chicagotribune--2020-06-12--Column:  ‘Defund the police’ is what you get when police don’t police themselves

People are smart enough to know not every one of those SUVs is faulty .
They ’ re not going @ @ @ @ @ that aren ’ t crashing .
But they ’ re sure going to want the @ @ @ @ @ and fix the problem .
And if the company ignores it , if the company @ @ @ @ @ most of these SUVs are very fine machines , ” people will move on and @ @ @ @ @

U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush announces during a news conference at City Hall on June 11, 2020, that video shows Chicago police officers making popcorn and "lounging" in his office while nearby businesses were being looted. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
I don’t think police officers should be plunked down in the looted South Side office of a U.S. congressman, making coffee and munching microwaved popcorn, while nearby businesses are being looted.
They shouldn’t be hurling homophobic slurs, either. Or making obscene gestures. Or pulling a woman out of her car by her hair and holding her down with a knee to the neck.
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And they surely shouldn’t be killing black people, which is, of course, the very heart of the necessary national upheaval unfolding around us.
But with each of those obvious “that should never happen” scenarios, we run into a problem. Take the Chicago officers who occupied U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush’s office and lazed about while their fellow officers were nearby facing down angry protesters outraged by the killing of George Floyd.
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“One was asleep on my couch in my campaign office,” Rush said Thursday, as images of the eight or more cops were revealed. “They even had the unmitigated gall to go and make coffee for themselves and to pop popcorn, my popcorn, in my microwave while looters were tearing apart businesses within their sight and within their reach.”
It’s shameful. And ridiculous. And the problem we have expressing outrage about entitled cops or violent cops or even murderous cops is an almost reflexive need to qualify that outrage with something like, “I know most police officers are good, dedicated people, but …”
How about we lose that caveat and focus on the fact that there’s a systemic problem with policing in America? It’s OK to highlight the badness of some without acknowledging the obvious goodness in others. Doing so only dilutes the seriousness of the issue.
Let’s take it out of human terms. Say we start seeing reports from different parts of the country that the brakes on some models of a popular SUV are failing. There are a few fatalities, some injuries and a slew of videos of the SUVs crashing.
People are smart enough to know not every one of those SUVs is faulty. They’re not going to focus on the SUVs that aren’t crashing. But they’re sure going to want the company to do a recall and fix the problem. And if the company ignores it, if the company says, “Well, most of these SUVs are very fine machines,” people will move on and buy a different brand.
Our tolerance of failures in policing shouldn’t be different from our tolerance of failures in anything we count on to keep us safe.
And because we don’t have a choice in who serves and protects us, because we can’t ditch one local police force in favor of another, people are protesting. Loudly. Sometimes violently.
That’s why you’re seeing a slogan like “Defund the police” bubble up.
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People have seen too many videos of appalling behavior by law enforcement officers. People see images of police officers lying around a congressman’s looted office, they feel angry and helpless, and they don’t have the option to simply switch brands.
What people see is this: the police not effectively policing themselves.
WGN Radio’s Bob Sirott recently asked John Catanzara, president of Chicago’s Fraternal Order of Police, what he thinks about officers showing support for protesters by kneeling with them.
Catanzara said: “Any member of Lodge 7 who is going to take a knee and basically side with protesters while they’re in uniform will subject themselves to discipline in the lodge up to and including expulsion from Lodge 7.”
That’s a pretty callous attitude. In that interview, Catanzara leaned hard on the “most cops are good cops” argument.
I don’t think that’s untrue, but it’s a crutch. Nobody needs to pay homage to the good cops while speaking out against the bad ones.
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The focus of the hundreds of thousands of Americans who have taken to the streets in the wake of Floyd’s killing in Minneapolis is on bad cops. All the good cops in the world don’t make up for what happened on that street. But what happened there does damage the public’s opinion of all police, same as the videos of cops whacking protesters with batons, and the images of cops turning a looted congressman’s office into a clubhouse.
It doesn’t matter whether that’s fair or not. What matters is that something is done to fix the problems.
That’s where everyone’s focus needs to be. I don’t need to qualify my criticism of those Chicago officers in Congressman Rush’s office by giving a nod to the ones who weren’t there. We all need to stop offering up these knee-jerk pats on the head.
We’re adults. Wrong is wrong. Wrong needs to be fixed.
And police officers here and across the country have a lot of wrong that needs fixing — right now.
rhuppke@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-06-12--Tracking Chicago homicide victims

Tracking Chicago homicide victims

Though there are homicides recorded throughout the city they are most concentrated in the South and West sides .

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chicagotribune--2020-06-13--Joyce Kenner leads one of Chicago’s top high schools but after George Floyd’s killing, she faces cal

Joyce Kenner leads one of Chicago’s top high schools but after George Floyd’s killing, she faces calls to resign: ‘If I don’t understand black people and oppression, nobody does.’

Kenner said the school was about 60 % black when she took over .
By the turn of the millennium @ @ @ @ @ students were black , 24 % white , 19 % Latino and 16 % Asian @ @ @ @ @ .
The school is still very diverse , but its African American population has shrunk @ @ @ @ @ another 19 % Asian , 28 % white and 29 % Latino students .
Like @ @ @ @ @ s most elite schools , Whitney Young ’ s enrollment is disproportionately white compared with @ @ @ @ @ % of students are white .

Whitney Young Principal Joyce Kenner shown in 2016, has faced calls to resign but said she's dedicated to her school and “nobody is going to push me out." (Nancy Stone / Chicago Tribune)
After Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in 1968, an 11-year-old Joyce Kenner witnessed people take to the streets in her hometown of Dayton, Ohio, “for the same things we are marching for today." She recalls her father writing “black-owned business” across the window of his record store so protesters would spare it from damage.
More than 50 years later, Kenner is now the long-serving principal of Whitney Young, one of Chicago’s most selective high schools, named for a civil rights leader. She is also the mother of a black son who once had to explain to police that he had a baseball bat in his trunk because he played for the Whitney Young team.
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In recent weeks, as protests gripped her adoptive city after the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Kenner has been working and babysitting her granddaughter. But in some ways, she said, the country feels like it did during the civil rights struggle of the ’60s. She asked her son, now 30, if he thought there had been progress.
“His response was, ‘Absolutely,’” Kenner said. “We have a black police chief. We have a black mayor. We have a black CEO of Chicago Public Schools. ... But we still have racism in our society and black men being targeted for no reason at all.”
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Yet Kenner, who previously worked for the Rev. Jesse Jackson’s Rainbow PUSH Coalition, has not been immune to criticism for her response to Floyd’s death and more broadly her leadership at Whitney Young, where she also spent five years as assistant principal.
Now, after 25 years at the helm of Whitney Young, she finds herself the target of an online petition, posted by unnamed “disappointed alumni,” calling for her to resign, claiming she has “silenced student activists speaking against all forms of injustice. Her silence and her enabling of the systematic oppression that her black and low-income students face should be condemned.” So far it’s gained more than 800 signatures.
Whitney Young Magnet High School Principal Joyce Kenner, center, with raised arm, celebrates the 2019 opening of a new athetlic complex named after the school's most famous alum, Michelle Obama. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
Kenner says she’s “never tried to silence a student,” citing her open-door policy as the reason she’s still at Whitney Young. Further, she calls it “nonsense” to say she doesn’t support Black Lives Matter.
“You could go by your experience, and the only thing I've ever tried to do is get our black kids educated so they have the opportunity to be part of this world,” Kenner said.
She said she received dozens of messages from parents and alumni who support her and want her to stay.
“Nobody is going to push me out. I’m not resigning. I still have a lot of work to do for my African American students,” Kenner said.
School reputation over student well-being?
Anyone who runs a high-profile institution for as long as Kenner is bound to have detractors, and she has weathered her share of controversies over the years.
Some who signed the resignation petition cited her history at Whitney Young, claiming she has “worked to sweep the injustices ... under the rug” and “consistently puts the perception of the school by the general public over the well-being of her students.”
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Other critics have focused on more recent events. Several students told the Tribune they were offended by statements Kenner made in a video address about unrest sparked by George Floyd’s killing, in which she asked that if students do protest, they not participate in violence or looting, and said the way to seek change is to get a degree and get a "seat at the table.”
“We can’t have a seat at the table if we’re dead because we were shot by a cop,” one senior said, who added she doesn’t want Kenner to resign but that students deserve a bigger voice.
In a letter to administrators, some members of the senior class wrote they hoped Whitney Young would not be neutral while students demanded justice, voicing frustrations that Kenner initially rejected a video submitted for the school’s virtual graduation in which a student holds up a sign in support of George Floyd while singing the national anthem.
After hearing from her students and trying to understand their concerns, Kenner said she decided to allow the video.
Kenner said she has tried her best to support students and is responsive to other viewpoints.
“If one student was negatively impacted by my statements or my non-actions, then I have to address that,” she said.
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The parent chair of Whitney Young’s Local School Council, Kristin Boeke-Greven, said she believes Kenner has the best interest of students at heart.
“She listens and she reflects and she’s not afraid to admit she’s made a mistake,” said Boeke-Greven.
In another area that has become a major focal point of recent protests — the presence of Chicago police officers in CPS schools — Kenner’s opinion diverges with that of many of her students and other protesters.
Kenner said the 1999 shooting at Columbine High School was one of the defining moments of her life and one reason she believes the school needs police officers.
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“Each and every day, trying to keep our students as safe as possible — that really has been the biggest challenge for me,” she said.
The changing face of Whitney Young
Prior to working for Chicago Public Schools, Kenner was deputy director of PUSH for Excellence, the education arm of renowned civil rights leader Jesse Jackson’s Rainbow PUSH Coalition.
Jackson’s son Jonathan Jackson, national spokesman for PUSH, attended Whitney Young in the 1980s, as did his older sister, who was a classmate of the school’s most famous alum, Michelle Obama. Jonathan Jackson has known Kenner for more than three decades, and he’s thankful she ended up his daughter’s principal.
He believes she’s the right person to lead the school through today’s reckoning around racism, citing her character, courage and experience.
“She’s always sought to advocate for racial integration,” Jackson said of Kenner. “She’s always maintained a level of sensitivity, knowing the social structures that exclude us."
At the same time, Jackson said that since his time at Young, he’s seen more upper-middle-class students move in. He remembers hallways filled with more African-American students than was the case for his daughter, who’s now in college.
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Kenner said the school was about 60% black when she took over. By the turn of the millennium, about 41% of students were black, 24% white, 19% Latino and 16% Asian, according to CPS data. The school is still very diverse, but its African American population has shrunk to 19%, with another 19% Asian, 28% white and 29% Latino students. Like many of the district’s most elite schools, Whitney Young’s enrollment is disproportionately white compared with CPS overall, where 11% of students are white.
Attributing shifting demographics in part to changes in the selective enrollment process, Kenner said she hopes her student body continues to be among the most diverse in the country.
Always the first one in line — starting at birth
The firstborn of a set of triplets, Kenner has always been a natural leader with a love for children, her siblings said. Even their birth, to a 19-year-old mother and 18-year-old father, made headlines.
“I’m not sure when the last triplets were born in Dayton, so it was really big news,” said Janice Allen, another one of the triplets. “We were always in the spotlight.”
The three had to walk 10 city blocks to get to grade school, and Kenner always got there first, said the youngest triplet, James Dorsey.
“She’s always been the first one in line,” he said, “always been aggressive in her mindset in terms of opinion, and she works hard in what she believes in.”
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When King was shot and killed in Memphis in 1968, the triplets were young and, said Allen, “I don’t think we understood the gravity of the moment."
But, she said, “We looked at how sad people were around us, that looked to Dr. Martin Luther King as our hero.”
Dorsey remembers riding his bicycle to Third Street in Dayton and looking at the damage from looting sparked by King’s death, unable to understand why people would tear up their own neighborhoods.
Kenner recalls trying to understand why “this man who had stood for peace and unity was gunned down.” Her mother was from Mississippi, and though the family didn’t talk a lot about race issues, she would relay stories from her own mother and grandmother about their experiences living in the Deep South and about lynchings there.
“Those discussions weren’t necessarily had, but you saw. So now, (after) 50 years, it’s a different environment where now the discussion is had," Allen said. "You don’t have to talk to feel racism, you don’t have to speak it. You feel it as an African American person on a day-to-day basis, but it’s painful to talk about.”
Their early jobs were at their father’s three record stores. Kenner said she rarely speaks about the fact that, later in life, he was imprisoned for a drug conviction.
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He “is still my hero,” she said of her late father. "He had to do what he had to do as a black man to support his family, and he did it well. All of my sisters and brothers were educated.”
She said she’s tired of trying to explain her position in life, and that all she’s been through has made her a better person.
“My father served 11 years in prison. If I don’t understand about black people and oppression, nobody else does,” Kenner said. “Nobody can tell me ... I don’t support the cause or that I don’t understand the cause."
Joyce Kenner, principal Whitney Young Magnet High School, celebrates the 2019 opening of a new athetlic complex named after the school's most famous alum, Michelle Obama. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
Kenner points out that, as far as she knows, she was the first CPS principal to let students kneel during the national anthem.
A high school cheerleader, Kenner never really stopped cheering, now supporting her students at sports games, chess tournaments, debates, wherever they want her to be, she said.
She sees her nearly 2,200 students today as brilliant, passionate, organized and more social media-savvy than their predecessors.
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“I think the issues have impacted them more greatly than they did before, and now they have found a way for their voices to be heard," she said. “Sometimes it’s painful for us as adults in authoritarian positions to accept how our students advocate their positions, but I listen, I reflect, I hurt."
She recognizes that not all students agree with her but said she tries her best “to make sure that every student’s needs are addressed.”
"Have I failed in some things I’ve tried to do? Absolutely. Have I apologized? ... Absolutely. But I try to be the very best person that I can be, and for somebody to call for my resignation I think is narrow-minded.”
hleone@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-06-13--U. of C. economist facing criticism for Black Lives Matter tweets is now under review for claims of

