chicagotribune--2020-07-21--Remembering Jay Emerich, one of the giants who made Chicago’s Rush Street

By 1976 , she was a cocktail server and recalls an event the club staged to mark the U.S. bicentennial @ @ @ @ @ three-day dance marathon , ” she says .
“ They were able to get sponsors @ @ @ @ @ couples , a group that included record labels , corporations and some members .
It @ @ @ @ @ amazing experiences of my life .
I worked for 72 straight hours until the winners @ @ @ @ @ was filled at all hours with celebrities coming to watch .
And we raised a @ @ @ @ @ .
”

A Saturday night and the corner of Rush Street and Bellevue Place was alive.
The streets were closed to traffic but filled with dozens of tables and those were packed with people eating the food and drinking the drinks served by the nearby restaurants: Gibsons, Tavern on Rush, Hugo’s Frog Bar, Carmine’s, Nico and Luxbar. Conversations were lively, people animated, and memories in the making. If you listened closely, you might have heard the name of a man who helped give this area its durability and vivacious character over the past six decades, especially by running one of the most famous night spots in the city’s history — a joint called Faces.
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That man was Jay Emerich and he died on July 11 of lupus, the disease that had afflicted him for a very long time. He was 79 years old and was in the company of wife Jennifer and, safe to say, thousands of his own lively memories.
“He was Rush Street,” says David Floodstrand, a multimedia artist, musician, and author of a pair of soon-to-be published books “Rush Street, Remembrances & Musings” and “Rush Street, Chicago’s Street of Dreams.” “He helped to define an era and make a million memories.”
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The son of Hugo and Mary Rita Emerich, Jay was part of a family that included younger brother Anthony and sister Sally. He was a child of the neighborhood, attending Ogden Elementary School but learning a great deal about real life by shining shoes, being a lifeguard at Oak Street beach, and parking cars for people, some of them mobsters, in an area then noted for its first-rate entertainment offerings at such clubs as Mister Kelly’s, the Gate of Horn and the Cloisters, and infamous for the diversions at some of its unsavory establishments.
Emerich formally began his nightlife career tending bar at The Store, one of the area’s first singles bars, and would go on the operate more than a dozen nightspots.
In 1965 he opened his first place at 1017 N. Rush St., describing the Rally Alley as “a beer joint in early Tijuana style, with peanut shells on the floor.”
Few knew Emerich better than Jimmy Rittenberg, himself a nightlife legend.
The pair met playing softball and Rittenberg, who was then a schoolteacher, later tended bar at some of Emerich’s taverns and would become his partner when they opened Faces.
He has stories aplenty: of the 16-inch softball teams they played on together as part of the Tavern League at Lake Shore Park; of wild Halloween parties; and dozens from the Faces years, such as of the night that Led Zeppelin came into the disco after a concert.
“I was talking to Robert Plant and I introduced him to Jay,” Rittenberg says. “They hit it off. Only problem was Jay, who had no idea who Led Zeppelin was at the time, didn’t catch his name and as he was showing him around introducing him to people, he kept calling him ‘Led.’ After about a half hour Robert pulls me over and asks why my partner keeps calling him ‘Led.’ I said, ‘Look Robert you just made a new fan. Go with it’.”
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Faces opened to the public in 1971 but quickly became a private club. It was immensely popular, packed nightly with crowds peppered with celebrities, all enjoying lit-up floors, fog and bubble machines and a seemingly never-ending stream of champagne. And music.
Kathy O’Malley Piccone, currently a managing partner at Gibsons, was there.
“I started as a coat check girl in 1973,” she says. “It was a great job because it was only twenty-five cents to hang your coat and, in those days, people would always tip a dollar or more.”
During a short break while the dance floor was being waxed, couples wait for a dance marathon to resume on Aug. 11, 1975, at Faces disco bar on Rush Street in Chicago. (Jack Dykinga / Chicago Tribune)
By 1976, she was a cocktail server and recalls an event the club staged to mark the U.S. bicentennial. “They had a three-day dance marathon,” she says. “They were able to get sponsors for every one of the couples, a group that included record labels, corporations and some members. It was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. I worked for 72 straight hours until the winners were announced. The place was filled at all hours with celebrities coming to watch. And we raised a lot of money for charity.”
The club was a magnet for any big name passing thought town and for any locals seeking a buzz. “A lot of people and writers called it the Studio 54 of Chicago,” says Floodstrand, referring to the famous Manhattan club that opened in 1977. “Truth be told, the owners of Studio 54 came here to check things out and used Faces as a model.”
After being diagnosed with lupus, Emerich spent some of 1977 and 1978 living with his sister in California. “The treatments with steroids devastated him, physically and mentally,” says Rittenberg. “He added a lot of weight. He had been a very handsome man, a ‘chick magnet’ as they used to say. He dated some beautiful women too, celebrities among them, like Jill St. John and Freda Payne.”
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Rush Street night life, looking north from Walton Street, in Oct. 1985 including part of the Faces marque. (Val Mazzenga / Chicago Tribune)
His disease in remission and his appearance back to normal, he came back and bought out Rittenberg’s shares in Faces.
“It took us about five minutes to do the deal, no lawyers, nothing,” says Rittenberg.
A few months later Emerich sold the club to a group of investors. (Rittenberg would stay on as the club’s manager for a time and the club closed in 1989. Decades later, Rittenberg would run into some legal troubles, as part of a fraud case involving MilerCoors.)
Emerich made real estate investments but stayed in the tavern/restaurant business with Jay’s, a cozy place on the southeast corner of Rush and Bellevue.
He would frequently travel to California, leaving the tavern under the management of his younger brother, Tony. But he was back in 1985 when he had to shutter Jay’s to make way for the construction of what is now a hotel called the Thompson Chicago.
There was a raucous closing party. Emerich, accompanied by his golden retriever, Jasper, said, “I think Rush Street was on hold for a while after the 1981 recession, but things are starting to pop again. But then, I’m prejudiced about Rush Street. I think it is unique in the world and if the city ever loses it, we will have lost something special. I love Rush Street.”
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He was then already operating Jay’s II, a bit south on the street, and would later go on to run Jay’s on The Park, Jay’s on Taylor Street, Mr. E’s, and other places.
“I first met him when I was in college and he was always an inspiration for me,” says Steve Lombardo, another local legend who, after some previous night life ventures, opened Gibsons in 1989 and has since expanded it into a very successful culinary realm known as the Gibsons Restaurant Group. “He was the guy who really helped the street stay alive through its various transitions and transformations.”
In the wake of Emerich’s death, Floodstrand started circulating a petition to have an honorary street dedicated in his name. He is also trying to raise funds to help with outstanding bills. “Jay’s fight with lupus decimated his finances,” he says.
He is also planning a benefit luncheon. It will be held, fittingly, at Gibsons.
rkogan@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-07-21--Expressway shootings surge in Chicago area. Illinois State Police say they need license plate scanne

Expressway shootings surge in Chicago area. Illinois State Police say they need license plate scanners, despite privacy concerns.

“ I know we ’ ve had the pandemic , but life goes on , ” Hill said .
“ @ @ @ @ @ is : Where is the money ?
How was the money allocated ?
And the @ @ @ @ @ Police needs help , Chicago police needs help , all of these individuals need help @ @ @ @ @ almost like they ’ re downgrading the situation and ignoring it , and I don @ @ @ @ @ to do that .
”

