chicagotribune--2020-04-22--Analysis: Expect college football to take a slow road back

Fast-forward to the fall , when the hope is many businesses and routine parts of daily life will be operating @ @ @ @ @ back to business as usual .
That doesn ’ t mean colleges will be rushing @ @ @ @ @ .
If they were first to shut down , they could also be among the @ @ @ @ @ will be university presidents , not the NCAA , making those decisions .

While professional sports leagues can ponder plans to isolate their athletes from the new coronavirus and have them play in unusual, even secluded places, college sports have no such option.
Pro sports leagues can get creative with solutions to save their multibillion-dollar businesses. College sports will take a slower road back.
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"The most at-risk sport of starting up again, in my opinion, is collegiate athletics," said A.J. Maestas, the CEO of Navigate Research, which consults with professional sports leagues and college conferences. "There is less of an incentive and less alignment with the ultimate mission of the entity they work at, live at. That fund them."
The commissioners of the 10 Bowl Subdivision conferences made it clear to Vice President Mike Pence last week: There cannot be college sports played if campuses are not open. If university leaders do not deem it safe for students to return to classrooms and dorms, locker rooms and practice fields will also remain closed.
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As big as the business of college sports is, it is dwarfed by the business of higher education. For example: The University of Alabama’s budget in fiscal 2018 was $1.03 billion. Its athletic budget in 2018-19 was $164 million.
"You think of all the stakeholders and constituents in the collegiate space and all the missions they're meant to serve in. This sports thing is like 3% of their budget," Maestas said.
Colleges and universities, for the most part, have been quicker than governments in enacting measures to slow the spread of the virus. They sent students home, extended spring breaks and shifted to online classes weeks before widespread bans of large gatherings and stay-at-home orders by governors and mayors.
Even before the NCAA canceled its basketball tournaments and spring sports March 12, schools were shuttering campuses.
Fast-forward to the fall, when the hope is many businesses and routine parts of daily life will be operating again, even if not back to business as usual. That doesn’t mean colleges will be rushing to get students on campus. If they were first to shut down, they could also be among the last to reopen and it will be university presidents, not the NCAA, making those decisions.
Schools would take a significant financial hit by continuing to operate online only, but balance that against the legal and ethical liability they could face by being the catalyst for reigniting an outbreak.
"I think they do have to be conservative in how they approach this," said attorney Tim Nevius, a former college baseball player and NCAA investigator who now represents and advocates for college athletes.
Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 24 A camera crew member works in an empty stadium during a match between Flamengo and Potuguesa as part of the Rio State Championship 2020, to be played behind closed doors at Maracana Stadium on March 14, 2020 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Bruna Prado / Getty Images)
If, come September, the students are physically going back to school, even then there will be hurdles to clear for football to start.
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"Large gatherings of people are going to be the last thing we check off the box," Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said last week when asked about Ohio State football games.
So play without fans?
“It isn’t appropriate for us to play college football without fans. If that were the case, it would mean there would be major reservations about group gatherings,” Northwestern athletic director Jim Phillips said on “The Paul Finebaum Show,” echoing a sentiment that is also becoming popular among administrators.
Commissioners and athletic directors have stressed the importance of collaboration across conferences and starting any season at once. But the public health crisis is not playing out the same everywhere. Within 24 hours this week the president of the University of Connecticut said he was personally pessimistic about the return of fall sports while University of Missouri System president Mun Choi said he expects in-person classes to resume this fall.
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In professional sports, players are well-paid and unionized. Essentially, they are business partners with the leagues. Players have to sign off on any return-to-play plan, and they might be motivated to take some risk to get paid.
In college sports, the relationship between the players and the schools, administrators and coaches is almost paternal.
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"In framing it that way it restricts athletes' rights," Nevius said. "So it prevents them from being considered employees. It reduces their economic rights. It frames things so that the athletes also think that they are in this caretaker environment so they have to rely upon the coaches and the schools to advance their rights."
"But that is not always the case with the big business of college sports," Nevius added.
Later this week, the NCAA is scheduled to reveal some details of a plan to begin allowing college athletes to be compensated for use of their names, images and likenesses. The earliest it would go into effect is 2021-22.
Yes, college football players with professional aspirations have much to gain by playing. But not paychecks. And their scholarships are good whether they play or not.
“College sports are theoretically intended to exist to enhance that academic experience of its athletes,” Nevius said. “And the NCAA repeatedly says that publicly and in defense of lawsuits as well. We’ve seen over time decisions made that completely contradict that. This is another test with respect to that philosophy.”


chicagotribune--2020-04-22--Notre Dame women’s basketball coach Muffet McGraw retires after 33 seasons and 2 national championsh

Notre Dame women’s basketball coach Muffet McGraw retires after 33 seasons and 2 national championships

`` Winning that championship in Columbus and seeing all those alums .
Forty women out on the stage celebrating with @ @ @ @ @ in 1990 or 2009 — they were all together , '' she said .
`` @ @ @ @ @ that moment that was one of my favorite memories . ''

Secure in her status as a college basketball icon and tired of silent symbols of progress, Muffet McGraw spoke her mind. The Notre Dame women’s coach pointedly voiced her bubbling frustration during last year’s Final Four.
“How are these young women looking up and seeing someone that looks like them, preparing them for the future?” she said April 4, 2019, in Tampa, Fla. “We don’t have enough female role models. We don’t have enough visible women leaders. We don’t have enough women in power. When you look at men’s basketball and 99% of the jobs go to men, why shouldn’t 100 or 99% of the jobs in women’s basketball go to women? Maybe it’s because we only have 10% women athletic directors in Division I. People hire people who look like them. And that’s the problem."
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Women in many fields understood McGraw’s point all too well. The monologue went viral, and her devotion to maintaining an all-female staff was met with some criticism.
But she didn’t soften her stance or backpedal, as so many do.
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McGraw was a living embodiment of what she hoped to see — powerful women leading young women. Winning on the court is only part of McGraw’s legacy. Unapologetically promoting other women will be her greatest victory.
McGraw, 64, shocked the college basketball world Wednesday, announcing her retirement after 33 years as Fighting Irish coach.
A Hall of Famer with two national championships, nine Final Four appearances and four AP coach of the year awards, the sport will be emptier without her. McGraw won 936 games, ranking sixth among Division I coaches, with 842 coming at Notre Dame.
“I am proud of what we have accomplished and I can turn the page to the next chapter in my life with no regrets, knowing that I gave it my best every day,” McGraw said in an online news conference.
It’s no surprise that an accomplished woman will follow in her footsteps. Niele Ivey, 42, a former Notre Dame player and assistant who spent last season on the staff of the NBA’s Memphis Grizzlies, was part of McGraw’s Final Four teams.
“Fortunately, she leaves behind an incredibly strong program with talented student athletes and coaches in the best possible condition,” athletic director Jack Swarbrick said. “Perhaps the greatest legacy is she leaves behind a successor she groomed.”
From crouching on the sideline during games in brightly colored heels to performing an impromptu Irish jig on the court after beating rival Connecticut in the 2019 Final Four, McGraw leaves the lasting image of a coach who cared about and mentored her players and elevated the women’s game. She conceded she will miss competing against UConn and coach Geno Auriemma, her foil.
“I love that rivalry; great for women’s basketball," she said. "Loved all those moments.”
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She served as an example on how to succeed through grit and silent resolve.
She joined the first girls team at her high school in suburban Philadelphia before playing college ball at St. Joseph’s, where her team had to wait until the men’s team finished before using the court.
She was a high school coach for two seasons, followed by two seasons as an assistant at Saint Joseph’s and five as head coach at Lehigh before Notre Dame hired her in 1987.
She built her own mystique under the Golden Dome and in the shadow of a prominent football program, which was no easy feat.
McGraw’s program cultivated a loyal following. She thanked the fans for standing by the team last season despite its 13-18 finish, her worst at Notre Dame and the the program’s first losing season since 1991-92. She was emotional after a blowout loss this season, saying she needed to “fix it.”
McGraw is one of five Division I men’s or women’s basketball coaches with at least 930 wins, nine Final Fours and multiple titles. She took her teams to seven national championship games and won it all in 2001 and 2018.
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That last title, won in Columbus, Ohio, featured one of the greatest Final Fours in the history of the women's tournament and is among her greatest memories.
“Winning that championship in Columbus and seeing all those alums. Forty women out on the stage celebrating with each other whether they graduated in 1990 or 2009 — they were all together,” she said. “Seeing those alums share in that moment that was one of my favorite memories.”
Coach Muffet McGraw celebrates after Notre Dame defeated Mississippi State in the final of the NCAA Women's Tournament on April 1, 2018, in Columbus, Ohio. (Ron Schwane/AP)
She joked Wednesday that she and her husband will consider 2018 — when the Irish beat Mississippi State on a buzzer-beater for the title — her final year.
McGraw returned, she said, because she knew it would be a down year and there was no honor in going out on top. She wanted one more season to ensure the program was headed in the right direction before stepping down.
As she was forced to pause as the nation copes with the coronavirus pandemic and sports has come to a halt, McGraw said her decision solidified.
“It was a great opportunity for me to sit back and see what’s life without basketball going to look like?” she said. “I thought it looked really good.”
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McGraw’s legacy is etched in stone.
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Like legendary Tennessee coach Pat Summit, who died in 2016, McGraw understood athletics could be a route for women to become successful leaders. She developed a no-nonsense reputation, and her opinions on issues outside of sports hold weight.
McGraw sent 20 players to the WNBA during her coaching career, including Skylar Diggins-Smith, Kayle McBride, Arike Ogunbowale and Ruth Riley. WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert played for McGraw at Lehigh.
“Coach McGraw is a giant in the game of women’s basketball,” Engelbert said. “I look forward to seeing the impact Muffet will continue to have as she embarks on her next chapter.”
McGraw isn’t finished making an impact. Indeed, she sounded as if she’s just getting started.
“I’m excited to promote women’s equality and speak on behalf of all women across the country,” she said. “I find I’ve turned into a real activist and I’m enjoying that.”
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Her fans will be listening to what she has to say next.
Associated Press contributed.


