chicagotribune--2020-10-14--Challenging 2020 also brings major jump in Chicago carjackings

Through Oct. 3 , there had been 914 carjackings in Chicago this year , more than double the number seen @ @ @ @ @ 2019 and the most the city has seen in that period since 2003 , according @ @ @ @ @ online crime data .
Out of the Chicago Police Department ’ s 22 patrol districts @ @ @ @ @ more than double so far in 2020 , and in part of the North Side @ @ @ @

Chicago’s surge in gun violence and two rounds of downtown looting have grabbed most of the attention of police and politicians this year, but a review of crime data shows the extent of another crime problem plaguing every corner of the city in 2020: carjackings.
Through Oct. 3, there had been 914 carjackings in Chicago this year, more than double the number seen through the same date in 2019 and the most the city has seen in that period since 2003, according to the city’s online crime data. Out of the Chicago Police Department’s 22 patrol districts, 16 have seen carjackings more than double so far in 2020, and in part of the North Side they have quadrupled.
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Chicago police officials said they began noticing the spike earlier this year, even before the COVID-19 pandemic and the fallout over George Floyd’s death at the hands of police in Minnesota coincided with violent crime surges throughout the U.S., including in Chicago. But in the months since, Chicago’s carjacking problem has only gotten worse.
Brendan Deenihan, the Chicago Police Department’s chief of detectives, said carjackings already were up by 64% through April compared with last year. But he noted the increase only became greater as 2020 progressed, particularly amid the chaos as civil unrest spread throughout the city following Floyd’s death.
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“The numbers are extremely high,” Deenihan said in a Tribune interview Tuesday. “Since really the beginning of June and then through July and August when the civil unrest started the carjackings really spiked out of control.”
A Chicago police officer signals members of the media away from a carjacking scene in Hyde Park on Aug. 29, 2020. (Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune)
Deenihan said the public’s mainstream use of masks due to the coronavirus has likely been a contributing factor. It has made it easier for criminals to conceal their identity, perhaps emboldening some.
Nonetheless, Deenihan said through Sunday 120 people this year have been arrested for carjacking — a crime that occurs when someone steals a car forcefully removing a motorist, sometimes while using a gun, knife or other weapon. That figure was up from the same time period last year.
Also contributing to the spike could be the age of the perpetrators, according to Deenihan. More than half those arrested for the crime so far in 2020 have been under 18, he said, compared with juveniles making up 32% of arrestees a year earlier.
As a result of a change in the state law that took effect at the start of 2016, a carjacking charge when a weapon is used no longer triggers an automatic transfer to adult court for juveniles, where the consequences are often far more severe.
Carjacking can be difficult to prove in its own right, he said, which also contributes to repeat offenses.
“If you’re just arrested for (possession of a stolen motor vehicle) because we can’t prove up the case of (a carjacking), then more than likely these juveniles are right back home and creating problems for us,” Deenihan said.
In February, CPD officials announced the restart of a task force to address what was then a 75% spike in carjackings during roughly the first 50 days of 2020, compared with the same time period last year.
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A task force had initially formed in 2018 in response to a similar spike, and was credited with reducing carjackings to a six-year low. But that task force, consisting of local, state and federal law enforcement, was sent to concentrate on other police work when carjackings dropped. Deenihan said Tuesday the current task force consists of only Chicago police.
That task force handles all carjackings across the city, combing through surveillance video footage and other evidence to pay special attention to investigating the crime.
Leading the patrol districts that have seen carjackings at least double is Harrison, which encompasses such West Side communities as West Garfield Park, East Garfield Park and parts of North Lawndale.
It has recorded the most carjackings with 113, online crime data through Oct. 3 show. That tally is more than double what Harrison recorded during the same period in 2019, which was 50.
Carjackings have also more than doubled in the South Side’s Gresham patrol district, covering areas like Auburn-Gresham and Chatham, from 34 in 2019 to 82 in 2020, the statistics through Oct. 3 show. The Englewood patrol district on the South Side has also seen those crimes more than double from 23 to 51.
But many of the districts that have seen carjackings jump drastically cover areas of Chicago that are statistically safer than South and West Side districts.
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For example, in the Town Hall District, including North Side areas such as Lakeview, Uptown and Lincoln Park, carjackings have quadrupled, going from five through Oct. 3 in 2019 to 23 during the same period this year, the online crime data show.
The Rogers Park District on the Far North Side saw carjackings spike from 6 to 17, according to the data. And the two districts that cover downtown, Central and Near North, saw a combined total of 52 carjackings through Oct. 3 compared with 22 last year.
The increase comes as Chicago has seen spikes of over 50% in total shootings and homicides in 2020 compared with last year. But overall reported crime in the seven major crime categories, including crimes like burglary, criminal sexual assault and theft, had dropped by 7% through Sunday, police statistics show.
Some in the areas affected the most expressed a need for heightened vigilance due to the carjacking increase.
On Tuesday, representatives from the Greater Auburn-Gresham Development Corporation held a food distribution event at 79th and Halsted streets, down the street from the Gresham District police station. They handed out produce, meat and dry goods to the public, as traffic piled up in the area.
Carlos Nelson, CEO of the development group, acknowledged 2020 has brought a variety of unusual challenges.
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“COVID and the George Floyd occurrences have altered everyone’s way of existing," Nelson said. “Safety now includes not only wearing a mask, watching your distance and washing your hands, but also being aware of your surroundings.”
Maureen Martino, executive director of the Lakeview East Chamber of Commerce, which covers the Town Hall District, said any kind of uptick in crime is concerning for businesses, residents and visitors to the area.
Martino implored area residents to be alert, especially since many of these vehicles taken in carjackings are used to commit other crimes.
“It’s opportunity," she said. "There might be some hot spots for a while and then they find another hot spot.”
jgorner@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-10-14--CPS students petition to shorten the class day — and end homework — during remote learning, citing h

CPS students petition to shorten the class day — and end homework — during remote learning, citing headaches, stress and too much screen time

“ The back and forth of signing in and signing out of their synchronous time and asynchronous time is a @ @ @ @ @ especially for the 5-year-olds , ” Medellin said .
“ If they want to do @ @ @ @ @ it like the first three hours in the morning and then in the afternoon just @ @ @ @ @ ...
They try to make it like a real school day , and remotely , @ @ @ @ @ can do that . ''

