chicagotribune--2020-03-10--Chicago’s Court Theatre must limit audiences to 100 due to coronavirus

The nonprofit theater is caught up in new University of Chicago guidelines , announced Tuesday as part of the coronavirus @ @ @ @ @ no more than 100 people .
Although it has a measure of independence , Court @ @ @ @ @ ’ s campus and is subject to the regulations .

Actress Chaon Cross, here with Nathan Hosner in "Photograph 51" at Court Theatre, stars in "The Lady from the Sea," the next production at the theater on the campus of the University of Chicago. (Michael Brosilow photo)
Prepare to sit apart from your seatmates at the theater: Chicago’s Court Theatre must limit audiences to no more than 100 patrons.
The nonprofit theater is caught up in new University of Chicago guidelines, announced Tuesday as part of the coronavirus epidemic, limiting gatherings to no more than 100 people. Although it has a measure of independence, Court Theatre operates on the university’s campus and is subject to the regulations.
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This is the first such announcement at a major professional Chicago theater.
Court’s leaders, Charles Newell and Angel Ysaguirre, said in a joint statement Tuesday afternoon that they would be “capping audience sizes to reduce the risk of community spread.”
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Exchanges for tickets will be offered, as will refunds on a case-by-case basis. Further details are being worked out, although patrons are being proactively called and asked if they would like to volunteer to come another night.
The announcement doesn’t currently impact the reprise run of Court’s “An Iliad" at the Oriental Institute since that production has a capacity of 43 patrons, but it does change the dynamic (and the income potential) of the new mainstage production, Henrik Ibsen’s “The Lady from the Sea,” which begins previews on Thursday.
Court’s auditorium, which is often full, seats about 250 patrons.
The current guidelines are in effect through April 15; “Lady from the Sea” is slated to run through April 12 at Court Theatre, 5535 S. Ellis Ave. in Hyde Park; www.courttheatre.org.
Chris Jones is a Tribune critic.
cjones5@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-03-10--Tinder gives precautions for meeting in person, cancels apocalyptic ‘Swipe Night’ release due to cor

Tinder gives precautions for meeting in person, cancels apocalyptic ‘Swipe Night’ release due to coronavirus

“ We ’ ve decided not to launch the ‘ Swipe Night ’ series around the world this weekend .
@ @ @ @ @ this innovation to our members outside of the U.S. , but given the series ’ @ @ @ @ @ we are sensitive to the current events our members are experiencing , we felt it @ @ @ @ @ it in the right spirit , ” a company spokesperson said .

Global dating app Tinder has scrapped international release plans for its original, in-app streaming series "Swipe Night," the company told Variety exclusively. The decision comes on the heels of advice it gave users about meeting potential love interests in person, as coronavirus continues to spread worldwide.
The tech company has paused the release out of sensitivity for its global audience, given the show’s plot revolves about the end of the world.
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“We’ve decided not to launch the ‘Swipe Night’ series around the world this weekend. We were excited to bring this innovation to our members outside of the U.S., but given the series’ apocalyptic theme, and because we are sensitive to the current events our members are experiencing, we felt it would be difficult to launch it in the right spirit,” a company spokesperson said.
The series follows a group of friends who learn of an asteroid set to imminently collide with earth. Tinder users can “swipe” to make a series of decisions that influence the plot. The domestic release was successful as both a content play, and a vehicle to create more matches on the service, Variety previously reported.
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The four-episode, first-person adventure clocked millions of viewers, according to Tinder, and increased user matches by 26% and overall conversation on the app by 12%. A second season has been ordered under director Karena Evans, and is expected to hit the app this summer. Half of Tinder’s users are 18-25 years old, the company estimated. Total users amount to 50 million, according to reports.
In addition to pulling international on “Swipe Night,” Tinder sent out guidelines to its users about taking precautions against coronavirus if their matches become real-life meetups.
“Tinder is a great place to meet new people. While we want you to continue to have fun, protecting yourself from the Coronavirus is more important,” reads a user prompt uploaded to the app last week. Tinder also provided a direct link to the dedicated coronavirus on the World Health Organization’s website.


chicagotribune--2020-03-10--Bears awarded a compensatory draft pick — No. 140 overall — to end a 10-year drought

Reality is the system has rewarded the clubs that best manage the salary cap and are most successful in the @ @ @ @ @ franchises generally tend to do better when it comes to compensatory draft picks .
Prior @ @ @ @ @ England , Green Bay and Baltimore were particularly adept in manipulating the system in their @ @ @ @ @ for 17.4 percent of the compensatory picks over the previous decade .

The Bears’ long drought without a compensatory draft pick — a sign of how reliant the team has been on free agency and how poorly it has drafted — has ended.
The NFL awarded the Bears a fourth-round compensatory pick Tuesday, ending a 10-year span in which the Bears were shut out, the longest active stretch in the league.
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The extra pick — No. 140 overall — will come at the end of Round 4 on April 25 and gives the Bears eight picks in 2020, with six coming on Day 3. The Bears own two picks in the top 100: Nos. 43 and 50, both in Round 2.
The Patriots were the biggest winner with four compensatory picks — two at the end of Round 3 and two at the end of Round 6. The Texans, Giants, Seahawks, Steelers, Eagles, Rams, Vikings and Ravens each picked up a third-round pick.
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Compensatory draft picks are distributed based on net gains and losses in free agency. The Bears got one by virtue of losing safety Adrian Amos to the rival Packers. To ensure they gained a pick, the Bears cut running back Mike Davis before their Week 10 game against the Lions. Davis had signed a two-year, $6 million contract in free agency last March but was rarely used.
The Bears have been active free-agent shoppers dating to the end of general manager Jerry Angelo’s tenure, through the Phil Emery era and continuing with current GM Ryan Pace. That, combined with the team’s struggle to draft and develop players, has left the Bears on the outside looking in when it comes to compensatory picks, which gained more value in 2017 when the league changed the rules to allow teams to trade them.
“I can’t wait until we’re to that point where we can do that,” Pace said two years ago. “I can’t wait until we are in a situation where guys are leaving and we’re saying, ‘Hey, good for them,’ because that would mean we’re doing a lot of good things in the draft. I admire the teams that are at that point (of regularly getting compensatory picks), and I can’t wait until we’re there.”
The last time the Bears earned compensatory picks was 2009, when they received two that netted them wide receiver Juaquin Iglesias in the third round and guard Lance Louis in the seventh round. In that 10-year span, 18 teams received at least 10 compensatory picks, led by the Ravens (21), Bengals (20), Packers (18) and Patriots (17).
The NFL instituted compensatory draft picks in 1994, the same year the salary cap was put in place. The cap was $34.6 million that first year. The idea was teams that did not make splashes in free agency would be rewarded with compensatory picks as a means to even things out.
In practice the system has rewarded teams that best manage the salary cap and are most successful in the draft. The more stable franchises tend to do better when it comes to compensatory picks. Before this year, the Patriots, Packers and Ravens were particularly adept at manipulating the system in their favor, accounting for 17.4% of the compensatory picks over the previous decade.
Here is the distribution of compensatory picks for the 2020 draft by team:
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Patriots: 4
Broncos: 3
Eagles: 3
Giants: 3
Seahawks: 3
Texans: 3
Vikings: 3
Dolphins: 2
Ravens: 2
Bears: 1
Buccaneers: 1
Cowboys: 1
Rams: 1
Redskins: 1
Steelers: 1
A total of 321 compensatory draft picks were distributed from 2010 through 2019. Thirty-two were handed out each year — with the exception of 2016, when 33 picks were awarded. Here’s how the picks break down by team:
Ravens: 21
Bengals: 20
Packers: 18
Patriots: 17
49ers: 15
Cowboys: 14
Broncos: 13
Chiefs: 13
Seahawks: 13
Steelers: 13
Browns: 12
Cardinals: 12
Falcons: 12
Texans: 12
Panthers: 11
Rams: 11
Raiders: 10
Vikings: 10
Colts: 9
Jets: 9
Titans: 8
Dolphins: 7
Eagles: 7
Giants: 7
Lions: 7
Chargers: 6
Redskins: 5
Bills: 4
Buccaneers: 3
Jaguars: 1
Saints: 1
Bears :0
Here’s the list of all-time picks awarded since 1994:


chicagotribune--2020-03-10--Indiana University to suspend in-person classes after spring break because of coronavirus

“ Alongside our extensive prevention efforts that are already being carried out , it is now necessary to take further @ @ @ @ @ help keep the IU community safe , ” IU President Michael McRobbie said in a @ @ @ @ @ community .

Indiana University will suspend classroom teaching when students return from next week’s spring break, the university announced March 10, 2020. (Getty / Getty Images)
In response to the coronavirus outbreak, two of Indiana’s largest universities — Indiana University and Purdue University — will suspend classroom teaching when students return from next week’s spring break, the universities announced Tuesday afternoon.
Students at all nine Indiana University campuses “will be taught remotely” for two weeks when students return from spring break March 23.
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“Alongside our extensive prevention efforts that are already being carried out, it is now necessary to take further urgent, proactive steps to help keep the IU community safe,” IU President Michael McRobbie said in a letter addressed to the university community.
Similarly, all Purdue students will have to take their classes online when they return from spring break March 23, Purdue President Mitch Daniels said in a letter addressed to the university community.
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“All faculty and staff should move their courses to online or alternative delivery before March 23 and should be prepared to continue as long as in-person instruction seems inadvisable,” Daniels said.
Daniels added that in-person instruction could be suspended for the rest of the semester.
Face-to-face teaching at Indiana University is scheduled to resume April 6, but the university said that could change.
There have been no known cases of coronavirus on any Indiana University campus, McRobbie said. But two Indiana University students have self-reported positive tests for coronavirus while studying abroad, McRobbie said.
One student was studying abroad in Italy and returned home to St. Louis in early March.
The other student was traveling between two countries where the virus is widespread. The student is isolated and receiving care in another country, according to the university.
There have been no cases of coronavirus at Purdue, Daniels said.
Indiana and Purdue joined a growing list of universities and colleges across the country that have taken measures to grapple with a global virus.
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Ohio State University, Harvard, Princeton, University of Toledo, Vanderbilt and several California universities have said they would suspend all or most in-person classes immediately or in the coming weeks.


chicagotribune--2020-03-10--Michael Kopech brings the heat in his 1st spring training start, topping 100 mph with his 1st 4 pitc

Michael Kopech brings the heat in his 1st spring training start, topping 100 mph with his 1st 4 pitches

Kopech , 23 , made four starts for the Sox in 2018 after they called him up from Triple-A Charlotte @ @ @ @ @ only one run in 11 innings over his first three starts but gave up seven @ @ @ @ @ including four home runs , in 3⅓ innings on Sept. 5 .
He was diagnosed @ @ @ @ @ collateral ligament the next day and underwent surgery Sept. 18 .

