chicagotribune--2020-11-04--The Spin: Pritzker blames rich Republicans for losing ‘fair tax’ fight | Casten claims victory vs. I

The Spin: Pritzker blames rich Republicans for losing ‘fair tax’ fight | Casten claims victory vs. Ives, Underwood-Oberweis too close to call | AP calls Wisconsin, Michigan for Biden as battle with Trump continues

Trump is cyring foul over the election results , calling the process “ a major fraud on our nation.
” @ @ @ @ @ no evidence of foul play in the cliffhanger , the AP notes .
He vowed @ @ @ @ @ the Supreme Court , and received criticism from conservative pundits after making his comments .
@ @ @ @ @ would fight any such efforts to stop the counting of votes .

Gov. J.B. Pritzker answers questions during his daily update of COVID-19 cases at the Thompson Center on Oct., 20, 2020. (Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune)
Associated Press dispatch: Joe Biden won the battleground prizes of Michigan and Wisconsin today, reclaiming a key part of the “blue wall” that slipped away from Democrats four years ago and dramatically narrowing President Donald Trump’s pathway to reelection. Trump, who earlier today falsely proclaimed victory, and his campaign are already talking recounts and court fights.
Democrats are poised to keep control of the U.S. House of Representatives, though the goal to greatly expand their place in the chamber was dashed by several incumbent losses to Republicans.
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In the west and northwest suburban and exurban 14th Congressional District, the race between rookie Democratic U.S. Rep Lauren Underwood, of Naperville, and Republican state Sen. Jim Oberweis, of Sugar Grove, is still too close to call, though Oberweis was slightly ahead, according to unofficial totals.
In the neighboring 6th District Democratic U.S. Sean Casten, of Downers Grove, declared victory over Republican former state Rep. Jeanne Ives, of Wheaton, who conceded defeat in a midmorning statement; The Associated Press called the race for Casten early this morning.
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Both rookie lawmakers, Casten and Underwood flipped Republican seats in a 2018 blue wave that saw Democrats take the U.S. House.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker lost the battle of the billionaires in this election. His top-of-the-ballot referendum seeking to switch the state’s flat income tax to a graduated-rate system was voted down. This morning Pritzker’s team conceded defeat in a race that pit the Democratic governor, an heir to the Hyatt Hotel fortune, against Chicago hedge fund boss Ken Griffin, known for opening his wallet for Republican causes and candidates.
Some question whether it’s a referendum on state Democratic Party leader and longtime Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan and his ties to a federal corruption investigation involving utility giant ComEd.
Madigan has not been charged with any wrongdoing but that hasn’t stopped Republicans from running on it. Some even see last night’s defeat of Democratic Illinois Supreme Court Justice Tom Kilbride as a blow to Madigan’s power.
Welcome to The Spin.
Japanese and U.S. flags are placed in front of a TV monitor showing a news program broadcasting about the U.S. presidential election between President Donald Trump, right, and former Vice President Joe Biden, left, at a foreign exchange dealing company Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2020, in Tokyo. (Eugene Hoshiko/AP)
More from the AP: A full day after Election Day, neither candidate had cleared the 270 Electoral College votes needed to win the White House. But Biden’s victories in the swing states of Wisconsin and Michigan left him at 264, meaning he was one state away — any state — from crossing the threshold and becoming president-elect.
Now all eyes are on the delegate rich battleground state of Pennsylvania. Get the latest on where Biden and Trump stand here and here.
Trump’s campaign asked for a recount in Wisconsin.
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The Trump campaign also filed a lawsuit today in Michigan state court demanding access to locations where ballots are being counted in that state. And the campaign has filed a lawsuit in Pennsylvania, where Trump has a slight lead over Biden to halt the ballot count, The Hill newspaper is reporting.
Trump is cyring foul over the election results, calling the process “a major fraud on our nation.” even though there’s no evidence of foul play in the cliffhanger, the AP notes. He vowed to take the election to the Supreme Court, and received criticism from conservative pundits after making his comments. The Biden campaign said it would fight any such efforts to stop the counting of votes.
“If the president makes good on his threat to go to court to try to prevent the proper tabulation of votes, we have legal teams standing by ready to deploy to resist that effort,” Biden campaign manager Jen O’Malley Dillon said in a statement. “And they will prevail.”
In Illinois, Biden wins across all broad demographic groups: AP survey of Illinois voters — The Tribune’s Joe Mahr has the details here.
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Gov. J.B. Pritzker at The Woodlawn in Chicago on Oct. 23, 2020. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune)
From the Tribune’s Rick Pearson: The group backed by Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker to pitch his proposal to enact a graduated state income tax in Illinois acknowledged the constitutional amendment’s defeat today and warned of a financial morass as a result of the rejection of the proposed constitutional amendment.
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The announcement of the proposal’s defeat was a blow to Pritzker, who had promoted the concept even as a candidate for governor in defeating one-term Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner in 2018.
With state finances hanging in the balance, the ballot proposition was viewed as a measure of Illinoisans' trust and faith in their current government after decades of corruption and an inability to adequately budget. Read the rest of the story here.
Asked during a news conference today whether he thought distrust in state government generally and fellow Democrat Madigan in particular, Pritzker said “look I think there’s enormous distrust in government all the way around” and then touted his proposed ethics reforms. He then blasted Republican billionaires, special interests for bankrolling inaccurate ads that sank the measure.
Former President Barack Obama, who is registered to vote in Chicago, told confidants he backed the measure: “He believes it’s important to have a tax base that supports our schools, health system and critical social services, especially as Illinois continues to combat the ongoing coronavirus pandemic," an Obama confidant tells The Spin. "He’s long felt that people like him who can afford to pay more should do so.”