After a month of remote learning, Idalia Rizvic was getting headaches, feeling stressed and struggling to finish her schoolwork early enough to hang out with her family before bedtime.
So last week, the eighth grader at Boone Elementary in West Rogers Park started an online petition to shorten the virtual school day.
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“Covid has been a stressful time for all, and online school adds onto that,” Idalia wrote. “We still get the same amount of work, and ‘homework’ has lost its purpose."
After spring’s abrupt transition to remote learning, many students indicated they wanted more live instruction and engagement. But for some, stricter schedules this year have been too much. As families and educators wait for Chicago Public Schools to say whether the second quarter will bring students back to classrooms, many feel that either way, something needs to change. Like Idalia, others are turning to online petitions in hopes of influencing the decision makers.
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Idalia’s mother, Senada Rizvic, said the past month has been “too much screen time, less sleep, more headache."
During the school day, Idalia said she’s typically glued to her computer from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., often late into the evening to finish homework. Like many of her classmates, she feels more comfortable with her camera off. While some un-mute themselves to speak during class, most just use the chat, she said.
“Online school has made my anxiety go up a lot,” Idalia said. “... This time has been really difficult on a lot of my peers' mental health.”
Some teachers have been supportive of the petition, even signing it, while others have told Idalia how many things have to change before her suggestion could be possible, she said.
A Suder Montessori teacher wrote on the petition, “We can’t imagine how it feels to be a middle schooler in this time, so the least we can do is amplify their voice."
Some students described how screen time was affecting them. Another simply wrote, “Help me."
A petition started by a Senn High School student seeking a half-day class schedule cited research on the effects of too much screen time. If students must have seven-hour remote learning days, the petition states, they shouldn’t be assigned homework.
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“I, as well as many other students I’ve talked to have already been getting headaches, sore necks and backs, and strained eyes every single day,” the student wrote. "Mentally, we feel exhausted, unmotivated, and isolated.”
Another, anonymous petition to shorten the day states, “With COVID-19 cases still rising it’s clear that it’s much safer to stay home, but 8 hours of staring at the screen is not mentally and physically healthy for students.”
But not all families are on the same page in that regard. Another anonymous group, “Parents for In-Person Learning,” is petitioning CPS and city officials to reopen schools entirely.
A parent to two Mozart Elementary students, Gabrielle Wilson, started a different petition by declaring remote learning so far “a disaster.”
“The expectations from the district put upon students and the working parents of this city are unrealistic,” Wilson wrote. "... We cannot forgo our sources of income to be tethered to our young and diverse learner’s Chromebooks.”
She proposed that all live classes take place in the morning, so parents have more flexibility to help their children with other schoolwork. Wilson also spoke at the September Board of Education meeting, and days later withdrew her children from CPS. One child was crying at least once most days, and the other would hide under a desk. They had different lunch times, which was difficult to manage.
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“I decided I couldn’t continue with the way things were,” Wilson said. “My kids usually love school, and they were having meltdowns every day.”
Now, she’s homeschooling them. They start around 9 a.m., finish by noon and go on field trips or play outside. To make it work, she ordered more books and moved their school days to Tuesday through Saturday, because she has graduate classes all day Monday. They have been following the same math curriculum, and she added some science activities. “I cut the time in half and we get more done,” she said.
Wilson said her kids' teachers seemed understanding, and the school let her know that she could re-enroll if in-person classes resume. If it’s an option, she said she’d likely send them back.
“I think the social benefits that the children get from being in school outweigh the risks of them contracting COVID,” Wilson said.
Scheduling has been an ongoing issue.
While the Chicago Teachers Union contract gives teachers a vote on the adoption of class schedules, CTU chief of staff Jennifer Johnson said the model schedules approved this year were developed for in-person learning.
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In light of the shift to remote learning, CPS Chief Education Officer LaTanya McDade tweeted that “if schools want to re-vote and the union agrees and won’t file a grievance because this violates the (collective bargaining agreement), we are all set.”
But Johnson said union leaders support schools making changes if staff and families broadly agree on new schedules. The union didn’t formally agree to new votes because they want sample schedules designed for remote learning, with less screen time and more time for professional development, helping families, planning and collaboration, Johnson said.
Simply not true. Actually, we @ChiPubSchools support schools that want to reopen the vote to change the schedule. So if schools want to revote and the union agrees and won’t file a grievance because this violates the CBA, we are all set. Read the CBA. https://t.co/ADgWSDF4oL — LaTanya D. McDade (@LDMcDade) September 13, 2020
The outcome of a CPS labor dispute with CTU could also affect the reopening of schools, but in any case, remote learning is likely to continue in some capacity.
CPS leaders don’t believe reducing live instruction is in students' best interests, according to a statement provided by spokeswoman Emily Bolton.
“Chicago Public Schools has implemented a remote learning plan that creates a more consistent, high-quality learning experience for students that guarantees live instruction every day, which is something parents indicated they wanted," Bolton said. "Strengthened standards and structures were needed to ensure students have access to the daily live instruction they deserve and we are deeply sympathetic to the challenges and competing priorities families are balancing during this unprecedented time.”
Under the fall framework, students in kindergarten and up get at least three hours of live instruction from their teachers. With that, along with small group activities and independent learning, the district expects students to participate for the length of a typical school day, Monday through Friday.
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While schools have to follow minimum guidelines, the CPS statement said they have “significant flexibility when scheduling” and are encouraged to break up live and non-live learning time, which doesn’t have to involve computers.
On Tuesday, CPS CEO Janice Jackson said a plan for next quarter will be out “very soon.”
Leticia Medellin, a kindergarten teacher at Disney Magnet School, said she hopes to hear a decision in time to set up her classroom if she needs to.
“Once they decided we were remote (in the fall), I didn’t set up a classroom, so my classroom is pretty much in disarray," she said.
If remote learning continues, the schedule needs to be revamped and more flexible, especially for younger students, Medellin said.
“The back and forth of signing in and signing out of their synchronous time and asynchronous time is a little daunting for parents, especially for the 5-year-olds,” Medellin said. “If they want to do the 180 minutes, do it like the first three hours in the morning and then in the afternoon just let them be 5-year-olds. ... They try to make it like a real school day, and remotely, there is no way we can do that."
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Kindergarten teacher Leticia Medellin, right, with her daughter Kayla, outside their Chicago home on Oct. 11, 2020. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
Guadalupe Rivera, a fourth-grade teacher at Hurley Elementary in West Lawn, said her colleagues are trying to incorporate student and parent feedback without sacrificing learning. For example, requests for longer breaks led her to switch from 60-minute to 30-minute lesson plans.
“I’m online with you for 60 minutes, but (students) have to have a 15-minute break, so now it’s 45 minutes and we spend five of those minutes waiting for things to load,” Rivera said. “Time gets cut in such little bits that it’s just hard to get through an entire lesson.”
Rivera started the quarter reviewing third-grade standards and working up to fourth grade.
“Are kids going to be at fifth-grade level standards by the end of the year? No way," she said. “I don’t know how it will affect students long term. Teachers are going to keep trying and working on whatever grade level students are at."
Worries about a lost year, appreciation for teachers' efforts and a range of remote learning experiences came up during a recent town hall hosted by Raise Your Hand for Illinois Public Education.
At schools with a universal lunch time, neighbors have enjoyed playing together outside. Some families liked schedules that alternated blocks of live and non-live learning.
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But some also said they’ve found that expectations among schools are inconsistent or assume a parent is always around. While some see their children struggling with heavy workloads and high expectations, others question the quality of material. Parents are noticing regression in students with special education programs.
And there have still been reports of families who need internet or computers.
With such disparate school buildings and resources, it’s hard to make plans that work for everyone, Medellin said. When she worked at Morrill Elementary in Chicago Lawn, the air vents were old and didn’t work well, she said, but Disney is more updated.
“I think the problem with CPS is we are so big and not all school buildings are made the same. Some of them are very old,” she said. “So that’s where the inequity kind of falls. Yes, I would feel fine going back, but I can’t say that for another school.”
With Medellin teaching and her daughter, Kayla, learning from home, their internet has its moments. It can also get loud, said Kayla, a sophomore at Ogden International High School.
“Sometimes it’s distracting, but it’s also fun to hear what she’s teaching to her kids,” Kayla said.
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Subjects such as history and English are proving easier to learn online than math and science, Kayla said.
“Honestly, I don’t like remote learning,” Kayla said. “It’s hard to focus, and I feel better in school because I have a better understanding when I see it in person than on a screen.”
After two to three hours, her eyes start to hurt and focus wanes. She also misses socializing with friends at school.
“I just want to finish high school as well as experience high school, but since remote learning, I can’t necessarily do that for sophomore year and probably other years as the virus continues,” she said.
Idalia, the eighth grader who made the petition, is starting to navigate the freshman application process without traditional campus visits. She wants to go to a high school with a good theater club. Boone’s group has continued meeting online, working on Halloween-themed scripts. But it has been hard to find time for other hobbies.
“Online learning is a new thing, and when the world has been going to shambles, something new on top of that is so much stress,” Idalia said.
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hleone@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-10-14--Man killed, 13-year-old girl critically injured in Northwest Side shooting, police say

At 4:45 p.m. , the man and girl were standing on a porch in the 900 block of North Lawndale @ @ @ @ @ neighborhood when a red vehicle drove by and someone inside fired shots , police said @

A 23-year-old man was killed and a 13-year-old girl was critically wounded in a drive-by shooting Tuesday afternoon in the Humboldt Park neighborhood on the West Side, according to Chicago police.
At 4:45 p.m., the man and girl were standing on a porch in the 900 block of North Lawndale Avenue when a red vehicle drove by and someone inside fired shots, police said.
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The man was shot in the right armpit and chin, police said. He was taken to Stroger Hospital in critical condition, where he later died. He was pronounced dead at 5:24 p.m., according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.
The man was identified as Raekwon Stafford, of the 7600 block of South South Shore Drive, according to the medical examiner.
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The girl was shot in the chest and taken to Stroger Hospital in critical condition, police said.
No arrests had been made as of early Wednesday.
pfry@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @paigexfry


chicagotribune--2020-10-14--Driver faces attempted murder charge in Lake Shore Drive shooting

The woman and the people in the other car spoke , police said .
Then someone in the back of @ @ @ @ @ the Dodge Caliber .
The 19-year-old woman was shot in the head , but she @ @ @ @ @ Lake Shore Drive , until she exited and stopped in the 600 block of East @ @ @

A motorist turned Lake Shore Drive into a "shooting gallery'' Saturday afternoon when her passenger opened fire on another car, leaving a 19-year-old woman with only one eye, prosecutors said.
The shooting occurred at 1:20 p.m. in the 300 block of South Lake Shore Drive, police said.
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Jennifer Medina, 26, of Bridgeview, charged with attempted first-degree murder, appeared Wednesday afternoon before Judge Susana Ortiz at the Leighton Criminal Court Building for a bond hearing, audio of which was broadcast on YouTube.
The 19-year-old woman who was shot was with her boyfriend and a 32-year-old woman taking a drive in a white Dodge Caliber on Saturday, prosecutors said.
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“Basically, she turned Lake Shore Drive into a shooting gallery,” Assistant Cook County State’s Attorney James Murphy told Ortiz.
Medina set off a “hail of gunfire,” by staring at the three people in that car and then saying something to her own passengers.
Jennifer Medina (Chicago Police Department)
Medina was driving a white Ford Focus belonging to her parents when she pulled up on the right side of the other car near Jackson Drive.
The people in the Dodge noticed Medina staring at them and said ”something” to those in her car, but those in the Dodge could not hear what she said, Murphy said.
Medina’s passengers began yelling at the Dodge, throwing gang signs and asking the people in it where they were from, Murphy said.
When the young woman’s boyfriend, 20, asked why they were trying to “make a problem on the expressway,” a man sitting in the back seat of the Ford got out and said: “You can get it anywhere you want it,” Murphy said.
Then, as the light turned green, he got back in and fired a single shot, which hit the 19-year-old’s nose, and passed through her head.
Her boyfriend tried to apply pressure to the wound and drive away, but Medina drove after them, maneuvering in front of them, and blocking their car across multiple lanes, Murphy said.
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After the Dodge tried to pass Medina several times, the gunman again “leaped out” of the back seat and "fired multiple more shots,'' and hit the car and its rear window.
“This defendant doesn’t stop there, she continued to weave in and out of traffic, trying to chase the victim down so her co-defendant could fire more gunshots,” Murphy said.
“They don’t care who gets in the way.”
The Dodge was able to exit near Navy Pier, where the people in the car asked a security officer there to call 911.
The 19-year-old woman was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where she her condition had been stabilized after surgery to remove her left eye, Murphy said.
The attack was captured on a city camera, and Medina admitted to authorities she was driving the car on Lake Shore Drive, but at first said she didn’t know her passengers, or where she had picked them up. Later she said the other female in the Ford was her friend and the shooter was the friend’s “make out buddy,” Murphy said.
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Additionally, Medina’s parents confirmed with authorities she was driving their car and the people from the other car identified Medina in a photo array, Murphy said, adding that though Medina has no criminal background she shouldn’t have been driving, because her license was suspended out of state for tickets.
Medina was represented by a public defender, who said she completed 11th grade, was working on her GED and has been a volunteer in her community.
“She’s still innocent until proven guilty,” Medina’s attorney said. Medina, a mother to two children, works in a dietary position and does volunteer work, which shows that she has a “commitment to show up to her appointments,” her attorney said.
Medina wasn’t just a passenger in a car when someone decided to take violent actions, Ortiz said, before denying bond.
Lake Shore Drive was occupied by “innocent civilians” and whether this occurred on Lake Shore Drive, on the South Side, North Side or West Side, it was “this defendant” who maneuvered and used her car and “enabled the shooter to get those shots off," Ortiz said.
”Now she has lost her left eye."
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Medina, arrested at 9:30 p.m. Sunday in the 9100 block of Windsor Lane in Bridgeview, will be in court next on Oct. 21 in Skokie.
rsobol@chicagotribune.com
pfry@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @RosemarySobol1
Twitter @paigexfry


chicagotribune--2020-10-14--Chicago adds Indiana to travel quarantine list; city health commissioner says, ‘I just want you and