An Illinois State Police patrol car is parked near a BMW SUV with bullet holes near the 5900 block of the Dan Ryan Expressway southbound lanes in Chicago on June 13, 2020. According to the Illinois State Police, two gunshot victims were transported to hospitals from the vehicle. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)
Expressway shootings have surged in the Chicago area this year, already surpassing what is normally seen in an entire year and increasing pressure for the installation of better cameras as well as scanners that read license plates.
The Illinois State Police had tallied 62 expressway shootings in Cook County this year as of Tuesday. That compares with 52 for all of 2019, 43 in 2018, 51 in 2017 and 54 in 2016, a year that gun violence in Chicago hit levels not seen since the 1990s.
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More than half the shootings this year — 41 — have been on the Dan Ryan Expressway and Interstate 57, according to numbers provided by the state police. Among the other shootings, nine have been on Interstate 290, five on the Stevenson Expressway, three on the Kennedy Expressway, two on Interstate 80 and one each on the Edens Expressway and Interstate 394.
(Jemal R. Brinson)
The reason for the spike is unclear, but the coronavirus pandemic could be part of it, according to Beth Hundsdorfer, a spokeswoman for state police. During the stay-at-home order, state police recorded 29 expressway shootings in the Chicago area.
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“Traffic on most expressways was sparse, which gave offenders an easy avenue of opportunity to escape,” she said. “This sparse or reduced traffic also limited the number of potential witnesses to assist with creating leads to solving these violent offenses.”
There have been six arrests for expressway shootings in Chicago this year, but that’s still better than it has been in other years. There were two arrests in 2016, two in 2017, three in 2018 and six in 2019, according to the state police.
Hundsdorfer said the traffic cameras in place along the expressways are little help to investigators.
“Traffic-monitoring cameras are very useful to determine if traffic is congested or if a crash has occurred,” she said. “But they provide no investigative value to expressway shooting investigations. In many instances, the existing cameras can’t provide the make, model or even color of vehicles.”
High-definition cameras would solve some of those problems, while license plate scanners would allow police to better trace and track down suspects, she said. A law passed last year authorized the installation of both, but so far only a small number have been placed along expressways in the Chicago area, Hundsdorfer said.
The law was named for Tamara Clayton, a U.S. Postal Service employee who was shot and killed last year while driving on I-57 on her way to work. She had told friends she avoided the Dan Ryan because she was afraid of being shot.
Alma Hill sits with a photo showing her sister Tamara Clayton with her daughter, at her Monee home on July 17, 2020. After Clayton was shot and killed on Interstate 57 in 2019, Hill has pushed for more high-definition cameras. (Todd Panagopoulos / Chicago Tribune)
The murder remains unsolved. Her sister, Alma Hill, believes better surveillance could have led to an arrest in her sister’s case and many others that have followed.
“That would mean (police) would know the car, they would know the license plate,” Hill said. “It’s not something that we’re thinking about that’s scientific and out of fantasy. It’s real. It can do the job.”
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Hill said she was told high-definitions cameras would be installed by the end of May, but state officials haven’t given her an update since January.
“I know we’ve had the pandemic, but life goes on,” Hill said. “All I’m asking is: Where is the money? How was the money allocated? And the fact that the Illinois State Police needs help, Chicago police needs help, all of these individuals need help — and it’s almost like they’re downgrading the situation and ignoring it, and I don’t think they want to do that.”
The legislation directed that the cameras and scanners be paid from the state’s road fund, which is overseen by the Illinois Department of Transportation. Agency spokeswoman Maria Castaneda said officials were working with the state police and have been upgrading some cameras to high-definition.
“That process is continuing,” she said. Castaneda couldn’t give a date for when it would be done.
Improving video surveillance on Illinois expressways has been discussed for years as more police agencies have upgraded their cameras and deployed license plate scanners, which automatically capture all plate numbers that come into view, along with the location, date and time, plus photographs of the vehicles.
“Due to the speeds and time of day most of these shooting incidents occur, we have determined that implementing … license plate readers on the Chicagoland expressways would be most beneficial,” said Hundsdorfer, the state police spokeswoman.
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“Investigators deal with a commuting population, making it difficult to develop witnesses unless witnesses contact law enforcement after the fact,” she said.
Chicago police started using license plate scanners to combat a sudden increase in carjackings several years ago and now have more than 200 of them in squad cars. Officers use the scanners to match license plates against a list of stolen vehicles and those involved in crimes.
After a drive-by shooting on the Dan Ryan last week, Chicago police Superintendent David Brown was asked whether more and better cameras should be installed on the expressways, even though the state police and not the Chicago police have jurisdiction on them.
“As you know, in Chicago we have a lot of cameras in the city, so it has been something that has been helpful to resolving crimes when we don’t have any other leads,” he replied.
Some civil rights groups have raised concerns about the new technology, worrying that the data could be misused.
“Can a government agency install these kinds of camera systems and not necessarily create a constitutional violation?” said Ed Yohnka, a spokesman for the American Civil Liberties Union. “The answer may be yes, but ... this shouldn’t just be a question of if you can do it. It should be a question of whether or not you should do it.”
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Studies indicate that improved surveillance just moves crime from one area to another, Yohnka said. He pointed to misuse of law enforcement databases for personal reasons as an example of ways the cameras can be abused.
“Chicago has one of the largest, most sophisticated camera systems in the whole world (and) still to this day we haven’t seen the privacy policies around these cameras,” Yohnka said. “These questions end up being important. And then when you combine it with ... is there some peer-reviewed evidence anywhere that cameras actually deter crime?”
Hundsdorfer, however, said state police are determined to increase the number of cameras and improve network capabilities “in order to ensure we have the best technology available to assist with decreasing gun violence and drug trafficking on Illinois expressways.”
kelsmith@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-07-21--5 people shot in Lawndale neighborhood, officials say

A 31-year-old man was shot in the right knee and taken to Mount Sinai Hospital , police said .
Also @ @ @ @ @ a 38-year-old man who suffered a wound to the buttocks .
Both were in good @ @ @ @ @ .

Five people were shot Monday night in the Lawndale neighborhood on the West Side, officials said.
The shooting occurred about 8:45 p.m. in the 1300 block of South Lawndale Avenue, according to Chicago police.
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A 31-year-old man was shot in the right knee and taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, police said. Also taken to Mount Sinai was a 38-year-old man who suffered a wound to the buttocks. Both were in good condition, according to police.
A 56-year-old woman was wounded in the ankle and taken to Stroger Hospital in good condition, as well as a 51-year-old man who suffered a gunshot wound to the ankle and a 63-year-old man shot in the forearm, police said.
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At the scene, an area was taped off in the middle of the block on Lawndale, a residential one-way street.
Two hours after the shooting took place, some neighbors sat outside. One young boy waited on his stoop to let his mother into his gate. Some, a few houses down from where the shooting took place, were celebrating in their backyard, blasting “That’s What I Like” by Bruno Mars before singing “Happy Birthday.”
As some of the partygoers left, they hugged and wished each other to be safe, “Make sure to call when you get home!” and then asked officers if they could get their cars inside the crime scene tape.
Two officers held up the tape for them as they backed out onto 13th Street.
No one was in custody and detectives are investigating.
At least 71 people were shot, 12 of them fatally, from Friday afternoon to Monday morning in Chicago, according to authorities.
Sunday night, two people were killed and three others injured in a shooting in the Morgan Park neighborhood on the Far South Side, according to police.
Check back for updates.
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pfry@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-07-20--Niles police mourn retired detective, community service officer killed in motorcycle crash in Texas

Joseph Paglia , who retired from the Niles Police Department in 2018 , and Michael White , a CSO who @ @ @ @ @ more than five years , died from injuries they sustained in a crash while riding @ @ @ @ @ Law Enforcement Motorcycle Club in southern Texas , Niles police said in a statement .
@ @ @ @ @ in media reports as Jerry Wayne Harbour , a Thin Blue Line ambassador and retired @ @ @ @ @ also was killed .

The Niles Police Department is mourning the loss of a retired police detective and a community service officer killed in a crash in Texas on Saturday after a man accused of driving under the influence went the wrong the wrong way on a highway where several officers were riding motorcycles in a club event.
Joseph Paglia, who retired from the Niles Police Department in 2018, and Michael White, a CSO who had been employed for slightly more than five years, died from injuries they sustained in a crash while riding with the Thin Blue Line Law Enforcement Motorcycle Club in southern Texas, Niles police said in a statement. A third man, identified in media reports as Jerry Wayne Harbour, a Thin Blue Line ambassador and retired airline pilot from Houston, also was killed.
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Sgt. Joseph Lazo of the Niles Police Department was hurt in the crash and remained hospitalized Monday, according to the department.
The crash took place Saturday afternoon, around 12:10 p.m., on a state highway just south of Kerrville, Texas, a town 65 miles northwest of San Antonio, said Sgt. Orlando Gus Moreno of the Texas Department of Public Safety. A man driving a car north on the highway veered into the southbound lane, hitting six motorcycles, Moreno said.
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In addition to the three deaths, three men and one woman on the other motorcycles were hospitalized, he said.
In a Facebook post, the Kerr County Sheriff’s Department reported that the driver of the vehicle that struck the motorcycles was arrested and charged with intoxicated manslaughter and intoxication assault.
The Hill Country Community Journal of Kerrville, Texas identified the driver as Navejas Ivan Robles, 28, of Center Point, Texas, a town located 10 miles south of Kerrville.
Niles Police Cmdr. Anthony Scipione said the losses of Paglia and White have taken a toll on the department.
“Not only do we work with these individuals, but we have relationships with them outside the department,” Scipione said. “Many of the officers here are members of the (Thin Blue Line) motorcycle club and I was just with Mike White on the Fourth of July. We had a barbecue together.”
Retired Niles Police Detective Joseph Paglia (Niles Police Department)
Before his retirement in 2018, Paglia had worked for the department as a detective and field training officer, and was assigned to the Northern Illinois Police Alarm System’s Mobile Field Force, a multi-jurisdictional team that is deployed for civil disturbances and public demonstrations. A resident of Edison Park, Paglia ran for Illinois assessor as a Republican candidate in 2018.
Paglia was president of the Chicago chapter of the Thin Blue Line Law Enforcement Motorcycle Club, Scipione said, describing the club as a group of retired and active members of law enforcement who enjoy motorcycles and support officers who have been seriously injured or killed in the line of duty.
Paglia was planning to move to the San Antonio area, where the weekend’s ride of Thin Blue Line club members from around the country was taking place, Scipione said.
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“He was on the process of moving there permanently,” he said. “He had just moved a lot of his property down there, but it wasn’t official yet.”
Niles Community Service Officer Michael White (Niles Police Department)
Michael White, who served in the U.S. Army, joined the Niles police in 2014 as a community service officer and had recently obtained a degree in criminal justice, said Scipione.
“He was attempting to fulfill his life-long dream of becoming a police officer,” Scipione said. “He was just a great kid, the nicest kid. He would always go out of his way to say hello to anybody.”
White was the son of Lt. Bill White of the Niles Fire Department, he said.
Michael White was so dedicated to the Niles Police Department that he commuted by train to his CSO position from Macomb, Illinois, where he was still living after taking his college courses in criminal justice, Scipione said.
Niles Police Sgt. Joseph Lazo (Niles Police Department)
Plans for a local memorial service for the officers had not yet been established early this week.
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jjohnson@chicagotribune.com
Twitter: @Jen_Tribune


chicagotribune--2020-07-22--Watch live: Chicago police provide update after multiple people shot in Gresham

Chicago police will provide an update after multiple people were shot in the Gresham neighborhood on Chicago ’ s South @ @ @ @ @ updates here .