U. of C. economist facing criticism for Black Lives Matter tweets is now under review for claims of ‘discriminatory conduct’ in classroom

“ It still horrifies me , that he not only felt deeply uncomfortable with remarks he said I made , @ @ @ @ @ not voice that complaint appropriately at the time , ” Uhlig said in an email @ @ @ @ @ felt comfortable taking these steps then and the University should have given him all reasonable @ @ @ @ @ It took him six years to say this ! ''

The University of Chicago is investigating claims that a professor who once chaired its renowned economics department mocked Martin Luther King Jr. and his namesake holiday and then asked a black student in his class if the comments were offensive.
Harald Uhlig, a tenured professor who has worked at U. of C. since 2007, has also been placed on leave from his role as lead editor of the Journal of Political Economy, one of the field’s top academic publications. The journal will determine “whether it would be appropriate for him to continue in that role given recent accusations of discriminatory conduct in a University classroom setting,” according to an online statement.
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Reached by email, Uhlig said he did not recall the incident and reached out to the former student to apologize. He said the student’s account does not reflect Uhlig’s personal beliefs and questioned why a complaint wasn’t filed at the time.
“It still horrifies me, that he not only felt deeply uncomfortable with remarks he said I made, but that he apparently did not voice that complaint appropriately at the time,” Uhlig said in an email. “He should have felt comfortable taking these steps then and the University should have given him all reasonable support in stepping forward! It took him six years to say this!"
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The former student’s account surfaced Thursday night on Twitter. At least two others, including a U. of C. professor, who shared or commented on the post said they were told about the incident or witnessed it. The Tribune reached out to those commentators but did not receive a response.
Bocar A. Ba, now a research fellow at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, said on Twitter that Uhlig made the comments during a class in the winter of 2014. Ba earned his doctorate in public policy from U. of C. in 2018, according to his website.
Ba’s post tagged Uhlig and said, "I sat in your class in Winter 2014: (1) You talked about scheduling a class on MLK Day (2) You made fun of Dr. King and people honoring him (3) You sarcastically asked me in front of everyone whether I was offended.”
Ba declined to comment, saying he wants to focus on his work. That recently has focused on race and policing, including examinations of race in Chicago. He identifies himself as black and French.
The development arose after Uhlig had received backlash on Twitter from a post earlier in the week. In that string of tweets, Uhlig likened those in the Black Lives Matter movement who call for defunding the police to creationists and flat earthers. He has since apologized for his phrasing in subsequent tweets.
The recent posts are only the last ones to draw attention. On a personal blog, Uhlig also wrote a 2017 article with the title, “Would you defend football players waving the confederate flag and dressing in Ku Klux Klan garb during the playing of the national anthem?” Another post on the site notes that protesters in Charlottesville, Virginia — one of whom was killed when a self-identified neo-Nazi rammed his car into a crowd — didn’t notify police before rallying outside, an argument he also made this week when discussing Black Lives Matter.
The episode has ignited fierce discussion within the economics field about institutional racism and a lack of diversity. A New York Times article about the issue noted there are no black editors at the top economic journals, nor any black professors at U. of C.'s Kenneth C. Griffin Department of Economics.
In the Times article, Janet Yellen, the former Federal Reserve chair, said she found Uhlig’s comments “troubling” and that it would be “appropriate” to review Uhlig’s fitness to remain editor of the JPE.
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A petition spearheaded by other scholars, including University of California Berkeley professor Maximilian Auffhammer, circulated on social media soon after the posts came to light and called for Uhlig’s resignation from JPE as the lead editor.
The petition garnered about 500 signatures, most of which he was able to verify by email addresses, Auffhammer said. He sent the petition to the journal and the University of Chicago Press on Friday.
The petitions called Uhlig’s comments on Twitter “outrageous and unacceptable,” according to a copy of the text provided by Auffhammer. “They hurt and marginalize people of color and their allies in the economics profession; call into question his impartiality in assessing academic work on this and related topics; and damage the standing of the economics discipline in society."
U. of C. typically does not intervene when faculty members voice opinions, however controversial. But the school took action in this case because the allegations involved possible conduct in a classroom, according to spokesman Jeremy Manier.
“The University of Chicago does not tolerate intimidating, hostile or offensive discriminatory behavior that targets groups or individuals, and we take seriously any matter that interferes with educational program participation,” Manier said in an email. “Such behavior is in direct contradiction to the University’s values that everyone must have the opportunity to participate fully in an open and questioning environment.”
Uhlig said he supports the university’s decision to investigate the claims and trusts they will be handled appropriately.
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“Bocar’s summary feels very much at odds with my beliefs and core principles,” he said. “I hope to learn the details as to what transpired. His summary is rather short. This demands a follow-up by the University to learn more.”
echerney@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-06-13--2 car theft suspects shot by Chicago police in Englewood; officer struck and dragged by suspects’ ca

2 car theft suspects shot by Chicago police in Englewood; officer struck and dragged by suspects’ car, CPD says

The officer was dragged a “ short distance , ” added Waller , prompting another officer to fire his weapon @ @ @ @ @ the car .
At least one was struck in the arm or wrist before their @ @ @ @ @ rest in an alley nearby .

