chicagotribune--2020-12-25--National Guardsman who works as Chicago police officer thankful to be home from Afghanistan for Chri

National Guardsman who works as Chicago police officer thankful to be home from Afghanistan for Christmas, even amid pandemic

Still , this Christmas feels special , he said .
After his last two deployments , he returned well before @ @ @ @ @ he returns on Christmas Eve .
There may not be anyone allowed inside the airport @ @ @ @ @ there was no coming home ceremony at the armory either .

After a seven-month deployment in war-torn Afghanistan that included the constant threat of danger and a bout with COVID-19, returning Illinois National Guard Maj. Scott Liebhaber doesn’t mind if Christmas back home in Chicago comes with some pandemic-related strings attached.
Even if his family’s annual Christmas Day trip to Holy Name Cathedral for Mass is canceled due to renewed pandemic closures and restrictions. But Liebhaber — a recent recipient of the Bronze Star for meritorious service during his deployment and a veteran Chicago police officer — has some other fail-safe activities to save the season.
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First, some much-needed relaxation time with his wife, Jaqueline. Then maybe a long, scenic tour down windy Lake Shore Drive.
His first meal back? An Italian beef combo from Johnnie’s Beef on North Avenue. “I’ve been craving that since I left,” Liebhaber, 38, said in a telephone call from Fort Bliss in Texas a day before his scheduled return.
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Kathy Kuzur, left, takes a picture as Amelia Kelly kisses her boyfriend, Illinois Army National Guardsmen 1st Lt. Kurt Kuzur, as he arrives at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago on Dec. 24, 2020, after the final leg of his journey home from deployment in Afghanistan. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)
Liebhaber is his unit’s first executive officer to return home, joined by fellow guardsmen from Champaign, Frankfort, Tinley Park and Collinsville. At least one other soldier will join him for a return flight at O’Hare International Airport on Christmas Eve.
The soldiers were part of a team that advised and aided combat missions with the Polish military in support of Operation Freedom’s Sentinel.
It’s not unusual for combat and loss to make a soldier’s heart grow fonder for home, but it’s been an especially trying year for Liebhaber’s team. Still, the group returns intact from Afghanistan, a country ravaged by deadly Taliban attacks and a high count of COVID-19 cases.
Having tested positive for COVID-19 while deployed in the country, Liebhaber believes safety rules and restrictions are a small price to pay to return to normal conditions at home. And the soldiers are returning to much the same situation surrounding the pandemic as when they shipped out.
“When we left in May, it was pretty much at the height of COVID,” Liebhaber said. “We were all hoping that by the time we came back, COVID would be controlled and finished, but obviously that didn’t happen.
“We’re kind of coming back how we left it. Everything was pretty much closed when we left. ... We’re coming back and everything is pretty much closed down again.”
Still, this Christmas feels special, he said. After his last two deployments, he returned well before Christmas, but this year he returns on Christmas Eve. There may not be anyone allowed inside the airport to greet him, and there was no coming home ceremony at the armory either.
“Everybody’s happy to be back and be back in the normal world. However normal it is,” Liebhaber said. “It’s definitely more normal than over there.”
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During this last deployment, Liebhaber’s team helped oversee an update of the Polish armored vehicle fleet, among other duties. The Illinois National Guard has long had a warm relationship with the Polish military, having worked side by side for decades, according to officials.
“There’s good camaraderie among the soldiers, and diplomatically, it just builds up trust” between the nations, said Lt. Col. Brad Leighton, a spokesman for the Illinois National Guard.
As for Liebhaber, he’s looking forward to some leisure time before he returns to working for the Chicago Police Department and further National Guard service. “A drive down Lake Shore would be good enough for me, just to see the city of Chicago and the beautiful Lake Michigan.”
It’s just good to be home, he said.
“Even though we’re coming back to ... uncertainty with COVID kind of getting out of control right now, it’s still nice to come back to the greatest country in the world,” Liebhaber said. “It’s always a pleasure.”


chicagotribune--2020-12-26--‘Good game, bro’: Chicago Park District adds esports to its recreational program with inaugural ‘NBA

‘Good game, bro’: Chicago Park District adds esports to its recreational program with inaugural ‘NBA 2K21’  tournament

“ The pandemic presented us with ( the need ) to get innovative , so this was a good opportunity @ @ @ @ @ , the district ’ s athletics manager .
“ Esports is big , it ’ @ @ @ @ @ a little pushback but the pandemic helped us say , ‘ This is a way @ @ @ @ @ young people ) , let ’ s go for it .
’ ”

Veteran esports promoter Kevin Fair monitors the video game tournament from his home studio in Chicago on Dec. 22, 2020. He is helping the Chicago Park District to organize its first esports tournament for city kids. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune)
The Chicago Park District’s sports programs usually involve swimming pools, playing fields and basketball courts. This past week, for the first time, they involved Xboxes and PlayStations.
The district on Tuesday hosted its inaugural esports tournament, giving 64 teens, playing remotely on their own consoles, the chance to be declared city champion in the video game “NBA 2K21.”
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“The pandemic presented us with (the need) to get innovative, so this was a good opportunity,” said Adrian Loza, the district’s athletics manager. “Esports is big, it’s growing. There was a little pushback but the pandemic helped us say, ‘This is a way we can engage (with young people), let’s go for it.’”
Veteran esports promoter Kevin Fair organized the tournament through his company, I Play Games! Fair, who grew up in Morgan Park and now lives in East Garfield Park, usually offers gaming at conventions and other public events but has also done programs at schools.
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There, he said, he observed that the digital divide is preventing some kids from playing with their peers. Most gaming is done online, and inexpensive home Wi-Fi service often isn’t robust enough to allow them to participate in a meaningful way, he said.
“It definitely does leave a glaring difference between what one kid in the Auburn Gresham area can play versus someone in the Lincoln Park area,” Fair said. “I see this as an opportunity for us to look at some of these differences and bring people together.”
For the first tournament, he decided to focus on the sports game “NBA 2K21,” which is available for the Xbox and PlayStation. He eschewed other popular competitive titles, such as “League of Legends” and “Overwatch,” that are generally played on more expensive PC gaming rigs.
“There will be kids who just do not have access to those games because they don’t have a high-end computer,” Fair said. “(’NBA 2K21′) is a game that’s easily accessible. That was really our target — to make sure we included as many kids as possible.”
The tournament operated under a best-of-three format. Just like a pro tournament, it was streamed over the Twitch platform: Fair provided the commentary while avatars controlled by gamers with handles like BoMb_skii and Favorite_Dork threw down dunks and shot rainbow threes.
“Four seconds left … tries the step-back fadeaway. … Oh, it does not go!” Fair shouted as a pixilated Kyrie Irving’s attempted game-tying shot clanked off the rim to end a semifinal match.
“GG, man,” one participant said, offering the “good game” abbreviation common among gamers.
“That was a good game, bro,” his rival replied.
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The tournament crowned separate winners for the Xbox and PlayStation. Fair said he would send the champions plaques and T-shirts to commemorate their victories.
Loza said he wants to put on more Park District esports tournaments, and Fair said he aims to add the “Madden” football game to the mix. When the pandemic lifts, he said, he’d like to offer in-person tournaments at Park District sites where kids can compete on state-of-the-art equipment.
Fair said the first edition of the tournament went better than he expected, as rookie players quickly figured out the format.
“It was nice because what we could see is that some of these kids who are just having fun could be diamonds in the rough,” he said. “It was great. I’m pretty pleased with it.”
jkeilman@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @JohnKeilman


chicagotribune--2020-12-26--Waukegan firefighters battle 3 blazes in 36 hours

“ As soon as they get the basement pumped out and utilities back on the grocery should be able to @ @ @ @ @ Lenzi said .
“ Once the water ( in the basement ) is dried out @ @ @ @ @ residents could return as early as tomorrow .
”

Three separate fires displaced 14 Waukegan residents and forced two businesses to close on Christmas and Christmas Eve in three areas of the city as one firefighter suffered a minor injury.
Waukegan Fire Marshal Steven Lenzi said three fires in a 36-hour span are highly unusual. It has been approximately 20 years since a similar situation occurred, he said.
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Firefighters from the Waukegan Fire Department and 10 other area departments spent six hours early Friday morning dousing a blaze in a partially demolished building at 18 South Genesee St. in downtown Waukegan. Lenzi said the temperature was 9 degrees above zero.
Excavators further demolish a downtown Waukegan building already being razed to help firefighters battle a blaze Christmas morning. (Waukegan Fire Department)
Water damage to a building adjacent to the burning structure forced four families, 12 people in all, from their homes, according to a fire department news release. Lenzi said the families lived in second- and third- floor apartments. Reyes Grocery Store occupies the first floor.
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Lenzi expected the grocery store would be able to reopen this weekend and the families likely could be back in their apartments as soon as Saturday.
“As soon as they get the basement pumped out and utilities back on the grocery should be able to open this weekend,” Lenzi said. “Once the water (in the basement) is dried out utilities could be restored and residents could return as early as tomorrow.”
The Red Cross provided temporary shelter and other needs, Lenzi said.
Firefighters from 11 departments fought a fire in downtown Waukegan Friday morning. (Waukegan Fire Department)
When firefighters arrived at the downtown fire, the flames were heavy in a building currently under demolition, according to the release. Two floors were already removed by the by the demolition company. Flames were coming from areas the firefighters could not reach.
As firefighters were battling the blaze, Lenzi said they had to call WEBS Excavating and Demolition to assist. Excavating equipment was necessary to further tear down walls so firefighters could safely extinguish flames.
“It took a very long time in extremely cold temperatures because fire was trapped in hidden areas,” Lenzi said. “Sometime you have to further damage a building so you can safely put the fire out.”
The building was being razed as part of a citywide effort to eliminate problematic structures before they become a dilemma “for unwanted subjects and other problems,” according to the release.
Lenzi said the cause of the fire is undetermined.
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Just before 1:30 a.m. Thursday, firefighters responded to a blaze at Hillary’s Bar-B-Q at 2021 North Lewis Ave., according to the release. The fire started in the restaurant’s barbecue pit while employees were getting food ready for Christmas orders.
Damage is estimated at $50,000, and Lenzi said it could be a while before the restaurant reopens. He said after a similar fire in 2016, it took nearly two months to reopen. The cause of the blaze was a cooking fire.
“Hillary’s restaurant is an institution in Waukegan,” Lenzi said. “All their barbecuing is done over charcoal. It’s harder to regulate the heat than it is with a stove.”
A fire that broke out in the garage and breezeway of a home in the 2100 block of 9th Parkway at approximately 7:45 p.m. Thursday displaced the two people who lived there and their dog, according to the release. Flames also extended into the home.
Lenzi said one firefighter slipped on the ice while fighting this fire and was injured. The firefighter was treated at the scene. The Red Cross provided emergency shelter to the family. The cause is undetermined and damage is estimated at $60,000.