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chicagotribune--2020-07-22--Multiple people shot in Gresham on the South Side

Nine people were taken to area hospitals , most in serious to critical condition , said Chicago Fire Department spokesman @ @ @

Chicago police investigate the scene of a mass shooting near 79th Street at Morgan Street on July 21, 2020. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune)
At least 15 people were shot Tuesday evening in an attack on people attending a funeral in the Gresham neighborhood and one person was in custody, authorities said.
Shots were fired at attendees of a funeral in the 1000 block of 79th Street from a black vehicle speeding west about 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, according to First Deputy Superintendent Eric Carter, who spoke at the scene Tuesday night.
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The funeral attendees exchanged gunfire with those in the vehicle, he said. The vehicle then turned north on Carpenter Street, and shots continued to be fired at the attendees, before the vehicle crashed midway down the block, Carter said. Those inside the vehicle fled.
[ Update: Chicago mass shooting: With 15 people shot outside Gresham funeral home, ‘An eye for an eye makes us both blind,' top cop says ]
A neighbor, who asked not to be identified, said it sounded like multiple weapons were used in the shooting.
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The neighbor said multiple victims fell in front of a liquor store between a laundromat and a funeral home on 79th Street, and many were bleeding.
Fourteen people were being treated at five area hospitals, Carter said.
A 65-year-old woman, was treated at the scene, police said.
Most were in serious to critical condition when they were taken to the hospital, according to Chicago Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford.
Carter said there were 60 shell casings on the scene. The number of shooters was still being determined by detectives, he said.
After initially saying there were at least 14 victims, Chicago police gave an update Wednesday morning that there were at least 15 victims and another man at the scene said he had been grazed by a bullet but had not sought medical attention.
The victims include at least 10 women, police said. Their ages are: 21; two are 24; 26; 27; 30; 37; 43; 49; and 65.
The 26-year-old woman was in serious condition at the University of Chicago Medical Center and the 43-year-old was in serious condition at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, police said. The rest were in good condition.
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Five men were shot, police said. One is 22, two are 31 and one is 32. All the men except one of the 31-year-olds were in serious condition.
Police said the shooting happened at or near the site of a funeral or postfuneral event for a man fatally shot last week in the Englewood neighborhood.
Carter said there was a police presence at the funeral due to its size, but it was unclear whether a squad car was present at the time of the shooting. Police often assign beat cars to funerals for homicide victims.
“While families were mourning at a funeral in Auburn Gresham, cowardly gunmen opened fire, wounding 14 in a horrific mass shooting,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot said in a tweet Tuesday night.
“We cannot give shelter to killers. People know who are responsible,” Lightfoot said. “Too many guns are on our streets and in the hands of people who should never possess them. These individuals will be held accountable.”
Tuesday night at the scene of the attack, one young man stood near the crime scene tape. He said he was waiting in line to go inside the funeral home when the shooting started. As he ran, he realized he was grazed by a bullet, he said.
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His right knee had a fresh wound. He said he didn’t tell police or paramedics because it was a minor wound, so he would not have been included in a victim count.
He didn’t know how many victims there were in total until afterward, he said. He saw at least six people who had been shot during the commotion.
“Their conditions were good, but it was blood everywhere,” he said. “I didn’t even have nothing to do with it. ... I’m just glad I’m good.”
After firefighters washed off the sidewalk outside of Cookie’s Cocktail Lounge, 1024 W. 79th St., Teresa Wilson, 44, stood outside and pointed to where her friend’s blood had pooled.
When the shooting started, Wilson was inside Cookie’s, where she works as a bartender, but was visiting Tuesday on her own time, playing a bowling video game. At first, the bangs sounded like fireworks, but when she and the handful of others realized it was gunshots, they dropped to the ground.
One of Wilson’s friends had just stepped outside the lounge with a plate of food to go home before the shooting began. After Wilson dropped to the floor, she realized her friend was outside, also on the ground, tapping on the glass. The friend had been shot multiple times and went into surgery Tuesday night.
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But in that moment, Wilson didn’t know what to do. She said she thought to herself, “Are they still shooting? Can we pull her in? Where was she shot?”
“To me, this is no different. It’s nothing new. It’s been going on since the ’80s, ’90s,” Wilson said of the violence.
Nobody inside the lounge was hit, she said.
Before the shooting happened, Wilson arrived at the lounge about 4 p.m. and the blocks up and down both Carpenter and 79th were lined with cars and people. Usually, there aren’t too many people on the block because there are only a few businesses, she said. So she assumed it had to be for a funeral.
A Chicago police squad car was parked on the sidewalk a block over from the funeral home and another in a nearby alley when she arrived, she said. After the shooting, an officer walked into the lounge and said he was checking that they were wearing masks, Wilson and one of the bartenders said.
Wilson said she was upset that police officers didn’t try to break up the crowd before the shooting, because then her friend may not have been caught in the crossfire.
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“It could’ve been better controlled,” she said. “They should’ve called people for back up before it escalated.”
“It’s horrible they did this. My friend was shot out here,” she said. “Because of this COVID, we can’t even check on our friend and be supportive.”
The Tuesday shooting marked one of Chicago’s worst in recent memory.
Last year, 13 people were wounded, four of them critically, in a shooting inside a memorial gathering in the Englewood neighborhood on the South Side.
In September 2013, 13 people were shot in Cornell Square Park in the city’s Back of the Yards neighborhood. A 3-year-old boy was among the wounded in that shooting.
There have been other cases over the years of gunfire outside of funeral services in Chicago.
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In October 2018, six people were shot as mourners were leaving a funeral at Bethlehem Star Missionary Baptist Church at 92nd Street and Cottage Grove Avenue. As many as five mourners drew their own weapons and returned fire during the broad daylight attack. The services were for Vantrease “Dooski Tha Man” Criss, a local rapper who was gunned down earlier that month.
In November 2012, two men were shot, one of them killed, outside St. Columbanus Church at 71st Street and Prairie Avenue. The shooting took place during a church service for a slain reputed gang member.
Meanwhile, Tuesday’s shooting happened as Chicago continues to reel from shootings that have once again brought unwanted national attention to the city.
So far in 2020, Chicago has experienced one of its most violent years in recent memory, especially since late May with the fallout over the death of George Floyd at the hands of police in Minnesota. Through Sunday, homicides in Chicago were up 51% with 414, compared with 275 at the same time last year, official CPD statistics show. Shootings were also up by 47%.
During a 28-day period through Sunday, at least 116 people were slain in Chicago, the statistics show. That’s up from 40 during the same period in 2019.
As the violence has intensified this summer, police Superintendent David Brown announced plans to start a roving citywide unit of officers to respond to flare-ups in violence throughout the city, a strategy that has come and gone throughout the years in Chicago. In the meantime, President Donald Trump’s administration is expected to unveil plans to deploy more federal agents to Chicago in an effort to fight the violence.
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Check back for updates.


chicagotribune--2020-07-22--Mayor Lori Lightfoot says Chicago expects influx of federal agents to help city fight violence, ‘but

Mayor Lori Lightfoot says Chicago expects influx of federal agents to help city fight violence, ‘but we do not welcome dictatorship’

“ I sent a letter to the president yesterday outlining various ways in which , if he really wanted to @ @ @ @ @ he could do so .
There are some things the federal government is uniquely qualified @ @ @ @ @ welcome that , ” Lightfoot said .
“ What we do not welcome , and @ @ @ @ @ , and we will fight against is the deployment of unnamed federal special secret agents @ @ @ @ @ people without cause and effectively take away their civil rights and their civil liberties without @ @ @ @ @ not going to happen in Chicago , and if we see that , the minute @ @ @ @ @ will be rushing into court to stop that from happening .

