chicagotribune--2020-07-24--Ex-campaign worker in Speaker Madigan’s political operation launches PAC in response to alleged ComE

Ex-campaign worker in Speaker Madigan’s political operation launches PAC in response to alleged ComEd bribery scheme

“ I decided to start this political action committee because I think residents deserve more honorable and accountable elected officials @ @ @ @ @ we ’ ve seen over the past few years is that we don ’ t @ @ @ @ @ officials that are willing to stand up to machine politics here and take a stand @ @ @ @ @ ” said Hampton , who now works for a national Democratic consulting firm .

An ex-campaign worker who once sued House Speaker Michael Madigan’s political operation has launched a fundraising committee that serves as her attempt to change the climate of Illinois politics after federal prosecutors detailed an alleged Commonwealth Edison bribery scheme that has implicated one of Illinois’ most powerful and longest-tenured politicians.
Alaina Hampton, who last year settled with Madigan’s political committees over allegations of sexual harassment by one of his top lieutenants, launched the Majority Justice Movement PAC this week. The PAC’s stated purpose is “working to elect more ethical and accountable elected officials,” according to the state election board.
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And, her fundraising pitch is calling on elected leaders to donate contributions they’ve received from ComEd to her organization.
Hampton said she is digging through state election board filings — reports candidates and elected officials submit regularly accounting for who has donated to their campaigns and how much. On Monday, she’s “going to start calling through to legislators who have taken money from ComEd and asking them to donate that money to this PAC,” Hampton told the Tribune in a Friday phone interview.
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Hampton said she wants the money to fund the campaigns of candidates who are not beholden to big companies.
“I decided to start this political action committee because I think residents deserve more honorable and accountable elected officials, and I think what we’ve seen over the past few years is that we don’t have very many, elected officials that are willing to stand up to machine politics here and take a stand and hold people accountable,” said Hampton, who now works for a national Democratic consulting firm.
“I’d like to help elect more morally sound and ethical legislators in general,” Hampton said.
She’s welcoming donations from the public too: “I think it is something residents of Illinois should donate to. Constituents here have the ability to take power back. Elected officials are meant to represent the people and people should be the ones in control.”
The feds on July 17 unveiled their case against ComEd, in which the utility is alleged to have doled out jobs and other favors to those in Madigan’s orbit in exchange for favorable legislation.
Madigan previously has denied being a target of the investigation. A spokeswoman said last week that Madigan “has never made a legislative decision with improper motives” and had engaged in no wrongdoing.
Hampton filed a federal lawsuit in 2018 accusing Madigan’s political operations of retaliation after she reported inappropriate behavior by Kevin Quinn, a veteran aide whom the speaker has ousted.
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The settlement last fall was announced shortly after the Tribune reported that Madigan’s longtime confidant Michael McClain, an ex-lobbyist for ComEd, had orchestrated for some current and former ComEd lobbyists to give Quinn contracts after Madigan fired him amid the scandal.
As the Tribune reported then, the more than $30,000 in payments to Quinn and emails about the work are part of a sweeping federal investigation into ComEd lobbying activities.
Documents laying out the federal case against ComEd made clear that the nexus of the federal investigation into the utility and Madigan’s operation is McClain. He’s a close friend and adviser to the speaker, as well as a former lawmaker and Quincy attorney who retired as a high-profile lobbyist for the utility in 2016 but continued collecting six-figure payments from the company.
Asked if she has any aspirations to run for elected office, Hampton said it’s not the goal, but she’s not ruling it out, either.
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
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chicagotribune--2020-07-24--At least 18 shot, 4 fatally, in Chicago shootings Thursday night into Friday morning

A 15-year-old girl was among those shot overnight , in an attack that also killed a man or boy , @ @ @ @ @ notification .
She was standing on the sidewalk with other people on the 900 block @ @ @ @ @ the Austin neighborhood when someone shot at the group about 1:25 a.m. , injuring her @ @ @ @ @ and identity hadn ’ t been released by Friday afternoon .
Both were taken to @ @ @ @ @ girl was in good condition but the male was pronounced dead from his injuries .