chicagotribune--2020-12-26--20-year-old man killed in Gage Park shooting: police

About 9:20 p.m. , the 20-year-old man was found outside on the 3300 block of West 52nd Street by officers @ @ @ @ @ , Chicago police said .
He was pronounced dead at the scene with multiple gunshot @ @ @ @ @ abdomen .

A man was killed in a shooting on Christmas evening in the Gage Park neighborhood on the Southwest Side.
About 9:20 p.m., the 20-year-old man was found outside on the 3300 block of West 52nd Street by officers responding to a ShotSpotter signal, Chicago police said. He was pronounced dead at the scene with multiple gunshot wounds in his chest and abdomen.
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No one is in custody, Chicago police said.
ayin@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-12-26--Police investigating death of man found on East Chatham street

About 8:40 p.m. , an unresponsive man was found lying on the south side of the 900 block of East @ @ @ @ @ said .
The man , who has not yet been identified , was pronounced dead @ @ @ @

A person was found dead on a street Christmas evening in the East Chatham neighborhood on the South Side, authorities said.
About 8:40 p.m., an unresponsive person was found lying on the south side of the 900 block of East 82nd Street, Chicago police said. The individual, who has not yet been identified, was pronounced dead at the scene.
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Police are investigating the cause of the death.
ayin@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-12-27--Authorities search for 8-year-old boy who was abducted from family Christmas gathering near Mundelei

Authorities search for 8-year-old boy who was abducted from family Christmas gathering near Mundelein

The mother had permission to be at the party , police said , but did not have permission to take @ @ @ @ @ ’ s grandmother has been his legal guardian since Sanchez was 1 year old , @ @ @

An 8-year-old boy who Lake County, Ill., authorities said was abducted Christmas Day by his mother, who does not have parental custody rights, has been found safe in Indiana, authorities said.
According to Lake County sheriff’s police, the boy was allegedly taken Friday night by his mother, Holly Adcox, 27, while both were attending a family gathering in the 26400 block of Route 83 in Fremont Township near Mundelein, police said.
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The mother had permission to be at the party, police said, but did not have permission to take her son. The boy’s grandmother has been his legal guardian since the boy was 1 year old, authorities said.
Sheriff’s police late Saturday said the boy and his biological parents were located in a hotel room in the area of Sellersburg, Indiana. Adcox and the boy’s biological father, Federico Sanchez, 30, were arrested and are being held on kidnapping charges in Clark County, Indiana, Lake County sheriff’s police said.
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The sheriff’s office said the boy was safe and being held in protective custody until his legal guardians arrive in Indiana.
Police earlier had said their investigation indicated that Sanchez was involved in the boy’s abduction.
Clifford Ward is a freelance reporter.


chicagotribune--2020-12-26--Coronavirus in Illinois updates: Here’s what happened Dec. 24 with COVID-19 in the Chicago area

The short-term rentals site has clamped down on listings during the COVID-19 pandemic in an effort to prevent large gatherings @ @ @ @ @ are urging people to avoid .
That includes instituting a global ban on all parties @ @ @ @ @ and restricting users under 25 from booking entire homes in the areas where they live @ @ @ @ @ spokeswoman said has resulted in more than 770,000 blocked reservation attempts in the U.S. and @ @