What’s next? What’s next? The governor was asked multiple times today about whether he’d raise taxes – including the flat tax – to deal with the state’s fiscal crisis. But he would only say that everything’s on the table.
“We’re going to have to make some painful cuts and this has been brought on by the failure of the fair tax amendment and the people who opposed it for their own selfish interests.”
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The math: The governor estimated the graduated income tax, had it passed, would have raised about $1.2 billion for the final six months of this budget year and $3.4 billion over the course of a full year.
The cash flow would have certainly helped, considering the governor’s budget office estimates that the state will lose a combined $6.5 billion in revenues this year and next year. Add to that the continued uncertainty about whether Washington will deliver another COVID-19 relief package to help states that have seen their revenues dry up as the pandemic wears on.
Ken Griffin, founder and CEO of Citadel, in 2014. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)
In addition to putting big money into the race to defeat Pritzker’s graduated income tax referendum on the ballot, Griffin, founder and CEO of Citadel, a Chicago-based hedge fund and investment firm, also found himself on the winning side of the effort to defeat Democratic Illinois Supreme Court Justice Tom Kilbride’s bid for another 10-year term on the bench.
Kilbride, 67, of Rock Island, didn’t reach the 60% threshold of voter approval to keep his seat and conceded defeat last night, the Tribune’s Ray Long notes in this piece. The results are seemingly a blow to Michael Madigan, the Illinois House Speaker who doubles as Illinois’ Democratic Party leader.
Griffin gave $4.5 million to the anti-Kilbride effort while packing mogul Richard Uihlein gave $1 million. State and national dark money groups with Republican, conservative and corporate ties gave hundreds of thousands more.
Madigan and federal corruption investigation loom over state House, Senate races: My Tribune colleagues Dan Petrella and Jamie Munks have the details here.
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U.S. Reps. Lauren Underwood and Sean Casten before a news conference outside the Ken Christy Post Office in Aurora on Aug. 18, 2020. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)
The Tribune’s John Byrne writes: Casten, of Downers Grove, released a statement shortly before 5 a.m. today claiming victory in Illinois' 6th Congressional District — a contest that turned into a referendum on Trump and the impact of government responses to the COVID-19 pandemic.
As I noted, the race between Jim Oberweis and Lauren Underwood in the neighboring 14th Congressional District is still too close to call with roughly 1,000 votes separating the two, according to unofficial vote tallies. In a late-afternoon statement, Underwood expressed confidence about her chances with so many ballots left to count.The Tribune’s Patrick O’Connell has the latest here.
Downstate, the rematch between four-term Republican U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis and Democratic challenger Betsy Dirksen Londrigan was a reprise of the 2018 battle when Davis eked out a win by just over 2,000 votes, my Tribune colleagues Patrick O’Connell, Jamie Munks and John Byrne report.
With 100% of the vote in, Davis was leading Dirksen Londrigan 54.6% to 45.4%, according to unofficial results.
Davis commended Dirksen Londrigan for running “a spirited race, once again,” during a late night news conference in Taylorville. Though Londrigan had not conceded before Davis spoke, he called his lead “insurmountable.” Read about that and other closely watched races here.
My colleagues remind that the congressional races in Illinois may look quite different in two years: Illinois is expected to lose one of its 18 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives through the congressional reapportionment, which will be based on the results of the recently completed 2020 census. The redistricting process will take place next year.
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U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin won reelection to a fifth term: The Associated Press called the race for Illinois' senior senator who is currently the No. 2 ranking Democrat in the chamber. The candidates vying to replace him in Illinois' only statewide race were Republican former Lake County Sheriff Mark Curran; wealthy Chicago businessman Willie Wilson, running under his own party; Green Party candidate David Black; and Libertarian Danny Malouf.
Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx raises two fingers to symbolize a second term while exiting after giving a victory speech at her election night headquarters in the Kinzie Hotel on Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020, in Chicago. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)
The Tribune’s Alice Yin and Dan Hinkel report that Democratic Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx, the county’s first African American top prosecutor, beat Republican challenger Pat O’Brien on last night with solid backing in Chicago.
Foxx had 54% to O’Brien’s approximately 40% with 98% of precincts reporting at the end of the night. Libertarian candidate Brian Dennehy had garnered about 7%.
She campaigned on criminal justice reform efforts that clearly resonated with voters and during a victory speech last night called for a unified effort to fight crime. Read the story here.
Foxx’s win was based on her support in Chicago, where unofficial totals showed she had hauled in nearly 560,000 votes to O’Brien’s roughly 263,000 with some 98% of precincts reporting.
Cook County Judge Michael Toomin edges closer to keeping his spot on the bench after County Democratic Party the Toni Preckwinkle-led Cook County Democratic Party decided against endorsing him — something he and others allege was retaliation for his appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate State’s Attorney Kim Foxx’s handling of the Jussie Smollett case; Foxx worked for and is a protege of Preckwinkle, who is also Cook County board president.
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Toomin also was the target of a widespread campaign among juvenile-justice activists painting him as dangerously out of touch, the Tribune’s Megan Crepeau reports.
With 98% of precincts reporting, about 62% of voters opted to retain Toomin, according‘ to the unofficial count. Judges need 60% of the vote to win retention, Crepeau reminds.
Thanks for reading The Spin, the Tribune’s politics newsletter. Sign up here to have it delivered to your inbox weekday afternoons. Have a tip? Email host Lisa Donovan at ldonovan@chicagotribune.com.
Twitter @byldonovan


chicagotribune--2020-11-04--Country Club Hills man rammed Chicago police officer with stolen car, had machine gun, officials say