Chicago adds Indiana to travel quarantine list; city health commissioner says, ‘I just want you and your families to be able to avoid COVID’

“ I just want you and your families to be able to avoid COVID , ” Arwady said .
“ @ @ @ @ @ ways you can do that is to not have unnecessary exposure to high-risk settings for @ @ @ @ @ , different than Chicago , loosened all restrictions related to COVID-19 .
And so it @ @ @ @ @ their rates are higher , although they are , it ’ s that a lot @ @ @ @ @ we have in place here , ranging from masks , to sizes of gatherings , @ @ @ @ @ , are currently not in place ( there ) .
”

John Byrne, Alexandra Kukulka, Michelle L. Quinn

Chicago made it official Tuesday, adding neighboring Indiana to its emergency travel order that requires travelers returning to the city from there to stay inside for two weeks because of high COVID-19 case counts.
The Hoosier State’s inclusion on Chicago’s self-quarantine list was expected.
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The city last week “strongly advised” Chicago residents against traveling to Indiana, pointing to the fact the state had already passed the bench mark of more than 15 new daily COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents over a seven-day period that warrants getting added to the list.
“I am very concerned that Indiana is a state that is wishing that COVID were over, and it’s not,” city Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said then.
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[ Indiana, 3 other states added to Chicago’s travel quarantine list this week. Here’s what you need to know to avoid a large fine. ]
Starting Friday, people traveling into Chicago from Indiana will be expected to quarantine themselves for 14 days. Violators can face a fine, though the city has taken few steps to enforce the rules.
“I just want you and your families to be able to avoid COVID,” Arwady said. “And one of the best ways you can do that is to not have unnecessary exposure to high-risk settings for COVID. And Indiana has, different than Chicago, loosened all restrictions related to COVID-19. And so it’s not just that their rates are higher, although they are, it’s that a lot of the science-based things that we have in place here, ranging from masks, to sizes of gatherings, to distance at a restaurant, are currently not in place (there).”
Indiana joins Wisconsin, which was placed back on Chicago’s travel warning list three weeks ago amid skyrocketing coronavirus numbers there.
[ Wisconsin hits pair of grim COVID-19 milestones, with record highs for positive cases and deaths ]
Chicago Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady answers questions during a news conference at the Greater Western Community Development Project in Chicago Sept. 14, 2020. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
And like with Wisconsin, people who commute across the Indiana state line 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.
Hammond Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr. said he and his wife, Marissa, were in downtown Chicago just last weekend having dinner. Any quarantine action Chicago imposes against its northwest Indiana neighbors would be shortsighted, he said, if it were actually something the city could do with any might behind it.
[ COVID-19 in Illinois by the numbers: Here’s a daily update on cases, positivity rate and hospital data in your area ]
“Unless the city is going to put barriers up between the two states, people are still going to do what they want to do,” McDermott said. "We’re still going to drive back and forth unfettered. I’m still going to ride my bike on the trails downtown. I’ll wear a mask and social distance because I’m an adult, but what (Lightfoot) is doing is scaring people, and that isn’t going to help the city.
“We’re a republic, and I have a right to drive to Illinois as much as someone else has a right to drive to Indiana. If she wants to test that issue, that’s entirely up to her, but it’s an advisory opinion that’s not really going to do anything.”
South Shore Convention and Visitors Authority CEO Speros Batistatos agreed, saying the edict is “unenforceable.”
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“Unless they’re going to put Illinois State Police at (Interstate) 80-94, the toll road and all other points in between, who’s going to stop anyone?” Batistatos said. “It’s laughable.”
[ COVID-19 cases in Illinois by ZIP code: Search for your neighborhood ]
Batistatos also noted that because of Chicago’s and Illinois' restrictions, Illinois residents have come to Indiana in droves, so any restrictions on traveling between the two defy entertaining, especially when the economies are so intertwined.
“This isn’t the Great Wall of China,” he said.
Whiting Mayor Steve Spebar said he was disappointed to hear about Indiana being added to Chicago’s travel quarantine list, but said he understands given the circumstances.
“I’m not happy about it, but it’s obviously their decision,” Spebar said. “I don’t know if it will change people’s behavior or traffic patterns.”
In all, there are now 26 states or territories on Chicago’s self-quarantine list: Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
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Arwady on Tuesday noted the other areas of trouble around Chicago. “Wisconsin has a very poorly controlled outbreak. Indiana has a poorly controlled outbreak,” Arwady said. “Iowa, Missouri and parts of Downstate Illinois are not in as strong control as we are here in Chicago. And we are not in as strong control in Chicago this week as we were last week.”
Michelle L. Quinn is a Post-Tribune freelance reporter.
jebyrne@chicagotribune.com
akukulka@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-10-14--New initiative will recruit Black and brown Chicago students to become CPS educators: ‘There is powe

New initiative will recruit Black and brown Chicago students to become CPS educators: ‘There is power in the teachers of color. We understand our children’s stories.’

“ To truly make this initiative a success , CPS must value both incoming and veteran educators of color in @ @ @ @ @ schools hospitable places to learn and grow in professional , anti-racist communities , ” Davis @ @ @ @ @ district must also be committed to collaborating with stakeholders who have been doing the work @ @ @ @ @ , and also to eradicating policies that have stripped our schools of Black and Brown @ @ @ @ @ school closings , punitive teacher evaluation and high-stakes entry programs .
”

Nearly 36% of Chicago Public Schools students but only 21% of the district’s teachers are Black, and Dixon Elementary’s Daniel Jackson is proud to be one of them.
“As a Black male raised in Bronzeville and Englewood, I’ve had to learn how to be teachable, socially conscious of the disparities among different groups of children,” Jackson said. “... There is power in the teachers of color. We understand our children’s stories. We can relate to them.”
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Another 21% of CPS teachers are Hispanic or Latino, the largest group of students at 47%. Fewer than 11% of students but nearly half of the district’s teachers are white. On Tuesday, CPS leaders announced a new partnership with City Colleges of Chicago and Illinois State University, called “Teach Chicago Tomorrow,” to cultivate a diverse group of educators who graduated from CPS schools and better reflect the demographics of their future students.
Starting with a group of 100 high school students in the class of 2021, the goal is to more than triple the number of CPS graduates hired as teachers each year, from about 140 to 500.
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Daniel Jackson, a second grade teacher at Chicago's Dixon Elementary, checks his computers Tuesday at his home, where he's been teaching remotely. (Youngrae Kim / Chicago Tribune)
After earning an associate degree through City Colleges, the students in the program can enter a bachelor’s degree program at Illinois State University and spend a year student teaching in CPS schools. Once they earn their Illinois teaching license, CPS has promised priority job placement.
With support from Crown Family Philanthropies and the Joyce Foundation, the program will include financial counseling, paid work opportunities in CPS, and student teaching stipends.
"Teach Chicago Tomorrow will build a new network of teachers who look like Chicago kids, come from Chicago communities and are invested in Chicago neighborhoods,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot said. ”... Existing recruitment pathways simply aren’t producing enough high-quality teachers of color. We must build our own pathways through smart strategies that tap into an already-interested and invested talent pool.”
To recruit its first class, the district will have counselors and recruiters follow up with students who have expressed interest in teaching. According to CPS, that’s about 10% of high school students.
Chicago Public Schools CEO Janice Jackson announces the "Teach Chicago Tomorrow" initiative Tuesday. (Youngrae Kim / Chicago Tribune)
“Far fewer of them are ever able to realize that dream,” said CPS CEO Janice Jackson. As a former CPS student and teacher, Jackson said the initiative is very personal to her. “My students benefited from the fact that we had a common experience at schools in similar communities and I could connect with them,” she said.
Both research and her own experience have shown that a diverse teacher workforce leads to positive student outcomes, she said. Through a “Teach Chicago” initiative, the district has already made efforts to recruit and retain more diverse teachers, especially for high-needs schools. But existing programs haven’t been enough.
Over the past decade, Illinois has seen a 54% decline in African American students and 28% decline in Latino students earning education degrees, according to a CPS analysis of Illinois Board of Higher Education data.
“In order to make a real impact on teacher diversity, we must take a two-pronged approach that focuses on short-term and long-term solutions,” said Matt Lyons, the district’s chief talent officer.
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City Colleges Chancellor Juan Salgado said he, Lightfoot and Jackson have been working to strengthen the relationship between CPS and the colleges.
“We know that CPS schools are filled with emerging leaders ... we have a responsibility and opportunity to release this potential," Salgado said. “Our young people are eager to educate and inspire.”
Daniel Jackson stands in front of Dixon Elementary School, where he is a teacher. He spoke at a news conference announcing a new initiative to recruit more teachers of color from the ranks of CPS graduates. (Youngrae Kim / Chicago Tribune)
Illinois State President Larry Dietz said with the school’s beginnings more than 150 years ago as a teachers college, “the desire to educate finds us and teaching and learning remain core to our ISU mission."
One out of every six teachers working in Illinois graduated from Illinois State, which is the seventh-largest producer of teachers in the nation and largest in the Midwest, Deitz said. He introduced Daniel Jackson as a teacher “who exemplifies the mission" of the new pipeline program.
When Jackson, a graduate of Jones College Prep and Illinois State, told his second-grade students why he’d be speaking in a news conference, many said they wanted to grow up to be teachers. Jackson said he hopes the new initiative will normalize filling schools with educators of color.
After high school, he feared a rough transition to college, but his professors became his mentors. Jackson said his experience at Illinois State solidified his commitment to becoming a teacher and prepared him to serve children and his community in Chicago.
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“Through my teachers I’ve always felt a connection of them being dependable, trustworthy and loyal,” he said. “Their spirit in the classroom drew me closer to their lessons because they taught me how to become a critical thinker.”
Carolina Velez, a counselor at Curie High School who attended Lane Tech College Prep and University of Illinois at Chicago, has been working with seniors on college and financial aid applications, and talking to them about their plans.
“When I embarked on this journey as a daughter of Ecuadorian immigrants, I wanted to make a difference and help others,” Velez said. “I didn’t exactly know how I was gonna do it. This pathway did not exist for me but it does, and it’s here now.”
Daniel Jackson writes on a whiteboard at his home, where he does remote teaching for Dixon Elementary students in Chicago. (Youngrae Kim / Chicago Tribune)
Velez made a plea to students considering careers in education: “We need you. You know CPS, you know the needs, you know the talent and the resources, and have great ideas to implement. In some cases, you already have.”
In response to the CPS announcement, Chicago Teachers Union Vice President Stacy Davis Gates issued a statement in support of the program but called on the district to do more for current Black and brown teachers.
“There is growing evidence that diversity among educators can lead to more positive outcomes for all students, so the Union welcomes efforts to increase the number of Black and Latino educators in our district,” Davis Gates said. “... Our union has long been committed to increasing diversity in the CPS teaching ranks, and has partnered with programs like Grow Your Own Illinois to encourage educators of color to enter the teaching profession and work in the communities that nurtured them."
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She pointed to investments in the latest CTU contract for pipeline programs to draw in educators from other local colleges like Chicago State and Northeastern Illinois universities, and UIC.
“To truly make this initiative a success, CPS must value both incoming and veteran educators of color in its buildings, and make schools hospitable places to learn and grow in professional, anti-racist communities,” Davis Gates said. “The district must also be committed to collaborating with stakeholders who have been doing the work in this arena for years, and also to eradicating policies that have stripped our schools of Black and Brown educators: charter proliferation, school closings, punitive teacher evaluation and high-stakes entry programs.”
hleone@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-10-15--Sen. Dick Durbin tells President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett that an ‘ora

