chicagotribune--2020-08-20--Chicago police searching for man who has stabbed four homeless men, one fatally, since early July

In three of the attacks , the man has worn the same gray hooded sweatshirt with “ Aero 1987″ on @ @ @ @ @ .
The suspect is described as a Black man , about 5-foot-9 to 6-foot-1 , @ @ @ @ @ black hair worn in an afro .

Chicago police are searching for a man believed responsible for stabbing four homeless men, one of them fatally, since early July in Grant Park and on the South Side. (Chicago Police Department)
Chicago police are searching for a man believed responsible for stabbing four homeless men, one of them fatally, since early July in Grant Park and on the South Side.
The most recent attack occurred in the early morning hours Tuesday in the Longwood Manor neighborhood, according to police. A man was stabbed in the neck as he slept in the area of 14 W. 95th St. Police said he survived but his condition wasn’t immediately available.
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“In all four of these cases, the offender has approached homeless male victims while they were sleeping and has stabbed them in the neck with his left hand. Offender attacks the sleeping, unsuspected victims and flees the scene,” a police alert states.
In three of the attacks, the man has worn the same gray hooded sweatshirt with “Aero 1987″ on the front in red letters. The suspect is described as a Black man, about 5-foot-9 to 6-foot-1, with a slim build and black hair worn in an afro.
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Chicago police said two stabbings this month are connected and they released this surveillance image of the man they allege is responsible for both attacks, including one that was fatal. (Chicago Police Department)
The first known attack between July 7 and July 9 and was fatal. Aaron Curry, 58, was found dead on a mattress on the south end of Grant Park. The blade of a knife was lodged in his shoulder and the handle was lying nearby, according to a police report.
Officers found the man after a woman said she had had walked by on several mornings and realized the man hadn’t moved in that time.
A second man was found stabbed about 2 a.m. on July 15 at 220 W. 63rd St. near the Red Line elevated tracks. He survived, and investigators determined the two cases were related.
Then about 4 a.m. July 24, investigators were called to 1135 S. Michigan Ave. for another stabbing case where the victim survived.
The alert warns residents to be aware of their surroundings, walk in pairs and pay attention to suspicious people loitering in the area and report them to police.
Anyone with information was asked to call detectives at 312-744-8261, or provide it anonymously online at www.cpdtip.com.
kdouglas@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @312BreakingNews


chicagotribune--2020-08-20--A second vehicle has struck Long Grove’s historic bridge in the week since it reopened

George and Gloria Rogan , of Buffalo Grove , right , walked their dog across the Robert Parker Coffin Road @ @ @ @ @ 20 , 2020 and noticed the damage to the structure after it was struck the @ @ @ @ @ truck .
The damage from that incident marked the second time in the same week @ @ @ @ @ and damaged by a vehicle .

Long Grove celebrated the reopening of its historic covered bridge on Aug. 14, 2020 after a truck had seriously damaged it in 2018. Two vehicles have struck the bridge in the week since. (Karie Angell Luc / Pioneer Press)
Citations are pending against a truck driver who struck the Robert Parker Coffin Road Bridge in Long Grove Wednesday, the second time the structure had been run into since officials reopened it last week.
“We were dispatched to the bridge around 1:20 p.m. for what was initially a hit-and-run. Through several good witnesses, deputies were able to identify the offending vehicle as a medical transportation box truck, which was traveling westbound over the bridge,” Lake County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Sgt. Chris Covelli said in an email to Pioneer Press.
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Covelli said the driver was identified as a 29-year-old Chicago man. Authorities reached the man by phone and he returned to the scene. He is not identified because he is not charged with a crime,
“The driver advised he thought the bridge was a two-lane bridge, and he hugged the right side of the bridge. This caused the top of the box truck to strike the top of the bridge,” Covelli said in the email.
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The driver had apparently heard noise, but he chalked it up to the load he was transporting shifting inside the truck, Covelli said the man explained.
“He claims he did not know he struck the bridge,” the sergeant said.
George and Gloria Rogan, of Buffalo Grove, right, walked their dog across the Robert Parker Coffin Road Bridge in Long Grove Aug. 20, 2020 and noticed the damage to the structure after it was struck the day before by a box truck. The damage from that incident marked the second time in the same week the bridge had been hit and damaged by a vehicle. (Karie Angell Luc / Pioneer Press)
The damage Wednesday followed a weekend incident where a school bus struck the bridge – a day after it reopened after being out for two years.
Within 24 hours of reopening, Robert Parker Coffin Road Bridge was damaged when a school bus struck the historic structure, officials said Aug. 14.
The bridge, which was seriously damaged in 2018 when an overweight box truck plowed into the structure, reopened Friday to fanfare and celebration.
Around noon Saturday, a bus driver turned from Route 53 on to eastbound Robert Parker Coffin Road and disregarded an alert to stay off the bridge, Covelli said.
“Her GPS warned her she should not proceed with the type of vehicle she was driving,” Covelli said via email. “The occupants on the bus convinced her to proceed, which she did, and subsequently struck the bridge.”
The Robert Parker Coffin Road Bridge in Long Grove was damaged Aug. 15, 2020 when a school bus struck the historic structure. (Bill Jacob)
The 44-year-old bus driver was also from Chicago, according to Covelli.
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Village President Bill Jacob said Thursday Long Grove is evaluating how best to proceed with the bridge repair or modifications.
“The village will be looking at other measures at what else we can put in place to protect the bridge,” Jacob said. “Obviously, I don’t think this [damage from motorists] will deter us from keeping the bridge in place, it’s part of our history.”
Gloria Rogan, of Buffalo Grove, and husband, George, were walking their dog Thursday, when they crossed the bridge and checked out the damage.
"You would think that, people could look at that and say, 'You know, I probably wouldn't make it,'" Gloria Rogan said.
A yellow sign affixed to the structure indicates the height clearance is 8-feet-6-inches.
Karie Angell Luc is a freelancer.


chicagotribune--2020-08-20--Watch live: Mayor Lightfoot, top cop David Brown discuss police initiatives

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot will join Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown to announce the expansion of the Neighborhood Policing Initiative @ @ @ @ @ 9:45 a.m .

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chicagotribune--2020-08-20--Pritzker-backed group promoting graduated-rate tax goes up with first ad of campaign season

At issue is changing the state ’ s currently mandated flat-rate income tax to a graduated-rate tax structure that increases @ @ @ @ @ to the federal income tax .
A law adopted if voters ratify the proposed constitutional @ @ @ @ @ those making more than $ 250,000 , supporters say , meaning 97 % of taxpayers @ @ @ @ @ less than they do now .

A group funded by Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker to promote his signature agenda item — a state constitutional amendment to replace Illinois’ flat-rate income tax with a graduated-rate tax — launches its first TV ad of the campaign season on Thursday.
The group Vote Yes For Fairness indicated that the ad, to air on broadcast and cable television through at least Monday, was the first in a series leading up to the Nov. 3 election, when voters will consider whether to ratify the proposed amendment.
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“With only 75 days until Election Day, we’re committed to ensuring Illinoisans know the truth about the Fair Tax and how it will help our families, our communities, and our state,” said Quentin Fulks, the group’s chairman.
The proposed constitutional amendment is expected to be the most costly statewide ballot initiative in Illinois history and to be at the top of political spending in this election year.
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Pritzker, a wealthy heir to the Hyatt Hotels fortune, has given the Vote Yes for Fairness group $56.5 million. But the proposal is universally opposed by Republicans and business groups who are expected to weigh in with their own TV ads.
At issue is changing the state’s currently mandated flat-rate income tax to a graduated-rate tax structure that increases along with income, similar to the federal income tax. A law adopted if voters ratify the proposed constitutional amendment would increase taxes on those making more than $250,000, supporters say, meaning 97% of taxpayers would pay no more or less than they do now.
The change would raise billions of dollars for state government on an annual basis.
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But the issue has become more complicated because of veteran Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan, who was implicated in an alleged federal bribery and influence scheme involving ComEd.
The state’s largest utility has agreed to pay a $200 million fine and cooperate with investigators for three years in what prosecutors allege was a near-decadelong scheme to provide Madigan allies with jobs and contracts to win the speaker’s favor.
Madigan has not been charged with any wrongdoing and has denied ever making a legislative decision with improper motives.
Madigan, the Illinois Democratic Party chairman, is the nation’s longest-serving speaker and has served in the post since 1983 with the exception of two years. He has long been a target of Republican attacks, and opponents of the graduated-rate tax have questioned why voters should send more tax dollars to a state with a long history of financial mismanagement.
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The Vote Yes For Fairness group has spent at least $75,000 for half-minute spots in Chicago and central Illinois, an analysis of cable buys show. No figure on how much the group spent on broadcast TV was immediately available.
In the ad, a narrator notes that someone in neighboring Wisconsin or Iowa would pay a lower income-tax rate than millionaires, “but not in Illinois because we have one of the most unfair tax systems in America.”
An earlier incarnation of the group, Think Big Illinois, actually launched the first ad in support of the tax change in March of last year, even before the Democratic-led legislature put the proposal on this year’s ballot.
The ad can be viewed here.
rap30@aol.com
Twitter @rap30


chicagotribune--2020-08-20--6 people, including 17-year-old, shot while at a ‘large gathering’ in Gresham

The 17-year-old suffered a graze wound to his head and was in fair condition at the University of Chicago , @ @ @ @ @ in the back also was in fair condition , authorities said .
A 29-year-old man @ @ @ @ @ and also was in fair condition at the hospital .

