chicagotribune--2020-08-05--Parent opposition helps tip CPS toward an all-remote start: ‘A lot of stress and anxiety ... could’v

Parent opposition helps tip CPS toward an all-remote start: ‘A lot of stress and anxiety ... could’ve been avoided if we had just made this decision sooner’

But still , Swan is “ a little confused by how hard they pushed hybrid , because I think myself @ @ @ @ @ talked to , we felt like we were really being pushed into hybrid .
... @ @ @ @ @ spending a lot of time developing the hybrid plan , and the remote plan was @ @ @ @ @ So what happens now ?
”

Lorna Swan said her son, Kaden Abdur-Rahman, 10, a student at Lenart Elementary Regional Gifted Center, is relieved by the move to remote learning. They read a book together at their home in Chicago on Aug. 5, 2020. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune)
The criticism from the Chicago Teachers Union was to be expected, since its leaders came out against reopening schools even before the district proposed it.
But parents around the city, though more split on whether they wanted in-person classes to begin again, also emerged as a significant bloc of opposition in the last week — ultimately helping push Chicago Public Schools to start the year remotely instead.
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In announcing their switch to an all-remote plan for the start of school, CPS officials cited parent hesitation to reopening as a key motivator, along with the recent uptick in the number of new daily COVID-19 cases in the city.
Parent frustrations seemed to reach a tipping point when CPS initially asked families to indicate by the end of this week whether their children would opt into the hybrid proposal, which would have rotated smaller groups of children into schools two days per week. Some parents said they felt constrained to pick the hybrid option because of the lack of details on remote learning.
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[ CPS backtracks and moves to all-remote learning for fall, but officials say they won’t be ‘cobbling things together’ like last spring ]
Dissatisfied with the amount of information from official CPS sources, parents resorted to digging for details themselves as an influx of new members joined a CPS parents Facebook group. As concerns mounted, there were a dozen posts a day trying to piece together information — on issues ranging from how CPS would control viral transmission on public transportation to supports for children in special education programs.
Wednesday’s sudden pivot to an all-remote start for the new school year renders that decision moot, for now — leaving some parents relieved but exhausted, if not even more confused on how officials plan for the fall.
Katherine O’Brien, a member of LaSalle Language Academy’s Local School Council and wife of a CPS teacher, said the hybrid proposal made her feel anxious and uneasy all week. Now that CPS has moved to remote learning, “I wouldn’t say I’m fully relieved or anything, but it’s definitely been an emotional roller coaster. I would say that a lot of the stress and anxiety feels like maybe it could’ve been avoided if we had just made this decision sooner,” she said.
According to a CPS survey that got about 87,000 responses from parents, students and educators, only 28% of elementary parents and 34% of high school parents said they intended to choose the now-shelved hybrid model for their children. Only 20% of Black and Latino families — who have been hit disproportionately hard by the city’s coronavirus outbreak — said they would register their kids for in-person learning, CPS said.
[ The school year is starting with many students at home. Some companies are throwing working parents a lifeline. ]
Among those disappointed by the switch to all-remote learning is Liz Brown, the parent of a soon-to-be kindergartner at Prescott Elementary School. She’d hoped to see classes open this fall and said her child has participated in Park District activities throughout the summer.
“That had been going fine, other schools opened, I haven’t heard any negative feedback from those experiences. Private schools were planning to reopen. I had expected that CPS would at least try this plan, before so abruptly changing course,” Brown said.
She said she didn’t receive the survey, and questioned whether CPS closed based on parent feedback if other parents also weren’t able to respond. Her family and others are exploring hiring a tutor to oversee learning.
Before the new all-remote announcement, CPS officials had previously emphasized that families could opt out of in-person learning at any time for any reason. But those who picked all-remote learning would have had to commit to that choice for the quarter.
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Mike Rusin watches sons, Kieran, 5, left, and Tyson, 7, play at their grandparents' home on Aug. 5, 2020, in Glenview. Rusin, whose wife is Katherine O’Brien and a member of LaSalle Language Academy’s Local School Council, is a teacher at Lincoln Park High School. O’Brien said the hybrid proposal made her feel anxious and uneasy all week. Tyson and Kieran will start their school year through remote learning. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)
This made some parents feel like they were presented with an unfair choice. O’Brien called it an ultimatum and speculated it could have inflated the perception of support for the hybrid option “because it’s saying if you pick this one, you can change your mind, but if you pick this one, you can’t,” she said before the CPS remote learning announcement.
In an interview earlier this week, Lorna Swan, a parent of a fifth grader at Lenart Elementary Regional Gifted Center, said she would’ve preferred remote learning if CPS had a more robust plan. But she was concerned her son would “go back to school and be 10 weeks behind his peers.”
When she told her son about the official move to remote Wednesday morning, Swan said he “was relieved, more relaxed than I’ve seen him in a couple days. It was an immediate, noticeable difference. And when your child feels more comfortable, you feel more comfortable.”
Lorna Swan said her son, Kaden Abdur-Rahman, 10, a student at Lenart Elementary Regional Gifted Center, is relieved by the move to remote learning. But she said she's "a little confused by how hard CPS pushed its reopening plan. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune)
But still, Swan is “a little confused by how hard they pushed hybrid, because I think myself and the other parents I talked to, we felt like we were really being pushed into hybrid. ... It seems like they were spending a lot of time developing the hybrid plan, and the remote plan was very secondary to that. So what happens now?”
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Dwayne Reed, an elementary teacher on the South Side, wanted an all-remote start to the school year when CPS first announced its hybrid proposal. Like many other teachers, he has been prepping for remote learning and even creating resources for other teachers on how to deliver quality remote education.
“The moment I saw that announcement yesterday ... the first thing I thought was, ‘Good, now how I can I use my platform to help those scholars who don’t have access to internet or devices?‘” Reed said.
Though keeping everyone engaged remotely won’t be easy, Reed said he is committed to developing relationships with his students to motivate them to show up for remote learning every day.
“The notion is that teachers are at home in their pajamas eating bonbons, and then they turn on their laptop for an hour and that’s remote learning,” Reed said. “But my wife and I were staying up for hours trying to get things right for one lesson. Because we wanted it to hit.”
chao@chicagotribune.com


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chicagotribune--2020-08-05--Former executive of Gary Housing Authority indicted on wire fraud charges

According to the court documents it took three years to finalize a bankruptcy plan for Cossey after she filed in @ @ @ @ @ of a Chapter 13 bankruptcy proceeding , the individual is prohibited from obtaining credit and @ @ @ @ @ in employment or new sources of income .
The individual is not allowed in the @ @ @ @ @ filing to pay back any debt to a person known to them .