Sen. Dick Durbin tells President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett that an ‘orange cloud’ hangs over her nomination

“ So in that case the Illinois Republican Party said that because the executive order in Illinois had given an @ @ @ @ @ of religion , for example so that people could gather at churches or synagogues or @ @ @ @ @ special protection had to extend to the Illinois Republican Party , and indeed by logical @ @ @ @ @ the whole order would fall because religion couldn ’ t be singled out for special @ @ @ @ @ during televised testimony .

Sen. Dick Durbin listens during the confirmation hearing for Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett, before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Oct. 14, 2020, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (Kevin Dietsch/UPI)
Democratic U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin on Wednesday told President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court pick Amy Coney Barrett that an “orange cloud” hangs over her nomination.
Illinois' senior senator didn’t mention the Republican president by name in that particular exchange with Barrett during the third day of her confirmation hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee — a question-and-answer vetting exercise before the full Senate votes on her nomination.
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But Durbin suggested her very nomination by the President is tainted, given Trump’s push to quickly fill the vacancy left by the Sept. 8 death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and his stated desire to repeal the Affordable Care Act. The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments just a week after the Nov. 3 election that could upend the fate of the nation’s health care law.
Barrett already has said she’s not “hostile” to the ACA.
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But Durbin, as did other Senate Democrats, maintained that the timing of Barrett’s nomination is part of cementing a “political agenda.”
“What’s the hurry?” Durbin, who is up for reelection in November, said rhetorically during his second round of publicly questioning Barrett.
“Why couldn’t we wait till the end of November or December, or even January, after leaving a vacancy on the court for 10 months after Antonin Scalia’s passing? Well because there is a political agenda here. And whether you are privy to it, part of it, notwithstanding, it has to do with the Affordable Care Act,” he said.
“If the president, and those who support him, and those who support the Republican platform are going to keep their promise to end the Affordable Care Act they need that ninth justice, and that’s why it has to be hurried,” Durbin said. “Unfortunately, that is the cloud — the orange cloud — over your nomination.”
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Democrats are trying to suss out how Barrett might rule on the case — California v. Texas — brought by a group of Republican state attorneys general and backed by the Trump administration challenging the constitutionality of former President Barack Obama’s signature health care law.
Citing — some say taking out of context — the words of the late Justice Ginsburg, Barrett said she would offer “no hints, no previews, no forecasts” on cases and issues.
Democratic senators have zeroed in on an article Barrett wrote in which she criticized Chief Justice John Roberts' 2012 opinion preserving the ACA. Barrett said that case is very different, and her “critique of the reasoning” in the previous case does not mean she doesn’t like the law. “I’m not here on a mission to destroy the Affordable Care Act. I’m just here to apply the law and adhere to the rule of law,” she told the Senate Judiciary Committee a day earlier.
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Durbin argued his point about maintaining the ACA by sharing the story of a 20-year-old constituent from Buffalo Grove who was diagnosed with a cancerous brain tumor known as medulloblastoma.
After surgery Durbin said, the man began an aggressive course of radiation and is now undergoing chemotherapy with medical bills adding up to $700,000 before insurance.
Durbin said the ACA not only allows the man to remain covered by his mother’s health insurance until the age of 26, the law also ensures no lifetime limits. But the repeal, Durbin says his family fears, could leave the Buffalo Grove man uninsured and uninsurable because he has a preexisting condition.
Durbin also asked Barrett whether a sitting president could unilaterally delay the general election, a notion Trump floated earlier this year. And, as she did when posed that question on Tuesday, Barrett declined to answer saying that she would have to weigh a specific case before the court.
Trump does not have the authority to unilaterally change the date of the election — Article II of the Constitution gives Congress that power.
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Later, Missouri Republican Sen. Josh Hawley raised the Illinois Republican Party’s lawsuit filed against Gov. J.B. Pritzker seeking to halt his COVID-19 public health order that limiting in-person gatherings.
The state GOP argued an exemption given to religious institutions should extend to political gatherings, both of which have protections under the Constitution, Politico wrote last month. But a Chicago-based 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel that included Barrett rejected the Republican Party’s argument.
“So in that case the Illinois Republican Party said that because the executive order in Illinois had given an exception for the free exercise of religion, for example so that people could gather at churches or synagogues or mosques, that that same special protection had to extend to the Illinois Republican Party, and indeed by logical extension to everyone, so the whole order would fall because religion couldn’t be singled out for special treatment,” Barrett said during televised testimony.
The appeals court panel rejected that, opining, “that it was permissible for the governor of Illinois to carve out an exception for free exercise (of religion), and that doing so didn’t compel the government to extend the same protection to everyone … and that (t)rying to accommodate a right explicitly mentioned in the constitution in the First Amendment did not put the COVID order in jeopardy.”
She explained further “The point that the panel opinion makes is that the free exercise of religion is singled out for its own protection in the First Amendment rather than being a subset of speech, and the position that the Illinois Republican Party took in that case would have been more putting everything under the speech umbrella,” Barrett said, when asked about why the panel rejected the Republican Party’s argument.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham has scheduled a committee vote for 9 a.m. Thursday. Barrett’s nomination is expected to be brought up for a vote at that meeting and then delayed for a week, per committee rules.
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The Associated Press contributed.
Lisa Donovan is the host of The Spin, the Tribune’s politics newsletter. Sign up here to have it delivered to your inbox weekday afternoons.
ldonovan@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @byldonovan


chicagotribune--2020-10-15--Women’s March Chicago to host ‘Zoom to the Polls’ on Saturday — one of hundreds of events across the

Women’s March Chicago to host ‘Zoom to the Polls’ on Saturday — one of hundreds of events across the country to encourage voting

“ We know that this election in 2020 will be one of the most historic and consequential elections for women @ @ @ @ @ Kay Devine , from the Chicago nonprofit Women Employed , during the news conference .
@ @ @ @ @ and having to be safe and look out for one another has pushed our coalition @ @ @ @ @ our outreach and mobilization .
This event coming up this Saturday , Zoom to the @ @ @ @ @ engage women and our allies all across Illinois and beyond .
”