Chicago police shot two car theft suspects after they rammed another officer, dragging him with their vehicle Friday evening in the Englewood neighborhood on the South Side.
The two suspects, who suffered non-life-threatening injuries, were taken to a hospital, Chicago police spokesman Tom Ahern said.
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At some point during the incident, which happened while police were conducting an auto theft investigation, one officer was “struck by a vehicle and dragged a short distance by the suspect’s car,” Ahern said.
Police Chief Fred Waller told reporters near the scene the incident began in the 7000 block of South Green Street about 5:10 p.m. when an officer working on a major car theft task force spotted an older model vehicle that was reported to be stolen.
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That officer flagged down a 7th District beat officer for help as he approached the car.
Suddenly its two occupants started the car and “came at” the officer and “proceeded to strike that officer,” Waller said.
The officer was dragged a “short distance,” added Waller, prompting another officer to fire his weapon, hitting both suspects in the car. At least one was struck in the arm or wrist before their car crashed and came to rest in an alley nearby.
The officer was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn and the suspects were taken to University of Chicago Medical Center. All suffered non-life-threatening injuries, Waller said.
The officers will be placed on 30-day administrative duty while the incident is looked into, Waller said.
One gun was confiscated from the suspects’ car, Ahern said.
rsobol@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-06-13--‘Take your knee off my neck,’ chant marchers during new round of George Floyd-inspired demonstration

‘Take your knee off my neck,’ chant marchers during new round of George Floyd-inspired demonstrations in Chicago

“ I ’ ve worked in middle and high schools and I know that it ’ s not a pleasant @ @ @ @ @ come to school and the first thing they see is a police officer , ” @ @ @ @ @ not give her last name because she is looking for work and felt her attendance @ @ @ @ @ used against her .
“ The part of the movement that speaks to me is @ @ @ @ @ schools to where we actually need it , like teachers and counselors and social work @ @

Alice Yin, Nausheen Husain, Javonte Anderson

West Side religious leaders, politicians and officials from the Chicago Police Board and the Civilian Office of Police Accountability convened on Friday to cry for a remedy to what they say is America’s enduring systemic racism and police brutality, a prelude to a third weekend of worldwide demonstrations since the Minneapolis police killing of George Floyd.
The march was one of several that took place throughout the city Friday, with more planned over the weekend. Most of them were directly sparked by the death of Floyd, a black man who gasped, “I can’t breathe,” while a white police officer knelt on his neck, or by proposals for police reforms in Chicago.
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The group stepped off about noon from near Independence Boulevard and the Eisenhower Expressway and strode south to where the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. lived at 1550 S. Hamlin Ave. during the Chicago Freedom Movement in 1966.
Civil rights leader the Rev. Jesse Jackson was waiting for the crowd at the Dr. King Legacy Apartments and roused them with a speech calling for not just disrupting the police status quo, but also for an economic, health care and housing revolution in the black community.
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“The police must enforce the law, not make the law as they go,” Jackson said. “Their racism is bone-deep. Bone-deep, not skin-deep.”
Jackson, a two-time Democratic presidential candidate and founder of the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, made fun of the controversy brewing with Chicago police and U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush. Images apparently depicted officers making popcorn, drinking coffee and sleeping on a couch in the congressman’s campaign office while nearby businesses were being looted amid unrest nearly two weeks ago.
“The 13 police that (were) sent to Bobby Rush’s office, Lori Lightfoot, she can’t find them,” Jackson said, of Chicago’s mayor. “Their laws must go because black lives matter.”
With a crowd of at least 100 people repeating after him, Jackson chanted, “I’m in Lawndale. I matter. West Side. Black people matter. Black lives matter. Black lives matter.”
A scuffle in the beginning between Chicago activist Mark Carter and People’s Church of the Harvest pastor Michael Eaddy briefly disrupted the first round of speeches. Through a loudspeaker, Carter ordered Eaddy, who serves on the Police Board, to “take a step back.” He also blared a foghorn as Ald. Michael Scott, 24th, played a recorded message from Mayor Lightfoot, effectively drowning out her words.
After the ruckus died down, Illinois U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin addressed the crowd.
“Fifty years ago, Dr. Martin Luther King marched through these neighborhoods for justice," Durbin said. “Today, in his memory and in the tradition of an America always seeking to better itself, we march these same streets in the name of Dr. Martin Luther King, George Floyd, Laquan McDonald. The list goes on and on.”
As the march continued, a song rang out: “Everybody say black lives matter … everybody say, I can’t breathe. Hands up, don’t shoot,” from a truck as a Chicago police bike unit followed.
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Sen. Dick Durbin: “Dr. Martin Luther King marched through these neighborhoods for justice. Today, in his memory & in the tradition of an America always seeking to better itself we march the same streets in the name of Dr. Martin Luther King George Floyd laquan McDonald.” pic.twitter.com/Z1xlKfYYWC — Alice Yin (@byaliceyin) June 12, 2020
As the marchers arrived at the historic Stone Temple Baptist Church, shortly after 1 p.m., Bishop Derrick Fitzpatrick led the crowd in a chant:
“Take your knee off my neck. Black lives matter.”
Deborah Wesley, vice president for community outreach at Sinai Health Systems, recalled witnessing King say, “Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health care is the most shocking and inhumane,” in Chicago during the 1960s.
That injustice continues today with disparities in COVID-19 and maternal deaths among black people, Wesley said.
“We will no longer tolerate a society that accepts it as inevitable that black people are sicker and are just gonna die,” Wesley said. “We deserve and we demand healthy communities and a health care system that treats us equally, with compassion and dignity.”
The crowd erupted in applause when Wesley promised her community will not stand aside as the brown community suffers barriers to health care because of immigration status.
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Pastor Ira Acree warned that Thursday’s revelation of the Chicago cops caught sleeping and eating popcorn at Rush’s office was the tip of the iceberg in police misconduct.
Dubbing Chicago a "tale of two cities,” Acree asked: “If they do this in the middle of a riot, what are they doing in normal conditions? This behavior coupled with the abysmal homicide clearance rate, it’s no wonder that our people on the West Side feel abandoned and all they own when it comes down to public safety in our community.”
State Rep. Camille Lilly, D-Chicago, was also on hand to show solidarity with the movement.
“When you walk in peace, things get done,” Lilly told the marchers. “Together we must have the vision for the black community. Together we must work with all the elected officials at every level of government,” Lilly said.
“I stand with you. We will get this done.”
In a cameo appearance, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle reminded the group of the weight of black history in America, summarizing the arc of their arrival as slaves in 1619 to the passage of the 13th Amendment freeing them about 250 years later to modern-day protests against police brutality.
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“We’re not in the battle of a moment, we’re in the battle of a lifetime,” Preckwinkle said. “We’re in the battle of our lifetime and the change we seek is not going to come tomorrow or the next day, but it will come if we spend our lives working for it.”
Ephraim Eaddy, spokesman for the police accountability office, also delivered remarks during the march, saying that as a black man raised in Chicago he was taught that anything was possible.
“I want you to know, West Side of Chicago, we hear you,” Eaddy said. “What you need to continue to do is hold us accountable. We are the agency that will conduct the investigations. … I was born in the city of Chicago and I was taught we don’t hide, and we don’t run.”
Chicago Police Board President Ghian Foreman, who said last week that police battered him with batons the previous weekend, echoed the need for accountability and stressed the board is independent of the mayor. “No amount of effort is adequate until it’s effective.”
Chicago Police board president Ghian Foreman, who stated last week that Chicago police battered him with batons the previous weekend, echoes need for accountability and stresses the board is independent of the mayor. “No amount of effort is adequate until it’s effective.” pic.twitter.com/bKsi4iDApY — Alice Yin (@byaliceyin) June 12, 2020
Addressing the crowd at Stone Temple Baptist Church, U.S. Rep. Danny Davis had an uplifting message.
US Rep Danny Davis: “Good fruit keeps on falling. ... All of the young ppl will continue to express hope faith and belief that only is change on the way but change is right now.“ Says police dep needs more representation of Black people pic.twitter.com/ZauADgrvaC — Alice Yin (@byaliceyin) June 12, 2020
“Good fruit keeps on falling. … All of the young people will continue to express hope, faith and belief that not only is change on the way, but change is right now.“
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Friday midafternoon, another rally unfolded in Bronzeville, where Believers Bail Out, a bail fund organization, and a handful of Chicago Muslim organizers hosted a march and rally that concluded with Friday prayers being held directly in front of Chicago police headquarters.
The “Muslims for Abolition” march started on 37th and Martin Luther King Drive, near a rock honoring Ida B. Wells, a pioneering investigative reporter who wrote about lynchings in the U.S.
“The reason we’re here is because George Floyd was lynched,” said Iesa, one of the organizers of the rally who did not want to give his last name. “Lynching has always meant to keep black and brown people oppressed, to terrify you.”
Those marching held signs that quoted the Prophet Muhammad, saying, “Fear the prayer of the oppressed, for there is no barrier between it and Allah,” and signs that denoted support for the Black Lives Matter movement.
Food, water and wheelchairs were donated to those who needed them, speakers encouraged attendees to wear masks, and marchers carried prayer mats with them. Inaya Salaam from Roseland, a volunteer for Believers Bail Out, brought her kids — her baby daughter wearing a “Black Girl Muslim” shirt — and said she was happy to see people being more vocal about the issue of police and prison abolition.
“Bailing people out is still feeding a system that is unjust,” Salaam said, “so seeing the movement over the past three years and the conversation happening now about abolition feels like real progress.”
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Jessica from Hyde Park said she has seen firsthand the negative effects of having police in schools.
“I’ve worked in middle and high schools and I know that it’s not a pleasant thing for a kid to come to school and the first thing they see is a police officer,” said Jessica, who did not give her last name because she is looking for work and felt her attendance at a rally would be used against her. “The part of the movement that speaks to me is the redistribution of funds in schools to where we actually need it, like teachers and counselors and social work.”
The group marched up Martin Luther King Drive and gathered for Friday prayers in the middle of the street outside police headquarters, at 3510 S. Michigan Ave. Organizers said the group grew to around 300 people by the time prayers were completed.
A handful of officers stood at the front entrance of the station, and attendees not participating in prayers stood between the officers and the group praying. The khutba, or sermon, focused on the requirement of all believers to fight for justice outside of just their places of prayer.
The group’s goal is to call for a complete abolition of police and prisons, said another organizer, Hoda Katebi.
Muslims for Abolition is planning to hold an abolition-focused event every Friday in a different city.
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"We have a tradition that is so deeply rooted in mercy and compassion. How many times a day do we say ‘Bismillahir Rahman Rahim?’” said Katebi, referencing an oft-repeated line of the Quran that describes God as “the most merciful.” “We’re trying to build a world that reflects what we’re called to.”
Meanwhile, Friday evening on the Northwest Side hundreds more demonstrators marched through the Jefferson Park neighborhood to protest peacefully.
As they rallied for justice and called for racial equality, speakers addressing the crowd first highlighted racial issues they’ve experienced in their own neighborhood.
Standing in front of Ald. James Gardiner’s office, Dawn Nettnin, a member of the Northwest Side Coalition Against Racism and Hate, urged the majority white crowd to fight against racism.
“For those neighbors who feel marginalized, especially our black neighbors, the allied voices of your white Northwest Side neighbors like me need to be louder. We need to be more active. We need to be committed to tangible solutions to keep you safe and are welcoming to you and your family.”
Danielle Bridges said she never experienced racism until moving to Jefferson Park from Evanston 22 years ago.
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”I spent that time trying to stay as small as possible to avoid the racism that I was getting just by existing,” Bridges said. ”But that day is over. I’m here to stand up, and I’m here to use my voice.”
The crowd, holding signs that read ”Black Lives Matter,” ”Silence Is Violence” and ”Black Lives Are Beautiful,” began chanting, “ Silent police are guilty too!” as they approached the 16th District police station, 5151 N. Milwaukee Ave.
They stayed about 10 minutes before marching back to Gardiner’s office, where the crowd ultimately dispersed about 6:45 p.m.
A couple of hundred protesters, some from End Racism in Lakeview, disbanded about 7:30 p.m. in front of the 19th District police station, 850 W. Addison St., after marching through the Lakeview area.
ayin@chicagotribune.com
nhusain@chicagotribune.com
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jaanderson@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-06-13--Coronavirus in Illinois updates: 595 new known COVID-19 cases reported as public health commissioner