GLENDALE, Ariz. — Michael Kopech walked behind the mound at Camelback Ranch and picked up a baseball before Tuesday’s start against the Rangers. Third baseman Yoan Moncada ran by and gave the White Sox pitcher an encouraging pat.
Kopech was back in a familiar setting. And he brought the heat in his first Cactus League game.
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The 23-year-old right-hander, who missed all of 2019 recovering from Tommy John surgery, retired the side in order in his only inning.
“It feels nice to be able to compete again,” Kopech said. “Eighteen months out (from surgery), I feel like I haven’t really had a chance to compete the way I like to and know I can, and having that ability (Tuesday), even in a short stint, it’s relieving.
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“I feel like I’m a part of a team again. For the most part I never really felt like I was not part of it, but when you’re not competing, a lot of times you become more like a fan. So to get the high-fives and stuff like that and the greetings when I come out of the game, it’s a good feeling.”
So happy to see Michael Kopech back in action! pic.twitter.com/lWbbdjt69o — Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) March 10, 2020
His first four pitches, according to the scoreboard at Camelback Ranch, were 100, 101, 100 and 101 mph. Six of his 11 pitches were clocked at either 100 or 101.
“Yeah, I might have been a little geeked,” Kopech said. “First two pitches I felt a little out of control. Third pitch I kind of took a breath and I settled back in. I still had quite a bit of adrenaline going. I felt really good. I was able to command my fastball after those first two, and then aside from that, was happy to get it under my belt.”
Kopech, the No. 3 prospect in the organization according to MLB.com, got Eli White and Isiah Kiner-Falefa on grounders to second, then struck out Greg Bird looking to end the inning. His final pitch registered 101 mph.
“The adrenaline was a big factor,” Kopech said. “I don’t think I’m typically going to be throwing as hard as I did (Tuesday). I don’t want to take anything away from what I did. I’m proud of it. I’m excited. But moving forward I’m not going to try to be a power pitcher, I’m going to try to be a pitcher.”
He wrapped up the day by throwing 10 more pitches in the bullpen.
“My pregame bullpen, I was kind of shaky and inconsistent,” said Kopech, whose next scheduled start is Sunday against the Mariners in Peoria, Ariz. “So they wanted me to touch up on some stuff and make sure I was repeating what I was doing.”
He used a modified windup Tuesday.
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“I felt like I had too many moving parts and my head moved a lot before,” Kopech said. “I’m comfortable doing it that way. No one has really said if they like it or dislike it, so I’m going to take it as they like it for now. But if there’s anything we need to modify moving forward, we’ll do that.”
Kopech made four starts for the Sox in 2018 after they called him up from Triple-A Charlotte in August. He allowed only one run in 11 innings over his first three starts but gave up seven runs on nine hits, including four home runs, in 3⅓ innings on Sept. 5. He was diagnosed with a torn right ulnar collateral ligament the next day and underwent surgery Sept. 18.
Michael Kopech on his first outing: pic.twitter.com/4VFTffLHmj — LaMond Pope (@lamondpope) March 10, 2020
He had thrown bullpen sessions and live batting practice against teammates this spring before Tuesday’s start.
“Certainly the best teacher you are going to have in any sport or anything you do is actually performing and participating,” Sox manager Rick Renteria said before the game. “We don’t want him to get overly anxious, and I think he’s managed his emotions and controlling everything very, very well. He understands ... there is a process and he has to take every step necessary.
“The organization has done a great job of (putting) him in a really good place moving forward. The time will come and we will all be happy when it ultimately plays itself out to where he’s on the South Side.”
Kopech isn’t pressing the team for a timeline.
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“They have a plan in mind, and if I don’t fit into it right away, then I hope to fit into it at some point," he said. “Right now I’m just going to do what I do, and hopefully they get me there at the right time.”


chicagotribune--2020-03-10--Man accused of firing at Chicago police officer while acting as lookout for accomplice stealing cata

Man accused of firing at Chicago police officer while acting as lookout for accomplice stealing catalytic converter

The cop ’ s hunch was confirmed when the man emerged from underneath the SUV with a small electric saw @ @ @ @ @ announced who he was and the other man , John “ Jimmy ” Fleming , @ @ @ @ @ handgun and fired at the officer , authorities said during a bail hearing Tuesday at @ @ @ @ @ .

Chicago police interim Superintendent Charlie Beck at the scene of a shooting where an off-duty officer exchanged shots with a theft suspect Sunday, March 8, 2020, in the 5200 block of North Lawler Avenue. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)
A Chicago police officer driving to work Sunday morning quickly suspected a catalytic converter was being stolen near a Northwest Side intersection: A man was underneath an SUV and another man was standing nearby with his hand inside his jacket, as if holding a gun.
The cop’s hunch was confirmed when the man emerged from underneath the SUV with a small electric saw in hand. The officer announced who he was and the other man, John “Jimmy” Fleming, 27, raised a silver handgun and fired at the officer, authorities said during a bail hearing Tuesday at the Leighton Criminal Court Building.
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The 34-year-old officer wasn’t hit and returned fire, striking Fleming once in the left hip, prosecutors said.
Fleming, from the Ashburn neighborhood, was charged with attempted first-degree murder of a police officer following the exchange of gunfire in the 5200 block of North Lawler Avenue in the Forest Glen neighborhood, which prompted a large police response. He remained hospitalized Tuesday and didn’t appear at his hearing.
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Prosecutors described a wild scene following the shooting, with a wounded Fleming on the hood of the fleeing 2012 black Audi driven by his accomplice.
A woman in a passing car saw Fleming on the hood with a gun in his hand, Assistant State’s Attorney James Murphy said. She then saw Fleming fall off the hood, dropping the gun but grabbing it before hopping inside the car, authorities said.
About a half-hour later, the Audi dropped Fleming off at St. Bernard Hospital in the Englewood neighborhood, more than 16 miles away. Jefferson Park District police were notified and later met with Englewood District officers to discuss the case, according to Murphy.
Fleming was transferred to Stroger Hospital, where he was arrested after the officer positively identified him as the shooter. Police later found the Audi abandoned with Fleming’s blood and an unfired 9 mm bullet inside, authorities said. The accomplice remained at large.
Judge David Navarro denied bail for Fleming, who was on parole for a 2019 conviction for unlawful use of a weapon by a felon.
Prior to the shooting, authorities said there were two separate early morning catalytic converter thefts in the same area. Police are still working to tie those thefts to Fleming.
Authorities say the pollution control devices are popular with thieves because they are constructed of precious metals such as platinum, palladium or rhodium and can by recycled for quick cash.
If convicted, Fleming faces 80 years in prison. He is scheduled to return to court next week.
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wlee@chicagotribune.com
pfry@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @MidNoirCowboy
Twitter @paigexfry


chicagotribune--2020-03-10--Two men rob two tellers at US Bank in Northlake

Around 1:30 p.m. , the pair walked into the bank .
One approached a teller and demanded she stay quiet @ @ @ @ @ zip-closure plastic bag with money in her drawer , according to Northlake police reports .
@ @ @ @ @ speaking with the teller , the second approached another teller and demanded any other cash @ @ @ @ @ paper bag .
The men threatened that they had weapons , according to an FBI @ @ @

FBI photos show suspects in a bank robbery at US Bank in Northlake on March 9, 2020. - Original Credit: FBI (HANDOUT)
Two men entered US Bank, 26 W. North Ave., in the early afternoon Monday and ran out with an unknown amount of cash, Northlake police said.
Around 1:30 p.m., the pair walked into the bank. One approached a teller and demanded she stay quiet and fill up a green zip-closure plastic bag with money in her drawer, according to Northlake police reports. As the first male was speaking with the teller, the second approached another teller and demanded any other cash be placed in a brown paper bag. The men threatened that they had weapons, according to an FBI news release.
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The pair fled on foot to a residential neighborhood at North and Lavergne avenues where police believe they got into a waiting Pontiac and left the scene, Northlake Dep. Chief Ken Beres said.
The suspects fled the area before police arrived, he said.
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“It all happened pretty quickly,” Beres said.
A department press release described one suspect as 5 feet 6 inches with a thin build and 20 to 30 years of age. The second was described as 5 feet 8 inches with a thin build and 20 to 30 years of age.
US Bank is conducting an audit to see how much was taken, Beres said. The FBI is investigating, he added.
An FBI photo shows men suspected of robbing a US Bank in Northlake, Illinois, on March 9, 2020. - Original Credit: FBI (HANDOUT)
An FBI photo shows a man suspected of robbing a US Bank in Northlake, Illinois on March 9, 2020. - Original Credit: FBI (HANDOUT)


chicagotribune--2020-03-10--Could the belted kingfisher, an orange and blue predatory bird, become the University of Illinois’ n

Could the belted kingfisher, an orange and blue predatory bird, become the University of Illinois’ new mascot?