After the officer was taken to an area hospital , other police confiscated a “ fully automatic weapon , ” @ @ @ @ @ of the car and Sheko , and he and the passenger were arrested , according @ @ @ @

Police seized a fully automatic weapon from a stolen car that was used by a Country Club Hills man to ram an officer during a traffic stop in the Near North neighborhood Tuesday afternoon, officials said.
Anthony Sheko, 23, of the 3900 block of West 171st Street in Country Club Hills, was charged with aggravated battery to a police officer and unlawful use of an automatic weapon or machine gun, both of which are felonies, police said.
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Sheko, who had a female passenger, was behind the wheel of the stolen car when officers tried to pull him over Tuesday about 4:05 p.m. at State and Maple streets, according to a news release.
Anthony Sheko (Chicago Police Department)
As an officer began walking toward the car, Sheko put it into reverse, pinning the officer and injuring the officer’s lower leg.
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After the officer was taken to an area hospital, other police confiscated a “fully automatic weapon,” they found during a search of the car and Sheko, and he and the passenger were arrested, according to the release.
There was no word if the passenger would face any charges.
Sheko was scheduled for a bond hearing Wednesday.
rsobol@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-11-04--COVID-19 in Illinois by the numbers: Here’s a daily update on cases, positivity rate and hospital da

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

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

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


chicagotribune--2020-11-04--COVID-19 cases in Illinois by ZIP code: Search for your neighborhood

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

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


chicagotribune--2020-11-04--Daily Illinois coronavirus graphs: 55 new deaths, 7,538 new confirmed cases and 71,857 new test resu

Daily Illinois coronavirus graphs: 55 new deaths, 7,538 new confirmed cases and 71,857 new test results

Illinois announced 7,538 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 Wednesday for a total of 437,556 .
The state also announced 55 @ @ @ @ @ of 9,933 and 71,857 new test results for a total of 8 million .

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


chicagotribune--2020-11-04--CPS releases ventilation and air quality assessments, says most classrooms are cleared for students

CPS releases ventilation and air quality assessments, says most classrooms are cleared for students to return

According to CPS , which assessed the ventilation , 94 % of the more than 36,000 spaces in school buildings @ @ @ @ @ offices , gyms , libraries and nurse offices — are cleared for the return of @ @ @ @ @ the classrooms assessed were cleared .
A space must have a functioning mechanical ventilation system @ @ @ @ @ at least one air purifier , depending on the size of the room .

An assessment of ventilation and air quality in Chicago Public Schools classrooms showed nearly all are cleared for students' potential return, school officials announced Tuesday.
The announcement was part of CPS’ effort to assess school buildings in anticipation of an eventual return to in-person instruction amid the coronavirus pandemic. Officials also announced they will spend $8.5 million to purchase air purifiers, which will be added to classrooms utilized by students as well as staff spaces that don’t have mechanical ventilation.
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An empty classroom at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Academy of Social Justice in Chicago on Sept. 8, 2020. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
District officials said they would offer in-person learning for prekindergarten and some clusters of special education students sometime in the second quarter, which begins Nov. 9.
“We have made critical investments to prepare our schools,” said Arnie Rivera, CPS chief operating officer, adding that this includes plexiglass dividers, hand sanitizers, disinfectant sprayers and signage about social distancing.
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The Chicago Teachers Union has expressed concern over the safety protocols within reopening plans, and asked for a transparent and comprehensive reporting of air quality and ventilation within school buildings.
Meanwhile, parents have pushed for more details on how a return to in-person schooling will work.
According to CPS, which assessed the ventilation, 94% of the more than 36,000 spaces in school buildings — including classrooms, administrative offices, gyms, libraries and nurse offices — are cleared for the return of students. Ninety-nine percent of the classrooms assessed were cleared. A space must have a functioning mechanical ventilation system or a working window with at least one air purifier, depending on the size of the room.
The independent air quality assessment, by a state-licensed industrial hygienist, determined all 513 campuses evaluated are acceptable for the return of students. Six schools that have been under active construction will be assessed soon.
Jennifer Seo, medical director at the Chicago Department of Public Health, said COVID-19 transmission within day cares and schools is rare if people are taking the right precautions. She said the precautions CPS has planned are in addition to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention strategies, such as social distancing, requiring masks, hand hygiene, regularly disinfecting common spaces and contact tracing.
“We’re confident in their strong protocols,” she said. She noted that “we are of course concerned” about the rising cases in the region.
Rivera said the air purifiers along with a confirmed working window give teachers the option of closing a window during inclement weather.
“It doesn’t mean we will prevent teachers from doing so, but we don’t want that to be a requirement, especially during the winter months,” he said.
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Parents will be able to access ventilation and air quality information about their child’s school Wednesday at cps.edu/airquality.
abowen@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-11-04--Casten declares victory over Ives in west, northwest suburban congressional race

“ The voters of the 6th District sent a resounding message , ” Casten said in his statement .
“ @ @ @ @ @ facts .
They voted for decency , acceptance , and love , and rejected bigotry @ @ @ @ @ that they believe we should all have high-quality , affordable health care .
They acknowledged @ @ @ @ @ we must do something about it .
”

