chicagotribune--2020-09-22--Column: Lightfoot’s pandemic parking ticket relief waffle means anyone can be ‘a public safety threa

Column: Lightfoot’s pandemic parking ticket relief waffle means anyone can be ‘a public safety threat’

The statement said : “ To further reinforce what was stated before , the Mayor held a call on March @ @ @ @ @ Tribune was present on , where she not only again clarified previous remarks but made @ @ @ @ @ continuing during the pandemic , and reiterated there would be an emphasis on public safety @ @ @ @ @ even more clear to reporters , the Mayor again explicitly stated that this does not @ @ @ @ @ free parking all over the city.
’ On top of that , the Mayor stated @ @ @ @ @ have to feed the meter during this time , which was reported by another media @ @ @ @ @ .
”

Back in the early weeks of the coronavirus pandemic, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, recognizing the impending chaos and economic hardship, said the city would stop ticketing cars at expired meters.
On March 18, Lightfoot specifically explained: “So, for example, an expired meter that is otherwise legally parked and not posing a public safety threat, you should not be getting ticketed.”
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The funny thing about that nice gesture is it wasn’t true. According to an analysis of city parking data by my colleagues Stacy St. Clair, Jennifer Smith Richards and Gregory Pratt, between Lightfoot’s March 18 news conference and April 30, the end date the mayor set for the parking ticket hiatus, 17,564 tickets were issued for vehicles parked at expired meters.
Per the Tribune report:
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"In all, about 70% of tickets citywide were issued for reasons the mayor had suggested would be given a pass: Parking without a proper city sticker or a valid residential permit (3,111); for having expired plates (2,009); for being stopped during rush-hour times (984) or early morning snow-zone parking (66); or being parked at expired meters both inside and outside the downtown area (17,564).
“Nearly 1 in every 5 tickets later were dismissed by City Hall or an administrative hearing officer, analysis of city data shows. Most people did not appeal or simply paid them without a fight.”
Oh, and this also happened, according to the report: “Behind the scenes, the Lightfoot administration declared expired meter parking anywhere in the central business district to be a threat to public safety and directed ticketing to continue, according to documents obtained through an open records request. The public wasn’t told about that change in tactics, however.”
That makes Lightfoot’s thoughtful gesture to help the public reeling from the coronavirus seem more like a con where you tell the public, “Relax, folks, we want to ease your burden, so don’t worry about parking tickets. We’re all in this together!”
And then you tell your army of ticket writers: “Get 'em!”
What made this story particularly galling was this line: “Lightfoot officials declined to be interviewed for this story.”
Nothing screams “WE’RE SORRY FOR THE MISCOMMUNICATION AND WE’LL FIND A WAY TO MAKE THIS RIGHT!” quite like “You can’t talk to us.”
City spokeswoman Kristen Cabanban did tell the reporters via email:
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“Mayor Lightfoot didn’t say we would only be ticketing for safety reasons — she said we would emphasize safety reasons. Safety reasons included double parking, blocking fire hydrant, etc.”
The problem with that statement is that, in her news conference announcing limited ticketing, Lightfoot “twice said tickets would ‘only’ be issued for safety reasons. Lightfoot also stated — twice — that expired parking meters were the kind of infraction that would not be considered a public safety threat, though she said drivers should still feed the meters.”
I sent an email to Cabanban seeking clarification and she sent a statement insisting the mayor’s initial comments “did not translate to free parking for residents.”
The statement said: “To further reinforce what was stated before, the Mayor held a call on March 24, which the Chicago Tribune was present on, where she not only again clarified previous remarks but made explicitly clear that ticketing is continuing during the pandemic, and reiterated there would be an emphasis on public safety reasons. To make it even more clear to reporters, the Mayor again explicitly stated that this does not mean that there is ‘free parking all over the city.’ On top of that, the Mayor stated that residents will continue to have to feed the meter during this time, which was reported by another media outlet also on the call.”
If you believe all that, it makes the mayor’s initial announcement something we in the column-writing biz call “baffling.”
In essence, this is the city’s claim: Lightfoot held a news conference to announce that part of the city’s response to the pandemic would be to focus on public-safety-related ticketing while lightening up on expired meter enforcement. In that news conference, the mayor specifically said “you should not be getting ticketed” if you’re legally parked at an expired meter and “not posing a public safety threat.”
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The mayor then twice had to clear up her statements, telling people they still have to feed the meters and “ticketing is continuing during the pandemic.” And more than 17,000 people got tickets for expired meters, amounting already to nearly $560,000 in collected fines.
That begs the question: What was the point of all this? It’s a bit like saying, “Great news, everyone, we’re getting ice cream!” then speeding up as you drive past the ice cream shop. The only difference in this case is everyone in the car (except the driver) had to pay for the ice cream they didn’t get.
Still, there are a couple positive outcomes. Lightfoot said motorists would not be ticketed for “an expired meter that is otherwise legally parked and not posing a public safety threat.” But thousands were ticketed. That suggests that as soon as the meter at a normal parking spot expires, the vehicle owner becomes “a public safety threat.”
This will help as I rebrand myself one of the “bad boys of Chicago journalism.” Tweeting a few selfies next to my car at an expired meter should cement in the public’s mind that I’m a safety threat and not one to be trifled with. (I also plan to stop using the word “trifle,” as it doesn’t fit the bad-boy image.)
Also, I assume, based on the mayor’s words and the city’s actions, that the following statement is true: If I get a parking ticket in Chicago, I can say I’m going to pay it and then not pay it and then defend myself by saying I never said I was going to pay it.
Seems like airtight logic.
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Or at least what passes for logic in Chicago these days.
rhuppke@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-09-22--Man, 24, dies after being pulled from Monroe Harbor, police say

The man jumped into the water around 9:15 p.m. Monday , according to two witnesses who told police .
The @ @ @ @ @ Fire Department responded to the scene .

A 24-year-old man died after he was pulled from Monroe Harbor by the Chicago police marine unit, authorities said.
The man jumped into the water about 9:15 p.m. Monday, two witnesses told police. The marine unit and the Chicago Fire Department responded to the scene.
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The man was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in critical condition, police said. He was later pronounced dead.
Police said they are conducting a death investigation.
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pfry@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @paigexfry


chicagotribune--2020-09-22--10-year-old girl and 2 others injured in West Side shooting, police say

The girl was in a vehicle and the two adults were standing on the street around 8:30 p.m. in the @ @ @ @ @ Buren Street in the Fifth City neighborhood when they heard shots , police said .

Police work the scene where three people were shot, including a 10-year-old girl, on the 3300 block of West Van Buren Street on Sept. 21, 2020. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)
A 10-year-old girl was among three people wounded in a shooting Monday night on the West Side, according to Chicago police.
The girl was in a car and two adults were standing on the street in the 3300 block of West Van Buren Street around 8:30 p.m. when they heard shots, police said.
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The girl was hit in the knee and taken to Stroger Hospital in good condition, police said.
A 25-year-old woman was hit in the back and leg and taken to Mount Sinai Hospital in good condition, police said. A 31-year-old was hit in the face and taken to Stroger in good condition.
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Police did not release more details on the shooting, which occurred in the Fifth City neighborhood.
Early Tuesday afternoon, two detectives and an evidence technician searched near the corner of Maple and Homan avenues for evidence, looking over the sidewalk, parkway and an area of the street next to the curb.
The evidence technician took photos as a single Harrison District beat car sat near the scene.
The block runs from Spaulding Avenue to Homan, paralleling the street right next to the Eisenhower Expressway. It’s a mix of three flats and greystone buildings.
No arrests have been made.
Chicago Tribune’s Peter Nickeas contributed.
pfry@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @paigexfry


chicagotribune--2020-09-22--With campus senate approval, the belted kingfisher continues hopeful dive toward becoming the Univer

With campus senate approval, the belted kingfisher continues hopeful dive toward becoming the University of Illinois’ new mascot

The 105-to-2 vote , though merely advisory , was a step forward in the long-standing effort to create a mascot @ @ @ @ @ take the place of Chief Illiniwek , retired by the university in 2007 after the @ @ @ @ @ image to be “ hostile and abusive ” ( advocates for the Chief reject the @ @ @ @ @ to him as a “ symbol , ” not a mascot ) .

