s 14,000 nursing homes. HHS said it was working with Quidel and another vendor to deliver rapid antigen tests and equipment to nursing homes through September.
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At colleges, however, frequent testing of students and faculty has proved itself key. The ability to perform a large number of tests and get results quickly can help schools identify clusters on campus and salvage in-person learning before a broader outbreak. Not all colleges are requiring asymptomatic students to be tested.
Standing outside Loyola’s medical school in Maywood, Durbin described how Illinois universities painstakingly reconfigured classrooms, developed behavioral protocols and amended teaching plans before learning the tests they ordered weren’t coming. That caused ISU to shift most of its classes — except for art, sciences and music — to online formats and prevented Loyola’s downtown Chicago campus from opening a testing center.
Durbin, who sported a maroon face mask emblazoned with Loyola’s name, said he penned a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar expressing his concerns. The two-page letter asks how HHS will support schools with testing kits and whether it plans to distribute the 150 million Abbott rapid tests in its possession to schools.
In the letter, Durbin called it troubling that HHS “commandeered” the supplies from Loyola and ISU.
Joan Holden, director of Loyola’s campus health center, spoke to the school’s challenges during the news conference. Holden said Loyola ordered analyzer equipment from Quidel in July to expand its testing capacity. But Loyola officials were told they couldn’t get the analyzers because HHS made its own purchase, Holden said.
“Clearly, not having these analyzers limits our ability to provide broad testing for a community the size of Loyola,” Holden said.
Loyola is keeping its residence halls closed this semester and limiting in-person classes, a decision the school made before learning that its supplies were redirected, Holden said.
Since testing began in late July, Loyola has conducted about 850 COVID-19 tests and identified seven positive cases, according to its public dashboard.
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The numbers are much higher at ISU in downstate Normal, where dorms are open. The school has conducted nearly 7,600 tests this semester and found 1,383 positive results, according to the school.
In late July, ISU learned it would not receive the supplies it ordered in time for the fall semester, President Larry Dietz said in a campus message. The school had ordered three testing machines and 5,000 reagent kits, according to spokesman Eric Jome.
The school has subsequently contracted with an outside lab to process the results, which can take a few days, Jome said.
“Certainly, it would have been nice to have that equipment in house to be able to have our own staff to turn these things around," he said, "and to turn things around pretty quickly ... the same day.”
echerney@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-09-14--Lightfoot announces push to get more apartments built near public transportation on South and West s

Lightfoot announces push to get more apartments built near public transportation on South and West sides

The new developments have been much slower to appear in working class Black and Latino neighborhoods where they could be @ @ @ @ @ on buses and trains .
Lightfoot ’ s new move aims to correct that , @ @ @ @ @ seen how much the city can do to nudge apartment developers into struggling areas .

Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s administration is out with a plan to try to get new apartment buildings built near CTA lines on the South and West sides the way they’re springing up right next to the tracks in whiter, wealthier parts of Chicago.
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The Equitable Transit-Oriented Development plan seeks to address the imbalance in where these public transportation-adjacent projects are going up, by “creating and preserving affordable housing near transit, promoting transit, walking and biking options, and supporting small businesses growth,” according to Lightfoot’s office.
Transit-oriented developments are those within a quarter-mile of a CTA or Metra train station, a half-mile of a pedestrian-designated street, or near some major bus routes. Developers building housing in such areas can receive incentives, such as decreased parking requirements and zoning for larger buildings.
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The idea is that residents in these apartments won’t want or need cars, so more people can live there without clogging surrounding streets.
Since the program began in 2013, the apartments have become popular with young people, and many of the buildings have gone up in recent years in North Side hipster enclaves along the Blue Line, such as Logan Square, where aging shopping districts and factory buildings have been replaced with large residential complexes looming over the tracks.
The new developments have been much slower to appear in working class Black and Latino neighborhoods where they could be especially helpful for families reliant on buses and trains. Lightfoot’s new move aims to correct that, though it remains to be seen how much the city can do to nudge apartment developers into struggling areas.
According to Lightfoot’s office, over 200 such developments in Chicago have been approved with the transit-oriented benefits since late 2016. But nearly 90% of all those that got the go-ahead between 2016 and 2019 are concentrated on the North and Near Northwest sides, Downtown or around the West Loop.
With train ridership in Chicago going down even before the pandemic hit thanks to the popularity of ride share services, the city has further incentive to promote such projects.
“We support the city’s effort to establish this plan, which complements the inherent nature of public transit as an equalizer — allowing anyone at any time to travel anywhere in the City for a low, flat fare,” CTA President Dorval R. Carter Jr. said in a statement. “Incentivizing development near rail lines with unused capacity will make our city less car-dependent and more resilient, as well as contributing to ridership and revenue growth for the city’s transit system.”
jebyrne@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @_johnbyrne