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Laquitta Boyd, holds her 6-year-old daughter Venisha while receiving her first COVID-19 vaccination at a back-to-school health fair hosted by RUSH University Medical Center at the Salvation Army Freedom Center on July 30, 2022, in Chicago. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)
Illinois’ seven-day average for coronavirus deaths fell to 116 on Thursday, its lowest point since Dec. 2.
The state recorded another 96 deaths on Christmas Eve, the third time in the past week that there have been fewer than 100 deaths reported in a day. The average number of fatalities per day was down 25% from the pandemic’s peak weekly average of 154 deaths during the week ending Dec. 11.
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Thursday also marked the first time since early this month that the average number of daily deaths fell below the spring peak of 118, recorded in mid-May. In all, Illinois has recorded 15,643 COVID-19 deaths since March.
State health officials also reported 7,037 new confirmed and probable cases of the coronavirus, the third straight day-over-day increase. The average number of daily cases was 6,526 for the week ending Thursday, down from 7,985 cases per day the prior week.
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Here’s what’s happening Thursday with COVID-19 in the Chicago area and Illinois:
3:10 p.m.: United will require negative COVID-19 test for passengers flying from UK to O’Hare
United Airlines on Monday will begin asking passengers traveling from London to Chicago and other cities for proof of a negative COVID-19 test before departure in an effort to stop the spread of a new mutant coronavirus strain.
The Chicago-based airline said the new policy, which requires a test to be taken within 72 hours of a flight, applies to passengers who are older than 5 years old and whose travel originates in the U.K. The policy affects people departing London Heathrow Airport to O’Hare International Airport, Newark Liberty International Airport, Washington Dulles International Airport and San Francisco International Airport.
The new policy won’t affect passengers who have U.S.-connecting flights at Heathrow.
Beginning next month, United will operate two daily flights from London Heathrow to its hubs in Chicago and Newark.
United will accept results from a molecular or antigen coronavirus test before departure, and said a site offering rapid tests is available at Terminal 2 at London Heathrow for passengers.
Read more here. —Abdel Jimenez
2:46 p.m.: Vaccines coming to Southland nursing homes
After Chicago-area hospitals received their initial doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, nursing homes and long-term care centers in the south suburbs expect to begin getting their shots starting next week.
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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has contracted with drugstore chains CVS and Walgreens to administer the vaccines.
At his daily update on the pandemic Wednesday, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said that about 37,000 doses of the vaccine were heading to long-term care facilities outside of Chicago.
Residents and staff at senior care facilities are part of the initial phase of vaccinations that included hospital workers.Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, Ingalls Memorial in Harvey, Little Company of Mary in Evergreen Park and Advocate South Suburban Hospital in Hazel Crest received initial doses a week ago. This followed Silver Cross Hospital in New Lenox, which received its first doses earlier that week.
At Little Company, 1,131 employees were vaccinated over five days, according to Libby Allison, a spokeswoman for the hospital’s operator, OSF HealthCare.
Aperion Care, which operates post-hospital rehabilitation and long-term skilled nursing care centers in the Midwest, expected to get its first doses before the new year, with deliveries continuing through January and into February, according to Frederick Frankel, general counsel for the Lincolnwood-based company.
ProMedica Senior Care, which operates ManorCare nursing homes, is getting doses from CVS and has vaccinations underway at locations in Florida and Ohio, said Julie Beckert, a company spokeswoman.
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Smith Senior Living, which operates Smith Crossing in Orland Park and Smith Village in Chicago’s Beverly community, was expecting both locations to receive vaccines by early January, said spokeswoman Sheila King.
Residents and staff at Smith Crossing will get the Pfizer vaccine and Smith Village staff and residents the Moderna shot.
Walgreens is administering the vaccines at both locations, and the shots are available to all residents, including those in independent living, she said.
Read more here. —Mike Nolan, Daily Southtown
1:55 p.m.: Illinois’ seven-day average for COVID-19 deaths is lowest in weeks
Illinois’ seven-day average for coronavirus deaths fell to 116 on Thursday, its lowest point since Dec. 2.
The state recorded another 96 deaths on Christmas Eve, the third time in the past week that there have been fewer than 100 deaths reported in a day. The average number of fatalities per day was down 25% from the pandemic’s peak weekly average of 154 deaths during the week ending Dec. 11.
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Thursday also marked the first time since early this month that the average number of daily deaths fell below the spring peak of 118, recorded in mid-May.
In all, Illinois has recorded 15,643 COVID-19 deaths since March.
State health officials also reported 7,037 new confirmed and probable cases of the coronavirus, the third straight day-over-day increase. But the number of test results reported in the previous 24 hours also was up significantly from the previous days, and the seven-day average of new cases, which officials monitor to smooth out day-to-day fluctuations, continues to decline.
The average number of daily cases was 6,526 for the week ending Thursday, down from 7,985 cases per day the prior week.
The case positivity rate — the percentage of positive cases as a share of total tests — reached a statewide seven-day average of 7.2% for the week ending Wednesday, the lowest its been since the week ending Oct. 28, when the rate was 6.9%
Read more here. —Dan Petrella
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12:06 p.m.: 7,037 new and probable cases of COVID-19, 96 additional deaths reported
Illinois public health officials Thursday announced 7,037 new and probable cases of COVID-19. The total number of known infections in Illinois was 925,107 since March. The state also announced 96 additional fatalities, bringing the statewide death toll to 15,643 since the start of the pandemic.
There were 94,909 tests reported in the previous 24 hours. The seven-day statewide positivity rate is 8.9%.
—Chicago Tribune staff
10:51 a.m.: As COVID-19 eviction crisis looms, housing grants come from unlikely source: Beyonce
With the federal moratorium on foreclosures and evictions set to expire at the end of 2020, housing advocates are bracing for a crisis that could have millions of Americans forced from their homes.
And as government programs are overwhelmed with applications for relief, one celebrity is stepping up to help fill the need.
Beyoncé Knowles, through her BEYGood Impact Fund, will offer $5,000 grants to families and individuals facing eviction or foreclosure starting in January, the singer announced Tuesday. Applications open Jan. 7 for the first round, which will be awarded to 100 recipients in late January. A second round will begin in February.
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In Illinois, the state ban on most pandemic-related evictions and foreclosures is set to expire Jan. 9, although it has been extended each month throughout most of 2020.
If enacted, the new federal relief package as it stands would extend the national moratorium through January and allot $25 billion to federal rental assistance, but it’s unclear how much longer both measures will last into the new year.
1.28 million households in Illinois have doubts they’ll be able to afford mortgage payments next month, amounting to more than one-third of Illinoisans who have a mortgage, according to survey data. In Illinois, 990,000 have doubts they’ll be able to pay rent next month — more than half of renters in the state.
The need for relief has overwhelmed city and state resources. In April, 83,000 Chicagoans applied for 2,000 city grants for housing assistance. After a second round in July was awarded via a lottery system, the city said it anticipates using up all of the available funds, although a new federal relief package could allot more money for the program.
The state and Cook County have offered similar programs in past months.
Read more here. —Ariel Cheung
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9:41 a.m.: Black doc dies of COVID-19 complications weeks after complaining about racist treatment at Indiana hospital
Lying in a hospital bed with an oxygen tube hugging her nostrils, the Black patient gazed into her smartphone and, with a strained voice, complained of an experience all too common among Black people in America.
Susan Moore, the patient, said the white doctor at the hospital in suburban Indianapolis where she was being treated for COVID-19 had downplayed her complaints of pain. He told her that he felt uncomfortable giving her more narcotics, she said, and suggested that she would be discharged.
“I was crushed,” she said in a video posted to Facebook. “He made me feel like I was a drug addict.”
In her post, which has since circulated widely on social media, she showed a command of complicated medical terminology and an intricate knowledge of treatment protocols as she detailed the ways in which she had advocated for herself with the medical staff. She knew what to ask for because she, too, was a medical doctor.
But that was not enough to get her treatment and respect she said she deserved. “I put forth and I maintain if I was white,” she said in the video, “I wouldn’t have to go through that.”
She was eventually sent home, and on Sunday, just more than two weeks after posting the video, Moore, 52, died of complications from COVID-19, said her son, Henry Muhammed.
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Read more here. —The New York Times
9:20 a.m.: Here’s what Airbnb is doing to discourage large holiday gatherings
That secret party-house rager you were hoping to throw on New Year’s Eve? Don’t think you can book it on Airbnb.
The short-term rentals site has clamped down on listings during the COVID-19 pandemic in an effort to prevent large gatherings of the sort health authorities are urging people to avoid. That includes instituting a global ban on all parties and events until further notice and restricting users under 25 from booking entire homes in the areas where they live, a move that a spokeswoman said has resulted in more than 770,000 blocked reservation attempts in the U.S. and Canada.
Over Halloween weekend, Airbnb prohibited one-night reservations in entire-home listings to reduce parties. It is implementing a similar (though slightly looser) measure for New Year’s Eve, banning guests without a history of positive reviews from making one-night reservations for entire homes.
Guests who have a history of positive reviews will not be subject to the rule, and those who booked one-night reservations for New Year’s Eve before Dec. 3 can go ahead with their plans as well.
Read more here. —Los Angeles Times
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6 a.m.: New year, new reopening plan — and continued uncertainty for CPS parents
Blanca Sandoval-Perez was still figuring out how to get her father-in-law’s body back to Mexico when she logged in to Clinton Elementary’s December Local School Council meeting.
With his death during the coronavirus pandemic on her mind, Sandoval-Perez gave her full support to a resolution opposing Chicago Public Schools’ reopening plan.
After learning her father-in-law was positive for COVID-19, the whole family got tested. Sandoval-Perez’s oldest son and husband were both positive, though they had no symptoms, she said. She thought about what could have happened if her third grade daughter had been infected but asymptomatic, and had gone to school.
“I don’t think it’s fair for the teachers to have to choose between having to work and their lives,” Sandoval-Perez said. “I thought that if we support them in this way, we are saying, ‘We are with you.’”
A growing number of Local School Councils, from West Ridge to Logan Square to West Englewood, have passed similar resolutions in recent weeks, opposing the plan to start bringing young learners and children in special education “cluster” programs back to school buildings in the new year.
More than 77,000 students have opted to return to classrooms in person, roughly 1 of every 3 who were eligible. With an unsettled labor dispute, however, winter break finds parents — and educators — still wondering what to expect.
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Read more here. —Hannah Leone
Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 6 Enrique Leon plays guitarron and sings Dec. 4, 2020, during the funeral service for his friend and fellow musician Florentino Chavez at Martinez Funeral Home in Chicago. Leon is the leader of Mariachi Mexico Vivo. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)
6 a.m.: Chicago mariachis sing farewell to fellow players at their wakes and funerals, a ritual to honor one another through a craft that united them
For decades, Florentino Chavez played the guitar in different mariachi bands in the Chicago area, cheering up thousands during celebrations and comforting many more following a heartbreak or a loss.
On Dec. 4, fellow members of the group Mariachi Mexico Vivo played and sang his favorite song one last time.
This time, they comforted each other and his family as they sang farewell to Chavez, whose body lay in a casket dressed in a black mariachi suit with his sombrero by his side.
He died suddenly from a stroke, making him the 10th compañero Enrique Leon has had to sing goodbye to in 2020.
The ritual of having the mariachi community come together to play at the funeral or wake of a musician who has died has become a common practice, and it is a sign of respect and camaraderie, said Leon, leader of Mariachi Mexico Vivo.
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More than six of his fellow musicians have died of COVID-19 complications, and the rest, like Chavez, had other health problems, he added.
“It’s been a sad year, to say the least,” said Leon, who said mariachi has helped keep him and many other families strong. In past years, he said, one or two fellow musicians would die, “never so many” as in 2020.
Nearly 30 musicians from the Chicago area, some who knew Chavez well and others just acquaintances, showed up to pay their respects at his wake and services, all while following COVID-19 safety guidelines.
Read more here. —Laura Rodríguez Presa
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chicagotribune--2020-12-26--Coronavirus in Illinois updates: Saturday marks lowest daily case total since mid-October; 66 additi

Coronavirus in Illinois updates: Saturday marks lowest daily case total since mid-October; 66 additional deaths reported

For most Chicago-area residents who observe Christmas , this year ’ s holiday is like no other in their lifetimes @ @ @ @ @ loved ones in homes and churches , and exchanges of presents and meals , curtailed @ @ @ @ @ done away with altogether .