Gregory Pratt, Jeremy Gorner, Jamie Munks

Activists square off with Chicago police officers on July 20, 2020, during a march through the Loop to protest the possible deployment of federal agents. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)
After a frenzied 24 hours during which Mayor Lori Lightfoot threatened to sue if President Donald Trump tried to send federal agents into Chicago without her permission, she acknowledged Tuesday that the city would be working with federal agents to fight crime but warned that her administration would be vigilant against abuses of power.
Lightfoot changed her tone after talking with U.S. Attorney John Lausch, a former colleague who she has said she respects and admires, who assured her an influx of law enforcement would be working “collaboratively” with Chicago cops against violent crime.
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The unfolding situation in Chicago “at this point” won’t resemble the situation playing out in Portland, Oregon, where unidentified federal agents wearing camouflage uniforms have been denounced by local leaders for their actions, Lightfoot said at an unrelated news conference.
Instead, Lightfoot said she expects Chicago will receive resources that will plug into existing federal agencies that already work with the city, including the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
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Still, Lightfoot was careful not to put too much trust in the White House and an administration with which she’s had a mostly adversarial relationship since she took office last year.
“I don’t put anything past this administration, which is why we will continue to be diligent and why we will continue to be ready,” Lightfoot said. “If we need to stop them and use the courts to do so, we are ready to do that.”
For Lightfoot, the prospect of increased federal assistance for anti-crime efforts is a thorny proposition. More federal agents could help with the city’s skyrocketing violence, but the unfolding controversy in Portland and Trump’s repeated harsh rhetoric toward Chicago has led to high public mistrust in the federal government.
The announcement about federal agents coming to Chicago is the latest development in an ongoing war of words between the Republican president and Democratic mayor.
Last month, Trump lashed out at Lightfoot and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker over Chicago’s gun violence, saying the two had put their “own political interests” ahead of the lives of residents and insisting that “law and order” was needed.
Lightfoot, who has ripped Trump, his daughter Ivanka Trump and son-in-law Jared Kushner, responded with a statement saying she doesn’t “need leadership lessons” from the president and accused him of using victims of gun violence to try to score “cheap political points.”
In recent weeks, Lightfoot repeatedly has questioned the sincerity of Trump’s offer to help Chicago and denounced his response to George Floyd’s killing by a Minneapolis police officer.
“What I really want to say to Donald Trump … begins with F and it ends with U,” she said in May after Floyd was killed.
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On Monday, the Tribune reported that the Department of Homeland Security is crafting plans to deploy about 150 federal agents to the city this week.
The Homeland Security Investigations, or HSI, agents are set to assist other federal law enforcement and Chicago police in crime-fighting efforts, the Tribune reported, though the specifics of their mission were not made public.
At her news conference, Lightfoot did not specify how many agents were coming to Chicago, from what agencies or which federal officials she talked to aside from Lausch.
But an official with knowledge of the situation said Tuesday the Trump administration plans to send 150 agents to Chicago, with about 75 coming from HSI and the rest coming from other federal agencies.
They’ll largely be working on drug cases that are fueling crime, the official said, adding that the city wouldn’t be worried about the group of feds coming in if the situation with Portland weren’t happening.
Chicago police and other big-city departments across the country regularly work with federal agencies such as the FBI, DEA, ATF and the U.S. attorney’s office on investigations into drug- and gun-trafficking and myriad other crimes tied to violence. In Chicago, such investigations are often based in certain neighborhoods on the South and West sides where much of the violence in the city occurs. One incentive for the partnership is the potential for a lengthier prison sentence for people tried and convicted in the federal system as opposed to being prosecuted in state court.
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Such partnerships over the years have been through federal programs such as Project Exile, aimed at shifting more gun prosecutions to federal judges so they can hand down stiffer penalties on convicts, and Project Safe Neighborhoods, designed to better coordinate federal resources and local intelligence on crime.
Lightfoot’s attitude on Tuesday toward the additional federal help was a stark contrast from the night before, when she appeared on the MSNBC show “The ReidOut” and said she would use every tool she has to stop Trump from sending “troops” to the city, including filing a lawsuit.
“We’re not going to have tyranny in the city of Chicago,” Lightfoot said.
As she explained the situation with Trump on Tuesday, Lightfoot said the federal government could help Chicago by sending resources that work through the existing federal infrastructure.
“I sent a letter to the president yesterday outlining various ways in which, if he really wanted to partner with us, that he could do so. There are some things the federal government is uniquely qualified to handle. We would welcome that,” Lightfoot said. “What we do not welcome, and what we will not tolerate, and we will fight against is the deployment of unnamed federal special secret agents onto our streets to detain people without cause and effectively take away their civil rights and their civil liberties without due process. That is not going to happen in Chicago, and if we see that, the minute we see it, we will be rushing into court to stop that from happening.
“We welcome actual partnership,” Lightfoot added. “But we do not welcome dictatorship, we do not welcome authoritarianism and we do not welcome unconstitutional arrest and detainment of our residents.”
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Trump is no stranger to toying with the idea of sending more federal law enforcement to Chicago.
Days after his inauguration in 2017, he took to Twitter to criticize the city’s violence, proposing a vague solution: “I will send in the Feds!”
At the time, it was a declaration that kept city officials guessing. Did he mean more federal aid to Chicago police? Would he send more resources to the FBI and other federal agencies that already work in Chicago? Did he intend to send in the National Guard?
That summer, 20 ATF agents were sent to Chicago to help form a task force aimed at cutting the flow of illegal guns in the city and cracking down on people arrested repeatedly on gun-related charges. Among other duties, the group was tasked with examining bullet casings recovered from crime scenes to perform expedited ballistics testing to determine if the casings were expended from the same guns used in other shootings.
Despite the history of cooperation, Lightfoot’s support for more federal agents drew criticism from some progressive members of the City Council.
“We need to oppose the presence of federal agents in Chicago, specially during such a critical time where people are taking the streets to demand justice,” Democratic Socialist Ald. Rossana Rodriguez Sanchez, 33rd, said in a tweet. “Our duty as a city is to protect them, not throw the (T)rump police at them.”
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Earlier in the day, Pritzker called plans for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to send federal agents to Chicago “a wrongheaded move on the part of Donald Trump, on the part of the Department of Homeland Security.”
Chicago police watch as activists gather in Federal Plaza on July 20, 2020, before marching through the Loop to protest the rumored deployment of federal agents. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)
DHS officials could not be reached for comment, while a spokeswoman for the Department of Justice declined to comment.
A Department of Justice spokeswoman on Monday indicated an announcement would be forthcoming on an expansion of what has been dubbed Operation Legend, which saw several federal law enforcement agencies assist local police in Kansas City, Missouri, including the FBI and U.S. Marshals Service.
Illinois U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, who’s being considered as Democrat Joe Biden’s vice presidential pick, also expressed concern over the move, along with U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin.
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“What’s happening in Portland, and what could happen in Chicago or any number of cities across the country, is deeply troubling,” Duckworth said. “The Trump administration is using this as another opportunity to trample on the First Amendment rights of Americans.”
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Duckworth said she would join Durbin and Oregon’s Democratic U.S. senators, Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden, in pushing a law to prevent the administration “from deploying federal forces as a shadowy paramilitary against Americans.”
Chicago Tribune’s Jason Meisner contributed.
gpratt@chicagotribune.com
jgorner@chicagotribune.com
jmunks@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-07-21--United Airlines posts $1.6 billion loss in virus-scarred second quarter

United said it began this week with $ 15.2 billion in available cash and expects to boost that to more @ @ @ @ @ the end of the third quarter .
The airline has mortgaged its MileagePlus frequent-flyer program @ @ @ @ @ 4.5 billion secured loan from the Treasury Department , although executives say they might not @ @ @ @ @ .
That is on top of $ 5 billion in taxpayer money to keep workers @ @ @ @ @ .

Rows of United Airlines check-in counters at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago are unoccupied on June 25, 2020, amid the coronavirus pandemic. United announced Tuesday it lost $1.63 billion in the second quarter. (TERESA CRAWFORD/AP)
United Airlines said Tuesday that it lost $1.63 billion in the second quarter as revenue plunged 87%, and it will operate at barely over one-third of capacity through September as the coronavirus throttles air travel.
The Chicago-based airline burned through $40 million a day from April through June but said it will trim losses to $25 million a day in the third quarter by slashing costs.
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CEO Scott Kirby said United cut its cash-burn rate below its closest rivals by shrinking its schedule to meet lower demand and cutting costs across the company. In a statement, he said the moves “positioned United to both survive the COVID crisis and capitalize on consumer demand when it sustainably returns.”
Investors will have to wait for United to provide more details about the quarter and the future outlook on Wednesday, when executives hold a call with analysts and reporters.
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United, which started the year with 96,000 employees, said 6,000 have volunteered to take severance packages and leave. Last week, the airline warned 36,000 employees that they could be furloughed in October, although executives said they expect the final job-loss number to be smaller.
The quarterly loss, which was worse than Wall Street expected, followed the plunge in air travel due to widespread travel restrictions and passengers' fear of flying during the coronavirus pandemic.
Air travel in the U.S. plunged starting in March, hitting bottom in mid-April at just 5% of the year-ago traffic. A slow partial recovery stalled in recent weeks as reported cases of coronavirus surged in many states, particularly in the South and West, and Northeastern states imposed quarantines on visitors from much of the country.
Airline bookings flattened, with United’s hub airport in Newark, New Jersey, being especially hard hit.
U.S. airlines have seen an even sharper drop in international travel. United’s revenue from U.S.-Europe flights nosedived 97%, nearly $1.9 billion, in the second quarter.
Kirby and American Airlines CEO Doug Parker appealed on Tuesday to Vice President Mike Pence and European Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson to allow more travel between the U.S. and Europe. The United States and the European Union block most of each other’s citizens from entering — each side cites fear that visitors from the other side of the Atlantic could bring the virus with them — although exceptions are made for dual citizens, health workers and a few others.
The U.S. airline leaders, joined by the CEOs of Lufthansa and British Airways’ parent, IAG, said transatlantic travel is important to their airlines and the global economy. They said steps taken by airlines and governments together with a cooperative health-screening program will prevent COVID-19 from spreading among passengers.
Investors have turned their attention to what airlines are doing to raise more cash and cut spending to make that money last as long as possible.
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United said it began this week with $15.2 billion in available cash and expects to boost that to more than $18 billion by the end of the third quarter. The airline has mortgaged its MileagePlus frequent-flyer program and agreed to a $4.5 billion secured loan from the Treasury Department, although executives say they might not draw on the government loan. That is on top of $5 billion in taxpayer money to keep workers on the payroll through September.
As a benefit of flying less, United chopped its fuel bill by 90%, saving more than $2 billion. Labor costs were lower by nearly $900 million.
United’s loss, adjusted to exclude an income tax benefit and other items, was $2.6 billion. A year ago, the company posted a profit of $1.05 billion.
The adjusted loss worked out to $9.31 per share. That compared with a predicted loss of $8.96 per share, according to a FactSet survey of 17 analysts.
Revenue tumbled from $11.4 billion to less than $1.5 billion, but it still beat analysts' average forecast of $1.3 billion.
Last week, Delta Air Lines reported a $5.7 billion loss for the second quarter. The outlook is grim too for American Airlines and Southwest Airlines, which are scheduled to release results Thursday.


chicagotribune--2020-07-21--Coronavirus in Illinois updates: 955 new COVID-19 cases reported as CPS joins suit against Betsy DeV

Coronavirus in Illinois updates: 955 new COVID-19 cases reported as CPS joins suit against Betsy DeVos over relief funds and Kansas added to Chicago’s travel quarantine list

The initiative was launched in April amid the COVID-19 pandemic , as a way to “ recognize the heroic work @ @ @ @ @ and women who bravely continue to show up at work every day and save lives @ @ @ @ @ according to a statement from Metra executive director Jim Derwinski , who added , “ @ @ @ @ @ show our gratitude .
”