Mary Cossey, former executive director of Gary’s Housing Authority and current operations center manager at Northern Indiana Public Service Co., has been indicted on charges of wire fraud.
The indictment was handed down Tuesday in U.S. District Court following an FBI investigation into Cossey’s finances from December 2013 to January 2019 while she was involved in a personal Chapter 13 bankruptcy proceeding.
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Cossey is alleged to have misrepresented her financial situation in a scheme to defraud her creditors and the Chapter 13 bankruptcy trustee, according to court documents. Cossey also was employed by Indiana American Water Co., and as director of constituent services for the City of Gary during the period in question.
Attorney Scott King, who is representing Cossey, said he was aware of the complaint filed Tuesday and is reviewing it.
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“No warrant was issued. It was a summons. It’s too early for an intelligible comment,” King said.
According to the court documents it took three years to finalize a bankruptcy plan for Cossey after she filed in December 2016. As part of a Chapter 13 bankruptcy proceeding, the individual is prohibited from obtaining credit and required to report any changes in employment or new sources of income. The individual is not allowed in the 90 days prior to the filing to pay back any debt to a person known to them.
During the term of her bankruptcy Cossey is alleged to have used an American Express credit card owned by another individual with the permission of that individual. That person is identified in the court proceedings as Individual A. During the term of the bankruptcy, the document alleges Cossey made more than $17,000 in purchases on that card, which she paid back.
From January 2013 to September 2019 Cossey allegedly made more than 200 cash deposits to Individual A. According to the documents, Individual A indicated that 80% of the deposits went to pay the American Express bill in Individual A’s name. Cossey did not disclose Individual A as a creditor and did not disclose payments to Individual A made prior to the bankruptcy filing.
Cossey allegedly paid $29,000 to Individual A in the year preceding the bankruptcy filing, with $11,000 of that filed in the 90 days before immediately prior to the filing, which is a violation of the Preferential Payment Rule. The filing alleges Cossey concealed and failed to report more than $250,000 in income and assets during the bankruptcy term.
The concealed income and assets allegedly include $95,000 in cash, $5,000 in consultant fees for campaign and fundraisers $78,000 severance from Indiana American Water Co., $54,000 in retirement account withdrawals, $17,000 in rental income, $8,000 in title loans, and $3,000 in real estate commissions.
The complaint alleges the campaign fund of Individual A was used during that period to pay Cossey for consulting work she performed for the Gary Indiana New Day Foundation that was either under reported in Cossey’s financial filings or earned at a time the foundation was dissolved by the state for failing to provide financial paperwork three years in a row.
Money received by Cossey outside of what was reported to the bankruptcy trustee allegedly was placed in a new Chase bank account opened in September 2016, according to the court documents.
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Gary Mayor Jerome Prince, who took office in January, declined to comment on the matter at this time. Cossey ran the Gary Housing Authority when Karen Freeman-Wilson was mayor.
Carrie Napoleon is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.


chicagotribune--2020-08-05--The Spin: Lightfoot says threat of teachers strike didn’t force CPS remote learning plan | Is Duckwo

The Spin: Lightfoot says threat of teachers strike didn’t force CPS remote learning plan | Is Duckworth still in veep race? | Weed industry group asks Gov. Pritzker for lifeline.

The mayor says ‘ this isn ’ t a Democrat vs. Republican issue ’ after taking a whack at Senate @ @ @ @ @ might hurt the city ’ s finances if it was left out of the equation @ @ @ @ @ news conference this morning that she ’ s told member of congress “ we will @ @ @ @ @ , as a region as a state , as a country if the federal government @ @ @ @ @ of the Senate choose this moment when we are all hurting , when we are @ @ @ @ @ , when we have millions of people unemployed ... ( to ) defer to partisanship @ @ @ @ @ we ought to vote everyone of them out of office , ” before adding : @ @ @ @ @ a Democrat vs. Republican issue and it shouldn ’ t be made one .
”