“ At the end of the day , I believe students should be able to build new traditions with a @ @ @ @ @ ” she said .
“ It ’ s fair to allow students to pick something @ @ @ @ @ the comments on Facebook and in my inbox that people are like , ‘ If @ @ @ @ @ our symbol , then nobody should have anything , ’ and I think that ’ @ @ @ @ @

The idea came to Spencer Hulsey in a doodle. During a physics discussion at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, she idly sketched a belted kingfisher, a blue and orange bird she saw many times while fishing on her family’s farm outside Kinmundy, Illinois.
She was aware of the drama her school has endured since retiring Chief Illiniwek, the American Indian symbol the NCAA deemed to be “hostile and abusive.” While many still pine for the chief’s return, others have suggested breaking from the past with a new mascot.
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The effort, however, hasn’t made much headway. An advisory panel in 2018 suggested the school consider adopting an official mascot, but little has happened since then. Last year, a proposal that sought to fill that role with the cheekily named Alma Otter lost by 300 votes in a student referendum.
A belted kingfisher sits in a branch above the rushing waters of Salt Creek, in Oak Brook, in 2011. (Chuck Berman / Chicago Tribune)
But the kingfisher just might have a different fate. After Hulsey fleshed out her doodle and presented it to the Illinois Student Government, the organization decided to put it to a campuswide vote. This week, the kingfisher proposal passed by a margin of 625 votes out of about 7,800 cast.
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It’s not clear what happens next: The vote was merely advisory, and a university spokeswoman did not return messages seeking comment.
Hulsey, though, said she has already received blowback from alumni worried that a new mascot would scuttle any chance that Chief Illiniwek might come back. One confused correspondent, she said, referred to her as an “uninformed millennial” (“I’m technically Gen Z,” she said).
She said the kingfisher, if adopted as the university’s official mascot, could help to heal wounds that remain raw on the downstate campus.
“I think a mascot would allow us to have the same experience at games that other schools get to have,” she said. “We can see a kingfisher dunking a basketball or we can take pictures with it. We can have something to interact with.”
Susan Zhou, speaker of the senate for the Illinois Student Government — an organization that has endorsed the idea of a new mascot — helped get the kingfisher on the student ballot.
She said the bird’s crisp graphic design and uniqueness as a mascot gave it an edge over Alma Otter, which started as a jokey meme.
“It’s a pretty intimidating predatory bird,” Zhou said. “It hunts by beating its prey against a rock and swallowing it whole. The concept was more than enough to carry the vote.”
The kingfisher would also be the lone Big Ten mascot to be overtly female: The male of the species is blue and gray, while the female is blue and orange.
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Chad Eliason, an evolutionary biologist who studies birds at the Field Museum, said the belted kingfisher is also distinguished by its rat-a-tat call and high-speed dives into water. The bird’s ability to withstand those impacts without obvious damage to its brain is the subject of new research, he said.
Eliason attended the University of Akron, and thus has no dog — or bird — in Illinois’ fight. But he said the belted kingfisher could make for a fine mascot.
“The logo gives it that good, aggressive look,” he said. “I think it works. It’s a charismatic bird.”
Alumni appeared to be less enthusiastic. Following the vote, plenty took to social media to slam the bird.
“To me, this is crazy,” a woman said in a Facebook video. “A kingfisher that’s a female? What? Have you lost your minds, you crazy students?”
“I graduated seven years ago and things change, but why is there this burning need for a mascot?” a commenter wrote on Reddit. “I could get behind a soldier/Abe Lincoln combo, but anything else feels forced and ill-fitting.”
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“As an alum I think this is a stupid idea,” a man tweeted. “Last year an otter, now this. Who comes up with this nonsense?”
Hulsey said she was in favor of including alumni in any final decision. She also pointed out that the nickname Fighting Illini would not change under the proposal.
“It’s kind of like how Purdue has Purdue Pete, but they’re the Boilermakers,” she said.
Zhou said her next move will be to try to get the Illinois Student Government to pass a resolution favoring the kingfisher as the school’s mascot. She plans to lobby the faculty senate to join the cause, too, she said.
“Once the administration sees enough public will to back the kingfisher, they can get the ball rolling,” she said.
Hulsey, a senior, said she will leave the politics around the potential new mascot to others. But she thought the time has come to embrace something different.
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“At the end of the day, I believe students should be able to build new traditions with a symbol or a mascot,” she said. “It’s fair to allow students to pick something new. I see in the comments on Facebook and in my inbox that people are like, ‘If we can’t have our symbol, then nobody should have anything,’ and I think that’s just wrong.”
jkeilman@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @JohnKeilman


chicagotribune--2020-03-10--Infowars founder Alex Jones arrested on DWI charge in Texas

Jones , 46 , was booked at 12:37 a.m. at the Travis County Jail in Austin on the DWI charge @ @ @ @ @ B misdemeanor offense , said Kristen Dark , public information officer for the Travis County @ @ @ @ @ ' bail was set at $ 3,000 and he was released on bond at 4:11 @ @ @ @ @

Alex Jones, notorious host and founder of right-wing conspiracy site Infowars, was arrested early Tuesday morning in Travis County, Texas, and charged with driving while intoxicated, officials said.
Jones, 46, was booked at 12:37 a.m. at the Travis County Jail in Austin on the DWI charge, which is a Class B misdemeanor offense, said Kristen Dark, public information officer for the Travis County Sheriff's Office. Jones' bail was set at $3,000 and he was released on bond at 4:11 a.m., Dark said.
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Jones and Infowars have been banned by multiple online platforms including YouTube, Facebook, Apple, Spotify, and Twitter for violating their policies on hate speech.
In this Tuesday, March 10, 2020 booking photo provided by the Travis County (Texas) Sheriff's Office is Alex Jones. Jones was arrested in Texas on a misdemeanor charge of driving while intoxicated, authorities said Tuesday, March 10, 2020. Jones was booked into an Austin jail shortly after midnight and released on bond a few hours later, sheriff's office spokeswoman Kristen Dark said. (Travis County Sheriff's Office via AP) (AP)
Among other things, Jones has claimed the 2012 shooting massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School was a hoax perpetrated by “crisis actors”; attacked transgender and Muslim people; and called David Hogg, a survivor of the Parkland, Fla., high-school shooting, a Nazi.
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In December 2019, a judge ordered Jones to pay $100,000 in court costs and legal fees in a case brought by a Sandy Hook family over his conspiracy theories about the mass shooting.


chicagotribune--2020-03-10--Lake Forest High School faculty member under self-quarantine because of coronavirus fears

The faculty member attended the meeting in the evening at Vaughn Occupational High School in Chicago , but did not @ @ @ @ @ aide had been in the same room earlier in the day until after the meeting @ @ @ @ @

A Lake Forest High School faculty member is under a self-quarantine because of coronavirus concerns after attending a meeting that was held in the same room at a Chicago school where a classroom assistant tested positive for the disease.
In a statement to families, officials at Lake Forest High School said the faculty member was in the same room on the same day as the teacher’s aide but never came into contact with the assistant.
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The faculty member is not exhibiting any symptoms of the new coronavirus, according to Lake Forest High School officials. The Illinois Department of Public Health and the Lake County Health Department are advising the school to continue its regular routines and practices.
The faculty member attended the meeting in the evening at Vaughn Occupational High School in Chicago, but did not know the teacher’s aide had been in the same room earlier in the day until after the meeting, school officials said.
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Following the meeting, the faculty member worked last week at Lake Forest High School East and West campuses, officials said.
The school is taking precaution by contacting others they know the faculty member had contact with during that time span. Public health officials also suggested the faculty member undergo a 14-day self-quarantine, according to Lake Forest High School.
“We will focus on our current enhanced cleaning practices, which follow CDC guidelines,” the school’s statement reads. “Additionally, we ask that you pay close attention to personal preventative health habits and stay home if sick.”
The Lake County Health Department didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
Vaughn High School in Chicago is closed because of the diagnosis of the female staffer, who remains hospitalized but is in good condition, officials said. But no students or other employees have tested positive for coronavirus at the school.
However, two of the four new cases reported in Chicago on Monday are relatives of the Vaughn classroom assistant, state officials announced. Those two people — a woman in her 50s and a woman in her 70s — are not employees of Chicago Public Schools.
Chicago Tribune reporters Hannah Leone and Javonte Anderson contributed.
jnorman@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-03-10--Person struck by Metra Electric train on South Side

A person was struck by a Metra Electric train on the South Side Tuesday afternoon , and was taken to @ @ @ @ @ critical condition .

A person was struck by a Metra Electric train on the South Side Tuesday afternoon, and was taken to a hospital in serious to critical condition.
The accident happened near 73rd Street on the South Chicago branch, Metra said. It had been scheduled to arrive at 93rd Street at 2:19 p.m.
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Inbound and outbound trains have been halted on the South Chicago branch.
The person was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, according to fire officials.


chicagotribune--2020-03-10--Los Angeles Times postpones Festival of Books and Food Bowl due to coronavirus concerns

`` Whenever we host the public at our events , we take health and safety seriously , '' The Times @ @ @ @ @ .
`` As we make plans to host the Festival of Books and Food Bowl @ @ @ @ @ will continue to monitor developments with the coronavirus in Southern California , and cross-reference with @ @ @ @ @ traveling to Southern California from affected areas to participate in our events . ''

The Los Angeles Times has postponed its Festival of Books and Food Bowl events, "in light of public health concerns related to the coronavirus and out of an abundance of caution."
The 25th Festival of Books, originally scheduled for April, will now take place the weekend of Oct. 3-4 on the USC campus. The 4th Food Bowl, previously set for May, will also be moved to the fall, with dates to be announced later.
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While the Book Prizes awards ceremony will not be held this year, honorees and winners will still be acknowledged via an announcement to be released on April 17.
People pack the USC campus at the annual Los Angeles Times Festival of Books at University of Southern California on Saturday, April 13, 2019 in Los Angeles, Calif. (Priya Krishnakumar)
"Whenever we host the public at our events, we take health and safety seriously," The Times said Tuesday in a statement. "As we make plans to host the Festival of Books and Food Bowl in the fall, we will continue to monitor developments with the coronavirus in Southern California, and cross-reference with any guests who may be traveling to Southern California from affected areas to participate in our events."
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The Festival of Books and Food Bowl, both annual events, are the latest in a slew of entertainment-related events affected by the outbreak, which has seen nearly 20 cases in L.A. County so far.
Further updates and details related to Los Angeles Times events can be found at latimes.com/events. Sponsors, exhibitors, participants and volunteers with additional questions can refer to the relevant contact information listed on the Festival of Books and Food Bowl websites.


chicagotribune--2020-03-10--Political operative pleads not guilty in alleged scheme to bribe state Sen. Martin Sandoval

Prosecutors told her and Miller that they were not targets of the inquiry , Johnsen said in a statement .
@ @ @ @ @ in brief interviews with investigators ” and later appeared before a grand jury to “ @ @ @ @ @ to the government ’ s investigation , ” the statement read .