chicagotribune--2020-09-14--Gov. J.B. Pritzker maintaining approval, particularly among Democrats, for handling of pandemic, sur

Gov. J.B. Pritzker maintaining approval, particularly among Democrats, for handling of pandemic, survey shows

Democrats have been stronger in support of Pritzker ’ s handling of the pandemic , though that number also has @ @ @ @ @ in late April to nearly 75 % in late August .
Approval among Republicans in @ @ @ @ @ at 45 % in late April , was about 40 % in late August .

Wearing a mask with the state of Illinois emblem, Gov. J.B. Pritzker talks with essential workers proving coronavirus test at Coles Elementary School on Chicago's Southeast Side on July 8, 2020. (Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune)
Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s handling of the pandemic, criticized by some Republicans and rural lawmakers and challenged by lawsuits, had the approval of 57% of Illinois voters at the end of August, according to a survey conducted by a consortium of universities that was released Monday.
The COVID-19 Consortium for Understanding the Public’s Policy Preferences Across States survey also showed Illinois voter approval of President Donald Trump’s handling the pandemic at 29.4%, a drop from nearly 40% in April, with 57% not approving.
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Pritzker’s approval has declined from a high of 63% in late April, when the consortium began its polling. The governor’s approval rating was at 54% in early May, 52% in late May, 58% in late June, and back down again to 52% in late July.
A total of 29.4% of voters disapproved Pritzker’s handling of COVID-19 last month, the survey said.
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Democrats have been stronger in support of Pritzker’s handling of the pandemic, though that number also has fallen, from 85% in late April to nearly 75% in late August. Approval among Republicans in the state, which began at 45% in late April, was about 40% in late August.
Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 113 CTU workers direct vehicles lined up for COVID-19 testing outside of the Chicago Teachers Union on Dec. 30, 2021, in Chicago. CPS starts back to school on Monday following their holiday break. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)
Among independent voters, approval of Pritzker’s actions has gone from nearly 60% to about 50%, the survey found.
The consortium is made up of researchers from Northwestern, Harvard, Rutgers and Northeastern universities. The latest survey involved 21,196 people surveyed across the nation online with results weighted to reflect age, gender and racial demographics. The survey was taken Aug. 7-26 of 508 Illinois voters, with an error margin of 4.8%.
The survey found 68.3% of Illinois voters trusted state government in responding to the pandemic, while 31.6% did not.
As for Trump, 62.1% of Illinois voters said they did not trust him dealing with coronavirus, while 37.9% did. In contrast. 55.1% said they trusted Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden to deal with COVID-19, while 44.9% did not.
Among Illinois voters, 46.3% said the pandemic had disrupted their lives a lot or a great deal, 39.1% lost their job or wages, and 70.7% are concerned about getting the coronavirus.
Overall, the researchers said the average approval of Democrats in states with Democratic governors dropped 8% from April, while falling 16% among Republicans.
Nationally, Trump saw his approval in handling the pandemic drop from slightly more than 40% in April to 32% in July, before moving slightly upward to 34% last month, the survey found.
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rap30@aol.com


chicagotribune--2020-09-14--Officials: 500,000 counterfeit N95 masks seized in Chicago

The shipment of masks from China was seized Sept. 10 at O ’ Hare International Airport , according to the @ @ @ @ @ the masks were headed to a company in Manalapan , New Jersey .
The masks @ @ @ @ @ spread of the COVID-19 virus .