The proposed logo for the new mascot at University of Illinois. (Spencer Hulsey)
The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign’s senate on Monday endorsed the idea of making the belted kingfisher — a blue and orange bird native to the state and known for its high-speed dives — the school’s new mascot.
The 105-to-2 vote, though merely advisory, was a step forward in the long-standing effort to create a mascot for the university that would take the place of Chief Illiniwek, retired by the university in 2007 after the NCAA determined the American Indian-themed image to be “hostile and abusive” (advocates for the Chief reject the charge of racism and refer to him as a “symbol,” not a mascot).
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The students who created and pushed for the kingfisher said the next step will be to try to gain acceptance from alumni and others in the university community.
The proposed logo for the new mascot at University of Illinois. (Spencer Hulsey)
“We’re really trying to get everyone on board with this amazing mascot," student senator Dana Yun said.
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Chancellor Robert Jones will be the final arbiter of any new mascot, but no timetable or process toward making that decision has been set, a university spokeswoman said.
The kingfisher is the brainchild of recent graduate Spencer Hulsey, who often saw the birds when she was growing up on her family’s farm outside Kinmundy, Illinois. She sketched a version and took it to the Illinois Student Government, which put it to a campuswide vote in March.
The proposal passed by a narrow margin, and since then, Hulsey and others have come up with ideas on how to knit the mascot into campus life, from orange and blue kazoos that would emulate the birds' long beaks to spirit rituals students could perform during games.
“New student section traditions are a vital part of integrating a new mascot into our community,” they wrote in the proposal considered by the senate. “For example, as kingfishers are diving birds, a student could do a simple, dive-bombing hand motion that ends with a ‘splash’ noise or explosion of hands when our team scores a touchdown or a free-throw.”
The authors said some student organizations, such as the badminton and geology clubs, have already started to incorporate the kingfisher into their logos. They added that the resolution did not seek to change the “Fighting Illini” nickname.
During the senate’s discussion, some students said the Block I logo has been an insufficient representation of the university, and that the lack of a mascot has allowed Chief Illiniwek to persevere.
“Without the university taking action to adopt a new mascot, which the student body already voted in favor of adopting, it is easier for these students to hold onto this racist imagery as a symbol of Illinois pride,” said Sofia Sinnokrot, a student senator who endorsed the measure.
Faculty members had little to say on the Zoom conference other than to praise the students for advancing the concept.
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“I’m mostly just speaking to thank the students for their continued and enduring leadership on doing something that should have happened 13 years ago, that I’ve been waiting for," said Jodi Byrd, an associate professor of English and gender and women’s studies who is a member of the Chickasaw Nation of Oklahoma.
“I know so many American Indian studies faculty who are no longer here have been fighting to get this addressed. I just wanted to say thank you so much for your efforts and for such a profoundly important step forward, to create this opportunity for us to finally, finally move on."
After the vote, Hulsey said she was gratified by the huge margin of victory.
“We were just so amazed by the response that it got,” she said. “It was a great validation to see that we’re on the right track.”
jkeilman@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @JohnKeilman


chicagotribune--2020-09-22--Democratic Rep. Sean Casten and GOP challenger Jeanne Ives spar over climate change, taxes and socia

Democratic Rep. Sean Casten and GOP challenger Jeanne Ives spar over climate change, taxes and social issues in 6th Congressional District forum

“ I ’ m optimistic because the people who I have the privilege to represent are unabashedly pro-science , pro-choice @ @ @ @ @ pro-democracy , ” Casten said .
“ They know that those values should never be @ @ @ @ @ because they told me in my 40 town halls , or when I marched with @ @ @ @ @ science , for our lives and for Black Lives Matter .
Trump may have taken @ @ @ @ @ didn ’ t destroy our values and we ’ re going to prove that on @ @ @ @

Rep. Sean Casten, left, and Jeanne Ives, both shown in 2018, are vying for the Illinois 6th Congressional District seat in Chicago's western and northwest suburbs. (Terrence Antonio James and Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune))
The candidates for Illinois' 6th Congressional District clashed over issues of climate change, taxes, health care and social issues Monday night in an online forum hosted by the League of Women Voters.
In a campaign heating up despite the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic, the forum was a showdown between Democratic U.S. Rep. Sean Casten and Republican Jeanne Ives in the campaign for a pivotal west and northwest suburban district.
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Casten, a rookie representative from Downers Grove, is looking to defend the seat he won two years ago by defeating Republican Peter Roskam in one of the most closely watched and expensive campaigns in the country. Casten’s victory in the longtime GOP stronghold, combined with Lauren Underwood’s win in the district next door, helped Democrats take control of the U.S. House in 2018.
In his opening statement at the forum, Casten said he could not abide a government that politicizes science and “celebrates hatred" and he criticized Ives for supporting President Donald Trump. But the congressman said he remains hopeful about the future.
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“I’m optimistic because the people who I have the privilege to represent are unabashedly pro-science, pro-choice, pro-equality, pro-market, pro-democracy,” Casten said. “They know that those values should never be partisan and I know this because they told me in my 40 town halls, or when I marched with them for women, for science, for our lives and for Black Lives Matter. Trump may have taken us backwards, but he didn’t destroy our values and we’re going to prove that on Nov. 3.”
Ives, an outspoken conservative from Wheaton who narrowly lost a 2018 primary challenge to then-Gov. Bruce Rauner, is seeking to return the 6th District to Republicans.
“We have big challenges ahead. It will take leaders of character to work with others to restore law and order, get our kids back in school, and get our economy growing again while taking care of our most vulnerable citizens,” Ives said.
The difference between the two candidates was on full display when it came to their answers about racial justice, policing and the recent civil unrest across the country in light of events like the Minneapolis police killing of George Floyd.
“We need to have a police force to protect us. We need to have someone you call when no one else is available. But we also need to recognize that as long as we have people on the street who have the authority to use deadly, coercive force there has to be accountability," Casten said.
Ives focused on a law-and-order message.
“It’s pretty frightful out there,” she said. “When you look across the nation and you see what’s happened in Seattle and Portland, Kenosha and elsewhere, in our own streets of Chicago, it’s very unsettling to people. Businesses are afraid to open up. People are afraid to go down and visit Chicago at this point. And that is not right.
“If you’re not going to enforce the law,” she continued, “the lawlessness will continue.”
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Ives criticized Democrats for what she said was their failure to condemn the movement to defund the police.
“We need our leaders to have a sense of civility and a sense of you know what, we’re not going to take it anymore,” Ives said. “We’ll stand right in front of that store and if you’re going to throw a brick, you’re throwing it at me first.”
“The choice is simple: Do you believe more government and taxes will solve what ails America or do you believe in our American principles of free enterprise and the rule of law?” Ives said on Monday.
The former state representative and Wheaton City Council member defeated surgeon Gordon “Jay” Kinzler in the March GOP primary. Also participating in Monday’s forum was Libertarian candidate Bill Redpath.
Ives stressed her support of “free enterprise and the rule of law” and said she believes more in the individual than in government, saying that Casten stands for more government control and higher taxes.
“He doesn’t trust you to make decisions for your life, he trusts the government to,” Ives said of Casten.
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Ives, in answering a question about LQBTQ rights, attempted to deflect Casten’s criticism of comments she had made on the issue.
“The LGBTQ community is well-served. Just today, there’s some teachers in the classroom saying, ‘Tell me what your pronouns are.’ We’ve never had that before. You have men that can compete on women’s sports teams. We’ve never seen that before. So I’d say they’re very much accepted," Ives said.
Ives then pivoted to religion. “The question is whether we’re going to protect religious rights at the same time,” Ives said. She said Casten and the Democrats “want to impose their value system and interfere with religious freedom wholesale. That is the problem here more than anything.”
Casten called climate change “the challenge of our lifetime. Our grandchildren will judge us on how we respond.”
“Solving climate change matters,” Casten said.
Ives said the climate has been changing for millions of years and policymakers need to act but “do so in a reasonable manner."
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poconnell@chicagotribune.com
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chicagotribune--2020-09-22--Video of controversial fatal police shooting last month in Pilsen is made public

In the hours after the shooting , the Police Department issued an official statement claiming Vega was armed with a @ @ @ @ @ the scene .
But an internal report issued by Near West ’ s commander on @ @ @ @ @ by the Tribune , was more vague , saying Vega was with at least three @ @ @ @ @ that group fired shots .
Vega ’ s brother , meanwhile , has said Vega @ @ @ @ @ shot .

Chicago’s civilian investigative police watchdog on Monday released video of a shooting last month by a Chicago police officer that killed a 26-year-old man in the city’s Pilsen neighborhood.
Miguel Vega was shot by police on Aug. 31 in the 1300 block of West 19th Street. Chicago police have said Vega was shot after officers were fired upon as they got out of their unmarked car about 10:45 p.m. Officers from the Near West patrol district had been responding to a call of a suspicious person when they noticed a group of five people standing on the sidewalk, the department has said.
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Vega’s mother, Maria Vega, previously called for the release of any video of the incident, saying she did not believe the police version of events and that officials refused to answer questions.
“I want to see those videos of the officers' body cameras,” Maria Vega demanded hours after her son died. “I want answers from the police and justice for my son. If my son was at fault, I’ll accept it, but it doesn’t make sense right now.”
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In the bodycam video released by the Civilian Office of Police Accountability on Monday, officers can be seen hurriedly exiting their squad car, one of them firing a pistol over the open door of the vehicle up the sidewalk.
The shooting officer’s passenger-side window was also broken. Audio of the shooting officer’s camera does not come on until he has moved up the block to arrest a man he finds near a curb.
“My whole window is shot up! Good thing I (expletive) ducked!" the officer said to other cops on scene.
Another man, apparently Vega, can be seen lying on the sidewalk after being struck by a bullet.
“We’ve got an ambulance coming to you, brother, OK?” the officer said to Vega, who was shot in the head and was seen with blood on his face. “Keep talking to me, man. Keep talking to me, brother. You’re going to be all right.”
The officer can be heard directing others to look for a weapon that might have been discarded as police approached the area. Officers eventually can be heard to say they located a gun, a few parked cars from where Vega could be seen lying in the sidewalk.
“Don’t touch it! Don’t touch it! Don’t touch it! Do not touch it!” one officer exclaimed. “We got it. We got it.”
The shooting remains under investigation by COPA, but the city’s video release policy allows the agency to release video, recordings of 911 calls and police reports within 60 days of such an incident. On Monday, COPA released 12 video clips, most of them from body cameras, 21 days after the shooting, one of the shortest time frames the agency has even taken to release such material to the public.
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The officer who shot Vega fired 11 times, according to a police report that’s part of the case.
In the hours after the shooting, the Police Department issued an official statement claiming Vega was armed with a gun that was recovered at the scene. But an internal report issued by Near West’s commander on Sept. 1, and obtained by the Tribune, was more vague, saying Vega was with at least three other people and someone from that group fired shots. Vega’s brother, meanwhile, has said Vega was unarmed when he was shot.
The internal report said that while one gun was recovered, a second one was also used, though the identity of a possible second shooter was unclear. Police said two men initially arrested in the case have since been released without charges.
In a Tribune story earlier this month, police accountability experts called into question whether the 60-day policy allowed COPA too much time to withhold video of police shootings from the public. A Tribune review of two years of cases posted on the COPA website showed that most were posted on or just prior to the 60-day deadline.
jgorner@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-09-22--Man who appears to be Dreadhead Cowboy slows traffic on Dan Ryan while riding on horse