We have lifted the paywall on this story. To support essential reporting, please consider becoming a subscriber .
Laquitta Boyd, holds her 6-year-old daughter Venisha while receiving her first COVID-19 vaccination at a back-to-school health fair hosted by RUSH University Medical Center at the Salvation Army Freedom Center on July 30, 2022, in Chicago. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)
Illinois reported 3,767 new and probable cases of COVID-19 Sunday, bringing the statewide total since the beginning of the pandemic to 937,909. The state also reported 104 new deaths, raising the overall toll to 15,969.
It was the second straight day with cases under 4,000. There were 3,293 new and probable cases reported Saturday, the lowest total in Illinois since Oct. 19, when 3,113 cases were reported.
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Here’s what’s happening this weekend with COVID-19 in the Chicago area and Illinois:
Sunday
3,767 new and probable cases of COVID-19, 104 additional deaths reported
Illinois reported 3,767 new and probable cases of COVID-19 Sunday, bringing the statewide total since the beginning of the pandemic to 937,909. The state also reported 104 new deaths, raising the overall toll to 15,969.
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There were 46,226 tests reported in the previous 24 hours. The seven-day statewide positivity rate is 8.5%.
—Chicago Tribune staff
Vaccination effort expected to arrive in Lake County long-term care centers Monday
COVID-19 inoculations are expected to start Monday in Lake County long-term care facilities, local health officials said.
The move follows the vaccination of nearly 8,000 Lake County front line health care workers since December 17. More vaccine is arriving, and the Lake County Health Department will begin offering injections of health care personnel, emergency medical workers and some others next week.
Mark Pfister, the executive director of the Lake County Health Department, said the entire shipment of 6,825 doses of Pfizer vaccine was shipped to six of the county’s hospitals December 17. It produced more shots than anticipated. An additional 3,900 packages arrived Tuesday.
Read more here. —Steve Sadin, Lake County News-Sun
Unemployment benefits for millions of Americans expire as Trump refuses to sign COVID-19 relief bill
Unemployment benefits for millions of Americans struggling to make ends meet lapsed overnight as President Donald Trump refused to sign an end-of-year COVID-19 relief and spending bill that had been considered a done deal before his sudden objections.
The fate of the bipartisan package remained in limbo Sunday as Trump continued to demand larger COVID relief checks and complained about “pork” spending. Without the widespread funding provided by the massive measure, a government shutdown would occur when money runs out at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday.
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“It’s a chess game and we are pawns,” said Lanetris Haines, a self-employed single mother of three in South Bend, Indiana, who stood to lose her $129 weekly jobless benefit unless Trump signed the package into law or succeeded in his improbable quest for changes.
Washington has been reeling since Trump turned on the deal after it had won sweeping approval in both houses of Congress and after the White House had assured Republican leaders that Trump would support it.
Read more here. —Associated Press
Saturday
Unemployment benefits for millions in limbo and government shutdown looms as Trump rages
Unemployment benefits for millions of Americans struggling to make ends meet were set to lapse at midnight Saturday unless President Donald Trump signed an end-of-year COVID relief and spending bill that had been considered a done deal before his sudden objections.
Trump’s refusal to sign the bipartisan package as he demands larger COVID relief checks and complains about “pork” spending could also force a federal government shutdown when money runs out at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday in the middle of a pandemic.
“It’s a chess game and we are pawns,” said Lanetris Haines, a self-employed single mother of three in South Bend, Indiana, who stands to lose her $129 weekly jobless benefit unless Trump signs the package into law or succeeds in his improbable quest for changes.
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Washington has been reeling since Trump threw the package into limbo after it had already won sweeping approval in both houses of Congress and after the White House assured Republican leaders that Trump would support it.
Instead, he has assailed the bill’s plan to provide $600 COVID relief checks to most Americans — insisting it should be $2,000. House Republicans swiftly rejected that idea during a rare Christmas Eve session. But Trump has not been swayed.
Read more here. —Associated Press
Illinois reports 3,293 new and probable COVID-19 cases and 66 new deaths
Illinois reported 3,293 new and probable cases of COVID-19 on Saturday, bringing the statewide total since the beginning of the pandemic to 934,142.
The case total is the lowest in Illinois since Oct. 19 when 3,113 cases were reported.
The state also reported 66 new deaths — the lowest total in about a month — raising the overall total to 15,865.
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The deaths ranged from a man in his 20s to two women who were 100 or older.
A spokesperson for the Illinois Department of Public Health said reported cases and deaths are typically lower after weekends, and “this could be the case for the holiday weekend.”
As of Friday night, 4,021 people were hospitalized with the virus, including 874 in the ICU and 494 on ventilators.
—Madeline Buckley
Friday
5,742 new and probable cases of COVID-19 and 156 additional deaths reported
Illinois public health officials Friday announced 5,742 new and probable cases of COVID-19. The total number of known infections in Illinois is 930,849 since the pandemic began in March.
The state reported another 156 deaths on Christmas Day. The statewide death toll is now 15,799 since the start of the pandemic.
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There were 98,958 tests reported in the previous 24 hours. The seven-day statewide positivity rate for the week ending Dec. 24 fell to 8.6%.
—Chicago Tribune staff
A COVID-19 Christmas — less glitter, but still some silver linings: ‘It gets back to what’s important’
For most Chicago-area residents who observe Christmas, this year’s holiday is like no other in their lifetimes, with traditional gatherings of loved ones in homes and churches, and exchanges of presents and meals, curtailed, modified, Zoom-ified or done away with altogether.
For some that has meant dropping off presents at front stoops instead of getting together, or visiting with relatives at care facilities through the window.
But many are still trying to count their blessings and make the best of things.
Read more here. —Elyssa Cherney
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Pope Francis: COVID-19 vaccines for all, but for needy and vulnerable first
Pope Francis made a Christmas Day plea for authorities to make COVID-19 vaccines available to all, insisting that the first in line should be the most vulnerable and needy, regardless of who holds the patents for the shots.
“Vaccines for everybody, especially for the most vulnerable and needy,” who should be first in line, Francis said in off-the-cuff remarks from his prepared text, calling the development of such vaccines “light of hope” for the world.
“We can’t let closed nationalisms impede us from living as the true human family that we are,” the pope said.
He called on the leaders of nations, businesses and international organizations to “promote cooperation and not competition, and to search for a solution for all.”
Amid a surge of coronavirus infections this fall in Italy, Francis broke with tradition for Christmas. Instead of delivering his “Urbi et Orbi” speech — Latin for “to the city and to the world” — from the central loggia of St. Peter’s Square, he read it from inside a cavernous hall at the Apostolic Palace, flanked by two Christmas trees with blinking lights.
Read more here. —Associated Press
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US to require negative COVID-19 test from all travelers from Britain because of new strain of virus, CDC says
xThe United States will require airline passengers from Britain to get a negative COVID-19 test before their flight, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced late Thursday.
The U.S. is the latest country to announce new travel restrictions because of a new variant of the coronavirus that is spreading in Britain and elsewhere.
Airline passengers from the United Kingdom will need to get negative COVID-19 tests within three days of their trip and provide the results to the airline, the CDC said in a statement. The agency said the order will be signed Friday and go into effect on Monday.
Read more here. —Associated Press
Breaking coronavirus news Stay up to date with the latest information on coronavirus with our breaking news alerts.
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chicagotribune--2020-12-26--Here’s what you need to know about COVID-19 vaccines

Suburban Cook County expects 20,000 doses this week , which will go to workers at 15 hospitals .
Next , @ @ @ @ @ care facilities will be vaccinated by Walgreens and CVS Health workers .
Other health care @ @ @ @ @ workers , will then likely get the vaccine , followed by essential workers , including @ @ @ @ @ , education , transportation , food and agricultural workers , said Dr. Kiran Joshi , @ @ @ @ @ Department of Public Health , during a news conference Monday .

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chicagotribune--2020-12-26--Woman, 43, fatally stabbed in Englewood, police say

The woman was found in the 5500 block of South Halsted Street in the Englewood neighborhood and pronounced dead at @ @ @ @ @ .
The attack occurred between 2 a.m. and 11:45 a.m .

A 43-year-old woman was dead with multiple stab wounds early Saturday on the South Side, according to Chicago police.
The woman was found in the 5500 block of South Halsted Street in the Englewood neighborhood and pronounced dead at the scene, police said. The attack occurred between 2 a.m. and 11:45 a.m.
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No arrests have been made, police said. The stabbing is under investigation.
pfry@chicagotribune.com
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Twitter @paigexfry


chicagotribune--2020-12-26--Boy, 16, faces charges for carjacking vehicle used in Bridgeport homicide, is suspected in killing,

Boy, 16, faces charges for carjacking vehicle used in Bridgeport homicide, is suspected in killing, police say

Officers stopped the boy , whose name was not released due to his age , about 11 p.m. in the @ @ @ @ @ Street in the Englewood neighborhood on the South Side after he was seen driving a @ @ @ @ @ in a fatal carjacking , police said .
He turned off the headlights , got @ @ @ @ @ tried to run away , but officers were able to take him into custody .

A 16-year-old boy was arrested Monday night for stealing a vehicle that was used in a fatal carjacking in Bridgeport earlier that day, Chicago police said Saturday.
Officers stopped the boy, whose name was not released due to his age, about 11 p.m. in the 200 block of West 73rd Street in the Englewood neighborhood on the South Side after he was seen driving a stolen Subaru that was used in a fatal carjacking, police said. He turned off the headlights, got out of the car and tried to run away, but officers were able to take him into custody.
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He is charged with two counts of aggravated vehicle hijacking with a firearm and one count of possession of a stolen vehicle, police said. He has not been charged in the homicide but is considered a suspect, police say.
The boy is being questioned as the person who was seen in a surveillance video, demanding the keys to a man’s white SUV before the carjacker and victim go out of frame of the video and three shots were fired, police said.
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Monday’s attack happened about 6:10 p.m. as Shuai Guan, 33, parked his SUV and got out, leaving his hazard lights on. Surveillance video shows two dark-colored cars — an Audi and a Subaru — driving up and stopping in front of the SUV.
A man in a black hoodie and white mask is seen getting out of the Subaru and walking to the passenger side of the SUV. He opens and closes the passenger side door, then walks toward the back of the SUV, out of the frame.
“Hey, give me the key for that,” someone is heard saying. “Give me the key! Give me the key!”
“What?” another voice says.
“Give me the key!” the first voice says.
The man in the hoodie then gets into the SUV and appears to put it in drive. The man revs the engine several times, but the SUV does not move. The man can be seen going through the center console before getting out and running back to the Subaru.
The Audi and Subaru both drive off and turn right into an alley, out of the frame. Ten seconds later, three gunshots are heard. Both cars were later located by police, who held a suspect for allegedly possessing a stolen car, the Subaru.
It was not clear why the carjacker could not drive off with the SUV, but one police source said he may have electronically disabled it while calling 911. Officers were responding to a call of a robbery in progress when a ShotSpotter detector picked up three shots.
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Officers found Guan lying dead on the pavement in the 3000 block of South Union Avenue, police said. Personal belongings were found near his body, along with three 9 mm shell casings. Guan was married and had a 4-year-old son.
In a GoFundMe post, the family said Guan’s death “leaves behind a family steeped in tragedy. He was a loving husband and father.”
pfry@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @paigexfry


chicagotribune--2020-12-26--COVID-19 in Illinois by the numbers: Here’s a daily update on cases, positivity rate and hospital da

COVID-19 in Illinois by the numbers: Here’s a daily update on cases, positivity rate and hospital data in your area

Among the metrics ( see below ) tracked under guidelines set by Gov .
J.B. Pritzker are the percentage of @ @ @ @ @ , the number of people hospitalized for COVID-19-like illnesses , and the capacity of hospitals @ @ @ @ @ state will decide how much or how little to restrict activities based on these metrics @