CHICAGO — About 500,000 counterfeit N95 respirator masks have been seized in Chicago by Customs and Border Protection officers, federal officials announced Monday.
The shipment of masks from China was seized Sept. 10 at O’Hare International Airport, according to the federal agency. It said the masks were headed to a company in Manalapan, New Jersey. The masks are used to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus.
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Thirty were sent to a testing facility where it was determined that 10% of the respirators tested had a filter efficiency rating below 95%.
“These masks did not meet the safety standards outlined by the CDC, which puts the public at risk, jeopardizing the health and well-being of everyone,” said Shane Campbell, port director for the Chicago area.
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Frontline workers, hospital officials and even the Food and Drug Administration say there is a shortage of the masks in the U.S. due to pressures on the medical supply chain.


chicagotribune--2020-09-14--Lake County man who lost leg in motorcycle crash receives $16 million in lawsuit settlement

When the porter reached the Woodland Terrace and Hutchins Road intersection , he slowed to 7 mph , according to @ @ @ @ @ sped into the intersection .
He then struck Walsh , who did not have a @ @ @ @ @ alleged .

A Lake County man who lost a leg when his motorcycle was struck by an employee of a car dealership has settled a lawsuit for $16 million, according to the law firm that represented him.
The multi-million-dollar settlement is believed to be the highest in a Lake County civil case involving a leg amputation, according to attorneys for the firm of Salvi, Schostok and Pritchard, which represented Tim Walsh, the man injured in the crash.
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On June 14, 2018, Walsh, then 56, was riding his motorcycle home from work when his motorcycle was struck near the intersection of Woodland Terrance and Hutchins Road in Gurnee.
The driver of the other vehicle was an 18-year-old porter working at Muller Honda of Gurnee, who was driving a new Honda Civic to a gas station to prepare it for a test drive.
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When the porter reached the Woodland Terrace and Hutchins Road intersection, he slowed to 7 mph, according to the lawsuit, and then sped into the intersection. He then struck Walsh, who did not have a stop sign, the suit alleged.
Walsh’s left leg was badly damaged, and surgeons amputated it below the knee on the day of the accident, according to the suit. He also underwent surgeries on both shoulders, his attorneys said.
The porter was cited and later found guilty of traffic violations, according to court records, which indicate he was fined and ordered to perform community service.
The civil suit was settled on Aug. 28. The attorney who represented the defendants declined comment Monday.


chicagotribune--2020-09-14--Mayor Lori Lightfoot again disputes that Chicago cops were asked to protect US Rep. Bobby Rush’s off

Mayor Lori Lightfoot again disputes that Chicago cops were asked to protect US Rep. Bobby Rush’s office amid unrest: ‘That narrative is false’

“ I am sure by now , everyone is aware of the video at Congressman Bobby Rush ’ s Office @ @ @ @ @ we got caught in this situation , but we now have to deal with the @ @ @ @ @ this incident , ” said McDermott , who has since been promoted two ranks as @ @ @ @ @ closest deputies to chief of operations for the entire 13,000-plus department .
“ Remember , @ @ @ @ @ protect the officers , and sometimes that means making hard decisions that will not be @ @ @ @ @ being said , we need to support everyone that was involved in this incident and @ @ @ @ @ learning experience .
”