Six people, including a 17-year-old boy, were shot late Wednesday while at a “large gathering” in the Gresham neighborhood on the South Side, according to Chicago police.
Officers were called to the 8500 block of South Parnell Avenue for a report of multiple people shot about 11:30 p.m., police said.
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A 37-year-old man was shot in the head and was in critical condition at the University of Chicago Medical Center. A 28-year-old man was shot in the arm and was in fair condition at St. Bernard Hospital.
The 17-year-old suffered a graze wound to his head and was in fair condition at the University of Chicago, where a 21-year-old who shot in the back also was in fair condition, authorities said. A 29-year-old man was shot in the leg and also was in fair condition at the hospital.
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Another man, also 29, suffered gunshot wounds to the neck and back and was in critical condition at the U. of C. Medical Center.
The people had been outside when they were shot, possibly by people in a car, police said. No descriptions of the car or suspects have been released.
Check back for updates.


chicagotribune--2020-08-20--A safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine is the great hope. How do we get there?

In that next phase , thousands of people get the vaccine and a relatively equal number receive a placebo .
@ @ @ @ @ of infection are compared to see if vaccinated people fare better .
Ideally , the @ @ @ @ @ are more likely to be exposed to the virus because they live in hot spots @ @ @ @ @ exposure is more likely or are part of a racial or ethnic group in which @ @ @ @ @ illness and death .

Jeffrey Hubbell in his lab at the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering at University of Chicago on Aug, 12, 2020. He specializes in bioengineering and is involved in early-stage vaccine development. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)
As COVID-19 continues to ravage the world, much attention is focused on one great hope: a safe, effective and widely available vaccine that would allow people to again embrace friends, go back to work and ditch that lurking feeling of dread.
Getting there won’t be simple. Devising a vaccine is a complex, multistep process that takes years — and sometimes never succeeds.
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Still, scientists have great expectations this time around, given the worldwide focus on vaccine development, recent leaps forward in biotechnology and the federal government’s declaration of Operation Warp Speed, a multibillion-dollar taxpayer funded effort to ramp up production of vaccines even before scientists determine which one will be effective and safe.
“Right now, we pray that this will work,” said Dr. Kathleen Mullane, an infectious disease expert at University of Chicago Medicine who has been involved in clinical vaccine trials. “We might be able to expect to see a vaccine available commercially either by next fall or Christmas — not the coming one, but a year from now.”
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Despite all the urgency, scientific advances and funding, there are many hurdles. In addition to the difficulty of creating and evaluating vaccines at an accelerated pace, countries must figure out how to manufacture, store and distribute hundreds of millions of doses — as well as convince enough people to be vaccinated to halt the spread of the disease.
Here’s a rundown of how the process works and where we stand now:
How vaccines work
The goal of vaccination is to prevent someone from getting infected with the targeted disease or give their immune system the tools to quickly defeat the infection if it occurs. Some do both.
The idea is to trigger a robust immune response to the attacking virus or bacterium — the same type of bodily reaction that in most cases is able to defeat the infection and prevent a recurrence — but without causing the life-threatening illness.
“We want the vaccine to do as well as severe disease in inducing an immune response, but not have any severity with it,” said Dr. Stanley Perlman, a University of Iowa professor of microbiology and immunology who has studied coronaviruses for 38 years.
Heather Lieberman, 28, receives a COVID-19 trial vaccination at the Research Centers of America in Hollywood, Florida, on Aug. 13, 2020. (Chandan Khanna/Getty-AFP)
A successful vaccine will protect most, but not all, of the individuals it’s given to. The ultimate goal is to vaccinate enough people that it becomes very hard for the disease to spread. This kind of community protection is commonly called herd immunity.
“Vaccines don’t prevent anything — vaccination does,” Dr. Barry Bloom, a professor of public health at the T.H. Chan School of Public Health at Harvard University, said in a recent forum.
The vaccination percentage that is necessary to achieve herd immunity varies from disease to disease. Many scientists estimate that for COVID-19 the necessary percentage is around 60%.
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But doctors and public health experts worry that not enough people will get vaccinated to reach that target, given the government’s involvement in the effort at a time when trust in institutions is waning and an anti-vaccination movement is alive and well.
“Polls show that less than half of Americans would take the vaccine,” Perlman said. “That has to change a lot.”
[ A COVID-19 vaccine still hasn’t emerged — but some are already wary of it ]
Indeed, a recent poll and a separate survey each found reluctance or refusal to take a vaccine in a significant portion of the population. The hesitancy is particularly great in the Black community, which has the highest rate of mortality from COVID-19.
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot has taken note of the problem, saying the city will develop a vaccination education program to boost the numbers if a COVID-19 vaccine becomes available.
“I hope that people — if we see that it’s effective of course — will follow through and get the vaccine to protect their families, protect their friends and everybody else in the world,” Mullane said.
Building a vaccine
Many vaccines are based on a weakened, partial or killed virus or bacterium that still triggers the necessary immune response. Toxins caused by a targeted bacterium are sometimes also used.
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In addition, scientists for years have been trying to use RNA, a genetic building block, to cause the body to produce a type of toxin called an antigen that would provoke an immune response. It’s hoped that such vaccines will be safer, less expensive and easier to manufacture.
Once a potential vaccine shows promise to work in a test tube, it is typically tried on small animals and then primates. If that all goes well, the research moves into the human trial stage.
Testing for safety is the focus of phase 1 trials.
“The essence of that is do no harm,” Bloom said. “No vaccine can be given to anyone if there’s a reasonable likelihood they will be harmed by it.”
The first phase can also involve scientists measuring the body’s immune response to the vaccine, to make sure they are headed in the right direction.
Phase 2 is based on a larger number of human subjects and involves identifying the proper dosage — one that minimizes any side effects while still prompting an adequate immune response. Several vaccine candidates have passed that hurdle and are now in phase 3.
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In that next phase, thousands of people get the vaccine and a relatively equal number receive a placebo. Then the groups’ rates of infection are compared to see if vaccinated people fare better. Ideally, the test subjects are people who are more likely to be exposed to the virus because they live in hot spots, work at jobs where exposure is more likely or are part of a racial or ethnic group in which the disease is causing more illness and death.
Often, phase 3 can take years, as scientists wait to accumulate enough data to draw final conclusions. But for COVID-19, trials are being accelerated by enrolling more test subjects from the start and then tracking them over time on a compressed schedule that Bloom called “revolutionary.”
But that tighter timeline raises some concern among scientists. A vaccine could be approved, only to have harmful effects show up months or years later, after millions of people are inoculated, they say.
And with the November election approaching, some scientists fear a rush to judgment for political advantage — particularly after the Food and Drug Administration OK’d emergency use of hydroxychloroquine as a COVID-19 treatment, as well as scores of coronavirus antibody tests, only to rescind those approvals.
Bloom said there’s reason to fear “an October surprise” from the FDA where a vaccine could be rushed into emergency use without waiting for all the data from phase 3 to be collected and analyzed.
“That would really I think compromise what little trust we have in this country left about, A, vaccines in general and, B, the government’s controlling or regulating vaccines to protect the public interest,” he said.
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There’s also a phase 4, which involves tracking everyone who’s been vaccinated for years after inoculation to see if any adverse effects show up later. For example, it took years to fully understand that a 1960s measles vaccine, no longer in use, could cause serious illness in some people.
Prevent or protect?
One thing scientists conducting the trials hope to discover is whether the vaccine will prevent disease or just fight it.
If the vaccine is able to fight the disease, that would be “nothing to sneeze at,” according to Harvard epidemiology professor William Hanage. But, he said, it wouldn’t have the same broad public health advantage of a vaccine that prevents infection and leads to herd immunity.
If a vaccine does prevent infection, scientists will then ask in what percentage of the population it works.
The goal set by the federal government is at least 50%, which isn’t out of line with annual flu vaccines. But at just 50% protection, twice as many people would have to be inoculated to achieve herd immunity than would be necessary if it were 100% effective — which is never the case with any vaccine.
“I think having expectations that everyone who gets a COVID vaccine will be guaranteed protection is something that is an unrealistic expectation,” Bloom said.
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There’s also the question of how many shots will be needed, and how long vaccine immunity will last — both of which could vary from one vaccine to another. If immunity is shorter lived, annual “boosters” could be needed.
Current efforts
The worldwide quest for an effective vaccine for COVID-19 has spawned more than 100 candidates, several of which have progressed to final testing just nine months after SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus that causes the disease, was identified in China.
The rapid progress was made in part because Chinese scientists quickly mapped the virus’ genome and shared that information with the rest of the world.
The efforts also were aided by previous research on coronaviruses other than SARS-CoV-2 and the fact that a certain protein is widely accepted as the most crucial target for a vaccine. That so-called S protein is a spike that sticks out from the surface of the virus, allowing it to invade cells. If a vaccine can trigger production of neutralizing antibodies that block the invasion, the virus can’t infect.
Also speeding development is the U.S. government’s commitment to help cover production costs, given that vaccine-producing factories can cost more than $1 billion to build. Federal scientists also are teaming up with some private companies on the research and trial costs.
University of Chicago professor Jeffrey Hubbell in his lab at the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering on Aug, 12, 2020. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)
“That’s what Operation Warp Speed has been about, just getting money to these companies so that the government takes the financial risk rather than the company,” said Jeffrey Hubbell, a University of Chicago professor who specializes in bioengineering and is involved in early-stage vaccine development.
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Producing vaccines on the assumption they will work is a gamble, Hubbell said. “But it’s better to place those bets than not place those bets.”
Production and distribution
Some of the phase 3 trials underway could be ready for analysis before the end of the year, but that doesn’t mean a vaccine will quickly be available to everyone.
The results must be reviewed by many scientists, then be submitted for FDA approval. If the vaccine is sanctioned, production has to be dramatically ramped up, because it will take millions of doses in the United States, and billions around the world, to get the job done.
“We have no company at the moment that could make 200 million doses for Americans or 5.6 billion doses to get 60% of the world’s people protected against coronavirus,” Bloom said. “And that explains why there has been support for multiple, different vaccines.”
Rachel Wallace, a Ph.D. student in the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering at the University of Chicago, operates a flow cytometer analyzing immune cells from mice in a vaccine test on Aug, 12, 2020. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)
If there are multiple effective vaccines, broad availability to the public could come as soon as mid-2021, Bloom said. If it’s just one or a couple, it would likely be at the end of next year.
Once the vaccines are produced, they have to be distributed. It’s a tightly controlled process and sometimes involves keeping the vaccines cold or even frozen. The mRNA vaccines, for example, would need to be stored at below-zero temperatures.
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When vaccines start to become available, the government will have to determine who should get them first. One school of thought is that they should first go to people most at risk: health care workers, nursing home residents and staff, prisoners, essential workers and people in hard-hit areas. Another says vaccines should go first to groups thought to be “spreaders” — perhaps college students or other young people.
Perlman, who sits on a federal advisory committee that deals with this question, said it’s possible that millions of doses could be available for health care workers and other vulnerable people before the end of the year.
The candidates
Some vaccines in the final testing stages include:
⋅ The Oxford vaccine, being developed in conjunction with international drug firm AstraZeneca. It was made by taking a virus from chimpanzees, weakening it so it won’t harm humans and attaching DNA coding that creates the S protein in SARS-CoV-2.
Initial stages of testing found the vaccine triggered an immune response that included not only production of a neutralizing antibody that blocks the virus from invading cells but also the mobilization of the body’s T cells. These cells attack and kill infected cells, and they also can bring on a faster immune response.
“You want both, if possible,” said Mullane, the infectious disease expert at U. of C. Medicine. “You’d like to have a vaccine that will prevent uptake of the virus, but also one that activates the T cells as well to capture any virus that may have escaped the system you’ve set up to prevent infection.”
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⋅ A vaccine being developed by Massachusetts-based Moderna in conjunction with the National Institutes of Health. It uses what’s called messenger RNA, or mRNA, to trigger an immune response. Operation Warp Speed to date has committed nearly $2.5 billion to the Moderna effort.
The mRNA sends signals to the body to create a piece of the virus, but not the whole thing, in the hopes that the benign piece triggers an immune response. Early indications are that this vaccine too can produce neutralizing antibodies and activate T cells, and the government is moving forward with trials involving 30,000 people.
If the mRNA vaccine gets approved, it will be the first of its kind to be deployed, although experimentation with that type of vaccine has gone on for some time. “The mRNA vaccines are completely unproven, but they hold a lot of potential,” Hubbell said.
⋅ Another mRNA vaccine from the pharmaceutical company Pfizer and German company BioNTech that Pfizer says also is triggering neutralizing antibodies and T cells. Through Operation Warp Speed, the federal government has agreed to pay $1.95 billion to mass produce the Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine if it proves safe and effective.
⋅ A more traditional vaccine from Sinovac, a Beijing-based company, which has launched a phase 3 trial in Brazil. The vaccine uses an inactivated human virus to trigger an immune response. That method, however, has the potential to actually make an infection worse in a little understood reaction that sometimes occurs with such vaccines.
⋅ A deactivated human virus vaccine approved Aug. 11 by the Russian government even before it underwent phase 3 testing. Scientists expressed concern that this vaccine could turn out to be harmful later.
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hdardick@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-08-19--With zoning now in place, three businesses request city OK to sell recreational marijuana in Napervi