Coronavirus in Illinois updates: 595 new known COVID-19 cases reported as public health commissioner says Chicago could further reopen on July 1, allow indoor dining at restaurants

According to guidelines also detailed on the chain ’ s website , the reopening is dependent on health metrics remaining @ @ @ @ @ Illinois moving to Phase 4 reopening .
There may be new protocols spelled out by @ @ @ @ @ current thinking is for auditoriums to be no more than 50 % filled , with @ @ @ @ @ .
Those without recliner seating , which Classic Cinemas says are already six feet apart @ @ @ @ @ row blocked off .
Concessions will be open .
Patrons will be required to follow @ @ @ @ @ , but only until seated .
There will be additional cleaning services and employees will @ @ @ @ @ masks and gloves .
Read more here .
—Doug George

We have lifted the paywall on this story. To support essential reporting, please consider becoming a subscriber .
A person rides the Metra Electric District line, May 11, 2021, in Chicago. With some coronavirus pandemic restrictions lifted, some people may be returning to public transit. (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune)
The city of Chicago is on pace to further reopen its economy on July 1, with restrictions potentially being loosened on indoor dining at restaurants, museums and gyms, public health commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said.
Arwady made the comments at a Friday afternoon news conference where she unveiled a new coronavirus data portal.
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State officials also announced Friday there had been 75 additional fatalities related to COVID-19 confirmed, for a statewide death toll of 6,260.
Officials also reported 595 new known cases, pushing the statewide total to 131,198.
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[ When can Illinois move to phase 4? Here's where each region stands. ]
[ How will Illinois reopen? Three charts breaking down Pritzker’s plan ]
[ COVID-19 cases in Illinois by ZIP code: Search for your neighborhood ]
[ As the coronavirus spreads, the Tribune is tracking Illinois cases here ]
Here’s what’s happening Friday with COVID-19 in the Chicago area and Illinois:
7:49 p.m.: Another week, another grim toll in Illinois nursing homes
Another 349 people living and working in Illinois long-term care facilities died of the novel coronavirus since the last weekly update and another 1,700 were confirmed to be infected, the state reported Friday.
That brings the total number of reported infections inside the state’s nursing homes and other larger congregate settings to 20,550. Cases from long-term care facilities account for about 16 percent of the more than 130,000 confirmed infections statewide and nearly 55 percent of all deaths.
Updated Illinois Department of Public Health data on Friday showed that 3,433 residents and workers connected to long-term care centers have died of COVID-19.
Although the numbers still are growing, the pace at which infections were reported did slow a bit. Since the last data report on June 5, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases among workers and residents of nursing homes and other institutional settings rose by about 9 percent. The number of cases had grown by about 10 percent the previous week and by 15 percent between May 23 and May 30.
Across Illinois, 580 long-term care facilities — nursing homes, assisted living settings and centers for adults with developmental disabilities — have had confirmed COVID-19 cases. Residents or workers have died as a result of the virus in more than 400 of those facilities; 152 facilities have had 10 or more deaths.
Most of the hardest-hit homes are in Cook County and surrounding counties. No facility has had more confirmed cases than the Elisabeth Ludeman Developmental Center in Park Forest, where 325 people have tested positive. Ludeman serves adults with developmental disabilities. And no facility has had more COVID-19 related deaths than the Villa at Windsor Park on Chicago’s South Side, where 43 people now have died of the virus. —Jennifer Smith Richards
6:37 p.m.: Business is picking up in Chicago, but for some minority-owned shops and restaurants, ‘it’s still not enough.’
It’s been a rough three months for Roberto Gomez, who owns Don Pepe, a Mexican restaurant in the city’s Little Village neighborhood.
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Gomez was getting ready to open for outdoor dining after months of relying on sales from carryout orders when widespread unrest hit the city over the death of George Floyd, a black man killed last month at the hands of Minneapolis police. Several businesses on the South and West Side were hit by looting. The response scared a lot of diners, and Gomez closed early three days, causing sales to drop to 10% of normal pandemic levels.
As protests remain peaceful and Chicago begins a phased reopening, Gomez said “it’s still not enough” for his business to recover to the way it was before the coronavirus pandemic. Businesses like his have been hit with a double whammy the past few months, struggling to make it through a statewide shutdown and civil unrest. Now some are struggling to open with capacity limits and other coronavirus restrictions.
Some business owners of color say they are getting left behind. Read more here. —Abdel Jimenez
6:23 p.m.: Lawsuit claims Symphony of Joliet nursing home failed to protect residents from coronavirus
A lawsuit has been filed against Symphony of Joliet on behalf of an 84-year-old man who died of COVID-19, alleging the nursing home failed to protect him against the coronavirus.
David Mitchell began suffering a fever, loss of appetite and difficulty breathing in late March, according to the suit filed Thursday in Will County. Even though the nursing home said it was keeping residents isolated in their rooms, Mitchell was served breakfast in the communal dining room on March 28.
That afternoon, Mitchell underwent a chest X-ray and an EKG to check his suit, the suit states. On March 30, he was transferred to Amita Health St. Joseph Medical Center in Joliet, where he tested positive for the coronavirus. He died on April 7.
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The suit alleges that several members of the staff, including a maintenance worker, began showing symptoms of COVID-19 in early March, but were told to continue to work without protective equipment.
Even after federal authorities issued guidelines on March 13 to screen all nursing home workers for fever or respiratory problems, the suit claims Symphony of Joliet failed to do so and staff members continued working with residents without masks or other protective gear.
Nursing home officials have said the maintenance worker went from room to room, assembling tables for residents, after the main dining room was closed. He showed no symptoms at the time, but later became sick with COVID-19 and died. He is believed to have been a “super spreader” of the virus, the home has said. Read more here. —Robert McCoppin
3:41 p.m.: Lightfoot to introduce coronavirus tenant protection ordinance
Mayor Lori Lightfoot plans to introduce a package next week designed to give renters who’ve lost income due to the coronavirus pandemic a measure of protection against evictions, even as some housing advocates hope to strengthen it in the coming days to do more for tenants.
The mayor’s latest proposal comes a month after progressive aldermen ripped another Lightfoot tenant protection ordinance as inadequate and blocked it, at least temporarily, from getting approved.
The new measure sets rules to follow for people who can’t make their rent payments because of the economic upheaval and rash of layoffs due to the coronavirus.
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Under the guidelines the Lightfoot administration plans to submit to the City Council Housing Committee on Monday, tenants who inform landlords they’ve been financially impacted by the pandemic would get seven days to try to engage in some kind of “good faith negotiations” to come to a “mutually satisfactory agreement for repayment of the unpaid rent.”
According to the ordinance, the landlord would have the option to offer to spread out repayment of each month’s unpaid rent over 60 days, to submit the matter for mediation, to apply the tenant’s security deposit toward the unpaid amount, to offer to waive all or part of the unpaid rent if the tenant moves out, or to enter into some other agreement with the renter.
In a letter to Housing Committee Chairman Ald. Harry Osterman, 48th, the Chicago Housing Justice League said the mayor’s plan has “some promising language that will benefit renters, but its effectiveness is undermined by a few loopholes and otherwise unenforceable provisions.”
In particular, the letter predicted unscrupulous landlords would circumvent the rules by simply terminating month-to-month leases with 30 days notice.
And it raised concerns that the good faith negotiations would be “mere recommendations and the bill places no meaningful obligation on the landlord."
David Zoltan of the Housing Justice League said Osterman has been open to discussions about making the ordinance better. “We need this bill to be strong to protect as many Chicagoans as possible,” Zoltan said.
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In May, Lightfoot introduced to the City Council a separate ordinance to require more notice and in some cases payments to renters from landlords who are not renewing their leases.
Opponents said it didn’t go nearly far enough to protect tenants’ rights, and used a parliamentary procedure to shunt it to the Rules Committee, a sort of legislative purgatory. Rules is set to meet Tuesday, however, and Lightfoot could seek to get it voted out of that committee and back on the council docket.
The mayor in May said she was confident she had the votes to pass that legislation without making changes. “I have no expectations that the proposal will be revised,” the mayor said then. —John Byrne
2:56 p.m.: Chicago could further reopen on July 1, allow indoor dining at restaurants, reopen gyms and museums, public health commissioner says
The city of Chicago is on pace to further reopen its economy on July 1, with restrictions potentially being loosened on indoor dining at restaurants, museums and gyms, public health commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said.
Arwady made the comments at a Friday afternoon news conference where she unveiled a new coronavirus data portal.
Despite the potentially good news for restless Chicagoans, Arwady said city officials remain concerned about COVID-19 spikes around the country in other cities and 20 states that reopened before Illinois.
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With Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s stay-at-home order lifted and more people getting out, Arwady said, “We are concerned and watching closely.”
“COVID-19 has not gone away," Arwady said. "We’re not out of this yet.” Read more here. —Gregory Pratt
2:41 p.m.: Chicago-area chain Classic Cinemas reopening June 26 at half capacity and showing ‘old-favorite’ movies
Classic Cinemas, which runs 10 cinemas in the Chicago area, has announced it will reopen its movie theaters June 26 with limited capacity.
It will be a gradual reopening, said chain CEO Chris Johnson Friday, a toe in the water to test Illinoisians’ appetite to sit and watch a movie in a theater. “I think our message is, come back when you’re ready," he said. He doesn’t expect to sell out any theaters, even at half capacity. “We don’t expect to be turning people away.”
The point is more to build trust and get the movie-going public used to the idea again.
New releases will wait until later in July — biggest releases in the pipeline are director Christopher Nolan’s “Tenet” scheduled for July 17 and Disney’s live-action adaptation of “Mulan” on July 24. For now, the biggest pictures on most of his screens will be 2017′s “The Greatest Showman,” “Zootopia” and, coming a bit later, “The Empire Strikes Back.” A Classic Cinemas theater in Beloit, Wisc. has already reopened and currently is showing such titles as “Back to the Future,” “Footloose” and one of the early “Harry Potter” films.
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“That’s the general flavor,” Johnson said. “In Woodstock, we might do ‘Groundhog Day.’”
According to guidelines also detailed on the chain’s website, the reopening is dependent on health metrics remaining positive and the State of Illinois moving to Phase 4 reopening. There may be new protocols spelled out by the state, but the current thinking is for auditoriums to be no more than 50% filled, with most seats sold as reserved-seating. Those without recliner seating, which Classic Cinemas says are already six feet apart, will have every other row blocked off. Concessions will be open. Patrons will be required to follow social-distancing guidelines including wearing masks, but only until seated. There will be additional cleaning services and employees will undergo health screening and wear masks and gloves. Read more here. —Doug George
2:30 p.m.: 595 new known COVID-19 cases, 75 additional deaths
State officials announced Friday there had been 75 additional fatalities related to COVID-19 confirmed, for a statewide death toll of 6,260.