Women’s March Chicago will host a predominantly virtual event dubbed “Zoom to the Polls” on Saturday, one of hundreds of Women’s March activities planned across the country that day to encourage voting in the Nov. 3 election.
“We’re going to work to get people out to vote, because this election is the one we must do,” said Jaquie Algee, Women’s March Chicago board president, at an online news conference Wednesday. “We’ve got to vote in this election.”
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Zoom to the Polls will include information on voting, speeches by government officials and community groups, as well as music, entertainment and photos of Women’s March signs submitted by supporters. Participants can view a livestream of the event from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. on the group’s Facebook page, www.facebook.com/WomensMarchChicago.
Women’s March Chicago is also hosting an in-person outdoor gathering in the Roseland neighborhood from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Phalanx Family Services, 837 W. 119th St. Participants at the event will be able to view the virtual programming on a large outdoor screen, and social distancing measures will be in place, organizers said.
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A basket full of buttons for the 2020 Women's March Chicago were available for people attending the sign-making party at the DuPage Township Democratic Organization office on Jan. 12, 2020, in Bolingbrook, Ill. (Mark Black / Chicago Tribune)
Other Women’s March events are scheduled locally and across the country on Saturday, some in person and others online in the form of webinars or other virtual programming.
An in-person rally dubbed “Vote. March. Dissent.” is planned at Federal Plaza in Chicago. About a dozen other local rallies are scheduled, including “Glenview Women’s March,” “Evanston Rally for Democracy” and “Together We Rise Women’s March” in west suburban Geneva. For more information on local events, visit www.womensmarch.com.
At an in-person Women’s March gathering planned in Washington, D.C., participants are expected to wear masks during a short march and rally, and then meet on the National Mall for a “socially distant text-banking telethon” with the goal of sending 5 million text messages urging recipients to get out and vote, according to womensmarch.com.
“We saw the power when millions of us joined in the streets together the day after Trump’s inauguration,” the Washington, D.C., event’s website says. “We need to bring that same power and determination to Oct. 17 to cap off Trump’s presidency just the way it started — with massive, women-led resistance.”
The first local Women’s March in January 2017 unexpectedly drew a quarter million participants to Grant Park, shutting down parts of downtown. The event was held in connection with hundreds of other women’s marches across the globe, largely fueled by anger after the inauguration of President Donald Trump.
An anniversary march and rally in January 2018 — the height of the #MeToo movement — eclipsed attendance, with some 300,000 supporters flooding downtown. Women’s March Chicago held a local march in October 2018 to encourage midterm election voting and then decided to forgo the annual January march in Grant Park, citing burdensome costs associated with hosting two events so close together.
At the same time, several leaders of a national Women’s March group faced accusations of anti-Semitism and infighting; those leaders have since stepped down.
Women’s March Chicago organizers had said the decision to refrain from hosting a march downtown in January 2019 was independent of that controversy; Women’s March Chicago leaders added that their group is local and independent, not directly affiliated with the national Women’s March organization or the upcoming event in Washington, D.C.
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Women’s March Chicago resumed hosting a January anniversary march earlier this year. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Women’s March Chicago organizers said they had intended to host another in-person march and rally downtown in October, but shifted to a predominantly virtual event to protect the health and safety of participants.
“We know that this election in 2020 will be one of the most historic and consequential elections for women yet,” said Mary Kay Devine, from the Chicago nonprofit Women Employed, during the news conference. “This time of COVID and having to be safe and look out for one another has pushed our coalition to be particularly creative with our outreach and mobilization. This event coming up this Saturday, Zoom to the Polls, will help us engage women and our allies all across Illinois and beyond.”
For more information on Zoom to the Polls, visit www.womensmarchchicago.org.


chicagotribune--2020-10-15--No immediate decision on bond for ‘Cheer’ star Jerry Harris in child porn case, as mother of alleged

No immediate decision on bond for ‘Cheer’ star Jerry Harris in child porn case, as mother of alleged victims describes ‘worst nightmare’

Harris , 21 , of Naperville , has been in federal custody since his arrest last month on child pornography @ @ @ @ @ minor victims to send him obscene photos and videos of themselves , and solicited sex @ @ @ @ @ 13 at cheerleading competitions .
In a detention hearing Wednesday , U.S. District Judge Heather @ @ @ @ @ a decision on bond at a later date , perhaps as soon as this week @

The mother of two alleged victims of “Cheer” star Jerry Harris told a federal judge in Chicago on Wednesday the past two years have been “a parent’s worst nightmare” and that Harris should remain behind bars pending trial on child pornography charges.
Harris, 21, of Naperville, has been in federal custody since his arrest last month on child pornography charges alleging he repeatedly coerced minor victims to send him obscene photos and videos of themselves, and solicited sex from boys as young as 13 at cheerleading competitions. In a detention hearing Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Heather McShain said she would make a decision on bond at a later date, perhaps as soon as this week.
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During the hearing, the mother of the victims — whose complaint to authorities sparked the criminal investigation — said to release Harris now would be a slap in the face of the bravery her sons have shown.
“Mr. Harris should not be residing in a home, sleeping in a comfortable bed and being taken care of by a group of cheer moms while my children are paying a very high price for telling the truth,” the mother said, participating in the hearing via telephone.
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Jerry Harris, a Waubonsie Valley High School graduate who hails from suburban Bolingbrook, stars on the Netflix series "Cheer." (Netflix)
She told McShain that after her boys came forward, they were ridiculed by Harris' fans, called liars and threatened; they couldn’t eat or sleep or go to school. She also said it “broke her heart” to learn from the criminal charges that her family "isn’t the only one living this nightmare.”
Prosecutors alleged the breakout Netflix star is a compulsive sexual predator who used his fame to continue to victimize young boys even after learning he was under investigation.
Harris’ lawyers, meanwhile, have asked McShain to release Harris on home detention under the supervision of the group of “cheer moms” who would act as third-party custodians. Under the defense proposal, Harris would also be forbidden from accessing the internet or having a cell phone.
In a motion arguing for release, Harris’ attorneys said the competitive cheerleading world he grew up in exposes younger children to the sexual experiences of older ones and has its own deep-rooted dangers.
“In the early years of Mr. Harris’s life, he was fully immersed into the ‘cheer' world where sexual predators were largely unchecked with children of all ages,” Harris’ lead attorney, Todd Pugh, wrote in a filing Wednesday.
At the time of Harris’ alleged wrongdoing, Pugh said, the star “was in most respects a child himself interacting with other children.”
Pugh also described Harris’ “hardscrabble home life” growing up in Bolingbrook, where he was “relentlessly ridiculed, mocked, and bullied” in his first two years of high school, struggled with obesity and sexual identity, and was forced to cope with the loss of his mother after she died of lung cancer.
In court Wednesday, Assistant U.S. Attorney Chris Parente said he took “offense” to the argument that Harris wasn’t an adult under the law.
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“We are talking about an adult male, 19, 20, 21 years old, asking children ages of 13, 14 or 15″ to perform sexual acts, Parente said in court.
Harris was charged in a criminal complaint in September with production of child pornography and faces a mandatory minimum 15 years behind bars if convicted, making his release on bond unlikely.
Harris' attorneys have not yet addressed the charges directly, and he has not entered a plea in the case. He has denied similar allegations made in a civil suit through a spokesperson.
The “Cheer” docuseries follows the competitive cheerleading squad at Navarro College in Texas. Harris graduated in 2017 from Waubonsie Valley High School in Aurora, where he was a standout student.
Prosecutors alleged in a court filing this week that as Harris' fame grew, he “added to his predatory arsenal by using money to exploit his minor victims.” Harris offered his most recent victims “substantial sums of money, sometimes over $1,000,” to perform sexually explicit acts for Harris over Snapchat or FaceTime, Parente said.
After the FBI raided Harris' Naperville home in September, he admitted to agents during an interview that he had solicited lewd images and sex from boys on numerous occasions, according to the charges.
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jmeisner@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-10-15--Chicago expands early voting to all 50 city wards: ‘I was fired up, I was ready to vote’

“ This year I was fired up , I was ready to vote , ” said Reenie O ’ Brien @ @ @ @ @ waited a little over an hour in line with her husband and two children at @ @ @ @ @ in Lincoln Square .
“ I was sort of glad there was a line because @ @ @ @ @ people are coming out in record numbers .
”

Chicago expanded early voting to each of its 50 wards Wednesday, drawing scores of voters who said they waited hours in lines to cast their ballot early in the general election.
The expansion enables Chicago voters to cast a ballot in person at one of 51 local polling places or to drop off their mail-in ballot in a secured drop box, which are located at every early voting site and 26 public libraries.
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“This year I was fired up, I was ready to vote,” said Reenie O’Brien King, 38, who waited a little over an hour in line with her husband and two children at the Welles Park voting site in Lincoln Square. “I was sort of glad there was a line because I hope it means that people are coming out in record numbers.”
[ Voting in person? What to know before heading to the polls in Illinois. ]
Marisel Hernandez, chairwoman of the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners, said the day ran relatively smoothly, with only a few minor machine glitches at two sites that were resolved quickly.
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“If we’re good today, it means that we’ll be good for the next two weeks,” she said.
While she didn’t have exact data on the number of early votes by Wednesday afternoon, Hernandez said long lines were inevitable given COVID-19 restrictions. She encouraged voters to “come out on a beautiful day this weekend and early vote so that we can take care of the lines later on next week.”
The early voting locations will remain open from 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. The locations of the ward sites can be found at chicagoelections.gov/earlyvoting.
[ Early voting map: Where to vote early in Chicago and the suburbs ]
Other Illinois election jurisdictions, including suburban Cook County and DuPage, Lake, Kane, McHenry and Will counties, plan to expand early voting to more sites on Monday.
Local leaders and representatives from various organizations spoke about Chicago’s expansion Wednesday morning during a news conference in Pilsen, where Hernandez and others stressed the importance of the election and urged residents to vote early.
“Staying at home for this election is not an option,” Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez, 25th, said at the conference. “We must be a voice for those who don’t have a voice — those who have been marginalized.”
Since Oct. 1, more than 13,000 Chicago voters already had cast a ballot in person at the Loop Super Site at 191 N. Clark St., which was the first and only early polling site operating in Chicago for about two weeks.
In addition, more than 120,000 people of the nearly 500,000 that applied have returned mail-in ballots, surpassing the city’s previous record of 118,000, reached during the March primary.
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“These numbers are going to increase exponentially now that 51 sites are open,” Hernandez said. She strongly encouraged voters to come out early instead of waiting until the last week leading up to Election Day.
Nathaniel Swift, 45, stood in line at Harry S. Truman College in Uptown with his 2-year-old son, Jack, for about an hour Wednesday morning to vote. He said he arrived about 7:45 a.m. to avoid a long line and said a huge crowd started to gather in line just as the site opened.
Swift said he views this election as the most important one in his lifetime. He’s been voting since 1998, but said this was the only time he felt the need to make a point by voting as early as possible.
“I feel like it’s a statement that I can make as a citizen,” Swift said. “It’s something I can do as an American to express myself. I didn’t want to miss the opportunity to do that.”
[ 2020 Voter Guide: Here's everything you need to know in Illinois ]
Kathleen Prendergast, 70, echoed the sentiment that this election feels especially important. She arrived to vote at Truman College about 7 a.m. and was the third person in line. She counted more than 40 people in line about an hour and a half later.
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Wearing a three-layer mask, Prendergast chose to vote in person Wednesday to ensure there would be time to resolve any problems with her ballot. She said the experience ran smoothly, and people in line were chatty and in good spirits as they waited to vote.
“We were all in a really good mood because we felt, OK, people took the trouble to get up early and show up to vote and make sure it works right,” she said. “There were a lot of people ... it made me feel happy."
kelsmith@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @KelliSmithNews


chicagotribune--2020-10-14--The Spin: Sen. Durbin says ‘orange cloud’ hangs over SCOTUS nomination | Donald Trump Jr.  holds Chi