Note: With Chicago and Illinois moving into phase 5, the Tribune is no longer updating this data. If the state moves back into bridge phase, the Tribune we reassess. Daily metrics on COVID-19, like cases, deaths and hospitalizations, can be found here. And Daily metrics on the vaccination effort can be found here. More on where the coronavirus stands nationally and around the world can be found here.
To assess how different parts of Illinois are handling the COVID-19 pandemic, officials look at the state through the 11 regions of Emergency Medical Services. The city of Chicago is one region, for example, and the rest of Cook County is another.
Among the metrics (see below) tracked under guidelines set by Gov. J.B. Pritzker are the percentage of coronavirus tests that return positive, the number of people hospitalized for COVID-19-like illnesses, and the capacity of hospitals to take in new patients.The state will decide how much or how little to restrict activities based on these metrics. (Cases, deaths and tests data is as of Dec. 31).
• Check out the Tribune’s coronavirus coverage.
• Remembering the lives of those in Illinois who died from coronavirus.
• Other Chicago, suburbs and Illinois COVID-19 metrics.
• See how the governor’s plan to manage the regions works.
Source: Illinois Department of Public Health
Created by the Chicago Tribune dataviz team. On Twitter @chitribgraphics


chicagotribune--2020-12-26--COVID-19 cases in Illinois by ZIP code: Search for your neighborhood

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

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


chicagotribune--2020-12-26--Daily Illinois coronavirus graphs: 66 new deaths, 3,293 new confirmed and probable cases and 57,448

Daily Illinois coronavirus graphs: 66 new deaths, 3,293 new confirmed and probable cases and 57,448 new test results

Illinois announced 3,293 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 Saturday for a total of 934,142 .
The state also @ @ @ @ @ a total of 15,865 and 57,448 new test results for a total of 12.94 million @

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


chicagotribune--2020-12-26--2 dead in vehicle crash in Washington Park neighborhood, 1 left in critical condition

Shortly before 3:15 a.m. , a 2017 silver Dodge sedan struck a tree in the the 300 block of East @ @ @ @ @ females were pronounced dead at the scene , police said .
A third female occupant @ @ @ @ @ to the University of Chicago Medical Center , police said .

Two people died and one person was left in critical condition after the Dodge sedan they were traveling in struck a tree early Saturday morning in the Washington Park neighborhood on the South Side, Chicago police said.
Shortly before 3:15 a.m., a 2017 silver Dodge sedan struck a tree in the the 300 block of East 63rd Street. Two unidentified females were pronounced dead at the scene, police said. A third female occupant was taken in critical condition to the University of Chicago Medical Center, police said.
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The police department’s Major Accidents Unit was investigating.


chicagotribune--2020-12-26--2 dead, 2 wounded in shootings on Christmas evening, police say

About 3 a.m. Saturday , a 40-year-old woman was shot while she was walking in the 2900 block of South @ @ @ @ @ a wound to the right knee and was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital , police @ @

Two people died, and a man and a woman were wounded in shootings overnight Friday, Chicago police said.
The latest fatal shooting happened shortly before 9:25 p.m. Friday in the 3300 block of West 52nd Street in the Gage Park neighborhood. Officers responded to ShotSpotter technology and found a 20-year-old man outside with multiple gunshot wounds to the abdomen and chest.
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He was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.
About an hour earlier, another man was fatally wounded in the 900 block of East 82nd Street in the East Chatham neighborhood.
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The unidentified man was discovered lying unresponsive on the south side of the street and was pronounced dead at the scene. Police said he had suffered gunshot wounds to the body.
Two people were arrested after a 27-year-old man was shot during an argument with one of the people in custody, police said.
Shortly before 8:15 p.m. Friday, the victim got himself to Swedish Covenant Hospital after being shot during an argument in the 4000 block of North Pulaski Road, police said.
The man had suffered multiple wounds to his body and was listed in serious condition.
Charges were pending.
About 3 a.m. Saturday, a 40-year-old woman was shot while she was walking in the 2900 block of South State Street. She suffered a wound to the right knee and was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, police said.


chicagotribune--2020-12-27--Rockford bowling alley shooting

Rockford bowling alley shooting

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Outside , the home has a Trex deck , @ @ @ @ @ garage with attic space .
Agent : Linda Levin of Jameson Sotheby ’ s International @ @ @ @ @ photos are “ virtually staged , ” meaning they have been digitally altered to represent @ @ @ @ @ .
To feature your luxury listing of $ 800,000 or more in Chicago Tribune ’ @ @ @ @ @ listing information and high-res photos to ctc-realestate @ chicagotribune.com .
Join our Chicago Dream Homes @ @ @ @ @ listings and real estate news .


chicagotribune--2020-12-27--Obama Presidential Center supporters ‘see a light at the end of the tunnel,’ while opponents say it’

Obama Presidential Center supporters ‘see a light at the end of the tunnel,’ while opponents say it’s not over yet

The roadblocks began with the decision to build the center in Jackson Park , which is listed on the National @ @ @ @ @ That location , as well the need to close and expand major adjacent streets , @ @ @ @ @ 2017 to evaluate the project ’ s effects on the historic properties .
The review @ @ @ @ @ 106 ” and required under the 1966 National Historic Preservation Act .
Two other federal @ @ @ @ @ Policy Act review on the environmental impact and a “ Section 4 ( f ) @ @ @ @ @ ’ s effects on protected parkland , also commenced .

A new version of the proposed Obama Presidential Center has emerged. This artist's rendering shows a south-facing view of the museum building and a public plaza. (Obama Foundation)
When Pastor Byron Brazier passes by the future site of the Obama Presidential Center, he already sees the glory of the South Side, he said.
There’s the palace-like Museum of Science and Industry building, its lofty Greek columns and jade-colored dome reflecting in the lagoon. The gothic towers of the University of Chicago’s leafy campus. And the 550 acres of Jackson Park teeming with wildlife and green land — and where he is patiently waiting for the 235-tall, sprawling Obama center complex to one day stand.
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“The assets that are on the South Side that had been overlooked will now be recognized,” Brazier said about one of the significances of the center.
Not so fast, say opponents such as Herb Caplan, president and founder of the Protect Our Parks nonprofit that sued to try to block the center.
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“Like it or not, public land is protected and needs to be expanded, not curtailed,” Caplan said.
Brazier, pastor of the Apostolic Church of God in Woodlawn, however, is part of a band of community leaders who for years have been closely monitoring the progress of the Obama Presidential Center, planning around how its launch could helprevitalize his South Side neighborhood. In 2016, former President Barack Obama had chosen the storied Jackson Park sandwiched between Lake Michigan and Woodlawn as the site of his future presidential center, at the time scheduled to open in 2021.
“It is settled on the South Side of Chicago, which has not seen stimulus before,” Brazier said. “There’s a lot of excitement around what this could be and the impact it could have on our children and our children’s children.”
The Rev. Byron Brazier, pastor of Apostolic Church of God, walks around the Woodlawn neighborhood in 2017. (Nancy Stone / Chicago Tribune)
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But four years of obstacles have stood in the project’s way, at times leaving supporters with dashed hopes as groundbreaking was delayed again and again. That included multiple federal reviews into the historic and environmental impacts of planting the center in Jackson Park as well as the Protect our Parks lawsuit challenging the city’s right to sell the public parkland.
Nonetheless, 2020 proved to be a fruitful year for the Obama center’s timeline. In December, two of the federal reviews concluded, and the lawsuit was quashed this summer. Supporters of the presidential center now cautiously say more than ever, the end — or rather, the beginning — is in sight.
“I don’t believe in forecasting when the actual time frame is going to start,” Russell Pike of the Jackson Park Highlands Association said. “We’ve come to this point somewhat disappointed that it took this long but ecstatic that we are at a point now where we can see light at the end of the tunnel.”
The roadblocks began with the decision to build the center in Jackson Park, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. That location, as well the need to close and expand major adjacent streets, prompted a federal review in 2017 to evaluate the project’s effects on the historic properties. The review is known as “Section 106” and required under the 1966 National Historic Preservation Act. Two other federal processes, a National Environmental Policy Act review on the environmental impact and a “Section 4(f)” one on the project’s effects on protected parkland, also commenced.
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In 2018 another hurdle went up, this time in the courts, when Protect Our Parks sued the city of Chicago to halt the project because it claimed officials did not have the authority to transfer public parkland to a private nongovernmental entity such as the Obama Foundation.
This month, the Section 106 and Section 4(f) federal reviews concluded, and the NEPA review is expected to also wrap up in early 2021. In August, a federal appeals court panel ruled the plaintiffs in the Protect Our Parks lawsuit did not suffer actual harm and that much of their grievances were not within the court’s jurisdiction.
A construction site is fenced off in Jackson Park near the proposed Obama Presidential Center on Jan. 28, 2020. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)
The groundbreaking of the $500 million campus, which will include a museum telling the story of the nation’s first Black president, the Obama Foundation offices, a public library branch, an athletic center and an outdoor recreation space, was tentatively set for 2021.
Caplan said he has plenty of fight left and, among other things, plans to file a petition in the coming months for his lawsuit to be considered by the U.S. Supreme Court.
“It’s a delusion,” Caplan said about the Obama Foundation’s hopes to break ground in 2021. “I think part of what they say is to create the appearance of building in Jackson Park being a done deal, whereas it’s far from being a done deal.”
Other issues giving opponents pause include Jackson Park Watch co-President Brenda Nelms’ concern that the blow the coronavirus pandemic has dealt on government budgets makes it a fraught time for such an ambitious project. The Obama Foundation is on the hook for construction and running the center, but the state would pay for nearly $175 million in surrounding roadwork while Chicago’s Department of Transportation has allocated about $8.6 million to costs such as the Section 106 process’s mitigation efforts, a city spokeswoman said. There also could be future “miscellaneous costs” to the city, she said.
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“What’s the best use of funds at this time, I think is something important to consider,” Nelms said, adding that she believed the federal reviews were so far inadequate at preserving the park. “But yes, it’s Obama. So it’s hard.”
Erin Adams, president of the grassroots group South Side Neighbors for Hope that is in favor of the center’s location, isn’t too worried about the opposition. She said she believes the federal agencies’ handling of the reviews was ironclad and that Caplan’s legal challenge is merely “hot air” that had seen its day in court.
Adams said she has observed an enduring longing among neighbors for something monumental to uplift the South Side, especially during the coronavirus pandemic, and believes the Obama center is the right start. But she joked that for now, she’s still holding her breath on its arrival.
“I am not going to exhale complete relief until I see bulldozers out there starting to dig holes,” Adams said.
ayin@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-12-27--Police: 3 dead, 3 injured in shooting at Rockford bowling alley; ‘person of interest’ in custody