With zoning now in place, three businesses request city OK to sell recreational marijuana in Naperville

“ Green Thumb has had a great relationship with the city of Naperville since 2015 and we ’ ve been @ @ @ @ @ medical cannabis to many of its residents who are patients at 3C Naperville , ” @ @ @ @ @ issued after the city council vote .
“ We look forward to welcoming and serving @ @ @ @ @ .
”

Naperville City Council members voted 6-3 Tuesday night to approve a new zoning ordinance under which up to three recreational marijuana dispensaries can operate within city limits. (Erin Hegarty / Naperville Sun)
Three companies, Green Thumb Industries, ZenLeaf Naperville and PDI Medical, have submitted applications to sell recreational marijuana in Naperville under new zoning approved this week that allows up to three dispensaries to operate in the city.
Green Thumb Industries, which operates the city’s only medical cannabis dispensary 3C Naperville, has requested to add recreational marijuana sales to its existing location at 1700 Quincy Ave., company spokeswoman Linda Marsicano said.
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The business is to be rebranded Rise Naperville, and recreational marijuana sales could start sometime this fall, Marsicano said.
“We care very much about our (medical) patients and will continue to serve them with minimal disruption during the remodel,” she said.
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ZenLeaf Naperville’s application seeks to open a recreational marijuana dispensary at 1516 N. Naper Blvd., near Ogden Avenue, city spokeswoman Linda LaCloche said. The location would be less than a mile from Interstate 88.
PDI Medical is an affiliate of Cresco Labs and does business as Sunrise, LaCloche said. The location they are considering is at 2740 W. 75th St., just off Route 59 and close to the city’s border with Aurora.
The council voted 6-3 Tuesday to approve zoning that sets guidelines for recreational pot sales in Naperville.
Among the restrictions, retail stores cannot operate within one mile of an existing dispensary and must be at least 1,000 feet from primary or secondary schools and 250 feet from residences.
Additionally, they can only operate in areas zoned for business or for office, commercial and institutional space and in districts created for industrial, health services, and research and development uses.
“The very in-depth deliberation we’ve been through and the amount of shaping and forming of this ordinance we have made on virtually every category has been thoughtful and considerate of both sides of this vote,” Naperville Mayor Steve Chirico said.
Council members Kevin Coyne, Patty Gustin and Paul Hinterlong voted against the rule change, which reverses an earlier council decision to ban recreational marijuana sales in the city.
Green Thumb Industries was among the first Illinois medical dispensaries awarded a license to also sell recreational marijuana, which is why it was able to submit its application to the city so quickly.
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3C Naperville opened in January 2016, after the sale of cannabis for medical purposes became legal. Rise is Green Thumb Industries’ brand of retail dispensary locations.
“Green Thumb has had a great relationship with the city of Naperville since 2015 and we’ve been honored to provide relief via medical cannabis to many of its residents who are patients at 3C Naperville,” Marsicano said in a statement issued after the city council vote. “We look forward to welcoming and serving new customers in the community.”
Initially the council voted to prohibit recreational pot stores before sales became legal in Illinois on Jan. 1. Council members later decided to gauge residents’ opinions on the matter in a nonbinding March referendum; a majority said they favored recreational pot being sold in the city.
Some residents and council members argued the city should require retailers to obtain a conditional use permit from the council before being allowed allowed to sell recreational marijuana. The extra step would create more transparency, proponents said.
Coyne made a motion Tuesday night to add that provision to the ordinance, but didn’t have enough support to pass it.
Chirico said the city has been told an Illinois cannabis market study indicates Naperville could collect as much as $1 million annually in sales tax from marijuana sales.
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Almost $61 million in recreational pot was sold in Illinois in July alone and $300.1 million since sales became legal in January. Municipalities can collect up to a 3% tax on sales, which is the amount Naperville will assess.
ehegarty@tribpub.com


chicagotribune--2020-08-19--Coronavirus in Illinois updates: Aug. 18, 2020

“ You have to be aware of that , ” Kelly said .
“ I ’ m not paralyzed by @ @ @ @ @ to be realistic .
I have to have a replacement for me and our coaches @ @ @ @ @ were to get sick .
We have to think in those lines as it relates @ @ @ @ @ .
”

