chicagotribune--2020-10-30--Daywatch: Restaurants dealt another blow with indoor dining ban, Chicago’s top workplaces for 2020 a

Daywatch: Restaurants dealt another blow with indoor dining ban, Chicago’s top workplaces for 2020 and we try Wendy’s new fried chicken sandwich

In addition to the loss of revenue and likely layoffs for large numbers of dining industry workers , Gov .
@ @ @ @ @ ban on indoor dining ( which goes into effect Friday in Chicago and is either @ @ @ @ @ be Saturday for the collar counties ) is dealing another financial blow to restaurants that @ @ @ @ @ equipment for their dining rooms ahead of winter .

Good morning, Chicago. Illinois public health officials Thursday announced 6,363 newly confirmed cases of COVID-19, a new daily high for the state. The seven-day statewide positivity rate is 6.9%. The U.S. also hit two grim milestones yesterday: the country surpassed 9 million cases and saw the most cases ever yet recorded in a day.
Meanwhile, in Chicago, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said she will reverse a curfew she imposed on liquor sales and allow those businesses to sell alcohol until 11 p.m.
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And, if you’re a parent to young ones or a fan of the spooky holiday, you’re probably well-aware that this Saturday is Halloween. But like much of 2020, this year’s celebration will be probably be different — many parents say they’re nixing trick-or-treating with COVID-19 cases on the rise.
Here’s more coronavirus news and other top stories you need to know to start your day.
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Tony Priolo, chef/owner of Piccolo Sogno, said he has invested nearly $31,000 in outdoor tenting, heating and specialized air filtration that uses UV light to destroy bacteria and viruses. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)
In addition to the loss of revenue and likely layoffs for large numbers of dining industry workers, Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s new ban on indoor dining (which goes into effect Friday in Chicago and is either already in effect or will be Saturday for the collar counties) is dealing another financial blow to restaurants that have invested heavily in safety equipment for their dining rooms ahead of winter.
It’s money that, until the indoor dining ban is lifted, is going to waste at businesses already struggling with drastically lower customer counts and notoriously thin profit margins — even in pre-pandemic times.
Illinois sees another record daily high with 6,363 newly confirmed COVID-19 cases, another region gets hit with tighter restrictions
Matt Muchowski, from left, Vance Wyatt and Donald Blake hold signs outside the Lake County Courthouse in Waukegan on Sept. 25, 2020. Kyle Rittenhouse, accused of killing two protesters days after Jacob Blake was shot by police in Kenosha, faces a hearing to return him to Wisconsin to face trial on homicide charges that could put him in prison for life. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)
Kyle Rittenhouse is scheduled to be in Lake County court Friday morning for a hearing over whether he will be sent to Wisconsin to face charges stemming from the fatal shooting of two men and the wounding of a third during protests in Kenosha in August.
Omar Muhammad, formerly known as Omar Saunders, from left; Marcellius Bradford; and Larry Ollins and his cousin Calvin Ollins gather at the Daley Plaza on Aug. 27, 2020. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)
Political ads from the campaign of incumbent Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx make a serious charge in the starkest of terms: that her opponent Pat O’Brien secured wrongful convictions against four Black teenagers in the haunting 1986 rape and murder of a promising medical student.
Maureen Hoersten, left, chief operating officer at LaSalle Network, and Jessica Schaeffer, head of marketing, converse Sept. 16, 2020, during a walk and talk meeting in Elmhurst. (James C. Svehla/For the Chicago Tribune)
Faced with the reality that this work-from-home experiment could last indefinitely, Chicago’s Top Workplaces are adopting new strategies and re-imagining how work gets done. They also are reflecting on their values and culture and the practices that promote that culture.
Top Workplaces 2020: Explore the full list of Chicago-area winners
Wendy's just released its new fried chicken sandwich called the "classic chicken sandwich." (Nick Kindelsperger / Chicago Tribune)
After sitting out for most of the fast food fried chicken sandwich wars of 2019, Wendy’s has jumped into the fray. It recently introduced a new fried chicken sandwich, which the fast food chain promises is “crispier, juicier and so packed with flavor that, upon first taste, it’ll be an instant classic.”
Your faithful fried chicken sandwich correspondent Nick Kindelsperger obviously had to weigh in.


chicagotribune--2020-10-30--Vote-dry referendum could spell the end for late-night Lakeview bar

Tunney also said the dry precinct referendum would have a chilling affect on the retail corridor along Southport Avenue , @ @ @ @ @ does have storefronts that could become bars or restaurants .
Those types of businesses would @ @ @ @ @ on-premises liquor licenses for at least the next four years if the referendum passes .

The fate of a decades-old Lakeview bar renowned for its late-night party scene is in the balance on Tuesday as people who live nearby consider whether to vote the area dry.
Tai’s Til 4, which has been open near the corner of Ashland Avenue and Addison Street since 1961, would no longer be able to sell drinks with an alcohol content above 4% if a majority of ballots cast in one 44th Ward precinct favor a ballot referendum backed by some local residents who blame the bar for an early morning February shooting incident that occurred outside the establishment.
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If the referendum passes, it would effectively shutter Tai’s, since nearly all beer and liquor have alcohol by volume that exceeds the 4% threshold.
It’s one of several ballot questions voters around the city face this election season.
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A letter sent to registered voters in the precinct by area residents who want the bar closed pointed to the February shooting as merely the latest trouble there. Police said a man was shot outside the bar and then the shooter was fatally shot nearby by officers. Tai’s is the only bar in the precinct.
“Altercations in or around the bar are a recurring theme that members of the community have previously tried to address by calling the police, the Alderman, and the bar owner, but to no avail,” the letter reads in part.
Chicago police investigate a shooting that began with a disturbance outside the bar Tai's Til 4 where an officer shot and killed a man on Feb. 9, 2020, in the 3600 block of North Ashland Avenue in Lakeview. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)
But Ald. Tom Tunney, 44th, says the effort to close the bar is unwarranted. The owner of Tai’s was there when the February shooting took place outside the bar and had called police before the violence started, Tunney said. Officers already were on the scene when it happened, he noted.
“This is a family-run establishment that’s operated at the corner of Ashland and Addison for 60 years,” Tunney said. “They did nothing wrong in this case, and they’ve been a well-run establishment for decades. I’ve got Wrigleyville in my ward. I know problem bars. I’m not naive about it. This is not one of those places.”
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Tunney also said the dry precinct referendum would have a chilling affect on the retail corridor along Southport Avenue, which has no bars but does have storefronts that could become bars or restaurants. Those types of businesses would not be allowed to have on-premises liquor licenses for at least the next four years if the referendum passes.
And a Jewel grocery store on Southport would be banned from holding in-store tastings. The referendum would not impact to-go liquor licenses, so the Jewel would be able to continue operating its liquor section.
The alderman sent residents in the precinct his own letter, urging them to consider the ramifications of their vote.
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“Effectively voting the precinct dry will preclude the development of restaurants on the east side of the 3600 block of Ashland or on the west side of the 3600 block of Southport or anywhere else in the precinct for at least four years,” Tunney’s letter reads in part.
Tai’s has been closed since March due to the coronavirus pandemic. During normal times, it has a license to stay open until 4 a.m. and caters to bar hoppers heading west from around Wrigley Field as well as bar employees getting off work at their own taverns in the area.
Vote-dry referendums are usually successful once they make it to the ballot, though a similar effort failed in 2012 in the Northwest Side’s Galewood neighborhood.
Also on the ballot this election are nonbinding citywide referendum questions asking whether the city should ensure all community areas have access to broadband internet; whether the city should focus on resiliency, equity and diversity when creating a citywide growth plan; and whether the state should restrict the sale or possession of firearms “that have been defined as assault weapons or of magazines that can hold more than a certain number of rounds of ammunition.”
There’s also a referendum question for residents of the Bronzeville neighborhood, asking if a Bronzeville mental health program should be funded using up to $600,000 in property tax money in 2021.
jebyrne@chicagotribune.com
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Twitter @_johnbyrne


chicagotribune--2020-10-30--Column: Trump may well beat Biden. Why? Trumpism is a cult, and cult members show up.

He has made it OK for white people to let their hatred — of immigrants , of liberals , of @ @ @ @ @ and “ globalists ” ( wink , wink ) — fly free .
He has @ @ @ @ @ perverted form of patriotism .
He has made ignorance and intolerance badges to be worn @ @ @ @ @ for the jailing of political opponents , threats against the press and the booing of @ @ @ @ @ in orgies of unbridled id .