Freshman Democratic U.S. Rep. Sean Casten declared victory Wednesday over Republican challenger Jeanne Ives in a west and northwest suburban congressional race.
Casten, of Downers Grove, claimed the win in a 6th District contest that turned into a referendum on President Donald Trump and the impact of government responses to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The voters of the 6th District sent a resounding message,” Casten said in his statement. “They voted for science and facts. They voted for decency, acceptance, and love, and rejected bigotry and racism. They said that they believe we should all have high-quality, affordable health care. They acknowledged the climate crisis and decided we must do something about it.”
With 100% of precincts reporting, Casten had 51.5% of the vote to 46.7% for Ives, according to unofficial results. Libertarian Bill Redpath had 1.7% of the vote. The Associated Press called the race for Casten.
Ives conceded defeat Wednesday.
“The pain of our defeat is far, far less than the pain of the restaurant owners I’ve met who have been forced to watch a lifetime of work and investment be destroyed by a handful of bureaucrats,” the statement reads in part.
“In this election, we ran against — not only Sean Casten — but members of both parties' establishments, the media and other institutions that have protected entrenched interests for decades," Ives said. “My team fought hard, but in the end the power of the opposition was too great. It is somewhat unclear to me what lies ahead for Illinoisans."
Casten upset veteran Republican U.S. Rep. Peter Roskam of Wheaton to take the seat two years ago, helping Democrats take control of the House of Representatives.
After nearly knocking off then-Gov. Bruce Rauner in the Illinois Republican primary in 2018, Ives, a former state representative, was trying to flip the 6th District back into the GOP column.
Like in so many contests in Illinois and across the country, Trump has become an important third character in this one.
Casten has ripped the president and how the federal government has handled the coronavirus pandemic. He also has been focusing on climate change and civil rights issues.
He has tried to tie Ives to the president, telling the Tribune that Roskam “was doubling down on the extremism of Trump, and certainly my challenger is as well. And that’s not where the American people are, and that’s not where this district is.”
Ives is a staunch social conservative and Trump supporter who has highlighted the economic ramifications of shutdowns and forced closures as the state and country grapple with COVID-19. She also has emphasized her fiscally conservative views and law-and-order message.
jebyrne@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-11-04--1 dead after tractor-trailer and passenger car collide on Eisenhower, state police say

Additional details such as how many people were in each vehicle , whether there were additional injuries or contributing factors @ @ @ @ @ released .

One person was killed in a two-vehicle crash Wednesday morning on the inbound Eisenhower Expressway near Maywood, according to Illinois State Police.
A passenger vehicle collided with the rear of a tractor-trailer that was parked on the right shoulder of Interstate 290 east, just west of 25th Avenue, about 5:45 a.m., officials said.
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One person died as a result of the collision, although Trooper Omoayena Williams said it wasn’t immediately clear in which vehicle the person was killed.
Additional details such as how many people were in each vehicle, whether there were additional injuries or contributing factors to the crash were not released.
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The right lane and shoulder were closed for the crash investigation, Williams said in an email. Two left lanes remained open.
Check back for updates.
kdouglas@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @312BreakingNews


chicagotribune--2020-11-04--Daywatch: Presidential race hinges on Midwest, Pritzker’s tax amendment runs into resistance and all

Daywatch: Presidential race hinges on Midwest, Pritzker’s tax amendment runs into resistance and all our post-election front pages

Flanked by her family , Foxx took the stage at a small event at a downtown hotel about 10:45 p.m. @ @ @ @ @ conceded at the end of a race that focused on whether the incumbent had made @ @ @ @ @ system or fueled crime .

Good morning, Chicago. Tuesday was Election Day, but we’re still waiting on a lot the results of the presidential race, as well as a number of local races. For live updates, visit our election results page here.
On Tuesday, Illinois public health officials reported 6,516 newly confirmed cases of COVID-19. There were also 68 additional deaths reported.
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Here’s more election news and other top stories you need to know to start your day.
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Democratic presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden gestures prior to speaking at a drive-in event in Coconut Creek, Florida, on Oct. 29, 2020, and President Donald Trump pumps his fist as he arrives to a campaign rally at Green Bay Austin Straubel International Airport in Green Bay, Wisconsin, on Oct. 30. (JIM WATSON / AFP via Getty Images)
President Donald Trump carried Florida, the nation’s most prized battleground state, and he and Democrat Joe Biden focused early Wednesday on the three Northern industrial states — Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania — that could prove crucial in determining who wins the White House.
In U.S. Senate, Republicans beat back Democratic challengers in bid to retain power.
Democrats keep control of U.S. House but expectations of big gains fall short.
Signs against and for the graduated-rate income tax amendment are posted near an early voting site Nov. 2, 2020, in Palatine. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)
Illinois voters on Tuesday got their say on a far-reaching ballot question about the future of the state income tax following millions of dollars in TV ads bankrolled by battling billionaires Gov. J.B. Pritzker and hedge fund owner Ken Griffin.
Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx raises two fingers to symbolize a second term while exiting after giving a victory speech at her election night headquarters in the Kinzie Hotel, Nov. 3, 2020, in Chicago. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)
Democratic Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx beat Republican challenger Pat O’Brien on Tuesday night, winning four more years to continue enacting her criminal justice reform agenda.
Flanked by her family, Foxx took the stage at a small event at a downtown hotel about 10:45 p.m., after O’Brien conceded at the end of a race that focused on whether the incumbent had made needed changes to a broken system or fueled crime.
Illinois Supreme Court Justice Thomas Kilbride attends the Oct. 9, 2020, opening of the Will County courthouse. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune)
Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan was dealt a blow Tuesday as Democratic Illinois Supreme Court Justice Tom Kilbride conceded defeat following a record-smashing, big-dollar fight against a pair of billionaires who wanted to unseat him.
Fact check: Dewey did not beat Truman. We still regret the error. (Frank Cancellare/UPI // Getty Images)
Here’s what readers awoke to see on the front page of the Chicago Tribune following each presidential election from 1920 through 2020, including today’s paper with its inconclusive results.