We have lifted the paywall on this story. To support essential reporting, please consider becoming a subscriber .
Paca Kujtim of Arlington Heights self-administers a COVID-19 test in his car at the Arlington International Racecourse on March 31, 2021 in Arlington Heights. Kujtim was getting testing as a precaution for upcoming travel. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)
People who travel to and from Wisconsin to Chicago received good news on Tuesday. The state, along with Nebraska, was removed from the 14-day travel quarantine order that Mayor Lori Lightfoot implemented in July. Kansas and Iowa, which had been removed last week, were added back to the list.
The announcement came as Illinois health officials on Tuesday reported 1,740 new known cases of COVID-19 and 27 additional fatalities, bringing the total number of known infections in Illinois to 209,594 and the statewide death toll to 7,782.
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Meanwhile, Navy Pier officials decided to close again rather than fight for the comparatively few visitors willing to venture onto the partially reopened lakeside destination amid the coronavirus pandemic. The tourist mecca will close on Sept. 8 and stay shut until spring, pier officials planned to announce.
Here’s what’s happening Tuesday with COVID-19 in the Chicago area and Illinois:
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8:05 p.m.: CPS fall plan includes full days of remote and live learning, but prompts union grievance
Chicago Public Schools had barely released its fall remote learning plan Tuesday when the Chicago Teachers Union announced it had filed grievance over the guidance that union President Jesse Sharkey said was made “without imagination or input from teachers.”
“Today, we filed the first in a series of grievances against CPS for issuing remote learning guidance that fails to provide our school communities with the instructional tools necessary to deliver proper instruction in a remote context required by the labor contract,” Sharkey said in a statement. “The Union is demanding that CPS provide educators and students with the infrastructure necessary to conduct remote learning, and the increase of professional development time to allow for training and collaboration with parents, caregivers and students on remote learning best practices.”
The fall plan has a stricter structure and more accountability measures than the spring, when schools were suddenly forced to figure out remote learning amid an evolving pandemic.
Under the fall framework, students in kindergarten through 12th grade will get at least three hours of live instruction from their teacher. Between that, small group activities with classmates and independent learning, the district is expecting students to “be engaged” for the entire length of a typical school day, Monday through Friday. Other expectations include daily attendance and graded assignments.
Since district officials backtracked from their hybrid reopening proposal at the beginning of the month, educators and parents had grown impatient for more information on remote learning, and the plan’s release so close to the first day of school on Sept. 8 leaves them little time to figure things out. Officials delayed the release of the plan after initially promising to have it ready the first week of August.
The “entirely digital” approach does not include paper work packets offered in the spring to families without digital access or who preferred that method of learning. The plan states that “the district will ensure all students have the tools they need to succeed.”
But CTU leaders said the district has not done enough to meet students’ needs and that CPS didn’t spend enough time on their remote learning plan because they so badly wanted to include in-person classes.
Read more here. —Hannah Leone
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5:50 p.m.: Fearing an undermined election, Illinois Democrats sound alarm over USPS
Senior citizens waiting weeks for life-sustaining medication. Renters and homeowners nervous that their bills won’t arrive on time, cornering them into paying late fees. A nonprofit held up in efforts to raise money for a food pantry because the mail was delayed.
And, the growing fear that millions of Americans might not get their mail-in ballots counted for the Nov. 3 election.
Those are some of the stories and concerns that members of Illinois’ Democratic congressional delegation said they have fielded from constituents who are alarmed about the state of the U.S. Postal Service in recent months. Just on Monday, the office of Rep. Brad Schneider received about 600 such calls, the Deerfield Democrat said.
Gathered in front of Chicago’s Postal Service headquarters, eight congressmen blamed the White House.
“Seeking to dismantle the Post Office services during a pandemic is nothing less than criminal intent to destroy an institution that is constitutionally authorized and serves all of the American people,” Democratic U.S. Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García of Chicago said.
Read more here. —Alice Yin
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5:20 p.m.: Deadline for suburban residents to apply for Cook County rental assistance extended to next week
Suburban Cook County residents now have until 4 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 24, to apply for grants to cover rent amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The deadline was extended from Tuesday, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle announced that afternoon. She wrote in a statement that the decision came after brutal high-wind storms left many county residents without power or internet.
“In addition to the ongoing Cook County emergency support, it is important to ensure a fair opportunity for residents to take full advantage of the critical Cook County relief services — such as our Rental Assistance program,” Preckwinkle wrote.
Up to $4,500 is available per household to pay between one to three months of rent thanks to $20 million in federal CARES Act funds.
Suburban residents can apply at www.cookcountyil.gov/recovery.
—Alice Yin
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5:05 p.m.: Notre Dame moves classes online for two weeks after COVID-19 cases more than double in one day; campus public spaces also shut down
The University of Notre Dame is shifting its classes online for a two-week period in response to a spike of COVID-19 cases on campus since classes started a week ago.
The Rev. John Jenkins, Notre Dame’s president, announced the change in a livestreamed video for students Tuesday afternoon. It came after cases on campus jumped from 58 to 147 in just one day.
“We have decided to take steps short of sending students home, at least for the time being, while protecting the health and safety of the campus community,” Jenkins said. “For at least the next two weeks, we will move undergraduate classes to remote instruction, close public spaces on campus and restrict residences halls to residents only.”
Jenkins said the school was prepared to send students home altogether but decided to enact this stricter trial period at the advice of the county’s public health department.
Tuesday’s one-day increase marked the largest surge in cases since students returned to campus Aug. 3. At that point, only 33 of about 12,000 students had tested positive when they were assessed prior to arriving.
Read more here. —Elyssa Cherney
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5 p.m.: Senate Republicans are preparing a $500 billion coronavirus relief proposal
Senate Republican leaders are preparing a slimmed-down coronavirus relief package of roughly $500 billion that will include extended payments for unemployed people and smaller businesses, a GOP senator said Tuesday.
The measure will also include $10 billion for the embattled Postal Service, said one top GOP aide. The agency has become the focus of a campaign-season battle over whether it will have enough resources to handle an expected flood of mail-in ballots for this November’s presidential and congressional elections.
The fight between President Donald Trump and congressional Democrats over weathering the pandemic has become a critical battle that’s highlighted Trump’s troubled handling of an outbreak that has killed over 170,000 Americans, cost tens of millions of jobs and shuttered businesses in virtually every community.
Read more here. —The Associated Press
2:35 p.m.: Big Ten football parents will gather Friday outside Rosemont HQ in ‘peaceful show of force’
First came the open letters, which the Big Ten ignored.
Then Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields launched a #WeWantToPlay petition, which has garnered more than 270,000 e-signatures. And Big Ten officials didn’t respond to that either.
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The next step is a bit more, well, in-your-face.
Randy Wade, the father of Ohio State star cornerback Shaun Wade, is organizing a rally outside Big Ten headquarters. He is calling the gathering a “peaceful show of force” and hopes for a big turnout at 8 a.m. Friday in Rosemont.
“This is not an Ohio State thing,” Wade said. “This a Big Ten thing. Come on out wearing the jersey of your favorite team. Mask up and be respectful.”
Read more here. —Teddy Greenstein
1:45 p.m.: Postal Service halts some operational changes amid outcry before November election
Facing public pressure and state lawsuits, the Postmaster general announced Tuesday he is halting some operational changes to mail delivery that critics warned were causing widespread delays and could disrupt voting in the November election.
Postmaster General Louis DeJoy said he would “suspend” his initiatives until after the election “to avoid even the appearance of impact on election mail.”
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The abrupt reversal comes as more than 20 states, from New York to California, announced they would be suing to stop the changes. The states, along with lawmakers and others, want to ensure voters are able to use mail-in ballots if they prefer to avoid polling places due to health risks from COVID-19.
“The Postal Service is ready to handle whatever volume of election mail it receives,” DeJoy said in a statement.
Read more here. —The Associated Press
1:10 p.m.: 1,740 new known COVID-19 cases and 27 more deaths reported
Illinois health officials on Tuesday announced 1,740 new known cases of COVID-19 and 27 additional fatalities, bringing the total number of known infections in Illinois to 209,594 and the statewide death toll to 7,782 since the start of the pandemic. Officials also reported 34,175 new tests in the last 24 hours. The seven-day statewide positivity rate is 4.3%.
—Chicago Tribune staff
12:40 p.m.: Milwaukee adding dozens of drop boxes for voters to drop off absentee ballots
Milwaukee plans to install more than a dozen secure drop boxes to make it easier for voters to drop off their absentee ballots before Election Day to combat a “full-scale attack on voting by mail,” Mayor Tom Barrett told Wisconsin Democrats on Tuesday.
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Barrett spoke to around 90 Democratic activists, office holders and others in conjunction with the second day of the Democratic National Convention. He described drop boxes as one way to fight back in battleground Wisconsin against President Donald Trump’s opposition to mail-in voting.
“As hard as the president is working to make it less appealing for people to use absentee balloting, we are doing everything we can to be make it convenient for people because of the health reasons, because of COVID-19, because it’s the right thing to do,” Barrett said.
—The Associated Press
12:35 p.m.: New cases of COVID-19 reported among staff, youth at Kane County Juvenile Justice Center
Two more staff members and one additional youth resident have tested positive for COVID-19 at Kane County’s juvenile detention center following a second round of testing, Court Administrator Doug Naughton said Tuesday.
Previously, four staff and four youth had tested positive for the virus, and those eight people have recovered, Naughton said. The three people who have newly tested positive are the only cases currently active at the Kane County Juvenile Justice Center, he said.
The youth resident is in medical isolation, and the staff are self-isolating at home, Naughton said in a statement.
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Read more here. —Sarah Freishtat
12:15 p.m.: Chicago removes Wisconsin, Nebraska from mandatory travel quarantine list — but Iowa and Kansas are going back on
The city of Chicago has removed Wisconsin and Nebraska from its mandatory quarantine order, but putting Iowa and Kansas back on this Friday.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s administration added Wisconsin and Nebraska to the 14-day self-quarantine order in late July. Kansas and Iowa were pulled from the list earlier this month, but will be back on as of Friday, according to the mayor’s office.
Lightfoot’s self-quarantine requirement was first implemented during the Fourth of July weekend, though it is generally not being enforced aside from signs and billboards telling people that they must self-quarantine.
The order drew much attention with Wisconsin, given its proximity and the high number of people from Illinois who spend weekends and vacations there. Many Illinois and Chicago residents, including Gov. J.B. Pritzker, have homes there.
The order requires people who have spent more than 24 hours in high-risk states to self-quarantine for 14 days after entering Chicago.
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Exceptions to the self-quarantine order include essential workers, those coming here for medical treatment and those for whom “self-quarantine is not possible, practicable or advisable.” The order also does not apply to people who are at the airport for a connecting flight, or are driving through the city on their way elsewhere.
Also exempted, according to the mayor’s office, are sports teams.
Read more here. —Gregory Pratt
[ Here's what states, territories are on Chicago's travel quarantine order ]
11:10 a.m.: COVID-19 scuttles R. Kelly’s Chicago trial on sex-abuse related charges - again
In what sounds like a broken record, R. Kelly’s federal trial has once again been postponed.
After numerous previous delays, Kelly had finally been scheduled to face a jury in U.S. District Court in Chicago in October on charges related to the alleged sexual abuse of underage girls.
But in a brief hearing Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber sided with prosecutors in delaying the trial due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, saying that asking out-of-state witnesses to travel, and possibly spend time in quarantine, would be an undue hardship.
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Leinenweber also said that after months of being virtually shut down amid the health emergency, the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse simply doesn’t have the capacity to hold such a lengthy trial with three criminal defendants.
“Physically, it seems to be virtually impossible to proceed to trial in October,” Leinenweber said. He set a status date for the case for Oct. 13 to discuss a possible new trial date.
Read more here. —Jason Meisner
10:50 a.m.: Notre Dame football has a COVID-19 backup plan that even covers coach Brian Kelly
We’re all replaceable, right?
The Veep can step in for POTUS. Michael Keaton, George Clooney and Val Kilmer all played Batman. And Notre Dame has a COVID-19-related plan regarding coach Brian Kelly.
Asked Monday whether he has altered practice to reflect the threat of potential coronavirus cases on top of the usual injuries, the coach replied yes.
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“You have to be aware of that,” Kelly said. “I’m not paralyzed by it, but you have to be realistic. I have to have a replacement for me and our coaches all have replacements if they were to get sick. We have to think in those lines as it relates to our starters as well.”
Read more here. —Teddy Greenstein
10 a.m.: State extends deadline on rental assistance applications
The Illinois Housing Development Authority extended a deadline for tenants to apply for aid through a state rental assistance program for people whose income has declined due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The deadline for tenants who were affected by severe storms that tore through the region last week will now be noon on Aug. 28, and landlords will have until Aug. 30 to complete their required part of the application for aid.
With some tenants and landlords without power for almost a week following the derecho that passed through northern Illinois on Aug. 10, “it’s important we provide additional time to file and complete application for assistance,” Illinois Housing Development Authority Executive Director Kristin Faust said in a statement.
Eligible tenants who have seen their income decline due to COVID-19 can apply for $5,000 through the Emergency Rental Assistance program.
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—Jamie Munks
9:40 a.m.: With few visitors, Navy Pier to close down again to save money
Navy Pier will close again rather than fight for the comparatively few visitors willing to venture onto the partially reopened lakeside destination amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The human-made structure jutting into Lake Michigan and lined with restaurants, carnival rides and cultural destinations — many of them still closed — will shut down again Sept. 8 and stay shut until spring in order to save money and protect the attraction’s long-term financial health, pier officials planned to announce Tuesday morning.
“We are only seeing about 15 to 20 percent of the attendance that we would typically see this time of year, which is also typically our busiest time of the year,” said Marilynn Gardner the pier president and CEO. “We need to do this now to get to the other side of the pandemic.”
Closing as the weather turns colder and visitorship typically decreases will help the pier limit its losses in a year when the not-for-profit entity was already projecting falling $20 million short of anticipated revenues. That’s more than a third of last year’s $58.9 million take, according to the executive.
Read more here. —Steve Johnson
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9:10 a.m.: With millions stuck at home, DIY projects fuel Home Depot surge
Millions of people forced to work out of the office during the pandemic took on new projects at home and Home Depot is supplying a lot of the DIY material they need.
At Home Depot stores open at least a year, sales surged an remarkable 25% in the U.S. during the second quarter, the Atlanta company reported Tuesday.
Read more here. —The ssociated Press
8:25 a.m.: America’s shopping at Walmart during COVID-19 pandemic — Online sales nearly double, in-store sales soar 9.3%
Americans established trusted supply lines as the virus surged in new regions of the U.S. over the past few months and millions did so at Walmart, where online sales nearly doubled in the second quarter.
They shopped in Walmart’s stores, too. Sales at U.S. locations opened at least a year jumped 9.3%, the company reported Tuesday.
Walmart quickly became a lifeline for consumers early this year when COVID-19 first began to spread in the U.S. In the first quarter, online sales spiked 74%. That trend accelerated in the second quarter and broadened the gap between traditional retailers, many of them anchor stores at the mall, and big box operators like Walmart and Target.
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Read more here. —The Associated Press
8:15 a.m.: Potbelly, which returned a $10 million PPP loan in April, just got another one. This time it’s for keeps.
Potbelly has secured another $10 million Payroll Protection Program loan, and this time the Chicago-based sandwich chain plans to keep it.
The company, which returned a $10 million PPP loan it received in April under public pressure, disclosed it obtained the new loan in a filing Friday with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The loan was approved Aug. 7 — one day before the extended PPP program expired — through Harvest Small Business Finance, a California-based nonbank lender.
“While we qualified for a loan in the first round of the Payroll Protection Program, we returned it when it looked like many other companies would be left without help,” Potbelly said in a statement. “In the next round, the program was about to close with billions of dollars in available funds still remaining.”
Read more here. —Robert Channick
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6:30 a.m.: Illinois launches online COVID-19 hotspot map for travelers
Illinois public health officials on Monday launched a COVID-19 hotspot map for travelers to assess their risk before leaving the state. The online map shows which U.S. states have an average daily case rate of at least 15 cases per 100,000 people, which is considered higher risk.
Department of Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike urged travelers to factor in details like how to safely manage airport terminals and rest areas.
“This virus does not recognize borders and specific regions and it doesn’t stop at the edge of a region or a county,” Ezike said at an East St. Louis news conference. “We know that people may have to travel, but potentially based on where you may go that travel may increase your risk of exposure to COVID-19.”
—The Associated Press
6:15 a.m.: Engineering firm leaving downtown high-rise, headed to North Side to spread out
A Chicago-based engineering firm is moving from a downtown office tower to a smaller loft building on the North Side in search of more space and fewer office neighbors during the coronavirus pandemic.
KDM Engineering leased 35,000 square feet in the five-story loft building at 1308 N. Elston Ave., where the firm plans to move by April, founder and President Kimberly Moore said.
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The 10-year lease is one of the first known examples of a company choosing to move away from the dense downtown Chicago office market, which has operated at a limited capacity since March because of COVID-19.
The deal is a big expansion from the firm’s 20,000-square-foot space in the Jewelers Building, a 40-story landmark at 35 E. Wacker Drive.
Read more here. —Ryan Ori
6 a.m.: Man threatened to ‘shoot up’ Niles restaurant after entering without mask, police say
A man is accused of threatening to shoot up a Niles restaurant after he entered without wearing a mask, according to police.
Eric Sunlly, 44, from Des Plaines, was charged with assault and disorderly conduct in connection with the Aug. 8 incident at Portillo’s, 8832 W. Dempster St. in Niles, police said.
A Portillo’s employee told police that Sunlly was told he needed to put on a mask after he entered the restaurant. He asked the employee to call an ambulance for him, and when the employee asked Sunlly to step outside, Sunlly became angry, police said.
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The employee told police Sunlly threatened to come back and “shoot up” the restaurant, police said.
Read more here. —Jennifer Johnson
Breaking coronavirus news Stay up to date with the latest information on coronavirus with our breaking news alerts.
Here are five things that happened Monday related to COVID-19.
Coronavirus clusters erupted at U.S. universities as a new semester begins.
The Bears announced they are not currently planning to have fans at games at Soldier Field this season.
The U.S. Postal Service warned that last-minute Illinois ballot requests may not be turned around fast enough to be counted in the November election.
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Chicago closed 5 more restaurants and bars for COVID-19 guideline violations.
At virtual Democratic convention, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot says President Trump is mounting ‘full-out assault’ on the Postal Service, election and democracy.