chicagotribune--2020-04-22--Jussie Smollett’s lawsuit alleging malicious prosecution is tossed by federal judge

Smollett , who is black and openly gay , told police he was attacked on a frigid night in downtown @ @ @ @ @ he was walking home after getting a sandwich at a Subway restaurant .
The men @ @ @ @ @ or a similar substance on him and hung a noose around his neck , he @ @ @

Actor Jussie Smollett leaves the Cook County Jail on March 16, 2022, after he was ordered to be released pending appeal of his conviction and 150-day sentence. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)
A federal judge on Wednesday dismissed a suit by former “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett alleging he was the victim of a malicious prosecution over his allegedly staged hate crime attack in January 2019.
U.S. District Court Judge Virginia Kendall ruled that Smollett’s claim against the city of Chicago and several police officers cannot go forward now that he’s been re-indicted by a special Cook County grand jury on charges stemming from the same incident.
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In her 15-page opinion, Kendall wrote that if the new criminal case — brought by special prosecutor Dan Webb in February — were to end in Smollett’s favor, he would be free to refile his suit.
But the judge indicated that such a claim would likely fail since police had plenty of evidence showing Smollett had staged the attack, including sworn statements from the phony attackers, brothers Abel and Ola Osundairo.
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“While Smollett alleges the statements were unreliable and self-serving, he ignores that there was additional evidence to corroborate the Osundairo Brothers’ statements, including suspicious texts between the parties and the deposit of a large check to Abel shortly before the attack,” the judge wrote.
Smollett, who is black and openly gay, told police he was attacked on a frigid night in downtown Chicago by two men as he was walking home after getting a sandwich at a Subway restaurant. The men shouted slurs, poured bleach or a similar substance on him and hung a noose around his neck, he told officers.
But the actor eventually turned from victim to suspect, and in a twist, police said that the entire incident was a hoax and that Smollett actually staged the assault from start to finish to bolster his career.
The initial criminal charges were abruptly dismissed by Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx’s office weeks later, a move that sparked national controversy and prompted the appointment of Webb to look into how the case was handled.
Webb’s special grand jury indicted Smollett in February on six counts of disorderly conduct alleging he lied to police about being the victim of the attack. Smollett has pleaded not guilty.
Meanwhile, the city has filed a lawsuit against Smollett seeking to recoup about $130,000 in police overtime expenses incurred during the investigation. That suit is also pending before Kendall in U.S. District Court.


chicagotribune--2020-04-22--Morgan Park’s Adam Miller officially signs with Illinois: ‘This is going to be the perfect setting f

Morgan Park’s Adam Miller officially signs with Illinois: ‘This is going to be the perfect setting for me’

“ I feel like this is my best option , ” Miller said .
“ This is important to me @ @ @ @ @ to be able to continue to go to my dream and make it to the @ @ @ @ @ it at home ?
My family can come to my games .
I ’ m @ @ @ @ @ like everything five minutes , 10 minutes away from me .

Adam Miller’s signing ceremony with Illinois on Wednesday had all the signs of taking place during a pandemic.
A video-call news conference. His mom experiencing technical difficulties setting up the call. Glitchy questions from reporters. A radio ad interrupting the ceremony.
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It wasn’t an ideal scenario for Miller’s big moment, but it was a significant day for Illinois.
“Now I’m Fighting Illini,” Miller said. “I’ve been one my whole life. Now I’m official.”
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Miller, a 6-foot-3 guard from Morgan Park, has soothed Illinois fans’ fears after he didn’t sign his national letter of intent on the first day players could do so earlier this month. He said he wanted to gather friends and family, which isn’t easy during a shelter-in-place order because of the coronavirus.
Miller, who is the No. 33 senior in the nation, according to the 247Sports.com composite rankings, can ease the transition if sophomore guard Ayo Dosunmu sticks to his decision to enter the NBA draft. Miller dismissed speculation that he would have gone elsewhere had Dosunmu stayed at Illinois.
“A lot of people said I wasn’t even going there if Ayo was coming back, but that didn’t (influence) my decision,” he said. “Me and Ayo played high school together. So I would have gladly played college basketball with him."
Miller, who recently was voted Mr. Basketball of Illinois for 2020, committed to Illinois on Nov. 21 at the Jordan Brand store in Chicago.
He joins guard Andre Curbelo and forward Coleman Hawkins in the 2020 class ranked No. 15 nationally, according to 247sports. Miller averaged 23.9 points as a senior, shooting 42% on 3-pointers.
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Illinois also lost guard Andres Feliz to graduation, and guards Alan Griffin and Tevian Jones transferred. Center Kofi Cockburn declared for the NBA draft as well but has not hired an agent and plans to receive feedback from NBA teams to determine whether his decision is permanent.
During his announcement Wednesday, Miller wore an Illinois shirt and sat a table in front of a wall with an “I” decal. Four young men stood behind him wearing Illinois gear, and he drew applause when he signed his letter of intent.
Miller’s work ethic stood out to Illinois coach Brad Underwood. He saw Miller perform an individual workout after a team workout.
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“He went on to win a state championship with Morgan Park that year, dominating on the defensive end in the title game," Underwood said Wednesday in a statement. "Adam has only continued to blossom and grow his game from there. He is an elite scorer, a multitalented two-play player with the ball in his hands, as a shooter with great range and with his defensive prowess. Adam is a winner.”
Attending Illinois felt right, Miller said.
“I feel like this is my best option,” Miller said. “This is important to me. If I was going to be able to continue to go to my dream and make it to the NBA, why not do it at home? My family can come to my games. I’m a small-city guy. I like everything five minutes, 10 minutes away from me.
"This is going to be a perfect setting for me. I’m going to be ready for everything.”


chicagotribune--2020-04-22--Watch live: President Trump and members of the coronavirus task force hold a press briefing

Watch live as members of the coronavirus task force provide an update on the coronavirus outbreak in a news briefing @ @ @ @ @ .
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chicagotribune--2020-04-22--Marc Silverman of ESPN 1000′s ‘Waddle & Silvy’ reveals he has cancer on the air. The response ‘blew

Marc Silverman of ESPN 1000′s ‘Waddle & Silvy’ reveals he has cancer on the air. The response ‘blew me away,’ he says.

“ My doctors have explained this to me : Lymphoma is different than a tumor , ” Silverman said .
@ @ @ @ @ nodes .
What stage 3 means is this it ’ s above and below the @ @ @ @ @ in my neck .
I have it in my groin .
Some people would only @ @ @ @ @ and armpit and that would be Stage 1 or 2 , depending .
But because @ @ @ @ @ and below my diaphragm , it ’ s Stage 3 .

Marc Silverman, as WMVP-AM 1000 “Waddle & Silvy” listeners long have known, is an emotional guy. Yet something about his recent cancer diagnosis has steeled him.
Silverman was among those surprised he didn’t tear up as he told his audience Tuesday about the swollen lymph nodes he discovered in his neck and then groin a few weeks ago and the subsequent doctor visits, bloodwork, tests and scans that led to discovering he has non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
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But in bed a few hours later, reading some of the texts and tweets he had received, the response got to him as almost nothing has since the first few days after learning just what he is up against.
“My wife was telling me something about the kids and she looked at me and said, ‘Are you crying?’ ” Silverman said by phone Wednesday.
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“She was surprised because I haven’t cried (lately). But you read that you do matter, that blew me away.”
THANK YOU!!
I am truly overwhelmed.
As the journey begins, we get back to sports & fun!
Check out @TWaddle87 & me on @ESPN1000, the @ESPNChicago app, and your smart speakers. pic.twitter.com/b4CJSmktuT — Silvy (@WaddleandSilvy) April 22, 2020
Hey @WaddleandSilvy, hang in there my man. You will beat this. — Len Kasper (@LenKasper) April 22, 2020
Silverman, 48, tends to mark his 13 years and two months hosting an ESPN 1000 sports talk show alongside former Bear Tom Waddle in terms of personal life events as much as the changes in the Chicago sports landscape they’ve covered.
As Silverman reminded listeners, he was single and 34 when the show started in February 2007. Now he’s 48 and married. He and his wife, Allie, have two kids. Mason will be 6 at the end of next month. Braxton recently turned 4.
Stage 3 diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, or DLBCL, isn’t the sort of life event everyone experiences, but everyone knows and loves someone who has dealt with cancer. Now everyone shares the dull ache of knowing one more.
“Just know that you are loved, you are family and you are not in this fight alone,” Waddle reassured his partner on the air Tuesday just as social media started to light up.
@WaddleandSilvy Silvy, sorry to hear about the diagnosis and sorry for the cancer whose Ass you are about to whip!!! Thinking of you and here for you. All positive vibes to you!!!!! — Karl Ravech (@karlravechespn) April 22, 2020
So here’s what I’ll say about my friend @WaddleandSilvy: he may have small hands but he’s a tough SOB! So he’s gonna go all House of Pain on this cancer’s ass (hope everyone gets that reference) and then we’re taking a trip to Vegas!! @Jurko64 @DZederman @TWaddle87 pic.twitter.com/ruhIJqJ5PU — Carmen DeFalco (@CarmenDeFalco) April 21, 2020
Even in a world turned upside down by a health crisis, this was bound to resonate.
“I’ve heard from people I haven’t talked to in years,” Silverman said. “I’ve heard from competitors down the dial. I’m almost speechless.”
They have been people close to him and strangers. Some he might have expected to write. Some have been surprises.
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Until now, Silverman had no idea what athletes meant when they said, after a championship or some other big achievement, they had not been able to read and respond to all the messages flooding their phones.
“Charles Barkley texted me,” Silverman said. “(Brian) Urlacher was texting me last night. Jason Benetti wrote one of the nicest things that I’ve ever read about me in a DM on Twitter. Jeff Garlin reached out this morning. Rick Sutcliffe, who I idolized at 13, called me yesterday — you know he’s gone through two fights with cancer.”
Marc Silverman and Tom Waddle during a "Waddle & Silvy" show on WMVP-AM 1000 on Dec. 17, 2015. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)
It has been overwhelming — but in a good way.
“I didn’t have an understanding when I opened up that microphone at 5 o’clock yesterday what I was going to get,” he said.
“I just wanted to share, and it’s been therapeutic for me and I feel like I’m in a good place now. If you had reached out to me three weeks ago or so, that’s right when everything really started heating up with all this and it was a lot tougher to focus day to day.”
God bless you Silvy. All of Chicago sports media is united in supporting you during the road ahead. — Mark Schanowski (@MarkSchanowski) April 21, 2020
My friend @WaddleandSilvy announced he has cancer.
My friend Silvy will kick the living hell outta cancer
My friend Silvy will be back and better than ever.
Watch — Dan Dakich (@dandakich) April 22, 2020
The plan is to have a port placed in his chest Friday so doctors can administer chemotherapy. Silverman also looks to participate in an immunotherapy clinical trial.
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Silverman ideally would begin the treatments — six three-week cycles of treatment — on a subsequent Friday. He said he would take off work that day and, “if I feel halfway decent, I’m going to keep working” and be back on the air by the following Monday.
It helps that he is broadcasting from home anyway. But one never knows how the body will respond to treatment until it begins.
“My doctors have explained this to me: Lymphoma is different than a tumor,” Silverman said. “This is the lymph nodes. What stage 3 means is this it’s above and below the diaphragm. I have it in my neck. I have it in my groin. Some people would only have it in their neck and armpit and that would be Stage 1 or 2, depending. But because my it’s above and below my diaphragm, it’s Stage 3.
“The good news is it’s not in my bones. I had a bone marrow biopsy two days ago. The results came back. It’s not in my bone marrow and not in any of my organs. Because of the way I feel and because this was the diagnosis I was crossing my fingers for — once you’re here, you can’t hope for a better diagnosis — that’s fueling my optimism.”
Add to that the family, friends, acquaintances and listeners who have reached out in solidarity.
@WaddleandSilvy Sending all our love from Evanston, buddy. This lymphoma doesn’t know the battle it has on its hands picking a fight with a Chicago guy!! You’ve been there for the people of this city every day all these years, now we’re here for you. @TWaddle87 — Pat Fitzgerald (@coachfitz51) April 22, 2020
We're thinking about you Silvy and praying for you. Be strong! https://t.co/4A80FNt9UI — Alex Maragos (@AlexMaragosNBC) April 22, 2020
“I can’t express into words what even just a note means,” Silverman said. “I haven’t been able to comment on all of them or ‘like’ all of them, but know how important it is to my family and me. It’s always been that way. We’ve always appreciated the relationships.”
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Silverman’s one request of those writing him?
“Please,” he said on Tuesday’s show with stoic resolve, “don’t say ‘sorry’ — because it’s time to kick this thing’s ass.”