Mayor Lori Lightfoot, with Chicago Public Schools CEO Janice Jackson, announces CPS will start the 2020-2021 school year with all remote learning in the fall, at a news conference in Chicago on Aug. 5, 2020. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)
Mayor Lori Lightfoot said the Chicago Teachers Union didn’t force her or her Chicago Public Schools’ team into starting the school year online amid the pandemic. But in the ongoing battle of wills, the Chicago Teachers Union is saying the opposite.
This morning, Lightfoot and CPS CEO Janice Jackson stood before the cameras and confirmed what my Tribune colleagues and other news outlets reported late yesterday afternoon: The first semester of CPS classes this academic year will be conducted online. The CTU was starting to take the first steps toward a possible strike.
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Meanwhile, the mayor’s comments about the killing of a Chicago rapper in Chicago’s tony Oak Street shopping district is raising some eyebrows.
And, an association representing Illinois marijuana companies penned a letter to Gov. J.B. Pritzker urging the state to use marijuana tax revenue to aid social equity applicants who’ve been hurt by delays in the licensing process, the Tribune’s Ally Marotti reports.
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And, the news outlet Axios is reporting that confidants say they believe presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden has whittled down his list of vice presidential finalists to two women, and neither is Illinois U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth.
Welcome to The Spin.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot gets ready to speak at a news conference June 25, 2020. At right is CPS CEO Janice Jackson. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
Mayor Lightfoot and Chicago Public Schools chief Janice Jackson officially announced the district will open this fall online. My Tribune colleagues have the details here.
Union pressure or a coincidence? The mayor said “no” when asked during a news conference this morning whether the decision had anything to do with a threat by the Chicago Teachers Union to walk off the job should schools reopen after Labor Day. But, as my Tribune colleagues noted in a story today, the official announcement comes just a day after word emerged that the CTU was considering calling its governing body, the House of Delegates, to gather and consider a possible strike vote.
Union calls it a ‘win,’ suggests brinkmanship was in play: As reports surfaced late Tuesday of the expected move to remote learning, CTU President Jesse Sharkey tweeted: “A win for teachers, students and parents. It’s sad that we have to strike or threaten to strike to be heard, but when we fight we win!”
Data point: My Tribune colleagues report that the district cited in particular the feedback it received from Black and Latino parents and guardians of CPS students. According to the district, only about 20% of Black and Latino families indicated in a feedback survey that they intended to send their children back to school, “and the district is acting on that feedback to offer an improved remote learning experience for all students when the school year begins.”
The doctor’s opinion: Just 24 hours ago, Dr. Allison Arwady, the city’s public health commissioner, told reporters that if the city’s pandemic numbers look good, she thought CPS could handle in-person learning safely, the Tribune’s John Byrne wrote yesterday.
Taking the temperature today: Arwady this morning said during a news conference with the mayor and CPS’ Jackson that the city wants to see the number of newly diagnosed cases fall below the 200 mark; right now it’s at 270 and continues to climb. It’s not, however, at the crucial bench mark of 400 new cases daily, which would result in reinstituted restrictions on everything from gatherings to businesses. The uptick in cases, Arwady says, was one part of the equation in deciding to go with remote learning.
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“It’s not all about what our data looks like, it’s also about the feedback that ... we’ve heard from parents and teachers and staff and recognizing that we are still learning about COVID-19,” she told reporters, adding that she hopes the city will be in the position to send kids back to classrooms in the second quarter, which starts Nov. 9.
Related: Community colleges may draw more students this fall as parents balk at paying high tuition for remote learning — The Tribune’s Elyssa Cherney has the details here.
Stimulus package: Lightfoot pushes back as Trump claims that Chicago, other ‘poorly run’ cities want a bailout - On Monday the president gave an update on the snail’s-pace negotiations in Congress over a new coronavirus relief bill, saying, “(w)hat the Democrats want ... all they’re really interested in is bailout money to bail out radical-left governors and radical-left mayors, like in Portland and places that are so badly run. Chicago, New York City — you see what’s going on over there.”
The mayor says ‘this isn’t a Democrat vs. Republican issue’ after taking a whack at Senate Republicans: Asked how it might hurt the city’s finances if it was left out of the equation Lightfoot said during an unrelated news conference this morning that she’s told member of congress “we will not recover as a city, as a region as a state, as a country if the federal government and particularly ... Republican members of the Senate choose this moment when we are all hurting, when we are looking at Depression-like economic conditions, when we have millions of people unemployed ... (to) defer to partisanship. Shame on them and we ought to vote everyone of them out of office,” before adding: “This isn’t a Democrat vs. Republican issue and it shouldn’t be made one.”
Democratic Gov. Pritzker also blasted the GOP as Congress continues to wrangle over the new COVID-19 relief package: “If the Republicans continue to take the stand that they’ve taken, including the Republicans in the Illinois (Congressional) delegation against support for local governments and state governments, then we’re gonna have to make drastic cuts,” the governor said at an unrelated news conference. “I mean I’ve said that many times ... we certainly have to deal with the fact that there is a drop off of revenue as a result of COVID-19.”
Asked whether the state has a financial Plan B, Pritzker said only that the state budget office is “always hard at work thinking about where we can make changes, cuts and so on.”
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Employees Jerome Irish, left, and Tenishia Greer count customers' money for the purchase of legal cannabis at the Mission Dispensary store in Chicago on Jan. 1, 2020. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
An association representing Illinois marijuana companies is urging the state to use weed tax revenue to aid social equity applicants who’ve been hurt by delays in the licensing process.
The Cannabis Business Association of Illinois wrote Gov. J.B. Pritzker last week urging support for those who have been waiting to find out if they’ll be awarded one of the long-delayed licenses, and the group is offering its own lifeline too.
The state is months late in awarding licenses to sell, grow, process and transport marijuana. State officials say the pandemic delayed the process, but applicants say they are in limbo and are hemorrhaging money as they wait.
The state’s recreational marijuana law laid out specific social equity rules meant to help diversify the largely white-owned industry. Read the rest of the Tribune story here. (Ally Marotti)
U. S. Attorney John Lausch, right, leaves after announcing charges in a significant federal gang investigation July 29, 2020. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
Looks like the U.S. attorney’s office’s gun crimes prosecution team, already working with Chicago police, is stepping up efforts in Chicago, sources tell my Tribune colleagues.
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The Tribune’s Megan Crepeau, Jason Meisner and Jeremy Gorner write in a piece out today: “The scope of the renewed federal push was being held close to the vest, but it has seemingly intensified once again as President Donald Trump recently sent more federal agents here in an expansion of what has been dubbed ‘Operation Legend,’ which has seen leaders of the U.S. attorney’s office, the FBI and Chicago police trumpet their increased cooperation.” Read the full story here.
Lightfoot weighs in on gang member’s brazen killing in Gold Coast: Chicago police were investigating whether a video he recently made featuring what police say were “derogatory statements” about rival gang members who have died may be the motive.
“What we’re seeing is a manifestation of a larger problem, which is that way too many young men, and particularly young men of color, have access to guns and are willing to use those guns to settle petty grievances,” the mayor said when asked about the shooting at an unrelated news conference today. While the spectacle of it happening on Oak Street, arguably the city’s toniest shopping block off Michigan Avenue, the mayor pointedly said she’s concerned when a shooting happens anywhere in the city.
Lightfoot also diminished the musical success of Weekly, whose rap videos have received millions of page views. “My understanding of that is, this was an individual who fancies himself a rapper but is also a member of a gang,” she said. “There’s been an ongoing conflict between his gang and another.”
Fourth police officer shot in a week this morning; mayor Lightfoot calls to check on him: The officer and his partner were responding to a domestic violence call and at one point the suspect opened fire, striking the officer in the leg. The officer is hospitalized, authorities said. During an unrelated news conference today, the mayor said, “I spoke with him (the officer) this morning, and as you would expect, he’s tired and suffering from the trauma he received but in very good spirits.” She also called on the city to pray for the injured officer’s recovery, saying it’s “the latest searing reminder” of the dangers law enforcement officers face daily. More details on the shooting here.
With 2020 on pace to be the worst year in a decade for Black suicides, Cook County officials sound alarm on yet another ‘horrifying’ pandemic: The Tribune’s Alice Yin has the details here.
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House Speaker Michael Madigan speaks Aug. 17, 2017, in Springfield. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)
Six progressive first-term aldermen today added their voices to those calling for Michael Madigan to step down as the Illinois House speaker and head of the state’s Democratic Party amid allegations ComEd tried to influence him by bribing people in his orbit. Madigan has not been charged with a crime and has denied any wrongdoing.
Ald. Matt Martin, 47th; Andre Vasquez, 40th; Maria Hadden, 49th; Byron Sigcho-Lopez, 25th; Rossana Rodriguez Sanchez, 33rd; and Daniel La Spata, 1st, released a statement saying they “feel strongly that our current circumstances require a change in leadership.”
Asked about the aldermen’s statement today, Lightfoot said there’s a need to “have a serious conversation as Democrats at every level about what we stand for, and I think people are having that conversation.”
Lightfoot last month said if the allegations involving Madigan are true, he should step down. Read the full story here. (John Byrne)
ComEd pleads not guilty in federal bribery case; prosecution to be deferred for three years: The Tribune’s Megan Crepeau and Jason Meisner have the details on perfunctory court hearing for the utility here.
U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth participates in a reenacted swearing-in with then-Vice President Joe Biden in the Old Senate Chamber at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 3, 2017. (Aaron P. Bernstein / Getty Images)
“Confidants of Joe Biden believe his choices for vice president have narrowed to Sen. Kamala Harris and Susan Rice — and would be surprised if he picks anyone else,” Hans Nichols and Alexi McCammond with Axios write in a piece out today.
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They note: “Biden’s brain trust — Steve Ricchetti, Mike Donilon and Ted Kaufman — skew older and have deep and trusting relationships with many of the Obama and Clinton veterans who are advocating for Harris,” the California senator who was part of the crowded field of Democratic presidential hopefuls and famously sparred with Biden during a debate last summer.
Rice, who served as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations in the Obama-Biden White House, “is getting a big bounce from Obama people who claim her presence on the ticket would guarantee the enthusiastic presence of both Barack and Michelle Obama on the campaign trail,” Axios notes.
Biden won’t be traveling to scaled-back Democratic National Convention in Milwaukee: Citing concerns about the coronavirus, Biden acknowledged he wouldn’t be flying to the party’s nominating convention that had once promised an economic boost to Milwaukee and parts of northern Illinois but like so many events have been drastically rolled back out of health concerns.
“I think it’s the right thing to do. I’ve wanted to set an example as to how we should respond individually to this crisis,” Biden said today at a fundraiser.
Several outlets are reporting that he’ll remain in his home state of Delaware and accept the nomination there. Organizers of both the Democratic and Republican presidential nominating conventions are orchestrating largely virtual events that are TV-friendly. Biden offered an upbeat view of his party’s nominating festivities: “I think it’s going to be an exciting convention.” The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has more details here.
Asked about Biden not going to Milwaukee this afternoon Gov. Pritzker said, “I always love to see Joe Biden … and I’m sorry that he’s not coming. On the other hand, I completely understand. There are lots of people who are not traveling to states with higher positivity rates because of the danger associated with them.” Wisconsin has seen an uptick in cases – so much so that Mayor Lightfoot has enacted a quarantine order that requires anyone arriving in Chicago from that state to self-isolate for 14 days. Pritzker has two homes in Wisconsin.
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The Democratic National Convention starts Aug. 17 while the Republican convention starts Aug. 24.
From the ‘not giving up’ files: Michelle Obama supporters urge Biden to pick former first lady as running mate — The Hill has the story here.
Kanye West files to get on Wisconsin ballot as presidential candidate for The Birthday Party in November: Read The Associated Press story here.
Other campaign news: Mayor Lightfoot names Jane Kim Funk as new chair of campaign committee Lightfoot for Chicago: Lightfoot’s campaign offered this bio of Kim Funk, who was an early supporter of Lightfoot’s mayoral bid: Chicago resident for 12 years; attorney, vice president and shareholder at Xact Data Discovery, an international eDiscovery, data management and managed review services; Asian American Bar Association of Chicago board member; co-founder of Decisis, an educational, legal nonprofit.
It was previously chaired by attorney, activist and longtime fixture in Chicago’s political scene, Michael Bauer who died in 2019 after a long illness.
The next mayoral election is 2023.
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Twitter @byldonovan