The Spin: Sen. Durbin says ‘orange cloud’ hangs over SCOTUS nomination | Donald Trump Jr.  holds Chicago fundraiser at Trump Tower | Dan Webb endorses state Supreme Court Justice Kilbride

“ My personal viewpoints and the interests of the clients I represent have not always prevailed in the Supreme Court @ @ @ @ @ any court .
In a contested case , though , only one side ever does @ @ @ @ @ that and what I have always sought is a fair decision based on a court @ @ @ @ @ the law and facts .
I know , from experience , that my clients have @ @ @ @ @ Kilbride and his colleagues on the Supreme Court of Illinois , ” Webb said in @ @ @

Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., speaks during the confirmation hearing for Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett, before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2020, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (Susan Walsh/AP)
U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin today told President Donald Trump’s pick for the Supreme Court, Amy Coney Barrett, that an “orange cloud” hangs over her nomination.
No direct mention of Trump or those who describe his skin tone as such, but Illinois’ senior senator did say the nomination was tainted by Trump and Senate Republicans fast-tracking the process in hopes their candidate will help deliver favorable outcomes on a number of upcoming cases before the nation’s highest court. Durbin pointed to the Affordable Care Act, whose fate could be decided when the Supreme Court takes up a case just a week after the Nov. 3 election.
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At one point, Missouri Republican Sen. Josh Hawley raised the Illinois Republican Party’s lawsuit against Gov. J.B. Pritzker over his COVID-19 executive order that limiting the size of in-person gatherings. While the GOP argued the Freedom of Speech exemption granted religious institutions should extend to political organizations in an election year, the Chicago-based 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel that included Barrett rejected the Republican Party’s argument. Barrett explained why.
And Donald Trump Jr. gave a rousing speech at a fundraiser for his father in the family’s downtown Chicago Trump Tower last night.
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Welcome to The Spin.
Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., questions Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett during the third day of her confirmation hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington on Oct. 14, 2020. (Bill Clark/AP)
The fast-tracked process of confirming Trump’s Supreme Court nominee has put an “orange cloud” over the nomination, Durbin told Barrett as her confirmation hearings continued today. His take is that the president wants Barrett, likely to get the nod from the Republican-controlled senate, seated before the nation’s highest court takes up a case next month that could decide the fate of the Affordable Care Act.
While Trump has pushed to abolish the health care law, Barrett has stressed in hearings this week that she’s in no way “hostile” toward the ACA. Read my full story here.
Later, Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley raised the Illinois Republican Party’s lawsuit filed against Gov. Pritzker seeking to halt his COVID-19 public health order that limited in-person gatherings. Hawley, a Republican, seemingly was trying to counter concerns that Barrett, a conservative, would follow the Republican Party line in deciding cases, which she’s adamantly denied.
The state GOP argued an exemption given to religious institutions should extend to political gatherings, both of which have protections under the Constitution, Politico wrote last month. But a Chicago-based 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel that included Barrett rejected the Republican Party’s argument. She explained why the court sided with Pritzker here.
Challenges in 6 counties to Pritzker’s COVID-19 restrictions back in court today: Read the full story here. — Doug Finke, State Journal-Register via Tribune Content Agency
Wisconsin judge temporarily blocks governor’s order limiting capacity at bars and restaurants: The Associated Press has the story here.
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Donald Trump Jr., and his girlfriend Kimberly Guilfoyle arrive before President Donald Trump speaks from the White House on the fourth day of the Republican National Convention on Aug. 27, 2020. (Evan Vucci/AP)
Donald Trump Jr. made a rousing case for his father’s reelection during a Trump Tower fundraiser in downtown Chicago Tuesday night, according to Richard Porter, one of the state’s Republican national committeeman, who attended the event.
“Don spoke passionately in support of his dad and gave a compelling case for his father’s reelection,” to the 50-60 people gathered for the event, Porter told The Spin. While the polls show the president trailing Biden, the president’s son was “upbeat” supporters feel confident about a victory, Porter said.
The crowd included former Blackhawks player Jeremy Roenick. Speaking of crowds, Porter said people socially distanced and while their masks were off while eating and drinking at their appointed tables, attendees wore them when they stood up or left the table.
Kimberly Guilfoyle, a lawyer and Trump surrogate who is dating Donald Trump Jr., also attended the event.
Earlier in the day, the younger Trump hit another fundraiser for his father at Bull Valley Country Club in Woodstock. It’s unclear how much the fundraisers yielded; the Trump campaign didn’t return requests for comment.
No debate, but dueling town halls on Thursday: President Trump to appear on NBC at same time rival Joe Biden is on ABC — Details here.
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Gov. J.B. Pritzker at the Thompson Center on Sept. 22, 2020. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)
A day after the Supreme Court ruled the Trump administration can end census field operations early, Gov. Pritzker called the Supreme Court’s decision “disappointing” and said the urgency is now obvious: “The time to fill it out is right now.” The Associated Press has more about the decision here.
Illinois is at risk of losing at least one seat in Congress over a loss in population and could, accordingly, lose federal funding that’s calculated using the crucial once-a-decade tally.
The AP notes that the Supreme Court justices' ruling came as the nation’s largest association of statisticians, and even the U.S. Census Bureau’s own census takers and partners, have been raising questions about the quality of the data being gathered — numbers that are used to determine how much federal funding and how many congressional seats are allotted to states.
U.S. Rep. Jesus “Chuy" Garcia, who calls Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood home, issued a statement saying: "The impact of this decision will hurt families in low-income and underrepresented neighborhoods, rural areas and tribal lands for the next 10 years, perpetuating a cycle of disinvestment. For Latino communities, an abrupt end to the census will render thousands of families invisible to the government, robbing them of vital resources including funding for schools, road repairs, and health care services.
Other state news: Recreational marijuana tax revenue passes $100 million in Illinois — The Tribune’s Robert Channick has the details here.
City news: At least 5 Chicago Police officers, including commander, face suspension after probe of probe of former top cop Eddie Johnson’s conduct — The Tribune’s Jeremy Gorner, Annie Sweeney and Gregory Pratt have the details here.
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Former U.S. Attorney Dan Webb talks to reporters following a status hearing concerning actor Jussie Smollett at the Leighton Criminal Court building on Aug. 23, 2019. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune / Chicago Tribune)
Former U.S. Attorney Dan Webb, a Republican, is backing the retention of Illinois Supreme Court Justice Thomas Kilbride, calling his credentials impeccable. He also raised concerns about special interest groups targeting Kilbride, saying such efforts threaten to undermine the fairness and independence of our courts, a spokesman said in a news release.
“My personal viewpoints and the interests of the clients I represent have not always prevailed in the Supreme Court or, indeed, in any court. In a contested case, though, only one side ever does. I have always understood that and what I have always sought is a fair decision based on a court’s best interpretation of the law and facts. I know, from experience, that my clients have always received that from Justice Kilbride and his colleagues on the Supreme Court of Illinois,” Webb said in a statement.
Webb most recently made headlines as the special prosecutor tapped to look into Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx’s handling of the controversial Jussie Smollett case. As the review was getting underway, he disclosed that he gave Foxx a $1,000 contribution in 2016. In a final report he found “abuses of discretion” but no criminal wrongdoing on the part of Foxx’s office.
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to headline Lightfoot fundraiser: She’ll be in conversation with Lightfoot at the mayor’s second Annual “Women’s Spotlight Luncheon” — a fundraiser for the Democrat’s political action committee LightPAC that doubles as an event to spotlight women in public office. Last year’s event drew a “who’s who” of women in public office, the Sun-Times Fran Spielman reported at the time. This year the event is virtual. Tickets range from $40-$11,600. More information here.
Follow-up file: Pritzker vs. Pritzker — The governor was asked today at an unrelated news conference about cousin Jennifer Pritzker’s donated $500,000 to a group pushing for the defeat of his signature agenda initiative on the Nov. 3 ballot — a proposed state constitutional amendment to impose a graduated-rate income tax. Rick Pearson wrote about it here.
Says the governor regarding what he and supporters call “the fair tax”: “Well, I don’t know if you have a cousin and whether you agree with your cousin on everything, but let’s just be clear. The fair tax is about making the system fairer for the middle class and the people striving to get to the middle class and asking the wealthiest people in the state to pay a little bit more. So that’s why I’m fighting for it.”
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Opponents say the change will hurt small businesses and open the door to a taxing bonanza, including on retirement income — something the governor repeatedly has said won’t happen.
Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx’s latest campaign ad highlights 4 men wrongfully convicted in 1980s murder prosecuted by her opponent: The Tribune’s Alice Yin has the details here.
National debate over law enforcement an issue in race for Lake County state’s attorney: Clifford Ward has the details in the Lake County News-Sun.
Early voting in Chicago expands to sites in all 50 wards: Details here.
Cook County working through backlog of 20,000 mail-in ballot applications: The Tribune’s Dan Petrella and Kelli Smith have the details here.
Absentee ballots cast in Indiana must arrive by noon on Election Day to be counted: That’s the ruling from a federal appeals court today, spiking a 10-day extension ordered by a lower court. Read the full story here.
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Area young people step up to work polls, show growing interest in 2020 election: ‘Everyone’s very politically involved’: Kaitlyn Edquist has the details in the Glenview Announcements.
Workers conduct drive-thru COVID-19 testing at Swedish Hospital on Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2020, in Chicago's Ravenswood neighborhood. (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune)
The Tribune’s Jamie Munks and Dan Petrella write: "Illinois' top public health official urged residents on Wednesday to prepare for holiday celebrations differently this year as the state continues to see an uptick in newly diagnosed cases and hospitalizations of people with COVID-19-like symptoms.
To avoid having “our holidays marred by tragedy on the back end,” Dr. Ngozi Ezike said people who are sick around the holidays need to avoid gatherings entirely. Her comments came as the state released guidance for holiday travel and parties that included limiting the number of guests and seating arrangements aimed at curbing the spread of COVID-19." Read the full story here.
Illinois reports 2,862 newly diagnosed cases of coronavirus and 49 additional deaths on today, bringing the state reported totals to 327,605 known cases and 9,074 deaths throughout the course of the pandemic.
Indiana governor adds a month to statewide COVID-19 mask mandate; Lake, St. Joe counties top state in new cases: Read The Associated Press story here.
Meantime: Indiana health commissioner tests positive for COVID-19: More here.
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CPS students petition to shorten the class day — and end homework — during remote learning, citing headaches, stress and too much screen time: The Tribune’s Hannah Leone has the details 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--2020-10-14--Coronavirus in Illinois updates: COVID-19 positivity rates up in all 11 regions; state issues holida