chicagotribune--2020-04-22--DNA leads to man accused of sneaking into home, groping sleeping woman in Logan Square, prosecutors

DNA leads to man accused of sneaking into home, groping sleeping woman in Logan Square, prosecutors say

In court on Tuesday , authorities said the 26-year-old victim awoke to find Cuyugan sitting on top of her in @ @ @ @ @ and began screaming .
Cuyugan covered the woman ’ s mouth and groped her through @ @ @ @ @ able to scream again , prosecutors said .

DNA from a Chicago Cubs cap left behind after an alleged attempted sex assault in the Logan Square neighborhood last month led police to a neighborhood man on probation, according to Cook County prosecutors.
Joven Cuyugan, 36, is charged with home invasion, aggravated criminal sexual abuse and attempted aggravated criminal sexual abuse related to the March 2 incident at a home in the 3000 block of North Spaulding Avenue.
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Joven Cuyugan, 36, of Logan Square, charged with home invasion, aggravated criminal sexual abuse and attempted aggravated criminal sexual abuse. - Original Credit: Chicago police (Chicago Police Department)
In court on Tuesday, authorities said the 26-year-old victim awoke to find Cuyugan sitting on top of her in her bedroom around 1 a.m. and began screaming. Cuyugan covered the woman’s mouth and groped her through the bedsheets before she was able to scream again, prosecutors said.
Cuyugan fled out the back door, leaving behind a Cubs "World Series Champions” cap and a red utility glove, prosecutors said. Police also found a crate below an open window, authorities said.
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A city camera captured the offender leaving the apartment, while a resident’s camera captured him entering and leaving the victim’s apartment, prosecutors said.
After the incident, video shows that Cuyugan returned to the apartment and stood outside several times. Prosecutors did not mention any prior interactions between the victim and Cuyugan.
Authorities turned toward Cuyugan on March 26 when DNA found in the Cubs hat matched Cuyugan, who had submitted a sample to authorities following a prior felony conviction.
Cuyugan, of the 3500 block of West Wolfram Street, was on probation for possessing methamphetamine and a burglary case in which he was originally charged with attempted aggravated criminal sexual assault, theft and burglary after allegedly walking into another woman’s bedroom and asking for sex, prosecutors said.
Judge Arthur Wesley Willis ordered Cuyugan held on $1 million bail and approved a petition for violating probation. He will get a chance to seek a lower bail at a hearing next week.
wlee@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @MidNoirCowboy


chicagotribune--2020-04-22--Long before ‘Tiger King,’ Chicago had its own Joe Exotic

“ I went out to his place after they closed it and walked around with Lorin , ” said Gregory @ @ @ @ @ , whose coverage of Womack began then and would grow more intense as criminal authorities @ @ @ @ @ “ And I remember that — of course , it was closed — I remember @ @ @ @ @ akin to a ragged roadside zoo , not anywhere near as well kept as what @ @ @ @ @ Tiger King .
’