We have lifted the paywall on this story. To support essential reporting, please consider becoming a subscriber .
Paca Kujtim of Arlington Heights self-administers a COVID-19 test in his car at the Arlington International Racecourse on March 31, 2021 in Arlington Heights. Kujtim was getting testing as a precaution for upcoming travel. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)
Illinois health officials on Tuesday announced 955 new known cases of COVID-19 and 23 additional fatalities, bringing the total number of known cases to 163,703 and the statewide death toll to 7,324 since the start of the pandemic. The state also announced the results of 29,745 new test results.
Meanwhile, Chicago Public Schools is now part of a federal lawsuit in which several cities and states are seeking to prevent private schools from getting a share of CARES Act funding they say would be harmful to public school districts. CPS estimates it could lose about $10 million to private schools of the $205 million it’s expecting from the federal coronavirus stimulus package.
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Earlier on Tuesday, Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced that people traveling from Kansas to Chicago will need to quarantine for 14 days, effective Friday. Kansas became the latest state added to the city’s Emergency Travel Order. The city also continues to monitor a surge of COVID-19 in neighboring Wisconsin, where the case rate is approaching cut off for quarantine, according to a statement from the mayor.
[ Illinois’ new COVID-19 plan: How the state will manage any outbreaks in 3 charts ]
[ COVID-19 cases in Illinois by ZIP code: Search for your neighborhood ]
[ Schools reopening tracker: What suburban Chicago districts are planning for the fall ]
[ 20 questions about assessing your COVID-19 risk at restaurants, gyms and more ]
Here’s what’s happening Tuesday regarding COVID-19 in the Chicago area and Illinois:
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9:35 p.m.: GOP splits as virus aid package could swell past $1 trillion
The price tag for the next COVID-19 aid package could quickly swell above $1 trillion as White House officials negotiate with Congress over money to reopen schools, prop up small businesses, boost virus testing and keep cash flowing to Americans while the virus crisis deepens in the U.S.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday promised a new round of direct payments to earners below a certain income level, similar to the $1,200 checks sent in the spring. President Donald Trump insists on a payroll tax holiday for workers. And Democrats want billions to outfit schools and shore up local governments.
“Regretfully, this is not over,” McConnell said after a raucous private GOP lunch, urging Americans to learn to live with the new virus by wearing masks and practicing social distancing until a vaccine can be found.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and acting chief of staff Mark Meadows spent the day on Capitol Hill, meeting separately with McConnell, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and others trying to broker a compromise between the GOP's emerging $1 trillion proposal with the House's more sweeping $3 trillion bill.
The lunch session grew heated as key Republican senators complained about big spending, vowing to stall the relief bill’s passage.
Read more here. —The Associated Press
5:17 p.m.: Trump concedes pandemic in US will get worse before it gets better
President Donald Trump sought to paint a rosier picture of the coronavirus for the nation Tuesday but conceded the pandemic is likely to get worse for a time as he revived his daily briefings with an eye to halting a campaign-season erosion of support as new cases spike across the country.
The early evening show at the White House came as the next stage of the federal government’s response to the pandemic was being crafted on Capitol Hill. Lawmakers and White House officials were opening negotiations on a trillion-dollar-or-more “phase four” rescue package.
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Read more here. —The Associated Press
4:16 p.m.: Chicago joins suit against Betsy DeVos over CARES Act relief funds
Chicago Public Schools is now part of a federal lawsuit in which several cities and states are seeking to prevent private schools from getting a share of CARES Act funding they say would be harmful to public school districts.
The lawsuit seeks to overturn federal guidance and a rule announced in June that gave local districts a choice: Provide pandemic relief funds to all public schools but give a bigger portion than is customary to private institutions, or limit the public schools receiving funds to Title I public schools with poverty rates of at least 40%.
CPS estimates it could lose about $10 million to private schools of the $205 million it’s expecting from the federal coronavirus stimulus package. That’s part of the $570 million total allotted for Illinois schools and $16 billion for schools nationwide.
Read more here. —Hannah Leone
3:21 p.m.: Illinois Holocaust Museum in Skokie welcomes back visitors after coronavirus closure
When Dori Mages’s mother asked her to tag along for the July 15 reopening of the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Educational Center in Skokie, Mages said she felt compelled to go.
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“I’ve been losing a lot of sleep lately,” said Mages, who lives in Northbrook. “There’s been a lot of anti-Semitic comments being made in public. I’ve done advocacy about that lately. I just thought it was a good time to revisit that and get more of a sense of history and information.”
Like museums, businesses and schools throughout the state, the Illinois Holocaust Museum closed temporarily several months ago as a public health precaution in the wake of the COVID 19 pandemic.
Although the center continued to offer online services during the closure, Susan L. Abrams, chief executive officer of the center, said she has been anticipating the reopening for months.
“We’ve been driving toward reopening since the day we closed,” she said. “This looms large after the three plus months that we’ve been closed to the public. We’re thrilled to be able to offer the in-person experience.”
She also said center staff have been preparing for a safe reopening, and that newly implemented safety precautions include the mandatory wearing of masks, limiting attendance to 25% of normal capacity, social distancing, plastic partitions and hand sanitizing stations. Reservations are also recommended.
Read more here. —Brian L. Cox
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2:47 p.m.: 955 new known COVID-19 cases and 23 more deaths reported
Illinois health officials on Tuesday announced 955 new known cases of COVID-19 and 23 additional fatalities, bringing the total number of known cases to 163,703 and the statewide death toll to 7,324 since the start of the pandemic. Officials also reported 29,745 new tests in the last 24 hours. The seven-day statewide positivity rate is 3.1%.
2:15 p.m.: DuPage County health department’s COVID-19 test site closes early Tuesday as cases rise
As COVID-19 cases rise in DuPage County, the local health department’s testing site closed early Tuesday after two hours of testing.
The testing site, open from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, is located on the east side of the DuPage County complex on County Farm Road in Wheaton. People who want to get tested can drive up, roll down their windows and conduct nasal swab tests on themselves with provided instructions.
But some residents were left without the option to get tested Tuesday. Health department spokesperson Don Bolger said the county is capped at 400 tests per day because of state lab capacity.
“I think the county has been doing the best that they possibly can,” said Ashley Nuzzo, 33, who lives in Bloomingdale and commented on the health department’s Facebook post about the closing. “I think anybody can only do as much as their resources can allow.”
Read more here. —Sydney Czyzon
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1:32 p.m.: IHSA to meet with state officials Friday for ‘guidance’ on proceeding with fall sports
The Illinois High School Association, which has left the question of when high school sports can return to state officials, will convene with those officials Friday in a meeting expected to “provide important guidance on how the IHSA will proceed with fall sports,” the group announced on Twitter.
The IHSA had announced July 3 that athletes could return to summer practice and competition if schools followed a detailed plan of social distancing and sanitizing meant to combat the spread of COVID-19. But less than a week later, following an outbreak among sports camp participants at Lake Zurich High School, it announced drastic changes it said the Pritzker administration had required, including an end to scrimmages in sports that feature physical contact.
That led to a still-pending lawsuit, filed by the parent of two rising seniors at a downstate high school, claiming the new rules were “the illegal product of collusion” between the IHSA and state agencies. The IHSA subsequently announced it would defer to the state regarding any new rules about returning to play.
The association said on Twitter it would postpone its board meeting, set for Wednesday, by a week in order to meet Friday with officials from the Illinois Department of Public Health and the Illinois State Board of Education.
Some states have already announced they will delay fall sports for several weeks. Others, including California and New Mexico, have pushed the start date for some fall sports into 2021.
—John Keilman
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1 p.m.: Lightfoot joins Chicago sports teams to encourage young people to wear masks
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot joined representatives of the city’s sports teams to encourage young people to wear masks amid a recent jump in coronavirus cases.
The campaign, called “We Are All One Home Team,” comes a day after Lightfoot said the city this weekend would be shutting down indoor bars without food licenses in an effort to curb the spread of COVID-19.
”The ‘We Are All One Home Team’ campaign means that we all have a role to play in keeping each other safe, especially our youngest residents who must continue to follow our public health guidelines,” Lightfoot said in a statement. “We cannot afford to let our guard down. It’s time to team up with your masks up.”
The initiative will include billboards and social media to “reiterate the importance of the latest public health guidelines in our city.”
As part of the campaign, Lightfoot’s office said the city would send out “street teams of young adults to hot spot areas across Chicago such as bars, restaurants, parks and more to educate and remind their peers about safe COVID-19 practices.”
They’ll be distributing face masks, hand sanitizer, buttons and flyers, the city said.
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—Gregory Pratt
12:10 p.m.: Taste of Orland Park, summer concerts to move forward despite financial questions over attendance limits
The Taste of Orland Park is still a go for next weekend, albeit with modifications to help prevent the spread of COVID-19, while two concerts slated for late summer at Centennial Park West are being adapted to offer a drive-in option.
But a few village trustees raised questions Monday regarding the financial impact these events could have if ill-attended, as Orland Park is on the line for roughly $200,000 in expenses for the taste and budgeted to lose about $300,000 on the concerts, pending ticket sales.
Ray Piattoni, director of recreation and parks, said protocols for Taste of Orland, scheduled to run July 31-Aug. 2, will include a suggested event capacity of 2,000 to 2,400 people based on the square footage of an expanded footprint at the Village Center, 14700 Ravinia Ave.
The board voted 4-3 to approve a drive-in option for ticketed concerts on Aug. 22 and Sept. 12 at Centennial Park West.
Read more here. —Bill Jones
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11:10 a.m.: Kansas added to Chicago’s travel quarantine list
People traveling from Kansas to Chicago will need to quarantine for 14 days, effective Friday, according to a new announcement from Mayor Lori Lightfoot.
Tuesday, Kansas became the latest state added to the city’s Emergency Travel Order, joining Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Nevada, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Utah.
The city also continues to monitor a surge of COVID-19 in neighboring Wisconsin, where the case rate is approaching cut off for quarantine, according to a statement from the mayor.
The city’s travel order requires anyone entering Chicago from one of state on the list to quarantine for 14 days. The updated list of states covered under the order is being announced every Tuesday and takes effect on Fridays.
The Chicago Department of Public Health also urged residents to simply avoid nonessential travel to any states experiencing an increase in cases, as a precautionary measure.
—Sophie Sherry
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11 a.m.: Trump’s team works Capitol Hill as coronavirus aid talks deepen
President Donald Trump’s negotiators fanned out on Capitol Hill Tuesday over a new COVID-19 aid package as divisions between the White House and Senate Republicans pushed talks into House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office to deal with the mounting crisis.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and acting chief of staff Mark Meadows were conferring with GOP senators before pivoting in the afternoon to Pelosi and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, trying to meld the GOP’s emerging $1 trillion proposal with the House’s more sweeping $3 trillion bill.
Read more here. —The Associated Press
9:45 a.m.: Guthrie’s Tavern, a Lakeview mainstay for 34 years, closing permanently due to new coronavirus bar restrictions
Guthrie’s Tavern, one of Chicago’s oldest and most popular neighborhood bars, announced it would be closing permanently this week, and cited new city regulations banning indoor alcohol sales for bars that don’t serve food as a primary cause. Guthrie’s has occupied the corner of Addison and Lakewood for 34 years.
“It is with a heavy heart that we announce the closing of Guthrie’s Tavern. With the new restrictions set today for bars and the ongoing COVID restrictions, we don’t see a way we can survive,” read a Facebook post on Guthrie’s page.
Read more here. —Adam Lukach
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8:40 a.m.: Hundreds of food service workers at Northwestern University lose their jobs; company cites ongoing coronavirus impact on campus
A food service vendor for Northwestern University has announced it plans to permanently lay off about 230 employees.
The decision by food service giant Compass Group comes in anticipation of reduced traffic and social distancing at Northwestern this fall due to COVID-19, said Jennifer Byrdsong, vice president of Compass’ Northwestern operations.
Read more here. —Kelli Smith
7:45 a.m.: Gary, Merrillville, Lake County mandate masks to reduce spread of COVID-19
The City of Gary, Town of Merrillville, and Lake County joined a growing number of businesses and communities in requiring the use of masks to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus, COVID-19.
Read more here. —Carrie Napoleon and Karen Caffarini
6:38 a.m.: Hurricane Harbor opens in Gurnee with coronavirus measures in place
Hurricane Harbor, the water park connected to Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, opened Monday to members and 2020 season pass-holders for a one-week preview for season pass holders.
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Hurricane Harbor opens for everyone else on July 27, and remains that way through Labor Day weekend.
Due to COVID-19, guests must use the park’s new online reservation system at sixflags.com/reserve and select the date and time they wish to visit.
Read more here. —Karie Angell Luc
6:34 a.m.: Arlington Heights-based District 214 to start new academic year with option of in-person classes or remote learning
Arlington Heights-based Township High School District 214 has come up with a plan for starting the new school year that includes special scheduling, addressing technology issues and offering parents a choice to have their children attend in-person or remotely.
In a news release school district officials issued, SD214 will implement a block schedule and technology solutions “that allow for flexibility and parental choice” to have students attend classes in-person or remotely each day.
“Based on feedback from numerous stakeholders, the District prioritized the need to resume consistent in-person instruction while also ensuring student and staff safety and providing parental choice. The fall plan accomplishes that,” officials said in the July 16 news release.
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The new school year is scheduled to start Aug. 12 for the more than 12,000 students enrolled in the districts six schools, including Hersey High School in Arlington Heights and Buffalo Grove High School. Freshman orientation – which usually occurs before the start of the school year – will be held the Aug. 16, the first Friday of the school year, officials announced in the release.
Read more here. —Pioneer Press staff
6:15 a.m.: Metra extends free rides for medical workers
Doctors, nurses, paramedics and other front line medical workers again will ride free on Metra trains through August, the agency announced Monday.
August will be the fifth consecutive month Metra allows such medical workers to ride for free, according to a statement from the rail line. To ride free, medical workers should show a work ID that shows they work at a hospital, doctor’s office, medical facility, or local fire department.
The initiative was launched in April amid the COVID-19 pandemic, as a way to “recognize the heroic work being performed by these men and women who bravely continue to show up at work every day and save lives during this crisis,” according to a statement from Metra executive director Jim Derwinski, who added, “this was our way to show our gratitude.”
There are no plans to extend the free rides past August.
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—Katherine Rosenberg-Douglas
Breaking coronavirus news Stay up to date with the latest information on coronavirus with our breaking news alerts.
Here are five things that happened Monday related to COVID-19.
Chicago bars that don’t sell food will no longer be allowed to serve alcohol indoors starting this Friday, the city said.
Chicago is asking residential buildings to limit guests to five per unit, hoping to avoid indoor gatherings and parties.
The sharp increases in deaths in Southern and Western states have added to growing unease about a surge in Illinois.
COVID-19 patients could be at risk for chronic fatigue syndrome.
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The Illinois Federation of Teachers called on school districts Monday to return to remote learning for the beginning of the school year unless in-person teaching is safe and possible.