Officers arrived at 71st Street and saw Hollingsworth riding down the interstate , surrounded by motorcycles and vehicles in local @ @ @ @ @ statement .
Hollingsworth refused to exit the expressway , according to state police , and @ @ @ @ @ and placed under arrest .
Officers escorted others and the horse as they exited at @ @ @

Adam Hollingsworth rides his horse on the Dan Ryan Expressway with motorcycles and motorists to support Kids Lives Matter. (Vashon Jordan Jr./@vashon_photo) (Chicago Tribune Handout)
A Chicago man known as the Dreadhead Cowboy was arrested Monday afternoon as he galloped down the Dan Ryan Expressway while livestreaming the message, “Kids' Lives Matter.”
Adam Hollingsworth, 33, was stopped by state troopers at 95th Street after he rode his brown and white horse about seven miles on the expressway, escorted by several supporters on motorcycles and jamming rush hour traffic.
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He was charged with reckless conduct, disobeying a police officer and criminal trespass to state-supported property. State police said his horse was taken to an animal shelter because it was bleeding from the left hoof, had an injury on the right hoof and sores on its right side from the saddle.
As Hollingsworth rode south on the expressway, police trailing behind him, he streamed himself on Facebook Live saying, “I shut down the Dan Ryan, Kids Lives Matter.”
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State police and Chicago police had met with Hollingsworth earlier this month about a potential protest on the expressway, according to the state police. His request was denied because officials believed it would dangerous as well as illegal, state police said.
Shortly before 4:30 p.m., state police received calls about someone riding a horse at 47th Street. Officers arrived at 71st Street and saw Hollingsworth riding down the interstate, surrounded by motorcycles and vehicles in local lanes, according to a statement from the state police.
Hollingsworth refused to exit the expressway, and was ordered off the horse and placed under arrest, state police said. Officers escorted him as he and some supporters exited at 95th Street. One of them, Darron Luster, 55, of Chicago, tried to “forcefully gain control of the horse,” according to state police. Luster refused to release the horse and was arrested for obstructing and resisting arrest.
Earlier this summer, Hollingsworth partnered with Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s office to encourage people to fill out their census forms. The mayor dubbed him the “Census Cowboy.”
But late Monday, the mayor criticized Hollingsworth’s actions. “What is clear is that this stunt not only seriously endangered the horse, but also the rider and all travelers on the expressway,” she said in a statement. “There is a right way and a wrong way to call attention to issues of great importance, and this stunt was decidedly the very wrong way.”
The horse was taken to Chicago’s Animal Care and Control, according to Chicago police. The agency was working to transport the animal “to a temporary shelter where it can receive proper care,” the mayor’s office said.
Additional charges were pending, according to state police.


chicagotribune--2020-09-22--Chicago-area Catholic schools enrollment drops, with worst decline among pre-kindergarten students

Despite dwindling numbers , the archdiocese still has one of the country ’ s best-performing school systems .
The Catholic @ @ @ @ @ Blue Ribbon Awards , a distinction given by the U.S. Department of Education to schools @ @ @ @ @ any other school system in the country .

Kids hang around outside St. Paul of the Cross Church on Aug. 5, 2020, in Park Ridge. Workers and staff at the school were focused on completing safety measures before welcoming back 620 students in the fall. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)
The number of students enrolled at Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Chicago dropped this fall, driven by a decrease in younger students and continuing a nationwide trend of fewer students receiving a Catholic-based education.
Student enrollment is down 10.6% from last year, with a large portion of that decline coming from prekindergarten students, according to the archdiocese.
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“We expected this because a lot of stay-at-home parents are keeping their kids home,” said archdiocese spokesman Manuel Gonzales.
Archdiocesan students returned to in-person learning this fall, while the schools also offered remote learning for students who weren’t comfortable returning to the classroom.
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But some parents were dissatisfied with the remote learning options while still having to pay tuition.
Enrollment in kindergarten through eighth grade saw a 5% decrease, which makes up a bulk of Catholic school students, Gonzales said.
The archdiocese had just over 69,000 students for the 2018-19 school year, according to its website. In 2003, about 117,000 students were enrolled in the Catholic schools in Cook and Lake counties.
The numbers mirror a nationwide trend of declining Catholic school enrollment and a trend that Chicago’s public school system has also experienced. Nationally, Catholic school student enrollment has declined by more than 430,000 since 2008, according to the National Catholic Education Association.
Enrollment at Chicago Public Schools has been declining for almost two decades, with drops each year since 2003, when 434,000 enrolled. Last school year, CPS enrolled a little more than 363,000 students for 2019-20.
Despite dwindling numbers, the archdiocese still has one of the country’s best-performing school systems. The Catholic school system has received more Blue Ribbon Awards, a distinction given by the U.S. Department of Education to schools for academic excellence, than any other school system in the country.


chicagotribune--2020-09-22--Coronavirus in Illinois updates: 1,531 new confirmed COVID-19 cases, 30 additional deaths reported;

Coronavirus in Illinois updates: 1,531 new confirmed COVID-19 cases, 30 additional deaths reported; Wisconsin again added to Chicago’s travel quarantine list

Summer 2020 is officially gone , and as it leaves , in a normal year , the shirtless young men @ @ @ @ @ with it , driven indoors by the chill of autumn .
Grove 13 is the @ @ @ @ @ official name for the patch of Lincoln Park at Wellington and inner Lake Shore Drive @ @ @ @ @ Diversity Driving Range .
Here , beneath the watchful glare of nearby apartment buildings and @ @ @ @ @ is a small workout space .
It ’ s nothing exciting to look at .
@ @ @ @ @ a typical playground and the equipment is so spartan — parallel bars , gymnast rings @ @ @ @ @ might say it looks more like a playground that someone lost interest in midway through @ @