chicagotribune--2020-11-04--Democratic Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx fends off Republican former Judge Pat O’Brien

“ We are not our best city when there are neighborhoods where children can not go out to play .
@ @ @ @ @ city when our elders can ’ t plant their gardens without fear of being shot @ @ @ @ @ talk about this city in the way that I ’ ve seen us talk about @ @ @ @ @ in the last several months , where there ’ s been a distinction of where @ @ @ @ @ we get up in arms in places where we don ’ t normally accept it @ @ @ @ @ “ Violence anywhere is a devastation to our county .
”

Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx raises two fingers to symbolize a second term while exiting after giving a victory speech at her election night headquarters in the Kinzie Hotel, Nov. 3, 2020, in Chicago. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)
Democratic Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx beat Republican challenger Pat O’Brien on Tuesday night, winning four more years to continue enacting her criminal justice reform agenda.
Flanked by her family, Foxx took the stage at a small event at a downtown hotel about 10:45 p.m., after O’Brien conceded at the end of a race that focused on whether the incumbent had made needed changes to a broken system or fueled crime. She gave a brief, impassioned speech, vowing further efforts at change through her leadership of an office with “a marred history.” She also called for a unified effort against the violence that has plagued Chicago.
“We are not our best city when there are neighborhoods where children cannot go out to play. We are not our best city when our elders can’t plant their gardens without fear of being shot, and we cannot talk about this city in the way that I’ve seen us talk about this city and the county in the last several months, where there’s been a distinction of where violence is OK and where we get up in arms in places where we don’t normally accept it,” she said. “Violence anywhere is a devastation to our county.”
In unofficial totals, Foxx had 54% to O’Brien’s approximately 40% with 98% of precincts reporting at the end of the night. Libertarian candidate Brian Dennehy had garnered about 7%.
Foxx’s win was based on her support in Chicago, where unofficial totals showed she had hauled in nearly 560,000 votes to O’Brien’s roughly 263,000 with some 98% of precincts reporting.
[ Election 2020 live updates: AP says Florida too early to call for presidential race ]
O’Brien conceded in brief remarks to supporters at a Niles event center, saying, “We gave it our best shot.”
“Hopefully, the next four years will find us in a better position than we are now,” he said. “We did what we could, and maybe some good will come of this.”
Foxx, the first African American woman to serve as the county’s top prosecutor, had sought another term to continue making changes she has said will make the system fairer for Black and Latino people. Her office, for example, raised the bar on felony shoplifting charges and pushed for the pretrial release of more detainees on bail.
Foxx is one of a slate of progressive prosecutors nationwide calling for systemic change, and she might have been aided Tuesday by a presidential vote in a county that appeared to have overwhelmingly supported Democratic nominee Joe Biden against President Donald Trump. The election took place following months of protests across the country demanding an overhaul of the criminal justice system sparked by the death of George Floyd under the knee of a Minneapolis police officer in May.
O’Brien, a former Cook County assistant state’s attorney and judge, took a law-and-order approach and argued that Foxx has endangered public safety by letting offenders walk free. He sought to capitalize on voters’ concerns about crime at a moment when shootings and homicides in Chicago are both up about 50% over the prior year, putting the city on pace for one of the most violent years of the last quarter-century.
[ 2020 election results: Get live presidential and Illinois election results here ]
He also highlighted a scandal that has dogged Foxx — last year’s dropping of 16 felony counts against former “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett, who had been charged with faking a hate crime against himself. Special prosecutor Dan Webb concluded in August that there was no evidence prosecutors committed any crime but that they misled the public about the extraordinary deal Smollett received.
Foxx had the support of prominent local Democrats such as Mayor Lori Lightfoot, as well as national politicians including vice presidential nominee U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris, a former prosecutor who recorded a robocall calling Foxx “smart on crime.”
O’Brien, meanwhile, had the support of figures including downtown Ald. Brendan Reilly, who bucked his party to support the Republican. O’Brien, who was a Democrat before switching parties, also received the endorsement of the Chicago Fraternal Order of Police union, along with a $57,800 donation.
Foxx raised more cash than O’Brien overall during the full campaign, with her committee taking in some $5 million between the beginning of 2019 and the end of last month. During the same period, O’Brien’s committee took in about $1.1 million. But their fundraising was closer to even after the primary. O’Brien’s committee took in some $965,000 between the start of April and the end of October. Her committee reported a little over $1 million in donations during that period.
The sums were significantly smaller than those involved in the March primary, when Foxx’s leading opponent, Bill Conway, took in $10.5 million from his billionaire father. Foxx raised about $3.6 million before the primary, though her campaign was bolstered by a political action committee that took in $2 million from a group tied to liberal hedge fund billionaire George Soros.
Foxx received about 51% of the vote to Conway’s 31%.
Changing the system has been Foxx’s consistent theme since 2016, when she beat Democratic incumbent Anita Alvarez in the primary. Foxx had heavily criticized Alvarez for waiting more than a year to file murder charges against white police Officer Jason Van Dyke for killing Black 17-year-old Laquan McDonald.
O’Brien portrayed Foxx’s term as a failure, including by pointing to a Tribune investigation that found she dropped felony cases involving charges of murder and other serious offenses at a higher rate than Alvarez. During Foxx’s first three years as top prosecutor, her office dropped all charges against 29.9% of felony defendants. For the last three years of Alvarez’s tenure, the rate was 19.4%, the Tribune found.
O’Brien, among others, also blamed Foxx’s policies for looting downtown over the summer.
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Foxx defended her record. She said that her higher rate of dropped felony cases painted an incomplete picture of her commitment to keeping the public safe. She said her office had dismissed cases against low-level, nonviolent offenders so prosecutors could concentrate on violent crimes. Foxx said she has tried to create a culture where prosecutors can openly discuss dropping felony charges if a case has legal problems.
She also pushed back on suggestions that her office was to blame for looting, saying her prosecutors had not dropped such cases and pointing to the hundreds of people charged with looting-related offenses.
Foxx also highlighted O’Brien’s involvement in the prosecution of four Black teens convicted of the 1986 rape and murder of a white woman. Three of them spent about 14 years each in prison before they were freed, while another spent six years behind bars. DNA linked the crime to two other men.
O’Brien told the Tribune he believed the men were guilty during the prosecution, though he acknowledged he was part of a system that failed the men.
dhinkel@chicagotribune.com
ayin@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-11-04--Judge Michael Toomin, who presided over high-profile cases from Jussie Smollett to Jeff Fort, in a c