Political operative William Helm arrives at the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse in Chicago on March 10, 2020, for his first court appearance on federal bribery charges. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)
A longtime Chicago political operative pleaded not guilty Tuesday to a federal bribery charge alleging he offered to pay off then-state Sen. Martin Sandoval on behalf of a suburban construction company that needed state approval for a development in East Dundee.
William Helm, the onetime deputy commissioner of the Chicago Department of Aviation and a former state transportation official, was charged last week in a two-page indictment with a single count of bribery.
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Helm entered his not guilty plea during a brief arraignment before U.S. Magistrate Judge Sheila Finnegan, who released him on his own recognizance.
Helm was the latest person to be charged in a sprawling political corruption investigation that first came to light when the FBI raided Sandoval’s office in Springfield in September.
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His name was among a who’s who of Illinois power players named in the warrant, which included asphalt and casino magnates, red-light camera operators, transportation and utility executives and a handful of other elected officials.
According to the indictment filed Thursday, Helm was retained in 2018 by a construction company that was seeking Illinois Department of Transportation approval for a signalization and road construction project in East Dundee.
The indictment alleged Helm offered bribes of at least $5,000 to Sandoval — then the head of the influential Senate Transportation Committee — between July and November 2018 in exchange for the senator’s influence with IDOT.
While the indictment does not name the company, the Chicago Tribune reported last week it is controlled by longtime Chicago-area construction magnate Joseph Palumbo, who went to federal prison two decades ago along with his father and brother in a massive road-building fraud scheme.
The charges involved the Terra Business Park along Route 72 and Christina Drive in East Dundee, a mixed-use development that includes an office building, trucking service bays and a planned Speedway gas station.
Business and land records show Palumbo controls two firms involved in the development. Palumbo Management LLC oversees the development while PAL LLC owns the land.
Palumbo, 68, has not been accused of wrongdoing. He did not return a message seeking comment Tuesday.
East Dundee Village Administrator Jennifer Johnsen confirmed Friday that she and Village President Lael Miller were subpoenaed last month by a federal grand jury seeking information about the development, specifically “activity related to the planned intersection improvements and signalization of Route 72 and Christina Drive.”
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Prosecutors told her and Miller that they were not targets of the inquiry, Johnsen said in a statement. They both “willingly participated in brief interviews with investigators” and later appeared before a grand jury to “provide information and documents relevant to the government’s investigation,” the statement read.
A copy of the subpoena supplied to the Tribune through an open records request showed it was dated Feb. 19 and requested that Miller and Johnsen testify before the grand jury on Feb. 27. Helm was indicted a week later.
Helm, meanwhile, also was listed in a September search warrant served on village hall in southwest suburban McCook, where Cook County Commissioner Jeff Tobolski is mayor.
Tobolski’s chief of staff, Patrick Doherty, was indicted last month on federal charges alleging he conspired to pay bribes to a relative of an Oak Lawn trustee in 2017 to get lucrative red-light cameras installed there on behalf of a clouted company called SafeSpeed LLC. Doherty has pleaded not guilty.
A November Tribune report listed Helm as among clouted political players tied to SafeSpeed as sales agents collecting cuts of cash from tickets paid.
Tobolski, who has not been charged, announced last week that he was resigning at the end of the month from both of his elected offices.
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Sandoval, meanwhile, pleaded guilty in January to bribery and tax charges and is cooperating in the ongoing investigation. He admitted to taking $20,000 in campaign contributions — and later $70,000 cash from a SafeSpeed co-owner who was secretly working with agents — to act as the company’s “protector” in the Illinois Senate.
Helm was a longtime 47th Ward operative who left his position as a manager for IDOT after he was disciplined for doing personal or political business on state time.
He departed his job with the airport several years ago after he was accused in a pending lawsuit of pressuring airport truck drivers to do political work. He’s denied the allegation.
jmeisner@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-03-10--Watch live: Health officials discuss coronavirus cases in Illinois

Chicago Public Schools and city health officials discussed preparedness in the district while stressing that the case involving a Vaughn @ @ @ @ @ Read the latest here .

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chicagotribune--2020-03-10--In these dark days, how about a new Chicago musical ‘Hit Her With the Skates’?

Rea once toured as Mary Magdalene in the long-running production of “ Jesus Christ Superstar ” starring Ted Neeley and @ @ @ @ @ who both composed and wrote the lyrics to the new numbers , is a well-known @ @ @ @ @ commercial composer who has worked with the likes of Diana Ross , Cyndi Lauper and @ @ @ @ @ DeGarmo and Young have substantial credits : both appeared in the Broadway revival of “ @ @ @ @ @ leads in the national tour of “ Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.
” And @ @ @ @ @ careers , hence their Nashville base .
One of Rea ’ s close friends , @ @ @ @ @ director in Chicago theater ) is also on board as a notably enthusiastic producer .

The cast of the new musical "Hit Her With the Skates" at the Royal George Theatre in Chicago. (Vin Reed photo)
Even without the coronavirus epidemic scrambling all our lives, Christine Rea would be setting herself up with a tough challenge. She’s creating a brand-new, Broadway-style musical, written entirely from scratch, performed with an Equity cast, two “American Idol” alums and a live orchestra, and slated for the mainstage at the Royal George Theatre in Chicago.
When most producers attempt such an audacious — and costly — endeavor, they do so with a pre-existing audience. That’s why those big, pre-Broadway productions (such as “Some Like it Hot” or “The Secret of My Success”) take advantage of subscription bases, either at Broadway in Chicago or the Paramount Theatre in Aurora.
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Rea has no such insurance policy; she will have to sell every ticket from scratch. In this environment. Opening March 18.
Oh, and one more thing: Rea is not just the lead producer of “Hit Her With the Skates,” but also the writer. And the composer, Rick Briskin, happens to be her husband.
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Daunted? Not so much.
“I’m feeling like we’re exactly where we want to be,” Rea said in a recent interview. “Sure, no one knows who we are and we’re completely original, which is a weakness but also a strength. And if I didn’t think this was the right time for this show, I would not be producing it.”
Fair enough.
What is “Hit Her With the Skates,” exactly?
It’s a musical in celebration of the roller rink and its abiding place in Midwestern youth culture. Much of the action takes place at the fictional Windy City Skates, a rink on the South Side of Chicago, but Rea says that’s a stand-in for the real rink she frequented as a kid in the Chicago suburbs, a venue now known as the Lynwood Sports Center, where the sessions include Family Pizza Night and Adult Organ Skate.
Set in 1994, the coming-of-age story involves a fictional rock star, played by Diana DeGarmo (the runner-up on Season 3 of “American Idol”), who agrees to come back to her hometown roller rink to headline a gala reopening. Through the magic of theater, this character finds herself in conversation with her 12-year-old self. Thus the show will aim to hit nostalgic buttons for two different generations — one that yearns for 1977 and one for 1994.
And since a musical needs a love interest, DeGarmo is playing opposite her own husband, Ace Young (Season 5 of “American Idol”).
“We’re taking the rare blessing of being able to work together,” the Nashville-based DeGarmo said in a recent interview. “We’re just both jumping on board and seeing where the skates take us.”
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Diana DeGarmo stars in the new musical "Hit Her With the Skates" at the Royal George Theatre in Chicago. (Vin Reed photo)
Technically, the actors are not on roller skates, but on a kind of skate-boot, a technique used in previous Broadway shows that allows for traditional choreography and yet also lets actors glide and slide across the floor, when needed, in a facsimile of what happens at the rink. “I wrote this very much as an ensemble production,” Rea said, “and we all will join together to create the world theatrically.”
Although Rea has not previously produced a major Broadway musical, none of the folks involved here are neophytes.
Rea once toured as Mary Magdalene in the long-running production of “Jesus Christ Superstar” starring Ted Neeley and Carl Anderson. Briskin, who both composed and wrote the lyrics to the new numbers, is a well-known New York singer-songwriter and a commercial composer who has worked with the likes of Diana Ross, Cyndi Lauper and Anita Baker.
And DeGarmo and Young have substantial credits of their own: both appeared in the Broadway revival of “Hair” and subsequently were leads in the national tour of “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.” And they each also have recording careers, hence their Nashville base. One of Rea’s close friends, Mary Beidler (once a director in Chicago theater) is also on board as a notably enthusiastic producer.
At a recent preview event, the cast debuted one of the big, catchy numbers, as directed by Brenda Didier and choreographed by Christopher Chase Carter — both well-respected names in the Chicago theater community. From that small snippet, it looked like a lot of fun.
Broadway, Rea says, is the goal, although she says she also is interested in following up in Chicago with some kind of national tour. The show at the Royal George will feature a cast of 10: aside from the two leads, most everyone is from Chicago. But if she has a hit and interest from Broadway theaters, Rea plans to scale up the show. “It could fit the Winter Garden,” she says, referencing the huge Broadway house.
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In Chicago, Rea and her HHWTS Productions has already started a visible marketing campaign, buying outdoor billboards and doing her best to get the word out about the project. “I’m an early-career producer with a creative background,” she says. “And I’m snappy.”
Always an advantage in commercial theater.
At the Royal George Theatre Center, 1641 N. Halsted St.; 312-988-9000 and www.theroyalgeorgetheatre.com
Chris Jones is a Tribune critic.
cjones5@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-03-10--Elmwood Park gears up to vote on referendum

“ We ’ re really trying to renovate everything and address all the life safety in one sitting so that @ @ @ @ @ , over time , keep doing a project and then have to go back a @ @ @ @ @ what we already worked on , ” said Wade .
“ That way we don @ @ @ @ @ having to go back and spend more money to address anything we could have done @ @ @ @