O ’ Shea did not immediately release additional information about the victims or the person who was taken into custody @ @ @ @ @ as contained and said he did not think any officers fired their weapons while apprehending @ @ @ @ @

ROCKFORD, Ill. — A gunman opened fire inside a Rockford bowling alley, killing three people and injuring three others Saturday night in what authorities believe was a random attack.
A “person of interest” was taken into custody after the shooting at Don Carter Lanes, Rockford Police Chief Dan O’Shea said during a news conference. He said two of those who were shot were teenagers.
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O’Shea did not immediately release additional information about the victims or the person who was taken into custody. He described the scene as contained and said he did not think any officers fired their weapons while apprehending the person of interest.
The bowling alley wrote “Pray Please” around 7:20 p.m. on its Facebook page.
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Rockford is about 80 miles northwest of Chicago.
The Rockford Register Star reported that 2020 has been the city’s deadliest year for homicides, according to records that date back to 1965. Thirty-five people have been killed in the city this year, breaking the previous record of 31 in 1996.
Tribune reporter Paige Fry contributed.


chicagotribune--2020-12-27--Boy who police say was abducted near Mundelein found safe in Indiana; his parents, who don’t have cu

Boy who police say was abducted near Mundelein found safe in Indiana; his parents, who don’t have custody, face kidnapping charges

The mother had permission to be at the party , police said , but did not have permission to take @ @ @ @ @ ’ s grandmother has been his legal guardian since the boy was 1 year old @ @ @ @


chicagotribune--2020-12-27--Robber shot, critically injured by concealed carry license holder in Humboldt Park, police say

The shooting occurred around 6:50 p.m. at a business in the 3200 block of West Chicago Avenue on the West @ @ @ @ @ The robber was shot in the chest and taken to Stroger Hospital in critical condition @

As a male pulled out a handgun and tried to rob a Humboldt Park business Saturday evening, a 29-year-old man with a concealed carry license pulled out his own gun and fired shots at the robber, according to Chicago police.
The shooting occurred around 6:50 p.m. at a business in the 3200 block of West Chicago Avenue on the West Side, police said. The robber was shot in the chest and taken to Stroger Hospital in critical condition.
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Two weapons were found at the scene: one from the robber and one from the CCL holder, police said.
Charges are pending against the robber, police said.
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pfry@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @paigexfry


chicagotribune--2020-12-28--Anjanette Young agrees to meeting with Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, also wants a public forum, lawy

Anjanette Young agrees to meeting with Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, also wants a public forum, lawyer says

In response to the controversy , several aldermen have requested an investigation by city inspector general Joe Ferguson .
Lightfoot @ @ @ @ @ such an effort but also asked former federal Judge Ann Claire Williams to review the @ @ @ @ @ The Civilian Office of Police Accountability is also looking into the Police Department ’ s @ @ @ @ @ but Lightfoot has been critical of the agency for being too slow in completing its @ @

Social worker Anjanette Young has agreed to meet privately with Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot following public uproar over a mistaken police raid on her home but has requested that they also have a public forum with the police superintendent and aldermen, her lawyer said Sunday.
Lightfoot first requested a meeting with Young via a Dec. 17 email sent to Young’s attorney, Keenan Saulter, just before a news conference in which the mayor was apologetic. In a response sent to Lightfoot and several aldermen on Dec. 26, Young agreed to meet privately with the mayor and requested it happen at her church on Dec. 30. Saulter also requested a public forum afterward with police Superintendent David Brown and several aldermen.
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Lightfoot has not yet responded, Saulter said. Late Sunday, Lightfoot’s office acknowledged receiving the letter and said she “has a sincere desire to hear from Ms. Young directly, in an environment where there can be a candid dialogue.”
“We are in touch with Attorney Saulter and are hopeful that this will happen,” the mayor’s office said.
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[ Black politicians, activists protest Anjanette Young raid, demand policy to prevent future raids ]
The mistaken raid on Young’s home has become a major crisis for Lightfoot, who initially said she had only learned of it after WBBM-Ch. 2 aired police body camera footage that showed Young, who was naked and handcuffed, repeatedly telling officers who barged into her home that they had the wrong place.
But Lightfoot has since acknowledged that members of her team told her about the raid via emails in November 2019, as CBS was reporting on search warrants being served at the wrong addresses. Lightfoot said her administration would release those emails, though the mayor’s office has not yet done so.
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot speaks about the Anjanette Young raid on Dec. 21, 2020, at City Hall. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)
In response to the controversy, several aldermen have requested an investigation by city inspector general Joe Ferguson. Lightfoot said she is supportive of such an effort but also asked former federal Judge Ann Claire Williams to review the case and its handling. The Civilian Office of Police Accountability is also looking into the Police Department’s handling of the raid, but Lightfoot has been critical of the agency for being too slow in completing its investigation.
A city spokesman previously said 12 Chicago police officers involved in the botched raid of Young’s home have been placed on desk duty.
Court records show one of the officers named as a defendant in Young’s 2019 lawsuit is also among several officers accused in a separate suit accusing police of executing a search warrant for the wrong residence.
In that case, officers were accused of entering an apartment in the South Side’s McKinley Park area on Nov. 7, 2017, and pointing guns at Jack and Peter Mendez, ages 5 and 9 at the time, and their parents, according to the lawsuit filed in federal court. Officers had the boys’ father, Gilbert Mendez, in handcuffs in front of his sons during the search, the suit, filed in September 2019, alleged.
“Upon entering the Mendezes’ apartment, officers were screaming and cursing abusively at Mr. and Mrs. Mendez in the boys’ presence,” according to the suit, which is still pending. “Even after learning they were in the wrong apartment, officers not only did not explain their mistake, but they continued their illegal search. They found nothing illegal. They arrested and charged no one. When they finished searching, they simply left.”
Another officer named in the Young lawsuit fatally shot a man on May 11, 2019, in the West Side’s North Lawndale community. In that case, the officer shot and killed 26-year-old Sharell Brown when, authorities say, he got into an “armed confrontation” with police.
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The 14 officers named as defendants in the Young lawsuit have together amassed more than 20 complaints throughout their Chicago police careers, and none of them led to any discipline, according to records kept by the Invisible Institute, a group that researches police and government accountability issues.
The defendant in Young’s lawsuit with the most complaints was a sergeant who has at least 11 throughout his career, the records show. The Tribune is not naming any of the officers in question because they have not faced disciplinary charges from the Police Department in Young’s case.
The Law Department’s top attorney, Mark Flessner, resigned over the scandal, and two high-ranking staffers also left.
Police body camera footage shows Chicago police officers conducting an errant raid on social worker Anjanette Young’s home on Feb. 21, 2019. (Chicago Police Department)
City lawyers previously filed a request to have Young sanctioned for allegedly violating a confidentiality order on the video, though the city later said it only wanted her lawyer sanctioned. The city eventually filed paperwork seeking to drop the matter altogether, though a judge said he is still weighing whether to take action against the lawyer.
A federal judge rejected the Lightfoot administration’s unusual request to prevent the television station from airing a news report. The courts long have ruled against efforts to prevent news companies from publishing reports, saying it’s an unconstitutional violation of the First Amendment.
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Lightfoot has repeatedly criticized the Law Department for taking the action and denied knowing about it beforehand.
Lightfoot initially denied that her administration withheld footage of the raid from Young but later acknowledged her administration had denied an open records request submitted by Young for the footage and said that shouldn’t happen.
The Young case has also highlighted a recurring problem for the Law Department after Lightfoot’s office disclosed that it failed to give Young’s attorney all of the body camera footage of the wrongful police raid.
A 2016 Chicago Tribune investigation found that, of nearly 450 cases alleging police misconduct since former Mayor Rahm Emanuel took office, a federal judge had to order the city to turn over potential evidence in nearly 1 in every 5 cases.
In numerous cases, the city’s conduct was found to be so inappropriate that a federal judge took the unusual step of handing down sanctions.
Emanuel’s administration famously fought to keep secret a video showing white police Officer Jason Van Dyke shooting Black teenager Laquan McDonald 16 times, but a county judge ordered his administration to release the video. Emanuel has since been dogged by accusations that he covered up the scandal to preserve his 2015 reelection campaign, an allegation he’s denied.
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Chicago has since instituted a rule allowing the release of police shooting videos and audio within 60 days. Lightfoot said she will pursue changes to make other video releases easier.
gpratt@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @royalpratt


chicagotribune--2020-12-28--Black politicians, activists protest Anjanette Young raid, demand policy to prevent future raids