Fans of President Donald Trump cheer as he speaks during a campaign rally in Janesville, Wisconsin, on Oct. 17, 2020. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune)
It won’t surprise me if Donald Trump gets reelected.
He shouldn’t, of course. It would usher in a second term that would make the corruption and cruelty of his first term seem mild by comparison.
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But it’s entirely possible he will beat former Vice President Joe Biden, not by the kind of judicial chicanery many of us fear or due to relentless Republican voter-suppression tactics, but just outright. If you don’t think it can happen, you haven’t been paying attention.
The liberal in me wants to be optimistic Trump will lose. The believer-in-common-sense in me wants to think there’s no way this evil clown, a science-denying, remorseless oaf who has had more than 225,000 Americans die of COVID-19 on his watch, could possibly prevail.
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But the pragmatist in me knows it’s possible, and the reason is simple: Trump is more a cult leader than a candidate, and cult members show up.
There are certainly stray percentages of Trump’s wealthy supporters who look past his narcissism and sadism and see him as a useful fool who will bring them tax cuts and conservative judges. And there are one-issue voters and some who simply can’t bring themselves to vote for a Democrat.
But the core of Trump’s base ceased long ago to be a political party, becoming instead a group of people whose lives and identities revolve around Trump.
They view him like this: He can do no wrong. He alone can fix the changing world that so frustrates them. Any word against Trump is a treasonous slur. Any news critical of Trump is fake. Any news making Trump look good or his opponents look bad is real. The world, and the facts, must bend toward Trump.
The president has done all he can to nurture that fervor.
He denounces those who speak against him. He lies with deafening frequency, and labels anyone who questions those lies as a liar, or worse.
He has made it OK for white people to let their hatred — of immigrants, of liberals, of Blacks and Muslims and feminists and “globalists” (wink, wink) — fly free. He has recast white power as a perverted form of patriotism. He has made ignorance and intolerance badges to be worn proudly at rallies where calls for the jailing of political opponents, threats against the press and the booing of public servants unite his followers in orgies of unbridled id.
That makes him dangerous, both as a leader of people who violate their own self-interests to stay loyal to him and, of course, as a political candidate. As I said, cults show up.
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That’s why there are no polls, no recitations of early voting numbers and no anecdotes of Democratic voter enthusiasm that will make me believe Biden has this election in the bag. He doesn’t. He’s facing a man who pulled off one of the greatest cons in American history, and the con man now has the full force of a complicit Republican Party and the U.S. Supreme Court behind him.
In 2016, we learned a large swath of the nation was gullible enough to buy what Trump was selling. For those who didn’t sell our souls to the huckster, it was a tough fact to process.
Four years later, with evidence of the con, evidence of the incompetence, evidence of the abject stupidity and mismanagement, piled from floor to rafters, it’s again hard to process the fact that there are enough Americans out there to reelect Donald Trump. But trust me, there are.
We all have friends or loved ones who’ve fallen into this pit. When was the last time you heard them accept a fact that makes Trump look bad? When was the last time you saw them deny a harebrained conspiracy theory that bubbled up from the Trumpian fever swamps?
Beyond that, when was the last time you heard President Trump admit to any kind of mistake? Or acknowledge that he was wrong? Or say anything that showed even a sliver of self-reflection?
There was no last time, because there hasn’t been a first time. His narcissism is bottomless, same as that pit your friends and loved ones have fallen into.
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Once people fall deep into the alternate reality Trump has created, getting out is near impossible. It would require them to admit they were conned, admit they let a flashy meathead lure them down a rabbit hole with promises that could never be kept.
Accepting you’ve been scammed is mentally painful. It’s hard to pull yourself away from hardcore believers once you’ve invested your time and money and soul. It’s hard to let go once a movement defines you.
So when thinking about this election, play the odds. Are Trump’s supporters more likely to have a sudden revelation about their leader or simply stick with him?
They’ll stick. They’ll show up in droves.
That means the rest of us need to be in this election with more than just commensurate force. Consider it less an election and more a national intervention, one that could stretch well beyond Election Day.
Because if you think Trump will lose and go quietly, again, you haven’t been paying attention.
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And if you think he can’t win, I have news for you: This isn’t a candidate, it’s a cult. And cult members show up.
rhuppke@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-10-30--Kyle Rittenhouse due in Lake County court Friday for hearing on potential return to Kenosha to face

Kyle Rittenhouse due in Lake County court Friday for hearing on potential return to Kenosha to face charges stemming from protest shootings

Extradition proceedings typically are technical matters that don ’ t focus on the substance of the alleged crimes , but @ @ @ @ @ tried to block his transfer by arguing he fired in self-defense and is the target @ @ @ @ @ A list of potential witnesses at Friday ’ s hearing submitted by his lawyers indicates @ @ @ @ @ arguing those points .
The list includes former detectives expected to testify about the “ @ @ @ @ @ into the shootings , as well a “ self-defense expert who will testify about the @ @ @ @ @ support a criminal prosecution .
”