In this file photo, U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush watches as Mayor Lori Lightfoot speaks during a news conference on June 11, 2020. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)
Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Monday again disputed that Chicago police were asked to protect U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush’s office amid looting this spring, saying the allegation is “false,” but investigations into the controversial incident are ongoing.
Lightfoot was asked at an unrelated news conference about the status of the city’s internal investigation into the incident. She also was asked about assertions by Chicago Fraternal Order of Police President John Catanzara that cops had been asked to protect Rush’s office.
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“That narrative is false,” Lightfoot said. “It was false from the minute he uttered it. The investigation is ongoing.”
In addition to an internal investigation, Lightfoot said there’s “also an evaluation being done by the state’s attorney’s office," but she said she hopes everyone finishes their work soon.
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“This doesn’t need to be hanging over those officers' head, it doesn’t need to be unresolved,” Lightfoot said. "I think Congressman Rush deserves to have some answers.”
In June, Lightfoot and Rush released images they said depicted Chicago police officers making popcorn, drinking coffee and sleeping on a couch in the congressman’s South Side campaign office while nearby businesses were being looted.
Officials said previously that the shopping center at 54th Street and Wentworth Avenue, where Rush’s campaign office is located, was looted on Sunday, May 31, during widespread civil unrest in the wake of George Floyd’s killing by Minneapolis police.
Lightfoot had said the video picks up at about 1 a.m. Monday, June 1, and the officers were there four or five hours.
A Rush spokesman said the office learned about the building being burglarized on May 31, when the alarm system went off, but did not discover the police presence until two days later when a security service provided video footage that was reviewed on June 3.
Rush has said he got a call that his campaign office had been burglarized and later saw surveillance footage of officers “lounging in my office,” including three supervisors, with their feet up on desks and another asleep on the couch.
“They even had the unmitigated gall to go and make coffee for themselves and to pop popcorn, my popcorn, in my microwave while looters were tearing apart businesses within their sight and within their reach,” Rush said.
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City Hall did not release the video from inside Rush’s office, providing only selected screenshots in a slideshow that played behind the mayor during a news conference. The Police Department did not provide a timeline and would not say when the officers were inside Rush’s campaign office.
A Rush spokesman said the office learned about the building being burglarized on May 31, when the alarm system went off, but did not discover the police presence until two days later when a security service provided video footage that was reviewed on June 3.
Catanzara previously called the news conference “despicable” and said the looting at the shopping center was done by the time the officers shown in the images arrived.
Catanzara suggested police brass had bad information. He said that based on the light outside the windows in the images, it was the early morning hours, and the officers were bored and exhausted from guarding the office all night.
Records obtained by the Tribune from the city’s Office of Emergency Management and Communications show there were several calls in the same strip mall in the hours leading up to the police presence in Rush’s campaign office.
On June 12, the day after Lightfoot held a news conference with police Superintendent David Brown decrying the police behavior at Rush’s office, then-Chicago Lawn District Cmdr. Brian McDermott sent an email to his subordinate supervisors, praising their efforts on the streets over the those past few weeks during “difficult circumstances.”
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Also in the email, obtained by the Tribune through an open-records request to the Police Department, McDermott addressed the incident at Rush’s office.
“I am sure by now, everyone is aware of the video at Congressman Bobby Rush’s Office. It is unfortunate that we got caught in this situation, but we now have to deal with the consequences and fall out from this incident,” said McDermott, who has since been promoted two ranks as one of Brown’s closest deputies to chief of operations for the entire 13,000-plus department. “Remember, it is our job to protect the officers, and sometimes that means making hard decisions that will not be received well. With that being said, we need to support everyone that was involved in this incident and think of it as a learning experience.”
gpratt@chicagotribune.com
jgorner@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-09-14--Man on house arrest for gun case accused of opening fire at West Side birthday party, killing 2 and

Man on house arrest for gun case accused of opening fire at West Side birthday party, killing 2 and wounding 3. ‘It makes your blood boil,’ says Chicago’s top cop.

“ What are we doing ?
I mean , it ’ s beyond frustrating .
It makes your blood boil @ @ @ @ @ of those victims , ” Brown said .
“ This is what we are doing @ @ @ @ @ the arrest of people who possess illegal guns , which should make us safer , @ @ @ @ @ can bring forth an example of a person out of jail that should be in @ @ @