chicagotribune--2020-08-21--Shots fired between van and SUV on Lake Shore Drive before van hits two cars and crashes

The van and the SUV were headed south on Lake Shore Drive around 10:50 p.m. when the shots were exchanged @ @ @ @ @ van hit the back of a white Fiat and sidewiped a Toyota Corolla before running @ @ @ @ @ the 1000 block of North Lake Shore Drive .

Shots were fired between a van and an SUV on Lake Shore Drive just north of downtown Thursday night before the van struck two other cars and crashed into a concrete median, according to Chicago police.
No one was shot and people on the scene of the accident either fled or refused treatment, police said.
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The van and the SUV were headed south on Lake Shore Drive around 10:50 p.m. when the shots were exchanged, police said. The van hit the back of a white Fiat and sidewiped a Toyota Corolla before running into a concrete median in the 1000 block of North Lake Shore Drive.
Three or four people in the van ran off and remained at large Friday morning.
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The women who were driving the Fiat and Corolla refused medical treatment on scene, police said.


chicagotribune--2020-08-21--Daywatch: Joe Biden vows unity during nomination acceptance, why some are wary of a COVID-19 vaccine

Daywatch: Joe Biden vows unity during nomination acceptance, why some are wary of a COVID-19 vaccine and what Chicago kids are saying about school reopening

As scientists across the globe race to create a COVID-19 vaccine that is safe and effective , the American public @ @ @ @ @ comes to the prospect of getting vaccinated against the new virus , which has so @ @ @ @ @ and killed more than 172,000 in the United States .