Kyle Rittenhouse, center, walks into the courtroom with attorney Corey Chirafisi for a motion hearing in Kenosha, Wisconsin on Sept. 17, 2021. (Sean Krajacic/The Kenosha News )
Lake County authorities on Friday afternoon handed off Kyle Rittenhouse to police in Wisconsin, where he faces charges stemming from the fatal shooting of two men and the wounding of a third during August protests in Kenosha, officials said.
Shortly after a judge ruled the Antioch 17-year-old should be extradited, Lake County sheriff’s deputies drove him to the border and passed him to deputies from the Kenosha County sheriff’s department, said Sgt. Christopher Covelli, of the Lake County sheriff’s office.
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Rittenhouse — who is charged with murder and several other counts — was booked into the jail in Kenosha shortly after that, said Sgt. David Wright of the Kenosha County sheriff’s department. Rittenhouse’s lawyers had voiced concerns for his safety in an adult lockup, but Wright said the teen would be held in a cell for juvenile detainees at the facility.
Rittenhouse’s bond in Wisconsin previously had been set at $2 million, court records show. It was unclear whether there were plans to bail the teen out, and his lawyer, John M. Pierce, could not be reached for comment Friday night. Wisconsin court records did not indicate when the teen might first appear in court there.
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Lake County Judge Paul Novak’s order to extradite the teen came a few hours after he presided over a morning hearing on the issue. Unlike prior hearings in Rittenhouse’s extradition case that were conducted online, the judge held this one in person.
Rittenhouse sat flanked by several police officers a few feet from his mother, Wendy Rittenhouse, in a courtroom where journalists and spectators were kept several feet apart because of the coronavirus pandemic. The teen, who did not speak audibly, wore a light blue dress shirt, dark tie and a mask over his nose and mouth.
Kenosha County prosecutors have charged Rittenhouse with shooting three men with an AR-15-style rifle Aug. 25 during protests over white police Officer Rusten Sheskey’s shooting of 29-year-old Jacob Blake, a Black man, days earlier.
Video from the scene of the protests showed Rittenhouse apparently trying to surrender to police in Kenosha after the shootings, but they didn’t arrest him. He was arrested the next day in Lake County and has been held without bail in the juvenile facility for two months.
Extradition proceedings typically are technical matters that don’t focus on the substance of the alleged crimes, but Rittenhouse’s lawyers have tried to block his transfer by arguing he fired in self-defense and is the target of a political prosecution.
In a filing, the teen’s lawyers indicated they might call his mother to testify “regarding the circumstances of his arrest.” That did not happen Friday, however, and his lawyers also did not call expert witnesses they had indicated they might put forth. Those witnesses had been expected to attack the investigation and probable cause for prosecution.
Pierce, one of the teen’s lawyers, announced at the start of the hearing that he would not be addressing the arguments he’d made in a previous filing that alleged extraditing Rittenhouse would violate his constitutional rights.
One of those arguments turned on the contention that sending the teen to Wisconsin would violate his 14th Amendment due process rights because he would face a “legion of hazards” if put in adult jail. The filing also argued that extradition would violate his Fourth Amendment right against unreasonable search or seizure, contending that the video shows “without a shadow of a doubt” he shot in self-defense.
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During the hearing, however, Pierce focused entirely on a technical argument that the paperwork from Wisconsin didn’t meet the standard to return the teen. He said the documentation was insufficient because one Kenosha County prosecutor swore to the facts in the criminal complaint before another Kenosha prosecutor — rather than doing that before a magistrate.
“That is game, set, match, your honor,” Pierce said.
Assistant Lake County State’s Attorney Stephen Scheller rejected those concerns, noting the pile of other documents accusing the teen of crimes and calling for his extradition. Scheller noted that a Kenosha County prosecutor signed papers listing the charges before a judge in that jurisdiction and that Gov. J.B. Pritzker had signed a warrant calling for Rittenhouse’s extradition.
The paperwork provided “exactly what the law requires,” Scheller said.
The judge sided with prosecutors. Also, while Rittenhouse’s lawyers did not argue their points about his constitutional rights at the hearing, the judge addressed them because they’d been made in court filings. He wrote that questions about the merits of the charges and the teen’s rights were outside the scope of an extradition proceeding.
“These are matters that can be raised in Kenosha County, Wisconsin, through pretrial proceedings or during trial,” he wrote.
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Following Novak’s ruling, Pierce vowed to appeal in a series of tweets. It is unclear whether Pierce knew when he posted the tweets that his client was handed over to Wisconsin authorities quickly after the ruling.
Chicago attorney Stephen Komie, who has handled numerous extradition matters, said appeals in extradition cases have no effect once a person has been transferred out of the jurisdiction. “The ballgame is over in Illinois and the next pitch is going to be thrown in Kenosha,” he said.
During the hearing, those in the eighth-floor courtroom could hear the muted shouts of street protesters, including about 15 calling for the teen’s extradition, alongside a handful there to support him. Clyde McLemore, founder of Lake County’s Black Lives Matter chapter, told the Tribune: “We want justice. We want him out of here and back to Wisconsin.”
Ashley Ramos, who lives in Kankakee County and is part of a pro-police organization, said she felt the teen was justified in firing.
“He was defending himself from people who were chasing him,” she said.
As they have battled Rittenhouse’s return to Wisconsin, his lawyers have promoted fundraising efforts for his legal defense. Conservatives and gun rights activists took up his cause almost immediately after the shootings, which happened as Rittenhouse and other heavily armed people inserted themselves into the protests that raged for several nights in Kenosha.
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Kenosha County prosecutors have alleged that video from the night of the shootings showed the teen running across a parking lot, trailed by Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, of Kenosha. A witness told police that Rosenbaum, who appeared on video to be unarmed, had tried to grab the gun before he was fatally shot, prosecutors wrote.
The teen’s lawyers alleged in their petition fighting the extradition process that Rosenbaum threatened Rittenhouse, chased him and lunged for his gun. The teen fired “under grave risk of immediate harm,” the petition stated.
Rittenhouse ran before someone knocked off his hat, and he tripped and fell, prosecutors wrote. Then, Anthony Huber, 26, of Silver Lake, Wisconsin, approached with a skateboard and tried to grab the gun as the skateboard “(made) contact” with Rittenhouse’s shoulder, prosecutors wrote. The gunman then fired a shot that killed Huber, prosecutors alleged.
Rittenhouse’s lawyers argued in their filing that the skateboard hit the teen’s head and he shot Huber as they wrestled over the rifle.
Prosecutors wrote that Rittenhouse then shot Gaige Grosskreutz, of West Allis, Wisconsin. Grosskreutz appeared to be holding a handgun when he was wounded in the arm, prosecutors wrote.
The teen’s lawyers contended in their filing that Grosskreutz “lowered his handgun in Rittenhouse’s direction.”
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dhinkel@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-10-30--Column: White House of Horrors: A Halloween-themed poem about Donald Trump

This is the latest in my occasional TrumPoems , a rhyming account of the presidency of Donald J. Trump , @ @ @ @ @ , on his words and acts .

President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump greet trick-or-treaters Oct. 25, 2020, on the South Lawn of the White House during a Halloween celebration. (Manuel Balce Ceneta / AP)
This is the latest in my occasional TrumPoems, a rhyming account of the presidency of Donald J. Trump, loosely based, as always, on his words and acts.
WHITE HOUSE OF HORRORS
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It’s midnight in my haunted house—
The White House in D.C.—
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A house that’s cursed by COVID
But that doesn’t frighten me.
.
I won’t give in to terror
As I lie here in my bed
Alone with all my scary thoughts
And specters of the dead.
.
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COVID, COVID everywhere—
It got my son and wife!—
But still I will not wear a mask
Because I am pro-life.
.
I’m pro my life as president
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Which means I won’t concede
That COVID’s a great killer
And that masks are what we need.
.
Yeah, yeah, I got the virus
But I beat it in a snap!
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I’m back out on the campaign trail
And superspreading (expletive).
.
“COVID, COVID, COVID!”
All those lefties bleat the word
They think if they repeat it
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That I’ll lose November third.
.
Turns up white noise machine.
.
Some nights I wake up clammy
From my awful, haunted dreams
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And sometimes I can hear them—
Yes, the Founding Fathers’ screams.
.
They wave the Constitution
And they cry, “What have you done?!?”
I pull the covers higher
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And I pout, “Just having fun.”
.
The Founding Fathers scold me
But I’ve got a great retort:
“Hey, listen up, you weenies
I have saved the highest court!”
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.
Sighs.
.
This big old house is full of ghosts
Of goblins, ghouls and haints
Obama creeps around the place
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And hisses his complaints.
.
Abe Lincoln roams the hallways too
I see his giant tracks
A hero who was just like me—
Both saviors of the Blacks!
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.
Oh eek! I think that shadow moved!
And did I hear a thump?
C-could it be my nasty niece
That liar Mary Trump?
.
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And yikes, there’s nasty Hillary
Oh how I hate that witch!
And is that Rudy over there
Still scratching his small itch?
.
Suburban woman love me, though
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Their love restores my hope
Their fear will save me from defeat …
Did someone just say “Nope?”
.
I heard a curtain rustle!
So I’ll turn up the TV
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A demon’s coming toward me ...
Lesley Stahl? Or RBG?
.
The demon’s getting closer
And I think she muttered, “Truth!”
She’ll kill me with that gavel and …
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Oh please don’t hurt me, Ruth!
.
My heart is beating like a drum
Like when I’m watching porn
By porn I just mean Fox TV—
Hey, where’s my candy corn?
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.
Rustles through bedside candy bowl. Harrumphs. Settles for a mini Snickers.
.
There’s vampires all around me
Cackling, “Happy Halloween!”
There’s Harris in her sneakers
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God, that freaky woman’s mean.
.
Please save me, Lord! It’s Whitmer!
And did Maddow just cry “Boo!”?
These spooks are out to get me …
Stormy Daniels, is that you?
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.
Good God, is that Pete Buttigieg?
He’s risen from the grave?
And could that be Old Fauci
Who pretends that he’s so brave?
.
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And what’s that howling in the dark?
A pack of wolves! The press!
They’re coming for my tax returns
Demanding I confess.
.
They yap and yammer, “Money fraud!
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And where’s his health care plan?”
Thank God I can distract them
With my dance to “Macho Man.”
.
Stares at ceiling. Opens another mini Snickers. Bites.
.
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Election Day is coming soon
The pollsters say I’ll fail
At least I’ve done the best I could
To poison vote by mail.
.
The Democrats — those socialists —
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They want to steal my house
But I am not afraid of them ...
Aieeee! Was that a mouse?
.
The wind is blowing colder now
The enemy draws near
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But I still have my power
For I rule by clout and fear.
.
But if I lose, I’ll move abroad
They’ll miss me when I go
They’ll fin’lly learn to love me
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When they’re stuck with Sleepy Joe.
.
But that’s not gonna happen, no!
I never shall retreat!
I’ll keep this house as mine, all mine!
I’ll win by trick or tweet.
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mschmich@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-10-30--Chicago Police Department clearing murders at lower rate this year, officials say

“ I have yet to determine whether I will bring that back or have some different iteration of merit , @ @ @ @ @ But I will just say from a high level , we have to focus on @ @ @ @ @ .
And multiple choice tests doesn ’ t necessarily get us to that point .
@