We have lifted the paywall on this story. To support essential reporting, please consider becoming a subscriber .
Paca Kujtim of Arlington Heights self-administers a COVID-19 test in his car at the Arlington International Racecourse on March 31, 2021 in Arlington Heights. Kujtim was getting testing as a precaution for upcoming travel. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)
Chicago on Tuesday, for the second time, added Wisconsin to its list of states from which travelers into the city should stay inside their homes for two weeks after traveling there because of high coronavirus counts. Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady made the call as part of her weekly update on the states that have earned the designation because of high virus counts.
Earlier in the day, Illinois public health officials reported 1,531 newly diagnosed cases and 30 additional deaths of people with COVID-19, raising the statewide tally to 277,266 known cases and 8,486 deaths.
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Meanwhile, the U.S. death toll from the coronavirus topped 200,000 Tuesday, by far the highest in the world, hitting the once-unimaginable threshold six weeks before an election that is certain to be a referendum in part on President Donald Trump’s handling of the crisis.
The number of dead is equivalent to a 9/11 attack every day for 67 days. It is roughly equal to the population of Salt Lake City or Huntsville, Alabama.
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Here’s what’s happening Tuesday with COVID-19 in the Chicago area and Illinois:
9:15 p.m.: Cook County Health officials send Board of Commissioners $3.4B budget plan as pandemic shortfall looms
Cook County Health’s board of directors sent the county’s Board of Commissioners its preliminary $3.4 billion 2021 budget plan this week that would enact cuts across departments aimed at closing a projected $187 million deficit.
In an 8-3 vote, with one director absent, the health system’s board on Monday approved its budget recommendation, despite discord over how much additional tax revenue Cook County should provide the health system that makes up about half of the total county budget. The proposal, which includes slightly more revenue funding from the county, but less than what system officials previously requested, heads to the County Board for further consideration.
The health system board’s initial request had been for an additional $23 million in order to stave off some of the layoffs and other reductions slated for the next fiscal year, but the directors went along with the lesser amount of $10 million in new funds offered by the county.
“Ten million is less than $23 million,” board Chair Hill Hammock said during the meeting. Hammock, who voted yes for the plan, said although the need is great enough that the system could receive an extra $50 million and still be in want, “we have to be realistic. … The county has indicated, to me anyway, that ($23 million) wasn’t available. So we’re looking at a compromise here, no question about it.”
Read more here. —Alice Yin
6:15 p.m.: Chicago-area Catholic schools enrollment drops, with worst decline among pre-kindergarten students
The number of students enrolled at Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Chicago dropped this fall, driven by a decrease in younger students and continuing a nationwide trend of fewer students receiving a Catholic-based education.
Student enrollment is down 10.6% from last year, with a large portion of that decline coming from prekindergarten students, according to the archdiocese.
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“We expected this because a lot of stay-at-home parents are keeping their kids home,” said archdiocese spokesman Manuel Gonzales.
Archdiocesan students returned to in-person learning this fall, while the schools also offered remote learning for students who weren’t comfortable returning to the classroom.
Read more here. —Javonte Anderson
2:35 p.m. (update): Wisconsin again added to Chicago’s quarantine list for travelers
For the second time, Chicago on Tuesday added Wisconsin to its list of states from which travelers into the city should stay inside their homes for two weeks after traveling there because of high coronavirus counts.
Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady made the call as part of her weekly update on the states that have earned the designation because of high virus counts. Her move came as Wisconsin’s governor on Tuesday declared “a new public health emergency” because COVID-19 is spiking there.
“Unfortunately, Wisconsin is currently in very poor control when it comes to COVID,” Arwady said. The Badger State now trails only North Dakota and South Dakota in terms of case rates, she said.
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Arwady warned last week that if Wisconsin’s case rate didn’t come down below the 15 cases per 100,000 residents threshold Chicago officials use to determine the self-quarantine list, then she would include it soon.
Wisconsin’s is now at 31 cases per 100,000 residents, she said..
Read more here. —John Byrne
1:45 p.m.: Huge crowd gathers at Rotary Hill near Naperville District 203 offices to demand area schools reopen
Hundreds of Naperville-area parents and students rallied Monday to urge local school boards to bring students back to the classroom and the playing field.
Most public schools kicked off the academic year with remote learning due to concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic. But parents and students at Monday’s rally said spending a school day in front of a computer screen just isn’t working for them.
Naperville District 203 eighth-grader Eleni Nicolaudes carried a sign that summed up her feelings on remote learning: “Stressed Out.”
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“I feel as if I learn better in person,” said Eleni, who attended the rally with her mother and younger sister. “I’m a more hands-on learning. I like being in school.”
Read more here. —Alicia Fabbre
1:25 p.m.: COVID-19 pandemic takes toll on Evanston’s economy: ‘We are in the calm before the storm’
Evanston’s unemployment rate has more than tripled and local businesses are in the midst of a “retailpocolypse.”
That was just some of the dire financial news recently outlined by Evanston officials. They say the city is likely only at the beginning of the economic fallout from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
“We are in the calm before the storm,” said Paul Zalmezak, Evanston’s Economic Development Division manager, during a virtual presentation to the Evanston City Council Sept. 14.
Read more here. —Genevieve Bookwalter
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1 p.m.: Wisconsin expected to return to Chicago’s travel quarantine list
Chicago is expected on Tuesday, for the second time, to add Wisconsin to the city’s list of states from which travelers into Chicago should stay inside their homes for two weeks after traveling there because of high coronavirus counts, a source said.
Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady warned last week that if Wisconsin’s case rate didn’t come down below the 15 cases per 100,000 residents threshold Chicago officials use to determine the self-quarantine list, then she would include them soon.
Wisconsin’s cases remain above 20 per 100,000, according to city records, and Arwady is expected to announce the move on Tuesday, a source said.
The city of Chicago announces the additions and subtractions from its largely symbolic roll call of states on Tuesdays, and the new quarantine requirements take effect the following Friday.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s administration first added Wisconsin to the 14-day quarantine order in late July, only to take it off the list in mid-August when case numbers there dropped.
Read more here. — John Byrne
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12:50 p.m.: Individuals at two Northbrook schools test positive for COVID-19
Northbrook District 28 has seen two positive COVID-19 cases in its schools in the past week, according to officials.
The cases were reported at Greenbriar and Meadowbrook, two of the district’s K-5 schools that serve about 400 students each. The schools are running full in-person and full remote options, and about 77% of families had opted for in-person learning ahead of the school year, according to communications director Terry Ryan.
Ryan said the district would not specify whether the recent cases were of students or staff members “in order to protect the identity of the individual” but said the two cases do not appear to be related.
Superintendent Larry Hewitt sent a message to families Monday to notify them that someone at Meadowbrook School reported earlier that day testing positive for COVID-19.
He said the district has been working with the Cook County Department of Public Health to identify and notify close contacts and require them to stay home for 14 days, as well as deep cleaning and sanitizing the school.
According to Hewitt, the individual had been in isolation since the onset of their symptoms, and no close contacts were associated with the person in this case.
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Another case was reported a week earlier on Sept. 14 at Greenbriar School. In a message to families the following day, Hewitt said the individual had been in isolation since Sept. 11.
—Kaitlin Edquist
12:35: Notre Dame cancels its Tuesday football practice in the wake of COVID-19 positive results and contact tracing
Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly on Monday called his team’s COVID-19 plan “an evolving situation.”
No joke. The Irish canceled Tuesday’s practice, as first reported by Yahoo Sports' Pete Thamel, after four players tested positive last week. Another six were quarantined because of contract tracing.
None of those 10 played in Notre Dame' 52-0 dismantling of South Florida on Saturday.
The 2-0 Irish are scheduled to face Wake Forest on Saturday in their first road trip of the season.
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As part of the team’s COVID-19 protocol, players will not be able to meet up with family members before the game.
Read more here. —Teddy Greenstein
12:30 p.m.: Restaurants bleeding cash during the pandemic are investing big to improve indoor air quality. But will diners come inside?
The host greeting diners at Formento’s, an Italian restaurant in the West Loop, now offers guests a luxury alongside the menu and wine list: a portable air purifier for their table.
The tabletop devices are among a series of air quality upgrades the restaurant introduced this month to assure customers they can breathe easy dining inside.
Diners can also expect to see bussers using ultraviolet wands to sterilize glassware and utensils, and little air-sucking robots in various corners of the restaurant that use heat to kill microorganisms. Unseen are new air filters installed in the HVAC system meant to trap virus particles.
The changes were costly for a restaurant that continues to lose money due to COVID-19. But Phillip Waters, whose B. Hospitality Co. owns Formento’s as well as its sister sandwich restaurant Nonna and The Bristol in Bucktown, said it’s a necessary investment if the businesses are going to survive.
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“We have to convince people that restaurants are safe,” Waters said.
Restaurants hoping to see the other side of the pandemic are pouring money into air quality upgrades and other safety features even as business remains devastated by COVID-19. As they burn through cash, they are counting on customers taking comfort in the changes and filling seats.
Read more here. —Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz
11:25 a.m.: Chicago International Film Festival goes digital AND outdoors, featuring ‘Belushi,’ Rachel Brosnahan, Kate Winslet, ‘One Night in Miami’ and ‘Nomadland’
Nobody’s film festival this year resembles anybody’s film festival in previous years. The Oct. 14-25 Chicago International Film Festival lineup, announced Tuesday, proves it.
The 56th edition follows a pandemic festival hybrid model of mostly digital offerings, along with eight films presented at the popular ChiTown Movies drive-in. Since the summer this modest 2020 Chicago phenomenon has become the city’s preferred drive-in location, located in Pilsen, just off South Throop Street behind the big brick ChiTown Futbol facility.
The previously announced John Belushi documentary “Belushi,” a Showtime project, opens the festival at the Pilsen drive-in. Closing night brings director Chloe Zhao’s “Nomadland,” a prestige smash (and a lovely movie) all across the fall festival circuit, starring Frances McDormand. The road movie recently won top prize at the Venice film festival, followed by the equivalent “audience award” at the Toronto festival.
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Chicago International’s drive-in component includes the concert movie “David Byrne’s American Utopia,” directed by Spike Lee (Oct. 15); “Ammonite,” a discreetly torrid 19th Century love story starring 2020 festival Career Achievement Award winner Kate Winslet (Oct. 17); the Chicago-made documentary “The Road Up” (Oct. 18); and Regina King’s directorial debut “One Night in Miami” (Oct. 23) about the time Cassius Clay, Malcolm X, Jim Brown and Sam Cooke got together after Clay’s heavyweight victory over Sonny Liston in 1964.
Read more here. —Michael Phillips
11:05 a.m.: Chicago-based mall operator Brookfield to cut hundreds of employees; 20% of retail group workforce
Brookfield Properties, one of the nation’s largest mall operators, is cutting 20% of its workforce in its retail division, as the pandemic has accelerated online shopping and resulted in a string of store closings.
The Chicago-based mall operator, which operates 170 mall properties, has more than 2,000 employees in its retail division, according to the company.
“2020 has had a profound impact on us all, both personally and professionally,” Jared Chupaila, CEO of Brookfield Properties' retail group, wrote in a email to its employees. “Our business has been frustrated, interrupted and constrained. All of our constituents — retailers, lenders, communities, partners and our own employees— have been affected by the events of this year and forced to revisit their relationships with our industry and our company.”
Read more here. —Associated Press
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11 a.m.: US death toll from coronavirus tops 200,000, equivalent to a 9/11 attack every day for 67 days
The U.S. death toll from the coronavirus topped 200,000 Tuesday, a figure unimaginable eight months ago when the scourge first reached the world’s richest nation with its sparkling laboratories, top-flight scientists and stockpiles of medicines and emergency supplies.
“It is completely unfathomable that we’ve reached this point,” said Jennifer Nuzzo, a Johns Hopkins University public health researcher.
The bleak milestone, by far the highest confirmed death toll from the virus in the world, was reported by Johns Hopkins, based on figures supplied by state health authorities. But the real toll is thought to be much higher, in part because many COVID-19 deaths were probably ascribed to other causes, especially early on, before widespread testing.
The number of dead in the U.S. is equivalent to a 9/11 attack every day for 67 days. It is roughly equal to the population of Salt Lake City or Huntsville, Alabama.
And it is still climbing. Deaths are running at close to 770 a day on average, and a widely cited model from the University of Washington predicts the overall U.S. toll will double to 400,000 by the end of the year as schools and colleges reopen and cold weather sets in. A vaccine is unlikely to become widely unavailable until 2021.
Read more here. —Associated Press
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10:30 a.m.: Avoid ‘traditional trick-or-treating,’ the CDC says, in its guidelines for Halloween 2020
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued guidance for Halloween 2020 that ranks activities from low risk to high risk for spreading COVID-19.
The CDC says “traditional trick-or-treating” is considered high risk.
"Many traditional Halloween activities can be high-risk for spreading viruses. There are several safer, alternative ways to participate in Halloween.
If you may have COVID-19 or you may have been exposed to someone with COVID-19, you should not participate in in-person Halloween festivities and should not give out candy to trick-or-treaters," the CDC says on its website.
Read more here. —Pennlive.com
7:45 a.m.: When the gyms closed, the gym rats moved to a patch of workout space in Lincoln Park — and some locals don’t like it
Summer 2020 is officially gone, and as it leaves, in a normal year, the shirtless young men of Grove 13 would leave with it, driven indoors by the chill of autumn. Grove 13 is the Chicago Park District’s official name for the patch of Lincoln Park at Wellington and inner Lake Shore Drive, just north of the Diversity Driving Range. Here, beneath the watchful glare of nearby apartment buildings and senior living facilities, there is a small workout space. It’s nothing exciting to look at. It’s smaller than a typical playground and the equipment is so spartan — parallel bars, gymnast rings, some stairs — you might say it looks more like a playground that someone lost interest in midway through designing.
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Yet, for Lakeview gym rats, bulked out, V-shaped, intense, this fitness area — which has no name itself — became a respite early into the pandemic, a gym away from gym.
A gym that, according to the Chicago Park District, remains closed, like playgrounds and other public fitness areas in the city. Commercial gyms reopened weeks ago at reduced capacity, with social-distancing measures. Yet this outdoor space in Lincoln Park is both closed and busy.
The Park District confirmed what many regulars here already know: A few of the neighbors are not their biggest fans. The city has received complaints about people removing the fencing and police tape.
Read more here. —Christopher Borrelli
6:50 a.m.: Chicago to announce if Wisconsin to be added back to city quarantine list
Chicago could add Wisconsin back to its travel quarantine list Tuesday after warning residents last week that the state again had been seeing an uptick in coronavirus cases.
City Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said at the time that Wisconsin could again join other states on the mandatory self-quarantine list if numbers didn’t improve.
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Arwady said the city was “advising against travel to Wisconsin,” because in the prior week, the state “had the most cases that it has had at any point since COVID broke out last week," with high rates of positive cases.
—Chicago Tribune staff
Breaking coronavirus news Stay up to date with the latest information on coronavirus with our breaking news alerts.
In case you missed it
Here are five stories related to COVID-19 from Monday:


chicagotribune--2020-09-22--The Spin: Trump’s front-runner to replace Ginsburg could see Chicago record thrown in spotlight | Ob

The Spin: Trump’s front-runner to replace Ginsburg could see Chicago record thrown in spotlight | Obamacare’s fate as SCOTUS recalibrates | Trump interview with WGN America airs tonight

What the court will take up : “ The case going before the Supreme Court in November looks at the @ @ @ @ @ that everyone buy insurance or pay a penalty is now unconstitutional , and , if @ @ @ @ @ the rest of the law is invalid .
In 2017 , Congress erased that penalty @ @ @ @ @ states and two individuals argue the entire law is invalid without it .
”

The empty courtroom at the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington on June 24, 2019. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP)
As the front-runner to replace Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Chicago-based Appellate court Judge Amy Coney Barrett’s record will be parsed if she indeed gets the nod from President Donald Trump.
As the front-runner to replace Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Chicago-based Appellate court Judge Amy Coney Barrett’s record will be parsed if she indeed gets the nod from President Donald Trump.
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In a new story, the Tribune’s Jason Meisner digs into her 2 1/2 years on the bench, which includes, he writes, more than 100 “opinions and dissents ranging from writings on mundane issues to lengthy dissents on hot-button topics including gun control and immigration.”
“Those rulings — along with her role in an abortion-related case in 2018 — are sure to be scrutinized closely in what would clearly be a fiercely contested confirmation process should Barrett” become the nominee, Meisner notes in his piece.
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No matter where you stand on the Affordable Care Act — or Obamacare — a case that goes before the Supreme Court in November will be a must-watch, not only because of what’s at stake, but also to get a first look at how the nation’s highest court has been reordered by the death of Justice Ginsburg.
If you’re one of the 800,000 Illinoisans who have health care under the ACA, or want a smart look at what the court will take up and how the Nov. 3 election could play a role falling one week before the Supreme Court is scheduled to take up the case, I’ll steer you to my Tribune colleague Lisa Schencker’s piece here.
Tonight, WGN America’s recently launched “News Nation” newscast will air its sit-down interview with President Trump. An exec at the station, which has billed itself as an unbiased news alternative to its cable news competitors said, “this puts us in the big time,” my Tribune colleague Robert Channick reports in this preview of the interview. Details on how to watch the 7 p.m. interview are here.
And Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s census ambassador, an activist known as the Dreadhead Cowboy, was arrested and charged after allegedly riding a horse onto the Dan Ryan Expressway, declaring “Kids Lives Matter.” While the mayor issued a statement calling it a “stunt” and the “wrong way” to stage a protest, some activists are calling for charges to be dismissed.
Welcome to The Spin.
In this May 19, 2018, file photo, Amy Coney Barrett, United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit judge, speaks during the University of Notre Dame's Law School commencement ceremony at the university, in South Bend, Ind. Barrett, a front-runner to fill the Supreme Court seat vacated by the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, has established herself as a reliable conservative on hot-button legal issues from abortion to gun control. (Robert Franklin/South Bend Tribune)
Pundits are squarely focusing on the fate of two issues when they talk about Barrett’s appointment: Obamacare and abortion. The New York Times delved into a 2017 law review article where she’s critical of the high court’s ruling on Obamacare issue. You can read it here.
As for the abortion issue, Barrett’s seen at least one such case while on the Chicago-based federal appeals court, whose jurisdiction includes Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin. Meisner writes: "A 2018 ruling by a 7th Circuit panel declared unconstitutional an Indiana law requiring the burial of fetal remains after an abortion or miscarriage, which prohibited clinics from treating the remains as waste. The law, signed by then-Gov. Mike Pence, also barred abortions on the basis of race, sex or disabilities of the fetus.
“Barrett joined three conservative judges in asking for the ruling to be tossed and for the full court to rehear the case. The trio didn’t have the votes to force a rehearing. But they issued a joint dissent on the rehearing decision, clearly suggesting they thought the Indiana law was constitutional.”
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Barrett’s public statements have not clearly indicated that she thinks Roe can or should be overturned: “I think it is very unlikely at this point that the court is going to overturn Roe, or Roe as curbed by (Planned Parenthood v.) Casey,” she was quoted as saying at a 2013 Notre Dame luncheon on the ruling’s 40th anniversary.
“The fundamental element, that the woman has a right to choose abortion, will probably stand,” she added. “The controversy right now is about funding. It’s a question of whether abortions will be publicly or privately funded.”
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The U.S. Supreme Court, shown June 30, 2020. (Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP)
The U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to hear a case challenging the ACA on Nov. 10, The Tribune’s Schencker writes. In previous challenges, the court has upheld it by the narrowest of margins, with Ginsburg supporting it. Her death increases the chance the law could be invalidated or weakened.
What the court will take up: “The case going before the Supreme Court in November looks at the questions of whether the requirement that everyone buy insurance or pay a penalty is now unconstitutional, and, if it is unconstitutional, whether the rest of the law is invalid. In 2017, Congress erased that penalty, and a group of states and two individuals argue the entire law is invalid without it.”
Factors up in the air include whether a justice is confirmed to fill Ginsburg’s seat by the time the court convenes and whether President Trump wins a second term. One expert tells Schencker that if Joe Biden wins the White House and Democrats take the Senate, they could make changes to the ACA that would render the case moot. Read the full story here.
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Medical marijuana patient David Kurfman keeps plants in his basement grow room Feb. 11, 2020, at his home in Mount Sterling, Illinois. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)
The Tribune’s Robert McCoppin writes: "Business owners hoping to open recreational marijuana shops in Illinois will get a second chance at qualifying for a license, after Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Monday announced a procedure to let applicants correct their applications or get rescored.
“The move comes after applicants and lawmakers raised an uproar over the process, saying that it was shutting out the very minorities it was supposed to benefit.” Read the full story here.
“As the Tribune reported last week, the Pritzker administration agreed to meet with members of the Black and Latino caucuses and other ‘stakeholders’ regarding the complaints about the application scoring,” McCoppin notes.
Another point: “Pritzker’s key pot adviser Toi Hutchinson conceded that officials are ‘laser-focused’ on investigating whether the initial applicants included in the lottery — many of which include clouted and deep-pocketed individuals — aren’t merely front groups,” the Sun-Times’ Tom Schuba writes in this piece.
A voting booth waits for DuPage county voters in the election office in Wheaton. (Genevieve Bookwalter/Naperville Sun)
Casten vs. Ives heats up: The candidates for Illinois’ west and northwest suburban 6th Congressional District — rookie Democratic U.S. Rep. Sean Casten and Republican Jeanne Ives, a former state representative, clashed over issues of climate change, taxes, health care and social issues last night in a virtual forum hosted by the League of Women Voters, my Tribune colleague Patrick O’Connell writes. Read the full story here.
Republican Pat O’Brien cutting into Democratic State’s Attorney Kim Foxx’s lead, GOP poll finds: Foxx, a Democrat, was still leading former Cook County Judge O’Brien, 48.1% to 33.8%, with 18.1% undecided, the Sun-Times’ Rachel Hinton reports. Read the full story here.
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Wisconsin is back on Chicago's quarantine list. (Yadira Sanchez Olson / Lake County News-Sun)
As the United States passed the 200,000 mark in COVID-19 deaths, Illinois officials today announced 1,531 new confirmed COVID-19 cases and 30 additional deaths here. That brings the statewide total to 277,266 known cases and 8,486 deaths.
Wisconsin returns to Chicago’s naughty list — The Tribune’s John Byrne writes: “For the second time, Chicago on Tuesday added Wisconsin to the list of states on its travel order, meaning travelers returning to the city from there should stay inside their homes for two weeks because of high coronavirus counts.
“Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady made the call as part of her weekly update on the states that have earned the designation because of high virus counts. Her move came as Wisconsin’s governor on Tuesday declared ‘a new public health emergency’ because COVID-19 is spiking there.” Read the full story here.
Pandemic takes toll on Evanston’s economy: officials — The unemployment rate in the northern suburb has more than tripled and local businesses are in the midst of a “retailpocolypse,” officials say. Meanwhile Evanston’s office vacancy rates are 8.2% citywide and 13.4% in downtown Evanston as of Sept. 2, Genevieve Bookwalter writes in the Evanston Review. In 2019, vacancy rates were 6.1% citywide and 9.2% downtown.
Hundreds gather near Naperville District 203 offices to demand area schools reopen: ‘Our children deserve better’: Alicia Fabbre has the story in the Naperville Sun.
Blacks in Green has raised the funds to buy civil rights icon Emmett Till’s house at 6427 S. St. Lawrence Ave., shown Nov. 9, 2017. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago / Chicago Tribune)
The local nonprofit Blacks in Green, which promotes sustainability, economic development and land stewardship in African American communities, has raised the funds to buy civil rights icon Emmett Till’s house at 6427 S. St. Lawrence Ave., said Naomi Davis, founder and CEO of the group. She declined to disclose the purchase price, Tribune architecture critic Blair Kamin has the details here.
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The plan is to turn it into a museum.
Kamin also notes: “On Sept. 3, the Commission on Chicago Landmarks unanimously granted preliminary landmark status to the house, the first step toward permanent landmark status that would protect the property from demolition or insensitive alterations.” Read his full story here.
Lightfoot’s top lawyer says city may not defend Chicago aldermen if demands on minority participation cause vendor to sue: No one was singled out in a letter to City Council, “but the letter follows an incident earlier this month where aldermen complaining about low minority participation numbers in an O’Hare International Airport cargo expansion project stalled a plan to issue $55.6 million in bonds to help pay for the next phase of the work,” Gregory Pratt writes.
“Officials from Aeroterm were grilled by members of the City Council Finance Committee about the company’s failure to meet bench marks for hiring minorities and Chicago residents in the first two phases of the northeast cargo expansion project, leading to a delay on the vote,” Pratt notes. Read the full story here.
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--2020-09-22--Appellate Judge Amy Coney Barrett’s record in Chicago could be focus if Trump nominates her to repla