At least four people were shot to death across Chicago from Thursday night into Friday morning in a series of attacks that also left 14 others injured, according to police.
A 15-year-old girl was among those shot overnight, in an attack that also killed a man or boy, according to a police media notification. She was standing on the sidewalk with other people on the 900 block of North Lamon Avenue in the Austin neighborhood when someone shot at the group about 1:25 a.m., injuring her and a male whose age and identity hadn’t been released by Friday afternoon. Both were taken to Stroger Hospital, where the girl was in good condition but the male was pronounced dead from his injuries.
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In the Cragin neighborhood, a 32-year-old man was shot and killed on a sidewalk about 1:15 a.m. by two shooters who got out of a white or silver minivan in the 4200 block of North Cicero Avenue, according to a media notification. The man was taken in critical condition to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, where he died a short time later.
Two people were also killed, and four others wounded, in a drive-by shooting in the West Pullman neighborhood late Thursday, according to police.
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Nine other people, ages 14 to 41, were shot Thursday night into Friday morning in various neighborhoods: Roseland, Englewood, Marquette Park, Near West Side, West Chesterfield, Lawndale and South Shore. All those wounded in those attacks were taken to nearby hospitals in good condition.
Police were investigating the shootings and no one was in custody.
kelsmith@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-07-24--Stressed-out parents navigate back-to-school shopping, unsure if kids are learning in the classroom

Stressed-out parents navigate back-to-school shopping, unsure if kids are learning in the classroom or on the couch

Her mother , Monica Lopez , said the family still isn ’ t sure when school will start , or @ @ @ @ @ three kids will need .
Jocelyn Lopez had hoped to buy a laptop that would @ @ @ @ @ than the iPad her school provided in the spring , but isn ’ t sure @ @ @ @ @ getting laid off from her job scooping ice cream at a pizza restaurant .