Chicago police are solving murders at a worse rate this year than they did last year, officials said Thursday.
Police officials revealed the 41% clearance rate, which was around 50% at the end of last year, during the department’s annual City Council budget hearing. The clearance rate was at around 46% at the end of October 2019, according to Police Department records.
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Chief of Detectives Brendan Deenihan said the department is “hoping, obviously, to trend upwards” on solving murders, which are up in Chicago compared with last year.
“Obviously this year has been difficult for many different reasons, and the murder-per-capita has unfortunately gone up, but the detectives are doing an excellent job clearing all the cases that they can,” Deenihan said.
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The clearance rate was at a low of 30% in 2016, Deenihan said.
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The Police Department budget is usually the most closely watched part of the mayor’s annual spending plan. Mayor Lori Lightfoot has announced she plans to eliminate over 600 vacant Police Department positions in 2021 to help close the city’s $1.2 billion budget hole.
On Thursday, police Superintendent David Brown indicated he’s keeping an open mind about reinstating some form of the Police Department’s controversial merit promotions process, which interim Superintendent Charlie Beck suspended last year amid long-standing complaints that it led to cronyism in how the department made promotions.
“I have yet to determine whether I will bring that back or have some different iteration of merit,” Brown said. “But I will just say from a high level, we have to focus on diversity among all the ranks. And multiple choice tests doesn’t necessarily get us to that point."
Some Black and Latino aldermen have said the merit program — which allowed officers to be promoted not just based on exam scores but also by proving their leadership skills to bosses in other ways — improved diversity in the department’s upper ranks.
jebyrne@chicagotribune.com
jgorner@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-10-30--Sexual misconduct cases in CPS are down since remote learning began, but more misbehavior has moved

Sexual misconduct cases in CPS are down since remote learning began, but more misbehavior has moved online

Between July 1 and Sept. 30 , the inspector general opened 50 sexual misconduct cases , down from 75 during @ @ @ @ @ .
The decrease can likely be attributed to the closure of school buildings during the @ @ @ @ @ the inspector general ’ s office .
Of cases closed during that same time frame @ @ @ @ @ and seven were referred to another agency for further investigation .

Since remote learning began, both Chicago Public Schools offices that investigate sexual misconduct have received fewer complaints than usual, with online behavior accounting for a bigger share of the cases, according to the district’s inspector general and Office of Student Protections.
“The complaints have slowed down. They certainly have not stopped,” said Amber Nesbitt, chief investigator for the OIG unit that handles cases involving CPS-affiliated adults accused of sexual misconduct with students.
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“The types of complaints that we have been seeing since remote instruction began have certainly changed. We are receiving many more complaints involving Google Classroom conduct and different online interactions between students and staff members," Nesbitt said.
The majority of complaints continue to fall under the category of “concerning/other,” which includes conduct that makes a student feel uncomfortable but “is not necessarily sexual on its face,” Nesbitt said. For all categories, about 1.6 reports per school day came into the office this September.
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Investigators were concerned to see the number of “sexual acts” allegations during July through September increased from three to six, though three of those cases stem from rumors on social media and others relate to past misconduct, Nesbitt said. Four other cases involve sexual electronic communication, and three allege sexual comments made in person.
“Several recent complaints relate to online instruction, but most involve allegations of past misconduct,” according to Nesbitt’s presentation to the Board of Education on Wednesday.
The inspector general is still keeping an eye on certain job categories, including coaches and custodians, “for potential trends of concern." Teachers have faced the most allegations of any group this school year, with 15, followed by security guards with 10.
Between July 1 and Sept. 30, the inspector general opened 50 sexual misconduct cases, down from 75 during the same period last year. The decrease can likely be attributed to the closure of school buildings during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the inspector general’s office. Of cases closed during that same time frame, 14 were ruled unsubstantiated and seven were referred to another agency for further investigation.
Cases may be substantiated when the evidence proves a violation of CPS policies or rules, regardless of the grounds on which the initial complaint was made.
The Chicago Police Department has opened investigations into 18 of the inspector general’s cases and has made one arrest since July, of a teacher charged with sexually assaulting a student last school year, according to the OIG’s report.
The inspector general is still actively investigating 344 sexual allegation cases and wrapping up another 95. Investigators have closed 77 cases since they started working remotely in March, and have kept conducting interviews, sending subpoenas and writing reports.
As of Sept. 30, 93 CPS employees, including 46 teachers, were removed from their schools, and 16 substitute teachers were blocked pending investigations into allegations of misconduct toward students, according to the inspector general’s office. Another 14 CPS staff members remain pulled after the inspector general closed or referred their cases; some are now being investigated for other allegations.
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Since July 1, a total of six pulled or blocked adults were reinstated, while 23 people under investigation by the inspector general quit, retired or were fired, according to the inspector general.
Similar trends have occurred with student-on-student cases, which are investigated by the Office of Student Protections and Title IX.
After schools closed March 17, the volume of new weekly cases reported to the OSP fell about 90% compared with the first part of the semester. While all case types have been down since remote learning began, student-on-student allegations have also fallen as a proportion of the total, now making up about two-thirds of cases, according to the OSP.
Of 279 sexual misconduct cases opened between the start of remote learning and the end of September, 63% were student-on-student, 25% were CPS adult-on-student, 7% were student-on-adult and 5% were non-CPS adult-on-student, according to the OSP.
The weekly case numbers have been higher this fall than during the remote part of the spring, but are still lower than last fall.
“As students began interacting virtually instead of in-person, (reports of) sexual electronic communication more than doubled as a proportion of total cases," while reports of inappropriate touching fell dramatically, according to the OSP presentation.
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From July through Sept. 30, the OSP took an average of 30 cases per five school days, including a total 23 reports of sexual electronic communication. During remote learning in the spring, there were 56 reports of sexual electronic communication and 14 of inappropriate touching; 114 electronic communication and 168 inappropriate touching during the in-person part of the second semester; and 264 electronic communication and 335 inappropriate touching cases during first semester last year.
Black students are the most disproportionately affected, comprising 44% of students reporting sexual allegations to the OSP though only 36% of the student population. Students in special education programs are also disproportionately affected, accounting for 21% of cases yet only 15% of enrollment.
hleone@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-10-30--Coronavirus in Illinois updates: Here’s what happened with COVID-19 in the Chicago area on Oct. 29

She ’ s an extrovert , and when Illinois shut down , she said , it was hard not to @ @ @ @ @ .
With an underlying health condition , she felt a lot of fear when COVID-19 @ @ @ @ @ job isn ’ t one she can do remotely , but she needed to be @ @ @ @ @ ages 7 and 8 , and help with remote learning , creating extra stress .
@ @ @ @ @ , she felt more pain watching the George Floyd protests and seeing , she said @ @ @ @ @ her were treated .