chicagotribune--2020-08-05--Waukegan woman charged with animal cruelty after more than 100 cats, dead and alive, recovered from

Waukegan woman charged with animal cruelty after more than 100 cats, dead and alive, recovered from home

Florip said all three counts were Class 3 felonies .
If convicted of all three , she could be sentenced @ @ @ @ @ years in prison , according to Illinois law .

A Waukegan woman who had 85 cats living in her home, along with 28 dead ones, in the 300 block of South Elmwood Avenue faces felony charges of animal cruelty.
Linnea Kohl, 54, surrendered Wednesday at the Waukegan Police Department where she was charged with three counts of aggravated cruelty to animals after a more than six-week police investigation, according to a police press release.
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Police Commander Joe Florip said the department received a complaint and on June 20 Animal Cruelty Control and the Neighborhood Policing Unit began an investigation.
Between June 20 and 27, officers and members of the neighborhood unit found numerous animals in and around the house. Investigators recovered 74 domestic cats and 11 feral cats, according to the release.
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The domestic animals were placed in almost 12 shelters or with rescue organizations, according to the release. The feral cats were examined by a veterinarian and relocated to three certified feral cat locations.
Along with the living animals, police found 28 dead cats and one dead squirrel in the house, the release said. Autopsies were done on three of the dead cats.
Based on the results of the investigation, the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office reviewed the case and issued a warrant for Kohl’s arrest Tuesday, according to the release.
Bail was set at $20,000 and Kohl was subsequently released on bond, according to Lake County jail officials. She is scheduled to appear in Lake County Court Friday, according to court records.
Attempts to reach Kohl for comment Wednesday were unsuccessful.
Florip said all three counts were Class 3 felonies. If convicted of all three, she could be sentenced to between one and nine years in prison, according to Illinois law.


chicagotribune--2020-08-05--Watch live: President Trump holds news conference

President Trump is holding a news conference at the White House .
Get the latest updates on COVID-19 in Illinois @ @

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chicagotribune--2020-08-05--New University of Chicago center will collect thousands of X-rays, CT scans to aid with COVID-19 res

New University of Chicago center will collect thousands of X-rays, CT scans to aid with COVID-19 research

The images — such as X-rays and CT scans — will be collected at the University of Chicago and be @ @ @ @ @ ’ ll be available to researchers around the world .
The mainly virtual center created @ @ @ @ @ National Institutes of Health expects to collect more than 10,000 images in its first three @ @