Judge Michael Toomin, who presided over high-profile cases from Jussie Smollett to Jeff Fort, in a close fight for his seat

“ What this appears to be is retaliation for some perceived failing of my service as a presiding judge , @ @ @ @ @ case a blatant rejection of the overruling conflict of judicial independence , ” Toomin said @ @ @ @ @ just seems like it was preordained , that this was the way it was supposed @ @ @ @ @ arrived with the result that they wanted to .
And that ’ s wrong .
@

Judge Michael Toomin speaks after swearing in former U.S. Attorney Dan Webb as a special prosecutor related to the Jussie Smollett case on Aug. 23, 2019. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)
Early unofficial results indicate that Cook County Judge Michael Toomin is in a close fight to keep his spot on the bench, after a shunning from the county Democratic Party and a widespread campaign among juvenile-justice activists painting him as dangerously out of touch.
With 98% of precincts reporting Tuesday night, about 62% of voters opted to retain Toomin. Judges need 60% of the vote to win retention.
That means the longtime jurist, who has been presiding over the court’s juvenile division for a decade, could maintain a hold on his seat.
But given the loud and lengthy complaints by juvenile-justice advocates about his leadership of juvenile court, he could yet be reassigned elsewhere.
In 2018, Judge Maura Slattery Boyle faced a coordinated activist campaign against her retention but hung on by a sliver — and then was quietly reassigned from the criminal division to civil court.
Toomin has been involved in some of Cook County’s highest-profile cases, from Jussie Smollett to Jeff Fort. But this year, after a decade presiding over the juvenile courts, the county Democratic Party declined to endorse him, and he faced a groundswell of progressive activists alleging he had not done right by the county’s youths.
Toomin and others alleged that the county Dems' campaign against him was merely retaliation for his appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate State’s Attorney Kim Foxx’s handling of the Smollett case.
But activists on the left said he had not kept up with the fast-evolving thinking around juvenile justice.
“What this appears to be is retaliation for some perceived failing of my service as a presiding judge, and retaliation means in this case a blatant rejection of the overruling conflict of judicial independence,” Toomin said in September. “It just seems like it was preordained, that this was the way it was supposed to be, and they arrived with the result that they wanted to. And that’s wrong.”
The Cook County Democratic Party automatically had endorsed all judges for retention up until 2018, when the judicial retention committee was formed. Cook County judges are typically retained by voters, but September was the first time the party publicly rejected a retention bid from Toomin, who was last up for election in 2014.
His retention became another flashpoint between County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, who supports his removal, and Mayor Lori Lightfoot, who echoed Toomin’s comments that the lack of endorsement seemed like retaliation.
Toomin’s judicial career stretches back to 1980, and he has had an influential role in several marquee Cook County cases.
He appointed a special prosecutor to investigate whether clout played a role in the investigation of the death of a young man killed in a drunken confrontation involving a nephew of former Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley.
He presided over the county trial of Black P Stones and El Rukn leader Jeff Fort, ultimately sentencing him to 75 years behind bars. And he oversaw the unprecedented second trial of infamous mob hit man Harry “The Hook” Aleman, whose first acquittal was voided after the judge was found to be on the take.
In addition, Toomin served on the state appellate court and chaired a committee tasked with revamping the way death penalty cases were handled in Illinois.
In his years presiding over adult felony cases at Cook County’s criminal courthouse, he earned the affectionate nickname “The Toominator,” and had a reputation as a careful, conscientious and somewhat conservative jurist.
In 2010, he was named presiding judge of the juvenile division, which he described as “one of the jewels of the circuit court.”
“I think we recognize that these young kids have potential and they can be saved and become productive citizens,” he told the Tribune at the time.
mcrepeau@chicagotribune.com
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chicagotribune--2020-11-04--House Speaker Michael Madigan and federal corruption investigation loom over state House, Senate rac

House Speaker Michael Madigan and federal corruption investigation loom over state House, Senate races

All 118 Illinois House seats and 22 of 59 state Senate seats were on the ballot this fall .
But @ @ @ @ @ Senate races were uncontested , a handful of competitive districts — largely in the suburbs @ @ @ @ @ lose or add to their veto-proof majorities in both chambers .
Democrats hold supermajorities of @ @ @ @ @ 40-19 in the Senate , meaning Republicans would need a historic number of victories to @ @ @ @ @ and will remain the Senate ’ s minority party regardless of Tuesday ’ s outcomes @