Elmwood Park District 401 Superintendent Nicolas Wade addresses more than 60 community members who attended a meeting and school tour at Elmwood Elementary to learn more about the renovation referendum on the primary election ballot March 17. (Lisa Cisneros / Pioneer Press)
More than 60 residents gathered at Elmwood Elementary School Monday night to learn about the upcoming Elmwood Park Community School District 401 referendum.
In the March 17 election (and also in early voting now through March 16), the school district is asking voters to approve a proposed maximum of $55 million in bonds to be used for renovations and repairs to both Elmwood Elementary and John Mills Elementary, and the addition of classroom and office space at John Mills Elementary.
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This would cost the owner of a $235,000 home (the median value in the district) an additional $342 to $477 per year in property taxes, contingent on the repayment plan, which could be packaged over 20 or 25 years, according to district Superintendent Dr. Nicolas Wade. Residents with property tax freezes would not see an increase in their taxes.
The proposed cost of $55 million is based on a complete life safety renovation audit conducted with the district’s architect and construction firms. More information about the referendum can be viewed on the district’s website.
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Elmwood Park residents stand in the special education teacher's office at Elmwood Elementary, which shares space with an instructional classroom, separated by a partition. Renovations to the school would include ventilation work, new lighting and ceiling repairs. (Lisa Cisneros / Pioneer Press)
Major renovations have not been done at either school since the 1970s or ‘80s, Wade estimated, though in 2014 there were minor renovations at both schools which included adding secure entrances. John Mills Elementary also added an elevator, and Elmwood Elementary added a new cafeteria and a few classrooms. The main structures of both buildings are about 100 years old.
“The biggest goal for the elementary buildings is really addressing the life safety renovation costs,” said Wade. “Life safety is related to the plumbing, electrical and mechanical. It’s not the physical safety as much as everyone always thinks, it’s more about the guts of the building.”
Renovations include making Elmwood Elementary ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) compliant, replacing boilers and water heaters, repairing wiring throughout both buildings, replacing interior and exterior lighting with LED lights, repairing plumbing and leaks, replacing locks and door frames, and replacing bulging ceiling and buckled floor tiles caused by moisture in the building.
“These are all things that need to be replaced due to the age of the buildings,” said Building and Grounds Director Joe Sierra.
Ceiling tiles throughout Elmwood Elementary have warped due to moisture in the buildings. Replacing the ceilings, plumbing and ventilation systems at Elmwood and John Mills Elementary are just a few of the renovations that will take place if the referendum passes March 17. (Lisa Cisneros / Pioneer Press)
“We’re really trying to renovate everything and address all the life safety in one sitting so that way we don’t, over time, keep doing a project and then have to go back a couple years later to undo what we already worked on,” said Wade. “That way we don’t have to risk having to go back and spend more money to address anything we could have done years prior.”
If the referendum passes, the first phase of renovations would begin in summer of 2021 and take about 3 to 4 years to complete, according to Assistant Superintendent for Finance and Operations Jim Jennings. All renovations would take place during summer breaks so as not to disrupt student schedules.
Several residents at the meeting asked questions and some were concerned about the immediate impact of the estimated tax increase.
Jennings explained that taxpayers will probably not see a large increase on their tax bills for the first year or two, though eventually the number will increase to the estimated amount.
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“For example, if phase one costs $10 million, then we’re going to sell bonds for $10 million,” he said. “You might see a $60 increase that year, then two years later, we sell another $10 million, you’ll see that bump up then. We’re not going to sell $55 million in bonds and just have it sit in the bank and not need it for 5 years.”
Residents also raised concern about whether the renovation costs would go over budget. Wade said the district inflated the proposed budget by around 10 percent to avoid this, and Jennings said that the full $55 million may not even be needed.
“We didn’t want to surprise taxpayers though and say, ‘Okay we need $30 million,’ and then come back later,” said Jennings. “We wanted to worst-case (scenario).”
Elmwood Elementary Principal Matthew Lerner stands in front of a closet in a first-grade classroom that holds a heating unit. Renovations to the school would include new heating and air-conditioning units that would free up more storage space. (Lisa Cisneros / Pioneer Press)
Wade said that renovation costs have been broken down and that he would be linking documentation to the district’s website.
When asked if the district would be seeking any funding elsewhere for the renovations, Wade said that they would apply for capital improvement funds and grants as they open up, though Jennings said “I don’t anticipate it being more than a couple million if we get anything from the state.”
Another question that was raised was whether voters would fully understand exactly what they are voting for, as the proposed tax impact will not be listed on the official ballot. Jennings said that is not allowed, and neither are the specific renovations that are needed.
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An old heating and air-conditioning unit sits in the teacher's lounge at Elmwood Elementary. Replacing all HVAC units in both Elmwood and John Mills Elementary is just one of the many renovations the district hopes to accomplish if the referendum passes. (Lisa Cisneros / Pioneer Press)
MaryAnn Nuccio, an Elmwood Park resident for 40 years, whose children and grandchild both attended Elmwood Elementary, said that while she is concerned about the tax increase, she is in favor of the referendum because the schools need the improvements.
Jodie LaBarbera, who works at an elementary school in Forest Park and has a sixth grader at Elmwood Elementary, said she is “100 percent” for the referendum even though her child will have graduated by the time all of the renovations are complete.
“I really have something to compare it to, not only as a parent but as an educator, and how important this is,” she said. “You want it to be an inviting space for kids to come and learn.”
If the referendum does not pass, Wade said the district will still move forward with renovations but that they would be a series of projects that could take up to 10 or 15 years to avoid cutting anything from classrooms or impacting the learning environment.
“The life safety, those are things we know we have to do,” said Wade. “I know I have to replace all the equipment, the wiring that’s not there, the plumbing. Those are non-negotiable things that we have to do over an extended period of time. We would have to do these projects, but price it out to what we have at the time.”


chicagotribune--2020-03-10--Anthony Gay’s decades in solitary confinement led to self-mutilation. Now a proposed law to limit pr

Anthony Gay’s decades in solitary confinement led to self-mutilation. Now a proposed law to limit prisoner isolation in Illinois is named in his honor.

The issue has prompted several states to reform their segregation policies in recent years , though Illinois lags behind .
@ @ @ @ @ the number of days juvenile offenders spend in isolation and no longer uses segregation as @ @ @ @ @ as part of a consent decree between the department and the American Civil Liberties Union @ @ @ @ @ do not extend to the adult population .

Anthony Gay spent decades in solitary confinement while in Illinois prisons. Now a proposed law that would restrict the use of prisoner isolation is named after him. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)
Spurred by a Chicago Tribune investigation involving a man who spent two decades in isolation after being convicted of stealing a hat and a single dollar bill, a proposed state law would limit how long an Illinois prisoner can stay in solitary confinement.
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The Anthony Gay Isolated Confinement Restriction Act would bar the Illinois Department of Corrections from placing an inmate in isolation for more than 10 days in a six-month period. It also would require IDOC to give isolated inmates access to group therapy, medical appointments, educational classes, job assignments and exercise when outside their cells.
Anthony Gay becomes emotional while speaking March 10, 2020, about his years in solitary confinement. Attorney Sarah Grady is consoling him. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)
“There is a difference between putting someone behind bars and putting someone in a hole,” said state Rep. La Shawn Ford, D-Chicago. “It goes beyond punishment. Now you’re torturing someone.”
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The bill is named for Anthony Gay, a Rock Island native who entered prison in 1994 as a young man, convicted of robbery after brawling with another teen who told police that Gay took his hat and stole $1. Gay expected to serve as little as 3½ years.
Instead, a fight with a fellow inmate led to Gay’s first stint in segregation, pushing him into a downward spiral that resulted in 22 years in solitary confinement. Shortly after the isolation started, Gay began self-mutilating and attempting suicide.
Alone for 23 hours a day and starved for human contact, Gay took extreme steps to get attention. He cut himself hundreds of times in his 7-by-12-foot cell, slicing open his neck, forearms, legs and genitals. Once, he packed a fan motor inside a gaping leg wound; another time he cut open his scrotum and inserted a zipper.
Scars are visible on Anthony Gay's arm while he worships at the Church of Peace in Rock Island in 2018. Gay cut himself repeatedly during his decades in solitary confinement. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)
As his mind began to deteriorate, Gay became antagonistic toward his guards and occasionally threw urine or feces at them, unlawful acts of defiance that stretched his original sentence into more than two decades behind bars.
In Livingston County, where Pontiac Correctional Center is situated, the state’s attorney’s office lodged a series of 21 indictments against Gay between 2000 and 2004 for the many times he threw his own bodily fluids at guards. The offenses added about 100 years to his initial sentence.
The Illinois Department of Corrections would later identify Gay in court filings as one of a few dozen inmates whose mental illnesses were so acute and dangerous that they required full inpatient care. But a Tribune investigation found his psychiatric treatment often consisted of a therapist shouting questions to him through a door.
As he recounted how his mental health eroded in isolation, the normally stoic Gay broke down in tears Tuesday during a news conference promoting the proposed legislation. If the state had followed through with its plans, Gay would have spent the rest of his life alone inside a cell the size of a parking space.
“Instead of being removed (from solitary), I was buried deeper,” he said. “I was scheduled to die in solitary confinement.”
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On his darkest days, Gay clung to the idea that he would find a way to end IDOC’s isolation policies.
“My goal always was to get out and make a difference for the others still there,” he told the Tribune this week. “I wanted to throw them a rope of hope.”
The proposed legislation comes amid a broader rethinking around the country of solitary confinement, and whether it amounts to excessive punishment. At any given time, about 67,000 inmates nationwide are spending up to 22 hours a day alone in a cell, according to a joint study by Yale University and the Association of State Correctional Administrators.
A significant number of those have mental illnesses, though estimates vary. A federal judge in 2018 found that of the roughly 1,100 Illinois prisoners in solitary confinement, more than 900 had been diagnosed with mental illnesses. Another measure, provided in December 2018 by the Illinois Department of Corrections, found that nearly 1 in 3 prisoners in segregation have a mental illness categorized as serious.
Currently, there are 1,302 inmates in restrictive housing and just under 400 of them are seriously mentally ill, an IDOC spokeswoman said.
The spokeswoman, Lindsey Hess, said in an email the agency had spoken with Ford about the bill, but she did say whether IDOC supports the legislation.
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The issue has prompted several states to reform their segregation policies in recent years, though Illinois lags behind. While Illinois has significantly reduced the number of days juvenile offenders spend in isolation and no longer uses segregation as a punishment for young people as part of a consent decree between the department and the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois, those policies do not extend to the adult population.
Ford has pushed unsuccessfully for solitary confinement reforms for nearly four years, but he believes the bill has its strongest chances of passing during the current legislative session given Gay’s involvement. The bill, which is assigned to the House Judiciary-Criminal Committee, is expected to be taken up after the March 17 primary election, Ford said.
Anthony Gay with one of his attorneys, Maggie Filler of the MacArthur Justice Center, at Cool Beanz Coffee House in Rock Island in 2018. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)
“Anthony’s story touched many people in Springfield,” Ford said. “It (the proposed legislation) has a new life because there’s now a real face to this issue. These are the stories that help get legislation passed.”
Under the bill, inmates with safety concerns would be allowed to request a transfer to solitary confinement for as long as needed. IDOC also would be required to publish quarterly data about the inmates in solitary confinement, including information about their age, ethnicity, reason for segregation and access to health care while there.
“Transparency is absolutely a vital part of this bill,” said Gay’s attorney, Nicolette Ward of the Romanucci & Blandin law firm. “That kind of oversight, candidly, could have saved Anthony. Right now, we don’t how many Anthony Gays are in the system.”
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Gay was released from prison in August 2018 after his attorneys successfully petitioned to have his sentence restructured. He sued the Illinois Department of Corrections; the lawsuit is pending in federal court in Peoria and has a tentative November 2021 trial date.
Anthony Gay speaks about his two decades spent in solitary confinement in Illinois prisons. Gay returned to his Rock Island home after being released in 2018. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune) (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
He also has become an advocate for solitary confinement reform, lobbying state lawmakers in Springfield and providing pivotal testimony in a class-action lawsuit that led to court-ordered reforms involving the way the IDOC treats mentally ill inmates.
Gay has a job helping out at his cousin’s barbershop and enjoys spending time with his large family, which includes his 6-month-old son, Anthony. He has a network of social workers, attorneys and church friends who have helped him adjust to a world that moved on without him two decades ago.
The adjustment has not been easy. Having spent his entire adult life as an inmate and having his choices dictated to him by guards, he struggles to make even those most basic decisions such as when he should shower or if he should do laundry.
He also grapples with the painful memories of his time in isolation, though he tries to bury the bad feelings. He believes he owes it to the inmates still in segregation to present a positive image, and pushing for reforms helps him achieve that goal.
“It has been a long, tedious process,” he said. “I’m grateful (for the bill) — not so much for me, but for the people who are still trapped.”
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sstclair@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-03-10--Coronavirus cleaning tips for your iPhone, Android