A West Side man on house arrest for a gun case is accused of opening fire on members of a family he’d just met at a weekend birthday party in South Austin, killing two and wounding three before someone shot him, prosecutors said Monday.
Cook County prosecutors described in court how a late-night gathering with cocktails and music turned bloody early Saturday when Timmy Jordan, 39, fired seven to 10 shots into a group of revelers, striking five relatives outside a two-story apartment building in the 100 block of North Central Avenue.
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One of those wounded, a concealed carry license holder, pulled his own gun and wounded Jordan before dying, authorities said.
Jordan, who shared a home with his mother on Pine Avenue where the shooting occurred, faces two counts of first-degree murder and three counts of attempted murder. He remained hospitalized in critical condition Monday, but his condition has improved, Assistant State’s Attorney James Murphy told a judge during a hearing broadcast on YouTube.
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A judge ordered Jordan held without bail and granted a request by prosecutors to also hold Jordan for violating the terms of his bond from an April felony gun case when he was placed on electronic monitoring and confined to his home.
In court, prosecutors detailed how Jordan met members of Lunyea Wilson’s family when a neighbor invited the group back to his home after plans for a bowling party fell through. The family — which included Wilson’s nephew Michael Mickey, 35, and Wilson’s two brothers, 30 and 38 — was celebrating the birthday of Wilson’s 32-year-old daughter, Murphy said.
For about three hours, Wilson’s family listened to music, drank and played cards while Jordan and two other people were in a basement room, authorities said. Then one of Jordan’s companions believed someone in Wilson’s group called her a name and began yelling and cursing at them, Murphy said.
Just after 2 a.m., Jordan told the group they had to “get going” just before he pulled a firearm and opened fire in a yard outside the home. “(Jordan) first aimed at the females to his left and then continued shooting at the males to his right,” Murphy said.
The shots struck Lunyea Wilson and her daughter, along with her brothers and nephew. Mickey pulled his own gun and shot Jordan twice. Police found Jordan a block away, collapsed between two cars with his gun, Murphy said.
Lunyea Wilson, 47, and Mickey both died. Wilson’s daughter suffered a gunshot wound to the thigh and knee. One of Wilson’s brothers was shot in the abdomen and the other was shot in the thigh, authorities said.
In addition to his pending gun case, Jordan has two prior gun convictions. Prosecutors noted that felons are barred from possessing firearms, and all the witnesses called Jordan the aggressor.
“I would point out that, of the two people with guns out there, one person was legally allowed to have a gun. (He) had a valid concealed carry and (firearm owner’s identification card) and had that weapon on him when (Jordan) pulled his weapon,” Murphy told the court.
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The shooting came amid a violent weekend that left at least 13 dead from gunfire and 44 others wounded. It was more deadly than the recent Labor Day weekend, when at least 51 were shot, nine fatally.
At a Monday morning news conference, Chicago police Superintendent David Brown said Jordan should have been in the jail instead of on the street.
“What are we doing? I mean, it’s beyond frustrating. It makes your blood boil if you’re one of those victims,” Brown said. “This is what we are doing. We’re making the arrest of people who possess illegal guns, which should make us safer, and yet every weekend we can bring forth an example of a person out of jail that should be in jail.”
Jordan’s attorney said he had not had a chance to interview his client. Both sides are expected to return to court next Tuesday to receive an update on Jordan’s condition.


chicagotribune--2020-09-14--13-year old boy arrested in connection with armed robbery at Naperville Riverwalk park, police say

The teen reportedly approached a juvenile about 5:15 p.m. while the victim was sitting with friends at Fredenhagen Park in @ @ @ @ @ Street , Naperville police said .
He pointed at what appeared to be a handgun @ @ @ @ @ s cash and then fled the scene on foot with an undisclosed amount of money @ @ @ @

A 13-year-old Lisle boy has been arrested in connection with an armed robbery he allegedly committed Sunday in a park along the Naperville Riverwalk.
The teen reportedly approached a juvenile about 5:15 p.m. while the victim was sitting with friends at Fredenhagen Park in the 300 block of Washington Street, Naperville police said. He pointed at what appeared to be a handgun, demanded the victim’s cash and then fled the scene on foot with an undisclosed amount of money, police said.
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The 13-year-old who matched the description of the suspect was found by police a short distance away and taken into custody.
Charges against the juvenile are pending, police said, and the incident remains under investigation.
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Anyone with additional information is asked to call 630-420-6666 and ask for the Investigations Division.
subaker@tribpub.com


chicagotribune--2020-09-14--Video depicts nude romp, mischief at abandoned Lew Wallace High in Gary

“ During a time when we are laser-focused on providing quality educational instruction and resources to the 4,500 youth currently @ @ @ @ @ it is both hurtful and unacceptable to see the vandalism that is taking place in @ @ @ @ @ said McNulty .