Arlene Ramirez, an MRI technologist, reviews a chest X-ray from a COVID-19 patient in the ICU on May 11, 2020, at St. Anthony Hospital. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)
University of Chicago Medicine will be home to a new, massive database of medical images from COVID-19 patients that researchers can use to better understand and fight the illness, with support from a $20 million federal grant.
The images — such as X-rays and CT scans — will be collected at the University of Chicago and be open source, meaning they’ll be available to researchers around the world. The mainly virtual center created under the contract with the National Institutes of Health expects to collect more than 10,000 images in its first three months.
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The database will speed up the sharing of research on COVID-19 and could help answer questions about how COVID-19 presents in the lungs as well as potential resurgences of the illness, said Maryellen Giger, a professor of radiology and medical physics at University of Chicago.
“We want to make available as much data as possible in the quickest amount of time,” Giger said. “Nothing like this exists yet.”
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Giger will lead the center along with officials from the American College of Radiology, the Radiological Society of North America and the American Association of Physicists in Medicine. The initiative also will involve researchers at 20 universities across the country.
Medical images are important because they can help with detection, diagnosis and monitoring of COVID-19. X-rays and CT scans of the lungs, for example, can help doctors determine the severity of the illness and decide on treatment.
Having a large number of curated, high-quality images also could help in the development of computer algorithms that could help radiologists better analyze images to determine diagnoses and treatments, Giger said.
“When you are working with a new disease and you have many, many examples of it, a computer can improve the effectiveness and efficiency,” Giger said.
For example, one of the research projects that will be overseen by the center’s executive advisory committee will look into how to use machine learning to distinguish pneumonia that’s not related to COVID-19 from pneumonia that is, Giger said.
Though the center will initially focus on COVID-19, it may eventually look at other diseases as well. The $20 million federal two-year contract could be renewed for $50 million over five years.
The database will be a “critical tool” in helping doctors and scientists better understand COVID-19, said Dr. Etta Pisano, chief research officer with the American College of Radiology, in a news release.
“This knowledge, and the technological advancements the registry can enable, will ultimately help providers save lives,” Pisano said.


chicagotribune--2020-08-05--West Side man facing charges in weekend double homicide in Lawndale

A license plate reader showed that the shooters ’ Volkswagen was registered to Carpenter .
Police found the SUV at @ @ @ @ @ Lockwood Avenue , and after watching him enter it , arrested him about 10:40 a.m. @ @ @ @ @ .
At the time of his arrest , Carpenter was wearing items that can be @ @ @ @ @ taken at the shooting scene , according to prosecutors , including red and black Air @ @ @ @ @ watch .

A South Austin man was held without bail Wednesday on murder charges in an attack in the Lawndale neighborhood that left two men dead over the weekend, authorities said.
Ladelle Carpenter, 24, of the 700 block of North Lockwood, was charged in connection with a fatal shooting on Aug. 2, 2020. (Chicago Police Department)
Ladelle Carpenter, 24, of the 700 block of North Lockwood Avenue, was arrested this week in connection with the slayings just before 6 a.m. Sunday in the 2300 block of South Kolin Avenue. Darren Sims and Quincy Ferguson, both 28, were killed in the shooting.
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The day of the attack, Carpenter drove his blue Volkswagen Touareg SUV around the block three times, stopping at an alley that leads to where the victims were sitting in a parked Chevrolet Cruze, prosecutors said, citing video surveillance. Carpenter and another person — whose identity is not known by investigators— put guns in their waistbands and entered the alley.
In the video, Carpenter and the other person are seen opening the doors of the Chevrolet, and flashes are then seen on the video, according to prosecutors.
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After that, video shows Carpenter and the other person run back to their SUV and a person inside the SUV is seen opening the front passenger door before they drive away, prosecutors said.
About 6 a.m., officers were called to Kolin Avenue after the city’s gunshot detection system reported shots fired. Officers discovered the two wounded men unresponsive inside the Chevrolet. Both had gunshot wounds to the head and body.
Police found 27 shell casings from two guns at the scene.
A license plate reader showed that the shooters’ Volkswagen was registered to Carpenter. Police found the SUV at Carpenter’s home on Lockwood Avenue, and after watching him enter it, arrested him about 10:40 a.m. Tuesday, according to prosecutors. At the time of his arrest, Carpenter was wearing items that can be seen on the surveillance video taken at the shooting scene, according to prosecutors, including red and black Air Jordan shoes and a gold watch.
Court records show that Carpenter pleaded guilty to drug charges filed in 2016, serving two years in the Illinois Department of Corrections. In 2014, Carpenter was sentenced to three years in prison after he pled guilty to violating probation in a 2013 case in which he originally was given two years probation after pleading guilty to burglary.
Chicago Tribune’s William Lee and Megan Crepeau contributed.
sczyzon@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-08-05--Former Lake sheriff resentenced to more than 12 years in prison; COVID-19 petition fails

“ Just looking at Mr. Buncich ” in the courtroom , Connor said , it is evident that his prison @ @ @ @ @ on him .
Buncich has lost weight because he only eats food offered through the @ @ @ @ @ the cafeteria because – given his background in law enforcement – he ’ s scared @ @ @ @ @ , she said .