Lorin Womack, owner of Land O'Lorin Exotic Wildlife Haven in Batavia Township, wrestles with a Bengal Tiger and two African Lions on May 22, 1990. (Walter Kale / Chicago Tribune)
See how much of this sounds familiar.
A man develops a loosely organized roadside zoo. It becomes an area attraction for the likes of visiting Brownie troops and curious journalists, and at the same time it draws the ire of animal-rights activists.
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Yes, the man has tigers. Yes, he allows himself to be photographed with a big one climbing up on his shoulders.
But along the way it all starts to go south for the man, ending in his conviction for hiring someone to murder a rival.
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There has been no documentary yet about Lorin Womack, whose Land O’Lorin Exotic Wildlife Haven was at least a Batavia curiosity and in some eyes an attraction in the waning years of the 20th Century.
But the parallels between the story of Womack and of Joe Exotic, the contemporary Oklahoma zookeeper chronicled in the current hit Netflix documentary series “Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness,” are in so many other ways remarkable.
“I have not seen ‘Tiger King.’ My kids have, and they tell me I should watch,” said Tony Brasel, the Kankakee lawyer who defended Lorin Womack in his two trials.
“Sure, it sounds similar to a certain extent. Eerily similar, actually.”
Lorin Womack, owner of Land O'Lorin Exotic Wildlife Haven in Batavia Township, wrestles with a Bengal Tiger and two African Lions on May 22, 1990. (Walter Kale / Chicago Tribune)
Womack’s story has its own peculiarities: He never ran for Illinois governor, for one thing. And when authorities dug up his zoo property, they weren’t searching for adult tigers killed because they had grown too costly to feed, but for a human body they thought Womack may have buried there.
But there is so much in common that if you lived through the Lorin Womack saga, you couldn’t help but be reminded of it in recent weeks as Joe Exotic become an anti-hero for a nation trapped indoors during coronavirus imposed social isolation.
“My wife and I binge-watched ‘Tiger King,’” said Ted Gregory, the former Tribune reporter who covered much of Womack’s downfall, from the federal government shutting down Land O’ Lorin in 1997 to news that Womack had faked a bloody attack to impress a woman to the two murder-for-hire trials.
“I think he is a backwoods Illinois version of Tiger King,” Gregory said. “I remember him as being an eccentric character, not anywhere near as colorful as Joe Exotic. And nowhere nearly as well groomed or tattooed.”
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Early on, though, Land O’ Lorin — like Joe Exotic’s G.W. Zoo in Wynnewood, Oklahoma — was more an oddity.
Womack’s 10-acre backyard farm featuring some 130 animals was open to the public Sunday afternoons, and folks could pay what they wanted to visit “one of the most popular places around,” noted a Tribune feature story from 1990, a year after Womack began inviting the public in.
'When I was a kid, I always had whatever animals you could have — monkeys and snakes, you know — without special permits. But I always wanted more,” said Womack, then 39 and a self-employed tree trimmer.
The menagerie, writer Christi Parsons noted, included African pygmy goats, bison, Asian mountain sheep, silver foxes, llamas, hairless pigs and porcupines.
But that was not all. There was a black bear he had raised from infancy, and a caption that ran with a photo that same day placed big cats in the tale: “Lorin Womack cheerfully wrestles with a Bengal tiger and two African lions at his exotic animal farm in west suburban Batavia,” it said.
The allure of Womack was strong. A year later, the Tribune published what is known — fittingly in this case — as “wild art,” pictures that stand on their own, with no accompanying story. They showed Womack with an unspecified “monkey” in his lap as he rode a motorcycle and then a shot of the diaper-clad animal — which certainly looks like a young chimpanzee — holding Womack’s hand.
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In 1994, Womack was in the paper again. He said he drove 8,400 miles round trip to the Yukon to buy a reindeer that had starred in the 1989 movie “Prancer.” Admission to see him at Christmastime was $3 for adults, $1 for children.
Lorin Womack shows off a reindeer to children on Nov. 23, 1994, at his Land O'Lorin Exotic Wildlife Haven in Batavia Township. The reindeer is named Prancer and starred in the movie Prancer. (George Thompson / Chicago Tribune)
A different story that year noted that he let a baby cougar and a river otter “have the run” of the first floor of his farmhouse. “I would like to find a wife,” he told the reporter of that story, presaging the romantic woes that would land him in court and, ultimately, prison.
When Chicago animal control personnel found a mountain lion being kept in a South Side auto garage in 1995, they removed it and passed it along to Womack for its care, in part, they said, because they wanted to be able to visit the cougar.
Womack’s collection also caught the attention of tougher-minded authorities and animal rights activists. Beginning in the mid-90s, the U.S. Department of Agriculture flagged Womack’s unaccredited zoo for violations of the Animal Welfare act, including inadequate nourishment of his charges.
Womack acknowledged his woes in the concluding paragraph of Steve Mills’ 1997 Tribune look at his and other roadside zoos:
“If I could afford a bigger cage, I’d do it,” he said, standing in front of a “zonkey” — half zebra and half donkey. “I would love to make this place better. I can only do so much. Really, I’m just doing the best I can.”
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By mid-1997 Womack had been fined more than $50,000 in the previous two years and agreed to turn over the zoo to a non-profit board.
Lorin Womack with one of his 100 animals, a combination donkey/zebra, at his "Land O' Lorin Exotic Animal Farm" in Batavia on March 13, 1997. (John Dziekan/Chicago Tribune)
“I went out to his place after they closed it and walked around with Lorin,” said Gregory, the longtime Tribune reporter, whose coverage of Womack began then and would grow more intense as criminal authorities became interested, too. “And I remember that — of course, it was closed — I remember thinking of it as something akin to a ragged roadside zoo, not anywhere near as well kept as what I could see in ‘Tiger King.’
“He was an eccentric fellow, colorful, liked to talk. He didn’t always follow a train of thought that well but was surprisingly willing to show me around.”
Womack didn’t seem to have the kind of rivalry with animal rights activists that Joe Exotic had in the Netflix documentary with Carole Baskin, the big cat advocate Exotic was convicted of trying to have killed.
But they were definitely on his case. Debbie Leahy, president of Illinois Animal Action Inc, called the agreement to turn over the zoo a “joke” and said she planned to go ahead with a protest of the zoo. By the end of 1997, the new board had planned to move some of the 70 remaining animals to the Detroit Zoo and renamed it Deerpath Animal Haven & Zoological Society.
And that might have been that.
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Lorin Womack, circa 1999. (Kane County Sherrif's Department)
“Former zoo owner charged in murder plot,” said the Dec. 1998 headline, “charged with hiring a man to kill the husband of his new girlfriend,” the story explained. Later, it would be revealed that the hit man was a cop, and the woman had lived with Womack for about a month before reconciling with her husband.
“Initially he sort of strikes you as harmless,” Gregory recalled. “But the incident in Elgin from a few years before was really kind of unsettling. He walks in to the Elgin police department and he’s kind of blood smeared, claiming that he had somehow or other vanquished two knife-wielding men who tried to attack some women. It wound up being a complete hoax he orchestrated to impress a girlfriend, and he was fined for that.”
A few months after Womack was charged for allegedly hiring a killer, a Kane County Sheriff’s Department investigator acted on his belief that Womack had something to do with the disappearance, a decade earlier, of Kenneth King, of Wayne, who shortly before he disappeared began dating a woman who was living with Womack, the investigator said.
“Three backhoes, a bulldozer, six sheriff’s investigators, a deputy coroner and seven dogs excavated 12 sites on the 10-acre zoo and one spot just northwest of the establishment, said Kane County Sheriff’s Capt. Michael Anderson, who called for the dig,” wrote Gregory in the Tribune. But none of the holes produced a body.
Womack’s first solicitation of murder trial, in 2000, resulted in a hung jury.
Detective Sgt. Tom Friedrick and Det. Pat Wozniak, both of the Kane County Sheriff's Dept., search through piles of dirt on the Land O'Lorin Exotic Wildlife Haven in Batavia Township on Feb. 10, 1999. The pair were looking for human bones that might belong to Kenneth Dale King, who was reported missing in 1988. (Mario Petitti / Chicago Tribune)
“The type of defense that we used was entrapment,” remembered Brasel, the lawyer. “I just didn’t think Loren was the type of person that would really go out and seriously want to hire somebody to murder somebody.”
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Two jurors agreed in the first trial. “I like to think we had a fairly good presentation,” Brasel said. “It was enough to get a hung jury on a guy who had been taped basically admitting to the crime.”
But in the retrial, he said, prosecutors had the advantage of having seen Womack’s defense. And Brasel said he also thought the first jury just liked Womack better than the second one did.
“The first jury liked Lorin and I think they kind of thought like me,” said Brasel. “But still, he was on the tape … They had him on tape attempting to have a policeman go out and murder what he thought was his girlfriend’s husband.”
In one last sour note for Womack, it came out in the trial that the woman was not actually that into him.
On Feb. 20, 2001, Gregory, who had covered both trials, got to write the kind of first paragraph reporters dream about: “Lorin Womack, the exotic zoo owner whose love for another man’s wife led him to hatch an ill-conceived murder-for-hire scheme, was sentenced to 26 years in prison Tuesday.”
It was remarkably similar to the 22-year sentence Joseph Maldonado-Passage, AKA Joe Exotic, received in January for hiring somebody to murder Baskin, a solicitation that he had also been caught on tape making.
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Maybe it’s time to watch “Tiger King,” Brasel said. “We started watching. My wife didn’t like it, so — I’ll just watch it by myself.”
Tribune archival journalists Kori Rumore and Marianne Mather contributed to this story.
sajohnson@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @StevenKJohnson


chicagotribune--2020-04-22--Column: President Trump’s sports advisory committee is missing 2 important voices — athletes and hea

Column: President Trump’s sports advisory committee is missing 2 important voices — athletes and health experts

But the question of whether it will be safe enough to return to ballparks in June or July is one @ @ @ @ @ now , even as many states are planning to reopen after a weekslong shutdown .
@ @ @ @ @ to have a panel to discuss the return of sports , it might be appropriate @ @ @ @ @ the advisory committee whose health could be put into jeopardy by opening too soon .

During a coronavirus news conference last week at the White House, President Donald Trump spoke for millions of fans when he said he wanted to “get our sports back.”
“I’m tired of watching baseball games that are 14 years old,” he said.
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It might have been the first time I agreed with Trump.
I’m also tired of watching old baseball, basketball and football games that we already know who won. With the exceptions of “The Last Dance” and the NFL draft, nothing on TV is really worth watching for the average sports fan.
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Trump’s solution to this vexing problem was to announce a panel of sports leaders who will advise him on restarting sports. Among the prominent names on the committee are the commissioners of the four major sports — the NBA’s Adam Silver, the NFL’s Roger Goodell, the NHL’s Gary Bettman and MLB’s Rob Manfred.
That makes sense. You can’t restart sports without those four giving a collective thumbs-up, though Silver is probably the only one who has the respect of his sport’s fan base.
Also on the White House list are WWE founder Vince McMahon — whose wife, Linda, previously was the head of Trump’s Small Business Administration and now chairs the pro-Trump super PAC America First Action — and two NFL owners, the Patriots’ Bob Kraft and Cowboys’ Jerry Jones, who also are prominent Trump donors.
It’s not unexpected to see the advisory committee stacked with the president’s friends and enablers. That’s par for the course. But one name that later popped up caught my eye, and I still can’t decide whether to laugh or cry.
According to a report on NJ.com, Todd Ricketts, one of the four Ricketts siblings who co-own the Chicago Cubs, also was on a conference call last week with Trump and his sports advisers.
Yes, that’s the same Todd Ricketts introduced to the nation in a 2010 episode of the reality TV show “Undercover Boss,” on which he was mired in difficulty trying his hand at vending hot dogs and parking cars at Wrigley Field.
Ten years later, Todd Ricketts is serving as fundraising chairman for Trump’s reelection campaign while retaining his seat on the Cubs board with two of his siblings, Tom and Laura Ricketts.
Why does this matter if you’re a Cubs fan?
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Maybe it doesn’t. All you really want is to see is your favorite team back on the field, and if having Todd Ricketts whispering into Trump’s ear that we need to get back to playing baseball again, that’s probably a good thing.
With no baseball, Wrigley Field currently is serving as a food packing and distribution center for the Lakeview Pantry, while the Hotel Zachary has reopened to house health care workers from Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center. Kudos to the Rickettses for doing the right thing while we wait for the game to return.
Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 23 Donated bananas await distribution as Lakeview Pantry volunteers pack food at Wrigley Field on April 16, 2020 during the coronavirus pandemic. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)
But the question of whether it will be safe enough to return to ballparks in June or July is one no one can answer right now, even as many states are planning to reopen after a weekslong shutdown. And if you are going to have a panel to discuss the return of sports, it might be appropriate to have some members on the advisory committee whose health could be put into jeopardy by opening too soon.
I’d much rather have Kris Bryant, Lucas Giolito, Zach LaVine or Jonathan Toews chiming in on the matter than Todd Ricketts, whose primary concern is getting Trump reelected.
They’re the ones whose lives could be affected if the rush to provide entertainment for bored fans supersedes the need to provide a safe environment to play in. Yet the lack of a union representative on Trump’s sports committee suggests he sees no need for any player input and that the only ones who should have a say are commissioners and team owners.
Also missing are health experts such as Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases who has been discussing the reopening of sports with several media outlets. Fauci told the Yes Network on Monday that one possibility of restarting baseball would be to “limit the amount of people in a stadium and make sure you seat them in a way where they are really quite separated and maybe even wearing the facial covers."
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“I know people look at that and they say, ‘What, are you crazy?’ ” he said. "But to me, it’s better than no baseball at all.”
Fauci then added: “It’s more likely that you’re going to have more of a television baseball than a spectator baseball.”
That “empty stadium” scenario seems to be the most logical, but even that might be difficult to pull off.
Either way, Fauci’s voice — or that of any health expert — should matter much more than a Todd Ricketts or a Jerry Jones.
Maybe there is a way to restart our sports in a safe manner, and hopefully it comes soon.
But boredom from watching 14-year-old baseball games on TV isn’t a good enough reason to jump the gun.