Officials also reported 595 new known cases, pushing the statewide total to 131,198.
2:24 p.m.: Ex-Northwestern professor charged in alleged fetish slaying turned away in request for release to fight coronavirus
The ex-Northwestern professor accused of stabbing his boyfriend to death in what prosecutors have said was an attempt to fulfill a sexual fetish was again denied release from Cook County Jail on Friday, but not before new allegations were revealed about the slaying and the professor’s time on the lam.
Wyndham Lathem sent a video to his mother after the slaying with a straightforward confession: “I killed him, I did do it, it wasn’t an accident but it was a mistake,” Assistant State’s Attorney Craig Engebretson said during a hearing on Lathem’s bond.
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“This was a thrill kill,” Engebretson continued, alleging that Lathem got “despondent” and killed his boyfriend to get a rush. “He may do this again if he gets sad or depressed and wants that thrill again; this is an extremely random, frightening murder."
Lathem’s attorneys have argued for weeks that Lathem, a microbiologist and immunologist who previously studied the plague, should be released so that he can help research COVID-19. Read more here. —Megan Crepeau
2:17 p.m.: Indiana casinos set to open Monday as Illinois gaming remains on hold
While Illinois has yet to set a date for reopening its casinos, Chicagoans can roll the dice in Indiana beginning Monday, as the Horseshoe Hammond welcomes gamblers with masks, sanitizing stations and plenty of freshly-washed chips.
The casino, which is located about 20 miles from downtown Chicago, is set to open at 6 a.m. — the earliest allowed by the state of Indiana as part of its COVID-19 reopening plan. To maintain social distancing and meet uncertain demand, about 40% to 50% of the casino’s gaming positions will be open Monday.
“We are going to ease into the full business that we had,” said Dan Nita, regional president of Caesars Entertainment, the parent of Horseshoe Hammond. “It’s going to be a moving target as we learn about customer demand.”
The Horseshoe Hammond has been closed since March 16 and the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. But Indiana has joined a growing list of states allowing casinos to reopen — with restrictions.
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At Horseshoe, some slot machines will be turned off to allow for social distancing. No more than three players at a time can sit at a blackjack table, with masks required for both dealers and guests. All table games will be non-smoking, with limited seating.
Hand sanitizing wipes will be available at slot machines and table games, with stepped up cleaning procedures across the casino, Nita said.
“We’ll be disinfecting the chips on a regular basis and changing out our cards more regularly,” Nita said. Read more here. —Robert Channick
1:41 p.m.: Illinois State Fairs in Springfield, Du Quoin canceled due to coronavirus
This summer’s state fairs in Springfield and Du Quoin have been cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic, officials said Friday.
The announcement made official what had long been expected, as many large-scale gatherings, events and festivals in Illinois and nationwide have been called off this summer over concerns of the spread of COVID-19.
The annual fairs, which combined attracted more than 600,000 visitors last year, are set to return in August 2021.
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The Illinois State Fair, held annually in August in Springfield, was canceled from 1942 to 1945 during World War II, and the fairgrounds were used as a supply center for the Army Air Forces.
This year is the first time the Du Quoin State Fair has been canceled since the state took over the fairgrounds in 1986. Camping at the fairgrounds in Du Quoin will still be allowed.
The state Department of Agriculture will host a Junior Livestock Expo in Springfield in September for exhibitors aged 8 to 21 to show their animals, and the 4-H General Project Show will take place virtually.
Anyone who has purchased Illinois State Fair passes or admission booklets can contact the State Fair office at (217) 782-6661 or email agr.fairinfo@illinois.gov. —Jamie Munks
1:38 p.m.: Chicago City Council sued over conference calls where Mayor Lori Lightfoot and alderman exchanged profanities
In a newly filed lawsuit, the Better Government Association alleges that the Chicago City Council violated the Illinois Open Meetings Act by hosting conference calls with aldermen and Mayor Lori Lightfoot.
Under Lightfoot, the city has hosted a number of briefings for Chicago aldermen to detail her administration’s coronavirus response and discuss other matters such as the recent wave of protests and looting.
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The BGA, a watchdog group that does investigative journalism, alleges that the City Council’s conference calls “violated nearly every meaningful OMA requirement, including the statutory obligation to provide notice of meetings, to allow public comment at meetings, and to make meetings ‘convenient’ and ‘open’ to the public.” Read more here. —Gregory Pratt
1:34 p.m.: Seeking to cut wait times, Illinois Secretary of State’s office launches online pre-registration for licenses, ID cards
The Illinois Secretary of State’s office is launching an online preregistration program for driver’s licenses and ID cards in an effort to speed up wait times at driver’s service facilities.
Residents can access a preregistration application for a driver’s license or identification card at www.cyberdriveillinois.com. The form covers some of the information that a Secretary of State’s office employee would normally have to take down during a visit to a state facility.
The preregistration process is only available to those who have an Illinois driver’s license or ID card that is not suspended, canceled, revoked or expired for more than a year. Read more here. —Jamie Munks
1:33 p.m.: After a few lawsuits and defiant services, more Chicago-area houses of worship gradually reopening after months of COVID-19 shutdown
After months of virtual services, and faith leaders scrambling to adjust during a public health crisis, religious leaders are now shifting their focus to how to safely resume in-person services and accommodate the faithful eager to gather for worship again.
During the state’s stay-at-home order, there has been conflict between some faith leaders and city and state officials over church closures, which some religious leaders believed infringed on their constitutional rights. As faith leaders complained about hardware and liquor stores remaining open during the pandemic shutdowns, a handful of Illinois churches sued Gov. J.B. Pritzker and and held services, with three Chicago churches being cited by the city.
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Now that Pritzker has moved to lift restrictions after reclassifying religious activities as essential, religious leaders across all denominations and faiths are working to find a balance between meeting people’s desire to worship together and guarding against spreading COVID-19. Read more here. —Javonte Anderson
12:49 p.m.: New coronavirus testing sites open in Fox Valley
CVS Health on Friday opened three new COVID-19 testing sites in the Fox Valley area.
The nationwide drug store chain opened a testing site at 644 N. Route 59 in Naperville, 1500 Lincoln Highway in St. Charles and at 1099 Army Trail Road in Bartlett.
According to a CVS press release, the company said it is opening the testing sites “as part of our ongoing commitment to Illinois by helping to slow the spread of the virus and to support communities as they begin to safely reopen.”
In all, CVS Health has expanded its COVID-19 testing program by opening 17 additional test sites at CVS Pharmacy drive-thru locations across the state. The openings add to 40 locations previously opened by CVS Health across Illinois.
The new sites began seeing patients Friday. Read more here. —Beacon-News staff
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9:39 a.m.: Architecture tour boats return to the Chicago River today after being sidelined by the virus
It’s one of the signature images of summer in Chicago: Architectural tour boats plying the skyscraper canyons of the Chicago River, their guides spitting out facts to packed crowds as the low-slung craft slip beneath river bridges.
The coronavirus pandemic erased such vibrant scenes, turning the docks along the river’s main branch into mini-ghost towns and costing tour operators thousands of dollars in lost revenue.
Today, however, a hint of normalcy returns to the river as some tour boat operators reopen for the first time since the pandemic forced them to shut down in mid-March.
The resumption comes as the city opens the downtown Riverwalk today, with restrictions aimed at limiting activity and crowds.
“We thought it was important to get back on the water, even as a sign of hope,” said Amy Hartnett, director of sales and marketing for Shoreline Sightseeing.
Wendella river cruises, which leave from the Wrigley Building, also restart today. The Chicago Architecture Center, whose river tours depart from the downtown Riverwalk, expects to reopen those cruises June 26.
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But this is anything but a full-fledged return to normal. Tourists must wear masks on the boats. And in keeping with state requirements during the pandemic, seating arrangements have been rejiggered to enforce social distancing. That hurts the operators’ ability to cover costs. Read more here. —Blair Kamin
7:16. a.m.: Teachers retiring during the pandemic leave their schools on a bittersweet note
About 1,600 public school teachers in Illinois are retiring this spring – under circumstances not a single one likely expected when they began their careers decades ago.
While much attention has been paid to how high school seniors are missing out on typical end-of-year rituals, teachers who are capping their careers during the coronavirus pandemic this spring are also having to forgo traditional opportunities to say goodbye. Read more here. —Karen Ann Cullotta
5:15 a.m.: Chicago’s Riverwalk reopens today with restrictions
Chicago’s Riverwalk officially reopened at 5 a.m. Friday, but with restrictions aimed at limiting activity and crowds.
Those using the space must wear face coverings and maintain social distance. In order to control crowd sizes, the city is creating designated hours for recreation and concessions. Between the hours of 5 a.m. and 10 a.m., people will be allowed to run, jog, walk and bike along the path between Lake Shore Drive and Lake Street. At 10 a.m. the Riverwalk will be closed for cleaning. Starting at 11 a.m. through 9 p.m., the Riverwalk’s concessions will be open by reservation only. In addition to requiring reservations, each establishment must space tables 6 feet part.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot ordered the Riverwalk closed in March as part of a broader effort to curb the spread of coronavirus. Read more here. —Gregory Pratt
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5:10 a.m.: Illinois sees a full week of fewer than 100 COVID-19 deaths reported daily
The number of deaths in Illinois attributed to the coronavirus now stands at 6,185, with 91 more deaths reported Thursday.
The state has now seen a full week of fewer than 100 deaths reported daily by the Illinois Department of Public Health.
The department also reported 766 people tested positive for COVID-19 from among the 22,000 people tested. The number that have tested positive since January totals 130,603. The 625 new cases announced Wednesday was the lowest daily count in Illinois since March 30.
Health officials say the recovery rate for people who contract COVID-19 stands at 92 percent.
The Department of Health is also reporting probable COVID-19 cases, with 178 probable deaths and 724 non-fatal infections. The probable victims and patients were never tested. —Associated Press
5 a.m.: Lollapalooza promoter to pay Chicago Park District $750,000 for canceled fest
Lollapalooza promoter C3 Presents will pay the Chicago Park District $750,000 for this year’s canceled fest, per the terms of their contract, the Park District said in a statement.
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Earlier this week, the city announced that Lollapalooza, Taste of Chicago and other special summer events are canceled this year because of concerns about the spread of the novel coronavirus.
According to the contract C3 and the Park District signed in 2012, the Texas-based promotion company owes $750,000 to the Park District if the cancellation is caused by “force majeure,” which covers fire, hurricane, flood, tornado, “act of God,” terrorist act, mechanical or structural failure, civil commotion and any law or order from a public or military authority stemming from certain occurrences that are “not reasonably foreseeable” and are beyond “reasonable control.” Read more here. —Tracy Swartz
Breaking coronavirus news Stay up to date with the latest information on coronavirus with our breaking news alerts.
Here are five things that happened Thursday related to COVID-19 in the Chicago area:


chicagotribune--2020-06-13--Nursing home COVID-19 cases keep climbing in Illinois, though growth of new reported cases slowed

Although the numbers still are growing , the pace at which infections were reported did slow a bit .
Since @ @ @ @ @ June 5 , the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases among workers and residents of nursing @ @ @ @ @ rose by about 9 % .
The number of cases had grown by about 10 @ @ @ @ @ by 15 % between May 23 and May 30 .

Another 349 people living and working in Illinois long-term care facilities died of the novel coronavirus since the last weekly update and another 1,700 were confirmed to be infected, the state reported Friday.
That brings the total number of reported infections inside the state’s nursing homes and other larger congregate settings to 20,550. Cases from long-term care facilities account for about 16% of the more than 130,000 confirmed infections statewide and nearly 55% of all deaths.
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Updated Illinois Department of Public Health data on Friday showed that 3,433 residents and workers connected to long-term care centers have died of COVID-19.
Although the numbers still are growing, the pace at which infections were reported did slow a bit. Since the last data report on June 5, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases among workers and residents of nursing homes and other institutional settings rose by about 9%. The number of cases had grown by about 10% the previous week and by 15% between May 23 and May 30.
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Across Illinois, 580 long-term care facilities — nursing homes, assisted living settings and centers for adults with developmental disabilities — have had confirmed COVID-19 cases. Residents or workers have died as a result of the virus in more than 400 of those facilities; 152 facilities have had 10 or more deaths.
Most of the hardest-hit homes are in Cook County and surrounding counties. No facility has had more confirmed cases than the Elisabeth Ludeman Developmental Center in Park Forest, where 325 people have tested positive. Ludeman serves adults with developmental disabilities. And no facility has had more COVID-19 related deaths than the Villa at Windsor Park on Chicago’s South Side, where 43 people now have died of the virus.
jrichards@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-06-12--The latest from editorial cartoonist Scott Stantis

Treja Kelley had been hesitant to come forward after witnessing the murder of her 17-year-old cousin .
But she found @ @ @ @ @ stand last year and helped secure a guilty verdict .
Her testimony , though , @ @ @ @ @ head , prosecutors said .
Just a few months after testifying , Kelley was shot @ @ @ @ @ not far from where her cousin had been slain .
She was 18 and pregnant @


chicagotribune--2020-06-14--2 shot on Dan Ryan Expressway

2 shot on Dan Ryan Expressway

An Illinois State Police patrol car is parked near a BMW SUV with bullet holes near the 5900 block of @ @ @ @ @ lanes on June 13 , 2020 , in Chicago .

An Illinois State Police patrol car is parked near a BMW SUV with bullet holes near the 5900 block of the Dan Ryan Expressway southbound lanes on June 13, 2020, in Chicago. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
Two people were shot on the outbound Dan Ryan Expressway on Saturday afternoon, Illinois State Police said.
The shooting happened shortly before 5 p.m. in the local lanes near 59th Street, ISP said in a statement.
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Two people were taken to hospitals with “serious but non life-threatening injuries sustained from gunfire,’’ ISP said.
Southbound lanes were opened back up as of 8:10 p.m., state police said.
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Earlier, all southbound lanes were closed in that area, and traffic was being diverted to the express lanes.
rsobol@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-06-13--Cellphone video surfaces, showing Chicago cop punching handcuffed man on West Side, says man’s attor

Cellphone video surfaces, showing Chicago cop punching handcuffed man on West Side, says man’s attorney

In the video , as two officers flank Boston , grasping his arms , they walk him through the boisterous @ @ @ @ @ one point it appears they almost lose control of Boston , and he seems to @ @ @ @ @ little .
Then , Boston lunges the other way , and an officer is right @ @ @ @ @ to the ground , and that officer uses his right arm to apparently punch Boston @ @ @ @ @ though shrubbery is in the way of Boston ’ s upper body .
One bystander @ @ @ @ @ he ’ s beating him , he ’ s beating him !
’ ’

A man was handcuffed and slugged repeatedly by a Chicago police officer during a gambling and drug arrest on June 12, 2020. (Video provided by David Gaeger) (David Gaeger)
A 27-second cellphone video purportedly captured a handcuffed man being slugged repeatedly by a Chicago police officer during a gambling and drug arrest on the city’s West Side late Friday night, according to the man’s attorney.
The incident unfolded shortly after 11 p.m. Friday as police officers were called to the 100 block of North Keeler Avenue for a person with a gun in the West Garfield Park neighborhood.
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They encountered 28-year-old Sterlin Boston, who did not match the gunman’s description, “gambling” on the sidewalk and walked up to him, Assistant State’s Attorney Emily Czerniejewski told Judge Charles Beach on Saturday afternoon during Boston’s bail hearing, which was broadcast on YouTube.
Boston grabbed his waistband and begin to flee, said Officer Zeyad Matlock, a police spokesman, in a statement.
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“As they approached, he took off running,’’ and threw an object into a residence, locking the door so officers could not get in, Czerniejewski said. While Boston was being escorted to a police car, he tried to “break away,’’ while a crowd began forming, watching the ruckus and then jumping in.
The bystanders reached into the tangle and tried to grab Boston from the officers’ grip, and Boston fell to the ground and kicked an officer three times in the shin, causing abrasions, Czerniejewski and Matlock said.
Sterlin Boston (Chicago Police Department)
In the video, as two officers flank Boston, grasping his arms, they walk him through the boisterous and rowdy crowd. At one point it appears they almost lose control of Boston, and he seems to trip and ducks down a little. Then, Boston lunges the other way, and an officer is right behind him as he falls to the ground, and that officer uses his right arm to apparently punch Boston as he is down, though shrubbery is in the way of Boston’s upper body. One bystander yells: “Oooh, he’s beating him, he’s beating him!’’
The officer did not suffer serious injuries, and Boston, who had a small knotted clear plastic bag of suspected heroin on him, was charged with aggravated battery to a peace officer, possession of a controlled substance and misdemeanor gambling and resisting.
But Boston’s attorney, David Gaeger, contended the incident began as Boston was standing inside a gate at his home when police approached and cuffed him, not telling him why.
The situation escalated from there, after Boston’s hands started to bleed from the handcuffs and officers refused to remove them, Gaeger said.
“That officer pushed him over a hood, threw him down to the curb,’’ Gaeger said.
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After Boston landed on his back, police “repeatedly punched him on the back of the head and ground his face into the sidewalk,’’ said Gaeger, who added his client did not kick the police.
Gaeger told Beach a citizen on the scene filmed the incident and gave him the video.
“That man is restrained in handcuffs and down, prone, and he is being punched repeatedly,’’ Gaeger said the video shows. “This is what should scare people about the use of force.’’
Gaeger said Boston has lived in the Chicago area his entire life and graduated from Glenbard South High School in suburban Glen Ellyn. A parishioner of a Baptist church, Boston works full time as a forklift operator at a Home Depot warehouse and has two children, one of whom is 2 months old. He lives with his wife and suffers a seizure ailment, which “left a hole in his brain,’’ Gaeger told the judge.
Beach set a $10,000 D-bond on this case, but Boston, of the West Side, who had violated his bail bond with the new arrest, was being held without bail in connection with another, unrelated case. He is due back in court next week on the old case.
Chicago Tribune reporter Megan Crepeau contributed to this report.
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rsobol@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-06-13--Cellphone video shows Chicago cop punching handcuffed man, says man’s attorney

A man was handcuffed and slugged repeatedly by a Chicago police officer during a gambling and drug arrest on June @ @ @ @ @ Video provided by David Gaeger )


chicagotribune--2020-06-13--Hundreds of children and parents gather for youth march in Bronzeville as new rounds of George Floyd

Hundreds of children and parents gather for youth march in Bronzeville as new rounds of George Floyd-inspired demonstrations continue in Chicago

Though she wasn ’ t sure whether she ’ d support defunding the police , unlike other organizers of the @ @ @ @ @ did not want her last name used , thinks the courts and jail system does @ @ @ @ @ money .
She said her son did not have his right to a fair and @ @ @ @ @ has not been to court in four months .