Ex Lake County Sheriff, John Buncich, right, walks to the Federal courthouse in Hammond with his attorney Bryan Truitt for his sentencing in January 2018. (Suzanne Tennant / Chicago Tribune)
Former Lake County Sheriff John Buncich, wearing his orange prison jump suit, stared ahead Wednesday in Hammond’s federal court as he was resentenced to 12 years and 6 months in prison on federal corruption charges.
The Wednesday hearing brought the disgraced law enforcement officer back to Lake County from a federal prison in Springfield, Missouri, in front of Judge James Moody to reconsider his prison sentence.
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In January 2018, Buncich, 74, was sentenced to 15 years and 8 months in federal prison after he was convicted of bribery and wire fraud, among other charges, for soliciting bribes from county tow operators.
Inside the jury assembly room of the Hammond courthouse, 11 visitors sat six feet apart wearing masks to watch the resentencing hearing streamed on four televisions spread across the room.
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When Buncich entered the court room, those watching straightened up. One man leaned in closer and whispered, “Whoa.” Buncich, walking slightly hunched over, has lost 120 pounds while in prison, and he looked frail as he slowly lowered himself into a seat.
Former Lake County Sheriff John Buncich (Craig Lyons / Post-Tribune)
“I didn’t recognize him,” said Lake County Councilman Alfredo Menchaca, D-Gary, who was in the audience.
After Buncich filed an appeal, the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued its opinion in June affirming his conviction on charges of bribery and wire fraud, but vacating convictions on three counts of wire fraud, which the government admitted there was insufficient evidence to convict. The appeals judges said Moody should resentence Buncich.
The U.S. Supreme Court denied Buncich’s request to have his case revisited by the court of appeals in November.
Moody announced Wednesday that Buncich’s sentence will be reduced by 37 months, and with credit for time served, he will remain in prison for about 10 more years. Moody said he reached the sentencing decision based on Buncich’s greed in committing the crime and his “blind obedience to corruption.”
“It reflects the seriousness of the crime,” Moody said. “The citizens of Lake County deserve better.”
In a statement, U.S. Attorney Thomas Kirsch II said Buncich “betrayed the public trust when he took bribes for personal gain.”
“The sentence imposed today should send a strong message of deterrence to others who might consider engaging in the same illegal conduct as Buncich. We will continue to be vigilant and aggressive in our efforts to root out public corruption wherever it exists across the district,” Kirsch said in the statement.
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Buncich, former Chief Timothy Downs and William Szarmach, of C.S.A Towing, were named in a multicount indictment in November 2016 alleging a towing scheme where the sheriff accepted bribes in the form of thousands of dollars in cash and donations to his campaign fund, Buncich Boosters, according to court records.
Downs pleaded guilty in December 2016, according to court documents, and Szarmach pleaded guilty in July 2017. Both agreed to testify against Buncich during his trial.
Buncich’s attorney Kerry C. Connor, of Highland, asked Moody to consider resentencing him to time-served and supervised release coupled with home detention.
“Just looking at Mr. Buncich” in the courtroom, Connor said, it is evident that his prison term has taken a toll on him. Buncich has lost weight because he only eats food offered through the commissary to avoid eating in the cafeteria because – given his background in law enforcement – he’s scared to eat with other inmates, she said.
Buncich has various diseases and conditions, including hypertension and pre-diabetes, and he recently had back surgery, Connor said. Given his medical condition and age, Buncich would die if he caught COVID-19 in prison – and the Federal Bureau of Prisons has had challenges containing the virus in its prisons, Connor said.
Continuing to serve his sentence in prison “would likely be a life sentence” for Buncich, Connor said. she said she would appeal Wednesday’s ruling.
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Assistant U.S. Attorney Philip Benson said that while the pandemic has impacted daily life the facts of the case against Buncich haven’t changed.
Benson said that Buncich made a conscious decision to pocket money in exchange for towing contracts. During trial, Benson said prosecutors highlighted Buncich’s attitude as a “law and order” sheriff while engaging in misconduct with others in his department.
“This wasn’t a bad decision. This was a bad administration, which Buncich led,” Benson said.
Addressing COVID concerns, Benson said data shows there are three cases of the virus in the Springfield prison. “Statisically,” Buncich would be more likely to catch COVID in Lake County “moving about” than he does in prison, Benson said.
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Before he was resentenced, Buncich’s voice was weak as he read from a prepared statement. Buncich said he has spent his “many long days” in prison “reflecting on (his) transgressions.” Prison has “taken a toll on (him) physically and emotionally,” he said.
When he addressed the “considerable hurt and anguish” he has brought upon his family, friends and colleagues, Buncich’s voice cracked and he paused. Moody told him there were tissues on the table.
“I humbly appeal to you, your honor, and the court for mercy,” Buncich said.
Moody denied Connor’s request for supervised release and home detention.
“The defendant has shown - except for today - very little remorse for his conduct,” Moody said.
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John Blount, Buncich’s administrative assistant for eight years, said he’s written weekly to his old boss and friend. He was stunned when he saw him on the federal court monitor.
“I couldn’t believe the weight loss and his voice was very weak. He’s going to be 75 in December,” Blount, of Griffith, said. “The facility he’s in has no air conditioning, and it gets uncomfortable in Central Missouri.”
Nikki Byrd, a retired Lake County corrections officer, said she worked at the jail during Buncich’s time as sheriff. Speaking through tears, Byrd said she came to the resentencing to support Buncich.
“This has been rough on people who know him,” Byrd said. “The good outweighs the bad.”
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Holding her keys – with a slightly worn out Lake County Sheriff Department key chain that names Buncich sheriff – Byrd said she was surprised to see he had lost so much weight. Byrd said she had hoped Buncich would be sentenced to home detention.
Byrd said she writes to Buncich three times a month, and that they talk over the phone. When they talk, it’s clear “he’s been through a lot,” she said.
“He’s broken. His spirit is broken, and so are the people who really know him,” Buncich said.


chicagotribune--2020-08-05--The school year is starting with many students at home. Some companies are throwing working parents

The school year is starting with many students at home. Some companies are throwing working parents a lifeline.

“ It ’ s tough , especially when I have meetings , ” said Hampton , who will be working @ @ @ @ @ the end of the year .
“ They like to make little pop-ins and say @ @ @ @ @ meeting .
But fortunately , everyone that I work with has similar circumstances and they @ @ @ @ @ .
”