chicagotribune--2020-04-22--Mundelein student and her dad turn e-learning homework into unexpected viral music video: ‘We never

Mundelein student and her dad turn e-learning homework into unexpected viral music video: ‘We never thought we would get this response’

“ It was not a labored process , ” he said .
“ I did not think much about it @ @ @ @ @ go and went with the flow .
I didn ’ t do a lot of @ @ @ @ @ to sleep , I had an idea for what the video could look like .
@

Chloe Langford, 12, a student at Carl Sandburg Middle School in Mundelein, arranges music on her computer. (Courtesy of Langford family)
As part of her students’ e-learning work, Carl Sandburg Middle School teacher Sarah Rafalowitz recently asked them to write about what they’ve been doing during the coronavirus pandemic.
Rafalowitz, who teaches seventh-grade language arts and social studies at the Mundelein school, told students their response could take the form of a paragraph, narrative, poem, blog post, song or picture.
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When 12-year-old Chloe Langford submitted an original song called “All Day Long (The Coronavirus Song)” with a corresponding music video, Rafalowitz said she simply was stunned.
“This video demonstrates the various strengths that she possesses — strong family values, writing ability, creativity, musicality and singing voice,” Rafalowitz said. “I am so proud of her work, and I am humbled that I am in a position to guide her along her learning path.”
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Chloe’s musical work since since has gone viral, attracting nearly 187,000 views on YouTube within the past two weeks. But a hidden detail of her popular homework assignment is how much her family helped contribute ideas and guidance, the seventh grader recalled recently.
Chloe said she told her parents, Paul and Jennifer Langford, and her younger sister, Cassidy, 9, about the assignment and the family began shouting out rhymes around the dinner table.
“We put it all together at the piano in about an hour,” she said.
The video, which features a cameo from Cassidy, opens with two shots of Chloe.
In the first shot, she’s sitting on a stool playing her euphonium, a smaller brass instrument that resembles a tuba. In the second, she sings the opening lines of her song: “It’s just me and my euphonium / sitting here, stuck at home-ium / nothing but time to talk on the phone-ium / all day long.”
Chloe, who sings in the Red Rose Children’s Choir of Lake County and plays the trombone in her school band, said she began learning the euphonium after being forced to stay inside the family’s home because of the pandemic.
Her dad, Paul, who also is a professional musician, said the “goofball rhymes” and his daughter’s work with the euphonium led to the creation of the song and video.
“The whole thing happened so spontaneously and without forethought," Paul Langford said. "We moved from the dinner table to the piano in about five minutes or less. We had the song written and recorded in about another hour or two.”
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Paul Langford, who recorded the song and shot the video on an iPhone, said the ideas simply “flowed out.”
Chloe Langford, 12, a Carl Sandburg Middle School student in Mundelein, poses for a photo with her dad, Paul. (Courtesy of Langford family)
“It was not a labored process,” he said. “I did not think much about it. I just let it go and went with the flow. I didn’t do a lot of editing. When I went to sleep, I had an idea for what the video could look like.”
They shot the video in about an hour and it was edited within about two hours, Langford said.
“I was just going to upload it to Google Classroom for the teacher,” Langford said. “We never thought we would get this response. We thought it was just a school project.”
Chloe said she initially thought only a couple of her parents’ friends would end up sharing it on social media.
“I know people know I play trombone and would like that." she said. "But I didn’t think that many people would like it.”
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Paul Langford said the video has been viewed far more than any other of his own music videos. Now, his followers want more content from Chloe, he said.
“I’m leaving it up to her,” Langford said. “If it’s something fun, she can do it. But if not, it will just be a one-hit wonder.”
Chloe said it’s unlikely she will write any more songs for video.
“I think it’s just going to be a one-thing-and-done,” she said. “It’s hard to write and record.”
Phil Rockrohr is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press


chicagotribune--2020-04-22--EPA staff condemns Trump back-to-work plan: ‘He wants to decimate us by sending us back into danger’

“ It is not lost on us that President Trump is at war with his own federal workforce , who @ @ @ @ @ again to stop this administration from taking action that would harm the nation , ” @ @ @ @ @ of Local 704 of the American Federation of Government Employees .

While much of the nation remains under stay-at-home orders to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, President Donald Trump wants federal employees back in the office.
In Chicago, at least, the union local for U.S. Environmental Protection Agency scientists and engineers is pushing back.
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“It is not lost on us that President Trump is at war with his own federal workforce, who have stood up time and again to stop this administration from taking action that would harm the nation,” said Nicole Cantello, president of Local 704 of the American Federation of Government Employees.
“Now he wants to decimate us by sending us back into danger,” Cantello said. “We will fight any effort to needlessly sacrifice the lives of those who have sworn to serve the American people.”
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Based on conversations this week with EPA managers, Cantello said, there is widespread confusion about what Trump’s guidance actually means. Nobody is sure if or when anyone will return to working in government offices rather than at home.
In a statement, the EPA said it is “reviewing the guidance, and will issue agency-specific guidance when complete and will implement accordingly."
Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Tuesday the pandemic may not peak in Illinois until mid-May, while Mayor Lori Lightfoot predicted the state’s stay-at-home order could extend into June.


chicagotribune--2020-04-22--Victory Gardens Theater, pushing ahead, announces 2020-21 season

Victory Gardens artistic director Chay Yew is currently in his final season ; it was announced in Dec. 2019 that @ @ @ @ @ in June at the end of the spring ’ s productions — which along with @ @ @ @ @ were shut down in March by the coronavirus pandemic .
The theater said its plans @ @ @ @ @ announced soon .
Victory Gardens Theater is located at 2433 N. Lincoln Ave. ; subscriptions @ @ @ @ @ victorygardens.org .

Looking toward the future, an optimistic Victory Gardens Theater has announced its 2020-21 season.
The subscription slate, the company’s 46th, is currently scheduled to begin in the fall with the Chicago premiere of “Poor Yella Rednecks" by Qui Nguyen, the Vietnamese-American author of “She Kills Monsters.” Based on personal history and a sequel of sorts to Nguyen’s “Vietgone,” the play is set in rural Arkansas. Jess McLeod directs. (Sept. 18 to Oct. 18.)
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In November, Devon de Mayo directs “In Every Generation” by Ali Viterbi. This world premiere is a family drama set during Passover; the script was the 2019 winner of the National Jewish Playwriting Contest. (Nov. 13 to Dec. 13.)
A new production of playwright Ike Holter’s “Exit Strategy" is planned for next winter at Victory Gardens Theater. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune)
A new production of Ike Holter’s “Exit Strategy" will follow in January. This highly successful drama about the travails of a fictional Chicago high school threatened with closure will be directed by Wardell Julius Clark. (Jan. 29 to Feb. 28, 2021)
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A play by Erika Dickerson-Despenza follows. “Cullud wattah” looks at the 2016 public-health crisis in Flint, Mich., and will be a Chicago premiere directed by Lili-Anne Brown. (April 9 to May 16, 2021)
The season concludes with the Chicago premiere Will Arbery’s “Heroes of the Fourth Turning,” directed by Jonathan Berry. This play, an award-winning off-Broadway hit in New York last season, looks at young conservatives living in Wyoming. (June 11 to July 11, 2021)
Victory Gardens artistic director Chay Yew is currently in his final season; it was announced in Dec. 2019 that he would be stepping down in June at the end of the spring’s productions — which along with the rest of Chicago theater were shut down in March by the coronavirus pandemic. The theater said its plans for his succession would be announced soon. Victory Gardens Theater is located at 2433 N. Lincoln Ave.; subscriptions are now on sale at victorygardens.org.
Chris Jones is a Tribune critic.
cjones5@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-04-22--Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell to perform livestreamed concert tonight to support small busines

Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell to perform livestreamed concert tonight to support small businesses

Throughout the livestream , Billie Eilish and Finneas will be highlighting various small businesses near and dear to them , @ @ @ @ @ + Feed plant-based restaurants in New York City and Los Angeles .
Support + Feed @ @ @ @ @ Mother , Maggie Baird and aims to help support local restaurants , and in turn @ @ @ @ @ on the front lines .
By encouraging the community to gift meals via participating restaurants @ @ @ @ @ help facilitate CDC regulated , coordinated food deliveries to vetted organizations , hospitals , first @ @ @ @ @ homeless shelters , and women 's centers across Los Angeles and New York City .
@ @ @ @ @ to : www.supportandfeed.com

Tonight -- Thursday, April 22 -- Billie Eilish and her brother/musical collaborator Finneas will perform a live concert from their home on Verizon’s Pay It Forward Live.
The livestream will take place at 7 p.m./5 p.m. PT on Twitter @Verizon, Yahoo, Verizon’s Facebook and YouTube pages, Fios Channel 501 and 604, AXS TV, FOX NOW or listen on iHeart and SiriusXM. Pay It Forward Live is Verizon’s weekly streaming entertainment series in support of small businesses affected by COVID-19.
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Over the course of the show, viewers are encouraged to do what they can to support local businesses in their own communities by shopping online, buying a gift card to be used when businesses reopen or ordering a meal. Verizon will donate $10, up to $2.5 million, to support small businesses for each use of the hashtag #PayitForwardLIVE.
Fresh off a #PayItForwardLIVE gaming stream last night, we’re coming in hot with another big one tonight. Pop sensation @billieeilish and her brother @finneas are performing to support America’s small businesses at 8PM ET/5PM PT, right here on @Verizon’s Twitter channel! pic.twitter.com/Zfh2aXXXBV — Verizon (@Verizon) April 22, 2020
"Small businesses are a crucial part of our community, and it is so important that we support them during this crisis," Eilish said. "I am honored to be able to call attention to these local businesses, who have made an impact on my life, and are trying to make the world a better place"
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Throughout the livestream, Billie Eilish and Finneas will be highlighting various small businesses near and dear to them, as well as participating Support + Feed plant-based restaurants in New York City and Los Angeles. Support + Feed, was launched by their Mother, Maggie Baird and aims to help support local restaurants, and in turn feed those in need and on the front lines. By encouraging the community to gift meals via participating restaurants, Support + Feed will help facilitate CDC regulated, coordinated food deliveries to vetted organizations, hospitals, first responders, senior centers, homeless shelters, and women's centers across Los Angeles and New York City. For more information, go to: www.supportandfeed.com
Billie Eilish and Finneas O'Connell pose for photographers upon arrival at Brit Awards 2020 in London, Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2020 (Vianney Le Caer/Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP)
April 22 is also the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, a significant day for Verizon whose responsible business mission includes climate protection, with a goal to be carbon neutral in its operations by 2035. The company, which launched its formal sustainability program in 2009, also has goals to recycle 5 million pounds of e-waste by 2022, source 50 percent of our total electricity from renewable sources by 2025, and to plant 10 million trees by 2030.