chicagotribune--2020-07-21--The Spin: Lightfoot says Chicago won’t see ‘Portland-style deployment’ of federal agents  | Kanye We

The Spin: Lightfoot says Chicago won’t see ‘Portland-style deployment’ of federal agents  | Kanye West tries to get on Illinois ballot | GOP calling on Pritzker to hold special session

“ So innocent till proven guilty is the standard for a court of law .
It should not be , @ @ @ @ @ the standard to hold public office , ” Wehrli said .
“ We should have @ @ @ @ @ should have the trust of the people behind us , and clearly the speaker , @ @ @ @ @ does not have public trust .
”

Mayor Lori Lightfoot speaks during a Q and A as media send in their questions regarding the release of the COVID-19 Recovery Task Force Advisory Report and other off topics items at South Shore Cultural Center in Chicago on Thursday, July 9, 2020. coronavirus, COVID-19 (Jose M. Osorio/ Chicago Tribune) (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said this afternoon that she expects President Donald Trump to send federal law enforcement agents to help police and the U.S. attorney’s office fight local violence, but not on the same level as what’s played out in Portland, Oregon.
Lightfoot, a former federal prosecutor, says her understanding is the U.S. Department of Justice is overseeing the effort to beef up the number of federal law enforcement already fighting crime in the city. But if that changes, both she and Gov. J.B. Pritzker have vowed to take legal action.
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Meantime, mercurial Chicago-born rap star-turned-wannabe presidential candidate Kanye West filed paperwork to get on the Illinois ballot in November as an independent candidate for president. That doesn’t mean he’s automatically on the ballot. More on that below.
And Republican state lawmakers today demanded Pritzker call a special legislative session so the General Assembly can deal with ethics reform amid a federal investigation of Commonwealth Edison that has implicated one of the statehouse’s most powerful leaders: House Speaker Michael Madigan.
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Pritzker spokeswoman Jordan Abudayyeh says the governor “drove the efforts to enact ethics reform last fall in the veto session” and the General Assembly can proceed once the legislature’s bipartisan ethics commission delivers a “comprehensive package of effective reforms.”
Welcome to The Spin.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot speaks alongside Gov. J.B. Pritzker at the Thompson Center on May 31, 2020 the day after protests led to widespread damage downtown. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)
For weeks now, President Trump has painted Chicago as a city with an out-of-control crime problem, and yesterday he said he’s planning to do something about it.
Today, however, Mayor Lightfoot said she believes that “the Trump administration is not going to foolishly deploy unnamed agents to the streets of Chicago.”
The mayor said she is expecting an influx of staffing in local crime-fighting arms of the FBI, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and that U.S. Attorney John Lausch, who runs the local office, will be coordinating crime-fighting efforts in tandem with local law enforcement.
“So I want people to understand, we are on top of this, we’re doing our diligence. We’re not taking anything for granted, but we feel like we are — we have information — that allows us to say, at least at this point that we don’t see a Portland-style deployment, coming to Chicago.”
Should that change, she says, residents who see something amiss should call 911 or their alderman to raise concerns and that she and other city officials will remain vigilant.
“We welcome actual partnership, but we do not welcome dictatorship, we do not welcome authoritarianism, and we do not welcome unconstitutional arrest and detainment of our residents,” Lightfoot said. Read the Tribune story here.
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Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan visits with House Minority Leader Jim Durkin and J.B. Pritzker, who was governor-elect at the time, before the House of Representatives inauguration ceremony on Jan. 9, 2019 in Springfield. (Justin L. Fowler/AP)
Three suburban Republican lawmakers want Gov. Pritzker to call the Illinois General Assembly into a special session to address ethics reform amid a probe now at lawmakers’ back door. Last week, federal prosecutors announced their case against ComEd and implicated Madigan in an alleged bribery and influence scheme conducted through the utility.
GOP state Reps. Grant Wehrli, of Naperville; Deanne Mazzochi, of Elmhurst; and Dan Ugaste, of Geneva, held a video news conference this morning in what Wehrli described as “an overture to the governor to lead on this issue.” He added: “Governor, step up, lead on this issue, call a special session.”
The governor's office countered that Pritzker has taken the lead on ethics reform.
"Governor Pritzker drove the efforts to enact ethics reform last fall in the veto session, and he set the tone in his state of the state address for aggressive priorities to address ethics reforms, including much more stringent lobbyist disclosure and strong provisions to close the revolving door and improve transparency," Jordan Abudayyeh, the governor's spokeswoman said in a statement.
In addition to the bipartisan ethics commission wrapping up its work, the governor wants any legislation to address "issues raised in the current investigation," Abudayyeh said.
Madigan has not been charged with any wrongdoing, and a spokeswoman said: “He has never made a legislative decision with improper motives and has engaged in no wrongdoing here. Any claim to the contrary is unfounded.
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But the lawmakers still called on Madigan to step down.
“So innocent till proven guilty is the standard for a court of law. It should not be, it must not be, the standard to hold public office,” Wehrli said. “We should have a higher standard, we should have the trust of the people behind us, and clearly the speaker, outside of his district, does not have public trust.”
Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder arrested in $60 million bribery case: The Cincinnati Enquirer has the details here.
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FILE - In this July 8, 2020, file photo, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos speaks during a briefing at the Department of Education building in Washington. (Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP)
From the Tribune’s Hannah Leone: “Chicago Public Schools is now part of a federal lawsuit in which several cities and states are seeking to prevent private schools from getting a share of coronavirus relief bill funding they say would be harmful to public school districts.
“The lawsuit seeks to overturn federal guidance and a rule announced in June that gave local districts a choice: Provide pandemic relief funds to all public schools but give a bigger portion than is customary to private institutions, or limit the public schools receiving funds to those with Title I status, meaning at least 40% of students come from low-income households.
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“CPS estimates it could lose about $10 million to private schools of the $205 million it’s expecting from the federal CARES Act. That’s part of the $570 million total allotted for Illinois schools and $16 billion for schools nationwide.” Read the full story here.
Kanye West makes his first presidential campaign appearance on Sunday, July 19, 2020, in North Charleston, South Carolina. (Evan Vucci/AP)
A short time ago - Trump resumed White House coronavirus briefings today as his poll numbers fall and concerns over coronavirus inch up: The president warns the coronavirus pandemic in the U.S. will get worse before it gets better. Read the Associated Press story here.
Related: “The price tag for the next COVID-19 aid package could quickly swell above $1 trillion as White House negotiators negotiate with Congress over money to reopen schools, prop up small businesses, boost virus testing and keep cash flowing to Americans while the virus crisis deepens in the U.S,” the AP reports.
“Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday promised a new round of direct payments to earners below a certain income level, similar to the $1,200 checks sent in the spring. President Donald Trump insists on a payroll tax holiday for workers. And Democrats want billions to outfit schools and shore up local governments.” Read the full story here.
Here at home: Illinois health officials announced 955 new known cases of COVID-19 and 23 additional fatalities - Catch up on the latest here.
DuPage County Health Department’s COVID-19 test site closes early Tuesday as cases rise: Read the Tribune story here.
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Lightfoot joins Chicago sports teams to encourage young people to wear masks: Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot joined representatives of the city’s sports teams to encourage young people to wear masks amid a jump in coronavirus cases.
The campaign, called “We Are All One Home Team,” comes a day after Lightfoot said the city would be shutting down indoor bars without food licenses in an effort to curb COVID.
“The ‘We Are All One Home Team’ campaign means that we all have a role to play in keeping each other safe, especially our youngest residents who must continue to follow our public health guidelines,” Lightfoot said in a statement. “We cannot afford to let our guard down. It’s time to team up with your masks up.”
The initiative will include billboards and social media to “reiterate the importance of the latest public health guidelines in our city.”
As part of the campaign, Lightfoot’s office said the city would send out “street teams of young adults to hot spot areas across Chicago such as bars, restaurants, parks and more to educate and remind their peers about safe COVID-19 practices.” They’ll be distributing face masks, hand sanitizer, buttons and flyers, the city said. (Gregory Pratt)
Kanye West makes his first presidential campaign appearance on Sunday, July 19, 2020, in North Charleston, South Carolina. (Lauren Petracca Ipetracca/The Post And Courier)
Working like a journalist on deadline, rap star Kanye West filed the paperwork to appear as an independent candidate on his home state’s ballot here in Illinois just as the 5 o’clock cutoff time was approaching yesterday. The Tribune’s Jamie Munks has the details here.
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The Associated Press reports he’d need 2,500 valid signatures from Illinois registered voters to get on the ballot as an independent, but political rivals often parse those signatures to see if they can get a candidate bounced.
He’s not automatically on the ballot: As Munks notes in her piece, “Objectors have until 5 p.m. Monday to challenge petitions filed by new party and independent candidates, including West, and none will be guaranteed a spot on the November ballot until it’s certified by the elections board on Aug. 21, spokesman Matt Dietrich said.”
Gun-control Brady PAC endorsing Democratic candidate Marie Newman: A sister to the organization the Brady group, the Brady PAC formally announced this morning that it’s endorsing Newman, a LaGrange Democrat and business consultant, in the race for Illinois’ 3rd Congressional District seat representing Chicago’s Southwest Side and suburbs.
The political action committee also is vowing financial support as she faces off against Homer Glen Republican Mike Fricilone, who is a member of the Will County Board, in the November election.
“Marie Newman supports responsible gun ownership and the safe storage of firearms, gun safety training and licensing. She knows gun safety alone is not enough to address America’s gun violence epidemic and once elected, she will support legislation such as Universal Background Checks and the ban on the commercial sale of military-style assault weapons,” Brian Lemek, Brady PAC executive director, said in a statement.
Newman edged out veteran U.S. Rep. Dan Lipinski, whose father held the seat before him, in the March Democratic primary.
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Timing: The debate over gun control has begun anew with shootings and other violent crime up in Chicago; legal gun sales, too, have soared amid the uncertainties raised over the COVID-19 pandemic and the Minneapolis police killing of an unarmed and handcuffed George Floyd.
Thanks for reading The Spin, the Tribune’s politics newsletter. Sign up here to have it delivered to your inbox weekday afternoons. Have a tip? Email host Lisa Donovan at ldonovan@chicagotribune.com.
Twitter @byldonovan