The LaMonica family — Amelia, 9, from left, Liliana, 6, Gina and Phil — at their home in Park Ridge on July 27, 2020. Four months into the pandemic, child care is a growing challenge for working parents and the companies that employ them. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)
When the state issued its stay-at-home order in March, Gina LaMonica, 39, a partner with Chicago law firm Perkins Coie, had just returned from a work trip.
Overnight, the COVID-19 pandemic turned her Park Ridge home into an office and a school as she and her husband juggled their careers and the care of their two young daughters. Worlds collided, work shifted to all hours of the day and night, and somehow, they made it to the summer, exhausted and fully employed.
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“It was very difficult,” LaMonica said. “Those were long days.”
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For working parents like LaMonica, the pending start of the school year, which brings the anxiety of new teachers, schedules and courses under even the best of circumstances, is looming as a major source of stress.
A growing list of companies are pushing office reopenings to 2021 and many school districts, including Chicago Public Schools, are nixing even a part-time return to the classroom, portending an ongoing work-life family mashup that threatens to derail both career and childhood development.
“It is not sustainable to monitor their schooling at the same time that you’re working full time,” said Cornelia Grumman, education director at the McCormick Foundation, which focuses on funding support for early childhood development programs.
[ CPS backtracks and moves to all-remote learning for fall, but officials say they won’t be ‘cobbling things together’ like last spring ]
With most child care centers closed during the pandemic — some perhaps permanently — companies are offering everything from nanny stipends to online activity clubs to keep employees’ kids engaged and parents productive. Flexible work schedules have become the new norm, as parents shift between their caregiver, math helper and rainmaker roles throughout the extended day.
Tech giant Google recently announced it is pushing back a return to the office until July 2021, in part to help parents plan for remote schooling in the fall and beyond. Uber is also giving corporate employees the option to work from home through June, along with a $500 stipend for home office equipment.
Chicago-area companies are grappling with the COVID-19 child care crisis, but it is a work in progress.
CDW, the Lincolnshire-based information technology products company, has about 4,200 employees in the Chicago area, the vast majority of whom are working from home.
About 300 employees continue to work at CDW’s distribution warehouse in Vernon Hills, but the adjacent CDW@Play child care center run by Bright Horizons remains closed, leaving some working parents without a place to bring their children.
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“Like other things, we’re still trying to figure out what the best plan is for that,” said Liz Connelly, chief human resources officer at CDW.
[ Parent opposition helps tip CPS toward an all-remote start: ‘A lot of stress and anxiety ... could’ve been avoided if we had just made this decision sooner’ ]
In June, CDW launched a virtual summer camp for employees’ children. The camp, staffed by CDW volunteers, features live events and on-demand videos guiding campers through cooking, sports, yoga, crafts and other activities.
More than 2,000 CDW family members are attending the virtual camp, which runs through August, Connelly said.
Brittney Hampton, 33, a sales manager assistant at CDW, shifted from a downtown office to her South Side home when the pandemic hit in March. She’s been working from home with her husband and two children — a 3½-year-old son and a 10-year-old daughter, who attended a magnet school remotely in the spring.
Hampton, whose husband has continued to work at his Chicago office during the pandemic, relied on her retired parents for in-home child care assistance. She said the CDW online camp has helped entertain her kids, but with her daughter expected to begin fifth grade on an e-learning schedule adopted by Chicago Public Schools, the fall promises to be complicated.
“It’s tough, especially when I have meetings,” said Hampton, who will be working from home through at least the end of the year. “They like to make little pop-ins and say hi to everyone on the meeting. But fortunately, everyone that I work with has similar circumstances and they just take it in stride.”
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[ ‘Every choice is a sacrifice’: Alternative school options see surge of interest as COVID-19 prompts districts, including CPS, to go remote ]
Closed child care centers like the one for CDW families may reflect a bigger problem as offices gradually bring back workers in the months ahead.
Illinois licenses about 10,000 child care centers. All of them were shut down by the state’s stay-at-home order in March, but some were allowed to resume operations with an emergency license to serve essential workers.
Last month, Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced $270 million in funding to help child care centers reopen, but it may not be enough. Fewer than 1 in 5 centers nationwide expect to survive longer than a year, according to a study released July 13 by the National Association for the Education of Young Children.
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“The majority of early child care programs in Illinois operate as small businesses,” Grumman said. “You’re already seeing a lot of closures across the state of folks that just can’t make it work.”
Massachusetts-based Bright Horizons has 43 child care centers in Illinois. The company declined to say how many of them remain open.
The company offers a backup care service allowing businesses to provide employees with emergency child care at a subsidized rate — either at a center or in-home — when school closes or a nanny cancels. Demand for the in-home service has skyrocketed during the pandemic, said Kristen Raymaakers, a Bright Horizons spokeswoman.
With child care centers closed and parents wary of letting strangers in their homes, many companies have expanded the benefit so that employees can hire a relative or friend for in-home care and receive reimbursement, Raymaakers said.
In June, Fifth Third Bank began offering employees 30 days of subsidized child support this year, either in-home or at a care center, through Bright Horizons’ backup care program.
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The Cincinnati-based bank, which has 186 branches and more than 3,000 employees in the Chicago area, hasn’t announced a return to the office yet. About 1,300 employees work at branches and another 300 in the bank’s suburban Rosemont headquarters, while the other 1,400 work remotely, bank spokesman Larry Magnesen said.
In July, Fifth Third “reloaded” yearly sick time for employees to their full 56 hours for the balance of 2020 and added five vacation days for 2021.
“People ended up using the vacation and sick days to stay home with their kids,” Magnesen said.
Jennifer Svendsen, 41, branch manager of Fifth Third Bank’s Fox Valley Villages branch in Aurora, has used personal days to care for her 10- and 8-year-old daughters.
She and her husband, a corporal with the DuPage County sheriff’s office, have been working at their respective offices throughout the pandemic. Svendsen enlisted her mother to help watch their daughters at their Montgomery home during remote schooling in the spring.
On Monday, Svendsen learned that Lakewood Creek Elementary School in Montgomery, where her kids are entering fifth and third grades, is starting Aug. 19 with a fully remote schedule. That means more studying around the kitchen table for two to three hours each evening, after the workday is done, a “really tough” second job, Svendsen said.
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“I’m scrambling to figure out what I’m going to do,” Svendsen said. “I’m really disappointed. I was shooting for the in-person learning with as much protection as possible — masks and social distancing. But I don’t think school districts want the liability.”
A July survey of 700 parents conducted by Homes.com found 82% report they are unprepared to resume at-home learning if schools do not reopen. Nearly two-thirds of parents said they struggled with job issues because of the added responsibility of supervising their children’s learning.
Tami Simon, a human resources adviser at Segal, a Washington, D.C.-based consulting firm, said there is no one-size-fits-all answer to solving the child care crisis for employees during COVID-19.
Condensed workweeks, flexible schedules and temporary shifts from full- to part-time — without adversely affecting career trajectory — are among the solutions employers are considering, along with job sharing, Simon said.
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Companies are looking at upping child care subsidies, creating support groups for parents and facilitating parent pods, where families jointly hire a tutor and kids go from house to house for ad hoc classes, Simon said.
But with so much uncertainty surrounding the pandemic, she said flexibility should be the guiding principle for companies.
“The No. 1 thing employees value is flexibility — to be able to know they can deal with whatever comes their way and they’re not going to get in trouble by their employer,” Simon said.
Lana McKenna, 44, managing director for BMO Harris Commercial Bank and a veteran remote worker, believes organization can help parents handle the pandemic.
McKenna has divided her workdays between her Westmont home and the bank’s Chicago office since the birth of her first child in 2013. She and her husband, a suburban insurance executive, worked exclusively from home in the spring, while their two sons attended a private Downers Grove grade school remotely.
BMO provided up to 15 days of paid time off to all employees during the first phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, to support family and child care. McKenna used some of that time at the onset of the pandemic to organize a tight schedule for her family on a color-coded calendar.
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Items marked in red indicated someone needed “alone time” to complete a task. Also written into the calendar was “outside time,” a necessity for both kids and parents.
“There were times that it was raining outside, but no lightning or thunder, and we both had a conference call,” she said. “I said ‘put on your raincoat and rain boots and get outside and go make mud pies.’ Thank goodness we have two little boys and they were more than happy to oblige.”
McKenna is back to splitting time between home and her office and is planning to send their 5- and 6-year-old sons back to nearly full-time classroom learning this fall, an option the family chose over e-learning.
The decision was driven by a “risk-reward” analysis after a challenging spring under one roof, she said.
“I recognize I’m a much better banker than a teacher,” McKenna said. “I fully appreciate everything that our teachers are doing for our kids by taking on those two jobs.”
Seattle-based law firm Perkins Coie has about 250 employees in its Chicago office. Most employees have been working from home since March and have the option to continue to do so through at least the end of the year, said Jennifer Bluestein, chief talent officer at Perkins Coie.
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To accommodate remote working during the pandemic, the firm doubled from 20 to 40 the number of days employees may use the backup care benefit through Bright Horizons, Bluestein said. The plan gives employees $100 a day to hire an in-home child care provider of their choice.
LaMonica, who specializes in white collar defense, and her husband Phil, a truck leasing executive, operated in shifts during the spring, alternating between work and overseeing the e-learning curriculum for their daughters, rising public school fourth and first graders.
This week, with a resurgence of COVID-19 cases in Illinois, LaMonica decided to opt for more remote learning in the fall after consulting with a pediatric pulmonologist treating her younger daughter for respiratory issues.
She worries about everything from the loss of social interaction for her kids to keeping up with her work, but vows to “power through it” as they did in the spring.
“I try to keep myself from thinking if this is sustainable in the long term, because you can get overwhelmed,” LaMonica said. “But we’re all in the same boat and it’s going to be tough.”
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rchannick@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-08-05--Cook County teen added, then removed from statewide COVID-19 death toll, highlighting corrections in