“ This is nothing new with the ( Anjanette Young ) situation .
It goes on all the time .
@ @ @ @ @ not often recorded and caught on camera , ” he said .
“ It ’ @ @ @ @ @ being the spokeswomen for themselves .
These same congressmen and pastors and politicians have historically @ @ @ @ @ community , yet our conditions are the same , although they ’ ve been in @ @ @

Anjanette Young listens to attorney Keenan Saulter, who points to City Hall, speak June 16, 2021, regarding developments on Young's case and efforts to work with the city of Chicago to bring the matter to a resolution. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)
More than 200 people on Sunday, many of them Black female politicians, clergy, activists and union members, gathered to protest Chicago police leadership following the controversial release of a video of a wrongful police raid at the home of social worker Anjanette Young.
Groups from across the South and West sides, including the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition and Service Employees International Union Healthcare, crowded the main entrance of Chicago Public Safety headquarters in Bronzeville, chanting, holding signs and demanding policy changes that would prevent future no-knock raids like the one at Young’s home early last year.
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The protest was the latest sign of public disapproval following news earlier this month that Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s administration was fighting the release of the police bodycam footage of a distraught, naked Young, who repeatedly told officers they were raiding the wrong home.
Speakers included Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, city Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin and Ald. Pat Dowell. They called the raid another indignity heaped upon Black women, often victims of violence and neglect. Many spoke in personal terms, as Black women or as mothers who fear that wrongful police actions often come with a cost.
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[ Anjanette Young agrees to meeting with Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, also wants a public forum, lawyer says ]
“We must speak out about the glaring truth,” Stratton told the crowd. “We cannot move forward as a society if we do not firmly commit to protecting Black women and girls. Not just through words and hashtags, but through policies and practices and truth-telling, not just as lip service.”
Organizers at the event asked attendees to sign a petition calling for a formal investigation by city Inspector General Joe Ferguson.
Also in attendance were the Rev. Jesse Jackson, U.S. Reps. Danny Davis and Bobby Rush, who called for congressional hearings on such raids.
Both police and the mayor’s office have been under fire since WBBM-Ch. 2 aired police body camera footage last week showing officers mistakenly raiding Young’s home in February 2019. Officers found Young naked, then handcuffed her, while she repeatedly told officers that they had the wrong place, the video showed.
In response, police Superintendent David Brown promised changes in the department’s search warrant policies in a bid to recognize “human dignity and human rights.”
Meanwhile, Lightfoot apologized for the search warrant raid and the officers’ treatment of Young, and tapped former federal Judge Ann Claire Williams to lead an outside investigation of the case and how it was handled.
Karen Freeman-Wilson, president and chief executive officer of the Chicago Urban League, who briefly spoke to the crowd, attended the gathering with her daughter Jordan.
The raid “is symbolic of so much that has gone wrong with the criminal justice system. Certainly, we’re here for Anjanette Young, but we’re here for all of the other victims of criminal justice gone wrong,” said Freeman-Wilson, the former mayor of Gary.
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The raid was “a violation and a dehumanization,” said Jordan Wilson, 26. “My hope is that this impacts human nature in the way that we treat each other. I really want this to change the course of how we treat each other, not just as police, but as people.”
While the event was nonviolent, there was some blowback. As the gathering ended, a handful of activists with a violence prevention group organized by former offenders criticized it as a media stunt by longtime Black political leaders.
“We’ve got leadership in Black positions up and down the state of Illinois, from the lieutenant governor to mayor to the police chief ... but our communities don’t reflect Black leadership. It looks like poverty, disenfranchisement with these people in authority,” Tyrone F. Muhammad, executive director of Ex-Cons for Community and Social Change, said as the event ended.
“This is nothing new with the (Anjanette Young) situation. It goes on all the time. Unfortunately, it’s not often recorded and caught on camera,” he said. “It’s more about the women being the spokeswomen for themselves. These same congressmen and pastors and politicians have historically been out front of our community, yet our conditions are the same, although they’ve been in leadership.”
Conyears-Ervin roused the crowd with her ending remarks committing to ensuring that the Young raid would bring about permanent change.
“We come together in unity to say that enough is enough. We come together in unity to say you will not treat us like that again. We come together in unity to let you know when you come for one of us, you come for all of us.”
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wlee@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @MidNoirCowboy


chicagotribune--2020-12-27--Police raid protest at Chicago police headquarters

Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 13 Anjanette Young listens to attorney Keenan Saulter, who points to City Hall, speak June 16, 2021, regarding developments on Young's case and efforts to work with the city of Chicago to bring the matter to a resolution. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)
More than 200 people, many of them politicians, clergy members, activists and union members, gathered outside Chicago Public Safety headquarters in Bronzeville on Dec. 27, 2020, to protest Chicago police following the release of video from a controversial 2019 raid at Anjanette Young’s home.


chicagotribune--2020-12-27--Rockford shooting: Military member from Florida charged in bowling alley shooting that killed 3 peop

Rockford shooting: Military member from Florida charged in bowling alley shooting that killed 3 people, wounded 3 others

Up to 25 people were at Don Carter Lanes when the shooting happened , but most escaped or hid , @ @ @ @ @ He declined to say whether the shootings happened in the bar or elsewhere in the @ @ @ @ @ would come out in court .
The teens who were wounded were picking up food @ @ @ @ @ the bowling alley , he said .

ASSOCIATED PRESS STAFF, Jessica Villagomez

Winnebago County Sheriff Gary Caruana, center, listens Dec. 27, 2020, during a news conference as Rockford police Chief Dan O'Shea, left, identifies Duke Webb, of Florida, as the suspect in a triple homicide the night before. (Scott P. Yates / Rockford Register Star)
ROCKFORD, Ill. — A U.S. service member from Florida has been charged in an apparently random shooting at an Illinois bowling alley that left three people dead and three wounded, authorities said Sunday.
Winnebago County State’s Attorney J. Hanley said Duke Webb, 37, has been charged with three counts of murder and three counts of first-degree attempted murder in the shooting at Don Carter Lanes in Rockford on Saturday evening. While no bowling is currently allowed due to state-imposed coronavirus restrictions, a bar linked to the business was legally open.
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The incident occurred about 7 p.m. Saturday, police Chief Dan O’Shea said at a news conference Sunday morning.
After gunfire was heard from inside the building, officers entered and located the suspect, who was taken into custody. Officers did not fire any weapons, O’Shea said.
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The bar upstairs was open and compliant with Illinois coronavirus regulations, he added, because it has double doors that open to the outside.
Police said they could not comment on motive.
“I am very confident the officers that were on the scene in the building were able to stop further violence,” O’Shea said.
He said the three who died were all men, aged 73, 65 and 69, but did not provide names.
Duke Webb, a U.S. serviceman from Florida, has been charged in the deaths of three people and the wounding of three more in a shooting in Rockford. (Winnebago County Sheriff's Office)
Additionally, he said, a 14-year-old boy was shot in the face and airlifted to hospital in Madison in stable condition, and a 16-year-old girl who was shot in the shoulder was treated at a hospital and released. A 62-year-old man underwent surgery overnight after suffering multiple gunshot wounds and is in critical condition, the chief said.
The suspect has no known ties to the victims, O’Shea said.
“We believe this was a completely random act, and there is no prior meeting or any kind of relationship between the suspect and any of the victims in this case,” O’Shea said. He did not provide information on what led up to the shooting.
The U.S. Army said Webb is a Special Forces assistant operations and intelligence sergeant assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne) at Camp Bull Simons, Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. He joined the Army in 2008 and was on leave Saturday.
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“We are shocked and saddened to learn about this tragic event and our thoughts and prayers are with the families of those killed and wounded,” Col. John W. Sannes, commander of 7th Special Forces Group, said in a statement.
Up to 25 people were at Don Carter Lanes when the shooting happened, but most escaped or hid, O’Shea said. He declined to say whether the shootings happened in the bar or elsewhere in the building and said those details would come out in court. The teens who were wounded were picking up food at the carryout section of the bowling alley, he said.
He said the suspect tried to conceal his weapons before his arrest and was apprehended without officers firing a shot.
“Most of the incident was captured on surveillance video from inside the business,” O’Shea said, adding that investigators are studying captured images.
O’Shea said investigators are in touch with the Army. He didn’t explain why the Florida man was in Illinois. The Army said it will provide full assistance in the police investigation.
The Rockford Register Star reported that 2020 has been the deadliest year on record for homicides in the city of about 170,000 residents located about 80 miles northwest of Chicago. Thirty-five people have been killed in the city this year, breaking the previous record of 31 in 1996.
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“As we come to the end of this most difficult year and we look ahead at this New Year upon us, we know that this type of violence needs to stop,” Mayor Tom McNamara said. “... And today, with the eyes of the country upon us, we need to show as Rockfordians how we respond to an incident such as this, as one Rockford, supporting one another.”


chicagotribune--2020-12-27--Chicago police investigating triple shooting and unrelated fatal shooting near Midway Airport

Police said a 24-year-old woman was sitting in a parked vehicle and two others were standing on the sidewalk nearby @ @ @ @ @ , and all three were struck by gunfire .
The woman , whose name had @ @ @ @ @ pronounced dead at the University of Chicago Medical Center a short time later , officials @ @