Kristin Norte, of Chicago Teacher, Inc., moves a box of supplies at the educational resource store on July 23, 2020. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)
Jocelyn Lopez, a rising senior at Round Lake High School, usually gets an early start on back-to-school shopping. This year, she’s made just one purchase: a planner for tracking her schedule and assignments.
Classmates told her she was crazy, she said, “because what is there to plan?”
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After switching to virtual learning this spring as the coronavirus pandemic spread, many schools still are figuring out what classes will look like this fall. On Thursday, Lopez’s school said it would only offer remote learning to start, a week after sharing a draft plan that gave students the option to attend class in person one day a week.
Her mother, Monica Lopez, said the family still isn’t sure when school will start, or what supplies and clothing her three kids will need. Jocelyn Lopez had hoped to buy a laptop that would make her online work easier than the iPad her school provided in the spring, but isn’t sure she can afford it after getting laid off from her job scooping ice cream at a pizza restaurant.
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“I’m a person who loves to shop for school supplies, but it’s hard to look at them,” Jocelyn Lopez said. “Should I spend my money to buy supplies I won’t use? I don’t know what to do.”
A woman and child walk past Chicago Teacher Inc., along Milwaukee Avenue on July 23, 2020. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)
Families still figuring out whether their kids will be learning in classrooms or on couches likely will get a late start on back-to-school shopping, the retail industry’s second-biggest shopping period after the holidays. Shopping lists, too, will look different: Children learning at home may not need lunchboxes and uniforms, but could require tech tools and desks.
And everyone is worried about tracking down enough disinfecting wipes.
Last year, Angie Gazdziak’s daughter’s school asked for two packages of wipes. This year, the fourth grader needs five packages, along with a couple bottles of hand sanitizer, plus more for her preschool-age brother.
“We were joking, can I sell them my right arm instead?” said Gazdziak, of Chicago’s Clearing neighborhood.
The National Retail Federation expects families with children in elementary school through college will spend $101.6 billion this year, up from $80.7 billion last year. Other forecasts were less optimistic, predicting spending to be relatively consistent with prior years.
Parents estimated overall back-to-school shopping bills would be similar to last year’s, according to Deloitte’s annual survey, with a 28% jump in expected spending on technology products helping balance out a 17% reduction in spending on clothing and traditional supplies.
Many families are facing new financial pressure as a result of the pandemic and economic downturn and may limit discretionary purchases, like apparel, said Diana Smith, associate director at market research firm Mintel.
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Still, families that haven’t already invested in technology needed for virtual learning may do so if schools extend remote instruction into the fall, she said.
A bulletin board displays statements of inclusion and inspiration at Chicago Teacher Inc. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)
Sales of notebook computers were up 40% over the past three months compared with the same period last year, said Steve Baker, technology industry analyst at market research firm The NPD Group. People also have been buying more monitors, routers, keyboards and other electronics that can make online learning easier.
Gazdziak is considering buying her fourth-grade daughter a laptop. The school didn’t have enough devices for every student in the spring, which meant Gazdziak had to work from her phone when her daughter logged on to video sessions.
She also is considering buying other hands-on items kids might see in a classroom, like an easel and arts and crafts supplies.
“It can’t be all worksheets and workbooks,” she said.
Other parents are investing in furniture to keep online school from taking over the kitchen table.
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Chicago-based Rooms4kids was “slammed” with orders for desks once the pandemic hit, said owner Brad Moriarty. Now that kids’ bedrooms double as classrooms and play areas, he is selling furniture designed to give kids more space, like loft beds with a desk underneath.
“We’re making a lot of units that will be all-in-ones versus the typical dresser, desk, bed and nightstand, which takes up the whole room,” he said.
Even with the changes, some of the basics remain the same.
When schools went virtual this spring, sales of composition books, notebooks and loose-leaf paper rose, said Grace Szabo, brand manager at Lake Zurich-based Acco Brands, parent company of brands like Mead, Five Star and Trapper Keeper.
“Teachers are still telling us they firmly believe paper enhances retention,” she said.
Retailers, meanwhile, are trying to cater to both classroom and virtual learners.
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Lands’ End reassured parents backpacks are “the ideal way to store all of your children’s school essentials both at home and on the bus.”
Target’s website lists face masks under school supplies and has a dedicated page for at-home learning, with items like desk organizers, whiteboards and laptops in addition to standard supplies. Walmart stores are carrying educational workbooks and the retailer’s website has activity ideas and worksheets.
More than half of families surveyed by Deloitte said they plan to spend more on digital learning tools, as many weren’t satisfied with the online options schools provided this spring, said Matt Adams, principal at Deloitte Consulting.
“Consumers are trying to figure out how to fill the gaps,” he said.
The Chicago Teacher Store, which gets most of its business from teachers, has been seeing more parents come in to shop for materials to supplement schools’ virtual curriculum, said manager Hannah Mazzie.
Kristin Norte, left, and Ann Waranoski of Chicago Teacher, Inc., take inventory of items at the educational resource store on July 23, 2020. Both employees also work full-time as teachers. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)
Still, the store has been “crazy slow” thanks to uncertainty about schools’ fall plans, she said. To supplement sales of classroom décor, the store has started selling masks and cleaning materials to local schools.
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“People are starting to come in on the assumption they will go back, but no one’s buying the way they normally would,” she said. “Teachers would come in and spend hundreds to get their classrooms ready. Now, they’re just not sure.”
Where parents purchase school items may change, too.
With all the uncertainty about plans for the fall, some schools decided against selling prepackaged supply kits in the spring, said Jennifer Thompson, owner of DeKalb-based school supply kit vendor The Write Stuff, which works with schools in 32 states.
Some have since asked if they could sell kits after all, for parents trying to avoid trips to the store. They missed the deadline for customized kits, but The Write Stuff has started selling a version with many basics, including hand sanitizer, that parents can purchase online.
Lorna Swan, 45, of Mount Greenwood, said she will probably skip the back-to-school tradition of taking her son to pick out notebooks and folders — she hasn’t been letting him shop in stores during the pandemic.
In a typical year, she starts back-to-school shopping in July, but by mid-month she still had not received a list. The only item she purchased was a backpack her son, a fifth grader, insisted he would use even if he ended up learning from home.
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She’s still figuring out how to handle the rest of the shopping, but has considered doing a video chat with her son from the store so he can still be involved.
“They don’t want you to choose, they want what they want,” she said.
lzumbach@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-07-24--Running list: Chicago-area restaurants closed permanently due to coronavirus pandemic economic woes

Owner Glenn Fahlstrom confirmed that he would be closing the Lakeview seafood spot in an online post shared on the @ @ @ @ @ social media pages .
The post , in part , read : “ The new @ @ @ @ @ to put employees in harm ’ s way so that their business can possibly survive @ @ @ @ @ acceptable risk ’ i can not take .
The restaurant business as i know it @ @ @ @ @ return for years .
It was hard enough when the playing field was supposedly level @ @ @ @ @ beyond recognition .
So , i am closing Fahlstrom ’ s Fresh Fish Market .
@