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CTU workers direct vehicles lined up for COVID-19 testing outside of the Chicago Teachers Union on Dec. 30, 2021, in Chicago. CPS starts back to school on Monday following their holiday break. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)
Illinois public health officials Thursday announced 6,363 newly confirmed cases of COVID-19, a new daily high for the state. There were also 56 additional fatalities. That brings the statewide total to 395,458 confirmed cases and 9,675 deaths.
The previous high was 6,161 last Saturday and it was the second straight day with more than 6,000 cases reported. There were 83,056 tests in the previous 24 hours, only the sixth time that the state has had more than 80,000 tests reported in a single day. The seven-day statewide positivity rate is 6.9%.
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Meanwhile, the 18-county west-central region of the state that includes Springfield and Quincy reached a positivity rate at or above 8% for the third consecutive day, one of the ways a region can trigger a rollback in its reopening under Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s plan. The region will be the ninth of 11 regions in the state to come under state rules that call for temporarily suspending indoor dining and bar service and lowering gathering caps to 25 people, from 50.
Earlier on Thursday, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said she will reverse a curfew she imposed on liquor sales and allow those businesses to sell alcohol until 11 p.m.
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Here’s what’s happening Thursday with COVID-19 in the Chicago area and Illinois:
7:35 p.m.: CPS says high school basketball, wrestling postponed indefinitely
The boys and girls basketball seasons have been postponed indefinitely in Chicago’s storied Public League.
Chicago Public Schools made the announcement late Thursday, also sidelining wrestling and elementary school basketball. The district said the “high-risk” winter sports will be postponed or moved to next spring or summer, with a tentative wrestling season set for April 19 to June 26.
The decision comes despite the Illinois High School Association announcing that it plans to move forward with the winter basketball season, even though Gov. J.B. Pritzker has contradicted that and said it will be postponed until spring.
Read more here. —Chicago Tribune staff
6:35 p.m.: Libertyville mayor says village won’t enforce indoor dining restrictions
Local officials in central Lake County have been announcing their intentions to not enforce the governor’s indoor dining restrictions, which were put on due to the recent increase of coronavirus cases in the area.
Meanwhile, other economic officials and restaurants in the area have written letters to the governor’s office, deriding the new restrictions, which were announced Wednesday, as unfair and uneven.
In Libertyville, Mayor Terry Weppler posted on Facebook an announcement that the village will not be taking any enforcement action on restaurants that choose to remain open for indoor service.
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Weppler said in the post that the decision came after a conference call with the village’s restaurants and consulting with village trustees.
“I know the COVID virus is dangerous and I am as concerned as many of you that we protect people’s health,” his post read. “However, there have been no issues of Libertyville restaurants causing the spreading of COVID.”
Read more here. —James T. Norman
5:55 p.m.: IHSA executive director says ‘we plan on going forward’ despite Pritzker’s comments to the contrary
Hours after Gov. J.B. Pritzker said basketball would be delayed to the spring, the Illinois High School Association’s executive director said Thursday “we plan on going forward” with the seasons as scheduled.
Another day, another twist in the winter sports saga between the IHSA and Pritzker.
Read more here. —Pat Disabato
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5:25 p.m.: Even while hospitalized, here’s how Illinois patients can vote
Many have been anticipating this election. But what happens if you are hospitalized just before you planned to vote?
In this situation, voters have an option. In Illinois, patients hospitalized within the 14 days before an election can arrange to have a ballot delivered to the hospital.
At Advocate Health Care, hospitals have developed a process to facilitate this absentee voting. For the first time, staffers created an organized program to help patients know they can vote, including signs in hospitals and directly telling patients about this option.
“Because of COVID and this pandemic, it’s causing unexpected hospitalizations, and it’s intersected with this election,” said Tiffany Gardley, manager of volunteer services, communications and transport at Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital in Downers Grove.
Under Illinois law, qualified voters who have been admitted to a hospital, nursing home or rehabilitation center can request personal delivery of a vote-by-mail ballot.
To get a ballot, they must complete an application stating why they were admitted and that they do not expect to be released before the election, or, if released, expect to be housebound. Along with this application, a doctor, advanced practice registered nurse or physician assistant must state that the patient was admitted and not expected to be released or, if released, not able to travel.
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At Advocate, patients are offered a packet with the application to request to vote this way, and a phone number to a 24/7 staffed volunteer line. Volunteers guide them through a process that can be complicated.
Once voters complete the application, a legal relative or a person registered to vote in their same precinct must present this application to an election authority. In Cook County, the application must be delivered to the County Clerk’s Office at 69 W. Washington St.
In a signed affidavit, the ballot-delivery person attests to being a registered voter authorized to get the ballot and deliver it, and states the nature of the relationship with the hospitalized voter.
After it’s verified that the hospitalized person is registered to vote, the ballot-delivery person can take a vote-by-mail ballot to the hospital, where the patient can fill it out and the same ballot-delivery person can return it to be counted.
Read more here. —Alison Bowen
5 p.m.: McHenry County restaurants, bars file lawsuit challenging COVID-19 closure of their establishments
Thirty-seven restaurants and bars in McHenry County filed suit Thursday against Gov. J.B. Pritzker and health officials, trying to prevent enforcement of an order to shut down indoor service, which is meant to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
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A hearing was set in the matter for Friday, one day before the shutdown was scheduled to take place in Lake and McHenry counties. A similar order has been imposed in Cook, DuPage, Kane, Kankakee and Will counties, and other parts of Illinois.
The suit is the latest in a spate of legal actions against the governor’s executive orders aimed at limiting the pandemic. A similar suit in Kane County this week led to a court order allowing FoxFire restaurant in Geneva to keep operating despite the order, which the state is appealing. In addition, numerous restaurants statewide are simply defying the shutdown.
Read more here. —Robert McCoppin
3:55 p.m.: Gaming board pushes back new casino license approvals six months due to COVID-19
The Illinois Gaming Board pushed back approval for the state’s new casino licenses by at least six months due primarily to COVID-19 delays.
The decision, announced at a special gaming board meeting Thursday, set an April 28 target for issuing preliminary approval for casino applicants in Rockford and Williamson County. The process may take longer for casinos in Waukegan and the south suburbs, where multiple applicants are competing for licenses. Earlier this year, an application for the Danville casino license was withdrawn.
“Like all government agencies and private businesses, the board’s work has been impacted by COVID-19,” Illinois Gaming Board administrator Marcus Fruchter said Thursday. “This is not an excuse or a crutch. It is simply a recognition of the realities that work and life are different in a global pandemic.”
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Preliminary approval for five of the six licenses created by last year’s gambling expansion bill was supposed to be issued by Oct. 28 — 12 months after the application deadline.
Once approved, casino operators will be allowed to open in temporary facilities for two years while building permanent locations.
Read more here. —Robert Channick
3:50 p.m.: 4 employees, 4 residents at Juvenile Temporary Detention Center have test positive for COVID-19
Four employees and four residents at the Juvenile Temporary Detention Center have tested positive for COVID-19, according to a statement Thursday by the Office of the Chief Judge.
In addition, three employees of the Adult Probation Department, including one who works at the Juvenile Courthouse, have tested positive. The others work at the Bridgeview Courthouse and at the Criminal Court Administration Building.
JTDC is conducting testing on all staff and contractors who are working on site this week, according to the statement. The JTDC also tested residents.
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The most recent positive tests bring the total number of positive cases at the JTDC to 54 staff members and 40 residents.
—Annie Sweeney
3:20 p.m.: Chicago restaurants spent as much as $130,000 on air filtration and other safety measures for indoor dining — only to be left out in the cold
Anybody interested in buying a like-new air-purifying system? How about some custom-made, acrylic table dividers? Barely used.
It might not actually be for sale (yet), but pandemic-weary restaurateurs say they’re not far off.
In addition to the loss of revenue and likely layoffs for large numbers of dining industry workers, Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s new ban on indoor dining (which goes into effect Friday in Chicago and is either already in effect or will be Saturday for the collar counties) is dealing another financial blow to restaurants that have invested heavily in safety equipment for their dining rooms ahead of winter.
It’s money that, until the indoor dining ban is lifted, is going to waste at businesses already struggling with drastically lower customer counts and notoriously thin profit margins — even in pre-pandemic times.
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“We’re all trying really, really hard,” said Michael Roper, owner of Hopleaf in Andersonville. “Some of us are going to the absolute limit of our personal finances. People are putting second mortgages on their homes; people are liquidating their retirement accounts in order to save their place. That’s how serious it is.”
Restaurant owners expressed an overarching sense of fear and hopelessness in the wake of Pritzker’s series of announcements over the past week. Just as many were readying their dining rooms for a cold-weather influx, they found themselves back in a hauntingly similar situation: facing layoffs, dropping sales and a precarious future.
“No way to lie about it; I’m scared,” said Michael Lachowicz, chef and owner of Aboyer, Silencieux and George Trois restaurants in Winnetka. “I was in the fetal position for six hours yesterday.”
Read more here. —Phil Vettel and Adam Lukach
1:45 p.m.: All jury trials at Dirksen US Courthouse canceled until further notice due to pandemic
Chicago’s chief federal judge announced Thursday that all jury trials at the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse were being canceled until further notice due the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
The order by U.S. District Chief Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer comes after a rash of recent COVID-19 positive tests from courthouse employees and visitors over the past several weeks, coinciding with a resurgence of cases across the state.
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The order marked the second time trials have been shut down at the courthouse due to the virus. After an initial suspension this past spring, jury trials had resumed in a limited fashion beginning in July, with face coverings and social distancing measures in place to try to curtail the virus' spread.
Recently, however, Pallemeyer had warned those who work at the courthouse about a series of COVID-19 positive tests among visitors, employees and litigants. The most recent letter went out Monday, when Pallmeyer reported two employees and a courthouse visitor had tested positive within the past 24 hours.
“Three positive tests in our courthouse in a single day suggests a trend in the wrong direction,” Pallmeyer wrote.
Pallmeyer said that while the courthouse and clerk’s office at 219 S. Dearborn St. will remain open to the public, all criminal jury trials were suspended immediately and all civil jury trials were canceled as of Nov. 9. It would be up to the judge presiding over each case to make appropriate findings about a defendant’s Constitutional rights to a speedy trial, she said.
“The court finds that the delay outweighs the interests of the parties and the public in a speedy trial given the need to protect the health and safety of defendants, defense counsel, prosecutors, court staff, and the public by reducing the number of in-person hearings to the greatest extent possible,” Pallmeyer wrote in the order.
The provisions in the order would be revisited no later than Jan. 26, Pallmeyer said.
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—Jason Meisner
1:35 p.m.: Secondhand shopping comes to Michigan Avenue, even in the middle of a pandemic
When The RealReal announced plans in February to open a store selling secondhand Gucci and Louis Vuitton steps away from those brands' Magnificent Mile boutiques, it was yet another sign resale shopping, once stigmatized, had gone mainstream.
Less than a month later, the coronavirus pandemic brought dramatic changes to ways consumers live and shop. Retailers selling anything besides toilet paper, hand sanitizer and other essentials were hit hard, and resale shops weren’t immune.
But while many say sales are down, some of the industry’s biggest players are betting the health crisis hasn’t shaken consumers' enthusiasm for resale.
Resale website ThredUp announced it confidentially filed for an initial public offering earlier this month after adding Walmart to the list of retailers who sell its goods in May. Meanwhile, The RealReal opened its Michigan Avenue store last week after seeing customers gradually return to its four stores in other cities.
“We’re still seeing a lot of people want to shop in person when it’s engaging,” said Dan Ocampo, The RealReal’s head of retail operations.