chicagotribune--2020-07-21--Family of man fatally shot by Chicago Heights police demands answers

She was not with Washington on the night of his death , but said she had spoken with him by @ @ @ @ @ was shot and had planned to pick him up later from a neighborhood block party @ @ @ @ @ .

A 24-year-old man fatally shot by Chicago Heights police officers Saturday night has been identified as Darius Washington, of Calumet City.
Officers shot Washington at about 9:30 p.m., just north of 1624 Portland Ave., during a foot pursuit, police Chief Thomas Rogers said.
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He was rushed to Franciscan Health Olympia Fields and died a few hours later, the chief said. The Illinois State Police Public Integrity Task Force is investigating the shooting.
Rogers said Washington was one of several individuals officers had seen huddling around a dark SUV in the 1600 block of 5th Avenue while conducting a narcotics investigation.
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At least four of the individuals, including Washington, scattered after seeing police, Rogers said.
Veronica Goodson, who identified herself as Washington’s fiancé, said his family had been seeking answers about what happened, but had not received any information from police.
Darius Washington, 24 (Veronica Goodson)
She was not with Washington on the night of his death, but said she had spoken with him by phone just minutes before he was shot and had planned to pick him up later from a neighborhood block party he’d been attending.
Goodson said others at the block party told her Chicago Heights police officers, who appeared to have been surveilling the gathering, jumped out of a black truck and sent attendees running.
She said she hadn’t spoken with anyone who witnessed police shoot Washington, but expressed skepticism about the department’s narrative of events.
Chief Rogers said officers chased the four people from the scene and soon spotted Washington, who had stopped running, standing in a grass field armed with a handgun.
Police ordered him to drop his weapon multiple times, the chief said, but Washington instead opened fire on them.
Rogers said the officers responded with deadly force, striking Washington multiple times.
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But Goodson said she’d never seen her fiancé carry a gun and didn’t think that if he did have a weapon he would have fired at police.
She said she’s been closely following news about police shootings across the country and had recently spoken with her fiancé about the consequences of disobeying police.
“If they tell you to do something, just do it,” Goodson said she told him. “Just do what they say because you know they’re killing people out there.”
She said Washington told her he understood and therefore she can’t conceive of him shooting at officers while knowing the likely outcome would be his death.
Goodson said she’d known Washington since they were children, but had never actually spoken to him until last fall, shortly after he was paroled from the Sheridan Correctional Center.
Darius Washington (Veronica Goodson)
Washington spent nearly four years behind bars on a 2015 aggravated robbery conviction, according to Illinois Department of Corrections records, but has avoided any contact with the justice system since being paroled last July.
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Goodson said her fiancé had turned his life around in prison and had vowed never to return. While locked up, Washington had read voraciously, earned his GED and received multiple certificates for classes he’d completed, she said.
He’d been living with her, his mother and his brother in Calumet City, and serving as a home health aide for both family members, who have medical issues, Goodson said.
“He had not been in trouble at all,” she said. “He had a car, a job, everything. He got out of jail and got right to it.”
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She said Washington, whose nickname was Pooh Bear, was a sweet, dependable partner who loved reading, watching movies and television — they’d recently gotten hooked on “Ellen’s Game of Games” — and listening to the soft, syrupy music his mother favored.
“He loved people so hard,” Goodson said. “If he really cared about you, he’d do anything for you.”
Washington, who loved working with his hands and aspired to a career in construction, had recently begun applying for factory jobs with overnight hours so he could work a night shift after spending the day caring for his family members, his fiancé said.
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She said she wants Chicago Heights police to answer the family’s questions about Washington’s shooting and said they’ve felt completely in the dark since it happened.
“I just want justice for him,” Goodson said. “I just want to know what happened to him.”
zkoeske@tribpub.com
Twitter @ZakKoeske


chicagotribune--2020-07-21--Chicago joins suit against Betsy DeVos over coronavirus relief funds, says CPS could lose $10 millio

Chicago joins suit against Betsy DeVos over coronavirus relief funds, says CPS could lose $10 million to private schools

“ The Secretary has said many times , this pandemic affected all students , and the CARES Act requires that @ @ @ @ @ help all students , ” Department of Education press secretary Angela Morabito said in a @ @ @ @ @ .
“ There is no reasonable explanation for debating the use of federal funding to @ @ @ @ @ K-12 students when federal funding , including CARES Act funding , flows to both public @ @ @ @ @ .
”