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Good morning, Chicago. Here’s the coronavirus news and other top stories you need to know to start your day.
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Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden, with Democratic vice presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., raise their arms up as fireworks go off in the background during the fourth day of the Democratic National Convention, Aug. 20, 2020, at the Chase Center in Wilmington, Del. Looking on are Jill Biden, far left, and Harris' husband Doug Emhoff, far right. (Andrew Harnik/AP)
Joe Biden vowed to unite an America torn by crisis and contempt Thursday night, accepting the Democratic presidential nomination in an unfinished personal quest that has spanned three decades and been marred by personal tragedy, political stumbles and more dynamic rivals.
A ComEd headquarters building in the 3400 block of North California Avenue in Chicago. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)
Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s administration is proposing a series of “accountability” measures for utility companies as part of an energy policy agenda unveiled Friday, a month after federal prosecutors said the state’s largest utility, Commonwealth Edison, engaged in a “yearslong bribery scheme” while seeking political favors in Springfield.
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Though Christina Glover gets the flu shot every year, she says a COVID-19 vaccine makes her nervous. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
As scientists across the globe race to create a COVID-19 vaccine that is safe and effective, the American public appears sharply divided when it comes to the prospect of getting vaccinated against the new virus, which has so far infected roughly 5.5 million and killed more than 172,000 in the United States.
Elaine Sage was let go as a teacher at St. Francis Xavier Catholic school in Wilmette after declining to rerturn to work amid concerns about COVID-19. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)
Elaine Sage, a 63-year-old teacher who’s married to a cancer survivor, said she didn’t feel comfortable with the Chicago Archdiocese’s plans to reopen schools full time this fall while COVID-19 is still far from contained.
Sage did not want to resign, but she did not show up for work when her school reopened to teachers on Monday. She learned late Wednesday that the archdiocese was releasing her from her contract, effective immediately.
13 students from kindergarten to college share what they think about online classes and school reopening plans. (Abel Uribe)
As Chicago’s youths prepare for the upcoming school year, the Tribune asked students of all ages, from across the city and suburbs, how they’re feeling.
Here’s what they said.


chicagotribune--2020-08-21--A COVID-19 vaccine still hasn’t emerged — but some are already wary of it

“ I would have no problem with it , even with limited trials , ” said Barrett , who was @ @ @ @ @ but now lives in the Chesterton , Indiana , area .
“ We ’ ve @ @ @ @ @ at our age than to not try it .
It ’ s crazy not to @ @ @ @ @ it , life can go back to normal .
”

Though Christina Glover gets the flu shot every year, she says a COVID-19 vaccine makes her nervous. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
Christina Glover gets a flu shot each year and has always ensured her daughter’s pediatric vaccines are on schedule.
Yet the 36-year-old from the South Side of Chicago said she’d be nervous about getting a COVID-19 vaccine once one emerges and hits the market.
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“It’s the fact that it’s new,” Glover said. “You have your right to be concerned about anything — vaccines, any type of medication — you have a right to be concerned with how it’s going to interact with your body. … You want to see the reaction it’s going to have on other people.”
As scientists across the globe race to create a COVID-19 vaccine that is safe and effective, the American public appears sharply divided when it comes to the prospect of getting vaccinated against the new virus, which has so far infected more than 5.5 million and killed more than 173,000 in the United States.
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A recent survey from NBC News/SurveyMonkey Weekly Tracking Poll showed that more than half of American adults either wouldn’t get a COVID-19 vaccine once one is available or are unsure whether they’ll get immunized. The poll found 44% said they would get the vaccine, while 22% reported they wouldn’t get one and another 32% remain uncertain.
A Gallup survey earlier this month indicated that 35% of Americans would not get a free vaccine against COVID-19, if one were available and approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Another 65% responded that they would get the shot, with those identifying as Democrats far more in favor than Republicans.
Political leaders and health experts have taken up the challenge of getting the public on board, calling a future COVID-19 vaccine the key to fighting the virus and a return to normalcy. Gov. J.B. Pritzker has said Illinois won’t be able to move on to phase five of the state reopening plan until “a vaccine or highly effective treatment” is widely available, or new cases are eliminated over a sustained period.
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot earlier this month announced plans for a vaccine education initiative, fearing some residents will have reservations about getting a COVID-19 immunization.
“I worry that even once we get a vaccine, that because of the speed with which it’s going to be brought into production, that people are going to be reluctant to take it,” Lightfoot had said. “So we’re starting now to do a lot of education about vaccines in general.”
As for Glover, she said she recognizes the tension between individual health care rights versus the need to quell an international pandemic.
As a licensed practical nurse, she said she might have to get a future COVID-19 vaccine if it becomes required by her employer. And Glover said she understands the gravity of the illness: She said she contracted the coronavirus in late March. She suffered from aches, chest pains, a sore throat, shortness of breath and a loss of taste and smell through early April.
But she believes everyone should have the right to make their own medical decisions, noting that some might have religious objections or other personal concerns. While she always gets immunized to protect herself against the flu, she said she doesn’t judge others who forgo the shot.
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“I just believe people should have a choice, they should be able to decline if they don’t want to get it,” she said. “I understand why health care facilities would want to make it mandatory to help prevent the spread. But at the same time, to each their own. It’s an individual choice.”
Personal choice vs. public health
William Taylor, 36, of the Lakeview neighborhood, said he’s eager to get a coronavirus vaccine, “even an early version of the vaccine if it were available to me.”
“I am hopeful that we could see a vaccine sooner than usual because of the serious upheaval (COVID-19) has caused and all of the resources being thrown at this,” he said.
While there is no vaccine available yet, about two dozen potential COVID-19 vaccines are in various stages of testing across the globe. The Trump administration project Operation Warp Speed has dedicated billions of taxpayer dollars to development of a safe, effective and widely distributed vaccine against the new virus, with the goal of producing 300 million doses by January.
The nation’s top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, last month said he remained “cautiously optimistic that we will have a vaccine by the end of this year and as we go into 2021.”
Yet once a vaccine is available, getting the greater public on board and immunized could be the next hurdle.
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“I personally will not,” said Lisa Casas, 54, of west suburban Itasca. “The flu vaccine has been around forever and most years it’s not even the correct strain. I don’t believe in vaccines for viruses.”
While Casas has sidestepped the flu shot, she said she made sure her daughters had childhood vaccines required for school.
“I believe being healthy, eating right and exercise help to fight viruses and diseases,” she added. “But in saying that, it should still be everyone’s choice as to what they do with their health.”
Public health officials already have some difficulty convincing adults to get flu shots each year. A poll in late 2019 showed 37% of adults didn’t plan to get the flu vaccine that season, according to research from NORC at the University of Chicago. Some reasons for forgoing the shot included concerns about side effects, a belief that the vaccine didn’t work very well, the respondent reported never getting the flu and a dislike for needles, according to the survey.
Policymakers and medical experts also face fierce opposition from “anti-vaxxers,” individuals and groups opposed to vaccines already on the market, whose opinions are often based on discredited research or debunked claims linking vaccines to other illnesses.
Even though no vaccine currently exists, an online petition opposing mandatory COVID-19 vaccines on the website LifeSite has garnered more than 800,000 signatures. Tens of thousands have also signed a change.org petition opposing mandatory COVID-19 vaccines in Canada.
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Freedom and individual choice are main themes in both petitions.
“We have managed to convince ourselves that the people whose healths are affected by a virus are much more important than the people whose lives, freedoms and livelihoods are being destroyed by this same virus,” the Canadian petition reads.
Back to normal?
Sometimes perceptions of the severity of the virus can shape vaccination views.
David Cassiere, 52, of west suburban Sleepy Hollow, said he would most likely not get a COVID-19 vaccine, mostly due to concerns over possible side effects.
“I would not be one of the first people lined up,” he said.
He said the only way he’d be convinced is if 99% or more of those immunized don’t contract the virus — and even then he’d likely wait “at least a couple of seasons or calendar years” to learn more about its safety.
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Cassiere added that he fears the economic devastation caused by quarantines and stay-in-place orders more than he fears the actual virus.
“I think we’ve erred too far restricting people’s livelihoods and commerce by quarantining everybody rather than asking people who are more at risk to do quarantining themselves,” he said. “I’m not saying Illinois is wrong and Wisconsin is right — but I think there are other states that might be more in the middle, that are closer to having it right.”
Like Cassiere, some Chicago-area residents who expressed reluctance to get vaccinated against COVID-19 were concerned about possible side effects; others worried about contracting the coronavirus from the shot, even though most of the leading vaccine candidates currently being tested don’t contain a live virus and wouldn’t cause infection.
Some public uncertainty about whether to get a vaccine that hasn’t even been developed doesn’t surprise Dr. Kelly Michelson, professor of pediatrics and director of the Center for Bioethics and Medical Humanities at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.
She noted that the majority of respondents in various polls say they’re unsure, which could mean they’re waiting for more information about any specific COVID-19 immunizations.
“First of all, and I think importantly, there is no vaccine now,” said Michelson, who is also an attending physician at Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital. “We don’t really have the relevant information. Is it an effective vaccine? How effective is it? … So it doesn’t surprise me that people are unwilling to commit to taking a vaccine they know nothing about.”
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Once more is known about a future coronavirus vaccine, communication between patients and clinicians will play an important role, Michelson said. She added that good information and an open dialogue can often allay the concerns of patients who have questions about existing vaccines that have been around for years, with proven records of safety and effectiveness.
“The vaccines that we have on the market that are currently tested, we have a good amount of information about, and I can say with certainty that people should get their flu vaccines, that it’s good for them,” she said. “If we do have a coronavirus vaccine, it’s going to be very important for clinicians ― and for the public — to have good information about what it is.”
Michael Barrett, 70, of northwest Indiana, said he looks forward to the day when a COVID-19 vaccine is widely available.
“I would have no problem with it, even with limited trials,” said Barrett, who was born and raised in Chicago but now lives in the Chesterton, Indiana, area. “We’ve got way more to gain at our age than to not try it. It’s crazy not to. Hopefully if everyone gets it, life can go back to normal.”
He’s concerned that some parts of the country are reopening too quickly, spurring outbreaks of the virus. Even as governments are loosening regulations, he believes that many retirees and individuals with underlying health conditions will continue to be worried about venturing out, further hampering the economy.
He wants to go out to dinner with family and friends. He and his wife long to travel again.
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“We so much miss that life we had before the virus,” he said.
eleventis@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-08-21--Amid ComEd scandal in Springfield, ethics reform front and center in Pritzker’s energy agenda