Appellate Judge Amy Coney Barrett’s record in Chicago could be focus if Trump nominates her to replace Ginsburg

“ Founding-era legislatures did not strip felons of the right to bear arms simply because of their status as felons @ @ @ @ @ her dissent , which said the Wisconsin law should be declared unconstitutional .
“ In @ @ @ @ @ more than a century afterward — legislatures disqualified categories of people from the right to @ @ @ @ @ judged that doing so was necessary to protect the public safety .
”

Judge Amy Coney Barrett attends the Federalists Society's 2019 National Lawyers Convention in Washington, Nov. 15, 2019. Barrett is regarded as the leading contender to replace Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. (Samuel Corum/The New York Times)
When Amy Coney Barrett last appeared on President Donald Trump’s shortlist of Supreme Court nominees, she was only months into her first turn as a judge on Chicago’s 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and had a very slim record of rulings.
This time, as she finds herself a front-runner to be nominated for the seat vacated with the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Barrett, a favorite of social conservatives, brings to the national spotlight more than 100 written opinions and dissents authored over the past 2½ years. They range from writings on mundane issues to lengthy dissents on hot-button topics including gun control and immigration.
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[ Trump says he will nominate a woman to replace Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Here are the frontrunners. ]
Those rulings — along with her role in an abortion-related case in 2018 — are sure to be scrutinized closely in what would clearly be a fiercely contested confirmation process should Barrett earn the president’s nomination.
Trump, who met with Barrett at the White House earlier this week, tweeted on Tuesday that he will announce his pick on Saturday. Meanwhile, the president told reporters he was still going to be interviewing other candidates and might meet with one of them, Judge Barbara Lagoa, when he travels to Florida later this week.
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Democrats, led by presidential nominee Joe Biden, are protesting the Republicans’ rush to replace Ginsburg, saying voters should speak first, on Election Day, and the winner of the White House should fill the vacancy. GOP congressional leaders famously blocked President Barack Obama’s 2016 nominee, Merrick Garland, citing that reason, and have now signaled they will flip-flop on that stance and vote on Trump’s pick.
Ginsburg, 87, the court’s longtime liberal icon, died Friday of metastatic pancreatic cancer. She will lie in state at the U.S. Capitol this week — the first woman ever accorded that honor — before a private burial next week at Arlington National Cemetery.
[ Amy Coney Barrett, a reliable conservative on hot-button legal issues, a front-runner to fill Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s Supreme Court seat ]
Amy Coney Barrett, a judge on Chicago’s 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, speaks during the University of Notre Dame's Law School commencement ceremony May 19, 2018, in South Bend, Indiana. Barrett, a front-runner to fill the Supreme Court seat vacated by the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, has established herself as a reliable conservative on hot-button legal issues from abortion to gun control. (Robert Franklin/South Bend Tribune)
Barrett, who turned 48 in January, would be the youngest jurist on the Supreme Court and could shape the country’s legal direction for decades to come.
Barrett enjoys the widespread and often passionate support of colleagues stretching back to her days as a clerk for the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia 20 years ago.
Fellow clerks nicknamed Barrett “The Conenator” — a play on her maiden name and reputation for destroying flimsy legal arguments.
[ Republican senators line up to quickly fill Supreme Court seat after Ginsburg’s death: ‘I guess we have all the votes we’re going to need’ ]
A devout Roman Catholic and mother of seven, Barrett considers herself a public meaning originalist who applies the intent of the authors of the Constitution or governing laws at the time they were written when trying to discern whether someone’s rights have been violated.
Barrett’s originalist mindset was on display in 2018 when she cited centuries-old laws in Britain and elsewhere in a dissent over a 7th Circuit appeal involving a Wisconsin man convicted of being a felon in possession of a handgun.
While Barrett’s colleagues ruled that Wisconsin’s law barring felons from having firearms was constitutional, Barrett wrote that since the plaintiff had been convicted of a white-collar crime, he was not inherently dangerous.
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“Founding-era legislatures did not strip felons of the right to bear arms simply because of their status as felons,” Barrett wrote in her dissent, which said the Wisconsin law should be declared unconstitutional. “In 1791 — and for well more than a century afterward — legislatures disqualified categories of people from the right to bear arms only when they judged that doing so was necessary to protect the public safety.”
But it’s the abortion issue that could prove to be the most polarizing should Trump nominate Barrett, especially given she would potentially replace Ginsburg, a liberal champion of women’s rights.
[ From 2018: Potential Trump Supreme Court pick Amy Coney Barrett, Catholic Chicago judge and Notre Dame professor who stirs abortion debate ]
When Barrett was on the shortlist to replace retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy in 2018, opponents pointed to her scholarly articles and Catholic faith as suggesting she is a religious extremist who could be willing to overturn precedent and end legal abortion established by the Supreme Court in Roe v. Wade.
Critics focused in part on Barrett’s affiliation with People of Praise, a charismatic faith group that has been portrayed as oppressive and misogynistic — a charge the group rejects.
Supporters and former colleagues, however, described an exacting legal thinker committed to separating her faith from her interpretation of the Constitution and law.
“She was very, very smart. Not at all ideological,” Jay Wexler, a Boston University law professor and self-described liberal atheist who clerked for Ginsburg alongside Barrett, told the Tribune in a 2018 interview. “I take her at her word that she will try as hard as anyone can to bracket the views she has as she decides cases.”
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Her nearly three-year stint on the bench in Chicago has included at least one abortion-related case.
A 2018 ruling by a 7th Circuit panel declared unconstitutional an Indiana law requiring the burial of fetal remains after an abortion or miscarriage, which prohibited clinics from treating the remains as waste. The law, signed by then-Gov. Mike Pence, also barred abortions on the basis of race, sex or disabilities of the fetus.
Barrett joined three conservative judges in asking for the ruling to be tossed and for the full court to rehear the case. The trio didn’t have the votes to force a rehearing. But they issued a joint dissent on the rehearing decision, clearly suggesting they thought the Indiana law was constitutional.
The dissent, written by Judge Frank Easterbrook, argued that Indiana’s law would have been upheld “had it concerned the remains of cats or gerbils.”
For her part, Barrett’s public statements have not clearly indicated that she thinks Roe can or should be overturned.
“I think it is very unlikely at this point that the court is going to overturn Roe, or Roe as curbed by (Planned Parenthood v.) Casey,” she was quoted as saying at a 2013 Notre Dame luncheon on the ruling’s 40th anniversary.
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“The fundamental element, that the woman has a right to choose abortion, will probably stand,” she added. “The controversy right now is about funding. It’s a question of whether abortions will be publicly or privately funded.”
Barrett became a star among conservatives in fall 2017 after her Catholic faith took center stage during her confirmation hearing to the 7th Circuit. Democrats on the Senate panel, including Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, grilled Barrett about whether her religious beliefs would influence her legal thinking and lead her to overturn rulings such as Roe.
“The dogma lives loudly within you,” Feinstein told Barrett, “and that’s of concern when you come to big issues that large numbers of people have fought for, for years in this country.”
Barrett’s supporters were incensed, and the comment became the subject of T-shirts and coffee mugs bearing her face. Conservatives accused the senator and other Democrats of using anti-Catholic rhetoric. The presidents of Notre Dame and Princeton University wrote letters in support of Barrett, noting that the Constitution bans religious tests for public office.
Along with Feinstein, Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois was called out, and the Catholic lawmaker responded to the criticism in a Chicago Tribune letter to the editor.
“My questions were confined to issues she raised personally in her writings and speeches which could directly impact the discharge of her duties,” Durbin wrote. “It was the nominee who raised the issue.”
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During her confirmation hearing for the 7th Circuit, Barrett repeatedly said her faith would not intrude on her legal reasoning.
“I see no conflict between having a sincerely held faith and duties as a judge,” she testified. “I would never impose my own personal convictions upon the law.”
Barrett declined to discuss her personal views on abortion, same-sex marriage and other hot-button topics, but she was questioned on her scholarly writings. Those include a 2013 law review article in which she wrote that the stare decisis doctrine — which holds that past rulings govern future decisions — is “not a hard-and-fast rule in the court’s constitutional cases ...”
“I tend to agree with those who say that a justice’s duty is to the Constitution and that it is thus more legitimate for her to enforce her best understanding of the Constitution rather than a precedent she thinks clearly in conflict with it,” she wrote.
The Senate panel also zeroed in on a 1998 paper in which Barrett, then a Notre Dame law student, explored when Catholic judges in death penalty cases might have to recuse themselves if they thought their moral beliefs kept them from doing their duty.
Barrett emphasized she was not the lead author — that was one of her professors, John Garvey, now president of the Catholic University of America. Barrett also said that with 20 years of legal experience, she likely would have written the article differently, though she stood by its core principle — that a judge cannot twist the law to match a personal belief.
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The full Senate confirmed Barrett in October 2017, with three Democrats voting in support.
The Associated Press, and Chicago Tribune’s Dan Hinkel, David Jackson and Christy Gutowski contributed.