While the coronavirus most frequently spreads among close contacts via respiratory droplets and transmission to persons from contaminated surfaces has @ @ @ @ @ to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , health officials encourage cleaning and disinfecting @ @ @ @ @ because the virus can remain viable for hours to days on a variety of materials @

Sanitizing wipes are one way to clean your phone. (Photo by Lin, Yu-Chung / Getty Images)
Beyond our faces, what do we touch all the time? Our phones.
While the coronavirus most frequently spreads among close contacts via respiratory droplets and transmission to persons from contaminated surfaces has not been documented, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, health officials encourage cleaning and disinfecting frequently touched objects and surfaces because the virus can remain viable for hours to days on a variety of materials.
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This includes your phone.
Cleaning, the CDC specified, refers to the removal of germs, dirt and impurities, and it does not kill germs, but by removing them does lower the risk of spreading infection. Disinfecting, on the other hand, refers to using chemicals to kill germs.
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The agency recommends using a regular household cleaning spray or wipe.
Regarding Apple products, the company issued recommendations for cleaning.
All products, according to Apple, can be gently cleaned with a 70 percent isopropyl alcohol wipe or Clorox disinfecting wipe. Wipe the hard, nonporous surfaces, like the display, keyboard or other exterior surfaces.
The key to remember? Do not use bleach. And avoid getting moisture in any openings of the phone. Do not submerge the product in a cleaning product.
Apple does note that excessive wiping could cause damage.
If you get liquid inside the phone, Apple recommends getting help from an authorized service provider or Apple store.
And don’t forget about your iPhone case. Apple provides specific instructions for several types — silicone, leather, clear — but generally, remove the iPhone from the case and use a clean cloth to wipe the inside. Different cleaners can be used on different materials.
Sheila Leen, an advanced practice nurse at Rush University, pointed out that we take phones everywhere, including to the bathroom.
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“At least toilet seats are usually receiving a regular cleaning,” she said in an email.
Sanitize once a day, and clean it an extra time if dropped, placed on a public surface or coughed on. She suggested smartphone wipes, a damp and soft microfiber cloth with 60% water and 40% alcohol, or the product PhoneSoap that says it uses UV light to clean 99.9% of germs.
Wipe back and sides, she added, and remove from its case at least once a month to clean that too.
And maybe it’s a good time to revisit your phone attachment in the first place.
In device hygiene tips released today, T-Mobile suggested using earbuds instead of bringing your phone to your face, caution with household cleaners for its products and this very sensible statement: Don’t bring your phone into the bathroom at all.
abowen@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-03-10--Column: Peyton Ramsey could have started at Indiana this season. Instead he’s at Northwestern — wher

Column: Peyton Ramsey could have started at Indiana this season. Instead he’s at Northwestern — where he belonged in the first place.

Ramsey was told he still would have to earn the starting job against TJ Green , who is recovering from @ @ @ @ @ Marty and Hunter Johnson , who transferred from Clemson with high hopes .
Each begins @ @ @ @ @ with Bajakian entering his first season as Northwestern offensive coordinator .

Northwestern’s new quarterback wanted to wear purple all along.
Peyton Ramsey “camped” at Northwestern, in recruiting parlance, before his junior year in high school. He performed well enough to receive a scholarship offer the next day.
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From Illinois — not Northwestern.
Northwestern coaches preferred a different quarterback in the 2016 class, one they deemed more athletic and who happened to be ranked 20 spots higher than Ramsey among pro-style recruits in the 247Sports composite.
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That recruit was Aidan Smith, who lost the job last season.
Oops.
This time around, Ramsey held the pocket aces. He put up terrific numbers in 32 games for Indiana, improving his completion percentage each season from 65.4% to 66% to 68%.
His Hoosiers teammates raved about him. Receiver Nick Westbrook said, “I love that man to the death of me,” while top receiver Whop Philyor offered: “He’s tough as nails. You see him out there and he’s taking hits and everything for us.”
And Ramsey graduated from Indiana with a 3.6 GPA, making him immediately eligible as a graduate transfer.
After he entered the NCAA transfer portal, many schools envisioned him as their Joe Burrow, with Boston College, North Carolina State, Washington, Virginia and Fresno State among those hoping Ramsey would visit.
Over breakfast Sunday morning at Farmhouse in Evanston with Wildcats coaches Pat Fitzgerald, Mike Bajakian and Louis Ayeni, Ramsey was asked if he had any more questions.
According to his father, Doug, Ramsey replied: “No, I just want to let you know I enjoyed it and I don’t want to take any more visits. I want to play here.”
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That was exactly what Fitzgerald wanted to hear after telling Ramsey, “We didn’t offer you the first time, but give us a chance.”
Ramsey was told he still would have to earn the starting job against TJ Green, who is recovering from a broken foot, Andrew Marty and Hunter Johnson, who transferred from Clemson with high hopes. Each begins the season on equal footing with Bajakian entering his first season as Northwestern offensive coordinator.
Per NCAA rules, Wildcats coaches cannot comment on Ramsey until he submits a deposit or signs a scholarship agreement, likely over the summer.
One coach who can, though, is Doug Ramsey. He’s the head coach at football power Elder High School in Cincinnati.
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Ramsey named his three sons after quarterbacks: (Joe) Montana, Peyton (Manning) and Drew (Bledsoe). He played quarterback for one year at Louisville, and his favorite all-time signal callers are Fran Tarkenton and Dan Marino.
Doug describes Peyton as a typical coach’s kid: “Smart, tough and competitive and all those things that coaches expect from their players.”
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And he’s fine with Northwestern not promising Peyton the starting job because “as a coach that’s what I’m telling people. Nothing is handed to you.”
Considering the mobile, 216-pound Ramsey posted a 147.7 passing efficiency rating with a 13-to-5 touchdown-to-interception ratio — while Northwestern quarterbacks combined for a national-worst 84.5 rating and 6-to-15 ratio — winning the job should not be a problem.
Beyond excited for the next chapter. Time to get to work @NUFBFamily pic.twitter.com/1eVW6etnqE — Peyton Ramsey (@P_Rams12) March 9, 2020
One misconception Doug Ramsey wanted to clear up: Last season Peyton lost his starting spot to Michael Penix Jr., only to re-emerge after Penix was injured during the Hoosiers’ breakthrough eight-win season.
A healthy Penix, everyone figured, would resume as the starter this fall.
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That’s not the case, Doug said.
“To be honest with you, he is not leaving Indiana because he wasn’t going to be the starter,” Doug said. “Peyton met with (coach) Tom Allen right before Christmas and was told he’d start. He’s not running away. He went into the portal because there were some things he didn’t have control over. It was the right time for him to see what was out there.”
What’s out there is Northwestern. Which is where Ramsey should have been all along.


chicagotribune--2020-03-10--Jeff Samardzija’s advice for the Cubs: Keep the core together

“ You understand that this is the way things are around you , especially when you ’ re in the @ @ @ @ @ or a team is in a rebuilding mode , ” he said .
“ Whatever @ @ @ @ @ you ’ re always on the block .
It usually means you ’ re throwing @ @ @ @ @ you and see value in you .
”