Dozens of voters line up outside as they wait to cast their ballots at the Election Day super site polling place set up inside the United Center in Chicago, Nov. 3, 2020. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
Illinois Democrats were hoping President Donald Trump’s unpopularity with suburban voters would outweigh party leader Michael Madigan’s ties to a federal corruption investigation and propel the party to greater majorities in the Illinois House and Senate in Tuesday’s election, but early returns left Republicans feeling hopeful.
Facing an internal challenge to his leadership and a House committee investigation into his role in Commonwealth Edison’s scheme to bribe others to gain his favor, longtime House Speaker Madigan, who has not been charged with any wrongdoing, could still emerge as one of the biggest victors when all the ballots counted.
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All 118 Illinois House seats and 22 of 59 state Senate seats were on the ballot this fall. But because 52 House and 11 Senate races were uncontested, a handful of competitive districts — largely in the suburbs — will determine whether Democrats lose or add to their veto-proof majorities in both chambers. Democrats hold supermajorities of 74-44 in the House and 40-19 in the Senate, meaning Republicans would need a historic number of victories to take control of the House and will remain the Senate’s minority party regardless of Tuesday’s outcomes.
The balance of power in the General Assembly resulting from the election will determine who will draw the boundaries in the once-a-decade legislative redistricting following the 2020 U.S. census.
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Democrats have drawn the previous two maps, and with Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s pledge to veto any “unfair” map that makes it to his desk, House Republicans are looking to expand their ranks by at least four and prevent Democrats from being able to override the governor’s veto unilaterally.
Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 85 Then-Speaker Michael Madigan works the floor as the Illinois House convenes at the Bank of Springfield Center on Jan. 8, 2021. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)
The new slate of lawmakers will also be grappling with a dire state budget situation exacerbated by the two-pronged blow of pandemic-driven spending and a drop in revenue, with a deficit that would be even larger if voters don’t approve Pritzker’s graduated income tax at the polls.
With 521,045 out of nearly 2.4 million mail-in requested ballots not yet received by local election authorities as of Tuesday morning, according to the State Board of Elections, it may be days — or even weeks — before the exact balance of power in the next General Assembly will be known. Any ballot postmarked by Tuesday will be counted, as long as it’s received by Nov. 17.
Slow returns from DuPage County increased the difficulty of projecting how races might shake out on election night.
House Republican leader Jim Durkin of Western Springs said in an interview late Tuesday that he was pleased with how GOP candidates were performing on election night, though he acknowledged it was too early to have a sense of the final outcome.
“We are competitive,” Durkin said. “We’re holding our ground in the suburbs … and we feel that we’re close to picking up a couple seats in the Metro East” region near St. Louis
One of the top targets for Democrats in the House is the west suburban 41st District seat held by third-term Rep. Grant Wehrli of Naperville. Democratic challenger Janet Yang Rohr was and Wehrli were in a near-deadlock, with the Rohr leading by 154 votes with 100% of precincts reporting, according to unofficial results.
Rohr is a school board member in Naperville and the director of global data at the investment research firm Morningstar. Her campaign has received a major infusion of cash from the Democratic Party of Illinois and Democratic Majority funds, and has also gotten funds from Pritzker.
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Wehrli is a member of the special investigating committee tasked with investigating Madigan’s conduct, and has suggested that given the amount of money Yang Rohr’s campaign took in from the state Democratic Party, she wouldn’t be an independent voice in Springfield. Yang Rohr, meanwhile, has critiqued Wehrli for standing with former Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner during his lengthy budget stalemate with the Democratic-controlled General Assembly.
Democrats also had their sights set once again on the only House district represented by a Republican that includes a portion of Chicago. Democrats spent heavily in 2016 to try to defeat longtime GOP Rep. Michael McAuliffe in the Northwest Side and northwest suburban 20th House District, resulting in the most expensive state legislative race in the country. But after McAullife won reelection, they sat out 2018.
McAuliffe retired in 2019, with local Republican leaders appointing Rosemont Mayor Bradley Stephens to the open seat. Despite a well-financed challenge from Chicago firefighter and paramedic Michelle Darbro, who received strong financial backing from the Madigan-led state Democratic Party, Stephens coasted to victory on election night in the 20th House District.
With about 98% of precincts reporting, The Associated Press called the race for Stephens with 59% of the vote to 41% for Darbro, according to unofficial results.
Democratic state Rep. Karina Villa of West Chicago is hoping to flip the state Senate seat that’s been held by conservative Republican state Sen. Jim Oberweis of Sugar Grove, who gave up his seat to challenge U.S. Rep. Lauren Underwood in her first reelection bid.
With 100% of precincts reporting, the race was a virtual tie, with Villa leading Republican Jeanette Ward by just 18 votes, according to unofficial results.
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Democrats also spent big in the race for the House seat Villa currently occupies, which pits Democrat Maura Hirschauer against Republican Laura Curtis. With 100% of precincts reporting, Hirschauer led 53% to 47%, according to unofficial results.
In one of the most surprising results of the night, state Sen. Robert Martwick, a Northwest Side Democrat, was in a virtual tie with Republican challenger Anthony Beckman of Harwood Heights in the Northwest Side and northwest suburban 10th District. With nearly 99% of precincts reporting, Martwick was trailing Beckman by 225 votes. Half the district comprises the House district won by Stephens.
Republicans appeared poised to flip at least one Downstate House seat, in the Metro East region near St. Louis. First-term Democratic Rep. Nathan Reitz, of Steeleville, was trailing Republican challenger David Friess 65% to 35% in the race for the 116th House district with 97% of thel vote tallied Tuesday night, according to unofficial results.
Incumbent Democratic state Rep. Monica Bristow was also trailing her Republican challenger with 66% of the vote counted, though the race for the 111th House district was tighter. According to the unofficial count Tuesday night, Amy Elik was leading Bristow, of Godfrey, 55% to 45% with 100% of precincts counted, according to unofficial totals.
dpetrella@chicagotribune.com
jmunks@@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-11-04--In Illinois, Biden wins across all broad demographic groups: AP survey of Illinois voters