Student documents are scattered on the cafeteria floor at Gary Lew Wallace High School, which closed in 2014 in 2017 file photo. (Carole Carlson / Post-Tribune)
Gary municipal and school officials expressed outrage Monday at a video posted on YouTube showing a group of young men vandalizing and lighting fireworks inside shuttered Lew Wallace High School.
The 13-minute video released Friday also shows the group running naked inside the school gym.
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“My boys and I stay the night in an abandoned school in Gary, IN, attempting to stay 24 hours but only stayed 17,” a person wrote under the video that was called the “24-hour challenge.”
The group entered the school wearing backpacks and the video traces the group’s actions as they use what appears to be a stun gun on their partially naked bodies on the roof.
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They hold flashlights as they walk through the cafeteria and use equipment still sitting in the school weight room.
Lew Wallace, at 415 W. 45th Ave., has been closed since 2014.
Mayor Jerome Prince said the group broke the law by trespassing and they could have left information behind for police to discover if they committed additional crimes.
“I will not tolerate this type of behavior in our city,” said Prince.
“These buildings are dangerous and must be torn down,” Prince said. “With additional resources, we can get rid of these havens for criminals and begin the kind of development that will help us rebuild our city.”
Prince said he continues to call on state leaders to provide funding and other resources to demolish Lew Wallace, Edison Middle School and Norton Elementary.
Gary Community School Corp. manager Paige McNulty said the district was aware of the “criminal act” at Lew Wallace where Prince recently presented an appreciation citation to a South Haven man and 1988 Lew Wallace graduate for keeping the grounds maintained at the school.
“During a time when we are laser-focused on providing quality educational instruction and resources to the 4,500 youth currently enrolled in our schools, it is both hurtful and unacceptable to see the vandalism that is taking place in our closed buildings,” said McNulty.
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Since it closed, Lew Wallace has been the scene of several break-ins and fires.
In June, two Gary firefighters suffered minor injuries battling an arson fire on the school’s second floor.
Lew Wallace is among dozens of schools up for sale by the Gary Community School Corp. More than 30 schools have been closed and left vacant since 2003. Only a handful has been sold.
Gary developer Calvin Bankhead offered $12,880 for Lew Wallace in a school district sale in March, which was stalled by the coronavirus pandemic. Bankhead listed residential development as his plan for the property on the bid announcement.
Carole Carlson is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.


chicagotribune--2020-09-14--Wells St. Market closes Friday, this time for keeps

The food hall was one of several to open in Chicago in recent years , part of a mini boom @ @ @ @ @ one other food hall has reopened since the March pandemic shutdown , Time Out Market @ @ @ @ @ .
But a new market , Dr. Murphy ’ s Food Hall , launched in @ @ @ @ @ Cook County Hospital .

Wells St. Market, which reopened July 6 after weathering the first three months of the coronavirus shutdown (and was the first Chicago food hall to resume service) announced it will close for keeps on Friday.
“From all of us at the Wells Street Market, it has been an honor and a joy to serve Chicagoans every day,” the company said in a release. The food hall made its debut, at 205 W. Wacker Drive, in June 2018.
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In its final week, the food hall’s Grand Central Bar will be open noon-7 p.m., offering drink specials and wholesale deals on unopened liquor bottles. On Friday, the last day, Fry the Coop will treat guests to a free sandwich, fries and soft drink. More details can be found at wsmchicago.com.
When it reopened two months ago, the food hall emphasized its updates to follow coronavirus safety guidelines, including sanitation procedures and the fact it was limiting entry.
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Wells St. Market held out some hope of a return, in some way, at some point, saying “We hope to one day bring back the excitement that was first created when we opened our doors.”
The food hall was one of several to open in Chicago in recent years, part of a mini boom in that format. Only one other food hall has reopened since the March pandemic shutdown, Time Out Market, which opened in August. But a new market, Dr. Murphy’s Food Hall, launched in early August in the former Cook County Hospital.