Cook County teen added, then removed from statewide COVID-19 death toll, highlighting corrections in daily data release

Statewide , Arnold said there have been “ just over 100″ instances of a death being attributed to the coronavirus @ @ @ @ @ died of something else , resulting in the death being later removed from the state @ @ @ @ @ , the information the state provides can ’ t be independently verified because of the @ @ @ @ @ health privacy rules .

A teenager from Cook County was added Tuesday to the statewide total number of deaths reported by the Department of Public Health, suggesting he was one of more than 4,900 Cook County residents who have died from the coronavirus since the start of the pandemic.
But the teen didn’t die from COVID-19. He was added to the list erroneously, representatives of both state and local agencies said Wednesday — one of about 100 instances of deaths that at first were wrongfully attributed to the coronavirus, then removed from state data after further review, according to officials.
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Natalia Derevyanny, a spokeswoman for the Cook County medical examiner’s office, said that five months into the global pandemic, this is the first time she’s had to phone Melaney Arnold, a spokeswoman for the Illinois Department of Public Health, about a death being mistakenly added to the running total.
“This is the first time it’s happened,” Derevyanny said.
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As of Wednesday, Cook County has had 4,904, deaths attributable to COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic, including 2,793 in Chicago. As of Wednesday, the state has confirmed 7,573 people have died from the coronavirus statewide.
Statewide, Arnold said there have been “just over 100″ instances of a death being attributed to the coronavirus when the person in fact died of something else, resulting in the death being later removed from the state’s data. However, the information the state provides can’t be independently verified because of the way the state interprets federal health privacy rules.
In an email, Arnold said the agency “does not provide information that could lead to the identification for any individual/death, which would include the date of death.”
Arnold would not say specifically why the teenager was removed from the state’s list, noting only that “additional information has been reported” to the state health department.
She provided the following examples of reasons why an entry may later need to be removed: identification of a duplicated case; additional information from a death certificate; further investigation by a local health department or coroner; and data input error.
Arnold also said the state health department has been reporting numbers as they come in, because of demand for immediate information, and that’s led to corrections being needed as more is found out about each death.
“This is not how public health typically reports data. Data are checked and verified before being reported so that you don’t see this adjustment of numbers,” she said. “This is an unprecedented time.”
The department tries to “ensure data quality in several ways,” Arnold said.
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Methods include reviewing death certificates, communicating with local health departments that are keeping track of the number of COVID-19 deaths in their counties, reviewing data for duplicates, missing information or other data concerns, and speaking with coroners or medical examiners, she said.
kdouglas@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @312BreakingNews


chicagotribune--2020-08-05--A B&B in Michigan got online hate for flying the Confederate flag. It was Norwegian.

The couple wrote in a July 20 post on The Nordic Pineapple ’ s Facebook page : “ We love @ @ @ @ @ Johns community and are heartbroken to have had to make this decision .
Given the @ @ @ @ @ idea that people are judging us based on the misconception of the national Norwegian flag @ @ @ @ @ this is what is best for our family and our Inn .
”

Kjersten and Greg Offenecker, owners of a Civil War-era mansion turned bed and breakfast, The Nordic Pineapple, in St. Johns, Mich., in July 2020. The owners removed a Norwegian flag outside of their business after being accused of promoting racism from those who think it was a Confederate flag. (Matthew Dae Smith/Lansing State Journal)
ST. JOHNS, Mich — A couple who came under attack for displaying the Norwegian flag outside their mid-Michigan inn because some observers mistook it for a Confederate flag have found another way to show their Scandinavian pride.
Greg and Kjersten Offenbecker, who own The Nordic Pineapple in St. Johns, outside Lansing, took Norway’s flag down last month after being falsely accused of promoting racism, the Lansing State Journal reported.
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They are replacing it with a vimple, a type of long, pennant-shaped flag that can be seen displaying various designs across Scandinavia. The Offenbecker’s vimple will have the colors of the Norwegian flag — a red background with a blue cross superimposed on a white cross — in a nod to Kjersten Offenbecker’s grandfather who was born in Norway.
The couple wrote in a July 20 post on The Nordic Pineapple’s Facebook page: “We love being members of the St Johns community and are heartbroken to have had to make this decision. Given the current cultural climate and the idea that people are judging us based on the misconception of the national Norwegian flag vs. the Confederate flag, this is what is best for our family and our Inn.”
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“It’s really hard when you’re on the receiving end of the hate,” she told the State Journal. “It just got to be a lot.”
The colors of the Norwegian flag are similar to the Confederate flag, but the patterns and symbols are different. The Confederate flag is red with a blue “X” containing white stars.
After they removed the Norwegian flag last month, people around the globe contacted them and urged them to put it back up, Kjersten Offenbecker said. Many suggested different ways to display the flag. Someone in Norway suggested a vimple, which isn’t an official national flag.
The flag of Norway.
Offenbecker said they are often displayed as an alternative to Norway's flag, which traditionally is only displayed during certain times of the day.
“Apparently, when you drive through the countryside this is what you see,” she said.
“When you look at it, it has the feel of the Norwegian flag,” she added. “I’m sure we’ll get a lot of questions about what it is but no one will ever make a judgment about it that’s incorrect.”
The couple, who are raising two Black children, said they are have done their best to help their children navigate racism in America and the aftermath of George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis.
“It’s more than this one instance for Black people,” Kjersten Offenbecker said. “It’s not just this one person. This was the straw that broke the proverbial back.”