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Read more here. —Lauren Zumbach
1:10 p.m.: Illinois sees another record daily high, another region gets hit with tighter restrictions
Illinois set another daily record high Thursday for newly confirmed cases of COVID-19, and another region was set to be put under tougher rules for restaurants, bars and gatherings under Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s reopening plan.
The state reported 6,363 newly diagnosed cases and 56 additional deaths of people with COVID-19. That raises the statewide totals to 395,458 known cases and 9,675 deaths throughout the course of the pandemic, according to state data.
The previous daily high for new cases was 6,161 last Saturday.
The new cases reported Thursday come from a batch of 83,056 tests conducted during a 24-hour period.
Hospitalizations of people with COVID-19 are also rising, as of Wednesday night 3,030 people in the state were in the hospital, with 643 in intensive care units and 269 patients on ventilators.
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Central Illinois has largely been spared from firmer state-imposed restrictions on businesses and gathering sizes.
But the 18-county west-central region of the state that includes Springfield and Quincy reached a positivity rate at or above 8% for the third consecutive day, one of the ways a region can trigger a rollback in its reopening under Pritzker’s plan.
The region will be the ninth of 11 regions in the state to come under state rules that call for temporarily suspending indoor dining and bar service and lowering gathering caps to 25 people, from 50.
Read more here. —Jamie Munks
12:58 p.m.: Park Ridge restaurants file suit against governor’s indoor dining ban; some plan to defy order
Five Park Ridge restaurant owners filed a lawsuit this week against Gov. J.B. Pritzker, objecting to the governor’s latest order shutting down indoor dining at bars and restaurants.
The lawsuit, filed in Cook County Circuit Court late Wednesday, claims Pritzker lacks the authority to issue the executive order because the emergency powers he used to issue it expired in April.
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The lawsuit’s argument is similar to that in other legal challenges filed against Pritzker’s executive orders across the state.
Plaintiffs in the lawsuit include the owners of Shakou, Pazzi Di Pizza, Hay Caramba, Holt’s, and the Harp and Fiddle, all located in Uptown Park Ridge. Also named as a plaintiff is Neoteca Pizza and Wine Bar in Barrington.
Read more here. —Jennifer Johnson
12:38 p.m.: Indiana sets new single-day record with 3,649 COVID-19 cases
Indiana set a daily high of newly reported cases of COVID-19 Thursday as the number of hospitalizations and new infections across the state continued to spike.
The 3,649 new infections reported by the Indiana State Department of Health on Thursday marked the first time Indiana has recorded more than 3,000 positive cases of the virus in one day.
Marion County, which has been the state leader in cases since March, reported 361 new positive tests, bringing the county total to almost 27,000. Trailing only Marion County is Lake County, which reported 270 new cases and now tops 15,000 cases, according to the state dashboard. According to the state, Porter County has had more than 3,700 cases. The Porter County Department of Health shows 55 deaths.
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Read more here. —Associated Press
12:35 p.m.: Lightfoot to extend hours for liquor sales at Chicago bars and restaurants
Under pressure from bars and restaurants hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, Mayor Lori Lightfoot will reverse a curfew she imposed on liquor sales and allow those businesses to sell alcohol until 11 p.m.
Lightfoot was quick to criticize Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s decision to ban indoor service at bars and restaurants due to a spike in COVID-19 cases, but she’d also been criticized by bars and restaurants over her own restrictions, which in some ways had been tougher than the governor’s.
While the state rules dictate bar and restaurant service must end at 11 p.m., the mayor had ordered liquor sales to end at 9 p.m. and for the establishments to close at 10 p.m.
Read more here. — Gregory Pratt
11:53 a.m.: With COVID-19 on the rise, some parents nix trick-or-treating: ‘It doesn’t seem worth the risk’
Halloween is already happening at Angie Grover’s house. The pumpkins are carved. The porch is decorated. The costumes are getting multiple trial runs, with Grover’s younger son, age 7, even taking a scooter ride in full T. rex mode.
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But when the big day comes, one thing will be missing: trick-or-treating.
“We’re just not prepared to expose our family to the uncertainty of COVID,” said Grover, 50, of River Forest.
In the lead-up to a beloved children’s holiday, a sizable number of Americans are quietly opting out of trick-or-treating, handing out candy or both, due to COVID-19. Just 12% of U.S. households will trick-or-treat this year, down from 24% last year, according to a recent survey from NORC at the University of Chicago. The survey found that 25% of families plan to give out candy, down from 38% in 2019.
In Naperville alone, more than 350 “No Trick-or-Treaters” signs have been picked up by residents, according to city spokeswoman Linda LaCloche.
The reasons for opting out range from an illness in the family to a more general concern about the growing number of COVID-19 cases in Illinois, where the seven-day statewide positivity rate for those tested is 6.4%. In interviews and Facebook posts, those who are not participating expressed sadness at missing out, but also confidence in their decisions.
“Health and safety has to come first,” said Siân Stevens, of Forest Park, the mother of 5-year-old twins.
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Read more here. —Nara Schoenberg
11:30 a.m.: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi scolds White House over no response in virus relief talks
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued a scolding assessment of COVID-19 relief talks on Thursday, blaming Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin for failing to produce answers to her demands for Democratic priorities as part of an almost $2 trillion aid package.
Pelosi lobbed her latest public relations volley with a letter to Mnuchin that blames Republicans for the failed talks, which ground on for three months only to crater in the final days before the election. Where the talks go after the election is wholly uncertain.
Pelosi says remaining obstacles to an agreement include more than half a dozen big-ticket items, including a testing plan, aid to state and local governments, funding for schools, jobless benefits and a GOP-sought shield against coronavirus-related lawsuits.
Republicans, who say Pelosi has been unyielding in the talks, will control the White House and the Senate until January regardless of the outcome of Tuesday’s election, and have pressed for a more targeted aid package that ignores key Pelosi demands.
They say items like refundable tax credits for the working poor and families with children aren’t directly related to fighting COVID-19 and charge that Pelosi has slow-walked the negotiations to deny President Donald Trump a victory in the run-up to Election Day.
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Pelosi’s letter to Mnuchin comes as markets are reeling from a coronavirus surge across the country and Washington’s failure to agree on another virus relief package.
Read more here. —Associated Press
10:23 a.m.: United Center to serve as polling place on Election Day
The Chicago Board of Elections plans to utilize the United Center on the Near West Side as a voting super site on Tuesday, giving all city voters another polling site option where they can cast their ballot in person.
Its opening as a polling place on Election Day will mark the first time the indoor arena, home to the Chicago Bulls and Chicago Blackhawks, has been utilized as a voting super site. The expansion was meant to provide more “safe and accessible voting options,” according to a Chicago Board of Elections news release.
Jerry Reinsdorf, Chicago Bulls chairman, and Rocky Wirtz, Chicago Blackhawks chairman, said in a joint statement they are proud the 950,000-square feet United Center will be used as a voting location for the first time in its 26-year history."
Together, the Blackhawks, Bulls and United Center are happy to play our part and offer our arena to further civic engagement in our communities and expand voting opportunities for Chicago residents," Reinsdorf and Wirtz said in the news release.
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Read more here. — Kelli Smith
8 a.m.: Iowa doctors warn coronavirus spread risks overwhelming hospitals if it continues
Iowa’s number of coronavirus cases, deaths and hospitalizations continued to surge higher Wednesday as medical professionals have begun to express concern that hospitals could be overwhelmed with patients if no action is taken to slow the virus spread.
Iowa hospitals had 596 coronavirus patients Wednesday, by far the highest number so far in Iowa. The 113 patients admitted in the past 24 hours also was the highest seen since the virus surfaced in Iowa in March. The number of patients needing intensive care unit services has also trended upward in the past month.
Iowa doctors and hospital officials are preparing for a system overrun by COVID patients by talking about how to transfer patients between hospitals and enacting surge plans that could turn non-hospital facilities into spots to handle any overflow.
Read more here. —Associated Press
7 a.m.: Pritzker to tour West Side business, hold news conference on business grants
Gov. J.B. Pritzker was scheduled Thursday morning to tour an Austin neighborhood business Thursday morning before announcing where the state stands on distributing the second round of small business grants, according to the governor’s office.
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Pritzker was scheduled to tour L May Creations, 5936 W. Chicago Ave., an event space run by the owner of a small business that according to the Austin Weekly News makes custom jewelry and party decorations.
The second round of Business Interruption Grants has included $220 million for businesses including movie theaters, performing arts venues and concert venues, officials have said. — Chicago Tribune staff
6 a.m.: Mental health among Black Chicagoans a concern as suicide numbers rise
Sleeping a lot. Binge eating. Feeling alone.
Casey, 32, knew these were signs in the spring that she was depressed. The Chicago resident didn’t want to be identified by her full name while speaking about mental health challenges.
She’s an extrovert, and when Illinois shut down, she said, it was hard not to be able to see friends. With an underlying health condition, she felt a lot of fear when COVID-19 arrived in Chicago. Her job isn’t one she can do remotely, but she needed to be home with her children, ages 7 and 8, and help with remote learning, creating extra stress. And after all of this, she felt more pain watching the George Floyd protests and seeing, she said, how Black people like her were treated.
“That created a lot of depression and a lot of anxiety,” she said. “I would definitely have those crying spells like, hey, I just need somebody to hug me. Because of COVID, there was nobody available.”
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Casey is not alone. Many are feeling extra and unusual stressors during this time, and people of color shoulder additional burdens.
This year, many Americans have reported feeling anxious and depressed. Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows nearly half of Americans reported at least one mental or behavioral health condition, including a trauma- and stressor-related disorder or substance use.
In Illinois, health officials are monitoring the number of suicides. Overall, the number in Illinois actually fell slightly, from 678 suicides from January to June last year to 649 in the same time period this year.
But among Black Chicagoans, suicides have risen.
Last year, from January to June, Cook County saw 31 suicides among Black residents, which was actually down from 38 in the same time period the year before. But this year, from January to June, 51 Black residents in Cook County died by suicide, according to Illinois Department of Public Health statistics. Earlier this year, the Sun-Times reported that the majority of Black suicides in Cook County occurred in Chicago, often in the South and West side neighborhoods.
Read more here. —Alison Bowen
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6 a.m.: Thursday’s the deadline for sending in your mail-in ballot application. If you miss it, here are some options.
Thursday is the deadline for your local election authority to receive your application for a mail-in ballot, although for weeks officials have been encouraging voters to send them in sooner.
Don’t expect to get yours in on time? Don’t fret. You still have options.
If you’d like to vote by mail, you have a couple of choices.
First, if your local election jurisdiction accepts online applications, you can submit one before 5 p.m. Thursday. But that doesn’t guarantee you’ll receive your ballot in time to fill it out and have it postmarked, place it in a secure drop box or hand-deliver it to your local election authority’s office by Election Day.
Your other option is to go to your local county clerk’s office or election authority to request a mail-in ballot in person. The deadline to do that is Monday. Just be sure to complete your ballot and place it in the mail or a designated drop box or return it to your local election office by Tuesday.
Ballots returned by mail and postmarked by Election Day should be counted as long as they’re received by Nov. 17.
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Still, given that election officials encouraged voters to submit vote-by-mail applications by Oct. 15 to make sure they could be mailed out in time, your best bet may be to make other plans for casting your ballot.
Read more here. —Dan Petrella
5 a.m.: A vaccine may be ready by January, but a return to normal isn’t. Here’s what we learned from Dr. Anthony Fauci’s virtual Chicago talk.
With COVID-19 cases rising rapidly in Illinois, Dr. Anthony Fauci discussed this latest surge, the president’s name-calling and a vaccine timeline during a virtual Chicago talk Wednesday evening.
He spoke during an event hosted by Chicago Ideas and presented by Horizon Therapeutics called “The Man Behind the Medicine.” Fauci’s remarks came the same day that Illinois reported 6,110 new cases of COVID-19, with a rolling positivity rate of 6.7% up from 4.6% two weeks earlier.
Read more here. — Lisa Schencker
Breaking coronavirus news Stay up to date with the latest information on coronavirus with our breaking news alerts.
In case you missed it
Here are five stories from Wednesday related to COVID-19:


chicagotribune--2020-10-31--Kyle Rittenhouse sent to Wisconsin to face charges in Kenosha protest shootings

In a filing , the teen ’ s lawyers indicated they might call his mother to testify “ regarding the @ @ @ @ @ That did not happen Friday , however , and his lawyers also did not call @ @ @ @ @ they might put forth .
Those witnesses had been expected to attack the investigation and @ @ @ @ @


chicagotribune--2020-10-31--Column: Where were you on election night 2016? We all remember. And it makes a lot of us anxious.

Many of us also remember the day that led into election night , the anticipation that bordered on jubilation .
@ @ @ @ @ to go vote .
One of my friends recalls the white pantsuit she wore , @ @ @ @ @ s suffrage .
Another remembers wearing her late mother ’ s watch , so her @ @ @ @ @ .
I wore my mother ’ s yellow coat .
We were voting not just @ @ @ @ @ , but for the women who came before us , who were denied opportunities we @ @ @ @ @ helped make our opportunities possible .

Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2016. Election Day.
Where were you that night?
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Odds are, you remember. It’s one of those moments seared into our individual and collective memories as vividly as the 9/11 terrorist attacks or, for older Americans, the assassination of JFK.
I’m speaking today on behalf of Hillary Clinton voters, though the smaller number of Americans — nearly 3 million fewer — who voted for Donald Trump no doubt remember the night too, if not with the same dismay.
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We, the Clinton voters, remember how the day started with polls that said Hillary would win, becoming the first woman elected to the highest office in the land. We remember the slow accretion of confusion as the night ticked on and the Electoral College numbers trickled in: What. Is. Happening?
We remember feeling sick, not primarily because our candidate was losing, or that a Republican was defeating a Democrat. Voting sometimes means losing. What made that night sickening was that this exceptionally qualified woman was on the brink of being beaten by a crude, racist, misogynistic, pathologically lying bully. And that she could lose because the popular vote alone doesn’t count.
I still have the texts I traded with a friend in California that night. I imagine millions of similar conversations happening all over the country. Here it is, slightly abridged:
7:28 p.m.
Me: I’m getting nervous.
Her: Pretending to work, but I give up. Going home. Nervous too.
8 p.m.
Me: I’m going to take a bath. She has to win. She must.
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Her: California: 55 electoral votes.
Me: A nation turns its hopeful eyes to you.
11 p.m.
Me: Feeling very sad.
Her: Just sick. Just heard that the Canadian immigration site has crashed.
Me: They say Portugal is nice. OK I really am going to sleep now if I can.
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Her: May you wake up to a happy surprise.
Like the nearly 66 million Americans who voted for Clinton, I did not wake up to a happy surprise. That stunned morning is memorable too.
Many of us also remember the day that led into election night, the anticipation that bordered on jubilation. We remember how we dressed to go vote. One of my friends recalls the white pantsuit she wore, in honor of women’s suffrage. Another remembers wearing her late mother’s watch, so her mom could vote in spirit. I wore my mother’s yellow coat. We were voting not just for ourselves and the future, but for the women who came before us, who were denied opportunities we take for granted, who helped make our opportunities possible.
The men who favored Hillary also felt the loss that night, but it was for the women, I think, that the defeat was most personal.
I also recall being in the Chicago Tribune newsroom on the afternoon of Election Day. An editor waved me into his office. On a big table were laid out three mock front pages for the following day, one for each of the possible outcomes.
Trump Wins. Clinton Wins. It’s a Draw.
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I picked up the page that showed Hillary the winner and felt a jolt of pride. Pride in my country. Pride — but not without a fearful premonition — that I was alive to witness this breakthrough.
I wanted to snap a photo but my editor said no, so that page lives only in my head now. But it does live on there. In that moment, I glimpsed the future, even though it was a future that would never be.
Four years have passed since the future took a different path. The other day I sent our text exchange to my friend in California. She wrote back: “Wow, and we really had no idea how bad it would be … Feels like an eon of outrage and exhaustion.”
She added that she was about to go watch “What the Constitution Means to Me,” Amazon’s production of Heidi Schreck’s award-winning play about what the Constitution has meant to generations of women.
Now election night 2020 is near. We carry the memory of four years ago into the present, a memory that leaves us anxious, cautious, wise enough not to predict or assume.
And we wait, afraid to hope, but hoping anyway that whenever a winner is declared — probably not that night — the polls this time will be proved right. We hope that the forecasts of civil war and civic unrest are wrong. Despite the shock of that night four years ago, we hang on to the slippery belief that the United States of America is a special place where democratic principles and decent leaders may not always win but still can.
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mschmich@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-10-30--Election season unlike any other nears finish line