“ And we ’ re also saying that if you ’ re a utility company that ’ s providing charitable @ @ @ @ @ longer recover those costs from your ratepayers .
Your contributions , if they ’ re @ @ @ @ @ need to actually be charitable , not given in ways that can potentially curry political @ @ @ @ @ from the very ratepayers who had no say in it .
”

Springfield — Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s administration is proposing a series of “accountability” measures for utility companies as part of an energy policy agenda unveiled Friday, a month after federal prosecutors said the state’s largest utility, Commonwealth Edison, engaged in a “yearslong bribery scheme” while seeking political favors in Springfield.
Improving transparency and ethics is the first of eight principles in Pritzker’s agenda, which also includes a number of clean energy proposals. Among other things, the administration said it wants to prohibit utilities from recovering charitable donations from ratepayers, noting such payouts are often for golf outings and other political fundraisers.
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The agenda also calls for an additional disclosure requirement for elected and appointed officials if they have relatives who work for regulated utilities.
Days after ComEd agreed to pay $200 million as part of a deferred prosecution agreement last month, Pritzker suspended meetings of an energy working group that has been discussing policy changes.
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The working group is set to reconvene as early as next week, with discussions revolving around strengthening utility accountability and ensuring “that whatever we do going forward that has any benefit whatsoever to a utility, that it is proved up in the light of day,” Deputy Gov. Christian Mitchell said in an interview Thursday.
“I think that by starting from that place, and making that the centerpiece of negotiations going forward, that will help restore confidence in the process,” Mitchell said.
Federal prosecutors said in July that ComEd aimed to influence and reward Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan by providing contracts, jobs and payments to his allies.
Madigan, who is also the Illinois Democratic Party chairman, has not been charged with any wrongdoing, and a spokeswoman said he “has never made a legislative decision with improper motives.”
Prosecutors put a value of at least $150 million on the legislative benefits ComEd received since the alleged bribery scheme began.
The Pritzker administration agenda calls for a phaseout of formula rates, which allow utilities to set annual rates based on anticipated costs. Mitchell called the process by which formula rates were set “defective, to be generous,” and contends there’s not “clear evidence” that higher utility rates have created the benefits they were supposed to.
The plan contends that formula rates have allowed utility providers to raise their delivery costs and their profits, “with little cost control,” and proposes a return to the “traditional ratemaking process,” where utilities need to provide more justification for a rate increase, and have that be subject to Illinois Commerce Commission approval.
“We need to make sure that if Exelon or ComEd or anyone else is asking for an additional ratepayer dollar in the form of any sort of subsidy, that they’re going to need to account for it,” Mitchell said.
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“And we’re also saying that if you’re a utility company that’s providing charitable contributions, you can no longer recover those costs from your ratepayers. Your contributions, if they’re going to be charitable, need to actually be charitable, not given in ways that can potentially curry political influence and then be recovered from the very ratepayers who had no say in it.”
In a statement issued Friday morning, ComEd spokeswoman Shannon Breymaier said company officials are reviewing Pritzker’s energy proposals. She also said that past infrastructure investments “have been fully vetted in a transparent process” and have benefited customers.
“ComEd has already moved aggressively to implement comprehensive ethics reforms to ensure that the unacceptable conduct outlined in the agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office never happens again,” Breymaier said in a statement. “However, we recognize the importance and challenge of rebuilding the trust of the public, regulators and elected officials, and look forward to working with these stakeholders to achieve the state’s ambitious clean energy goals.”
The Pritzker administration is also setting a goal for Illinois to utilize 100% clean energy by 2050 and significantly increase the number of electric cars in the state by 2030, and calls for the elimination of online payment fees for utility bills and for utility providers ComEd and Ameren to significantly increase the money they devote to low-income energy efficiency programs.
In a statement issued Friday, Ameren Illinois said it agrees with some of the governor’s priorities, including stronger ethics requirements, a push for more electric vehicles and more solar energy production. But the company also said the significant costs associated with clean energy plans will raise bills for its downstate customers significantly.
“We are concerned that the proposed plans throw more money at an approach that is clearly not working today,” the Ameren statement said. “We believe that consensus on clean energy policy is possible, but we need to take the time to do it right. It should not be rushed, and the final product must recognize the regional differences in this state.”
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New energy legislation was one of a number of priorities for the administration that weren’t ultimately taken up by the General Assembly this year during its spring session that was drastically shortened by the coronavirus pandemic.
Ethics and energy policy both figured prominently in Pritzker’s State of the State address in January, though the two weren’t as strongly linked as they are now. Pritzker, in the annual address, urged lawmakers to take “urgent action” on new clean energy measures but said the “old ways of negotiating energy legislation are over.”
“It’s time to put consumers and climate first,” Pritzker said in the January speech. “I’m not going to sign an energy bill written by the utility companies.”
The governor’s plan calls for changing the Illinois Power Agency’s procurement processes to “remove barriers to renewable energy development” and give incentives to developers to take on renewable energy projects in the state, and suggests there should be statewide standards in place to accelerate solar and wind projects, noting that “local zoning regulations have blocked many wind energy projects.”
The administration wants to increase the number of electric cars on Illinois roads to 750,000 within the next decade, up from fewer than 25,000 registered electric vehicles currently; establish a tax credit for electric vehicle companies that locate downstate; and put incentives in place for implementing electric vehicle charging stations.
Mitchell said he thinks it’s possible legislation that encompasses much of the proposal could be ready by the time lawmakers are scheduled to reconvene in Springfield for the fall veto session on Nov. 17, but acknowledged the issues involved are complex and “if it takes a little longer, then it takes a little longer.”
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jmunks@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-08-21--The Spin: Joe Biden accepts Democratic nomination for president | Trump again invokes ‘blood-stained

The Spin: Joe Biden accepts Democratic nomination for president | Trump again invokes ‘blood-stained sidewalks’ of Chicago | Mayor Lightfoot responds to ‘Fort Lori': ‘I have a right to make sure that my home is secure’

“ Since the order , and even for a time just prior to its writing , Chicago cops have repeatedly @ @ @ @ @ the block with groups of officers and barricades .
Police have often kept protesters contained @ @ @ @ @ Kimball and Wrightwood avenues , though one standoff between activists and officers last month saw @ @ @ @ @ bringing in an armored vehicle in case things got out of hand .