chicagotribune--2020-04-22--Kenya Barris wanted ‘#blackAF’ to make noise. So he cast himself as the butt of the joke

Says Barris : `` It 's the biggest risk I could have ever taken , creatively .
My joke , @ @ @ @ @ , is that I had watery stools for four days .
I 'm up in @ @ @ @ @ thinking , 'What have I done ? '
`` This is the hardest and scariest @ @ @ @ @ .
I have so much respect for actors .
They are magic people , the @ @ @ @ @ feel things . ''

Kenya Barris knows how to make people laugh. Consider the evidence: He created the groundbreaking ABC comedy "black-ish" and its spinoff "grown-ish" and co-wrote the rowdy "Girls Trip" and the popular sequel "Barbershop: The Final Cut."
But if you want to make Barris laugh, bring up that he's TV's newest leading man in his latest project, Netflix's "#blackAF."
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"Oh, right," Barris proclaims as he bursts into laughter during a phone call. "I'm not a ... actor," punctuating the comment with a variation of the expletive abbreviated in the series' title. Aside from playing a tree in a school production during his youth, Barris has zero acting experience.
As it turns out, the joke is on Barris.
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"#blackAF" centers on a successful black comedy writer named Kenya Barris, who's left behind the broadcast TV arena after scoring a high-priced development deal with Netflix. He and his large family, which has been the inspiration for much of his comedic material, are living the high life.
If that sounds a little familiar, it's because it is. Barris in 2018 signed an exclusive deal estimated to be worth a potential $100 million with the streaming giant to write and produce shows. Barris is among a number of other elite TV producers, including Shonda Rhimes ("Grey's Anatomy") and Ryan Murphy ("American Horror Story"), who have signed mega-deals with Netflix in recent years.
His first project, "Astronomy Club: The Sketch Show", premiered last year. In "#blackAF," which co-stars Rashida Jones ("Parks and Recreation") as Barris' wife, the writer-producer has a lavish lifestyle — fancy cars, huge mansion and a swimming pool — but his comfort level is considerably lowered by his never-ending conflicts with his family.
The show is an homage to families, "and black families in particular," Barris says. "I do love family comedies, but I think we needed a bit of a reboot. It comes from a good place."
The concept of the series revolves around Barris' teen daughter, Drea (Iman Benson), making a documentary about her family as part of her application to film school at New York University. Barris hires a professional film crew to assist her.
As for Barris' on-screen counterpart, "he's a hyper-realized version of me. He's as close to me as Larry David is to his character on 'Curb Your Enthusiasm'. Like any writers room, this character is an aggregate of the writers. He's a lot more of a jerk than I am because I wanted to say some things out loud that I would not normally say."
"Black-ish" creator Kenya Barris is photographed at his home in Encino. The successful writer who has never acted in his life, is the star of the new family comedy on Netflix, "#blackAF", in which he plays a version of himself-a rich, successful writer grappling with six kids and with being constantly misunderstood. (Mel Melcon/TNS)
Barris adds, "I wanted to be self-deprecating. This Kenya is the new-school George Jefferson. He's happy that he's made it, but he's also trapped inside the bubble of that success."
Playing a version of himself proved to be more challenging than he anticipated.
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Says Barris: "It's the biggest risk I could have ever taken, creatively. My joke, which is not a joke, is that I had watery stools for four days. I'm up in the middle of the night thinking, 'What have I done?' "This is the hardest and scariest thing I've ever done. I have so much respect for actors. They are magic people, the way they can make you feel things."
Another actor "who we loved" was originally slated to play the role. But Barris felt the series would create more buzz if he played himself.
"I've figured out that the way to be the noisiest is to be personal, and this is as personal as it gets," he says.
Jones also encouraged him to take on the role: "She said, 'Isn't there another actor already playing you on TV?'" referring to Anthony Anderson of "black-ish."
Asked whether he approached Anderson or any of the other stars he has worked with for acting tips, Barris laughs again: "I would have been so embarrassed. It's so derogatory and offensive that I'm even trying to do this. What am I going to say? 'Hey, this thing that you're great at — how do I do it?'"
He said his main approach was "to learn my lines so I could forget my lines. To make sure I had the point of the scene."
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There was a clear upside to the challenge. "Every writer I talk to now, I will tell them to take a day role," he says. "It will change the writer you are. You'll realize that these aren't just words on a page you're writing. Someone has to say them. Like how you write an argument is not the way it's performed. People just don't trade lines, there are not pauses. Truth be told, it's bad writing, and I've done it many times."
For now, he's hoping that viewers will accept him as an actor.
“A win would be if I don’t embarrass myself, and if the show starts a conversation, whatever that conversation is. I take a lot of shots at myself. The biggest thing is I really did this with passion. And I hope it provides enough distraction from all the things that are going on now.”


chicagotribune--2020-04-22--The idea of the Bears picking a quarterback is _____. Our writers fill in the blanks on 4 NFL draft

The idea of the Bears picking a quarterback is _____. Our writers fill in the blanks on 4 NFL draft topics.

Before I dig into this a little deeper , it ’ s easy to acknowledge how the Bears ’ mismanagement of the position has spread beyond just the starter .
They haven ’ t been able to draft and develop a legitimate No .
2 option in a long time .
If you discount the first month of the 2017 season when Mitch Trubisky was biding his time behind Mike Glennon , the Bears haven ’ t had a draft pick take over as the starter since Kyle Orton replaced Rex Grossman in Week 15 of the 2007 season .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ to take shots on quarterbacks on Day 2 and Day 3 of the draft knowing a good percentage of them will not work out .
Tough to hit a home run if you don ’ t step in the batter ’ s box , right ?
It ’ s easy to come up with reasons the Bears should not use a pick on a quarterback .
This year , they ’ re short on draft capital before Rounds 6 and 7 .
There ’ s no way they take a passer in Round @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you can ’ t populate the crowd that says GM Ryan Pace and coach Matt Nagy have to win this season and be in the crowd that says they should draft a quarterback on Friday .
A rookie quarterback isn ’ t going to help them win this season and will not overtake Foles , whom I envision winning the competition .
Could the Bears identify a quarterback with some traits on Saturday that they like ?
Sure , it ’ s possible and wouldn ’ t be a bad idea if there @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they like .