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — The Cubs traded Jeff Samardzija in July 2014, the year before they turned the corner in their rebuild. The Giants pitcher paused before wondering what life with the Cubs would be like without organizational pillars Anthony Rizzo or Kris Bryant.
“That would be kind of weird, wouldn’t it?” Samardzija said Monday in the Giants’ new spring training clubhouse at Scottsdale Stadium. “They’ve got to figure a way to keep the core there.
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“The whole talk beforehand was building a core to compete for a long time. And you have that. You definitely can’t lose that.”
Despite efforts by Cubs President Theo Epstein to secure the long-term services of Javier Baez, Willson Contreras, Kyle Schwarber, Bryant and Rizzo, the Cubs face an uncertain future with four of those five eligible for free agency after the 2021 season.
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As of now, the Cubs likely will stay intact unless they fall out of playoff contention, which could result in a retooling or rebuilding. Samardzija has experienced that with the Giants since they lost to the Cubs in a dramatic Game 4 of the 2016 National League Division Series.
“It was tough in 2017, and we got a little better in 2018,” said Samardzija, 35, who is in the final year of a five-year, $90 million contract. “It’s been a good shake-up. Sometimes you’ve got to bring in some new blood and see what happens.
“We’re happy with the young guys here, that (the front office) has committed to them and given them an opportunity. We’ve got a lot of kids who can play, but a lot is going to be up to them.”
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In the case of the Cubs, Epstein has been unable the last two offseasons to reach long-term agreements with his potential free agents.
That has given the organization and the players a greater sense of urgency to make the most of an uncertain situation.
“You can’t fire the players, but you know it’s on your shoulders to have a good year for not only yourself but the (coaching) staff and everyone else involved,” said Samardzija, who saw the Giants deal four relievers within a week of last year’s trade deadline, while staff ace Madison Bumgarner and closer Will Smith stayed until they were eligible for free agency.
Samardzija, who spent 6½ seasons with the Cubs, learned to isolate himself from trade speculation — especially on days he pitched.
“You understand that this is the way things are around you, especially when you’re in the last year of a deal or a team is in a rebuilding mode,” he said. “Whatever the case may be, you’re always on the block. It usually means you’re throwing well and other teams like you and see value in you.”
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And with teams juggling front offices and rosters more frequently, Samardzija stresses the need to focus exclusively on daily issues.
“You forget what the big picture is and understand nowadays it’s tumultuous everywhere,” he said. “Teams are turning over and changing. As long as you do your job consistently, that’s all that matters.”


chicagotribune--2020-03-10--Chicago Sinfonietta review: Violinist Koh unveils a seductive new concerto

The work ’ s only distraction came in the form of certain percussion effects that seemed either extraneous or underdeveloped @ @ @ @ @ bursts of color to be part of the cohesive whole , they should be more @ @ @ @ @ If they were dropped in their entirety , the concerto would lose nothing .

The Chicago Sinfonietta took a considerable risk in co-commissioning a violin concerto from an emerging composer who never had written one.
But that gambit paid off dramatically Monday night, when violinist Jennifer Koh played what conductor Mei-Ann Chen termed “the downtown premiere” of Courtney Bryan’s “Syzygy” in Orchestra Hall (the first performance was Saturday night at Wentz Concert Hall in Naperville). Koh co-commissioned the work as part of her New American Concerto project, a multi-season venture in which she “seeks to engage with and reflect the diversity of America through the traditional form of the violin concerto,” according to her website.
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“Syzygy” proved there’s plenty of life left in this grand old form, even after the monumental fiddle concertos of Brahms and Beethoven, Tchaikovsky and Barber.
Composer Bryan, born in New Orleans in 1982, has written a pervasively lyrical work, but one that never descends into saccharine sentimentality. It contains more than enough harmonic interest, structural surprise and instrumental ingenuity to support and counterbalance its soaring melodic lines.
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Each of its three movements, played without interruption, represents the composer’s response to a specific art work: Alma Thomas’ “The Eclipse” (1970), Frida Kahlo’s “Tree of Hope, Keep Firm” (1946) and Maya Ying Lin’s “Eclipsed Time” (1994). But you didn’t need to know these pieces to recognize the high craft and tonal beauty of Bryan’s concerto.
The work opened with Koh playing a simple line that soon blossomed into a rhapsodic solo. Here the music ascended to the violin’s highest register, producing otherworldly effects. Before long, the solo violin engaged in beguiling interplay with the orchestra’s winds in some of this movement’s most engaging passages. By this point, listeners realized they were in the hands of a skilled composer of considerable imagination.
The soulfulness and sensuousness of the middle movement came as a balm in an era when so much contemporary music is consumed with making noise. Composer Bryan went in quite the other direction, this movement’s lazy rhythms and luxuriant orchestral textures addressing the ear gently.
Though greater expressive urgency drove the finale, via some rhythmic agitation and solo virtuosity, for the most part composer Bryan here clung to songlike writing.
The work’s only distraction came in the form of certain percussion effects that seemed either extraneous or underdeveloped. If Bryan wishes these bursts of color to be part of the cohesive whole, they should be more than just occasional utterances. If they were dropped in their entirety, the concerto would lose nothing.
Koh played the piece with obvious authority, reveling in its openly expressed emotion and dispatching technically complex passagework with apparent ease. Quite a triumph for composer, soloist and the Sinfonietta.
The program opened with a decidedly less effective work, Adam Schoenberg’s “Finding Rothko,” a four-movement orchestral tone poem inspired by paintings of Mark Rothko. The music proved pleasant but innocuous – a series of pastels with scant harmonic or rhythmic interest, the orchestral equivalent of easy listening.
Mussorgsky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition,” in Ravel’s orchestration, closed the concert, conductor Chen and the Sinfonietta producing a solid performance of an orchestral showpiece. Though a tenuous, troubled tuba solo marred the “Bydlo” (“Cattle”) movement, the bluesy saxophone solo in “The Old Castle” made up for it.
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But the evening’s highlight remained Bryan’s “Syzygy,” a work that deserves future hearings and a recording. Perhaps with the Sinfonietta?
Howard Reich is a Tribune critic.
hreich@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-03-10--Column: Clock is ticking for the Bears to decide if Leonard Floyd is worth $13.2 million this season

“ He ’ s close in a lot of areas when you look at the pressures and those things , @ @ @ @ @ He just needs to finish a little better on the quarterback .
But when you @ @ @ @ @ you have to factor in everything : his run defense , his ability in coverage @ @ @ @ @ Sam outside linebacker , so we value what he can do in coverage and think @ @ @ @ @ underrated ... for a guy of his stature .
Not many outside linebackers can drop @ @ @ @ @ .
”

Before the Bears launch into free agency March 18, a period in which they are expected to address their lackluster offense, it’s worth keeping an eye on what they decide to do with a key defensive player.
The status of 2016 first-round draft pick Leonard Floyd is being closely watched around the league. Some believe the Bears might part with the outside linebacker, which would clear his $13.2 million salary and identical cap hit from the books.
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General manager Ryan Pace has spoken highly of Floyd’s talent and versatility, but the Bears’ actions will tell us how they feel about him at that pay level, a figure generated by the fifth-year option in his contract. His salary is guaranteed only for injury at this point, but if he’s on the roster when the new league year begins March 18, it would become fully guaranteed.
“We’re like every team,” one source said. “Our personnel team puts together a list of players that could be cap casualties, and his name popped up. He’s probably on the same list all around the league.”
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The Bears aren’t necessarily down on Floyd, but it’s possible Pace and the coaching staff believe they can replace him with a substantially cheaper starter at a position where the club lacks depth — perhaps with a player who offers more pass-rushing ability. That would allow the Bears to earmark leftover resources for other areas of need.
Asked about Floyd’s production in relation to his 2020 salary, Pace backed Floyd when he spoke at the end of last season.
Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 122 Bears linebacker Leonard Floyd heads to the sideline after a Lions touchdown in the first quarter on Nov. 28, 2019, in Detroit. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)
“We’re happy with Leonard,” Pace said. “I know the stats don’t always say that, but Leonard does a lot of things that may be a little bit undervalued. The versatility that he provides, the things he can do in coverage, there aren’t a lot of outside linebackers that can provide (that). Would we like more production from him? Yeah. Would he like that? Yeah. But there’s a lot of things that he does that we like.
“As far as his contract, we’re never going to get into those things, but we like Leonard. We’re glad he’s here.”
At the scouting combine last month, Pace reiterated the value the Bears place on Floyd’s versatility.
“He’s close in a lot of areas when you look at the pressures and those things,” Pace said. “He just needs to finish a little better on the quarterback. But when you’re evaluating him, you have to factor in everything: his run defense, his ability in coverage. We consider him our Sam outside linebacker, so we value what he can do in coverage and think sometimes that goes a little underrated ... for a guy of his stature. Not many outside linebackers can drop in coverage like he does.”
As much as the Bears appreciate Floyd’s versatility in coverage and run defense, can his 11½ sacks over the last three seasons justify his salary, knowing he could depart in free agency a year from now?
Cutting Floyd would not be controversial from the standpoint that he hasn’t played up to his draft status as the ninth pick in 2016, when the Bears traded up two spots to get him, presumably to prevent the Giants from taking him at No. 10. The last thing the team wants is to turn him loose and then watch his career take off elsewhere. But Floyd has played under two defensive staffs now and has not been a consistent edge rusher.
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Pace already has had one top-10 pick leave. Wide receiver Kevin White, the No. 7 pick in 2015, appeared in only 14 games in four seasons, producing 25 receptions and no touchdowns. He left after his contract expired in 2018. While Floyd surely would find a market if he enters free agency, White is out of football after the Cardinals cut him last August.
Embattled quarterback Mitch Trubisky and inside linebacker Roquan Smith are Pace’s only other first-round picks. The Bears declined to say if they will exercise Trubisky’s fifth-year option, perhaps with the goal of making them appear open to all possibilities at the position. A decision on that option is not due until late May, and the team’s pursuit of a veteran in free agency or via trade will be the biggest offseason news for the Bears.
Floyd had seven sacks as a rookie in 2016, breaking out with two sacks and a fumble recovered for a touchdown in Week 7 in Green Bay. He has been at his best against the Packers, totaling 7½ sacks, seven tackles for a loss and 10 quarterback hits in eight games.
He has failed to match that production against other opponents, and the expected boost with the arrival of Khalil Mack never happened. Floyd’s failure to capitalize on opportunities Mack created has to be most vexing for the Bears. He had one sack over the final 15 games last season.
Still, it’s the cost of the fifth-year option that creates the dilemma. Floyd’s cap hit for 2020 ranks ninth among NFL linebackers, ahead of many players who are significantly more productive when it comes to getting to the quarterback.
His cap hit would make it difficult to trade Floyd as a one-year rental. Another source suggested the Bears might try to work out a deal for Floyd to play for less money, but that’s not a proposition he’s likely to accept. There is the possibility of a multiyear extension, but Floyd would be better served to negotiate that type of contract after a breakout season.
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The Bears don’t have good depth at the position as Aaron Lynch — their third option — is a pending unrestricted free agent. But free agency does offer a handful of possibilities.
Top options such as Jadeveon Clowney, Yannick Ngakoue, Matt Judon, Shaquil Barrett and Bud DuPree likely will be too expensive for the Bears if their current teams don’t re-sign or franchise-tag them. But Markus Golden, Kyle Van Noy and Vic Beasley, whom the Falcons took one pick after White in 2015, are free agents the Bears could consider. Pace also could try to solidify the position in the draft.
But for now, the clock is ticking for Floyd.