chicagotribune--2020-09-22--Advocacy groups craft long to-do list for next Cook County Circuit Court clerk, rip incumbent Doroth

Advocacy groups craft long to-do list for next Cook County Circuit Court clerk, rip incumbent Dorothy Brown for ‘unprepared’ response to pandemic

Also during the first 30 days , the clerk should hire three new officers to oversee Freedom of Information Act @ @ @ @ @ service , respectively , according to the report .
The need for orderly and transparent @ @ @ @ @ report says , so within the first 180 days there needs to be a new @ @ @ @ @ Over the next year , according to the report , Brown ’ s replacement should @ @ @ @ @ the FOIA exemption for the clerk ’ s office .

A trio of government advocacy and research groups dropped a wide-ranging bundle of recommendations on Tuesday for the next Cook County Circuit Court clerk to implement as part of an overhaul to a court system they say remains outdated under outgoing incumbent Dorothy Brown.
The Chicago Appleseed Fund for Justice, Civic Federation and Chicago Council of Lawyers issued the 24-page report that urges the winner of the Nov. 3 election for county clerk to revamp the system’s technology, improve transparency and follow the federal monitor on hiring and employment practices.
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Just as the report envisions swift and comprehensive action by Brown’s successor, it takes jabs at the 20-year incumbent for her perceived failings in efficiently running administrative duties for the second largest unified court system in the country — especially during the pandemic.
“The COVID-19 pandemic, which has shown the clerk’s office to be unprepared for responding to the need for rapid retooling for remote court hearings and service to the public, also has highlighted the need for significant changes and improvements,” the report says.
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Democratic state Sen. Iris Martinez is facing Republican Barbara Bellar to replace Brown.
Brown’s spokeswoman Jalyne Strong said the report was an unfair characterization of a “positively transformed organization” thanks to Brown, whom she noted was repeatedly reelected.
“This report’s statement about the clerk’s office’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic is just another mischaracterization of the clerk of court’s operations, the type of which are likely to continue under future administrations,” Strong wrote in a statement. “Clerk Brown’s parting wish is that the next clerk of court’s administration builds upon the solid foundation that she built, in order to continue to provide quality service and access to justice to the citizens of Cook County.”
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The report cites a July 21 update on the office’s progress in complying with the federal courts under the anti-patronage Shakman consent decree. A federal monitor stated that although progress has been made in hiring practices, the office’s telework policy and selection of which employees worked on-site during the shutdown did not meet Shakman standards.
To address this and other issues, the report recommends an officewide audit and a plan for remote operations during emergencies such as a pandemic, both to be conducted in the first month of the new clerk’s term. The three groups contend the review is necessary to eliminate wasteful spending and reallocate resources — which likely will be strained as the county sees a historic deficit — to the right places.
Also during the first 30 days, the clerk should hire three new officers to oversee Freedom of Information Act requests, accessibility and public service, respectively, according to the report. The need for orderly and transparent data is crucial, the report says, so within the first 180 days there needs to be a new office of data management. Over the next year, according to the report, Brown’s replacement should work with Springfield to remove the FOIA exemption for the clerk’s office.
The new clerk also should work with the offices of judges to transition the entire court system to be accessible remotely, the report says. The groups say the four-month slowdown in court hearings from March to July were due to the circuit court and clerk’s offices failing to adapt to telephone or video conferences.
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“People continue to languish in jail today awaiting plea hearings or trials,” according to the report. "This situation does not advance justice and has already created an unmanageable backlog of cases.”
The report also recommends the next clerk work to provide full public, remote access to its case management system, similar to how the federal courts use its Public Access to Court Electronic Records website.
Other suggested technology face-lifts are improving its electronic filing system, ending the use of handwritten judges' orders and carbon paper for record-keeping and posting judges' schedules online.
ayin@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-09-22--Sheriff’s police rescue 20 malnourished dogs from home near Dolton

In the backyard , police found six dogs in cages that were malnourished and emaciated as well as one dog @ @ @ @ @ cage , the department said .

Cook County sheriff's police said they rescued 20 neglected dogs Monday from a home near Dolton. (Cook County Sheriff)
Cook County sheriff’s police said that officers rescued 20 dogs, many of which were malnourished, from a home Monday in unincorporated Thornton Township near Dolton.
The department said that an investigation is ongoing.
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Officers with the sheriff’s special victims unit went to a home in the 15000 block of Hastings Drive for about 9:30 a.m., responding to a complaint of a neglected dog. The Cook County Animal Control Unit also responded, police said.
Cook County sheriff's police said they rescued 20 neglected dogs Monday from a home near Dolton. (Cook County Sheriff)
In the backyard, police found six dogs in cages that were malnourished and emaciated as well as one dog that was dead in its cage, the department said.
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While at the home, officers heard other dogs barking inside a garage, which was locked. The property owner was not at home at the time, according to sheriff’s police.
After getting a search warrant, officers were able to rescue another 14 dogs that appeared to have been neglected and wounded, police said.
All 20 dogs were turned over to the Chicago Animal Control and Care facility, police said.
mnolan@tribpub.com


chicagotribune--2020-09-22--Pritzker says new retail marijuana licenses should be awarded in the fall, but admits process has be

Pritzker says new retail marijuana licenses should be awarded in the fall, but admits process has been ‘far from perfect'

The consulting firm KPMG will review the applications and send notices to applicants of deficiencies , with oversight from the @ @ @ @ @ Professional Regulation .
The applicants will then have 10 days to correct any deficiencies — @ @ @ @ @ happen previously under the law — though they may not change ownership to add a @ @ @ @ @ owner .

Gov. J.B. Pritzker discusses fairness in the conditional adult-use cannabis dispensary licensing process during a news conference at the Thompson Center on Sept. 22, 2020. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)
Recreational marijuana retail licenses should be awarded in Illinois this fall, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Tuesday, despite delays to give applicants a second chance at qualifying following complaints about the scoring process.
The governor called the process “far from perfect” so far, and said a delay and review is necessary to ensure fairness and diversity of ownership in the industry.
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“Illinois is attempting to produce a cannabis industry that actually looks like Illinois,” Pritzker said. He added, “As governor, I’m not interested in protecting a process that people are afraid to trust.”
The consulting firm KPMG will review the applications and send notices to applicants of deficiencies, with oversight from the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. The applicants will then have 10 days to correct any deficiencies — just as was supposed to happen previously under the law — though they may not change ownership to add a military veteran or social equity owner.
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Applicants may also ask for a rescoring of their application.
KPMG is the same firm that the state hired for $4 million in a no-bid contract to score the applications. Numerous applicants complained that identical exhibits in different applications were scored differently, or that they never got notice of deficiencies in their applications.
After the rescoring is completed, the state will hold a lottery to determine who gets the 75 new licenses. Only 21 finalists initially were deemed eligible for the lottery, out of hundreds of applicants submitting thousands of applications.
Many of the finalists included wealthy white owners, some with political connections, continuing a trend set into motion by the state’s original medical marijuana law, passed in 2013.
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In addition, more than 800 applicants have applied for craft grower, infuser or transporter licenses, which like the dispensary licenses were delayed from being awarded this summer.
KPMG is in the “final stages” of scoring those applications, and the state will announce the results in coming weeks, a spokeswoman said.
The state’s cannabis licensing program is being rolled out in stages so that regulators and lawmakers can learn and make corrections along the way, senior cannabis adviser Toi Hutchinson said.
Hutchinson also said she understands concerns that some of the finalists that qualified for the lottery may have “fronts,” or people improperly posing as social equity owners, and that regulators will have a “laser focus” to expose any illegitimate ownership.
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After this round of licenses are awarded, the state will conduct a disparity study to see what if any steps need to be taken to ensure diversity in awarding licenses. Next year, the state is scheduled to award another 110 dispensary licenses.
In the next round, Pritzker recommended that the law be changed to reduce the number of licenses any applicant can win to less than the current 10 He also advocated for setting a minimum score above which any applicant would qualify, rather than the current system which, in effect, requires a perfect score, which Hutchinson said was not anticipated.
In light of the revamped process, a federal lawsuit against state regulators alleging unfairness in scoring is being dropped, said attorney Jon Loevy, who represented unsuccessful applicants. Loevy, who also is co-founder of Justice Grown marijuana growers, said the governor’s administration and Rep. La Shawn Ford, who called for correcting the process, deserve credit for responding to complaints.


chicagotribune--2020-09-22--Wisconsin, 3 other states & Puerto Rico go on Chicago’s travel quarantine list, 2 states removed. He

Wisconsin, 3 other states & Puerto Rico go on Chicago’s travel quarantine list, 2 states removed. Here’s what you need to know to avoid a large fine.