The Bears head into this week’s NFL draft looking to make upgrades at key positions. But before general manager Ryan Pace, coach Matt Nagy and Co. make their selections, our team of Bears writers weighs in on four timely topics.
1. The proposal that the Bears draft a quarterback to add to the mix with Mitch Trubisky and Nick Foles is _____.
Bears quarterback Mitch Trubisky walks off the field after warmups before the start of a game against the Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis on Sunday, Dec. 29, 2019. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)
Brad Biggs: A good conversation starter.
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Before I dig into this a little deeper, it’s easy to acknowledge how the Bears’ mismanagement of the position has spread beyond just the starter. They haven’t been able to draft and develop a legitimate No. 2 option in a long time. If you discount the first month of the 2017 season when Mitch Trubisky was biding his time behind Mike Glennon, the Bears haven’t had a draft pick take over as the starter since Kyle Orton replaced Rex Grossman in Week 15 of the 2007 season. One reason is the team has failed to take shots on quarterbacks on Day 2 and Day 3 of the draft knowing a good percentage of them will not work out. Tough to hit a home run if you don’t step in the batter’s box, right? It’s easy to come up with reasons the Bears should not use a pick on a quarterback. This year, they’re short on draft capital before Rounds 6 and 7. There’s no way they take a passer in Round 2 when they have two picks and you can’t populate the crowd that says GM Ryan Pace and coach Matt Nagy have to win this season and be in the crowd that says they should draft a quarterback on Friday. A rookie quarterback isn’t going to help them win this season and will not overtake Foles, whom I envision winning the competition. Could the Bears identify a quarterback with some traits on Saturday that they like? Sure, it’s possible and wouldn’t be a bad idea if there’s a player on the board they like.
Colleen Kane: A good one.
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I’m not saying the Bears should spend one of their second-round picks on a quarterback, though Jake Fromm, Jacob Eason and Jalen Hurts all have intriguing elements to their games. The Bears have too many needs, and the 43rd and 50th selections would be better spent on a cornerback, offensive lineman, wide receiver or tight end. However, it absolutely makes sense to add a quarterback with one of their later picks. The Bears have a lot of quarterback experts on their coaching staff, and taking a shot on a player they think has upside would be worth it. Maybe he turns out to be their future backup or a player they can flip to another team for draft picks. Or maybe he’s one of the rare late-round picks who has starting potential. Either way, the Bears have been through too much at quarterback not to try it.
Dan Wiederer: Acceptable as a proposal and not a command.
I’m not against it. But I’ve never understood those who demand an organization draft a quarterback every year, just because. No, you draft a quarterback if one you really like is available when you’re on the clock and that pick makes sense. Forcing the issue just to say you did is misguided. While I’m normally an advocate of the dice-roll philosophy when it comes to the sport’s most important position — keep taking your shots until you hit the jackpot — for the 2020 Bears, prioritizing pulling a quarterback out of this draft feels ill-advised. Coach Matt Nagy already has the Trubisky-Foles competition to supervise and organize. It would be incredibly challenging to devote additional time to developing a young quarterback. On top of all that, with absolutely no indication when the Bears might be back on the practice field, it’s hard to figure where they would get the time and resources to devote to a rookie quarterback.
2. The dynamics of this unorthodox and unprecedented draft are _______.
Biggs: Overblown in a lot of respects.
Teams have been put in unusual situations for the last five-plus weeks. Prior to that, it was business as usual and planning for this draft began last spring. This isn’t a project that teams started in January or in the weeks leading up to the scouting combine. There is a challenge in that some of the information on a small percentage of prospects may be incomplete. Guess what? Teams make misinformed decisions on players when they believe they are armed with all of the details necessary to act. The technology aspect of the draft should go relatively smoothly. That’s how these teams have been holding meetings for the last month so it’s not as if this is uncharted waters for these guys. It’s going to be interesting to see how the entire show plays out on television, but let’s not act as if this is a flawless process when every team has all of its key decision makers in a war room and they draft that way. Scouting is an inexact science and would be so in an uninterrupted draft process.
Kane: Fascinating.
So many variables will be in play with league and team personnel and coaches, the majority of network employees and the prospects operating separately from their homes. I can’t wait to see how it unfolds. Will any teams have technical difficulties? Will worries about hacking prove valid? And how will it all look on the broadcasts? Reports on Monday said there were technical issues during the league’s trial run, and teams had only a few days to iron out the issues. It also will be interesting to see how the lack of pro days and in-person visits affects where prospects are drafted. Several analysts have suggested big surprises could be in store this weekend because of the different circumstances. That could make it more fun — something we all could use right now.
Wiederer: Fascinating.
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The work-from-home requirements for general managers and their scouting and coaching staffs will make this an unfamiliar and at times uncomfortable process. It will become a test of flexibility and resourcefulness. But above all that, I’m eager to see whether teams adapt their draft philosophies this weekend with so much uncertainty about when they’ll get a green light to return to business as usual. With the coronavirus emergency still at hand and no way of knowing how much offseason or training camp practice time there will be, it will be interesting to see whether teams that expect to compete for a playoff berth in 2020 take fewer chances on prospects who need to be molded and developed and instead gravitate toward players who seem more NFL-ready and have fewer question marks. It has been a wild year already. Things could become even more disrupted and unpredictable in the weeks and months ahead. That uncertainty will almost certainly influence the draft in some way.
3. With the Bears spectators for the first night of the draft, I’m most interested to see _____.
Bears coach Matt Nagy, left, and general manager Ryan Pace speak at a news conference at Halas Hall on Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2019 in Lake Forest. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)
Biggs: Three things on Thursday night.
First, when does the first wide receiver come off the board and then how does the action flow at that position. It’s such a deep and talented class of receivers that a few of these guys could be pushed down the board with teams willing to circle back later and take a prospect at a position that isn’t quite as deep. I think many people have Jerry Jeudy, CeeDee Lamb, Henry Ruggs and Justin Jefferson in their top five receivers. How long until they’re all gone? Second, the cornerback class is intriguing and tied to the Bears because it is their greatest need. Jeff Okudah and CJ Henderson are expected to be the first two selected. After that, when will the next tier of cornerbacks be drafted? If there is a good run on the position late in Round 1, that could leave the Bears with fewer options at Nos. 43 or 50 on Friday. It’s worthy of keeping an eye on. Finally, where do the quarterbacks not named Joe Burrow go? I think Tua Tagovailoa could fall outside the top 10 and one veteran scout told me that anyone selecting Justin Herbert in the top five is setting themselves up to be fired in a few years. Will Utah State’s Jordan Love go in Round 1? Plenty of intrigue without the Bears owning a pick.
Kane: The quirks that accompany the virtual draft.
There will be a lot to absorb about how this draft transpires and looks. ESPN and NFL Network representatives said last week they will have as many as 180 video feeds from everyone involved. After all the draft prospect analysis, we could probably spend hours just examining the makeshift war rooms of each GM and coach. With no lives sports to watch, I expect people to have a field day on social media. I’m also interested to see how the broadcasts address the coronavirus pandemic and the fundraisers that are accompanying the draft. The networks talked about setting the right tone during a tough time for a lot of people. On the player side, I’m of course waiting to see the landing spots of the top quarterbacks, especially Tua Tagovailoa and Justin Herbert, and which player will be the biggest first-round surprise.
Wiederer: What happens with Tua Tagovailoa.
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There has been chatter in some league circles that the Alabama quarterback could wind up in the NFC North, with the Lions potentially targeting him as a possible successor for Matthew Stafford. That’s probably a long shot. In the final leg of the pre-draft process, concerns continue to swirl about Tagavailoa’s injury history. He had hip surgery late last fall, reportedly failed at least two teams’ pre-draft physicals, has had previous issues with his ankle and hand and was criticized as “brittle” last week by former NFL general manager Michael Lombardi. But this is the NFL draft, in which elite quarterbacks are always in demand. And on the field at Alabama, Tagovailoa proved capable of producing and winning at a high level. So how quickly will he come off the board? And which team will push in its chips?
4. When it comes to upgrading the offense, the Bears should make it a point in the draft to ______.
Bears general manager Ryan Pace watches the warmups before a game against the Packers at Soldier Field on Thursday, Sept. 5, 2019. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)
Biggs: Not forget they ranked in the bottom five in far too many key categories last season.
I don’t think you can make a case for a greater roster need right now than cornerback. But after the Bears address that, they need to find some offensive playmakers and a lineman, preferably one with the ability to play tackle and guard. Their so-called playmakers have been underwhelming with the exception of Allen Robinson. They’ve got an offensive-minded head coach and they need to add more speed, specifically at receiver. If the Bears are going to draft a tight end, I think that would only have to be after a trade down with one of their Round 2 picks. They’re not going to get a difference makerin the middle rounds but maybe a pass catcher that can be developed, which would help with Jimmy Graham being 33. I’m not discounting the possibility of a lineman or maybe an edge player at some point in the draft, and they should address the strong safety position, but the Bears were really underwhelming on offense last season and should take advantage of an opportunity to improve.
Kane: Add a speedy wide receiver.
This draft is loaded with good wide receiver prospects. NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah has 18 in his top 100 players and 23 in his top 150. It would be a shame if the Bears don’t capitalize. They cut Taylor Gabriel earlier this offseason after he missed significant time in 2019 with two concussions. With Anthony Miller recovering from another shoulder surgery and questions about how much Javon Wims and Riley Ridley will contribute, the Bears need another playmaking target for their quarterback beyond Allen Robinson. That target also could come in the form of a tight end after the Bears cut Trey Burton last week, and Notre Dame’s Cole Kmet seems like a good fit for a second-round pick. Offensive line depth and a developmental quarterback are also good ways for the Bears to spend picks in this draft. But for offensive help in the second round, I’m most intrigued by the possibilities at wide receiver.
Wiederer: Add speed and find playmakers.
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The Bears need to grab at least one offensive player who can become a significant contributor in 2020. For a team that finished 29th in the league last season in total yards and points scored, the Bears offseason hasn’t led anyone to believe their offense is suddenly on a launching pad with the engines fired up. The additions of Nick Foles and Jimmy Graham should help, but it’s difficult to imagine either emerging as a Pro Bowl-level catalyst in 2020. The Bears were so bad across the board on offense last season that it would take only modest improvement in a number of key areas — quarterback play, running game production, offensive line reliability, receiver growth — to lift a bottom-tier unit into middle-of-the-road status. But the Bears might need more than that if they want to return to the playoffs right away.


chicagotribune--2020-04-22--34 years of Air Jordans: A look at the sneaker institution that Michael Jordan and Nike built

From the infamous $ 5,000 dollar fine in 1985 to a $ 1 billion dollar in sales in the first @ @ @ @ @ Jordan and Nike have built an institution with Air Jordans .
The swoosh disappeared in @ @ @ @ @ shoe and since then Jordans have drawn inspiration from jets and sports cars , jazz @ @ @ @ @ also host an annual exhibition of athletic shoe technology .

From the infamous $5,000 fine in 1985 to $1 billion in sales in the first half of 2019, Michael Jordan and Nike have built an institution with Air Jordans. The swoosh disappeared in the second year of the shoe and since then Jordans have drawn inspiration from jets and sports cars, jazz and wildlife. The sneakers also host an annual exhibition of athletic shoe technology.
Here’s a visual look from 1985 to present.


chicagotribune--2020-04-22--Paula Faris, a former Ch. 5 sports anchor and reporter, recalls why she left Chicago in a new book:

Paula Faris, a former Ch. 5 sports anchor and reporter, recalls why she left Chicago in a new book: ‘Doors at my own station were closed’

“ Even the doors at my own station were closed .
When I asked my news director and general manager @ @ @ @ @ the morning show , my news director told me , ‘ You ’ ll never @ @ @ @ @ than a sports anchor , ' ” Faris writes in her book , “ Called @ @ @ @ @ Two Dream Jobs for a Life of True Calling , ” which came out Tuesday @