Chicago Public Schools has joined a lawsuit against the Department of Education over how it's earmarking coronavirus stimulus funds to private schools. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)
Chicago Public Schools is now part of a federal lawsuit in which several cities and states are seeking to prevent private schools from getting a share of coronavirus relief bill funding they say would be harmful to public school districts.
The lawsuit seeks to overturn federal guidance and a rule announced in June that gave local districts a choice: Provide pandemic relief funds to all public schools but give a bigger portion than is customary to private institutions, or limit the public schools receiving funds to those with Title I status, meaning at least 40% of students come from low-income households.
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CPS estimates it could lose about $10 million to private schools of the $205 million it’s expecting from the federal CARES Act. That’s part of the $570 million total allotted for Illinois schools and $13 billion for schools nationwide through the Act’s Elementary and Secondary School Education Relief Fund.
“Chicago Public Schools has joined a multi-state lawsuit to prevent millions of dollars in CARES Act Funding from being misallocated from public school students who are most in need of support,” according to a CPS statement.
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“The devastation of the COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately impacted low-income students of color and the Trump Administration is turning its back on these students in favor of wealthy private institutions by siphoning public funds away from the students who Congress intended to support,” the statement continued.
The court filing against the U.S. Department of Education and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, submitted July 7 and last amended Friday, states that measures they implemented would divert money meant for public schools to private groups and claims the Education Department “unlawfully and erroneously” interpreted the act.
Once states get their share of the emergency relief fund, they’re supposed funnel at least 90% of the money to eligible local education agencies, such as school districts or charter schools that received Title I funding during the 2020 fiscal year.
Under the coronavirus aid bill, Congress assigned local districts to distribute funds to private schools in the same way they usually would under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. That act mandates that educational expenditures for eligible private school students must be “equal to the proportion of funds allocated to participating school attendance areas based on the number of children from low-income families who attend private schools.”
But on June 25, when DeVos announced a rule dictating how local education agencies calculate emergency funds for private schools, she said, “CARES Act programs are not Title I programs.”
The rule stipulates that if a district wants coronavirus aid bill funding to reach all of its public schools, it has to calculate private school funding based on total private school enrollment within the district. Or if a district chooses to use the relief funding only for Title I schools, then it can calculate equitable services based on the number of low-income students in participating private schools.
The lawsuit contends that the rule disproportionately benefits private schools at the expense of public school students, who are more likely to come from low-income households.
The Department of Education, which declined to comment on pending litigation, has until July 29 to file a response with the court.
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“The Secretary has said many times, this pandemic affected all students, and the CARES Act requires that funding should be used to help all students,” Department of Education press secretary Angela Morabito said in a statement provided to the Tribune. “There is no reasonable explanation for debating the use of federal funding to serve both public and private K-12 students when federal funding, including CARES Act funding, flows to both public and private higher education institutions.”
Using the usual formula, CPS would have set aside $18.5 million of the coronavirus relief bill money for private school students, according to documents filed with the lawsuit. But the federal rule would require CPS to either reserve nearly $28.7 million of the funds for private school students, or leave 66 public schools in Chicago without any relief money, according to the filing.
“At a time when Chicago faces a substantial deficit in its education budget as a result of the pandemic, the (district) will be required to find $10 million to fill the budgets of public schools that the CARES Act funds were intended to fill,” according to a declaration by CPS CEO Janice Jackson, included in the court filing.
More than 17,000 Chicago private school students were eligible for equitable services under Title I last school year but will get less if the coronavirus relief bill funds are spread out among all private school students, according to Jackson’s declaration.
Other plaintiffs include the states of California, Michigan, Hawaii, Maine Maryland, New Mexico, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, the District of Columbia, and boards of education in New York, Cleveland and San Francisco.
Through the litigation, they seek to end the private school rule, starting with a preliminary injunction, and “redress harms to their interests as recipients of CARES Act emergency relief funding.”
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The Department of Education’s “rewrite of the allocation method and eligibility of private-school students shifts a significantly higher percent of CARES Act funding to private schools, leaving the public schools with less funding to respond to the pandemic,” the lawsuit states.
hleone@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-07-21--4 killed, 3 wounded in Chicago shootings

The 17-year-old boy was shot two times in the chest by people inside a vehicle in the 6500 block of @ @ @ @ @ to a police media notification .
He was standing on a street corner about 1:15 @ @ @ @ @ rang out .
He was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center .
The @ @ @ @ @ .

At least seven people have been wounded or killed in shootings Tuesday in Chicago, among them a 17-year-old killed in the Woodlawn neighborhood and a 15-year-old who died after an apparent accidental shooting.
The 17-year-old boy was shot two times in the chest by people inside a vehicle in the 6500 block of South Maryland Avenue, according to a police media notification. He was standing on a street corner about 1:15 p.m. when about six shots rang out. He was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center. The shooters fled in their vehicle.
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The boy, 15, died after bringing a gun to his house in the 7100 block of South King Drive and was shot in the head about 12:25 p.m. A witness heard the gunshot after leaving the victim in a room Tuesday afternoon and found the boy dead, according to a media notification.
A 20-year-old man was killed in the 3800 block of West Adams Street just after noon. Police found the man with shots to the chest and groin, on the sidewalk and unable to respond. He was taken to Stroger Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
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Another shooting happened in the 600 block of East 133rd Street shortly after midnight, killing a 34-year-old man who was shot in the chest by someone in a passing black sedan.
In other shootings:
A 34-year-old man was shot in the left leg in the 5200 block of South Justine Avenue about 12:40 p.m. He was taken to Holy Cross Hospital, where his condition was stabilized, and was not cooperating with police, according to a media notification.
Two men in their 20s were shot by someone in a silver Hyundai just after 1:30 a.m. in the 3600 block of West Garfield Square, according to a police officials. The 23-year-old was shot in his leg and hand, and the 25-year-old was shot in his arm and grazed by a bullet on his hand.
Police were investigating Tuesday’s shootings and no one was in custody.
sczyzon@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-07-21--Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Booth Cottage, hoisted up on wheels, moves down the street to new home i

Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Booth Cottage, hoisted up on wheels, moves down the street to new home in Glencoe

“ The Wright designs are essential to that , ” she said .
“ It is not just preserving a @ @ @ @ @ , it is also a focus on preservation in general .
There is a lot @ @ @ @ @ architecture that is worth preserving , and allowing people to learn about the past of @ @ @ @ @ not just the architecture , but all the history that goes with it , good @ @ @ @

People watch as the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Booth Cottage is moved to its new location in Glencoe on July 21, 2020. The house is being wheeled on dollies from its current spot, 239 Franklin Road, to a new one, a park down the street at the intersection of Franklin, Meadow and Maple Hill roads. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)
Tuesday was moving day in Glencoe.
A Frank Lloyd Wright-designed cottage made its roughly 800-foot journey to its new home, a short trek that first required months of planning and debate.
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The one-story frame house popularly known as Booth Cottage was hoisted on dollies and slowly transported to nearby Park 7N as a couple hundred people gathered to watch the early morning scene. The procession had occasional stops as crews trimmed tree branches to allow the truck to proceed.
Yet roughly an hour later, the house, adorned with a “Saving Booth Cottage” red banner, reached its new location at the intersection of Maple Hill, Meadow and Franklin roads.
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Glencoe resident Julie Honor observed the scene with her husband, Jonathan, and their two children.
“It’s a once in lifetime opportunity to see them moving a house on wheels,” she said. “It’s nice that they are trying to preserve a piece of history in Glencoe.”
The move was the latest step in an ongoing local saga that saw the cottage threatened with demolition last year after it was purchased by a couple who want to construct a new home on the property.
That raised concerns from local preservationists. Wright designed the cottage for attorney and real estate developer Sherman Booth and his wife, Elizabeth, a leader in the state’s suffragist movement, as a temporary residence.
In January, the Glencoe Park District agreed to a 99-year land lease with the Glencoe Historical Society setting the stage for the move to the park site, with the historical society paying rent of $1 per year.
After a delay due to the coronavirus pandemic, the move finally occurred Tuesday morning. The house will stay in its current spot for three to four weeks until the foundation is ready for it to be permanently placed, according to historical society officials.
Workers assess the undercarriage of the transport truck before taking the next steps in moving the Booth Cottage. (Karie Angell Luc / Pioneer Press)
Mike Reed, the general contractor overseeing the move, said it was his second time moving an entire house. He said the main challenge is getting the cottage to its precise location.
“It’s a learning curve, and I’m learning just as much the first time,” Reed said.
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Among those watching was Mark Sussman who traveled from Chicago with his wife, Mary.
“That was too exciting to miss,” Sussman said. “This is just fascinating to me and the fact that they are going to do it in one hour is unreal.”
To expedite the move, Glencoe Historical Society officials opted to remove some of the cottage’s elements that were not part of the original construction including a sheltered entrance, attached garage and two additional bedrooms. The decision shaved the structure down to approximately 1,100 square feet.
While plenty of people turned out to observe the spectacle, not all residents are happy with the move. One issue is the terms of the nominal fee in the lease agreement with the taxpayer-funded Park District.
“The Historical Society could have purchased land to put the house on,” said resident Charlie Sweat. “They could have purchased the house to begin with, so they are asking the Park District to foot the bill for the land which the Park District has agreed to.”
However, Park District Executive Director Lisa Sheppard said in an email that district funds aren’t being spent on the project.
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The village of Glencoe has donated between $15,000-$20,000 of in-kind services such as utility connections, but village board members were not comfortable with any additional assistance due to financial constraints from the COVID-19 outbreak.
With additional public funding not coming, Glencoe Historical Society has moved away from talked about plans to place a basement under the cottage, according to co-president Karen Ettelson.
Society officials said they raised in excess of $300,000 in private funds for the move and exterior restoration. Additional funding will have to be raised for interior work before a planned museum and research center can be opened in the cottage.
Ann Carlyle of Glencoe, right, documents the move on Franklin Road on July 21, 2020. (Karie Angell Luc / Pioneer Press)
Reflecting on what has been a twisting process, Ettelson said she is thrilled about the move and how it protects some of the village’s diverse architecture.
“The Wright designs are essential to that,” she said. “It is not just preserving a Frank Lloyd Wright building here, it is also a focus on preservation in general. There is a lot in older buildings and older architecture that is worth preserving, and allowing people to learn about the past of the community. That is not just the architecture, but all the history that goes with it, good and bad.”
Sheppard echoed the sentiment, saying older buildings are a reminder of the village’s culture and help maintain a sense of permanence and heritage.
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“By seeing historic buildings, however small, residents are able to witness the aesthetic and cultural history of our area,” she said.
Daniel I. Dorfman is a freelance reporter.