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To some degree, every election is a referendum, and perhaps never more so than in a presidential year.
But peeling back the Nov. 3 ballot beyond the decision on whether Donald Trump or Joe Biden should sit in the White House, there are a number of issues and candidacies that present their own referendums.
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There’s a proposed constitutional amendment that would change Illinois from a flat-rate income tax to a graduated-rate levy. That top-of-the ballot item also could present a referendum on voter trust in state government or how they view the state’s financial future.
There’s a decision on whether U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, a member of the chamber’s Democratic leadership, deserves a fifth term. And there are elections involving the state’s 18 congressional seats, including the reelection bids of two suburban Democratic freshmen. Those races could prove to be a referendum on voter views on an ever-more partisan, divided Washington.
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In the Illinois legislature, all 118 seats are up for election to the Illinois House and 22 seats are on the ballot in the 59-member state Senate. The election of the General Assembly, with supermajorities of Democrats in both chambers, could present a referendum on its leadership, including longtime House Speaker Michael Madigan, who finds himself ensnared in a federal investigation.
Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 13 "It's important to vote in this election because there's a lot up in the air right now especially with the pandemic and the lack of attention and how that's starting to fall off people's radars as something serious and it's about to get more serious. There's a lot of reshaping of the country that can be done based on the results of this election," Brewer said. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)
In Cook County, the race between reelection-seeking Democratic State’s Attorney Kim Foxx and Republican Pat O’Brien could be considered a referendum on her first term amid controversy as well as what’s left of the power of the county’s machine to deliver.
Overall, the election itself could represent a referendum for voters on how they view the state of the state as a whole, expressing their choices as they face renewed restrictions aimed at countering a new rise in COVID-19.
Illinois’ March 17 primary, occurring just days before Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s initial stay-at-home order due to a budding pandemic, was an election unlike what we’ve ever seen. But consider it just a dry run for Tuesday.
A new state law prompted by the pandemic that sent mail-in ballot applications to more than 5 million voters and the decision by voters to flock to early voting sites to avoid crowded polling places on Election Day have prompted both types of voting to soar.
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Through Friday, more than 3 million Illinois residents had already cast ballots. The number of ballots sent in by mail in Illinois is nearly 1.2 million above the 370,000 cast in the state in the 2016 election, while the nearly 1.5 million in-person early votes cast was nearing the 1.52 million cast four years ago — with the full final weekend yet to go.
That means that as the weekend began, Illinoisans had already cast 53.1% of the nearly 5.7 million votes cast in the entire 2016 presidential election, state records showed.
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Delays in ballot counting are possible, and there also is expected to be a heavy in-person voting presence on Tuesday among traditionalists who insist on casting a ballot on Election Day.
But there is little traditional about this election, which found many candidates and activists navigating a new world of pandemic politics, using rallies over Zoom in lieu of door-to-door canvassing.
Spurred by Trump’s victory in 2016, the grassroots group Indivisible Chicago Alliance knocked on 20,000 suburban doors in the final weekend of the 2018 election to help elect Democratic U.S. Reps. Sean Casten of Downers Grove and Lauren Underwood in Naperville.
While the door-knocking is out this time, the group has continued to back Casten, who is being challenged by former Republican state Rep. Jeanne Ives of Wheaton, and Underwood, who is facing GOP state Sen. Jim Oberweis of Sugar Grove.
It plans four days of virtual phone banking, even going beyond Illinois to include calling voters in the battleground states of Michigan, Wisconsin and Iowa. Volunteers are also doing limited socially distanced canvassing in southwest Michigan, where permitted.
The group also had more than 5,000 volunteers send 2 million handwritten post cards to voters in 14 battleground states.
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Weekend phone banking and text banking is also part of the effort on behalf of the graduated-rate income tax amendment under an effort being run by the labor-backed Vote Yes for Fair Tax coalition.
But some candidates reverted to traditional campaigning methods.
O’Brien, the GOP state’s attorney candidate, kicked off his Saturday afternoon by greeting voters outside the 33rd Ward polling site in Albany Park.
On the sidewalk outside Bateman Elementary School, Renne “Rex” Chavez, a volunteer for Democratic nominee Iris Martinez’s campaign for Cook County Circuit Court clerk, introduced himself to O’Brien as a proud Republican. He followed up with, “I’m not going to lie to you: I also support Donald Trump,” to which O’Brien shrugged.
“I support you,” Chavez added. “Just do a good job. That’s all I’m asking, to do a d— good job.”
O’Brien replied, “I’m hoping people hold me to that. Then I’ll be happy.”
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Foxx, the incumbent, was scheduled to kick off a virtual phone bank for the Biden ticket on Saturday, while U.S. Rep. Danny Davis was scheduled to stump for her in Bronzeville on Sunday.
But the pandemic restrictions have, for the most part, created a made-for-TV election being broadcast to people at home.
On the amendment alone, tens of millions of dollars have been spent on hundreds of TV ads, funded primarily with $58 million from Pritzker, who has made the amendment his top agenda item and pumped another $1.5 million into the cause last week, and $53.75 million from hedge fund founder Ken Griffin on behalf of the opposition.
In the state legislative races, though Madigan remains a controversial figure, he has continued to raise money and has bankrolled millions of dollars in expensive Chicago TV ads through funds he controls to try to elect and protect suburban Democrats in the state House. Republicans have been left to fend for themselves after having been able to count on Bruce Rauner’s wealth during his one term as governor.
In Naperville, Democrat Janet Yang Rohr is challenging three-term Republican state Rep. Grant Wehrli and has owned the Chicago airwaves, running nearly 900 half-minute ads costing $1.2 million while Wehrli has run none.
Over in the Far Northwest Side and suburbs, Democrat Michelle Darbro of Chicago is challenging appointed first-term GOP state Rep. Brad Stephens, the mayor of Rosemont. Darbro has aired more than 900 half-minute TV ads on Chicago’s five major TV stations, costing $1.1 million, records show. Stephens has not aired any.
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Regardless of the various subplots on the Illinois ballot, the overwhelming determinant factor in voting will be the presidential election and Trump, said Christopher Mooney, political scientist at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
“Presidential elections are totally different than nonpresidential elections. The electorate is different. You get a big chunk of voters that didn’t vote before. They are less interested, less engaged and know less about politics. They’re there to vote for Trump or vote against him,” Mooney said.
“It’s everything about Trump. He’s going to be why there’s going to be the turnout. He is why people will vote as they do,” he said.
Republicans shouldn’t count on their repeated attacks on Madigan as a strategy for victories, Mooney said. The party is trying to capitalize on Commonwealth Edison’s admission to federal prosecutors that it provided jobs and contracts to Madigan allies to seek the speaker’s favor. Madigan has not been charged with wrongdoing and has said he did nothing wrong.
“The Republicans have cried wolf so often with Madigan. They’ve been using him for 20 years over and over again. At a certain point, you get numb to it,” Mooney said. “There’s nothing new here. That’s the perception of Madigan. It’s already baked in.”
Chicago Tribune’s Alice Yin contributed.
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rpearson@chicagotribune.com


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· Wednesday’s Weather page mistakenly listed summer temperatures in the section of forecast temperatures for Midwestern cities.
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