Pritzker , meanwhile , drew initial praise for imposing one of the nation ’ s first mask mandates , which @ @ @ @ @ down Illinois ' first wave of COVID-19 .
But as virus cases and hospitalizations have @ @ @ @ @ past month , Pritzker has ratcheted up restrictions that have increasingly fueled complaints his latest @ @ @ @ @ contain the virus while unnecessarily damaging the economy .

An Associated Press poll of Illinois voters suggests that Joe Biden beat Donald Trump across all broad age, race, ethnic and education groups.
The polling shows results following largely predicted demographic lines, with Illinois’ more Democratic slant showing when the results were compared with national AP polling data.
In Illinois, the poll of registered Illinois voters suggests Biden beat Trump by at least 30 percentage points among those under 45 and more than 20 percentage points among senior citizens. The closest: those ages 45 to 65, who went for Biden by 14 percentage points.
The spread is much narrower nationally, those 45 to 64 voting for Biden by 4 percentage points, and those older than 65 for Biden by 3 percentage points. (Although the poll suggests Biden won all groups, ultimately the winner of the election comes down to how each candidate performed in battleground states.)
When looking at race and ethnicity, the AP survey suggests Biden won Illinois' white vote by 7 percentage points, while Trump won it nationally by 6 percentage points. Biden also performed well with Black and Hispanic voters, although not as well nationally as in Illinois, after Trump’s campaign spent months aggressively courting them.
The survey suggests Biden also won all broad gender and educational demographics, including males who didn’t graduate from college. Nationally, Trump appears to have won that demographic, while struggling with women and college-educated men. But, in both Illinois and the nation, Trump won over rural voters, while appearing to lose out on suburban voters and struggling significantly with urban ones.
AP’s VoteCast is a survey of the American electorate conducted in all 50 states by NORC at the University of Chicago. The survey of an estimated 140,000 registered voters is conducted Oct. 26 to Nov. 3, concluding as polls close on Election Day.
Voters approve of Fauci over Pritzker and Trump: AP survey of Illinois voters
Illinois voters give higher marks to Gov. J.B. Pritzker than President Donald Trump on how each has handled the pandemic, but the nation’s top infectious disease doctor beats them both, according to a survey of voters conducted by The Associated Press.
The survey found 60% of Illinois voters approve of Pritzker’s handling of the pandemic, compared with 36% for Trump. Those results closely hewed to the party affiliation reported of those surveyed: 57% Democrats or leaning toward that party, 38% Republicans or leaning toward that party, and 5% independents.
But breaking that mold was Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, who has served under six presidents. Three-fourths of Illinoisans approved of his response, which roughly hews to a September Kaiser Family Foundation poll showing 68% of Americans had a great deal or fair amount of trust in him.
At a campaign rally in the closing days of the election, Trump suggested he’d fire Fauci if he wins reelection. Fauci, meanwhile, has been increasingly critical the Trump administration’s response and disputed Trump’s assertions that the country was “rounding the turn” on the virus.
Pritzker, meanwhile, drew initial praise for imposing one of the nation’s first mask mandates, which was credited with helping tamp down Illinois' first wave of COVID-19. But as virus cases and hospitalizations have surged across Illinois in the past month, Pritzker has ratcheted up restrictions that have increasingly fueled complaints his latest moves will do little to contain the virus while unnecessarily damaging the economy.
Still, a smaller poll conducted by the AP found that, by a 2-to-1 margin, Illinoisans preferred actions that limited the virus’s spread, even if it damaged the economy, rather than actions that limited economic damage at the risk of fueling the virus’s spread.
That smaller poll also reported that a majority of Illinois respondents had been affected by the pandemic at least by not being able to attend a major life event, such as a wedding or funeral, while about a third reported lost income and 1 in 6 reported the death of a close friend or relative.
AP’s VoteCast is a survey of the American electorate conducted in all 50 states by NORC at the University of Chicago. The survey of an estimated 140,000 registered voters is conducted Oct. 26 to Nov. 3, concluding as polls close on Election Day.
Coronavirus pandemic not at all under control: AP survey of Illinois voters
Most Illinois voters said they think the coronavirus pandemic is not at all under control in this country, according to a survey of voters conducted by The Associated Press. In addition, the majority of Illinois respondents said they disapproved of how President Donald Trump has handled the pandemic.
The pandemic has killed 9,878 Illinoisans and more than 230,000 people across the country. The AP VoteCast survey found Illinoisans were slightly more likely than the national average to believe the pandemic was not under control.
The survey also found an overwhelming majority of Illinois voters said they considered the pandemic an important factor in the presidential race, with more than 4 in 10 saying it was the single most important factor.
AP’s VoteCast is a survey of the American electorate conducted in all 50 states by NORC at the University of Chicago. The survey of an estimated 140,000 registered voters is conducted Oct. 26 to Nov. 3, concluding as polls close on Election Day.