There are limited exceptions to the quarantine order for essential workers who have to travel for work .
Travelers who @ @ @ @ @ Chicago but who have to be in Chicago to work and who traveled to a @ @ @ @ @ not need to quarantine .
Travelers who live in Chicago and who travel to a @ @ @ @ @ not have to quarantine , according to the order .

We have lifted the paywall on this story. To support essential reporting, please consider becoming a subscriber .
Dick DeGray, of Brattleboro, Vt., puts on his mask before going into the Municipal Building, in Brattleboro, as the town started to require visitors and staff to put their masks back on Aug. 11, 2021, due to COVID-19 virus numbers increasing in Windham County. (Kristopher Radder/The Brattleboro Reformer)
Chicago has revamped its travel quarantine order to reflect rising rates of the coronavirus in Chicago and the rest of Illinois, moving from a blanket list of states to a color-coded list comparing the rate of infection here with that in other states.
On Tuesday, the city added New York, California and Washington, D.C., to its orange list, requiring all travelers from those states to either quarantine or prove they have had a negative COVID-19 test 72 hours before arriving in Chicago. Idaho was moved from the stricter red list to the orange list.
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Under the original version of the emergency travel order, states had been added to the list when they reached an infection rate greater than 15 cases per 100,000 residents and removed once the daily case average remains below that rate for two consecutive weeks.
Now, the city is using a color-coded list, which will be updated every two weeks.
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“First and foremost, I would like people to avoid travel at this time if at all possible. But by creating a tiered system and using Chicago’s case rate as a category threshold, it allows us to be responsive to the changing dynamics of the pandemic,” said city health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady.
States that weren’t on the quarantine list that were added to the orange list the first week were Michigan, Connecticut, Arizona, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Georgia, Maryland, Oregon, Washington and Louisiana.
Yellow-coded states are those with a rolling seven-day average below 15 cases per day per 100,000 residents. Anyone returning from these states doesn’t have to quarantine. Three states qualified as of Tuesday.
Orange-coded states are those with a rolling seven-day average between 15 cases per day per 100,000 residents and Chicago’s rolling seven-day average, which was 60 as of Tuesday. People traveling from these states must either quarantine for 14 days or show they had a negative COVID-19 test no more than 72 hours before arrival in Chicago. There were 35 orange states, plus Washington, D.C., as of Tuesday.
Red-coded states are those with a rolling seven-day average above Chicago’s. Anyone traveling from these states has to quarantine. There were 11 red-coded states as of Tuesday.
People who commute across the Indiana or Wisconsin state lines to or from Chicago to work or go to school will be exempt from the quarantine rule, a nod to the symbiotic relationship between the neighboring states. But workers in Chicago from Indiana will be expected to avoid restaurants, bars and other public spaces in the city.
Here’s what you need to know about the city’s quarantine policies:
City says people will be fined
Anyone who visits red-listed states should stay inside for two weeks upon their return or risk a fine of $100 to $500 per day, according to the city. Those who visit orange-listed states are subject to the same fines if they don’t have a negative COVID-19 test or quarantine.
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Despite the list’s fluctuating size, enforcement of the order so far has been nonexistent, save for some billboards and signs that Mayor Lori Lightfoot has said are intended to “educate” people into compliance.
Lightfoot’s initial self-quarantine requirement was implemented during the Fourth of July weekend.
If city contact tracers get information that people who’ve caught the virus were in proximity to someone from a quarantine state and flouted the rules, they’ll issue a citation, Arwady has said.
They’ll also be on the lookout for people who are on social media “flagrantly posting their social activities, clearly out and about in Chicago after being in settings that are subject to our quarantine order, within the time frame,” she said. Investigators will look into any reports about city workers not following the guidelines, the health commissioner said.
Arwady has since clarified that the city “is not Big Brother,” nor does it have the resources to dedicate anyone to aimlessly scroll feeds from Chicagoans.
But if the agency receives a tip or is already looking into someone to determine whether to fine them, that’s when the city may scour social media.
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“One of the easiest ways to sort of get enough proof … without me having to send out an inspector … is to look at social media,” Arwady said.
Details for travelers
The order has plenty of exceptions for different types of workers and depending on how long travelers spend in the listed states.
If someone drives through a state on the list but does not stay more than 24 hours, that person does not need to quarantine. But a city employee clarified that Chicagoans who choose to drive into Wisconsin and go out in public, regardless of whether they return later in the same day, do need to quarantine after such voluntary activities.
For example, Chicagoans who drive through Indiana (a red-listed state), Ohio and New York (orange-listed states) to spend a week in Vermont (a yellow-listed state) but who did not stay in Indiana and Ohio more than 24 hours do not need to quarantine. There are similar restrictions for air travelers. .
Travelers visiting Chicago from red- or orange-listed states also are subject to the order if they are staying longer than a day. Everyone older than age 2 who lands at a Chicago airport is required to wear a mask, then quarantine if they’ve come from a listed state.
If someone is staying with a Chicago resident after traveling to an affected state, the traveler must quarantine, but other people in the home who did not travel to a listed state are not required to quarantine. The resident should follow guidance for being around someone who has potentially been exposed.
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Travelers or area residents who leave a Chicago airport and immediately travel to a suburb or outside Chicago limits are not required to quarantine — unless their municipality also has a travel restriction in place. The order also states that face coverings should be worn and that public transportation should not be used by those headed outside city limits.
Testing and exceptions to quarantine requirements in the revised rules
Under the guidance revised in November, Chicago residents returning from travel in red states or residents of red states who travel to the city are required to quarantine for 14 days upon arrival here, according to the city travel order website.
People in similar circumstances entering Chicago from orange states must either quarantine for 14 days or, with a “pre-arrival negative test result” from no more than three days before traveling to Chicago, may choose instead to employ “strict masking, social distancing and avoidance of in-person gatherings.”
There also is an option for those who can’t get a test while visiting an orange state, such as a visit not much longer than 24 hours. Someone can quarantine upon arrival in Illinois until a test can be arranged locally, according to the city’s travel order website. The test needs to be issued by a private provider because of concerns about limited capacity at public health testing sites.
“If you cannot be tested for COVID-19 prior to arriving in Chicago and do not take a post-arrival test, you must quarantine for 14 days (or the duration of your stay, whichever is shorter),” according to the website.
Essential workers and other exceptions
For those who live outside Chicago but work in the city, it’s important to determine whether you’re an essential or nonessential worker according to the executive order.
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There are limited exceptions to the quarantine order for essential workers who have to travel for work. Travelers who don’t live in Chicago but who have to be in Chicago to work and who traveled to an orange- or red-listed state for work do not need to quarantine. Travelers who live in Chicago and who travel to a listed state for work do not have to quarantine, according to the order.
But if workers go to a listed state when they didn’t have to, or for medical care, or because of parental shared custody, they would be subject to quarantine.
People who work in Chicago and live elsewhere can do so if they haven’t traveled to a high-incidence state. If they have traveled to a high-incidence state, they are subject to requirements regarding essential workers who are Chicago residents.
For the purposes of the order, an “essential worker” is a person who works in any one of the 16 critical employment sectors. The term also includes any government workers traveling in their official capacities. Essential workers must:
Avoid any nonessential interactions until the quarantine period has ended. They must limit themselves to work-related activities and related functions, and avoid public spaces as much as possible.
Monitor temperature and signs of symptoms, wear a face covering when in public, maintain social distance, and clean and disinfect workspaces.
Avoid as much as possible extended periods in public, contact with strangers and large congregate settings.
What does quarantine mean?
According to the emergency travel order, quarantine means staying at one place for 14 days before doing any activities outside of the home. Included in the restrictions:
Not go out in public or otherwise leave home, unless seeking medical care or COVID-19 testing.
Wear a face covering and do not use public transit if seeking medical care or testing, or when traveling to or from an airport, train station or bus station.
Don’t go to the grocery store; instead have food and other supplies delivered.
Stay in separate quarters with a separate bedroom and, if possible, use a separate bathroom than non-traveling household members.
Travelers still must quarantine even if they had a negative COVID-19 test because people “can develop symptoms and become contagious up to 14 days from their last exposure.”
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Are the rules different for each state or territory?
Generally, the emergency order is applied uniformly to any state or territory on the list. However, with neighboring states, travelers should pay close attention to what constitutes a visit and distinctions between essential and nonessential workers.
What are the state lists?
The following is a rolling list of states on Chicago’s red, orange and yellow lists. The lists will be updated every two weeks:
Red-listed states (11): Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
Orange-listed states and Puerto Rico (36): Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington, Washington, D.C., and West Virginia.
Yellow-listed states (3): Hawaii, Maine and Vermont.
Chicago Tribune’s Alice Yin, John Byrne and Gregory Pratt contributed.
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kdouglas@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @312BreakingNews


Corrections and clarifications

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· A caption for the Page 1 photograph Tuesday of the “Chicagohenge” sunset incorrectly described the view as looking east along East Madison Street. The scene was looking west.
· A story in Sunday’s Life + Travel section stated that the Cedarburg Covered Bridge is the last remaining covered bridge in Wisconsin. There are other covered bridges in Wisconsin.
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The Tribune regrets the errors.
Publishing information quickly and accurately is a central part of the Chicago Tribune’s news responsibility and a value shared in all our publications. Our editorial code of principles governs professional behavior and journalism standards. Everyone in our newsroom must agree to live up to this code of conduct. Download the file.
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