Former WMAQ-Ch. 5 sports anchor and reporter Paula Faris said she didn’t want to leave Chicago nearly a decade ago — but she couldn’t find work on local news desks or morning shows.
“Even the doors at my own station were closed. When I asked my news director and general manager in Chicago to move to the morning show, my news director told me, ‘You’ll never be seen as anything more than a sports anchor,'” Faris writes in her book, “Called Out: Why I Traded Two Dream Jobs for a Life of True Calling,” which came out Tuesday.
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Paula Faris guest co-hosts "The View" on April 16, 2015. (Lou Rocco / ABC via Getty Images)
WMAQ declined to comment. Faris worked for the NBC station from 2005-11. She said in her year-long pursuit for a more flexible Chicago work schedule, she also auditioned for “Windy City Live,” where “I was told I wasn’t right for a talk show. (Ironic, since I went on to co-host ‘The View.’)” Val Warner and Ryan Chiaverini host “Windy City Live,” which premiered in May 2011. Faris has been a guest on that show.
The 44-year-old Michigan native said she wanted to stay in Chicago because she was comfortable here after stints at Dayton and Cincinnati TV stations. But her sports schedule was difficult to juggle with two young children, and she said she would ship her breast milk on dry ice when she was away on assignment.
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“I’d been a hot commodity in Chicago just a year before (son) JJ was born (in 2009), and I could have made a lateral move to any sports desk in the city. But I didn’t want to make a lateral move,” Faris wrote.
She said she considered quitting, but encouragement from her agent’s wife, former WFLD-Ch. 32 anchor Jan Jeffcoat, gave her confidence. She ended up at ABC News in New York. She went on to co-anchor “Good Morning America Weekend” and co-host “The View.” She left both jobs in 2018, and now hosts ABC’s “Journeys of Faith” podcast while working as an ABC News senior national correspondent.
In her memoir, she delves into her relationship with God and also reflects on her decision to step back from professional responsibilities to be with her family.
tswartz@tribpub.com


chicagotribune--2020-04-21--Des Plaines has highest number of confirmed COVID-19 cases among Cook County suburbs

Des Plaines had 458 cases .
The village of Skokie , which has its own health department and is also @ @ @ @ @ of deaths , said it had 335 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 15 deaths .

A sign for COVID-19 testing is posted at the Ludeman Developmental Center Monday, April 20, 2020, in Park Forest, Ill. (Erin Hooley/Chicago Tribune) (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune)
The city of Des Plaines reported the highest number of confirmed COVID-19 cases within suburban Cook County this week, according to Cook County Department of Public Health data.
Des Plaines had 458 cases. The village of Skokie, which has its own health department and is also able to report the number of deaths, said it had 335 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 15 deaths.
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Other suburbs with high numbers include Cicero with 426 cases, Evanston with 253 and Glenview with 215.
The following shows the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases within several North and West suburban Cook County communities as of April 21, with a comparison to the cases reported a week earlier on April 14:
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Des Plaines: 458, up from 227
Glenview: 215, up from 179
Evanston: 253, up from 186 (Evanston has its own health department and is reporting eight deaths)
Niles: 162, up from 103
Oak Park: 136, up from 109 (Oak Park has its own health department and is reporting six deaths)
Park Ridge: 108, up from 90
Elmwood Park: 119, up from 81
Morton Grove: 97, up from 67
Lincolnwood: 78, up from 60
Franklin Park, 78, up from 54
Northlake: 47, up from 31
Harwood Heights: 39, up from 29
Norridge: 57, up from 30
River Grove: 38, up from 27
Rosemont: 24, up from 15
River Forest: 18, up from 15
Updated Cook County health department data can be found at ccdphcd.shinyapps.io/covid19.
The Cook County Department of Public Health reports data for all municipalities in the county with the exception of Chicago, Skokie, Evanston, Oak Park and Stickney Township, which have their own local health departments.
jjohnson@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @Jen_Tribune


chicagotribune--2020-04-21--How small businesses in the western suburbs are trying to survive the pandemic shutdown

“ You would be amazed how oily and grimy those things can get over the course of a week , @ @ @ @ @ We have a small section left in the office , a local frame company , @ @ @ @ @ eyewear during this time , and we have modified the trying on and cleaning protocols @ @ @ @ @ is local and has allowed for direct ship to patients during this time .
”

Holly Blakeley, owner of Full Circle Fitness & Social Club in Oak Park, leads an online fitness class after shifting operations to a digital platform amid the state's stay-at-home order. (Holly Blakeley)
Local small business owners are doing what they can to remain operational during the economic slowdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Most restaurants offer curbside pickup and delivery options, but many local shops and retailers rely on in-person visits. That has forced owners to look at new ways of providing services.
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Doing business over the phone
Customers needing plumbing and heating products from Elmwood Supply in Elmwood Park are asked to phone ahead as the store is closed for entry.
“We are doing everything over the phone,” Mike Marzullo said. “We have curbside service in the alley behind the store. If people need parts identified, we are meeting them in the alley to identify.”
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Marzullo said the shop is working with homeowners and contractors needing supplies, saying those who need help identifying parts are still welcomed.
“That’s part of the deal here with our knowledge,” Marzullo said. “If they call, one of our sales people will meet them to identify the part, of course practicing social distancing. Then we try to move forward serving them the best we can.”
Shopping parties on Facebook Live
Amanda Sabatino, owner of Trends Consignment Boutique in Oak Park, has also shifted to a virtual business model by offering online “shopping parties” via Facebook Live.
“Although this time can be scary and frustrating, I’m using this to truly connect with my customers,” Sabatino said. “We host a Facebook Live yoga class every Sunday night to help our customers relax and go into another week of social distancing with a more peaceful outlook.”
Trends has gone from eight employees to just Sabatino, who now picks up consignments and offers virtual shopping appointments.
“It has been working out really well,” Sabatino said. “Many things I started doing because of the lockdown I will continue to offer when we are open again.”
Restaurant closed entirely for two weeks
New Star Restaurant in Elmwood Park chose to close its doors completely for two weeks, and just reopened April 20.
“Our goal was to keep the restaurant open as long as possible to continue to serve the community while also prioritizing the health and safety of our employees and our customers,” owner Jinny Zhao said. “Balancing these important objectives, we decided we would close the restaurant during the anticipated peak period of the pandemic for the shortest time possible.”
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Zhao said New Star is now open for takeout and delivery service.
Optometrists take safety precautions when dealing with patients
Dr. Grant Miller of Grand Eye Care in River Grove said the COVID-19 pandemic has “greatly altered” the day-to-day operations at the office.
“We are no longer doing routine care,” Miller said. “We remain open with modified business hours to see patients that have urgent or emergency situations. Our glaucoma, macular degeneration and diabetic patients are reviewed on a case-by-case basis to determine if an office examination is dire during this time.”
Inside the office, plastic breathe shields have been added to most equipment in an effort to reduce respiratory transmission, while employees are wearing facial masks and gloves during each portion of an examination.
Miller said they have also removed all eyeglass frames from the optical portion of the business after reading several social media posts of offices being broken into. The move is also a way to prevent the transmission of the virus.
“You would be amazed how oily and grimy those things can get over the course of a week,” Miller said. “We have a small section left in the office, a local frame company, for patients that do require eyewear during this time, and we have modified the trying on and cleaning protocols. Our contact lens distributor is local and has allowed for direct ship to patients during this time.”
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Revenues cut by 75 percent
Jill Jerome, who owns Yoga Loft locations in Oak Park, Forest Park and Chicago, says each business has been closed since March 11 as she adjusted to a virtual platform.
“Immediately, everything went online,” Jerome said. “We didn’t have a structure in place for that sort of offering, so we scrambled around, looked for what was out there and found a way to get all of our offerings online.”
Jerome said videos of fitness, yoga, cooking, healing and wellness classes are now available, while she has given out yoga mats and other items to members for home use.
“Basically, our die-hard members have stayed,” Jerome said. “Most everyone else has put everything on hold. Our revenues have been cut by 75 percent. A lot of instructors have also stopped working because we have three studios’ worth of class times to merge into just one day of [online] classes.”
Holly Blakeley, owner of Full Circle Fitness & Social Club in Oak Park, closed her business on March 15, which she said was primarily for the safety of her employees and members.
“If any of our students were to contract the virus from my studio, I would be devastated,” Blakeley said. “As health and wellness professionals, it’s our duty to take care of our students and their best interests."
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Holly Blakeley, owner of Full Circle Fitness & Social Club in Oak Park, leads an online fitness class after shifting operations to a digital platform amid the state's stay-at-home order. (Holly Blakeley)
Blakeley gave out hand weights, mats, balls and straps to her members, who can now access a “home studio” via Zoom and YouTube.
“We spent hours and days helping those that are not tech-savvy to be able to learn the new way,” Blakeley said. “We have three live classes a day, but record all classes for them to access whenever they want.”
Constance Contursi of Hit It! Fitness in Oak Park has had virtual classes up and running for a year, which has helped speed up the transition to online offerings.
“We are renting out equipment to members and non-members,” Contursi said. “We have been doing live Zoom classes and I have an online workout portal where we feature classes that we recorded live in studio.”
To assist those in need, Contursi said some of her members have donated the free months they were given to students who may have lost their jobs or been affected financially due to COVID-19.
Fewer occasions, fewer flowers
The stay-at-home order and ban on large gatherings has had a profound effect on Quasthoff’s Flowers in River Grove. Though the shop is open for limited hours, additional safety measures have been put in place.
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“We have gloves and masks for all of our employees and [we are] taking all necessary precautions,” manager Katie Muellner said. “We are offering no contact deliveries as well as curbside pickups. We are a small staff, so we work hard to support each other and our customers.”
The decline in sales led Muellner to reduce hours for employees, while cancellations of many spring events has affected the bottom line.
“The celebrations of proms, graduations, baptisms, weddings and so much more have been altered, which decreased our sales, but is emotional for our customers,” Muellner said. “The funeral homes and memorial masses have also been affected, which affects business.”
Virtual happy hour to benefit furloughed employees
In an effort to fundraise for its recently furloughed staff, The Beer Shop in Oak Park will host a two-hour virtual happy hour April 24. (The Beer Shop)
The fifth anniversary of The Beer Shop in Oak Park is a somber one, as the store recently furloughed most of its staff.
To assist its employees, the shop is hosting a virtual happy hour at 8 p.m. April 24 on Zoom. The event is open for anyone willing to donate to the bar crew. The two-hour event includes a livestream set by Chicago DJ Papa G.
Tickets to the virtual happy hour can be purchased here.
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stevenschering@pioneerlocal.com
Twitter: @steveschering