Images of Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden are shown on a screen outside the Chase Center in Wilmington, Del., during the final day of the Democratic National Convention on Aug. 20, 2020. (Carolyn Kaster/AP)
Former Democratic Vice President Joe Biden accepted the Democratic nomination for president tonight, cementing the Nov. 3 showdown with President Donald Trump.
The president, whose former adviser Steve Bannon was arrested on federal fraud charges today, meanwhile invoked Chicago’s struggle with violence to attack Biden.
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And, Mayor Lori Lightfoot defended the prohibition of protesters on her block, saying that she receives daily threats and sometimes needs heightened security.
Welcome to The Spin.
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Images of Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden are shown on a screen during the final night of the virtual 2020 Democratic National Convention on Aug. 20, 2020, in Milwaukee. (TANNEN MAURY/AP)
From The AP: “Joe Biden is accepting the Democratic presidential nomination Thursday night, achieving the pinnacle — so far — of his nearly five-decade political career on the final night of the most unorthodox national convention in modern history.
“The former vice president is hoping the night helps the Democrats make progress toward not only unifying the diverse party but a deeply divided America as well.” Read more here.
In this image from video, Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., speaks during the fourth night of the Democratic National Convention on Aug. 20, 2020. (AP)
From the Tribune’s Bill Ruthhart and Rick Pearson: “In a live prime-time speech overlooking the U.S. Capitol, Illinois U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth seized her high-profile moment at the Democratic National Convention on Thursday night by launching an offensive against President Donald Trump for politicizing the military and displaying failed leadership abroad.
“The double amputee and Purple Heart recipient labeled Trump as America’s ‘coward-in-chief,’ painting him as selfish and weak while portraying Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden as a man of decency and integrity.
“Duckworth said Biden ‘knows the fear military families live with because he’s felt that dread of never knowing if your deployed loved one is safe’ after his late son, Beau, deployed to Iraq.
“‘That’s the kind of leader our service members deserve: one who understands the risks they face and who would actually protect them by doing his job as commander-in-chief,’ Duckworth said. ‘Instead, they have a coward-in-chief who won’t stand up to Vladimir Putin, read his daily intelligence briefings or even publicly admonish adversaries for reportedly putting bounties on our troops’ heads.'
Presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg speaks during a campaign event leading up to the Iowa caucuses at St. Ambrose University on Jan. 31, 2020, in Davenport, Iowa. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
From Bill Ruthhart: “Standing in the furniture factory-turned-events space where he celebrated his wedding to husband Chasten two years ago, Pete Buttigieg pointed to the progress on gay rights during his 38-year lifetime as reason to be optimistic that the change needed to create an ‘America where everyone belongs’ remains possible.
“In the opening of his speech to the virtual Democratic National Convention, Buttigieg noted that a little more than 10 years ago, he ‘joined a military where firing me because of who I am wasn’t just possible — it was policy.’ Now, he noted, doing so would be unlawful. Read the rest here.
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President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at Mariotti Building Products on Aug. 20, 2020, in Old Forge, Pa. (John Minchillo/AP)
From the Tribune’s Bill Ruthhart: “In what has become a near-daily occurrence recently, President Donald Trump invoked Chicago’s inability to tamp down violent crime in a preemptive attack against Joe Biden just hours before the former vice president planned to accept his party’s nomination for the presidency.
“If Biden and Democrats gain control of Washington, Trump warned, the ‘blood-stained sidewalks of Chicago’ and ills of other major cities will become commonplace across the country. The president has drawn upon such disturbing imagery in recent days to bolster what he’s pitching as a law-and-order campaign.” Read more here.
* Steve Bannon arrested on 150-foot yacht by postal inspectors: Charges allege fraud related to online fundraising campaign for border wall
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Ald. Ed Burke, 14th, departs the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse in Chicago on June 4, 2019, after being arraigned on multiple federal corruption charges. (Jose M. Osorio/Chicago Tribune)
From the Tribune’s Jason Meisner: “Lawyers for indicted Chicago Ald. Edward Burke alleged in a court filing Thursday that federal investigators bungled the wiretap of Burke’s phones and improperly tried to set him up in a scheme involving the old main post office that forms the backbone of the corruption case.
“The allegations came in a motion to suppress the evidence gleaned from the wiretaps on Burke’s cellphone and City Hall offices, which allowed the FBI to monitor thousands of conversations the alderman made and received over the course of nearly a year.
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“The 71-page motion accuses prosecutors of directing then-Ald. Daniel Solis to have ‘scripted interactions’ with Burke and lie about the post office deal in an effort to curry favor with the government. At the time, Solis had been recorded ‘committing a number of different crimes,’ the motion stated.” Read more here.
Protesters hold umbrellas while facing the police near mayor Lori Lightfoot's home in Logan Square during a rally in support for activist Miracle Boyd and defunding the Chicago Police Department on July 23, 2020, in Chicago. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)
From the Tribune’s Gregory Pratt, Megan Crepeau and Jeremy Gorner: The Chicago Police Department has effectively banned protesters from demonstrating on Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s block in the Logan Square neighborhood, ordering officers to arrest anyone who refuses to leave, the Tribune has learned.
“The directive surfaced in a July email from then-Shakespeare District Commander Melvin Roman to officers under his command. It did not distinguish between the peaceful protesters Lightfoot regularly says she supports and those who might intend to be destructive, but ordered that after a warning is given to demonstrators, ‘It should be locked down.'
“Since the order, and even for a time just prior to its writing, Chicago cops have repeatedly blocked protesters’ access to the block with groups of officers and barricades. Police have often kept protesters contained at the nearby corner of Kimball and Wrightwood avenues, though one standoff between activists and officers last month saw police go as far as bringing in an armored vehicle in case things got out of hand.
“Some neighbors in the Logan Square area have complained about the city’s approach to protests around Lightfoot’s house, which at times has included checking residents’ IDs before letting them close. Ron Kaminecki, a 69-year old patent attorney and bike shop owner who lives on Bernard Street a few houses from Lightfoot, said some neighbors have been frustrated by the police presence and barricades.” Read more here.
* Citing threats, Mayor Lori Lightfoot defends ban on protesters on her block: ‘I have a right to make sure that my home is secure’
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Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker speaks to the media after holding a ceremony wherein he signed the state budget and fair tax legislation at the State of Illinois Building in Chicago on June 5, 2019. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)
From Rick Pearson: “A group funded by Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker to promote his signature agenda item — a state constitutional amendment to replace Illinois’ flat-rate income tax with a graduated-rate tax — launches its first TV ad of the campaign season on Thursday.
“The group Vote Yes For Fairness indicated that the ad, to air on broadcast and cable television through at least Monday, was the first in a series leading up to the Nov. 3 election, when voters will consider whether to ratify the proposed amendment. Read more here.
* From Alice Yin: In bid to flex more political power, Chicago police union donates nearly $60K to State’s Attorney Kim Foxx’s Republican challenger Pat O’Brien
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chicagotribune--2020-08-21--In bid to flex more political power, Chicago police union donates nearly $60K to State’s Attorney Ki

In bid to flex more political power, Chicago police union donates nearly $60K to State’s Attorney Kim Foxx’s Republican challenger Pat O’Brien

“ Kim Foxx doesn ’ t have the experience or judgment to run an office I think in regular times @ @ @ @ @ there are events which obviously would test anyone , she certainly has failed that test @ @ @ @ @ said .
“ There certainly is more of a feeling that I ’ m getting @ @ @ @ @ individuals that they are sick and tired of favoring the criminal at the expense of @ @ @ @ @ and that they ’ re ready and willing and able to elect a Republican for @ @ @ @ @ ”

Chicago police’s largest union on Wednesday donated $57,800 to Kim Foxx’s challenger in the Cook County state’s attorney’s race in what the union president said is the beginning of a bid to flex more political influence.
The influx from the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 7 eclipses the total contributions Republican Pat O’Brien reported during the second quarter. In addition to the FOP donation, the former judge looking to unseat the Democratic incumbent this November received $5,000 from the Chicago Police Sergeants Association PAC Fund at the end of July, records show.
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“Kim Foxx doesn’t have the experience or judgment to run an office I think in regular times, and in times where there are events which obviously would test anyone, she certainly has failed that test,” O’Brien said. “There certainly is more of a feeling that I’m getting from business leaders and from individuals that they are sick and tired of favoring the criminal at the expense of the victim of crime, and that they’re ready and willing and able to elect a Republican for state’s attorney.”
Foxx’s senior campaign adviser Alex Sims dismissed the police union’s endorsement and attacked both O’Brien and the FOP. Sims said she was “not at all surprised” by the move and criticized O’Brien for his involvement as lead prosecutor in the wrongful conviction of a group of men in the 1986 murder of medical student Lori Roscetti.
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In a phone interview, O’Brien said his office based its procedure on confessions and testimonies available at the time. But he agreed with the later DNA testing that found the men were innocent.
”I don’t know what it is that she wants to accuse me of. I did exactly what a prosecutor would do,” O’Brien said. “I prosecuted the evidence that was in front of me.”
FOP President John Catanzara said he finds it “rather rich” that Foxx is criticizing the union when she espouses what he described as a “do as I say, not as I do politics.”
“Pat O’Brien is gonna make a phenomenal state’s attorney,” Catanzara said. “Everybody has questionable decisions in their past that they have to answer, whatever the case may be. ... There is no such thing as a perfect candidate, but I gotta tell you, I think if I had a law license, I’d be a better candidate than Kim Foxx. She’s that bad.”
Catanzara added that the $57,800 donation, the maximum a political fund can give, is a sign of what’s to come for the FOP’s political action committee. He said in a year’s time, he hopes the union will have a seven-figure PAC fund after making more maximum contributions to bolster politicians who are friendly to FOP causes.
Still, O’Brien faces uncertain odds in a Democratic-dominated county that could be energized to vote in the race between former Vice President Joe Biden, a Democrat, and President Donald Trump, a Republican. But Foxx has been panned by critics for this year’s surge in gun violence and summer lootings, as well as for a special prosecutor report that found “abuses of discretion” but no criminal wrongdoing in the Jussie Smollett case.
At the close of the second quarter, on June 30, O’Brien had less funds on hand than Foxx: $31,481.25 to her $43,280.61, records show. But from the day after the March 17 primary until Thursday, O’Brien reported almost $80,000 more in contributions, which includes the FOP donation. O’Brien said in addition, he has about $100,000 in checks that he has yet to cash as well as a pledge from Guaranteed Rate CEO Victor Ciardelli to raise at least another $100,000.
Still, Foxx beat out her Democratic challenger Bill Conway earlier this year despite him outspending her. Endorsed by Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and several former 2020 Democratic presidential candidates, Foxx survived attacks during the primary campaign over her office’s handling of the case against Smollett, an actor accused of faking a hate crime against himself last year.
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O’Brien wasted no time in slamming Foxx after special prosecutor Dan Webb released his report this week stating her office misled the public on the Smollett deal. He also is pushing a narrative that Foxx is “soft-on-crime,” echoing criticism from Chicago police’s upper brass that her office does not prosecute offenders enough.
Although there have been anti-police protesters calling for criminal justice system reforms more in line with what Foxx has championed, O’Brien said Foxx in fact “should be worried about the growing movement of people that don’t take to the streets or are fed up with a city that has to raise its drawbridges in order to protect itself, because the state’s attorney won’t.” He was referring to this month’s lootings that prompted Lightfoot to raise the bridges downtown.
Foxx has rejected the characterization that she’s to blame for any increase in crime, especially in the wake of political finger-pointing following this summer’s lootings. Her office said it approved charges for nearly all looting-related felony arrests.
“It does not serve us to have dishonest blame games when all of our hearts are breaking by what we are seeing,” she said during a news conference earlier this month.
ayin@chicagotribune.com