Police tape marks a crime scene where a man was fatally shot in the chest near the corner of Archer and Lawler avenues on Dec. 27, 2020, in Chicago. (Youngrae Kim / Chicago Tribune)
Chicago police on Sunday were investigating a shooting that injured two people and killed one, as well as an unrelated fatal shooting near Midway Airport, officials said.
About 9 a.m., officers were called to the 5500 block of South Archer Avenue in the Southwest Side neighborhood of Vittum Park, according to a statement from police.
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A male, who police said was estimated to be between 17 and 20 years old, had been standing outside when he was shot multiple times, authorities said. He was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where he later was pronounced dead.
Police said the male had been shot in the back and shoulder. The Cook County medical examiner’s office had not released his name Sunday morning.
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The homicide remains under investigation and no arrests had been made.
Detectives also were investigating an earlier, unrelated homicide and several unrelated nonfatal shootings.
Three people were shot, one fatally, about 4 a.m. in the 8300 block of South Paxton Avenue in the South Chicago neighborhood.
Police said a 24-year-old woman was sitting in a parked vehicle and two others were standing on the sidewalk nearby when they were shot at, and all three were struck by gunfire. The woman, whose name had not been released, was pronounced dead at the University of Chicago Medical Center a short time later, officials said.
A man, 36, was grazed on his neck and was shot in his left leg, police said. A second man, also 36, was shot once in his right leg. Both were also taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center and were being treated for injuries not considered life-threatening.
No arrests had been made.
Check back for updates.


chicagotribune--2020-12-27--COVID-19 in Illinois by the numbers: Here’s a daily update on cases, positivity rate and hospital da


chicagotribune--2020-12-27--COVID-19 cases in Illinois by ZIP code: Search for your neighborhood


chicagotribune--2020-12-27--Daily Illinois coronavirus graphs: 104 new deaths, 3,767 new confirmed and probable cases and 46,226

Daily Illinois coronavirus graphs: 104 new deaths, 3,767 new confirmed and probable cases and 46,226 new test results

Illinois announced 3,767 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 Sunday for a total of 937,909 .
The state also @ @ @ @ @ a total of 15,969 and 46,226 new test results for a total of 12.99 million @


chicagotribune--2020-12-27--Coronavirus in Illinois updates: 3,767 new and probable cases of COVID-19, 104 additional deaths rep

Coronavirus in Illinois updates: 3,767 new and probable cases of COVID-19, 104 additional deaths reported Sunday

Airline passengers from the United Kingdom will need to get negative COVID-19 tests within three days of their trip and @ @ @ @ @ airline , the CDC said in a statement .
The agency said the order will @ @ @ @ @ into effect on Monday .

We have lifted the paywall on this story. To support essential reporting, please consider becoming a subscriber .
Laquitta Boyd, holds her 6-year-old daughter Venisha while receiving her first COVID-19 vaccination at a back-to-school health fair hosted by RUSH University Medical Center at the Salvation Army Freedom Center on July 30, 2022, in Chicago. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)
Illinois reported 3,767 new and probable cases of COVID-19 Sunday, bringing the statewide total since the beginning of the pandemic to 937,909. The state also reported 104 new deaths, raising the overall toll to 15,969.
It was the second straight day with cases under 4,000. There were 3,293 new and probable cases reported Saturday, the lowest total in Illinois since Oct. 19, when 3,113 cases were reported.
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Here’s what’s happening this weekend with COVID-19 in the Chicago area and Illinois:
Sunday
3,767 new and probable cases of COVID-19, 104 additional deaths reported
Illinois reported 3,767 new and probable cases of COVID-19 Sunday, bringing the statewide total since the beginning of the pandemic to 937,909. The state also reported 104 new deaths, raising the overall toll to 15,969.
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There were 46,226 tests reported in the previous 24 hours. The seven-day statewide positivity rate is 8.5%.
—Chicago Tribune staff
Vaccination effort expected to arrive in Lake County long-term care centers Monday
COVID-19 inoculations are expected to start Monday in Lake County long-term care facilities, local health officials said.
The move follows the vaccination of nearly 8,000 Lake County front line health care workers since December 17. More vaccine is arriving, and the Lake County Health Department will begin offering injections of health care personnel, emergency medical workers and some others next week.
Mark Pfister, the executive director of the Lake County Health Department, said the entire shipment of 6,825 doses of Pfizer vaccine was shipped to six of the county’s hospitals December 17. It produced more shots than anticipated. An additional 3,900 packages arrived Tuesday.
Read more here. —Steve Sadin, Lake County News-Sun
Unemployment benefits for millions of Americans expire as Trump refuses to sign COVID-19 relief bill
Unemployment benefits for millions of Americans struggling to make ends meet lapsed overnight as President Donald Trump refused to sign an end-of-year COVID-19 relief and spending bill that had been considered a done deal before his sudden objections.
The fate of the bipartisan package remained in limbo Sunday as Trump continued to demand larger COVID relief checks and complained about “pork” spending. Without the widespread funding provided by the massive measure, a government shutdown would occur when money runs out at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday.
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“It’s a chess game and we are pawns,” said Lanetris Haines, a self-employed single mother of three in South Bend, Indiana, who stood to lose her $129 weekly jobless benefit unless Trump signed the package into law or succeeded in his improbable quest for changes.
Washington has been reeling since Trump turned on the deal after it had won sweeping approval in both houses of Congress and after the White House had assured Republican leaders that Trump would support it.
Read more here. —Associated Press
Saturday
Unemployment benefits for millions in limbo and government shutdown looms as Trump rages
Unemployment benefits for millions of Americans struggling to make ends meet were set to lapse at midnight Saturday unless President Donald Trump signed an end-of-year COVID relief and spending bill that had been considered a done deal before his sudden objections.
Trump’s refusal to sign the bipartisan package as he demands larger COVID relief checks and complains about “pork” spending could also force a federal government shutdown when money runs out at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday in the middle of a pandemic.
“It’s a chess game and we are pawns,” said Lanetris Haines, a self-employed single mother of three in South Bend, Indiana, who stands to lose her $129 weekly jobless benefit unless Trump signs the package into law or succeeds in his improbable quest for changes.
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Washington has been reeling since Trump threw the package into limbo after it had already won sweeping approval in both houses of Congress and after the White House assured Republican leaders that Trump would support it.
Instead, he has assailed the bill’s plan to provide $600 COVID relief checks to most Americans — insisting it should be $2,000. House Republicans swiftly rejected that idea during a rare Christmas Eve session. But Trump has not been swayed.
Read more here. —Associated Press
Illinois reports 3,293 new and probable COVID-19 cases and 66 new deaths
Illinois reported 3,293 new and probable cases of COVID-19 on Saturday, bringing the statewide total since the beginning of the pandemic to 934,142.
The case total is the lowest in Illinois since Oct. 19 when 3,113 cases were reported.
The state also reported 66 new deaths — the lowest total in about a month — raising the overall total to 15,865.
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The deaths ranged from a man in his 20s to two women who were 100 or older.
A spokesperson for the Illinois Department of Public Health said reported cases and deaths are typically lower after weekends, and “this could be the case for the holiday weekend.”
As of Friday night, 4,021 people were hospitalized with the virus, including 874 in the ICU and 494 on ventilators.
—Madeline Buckley
Friday
5,742 new and probable cases of COVID-19 and 156 additional deaths reported
Illinois public health officials Friday announced 5,742 new and probable cases of COVID-19. The total number of known infections in Illinois is 930,849 since the pandemic began in March.
The state reported another 156 deaths on Christmas Day. The statewide death toll is now 15,799 since the start of the pandemic.
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There were 98,958 tests reported in the previous 24 hours. The seven-day statewide positivity rate for the week ending Dec. 24 fell to 8.6%.
—Chicago Tribune staff
A COVID-19 Christmas — less glitter, but still some silver linings: ‘It gets back to what’s important’
For most Chicago-area residents who observe Christmas, this year’s holiday is like no other in their lifetimes, with traditional gatherings of loved ones in homes and churches, and exchanges of presents and meals, curtailed, modified, Zoom-ified or done away with altogether.
For some that has meant dropping off presents at front stoops instead of getting together, or visiting with relatives at care facilities through the window.
But many are still trying to count their blessings and make the best of things.
Read more here. —Elyssa Cherney
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Pope Francis: COVID-19 vaccines for all, but for needy and vulnerable first
Pope Francis made a Christmas Day plea for authorities to make COVID-19 vaccines available to all, insisting that the first in line should be the most vulnerable and needy, regardless of who holds the patents for the shots.
“Vaccines for everybody, especially for the most vulnerable and needy,” who should be first in line, Francis said in off-the-cuff remarks from his prepared text, calling the development of such vaccines “light of hope” for the world.
“We can’t let closed nationalisms impede us from living as the true human family that we are,” the pope said.
He called on the leaders of nations, businesses and international organizations to “promote cooperation and not competition, and to search for a solution for all.”
Amid a surge of coronavirus infections this fall in Italy, Francis broke with tradition for Christmas. Instead of delivering his “Urbi et Orbi” speech — Latin for “to the city and to the world” — from the central loggia of St. Peter’s Square, he read it from inside a cavernous hall at the Apostolic Palace, flanked by two Christmas trees with blinking lights.
Read more here. —Associated Press
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US to require negative COVID-19 test from all travelers from Britain because of new strain of virus, CDC says
xThe United States will require airline passengers from Britain to get a negative COVID-19 test before their flight, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced late Thursday.
The U.S. is the latest country to announce new travel restrictions because of a new variant of the coronavirus that is spreading in Britain and elsewhere.
Airline passengers from the United Kingdom will need to get negative COVID-19 tests within three days of their trip and provide the results to the airline, the CDC said in a statement. The agency said the order will be signed Friday and go into effect on Monday.
Read more here. —Associated Press
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