Children and their families march against racism in the Bronzeville neighborhood of Chicago on June 13, 2020. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)
Wendy Willis wanted to show her 7-year-old daughter Mikah how to take action during a pivotal moment of change, so she marched with the young girl along with hundreds of other children and adults Saturday morning in Bronzeville.
“It feels like we’re on the verge of change,” Willis said. “I want her to be part of it.”
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The march was one of several that took place throughout the city, with more planned for the rest of the weekend. Most of them were directly sparked by the May 25 death of Floyd, a black man who gasped, “I can’t breathe,” while a white Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck, or by proposals for police reforms in Chicago.
Crowds of parents and children gathered in Mandrake Park in the South Side neighborhood for the demonstration, geared toward children. They walked down Drexel Boulevard, chanting, “Black Lives Matter” and “No Justice, No Peace.”
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The Chicago chapter of Jack and Jill organized a nonviolent protest against racism for kids and families down Drexel Boulevard in the Bronzeville neighborhood of Chicago on June 13, 2020. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)
The children, some of whom were experiencing their first protest, waved black balloons that said “Black Lives Matter." They chanted and held signs alongside their parents and other family members.
As a black woman, Willis has been followed in stores by clerks who suspected her of stealing, she said. On airplanes, when she travels first class for work, other passengers have asked her how she got there.
Her daughter is among few black children in her north suburban Catholic school, and though they have received support from the school, Willis is teaching her daughter about racism and equality. The recently watched a “Sesame Street” program on racism aired by CNN.
“I think this is history,” Willis said.
Ald. Sophia King, 4th, spoke to the crowd, proclaiming: "There is a bigger virus than COVID-19.”
“It is called racism,” she said. “If we kill this bigger virus, we will be able to breathe.”
Destin Kee, 13, confronted feelings of sadness and disgust after the killing of Floyd, so he came out from the Beverly area to the march with his parents.
“I wanted to support us as black people because of what we’re going through,” he said. “I don’t think it’s right.”
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Samara Willis marched with her two young nephews, 6 and 8, hoping the boys will feel empowered to make a difference. Their male relatives are teaching them about their own experiences with racism, and Willis prays for her nephews’ safety every day.
The two boys stood by her legs and yelled, “Black Lives Matter” as they walked down Drexel.
Later outside the Cook County Jail on the Southwest Side, a rally hosted in part by Black Lives Matter Chicago and the Chicago Torture Justice Center was held to demand the U.S. government divert money from the incarceration system in what they called a growing movement to abolish police and reform criminal justice.
Protesters head south in the 2700 block of South California Avenue during a rally and march against the prison system outside Cook County Jail. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
Malik Alim looks down at his 1-year-old son, Ori, while attending a protest against the prison system outside Cook County Jail. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
As of 3:20 p.m., about 150 people gathered on the lawn outside the jail as the demonstration got underway, with a car caravan flanking them on South California Avenue, motorists’ horns blaring. Toward the end of a march around the jail, two people were arrested and charges were pending, according to Chicago police.
Activists discussed the “trauma” they and their loved ones endured from the network of courts, jails and prisons that disproportionately affect black people. The county jail — one of the U.S.’s largest — has drawn additional notoriety as a hot spot for the coronavirus. About 75% of current detainees are black.
Cassandra Greer-Lee’s last words to her husband, Nickolas Lee, before the 42-year-old became one of the first detainees to die of the coronavirus inside Cook County Jail were of hope.
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“Don’t talk; just listen,” Greer-Lee, 43, urged him on April 11 as he struggled to breathe. “Was anyone beating it?” he asked about the novel respiratory illness ravaging his lungs. “Yes, thousands of people were beating it. And you will,” she promised.
The next day, Lee was taken out of the jail in a body bag, Greer-Lee said.
Greer-Lee now protests outside the jail and spoke at Saturday’s rally to bring attention to the conditions her husband died in and call for taxpayer money sent to the jail to be spent on Chicago Public Schools and mental health resources instead.
Cassandra Greer-Lee holds a poster showing her late husband, Nickolas Lee, during a protest against the prison system outside Cook County Jail on June 13, 2020, in Chicago. Lee died from COVID-19 in April while housed in the jail. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
“I’m gonna stand here — you might see the tears because I’m still hurting really bad — but I’m gonna stand here, and I’m gonna fight every day,” Greer-Lee said. “I’m gonna make sure that Cook County Jail is defunded. Why do you need millions when everybody dies anyways?”
After the crowd of more than 200 began chanting, "You are detaining me for nothing. No justice, no peace. Defund the police,'' one of the attendees, Gregory Banks of the Chicago Torture Justice Center, recounted the abuse allegedly inflicted by disgraced and convicted Chicago police Cmdr. Jon Burge decades ago.
Banks demanded that 75% of Chicago police’s budget be directed to schools, mental health facilities, jobs, housing and trauma centers in black and Latino communities.
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“Police cannot effectively be transparent as they are obligated to protect the code of silence, not report acts of terror and murder by other members in the department,” Banks said. “That conduct has been supported by the city of Chicago, Cook County state’s attorney’s office and most judges.”
Longtime activist Mark Clements, who says he was coerced into a confession through torture by Burge, was also on hand.
“When is enough, enough?” Clements asked. “There are people that have literally lost their mother, lost their father, lost their children all while sitting behind the complex of our prison system while our political forces have played political football game with the lives of men and women that were found guilty of crimes and which evidence has shown many of them never even committed.”
Gregory Banks, Chicago torture justice center, recounts the abuse inflicted by discarded CPD cop John Burge.
“We demand that 75% of CPD budget be given to schools, opening mental health facilities, jobs, housing and funding trauma centers in black and brown communities” + CPAC pic.twitter.com/N1YPl3iQkh — Alice Yin (@byaliceyin) June 13, 2020
Clements contended Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx should not be excused in the situation, arguing she has jurisdiction over many of the remaining Burge survivors locked up.
“Kim Foxx cannot get off of the chopping block,” Clements said. “It doesn’t take 20 or 30 goddamn years of continuances before you come out with a form of justice.”
Tiffany, whose 20-year-old son has been detained at the jail for two-and-a-half years, attended the march because she believes it is unjust his case has stalled for so long and that he is now trapped in an incubator for the deadly coronavirus.
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Though she wasn’t sure whether she’d support defunding the police, unlike other organizers of the rally, Tiffany, who did not want her last name used, thinks the courts and jail system does not deserve as much taxpayer money. She said her son did not have his right to a fair and speedy trial, and he has not been to court in four months.
Organizer Ariel Atkins points to fellow activists during a protest against the prison system outside Cook County Jail on June 13, 2020, in Chicago. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
“I want to see that when we walk into court on-site that it’s not different for white people versus black people,” said Tiffany, whose son is black. “The way that we’re treated out here has to change. There’s no reason why somebody, even if they’re criminals, should die with a knee on their neck.”
Another speaker included the great aunt of 17-year-old Pierre Loury, who was shot and killed by Chicago police in 2016. Arewa Karen Winters read about a dozen names of fatal Chicago police shooting victims, including her own great-nephew and Laquan McDonald, the 17-year-old black boy whose death led to the first murder conviction of a Chicago cop in decades.
“This city is one of the most politically corrupt cities in the country,'' Winters said as she urged the crowd to register to vote and “vote out” Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Foxx.
Just after 5 p.m., the marchers looped around the jail and arrived at the footsteps of the maximum-security dormitory. “They can hear us from here,” Black Lives Matter Chicago lead organizer Ariel Atkins yelled. “And they can see us from here.” She led the crowd to chant, “We love you. We, we love you,” as someone banged a drum in unison.
A minute later, detainees banged on the walls to signal they heard the message.
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mabuckley@chicagotribune.com
ayin@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-06-13--COVID-19 cases in Illinois by ZIP code: Search for your neighborhood

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

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


chicagotribune--2020-06-13--When can Illinois move to phase 4 of reopening plan? Here’s where each region stands.

With each of the state ’ s four regions in Phase 3 of Gov .
J.B. Pritzker ’ s Restore @ @ @ @ @ starts on moving on to Phase 4 , where more businesses and activities are allowed @ @ @ @ @ Illinois — from restaurants and salons to open space to non-COVID-19 procedures at the hospital @ @ @ @ @ depends on a host of metrics laid out by Pritzker .