Coronavirus in Illinois updates: COVID-19 positivity rates up in all 11 regions; state issues holiday travel and gathering guidance as 2,862 new cases and 49 more deaths reported

“ We know that this election in 2020 will be one of the most historic and consequential elections for women @ @ @ @ @ Kay Devine , from the Chicago nonprofit Women Employed , during the news conference .
@ @ @ @ @ and having to be safe and look out for one another has pushed our coalition @ @ @ @ @ with our outreach and mobilization ”

We have lifted the paywall on this story. To support essential reporting, please consider becoming a subscriber .
CTU workers direct vehicles lined up for COVID-19 testing outside of the Chicago Teachers Union on Dec. 30, 2021, in Chicago. CPS starts back to school on Monday following their holiday break. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)
All 11 regions of Illinois in Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s statewide reopening plan saw increases in COVID-19 test positivity rates from a week ago and the statewide positivity rate rose by over 1% in the past week, with most regions seeing rises in hospital admissions of people with COVID-19 like symptoms during the past week, too, Pritzker said at a news briefing in Chicago on Wednesday.
The state reported 2,862 newly diagnosed cases of coronavirus and 49 additional deaths on Wednesday, raising the state-reported totals to 327,605 known cases and 9,074 deaths throughout the course of the pandemic. The seven-day statewide positivity rate was 4.6% for the period that ended on Tuesday.
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Meanwhile, the state’s top public health official urged residents on Wednesday to prepare for holiday celebrations differently this year as the state continues to see an uptick in newly-diagnosed cases and hospitalizations of people with COVID-19-like symptoms.
To avoid having “our holidays marred by tragedy on the back end,” Dr. Ngozi Ezike said people who are sick around the holidays need to avoid gatherings entirely. Her comments came as the state released guidance for holiday travel and parties that included limiting the number of guests and seating arrangements aimed at curbing the spread of COVID-19.
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Here’s what’s happening Wednesday with COVID-19 in the Chicago area and Illinois:
6:30 p.m.: University of Chicago business school shut down and dozens of students in quarantine after off-campus party
The University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business is temporarily shifting to online classes and more than 100 of its students are under quarantine after a COVID-19 outbreak was connected to a large, off-campus gathering where some didn’t wear masks.
U. of C. administrators shared the news in a school-wide email Wednesday, saying Booth’s downtown and Hyde Park campuses will be closed for two weeks.
Read more here. —Elyssa Cherney
5:50 p.m.: Women’s March Chicago to host ‘Zoom to the Polls’ on Saturday — one of hundreds of events across the country to encourage voting
Women’s March Chicago will host a predominantly virtual event dubbed “Zoom to the Polls” on Saturday, one of hundreds of Women’s March activities planned across the country that day to encourage voting in the Nov. 3 election.
“We’re going to work to get people out to vote, because this election is the one we must do,” said Jaquie Algee, Women’s March Chicago board president, cq at an online news conference Wednesday.
Participants can view a livestream of the event from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. on the group’s Facebook page.
Women’s March Chicago is also hosting an in-person outdoor gathering in the Roseland neighborhood from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Phalanx Family Services, 837 W. 119th Street.
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Other Women’s March events are scheduled locally and across the country on Saturday, some in person and others online in the form of webinars or other virtual programming.
An in-person rally dubbed “Vote. March. Dissent.” is planned at Federal Plaza in Chicago. cq About a dozen other local rallies are scheduled.
At an in-person Women’s March gathering planned in Washington D.C., participants are expected to wear masks during a short march and rally, and then meet on the National Mall for a “socially distant text-banking telethon” with the goal of sending 5 million text messages urging recipients to vote.
“We know that this election in 2020 will be one of the most historic and consequential elections for women yet,” said Mary Kay Devine, from the Chicago nonprofit Women Employed, during the news conference. “This time of COVID and having to be safe and look out for one another has pushed our coalition had to be particularly creative with our outreach and mobilization”
—Angie Leventis Lourgos
5:05 p.m.: A special high-dose flu shot for seniors is in limited supply in Illinois
A high-dose flu shot designed for people 65 years of age and older is in limited supply in Illinois.
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Some pharmacies and doctors' offices still have enough of the shot, but those that don’t blame shipping delays from a manufacturer of the vaccine, as well as increased demand for it amid COVID-19.
It’s possible that the U.S. will have a mild flu season — following a light season in the southern hemisphere and because of mask use and social distancing — but experts don’t know for sure. Public health leaders are still urging people to get flu shots so they don’t have to contend with COVID-19 and the flu at the same time.
Read more here. —Lisa Schencker
2:53 p.m.: Indiana health commissioner tests positive for COVID-19 as state’s mask order remains in place but no new restrictions added despite virus spread
Indiana’s statewide mask order will remain in place, but tougher restrictions on businesses and crowd sizes aren’t being reinstated, despite recent sharp increases in COVID-19 hospitalizations and rates of new infections in the state, Gov. Eric Holcomb said Wednesday.
Holcomb, a Republican, said some people were showing disregard for the safety of others, putting the ability of schools to remain open and the health of those most at risk of severe illness from the virus in jeopardy.
“Those inactions are costing, just to be blunt, health care costs, lost wages, business failures. Don’t kid yourself, we’re all paying this bill,” Holcomb said. He went on to add, “Throwing caution to the wind, ultimately ends up costing us all. It is the literal definition of whistling past the graveyard, pretending this isn’t around us.”
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Holcomb decided three weeks ago to lift nearly all of Indiana’s restrictions while extending the mask mandate, which was scheduled to expire Saturday. His new order will extend it for a month.
Read more here. —Associated Press
12:26 p.m.: COVID-19 positivity rates increase in all of Illinois' 11 regions; state issues travel, gathering guidance for holidays
All 11 regions of Illinois in Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s statewide reopening plan saw increases in COVID-19 test positivity rates from a week ago and the statewide positivity rate rose by over 1% in the past week, with most regions seeing rises in hospital admissions of people with COVID-19 like symptoms during the past week, too, Pritzker said at a news briefing in Chicago on Wednesday.
The state reported 2,862 newly diagnosed cases of coronavirus and 49 additional deaths on Wednesday, raising the state-reported totals to 327,605 known cases and 9,074 deaths throughout the course of the pandemic.
The seven-day statewide positivity rate was 4.6% for the period that ended on Tuesday.
State officials also issued a warning Wednesday about the upcoming holiday season, and the Illinois Department of Public Health released guidance on travel, hosting overnight guests and seating arrangements that separate people from different households.
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“The safest way to celebrate with the members of your household is to connect with people outside of your household virtually, but I know we all know that many people will be gathering and getting together with family and friends,” Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike said Wednesday.
Read more here. —Jamie Munks
9:14 a.m.: Wisconsin judge temporarily blocks governor’s order limiting capacity at bars and restaurants
A Wisconsin judge on Wednesday temporarily blocked an order from Gov. Tony Evers' administration limiting the number of people who can gather in bars, restaurants and other indoor places.
The Tavern League of Wisconsin sued on Tuesday. Sawyer County Circuit Judge John Yackel on Wednesday blocked the order and set a court date for Monday.
Read more here. —Associated Press
6:55 a.m.: Challenges to Pritzker’s COVID-19 restrictions back in court
After months of maneuvering, attorneys will be in court in Sangamon County Wednesday arguing over Gov. JB Pritzker’s powers to impose controls to curtail the spread of the coronavirus.
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The hearing involves multiple cases filed by attorney Thomas DeVore on behalf of clients in six counties who contend that the coronavirus pandemic is not a public health emergency under the definition of Illinois law.
Because of that, the lawsuits argue that Pritzker doesn’t have the authority impose restrictions like limit on businesses in order to control the spread of COVID-19.
The essentially identical lawsuits were originally filed in Edgar, Bond, Richland, Clinton, and Sangamon counties. In each case, plaintiffs want the court to declare a public health emergency does not exist and that Pritzker be barred from exercising powers under the Emergency Management Act in those counties.
The Illinois Supreme Court ordered that all of the cases be combined and heard in Sangamon County.
Read more here. —State Journal-Register
6:30 a.m.: 5 hot tips for the Chicago International Film Festival, starting Wednesday
Here we are. Another October, not like all the others, and another Chicago International Film Festival, also not like the others — yet fully in sync with the virtual/in-person hyrbid model followed by so many festivals around the world, in the COVID-19 pandemic’s introductory year.
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The 56th edition of CIFF is smaller than usual, but small being relative, it’s a big sort of smaller, with 58 feature-length narrative and documentary offerings, various shorts programs and “Industry Days” events via Zoom.
How might this year’s festival resemble previous years' versions? Digital attendance for the beloved general public is not unlimited. Rather, it’s capped at whatever a film’s distributor or rights-holder determines — 300, 500, whatever.
Read more here. —Michael Phillips
6 a.m.: CPS students petition to shorten the class day — and end homework — during remote learning, citing headaches, stress and too much screen time
After a month of remote learning, Idalia Rizvic was getting headaches, feeling stressed and struggling to finish her schoolwork early enough to hang out with her family before bedtime.
So last week, the eighth grader at Boone Elementary in West Rogers Park started an online petition to shorten the virtual school day.
“Covid has been a stressful time for all, and online school adds onto that,” Idalia wrote. “We still get the same amount of work, and ‘homework’ has lost its purpose.”
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After spring’s abrupt transition to remote learning, many students indicated they wanted more live instruction and engagement. But for some, stricter schedules this year have been too much. As families and educators wait for Chicago Public Schools to say whether the second quarter will bring students back to classrooms, many feel that either way, something needs to change.
Idalia’s mother, Senada Rizvic, said the past month has been “too much screen time, less sleep, more headache.”
A petition started by a Senn High School student seeking a half-day class schedule cited research on the effects of too much screen time. If students must have seven-hour remote learning days, the petition states, they shouldn’t be assigned homework.
Another, anonymous petition to shorten the day states, “With COVID-19 cases still rising it’s clear that it’s much safer to stay home, but 8 hours of staring at the screen is not mentally and physically healthy for students.”
But not all families are on the same page in that regard. Another anonymous group, “Parents for In-Person Learning,” is petitioning CPS and city officials to reopen schools entirely.
Read more here. —Hannah Leone
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Breaking coronavirus news Stay up to date with the latest information on coronavirus with our breaking news alerts.
In case you missed it
Here are five stories from Tuesday related to COVID-19 in the Chicago area and Illinois:


chicagotribune--2020-10-14--Mother tells of events until son’s arrest in murders of two Lake County teens

Roxann Kerner , who often looked over from the witness stand and smiled at her son and the jury at @ @ @ @ @ , was granted use immunity for her testimony before the jury was brought into the @ @ @ @ @ could be held in contempt of court if she refused to answer questions and the @ @ @ @ @ from perjury .

Connor Kerner’s mother, Roxann, went through dozens of text messages she exchanged with her son, some on an encrypted app and redacted, as she explained to a jury Wednesday that she wasn’t coaxing her son for a future police interview about two missing Lake County teens but trying to get him to explain to her what happened.
Roxann Kerner was on the stand for more than two hours in Porter Superior Court Judge Roger Bradford’s courtroom, providing a timeline for her contact with Connor Kerner from Feb. 25, 2019, when she left for a two-day business trip in Detroit, until March 2, 2019, the Saturday the two were picked up by Porter County Sheriff’s Department deputies and transported to the county jail for questioning.
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Kerner, 19, of the 100 block of Kinsale, has pleaded not guilty and remains in Porter County Jail without bond, held on two counts of murder and additional felony counts of intimidation, arson, murder in the perpetration of a robbery and attempted robbery.
Thomas Grill, 18, of Cedar Lake and Molley Lanham, 19, of St. John. (Provided by St. John Police)
Kerner was 17 when he allegedly killed Molley Lanham, 19, of St. John, and Thomas Grill, 18, of Cedar Lake, on Feb. 25, 2019, at his grandparents' Hebron-area home after a drug deal went bad, then loaded their bodies into the Honda Civic they arrived in and set fire to the vehicle in a wooded area a couple miles away.
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Roxann Kerner, who often looked over from the witness stand and smiled at her son and the jury at the start of her testimony, was granted use immunity for her testimony before the jury was brought into the courtroom. Bradford explained she could be held in contempt of court if she refused to answer questions and the immunity would not protect her from perjury.
James Voyles, one of Connor Kerner’s defense attorneys, had a standing objection to the text messages being admitted as evidence in the trial.
The bulk of the text messages began the morning of Feb. 26, 2019, when Roxann Kerner, through GPS tracking on her son’s phone, discovered he had not gone to school that day while she was out of town. Connor Kerner was a senior at Valparaiso High School who only had to attend school for three hours each morning.
Connor Kerner initially texted her that he had a migraine and decided to stay home but later, as the text exchange evolved, told his mother as she questioned him about not going to school, “I understand but you don’t know about last night and that’s all that matters.”
He declined to talk to her over the phone and she sent him a link for an encrypted Zoom conversation, she said, “so he would talk to me so I could figure out what was going on.”
They later switched to an encrypted message app, Keybase, and Roxann Kerner told her son she received a message from Patricia Grill, Thomas Grill’s mother, asking if she knew her son and if he met with Connor Kerner that day.
Connor Kerner texted his mother that he was supposed to meet with Thomas Grill after Grill went to Illinois and the two were going to drive to Michigan together.
Later, she messaged him on Keybase, “Hi, you need a solid story about Thomas.”
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Roxann Kerner said in court that her son needed a solid story to answer her questions.
He later texted her that the previous night he “had a deal go bad” and drove up to Michigan to put some stuff away. Roxann Kerner told the jury “she had no idea” what her son was talking about but told him the missing teens were all over Facebook.
Roxann Kerner later texted to her son, “Get out of this now,” and instructed him to contact their attorney Mark Thiros, who is now part of his defense team.
Connor Kerner texted his mother, “I had nothing to do with this” and told her he was not in danger.
Roxann Kerner later texted her son to brace himself because there was a huge investigation into Grill’s disappearance. “You need a reason for meeting Thomas,” she texted, noting riding dirt bikes or concert tickets.
She told the court she was not suggesting a reason.
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“I was still trying to get information at that point,” she said.
But on Feb. 27, 2019, before she returned from her work trip and her son picked her up at the airport in South Bend, the text exchange between the two again returned to why Connor Kerner might have had a planned meeting with Grill.
“Because concert tickets would be a good one,” Roxann Kerner messaged to her son, before telling her that if the cops come to their house, not to say a word to them because “they’ll trick you.”
Once Roxann Kerner returned to Valparaiso, she and her son continued to exchange numerous texts, including conversation about his breakup with his girlfriend, who reported the alleged crimes to police.
The two texted about chores to be done before a showing of their home planned for March 3, 2019, before it went up for sale and her contacts with the Grills and Molley Lanham’s mother and stepfather.
Sometime before 11 a.m. March 2, Roxann Kerner said she and her son were stopped by police while he was driving her Jeep Cherokee.
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“We are surrounded by six to eight squad cars, SUVs, and I am absolutely in shock. I asked them, ‘What is going on and where are we going?’” she said, fighting back tears. “I was handcuffed on my knees with big guns pointed at my head and they’d already taken Connor.”
Sheriff’s deputies transported the Kerners to the sheriff’s department for questioning. Police allowed her to contact Thiros and she agreed to let police look at her phone.
She also found out then from police that her son was going to be charged in the deaths of Grill and Lanham.
Amy Lavalley is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.


chicagotribune--2020-10-14--More than 100 University of Chicago MBA students are in quarantine after COVID-19 cases tied to off-

More than 100 University of Chicago MBA students are in quarantine after COVID-19 cases tied to off-campus gathering, classes move online

Other universities that pivoted to remote learning after early outbreaks had success driving cases down and have since restored in-person @ @ @ @ @ large outbreaks at other campuses were connected to undergraduates parties , sometimes leading to expulsion @ @ @ @ @ .

The University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business is temporarily shifting to online classes and more than 100 of its students are under quarantine after a COVID-19 outbreak was connected to a large, off-campus gathering where some didn’t wear masks.
U. of C. administrators shared the news in a schoolwide email Wednesday, saying Booth’s downtown and Hyde Park campuses will be closed for two weeks.
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A copy of the email provided by the school said officials “learned that within the last week a large group of full-time MBA students congregated off-campus on Chicago’s North Side, many without wearing face coverings. Some individuals from that group have since tested positive for COVID-19.”
More than 100 MBA students were instructed to quarantine for 14 days, and all students involved in the event were told to get tested, the email said. Students who attended the event are cooperating with contact tracers, the email said.
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A school spokesman did not comment on whether the students could face discipline. It’s not clear how many positive cases are linked to the gathering.
The university’s COVID-19 dashboard may not reflect the new cluster; the latest results available are through Oct. 9. As of that date, a total of 33 cases had been confirmed out of 12,932 tests since Sept. 20.
Classes for full-time MBA students began Sept. 21. Some were already offered in remote formats because of the coronavirus pandemic.
“Continuing in-person activities on our campus depends critically on everyone following public health requirements to the greatest extent possible,” the email said. “It takes only one incident like this to put many others at risk.”
Courses outside the business school are not affected, the email said.
Other universities that pivoted to remote learning after early outbreaks had success driving cases down and have since restored in-person classes. Many of the large outbreaks at other campuses were connected to undergraduates parties, sometimes leading to expulsion or suspension of the participants.
echerney@chicagotribune.com