chicagotribune--2020-03-12--Judge refuses to lower bond for Northbrook man accused of sexually assaulting a 6-year-old girl at a

Judge refuses to lower bond for Northbrook man accused of sexually assaulting a 6-year-old girl at a house party

Prosecutors said at the hearing Wednesday that the party was at Flores ’ cousin ’ s home and that Flores @ @ @ @ @ and smoking marijuana .
When the others went to bed , Flores stayed up with @ @ @ @ @ one point , put his hands down her pants , prosecutors said .

A Cook County judge refused Wednesday to lower the bond of a Northbrook man charged with sexually assaulting a 6-year-old girl as prosecutors gave more details of the alleged assault.
Martin Flores, 31, of the 3600 block of Salem Walk, Northbrook, is charged with felony criminal sexual assault of a child after authorities said he assaulted the girl at a party in Glenview in January 2014.
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Flores has been held at Cook County Jail on a $250,000 bond since his arrest six years ago, and Wednesday at the Skokie courthouse his public defender asked Judge Timothy Chambers to reduce the bond to $50,000 so his family could bail him out.
Chambers refused to lower the bond, and Flores will continue to be held until $25,000 — or 10% of the bond — is posted.
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In arguing against lowering Flores’ bond, prosecutors said it is already too low, and they also described a sexual assault in which Flores was alone with the victim after a party in Glenview.
Prosecutors said at the hearing Wednesday that the party was at Flores’ cousin’s home and that Flores and others had been drinking and smoking marijuana. When the others went to bed, Flores stayed up with the victim and, at one point, put his hands down her pants, prosecutors said.
The girl experienced pain when she went to the bathroom shortly after the alleged incident and then told her mother. The mother contacted police, prosecutors said.
Flores did not say anything during the brief hearing. He’s scheduled to appear in court again April 14.
Brian L. Cox is a freelancer.


chicagotribune--2020-03-12--Watch live: Health officials discuss coronavirus cases in Illinois


chicagotribune--2020-03-12--New Trier High School, area elementary schools close buildings and move to online instruction in res

New Trier High School, area elementary schools close buildings and move to online instruction in response to coronavirus

“ This is a stressful and unprecedented situation for our school , our families , and our local and global @ @ @ @ @ .
“ We know there will be bumps in the road along the way , @ @ @ @ @ our students and do what is best for them .
”

Responding to growing concerns over the spread of coronavirus, officials at New Trier High School and several area elementary school districts Thursday closed school buildings and are shifting to online learning for students until further notice.
In addition to New Trier, officials at area feeder elementary school districts, including Winnetka School District 36, Kenilworth School District 38, Avoca School District 37, Glencoe School District 35, Sunset Ridge District 29 and Wilmette School District 39, also announced school buildings would be shuttered Friday, with students moving to online learning next week.
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“Based on the rapidly evolving situation with COVID-19 and recommendations from public health officials to limit public gatherings, we are canceling school for students tomorrow, March 13,” Superintendent Paul Sally said in a Thursday email to parents.
“While we have no confirmed COVID-19 cases in the district, we are shifting to our remote learning plan in an abundance of caution,” Sally said.
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Buildings will be closed to students beginning Friday. Remote learning is expected to begin at all the schools starting Monday and continuing until further notice, officials said.
While all activities and events will be canceled until further notice, Friday will be a work day for staff to make final preparations for remote learning, Sally said.
The high school’s spring break will go on as planned from March 21-March 29, but all spring break school-sponsored travel has been canceled, Sally said.
Any decision on reopen the high school’s two campuses will be made "carefully in consultation with public health officials.”
“This is a stressful and unprecedented situation for our school, our families, and our local and global community," Sally said. “We know there will be bumps in the road along the way, but together we will support our students and do what is best for them.”
Technical assistance is expected to be offered to students and parents as needed.
“Please know this is our first time implementing such plans, so we ask for your patience and understanding,” District 36 Supt. Trisha Kocanda said in an email to parents. “We will continue to refine our systems and improve as we move along.”
Loyola Academy, along with all other Archdiocese of Chicago schools, will also be closed next week.
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Loyola plans to begin their e-learning protocol Monday and have a tentative reopening date of March 30.
kcullotta@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @kcullotta


chicagotribune--2020-03-12--Struggling to afford basic needs: 24% of Illinois households are above the poverty line but can’t af

Struggling to afford basic needs: 24% of Illinois households are above the poverty line but can’t afford the cost of living

“ This is a unique framework that United Way has created to help us understand folks who are working that @ @ @ @ @ cracks of folks who may qualify for benefits and what is true economic stability , @ @ @ @ @ What struck me is it seems to be a population , on a visceral level @ @ @ @ @ exists , but we haven ’ t put a name to it , and this @ @ @ @ @ name to it and to frame the conversations .

A new United Way report on financial hardship in the state of Illinois shows that 43% of Chicago households can't meet basic needs. (Getty Images)
Hattie Clay, 47, is a long-term West Sider trying to make ends meet despite a slew of health issues, including asthma, high blood pressure and dialysis three days a week. She says she relies on her children to help out with the household expenses, which total about $2,000 a month. Six of her children, ages 20 to 29, plus grandchildren, live under one roof.
Two of her daughters, Kamisha, 26, and Tinisha Clay, 27, say they’re doing the best that they can with Kamisha out of work. It’s a struggle to keep things such as the utility bills under control while their mother is dealing with her health concerns.
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The Clay family is an example of an ALICE family, an “Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed” household that earns more than the federal poverty level (defined as $24,600 for a family of four or $12,060 for a single individual) but less than the basic cost of living in Illinois ($57,144 for a family of four and $19,212 for single adult). The numbers come from a recent financial hardship study by the United Way. Findings show that of Illinois’ 4.8 million households, 36% of households cannot afford their basic needs. That number is 43% in Chicago.
“The gas bill is $1,000 and some dollars right now," Kamisha Clay said. "And the light bill is almost $800 and some dollars now, and now we’re struggling to make ends meet to get that.”
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Tinisha Clay, a single mom, does security work but says it’s still hard, even with a job that pays $13 an hour part time, or $18,000 a year.
“I’m not going to lie. It’s hard because I’m trying to take care of my baby, take care of a little bit of bills. ... I don’t get food stamps because they say I make too much money, but I’m not making nothing," she said.
The ALICE study is an attempt to bring stakeholders together — to educate corporate, nonprofit, government partners — in hopes of getting all sides to come to the table with creative, collective solutions to fill the gaps that exist for this population of workers. Areas where gaps exist include housing security, child care and affordable transportation, said Eithne McMenamin, director of public policy and advocacy for United Way Metro Chicago.
The study is based on 2017 statistics from publicly available data sources that a local research advisory committee of data experts verified, McMenamin said. The report tracks data from before and after the Great Recession through 2017. Additionally, the study found that 56% of jobs in Illinois do not pay enough to cover a typical family’s basic needs. And while 31% of white and Asian households in the state make less than the Illinois household survival budget, 47% of Hispanic households and 58% of black households make less than that amount.
“This is a unique framework that United Way has created to help us understand folks who are working that sort of fall between the cracks of folks who may qualify for benefits and what is true economic stability,” McMenamin said. “What struck me is it seems to be a population, on a visceral level, that we all know exists, but we haven’t put a name to it, and this really helps us put a name to it and to frame the conversations.
“The numbers in Cook County were higher as a whole — 39% of households in Cook County (make less than the survival budget) versus statewide, which is 36%," McMenamin said. "That really is owing to higher cost of living, an extreme lack of affordable housing both in the city and in the county, and pressures such as displacement around gentrification.”
Heather Whetsell, a resident of Taylorville, Illinois, and a member of the United Way of Central Illinois’ Vision Council, said she was an ALICE family when she was a single mom trying to get her education while holding down a part-time job with no savings or health insurance.
“There’s not much extra to get around, or any extra,” she said. “So, you’re faced with choices like: For day care, do you leave your child with grandma or maybe get paid preschool two days a week or five days a week? What do you do? Same with leaving a parent that needs care. Do you pay for that adult day care or pay for someone to check on mom or dad or leave them home and at risk? That was my story too.”
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No longer an ALICE family, Whetsell is grateful for the support and services that she found in her community. t Now, she wants others to have a similar outcome. McMenamin said the United Way is working to increase the state earned income tax credit from 18% to 20% and to expand it to childless workers between the ages of 18 and 24; she called the credit “a very effective anti-poverty tool that puts money directly into families and households who work but still struggle.”
“There definitely isn’t a magic bullet, but there is an array of issues that do need to be tackled,” McMenamin said. “We’re not simply saying we’re only focused on child care, or only focused on food security. We’re focused on the strength of our communities, and we know that workers that fall within this ALICE category are really the backbones of our communities — folks who take care of our children and are our service workers. This (report) really does put a solid foundation to what people sense is going on in their communities in terms of households and families who are struggling financially.”
drockett@chicagotribune.com