Chad Yoder, Nausheen Husain, Jennifer Smith Richards, Jonathon Berlin

With each of the state’s four regions in Phase 3 of Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s Restore Illinois plan, the clock starts on moving on to Phase 4, where more businesses and activities are allowed. The plan to reopen Illinois — from restaurants and salons to open space to non-COVID-19 procedures at the hospital to concerts and festivals — depends on a host of metrics laid out by Pritzker.
The metrics focus on a rolling average of positive coronavirus cases and hospitalizations to keep track of the direction of the outbreak as well as availability of hospital beds and ventilators that would be needed to handle a possible surge. There are also benchmarks for testing and tracing positive tests.
[ COVID-19 cases in Illinois by ZIP code: Search for your neighborhood ]
A key element of the plan is that a region can move both forward and backward, where more parts of society can open and shut depending on the seriousness of the outbreak.
Here is a breakdown of where each region stands.


chicagotribune--2020-06-13--Tracking Illinois coronavirus: 6,289 deaths, 131,871 confirmed cases, 1.17 million tests, 7.66% posi

Tracking Illinois coronavirus: 6,289 deaths, 131,871 confirmed cases, 1.17 million tests, 7.66% positivity rate for Northeast region

As the coronavirus spreads and local , state and national governments work to contain and mitigate the outbreak , the @ @ @ @ @ .

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


chicagotribune--2020-06-13--Complaint by CTA employee turns into her arrest

Video shows a dispute between CTA supervisor Martesa Lee and Chicago police Officer Raymond Haran , and her arrest , @ @ @ @ @ supervisor .


chicagotribune--2020-06-13--CTA employee released after being arrested for complaint against officer

Sgt , William Spyker , right , speaks with CTA Supervisor Martesa Lee , left , and her supervisor after @ @ @ @ @ into a crime scene .


chicagotribune--2020-06-13--At state GOP’s virtual convention, chairman hails Trump as ‘man for our time,’ and urges using Obama

At state GOP’s virtual convention, chairman hails Trump as ‘man for our time,’ and urges using Obama’s prescription for victory

“ He may not be on the ballot this year , but the groundwork we lay now will go down @ @ @ @ @ about his leadership that will reap benefits as we throw everything we have behind defeating @ @ @ @ @ yes , he must be defeated , ” the GOP chairman said .

Illinois Republicans held a virtual state convention Saturday with Chairman Tim Schneider declaring President Donald Trump “a man for our time” and contending the COVID-19 pandemic has helped Democrats move the country toward socialism while trying to win the White House.
Schneider also used an unorthodox Illinois symbol for seeking to rally Republicans, invoking what he called former Democratic President Barack Obama’s “prescription” for victory: organize, protest and vote.
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“Let us work together. Let us organize. Let us rally and let our voices be heard and get everyone we possibly can to the ballot box in November,” said Schneider, a former Cook County commissioner who was installed as chairman by then-GOP Gov. Bruce Rauner, but like Rauner lost his publicly elected office in 2018.
Republicans, who are in a significant minority in Illinois government, had planned to hold their state convention in Peoria but chose to hold it through digital technology due to restrictions on gatherings as a result of the coronavirus. The party faithful plan to assemble on Sept. 19 to ratify a party platform and rally for the fall.
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But the pandemic and criticism over Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s pandemic response through stay-at-home orders, nonessential business shutdowns and his current phased-in reopening of the Illinois economy appeared to be the main theme of the campaign playbook for Republicans across the ballot in the Nov. 3 general election.
Schneider said actions initiated to stop the spread of the coronavirus appeared aimed to “move our country more toward socialism and to defeat our president, Donald Trump, in November, and we can’t let that happen.”
Pritzker, Schneider said, was “ruling like an unaccountable king” during the pandemic. He accused the governor of issuing “meaningless” shutdown orders and making up “arbitrary timelines and metrics for reopening not used by any other state.”
“He may not be on the ballot this year, but the groundwork we lay now will go down in the minds of taxpayers about his leadership that will reap benefits as we throw everything we have behind defeating him in 2022. And yes, he must be defeated,” the GOP chairman said.
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Republican U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis of Taylorville, facing what he acknowledged as a “tough race” for reelection in a rematch against Democrat Betsy Dirksen Londrigan of Springfield, said it was wrong that his central Illinois district continues to “meet metrics over and over again” set by the state’s Democratic leadership and not reopen.
“We can begin to safely learn how to live with this disease and continue to fight it,” Davis said. “We need people who are willing to work together. Use the data. Use the science.”
The state GOP complaints over the state’s handling of the pandemic come as a study by the New York Times had Illinois showing the largest decrease in new coronavirus cases in the nation compared with two weeks ago based on changes in the seven-day average against comparable figures as of June 11.
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With Trump a significant underdog in Illinois, having lost by 17 percentage points to Democrat Hillary Clinton in 2016, Schneider said Republicans shouldn’t be afraid to “tout the accomplishments and successes” of the president.
“He’s a man for our time and he must win reelection. A depressed Republican turnout would be a disaster for all Republicans in Illinois,” the state GOP chairman said. “I have spoken to the president personally, and even if we don’t win Illinois, which I hope we do, he wants to win the popular vote.”
Trump, Schneider said, is “a street fighter for the American people. A man who has one singular mission: make each and every one of our lives better.”
Schneider said the state GOP’s focus was on retaining Davis’ congressional seat as well as backing former Wheaton state Rep. Jeanne Ives’ challenge to U.S. Rep. Sean Casten of Downers Grove; Sugar Grove state Sen. Jim Oberweis’ bid against U.S. Rep. Lauren Underwood of Naperville; and an effort by Esther Joy King against U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos of Moline. Bustos chairs the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
Those races, Schneider said, “have been determined to be key by Trump Victory and the National Republican Congressional Committee.”
Schneider also said Republicans were unified in opposition to Pritzker’s signature ballot effort in November — voter ratification of a proposed state constitutional amendment to shift Illinois from a flat-rate income tax to a graduated-rate levy.
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The state GOP also plans to urge voters in north central Illinois’ third judicial district to oppose the retention of Supreme Court Justice Thomas Kilbride, who has served on the state’s highest court since 2000. Schneider said if Kilbride did not win retention, it would be the first step toward ending Democrats’ 4-3 majority on the Supreme Court.
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chicagotribune--2020-06-13--Coronavirus in Illinois updates: Here’s what’s happening this weekend with COVID-19 in the Chicago a

Coronavirus in Illinois updates: Here’s what’s happening this weekend with COVID-19 in the Chicago area

“ I think what ’ s going to come out of this is that takeout is going to be better @ @ @ @ @ , co-owner of Boka Group , whose slate of acclaimed restaurants include Girl & the @ @ @ @ @ in the Fulton Market district .
“ What is the Michelin star version of the @ @ @ @ @ ? ''
Read more here .
—Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz

We have lifted the paywall on this story. To support essential reporting, please consider becoming a subscriber .
The Fulton Market area of Chicago is no longer the ghost town it was during the depths of the COVID-19 virus pandemic shutdown. As restrictions on restaurants are eased, a worker takes a woman's temperature before she can enter Federales restaurant on Morgan Street on July 1, 2020. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)
Illinois health officials on Sunday reported 19 additional fatalities from COVID-19, the lowest daily death toll since April 2. The new confirmed deaths bring the statewide total to 6,308 since the pandemic began. Officials also announced 672 new known cases of the coronavirus in Illinois on Sunday, pushing the statewide total to 132,543.
Meanwhile, the city of Chicago is on pace to further reopen its economy on July 1, with restrictions potentially being loosened on indoor dining at restaurants, museums and gyms, public health commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said. Arwady made the comments at a Friday afternoon news conference where she unveiled a new coronavirus data portal.
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[ When can Illinois move to phase 4? Here's where each region stands. ]
[ How will Illinois reopen? Three charts breaking down Pritzker’s plan ]
[ COVID-19 cases in Illinois by ZIP code: Search for your neighborhood ]
[ As the coronavirus spreads, the Tribune is tracking Illinois cases here ]
Here’s what’s happening this weekend with COVID-19 in the Chicago area and Illinois:
Sunday, June 14
2:30 p.m. State announces 672 new case of COVID-19 and 19 additional deaths
State officials on Sunday announced 672 new cases of COVID-19, pushing the statewide total to 132,543 since the pandemic began.
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There were also 19 additional confirmed deaths, for a statewide total of 6,308. Most deaths were in Cook County, with one each reported in DuPage, Kane, and Will counties, according to the most recent information put out by the Illinois Department of Public Health.
Nearly all Illinois counties – 101 of 102 – have seen confirmed cases, it said in a statement.The preliminary seven-day statewide positivity for cases Is 3% of all tests between June 7 – 13. —Katherine Rosenberg-Douglas
Saturday, June 13
2:30 p.m.: 673 new known COVID-19 cases, 29 additional deaths
State officials announced Saturday there had been 29 additional fatalities related to COVID-19 confirmed, for a statewide death toll of 6,289.
Officials also reported 673 new known cases, pushing the statewide total to 131,871.
5 a.m.: Beware impulse buys as you head to garden centers amid COVID-19 reopening. Here’s what to consider before shopping.
All those colorful flowers, graceful branches and intoxicating aromas: It’s hard to resist impulse buying when shopping for plants, especially when many haven’t been able to shop for awhile.
“It’s still important to shop carefully and thoughtfully,” said Julie Janoski, manager of the Plant Clinic at The Morton Arboretum in Lisle. Trees, shrubs and perennials, even those purchased impulsively, will be with you for a long time. “Thinking ahead now will increase your chances for success and prevent issues in future years," she said.
A plant must fulfill your needs, but the conditions of your planting area also need to match the plant. “The amount of sun or shade you have, the available space, your soil — all those things limit which plants you can grow,” Janoski said. Read more here.
Friday: Takeout gets a makeover: How COVID-19 is forcing restaurants to improve the to-go experience
Restaurants built around the bustle of communal dining had to pivot to embrace takeout when the COVID-19 pandemic forced them to close their dining rooms. Many of those changes are expected to stick even as restaurants start to welcome customers back to patios and, once phase 4 of reopening begins, to dining rooms with restricted capacity.
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“I think what’s going to come out of this is that takeout is going to be better,” said Kevin Boehm, co-owner of Boka Group, whose slate of acclaimed restaurants include Girl & the Goat and Swift & Sons in the Fulton Market district. “What is the Michelin star version of the way we package our stuff?” Read more here. —Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz


chicagotribune--2020-06-13--Youth march in Bronzeville for change

Youth march in Bronzeville for change