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chicagotribune--2020-07-24--Former Harvey detective pleads guilty to falsifying police report to protect acquaintances from gun

Former Harvey detective pleads guilty to falsifying police report to protect acquaintances from gun charges

“ He was pretty much compelled to do what he did by his superior , ” Clark said .
“ @ @ @ @ @ he had any malicious intent , nor did he think he was engaging in some @ @ @ @ @ ”

FBI investigators walk out of the Harvey municipal building with boxes of evidence March 6, 2019. (Warren Skalski / Chicago Tribune)
A former Harvey detective pleaded guilty Friday to obstruction of justice for falsifying a police report regarding the recovery of a firearm in order to conceal its connection to two acquaintances.
Derrick Moore, who was among six Harvey officials and their associates charged last year as part of a sweeping federal probe of corruption schemes in the city, faces 12 to 18 months in prison under federal sentencing guidelines.
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Prosecutors said, however, that due to Moore’s continued cooperation with the government they would ask for a shorter sentence than the guidelines dictate.
“We’re not agreeing to a specific percentage off,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean Franzblau told the judge. “We’re just going to recommend that you go beneath the guidelines and let you decide what’s appropriate.”
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Because Moore’s sentencing range is only 12 to 18 months, Judge Robert Gettleman could sentence him to probation and remain within the guidelines, Franzblau said.
With his admission of guilt Friday, Moore becomes the first of the Harvey officials and their associates charged last year whose criminal case has been adjudicated.
Moore, 49, of Blue Island, and Derrick Muhammad, another ex-Harvey police officer who is former Mayor Eric Kellogg’s brother, were charged in March 2019 with obstruction of justice and conspiracy to obstruct justice.
The pair, under Muhammad’s direction, plotted in March 2018 to falsify a police report to obscure the ownership of a loaded firearm found in a vehicle used by a pair of acquaintances, prosecutors said.
The acquaintances, a father and son who are both convicted felons and thus not legally permitted to possess firearms, had been at risk of facing criminal charges if the loaded Uzi discovered in their vehicle had been traced back to them.
Muhammad told Moore in an intercepted phone conversation March 18, 2018, that they would find a way to ensure the gun “ain’t come back on nobody,” according to a criminal complaint.
“We ain’t gonna make it no, no criminal investigation,” he told Moore, according to the complaint.
To conceal the firearm’s connection to the pair, Moore prepared a police report saying he’d found the gun in some brush near a tow yard rather than inside the car where it actually was discovered, the complaint said.
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Prosecutors said Friday that shortly after the officers were arrested last year, Muhammad apologized to Moore for involving him in the deception.
“I’m sorry this ever happened,” Muhammad allegedly told Moore, according to Franzblau.
Moore is scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 30.
His assigned attorney, Ronald J. Clark, said he didn’t think Moore should have been charged with a felony for fabricating the police report and hopes the judge will sentence him to probation.
“He was pretty much compelled to do what he did by his superior,” Clark said. “I don’t believe he had any malicious intent, nor did he think he was engaging in some sort of broader corruption.”
The attorney said Moore had no part in the larger corruption schemes federal investigators were monitoring in Harvey, such as the alleged extortion of strip clubs and the solicitation of bribes in exchange for favorable government action.
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“His phone call just happened to be overheard on a line that was being tapped for much more serious things and he got sucked into it,” Clark said.
He said Moore, a war veteran and longtime police officer, feels like his life has been ruined by his association with the corruption probe.
The former officer, who left the Harvey Police Department shortly after being charged last year, told the court Friday that since leaving Harvey he’d worked briefly for LB Steel, a Harvey-based manufacturer, and was currently working for FedEx.
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Earlier this year, Moore was accused in a lawsuit of fabricating criminal charges against an Oak Forest man in an unrelated 2019 case.
He faces no criminal charges in connection with the lawsuit’s allegations, which assert he arrested Tristan Smith last year on domestic battery, possession of a stolen vehicle and drug possession charges despite lacking probable cause Smith had committed those crimes.
The charges against Smith were all later dismissed, court records show.
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Clark does not represent Moore in the civil suit, but said he believes its allegations are bogus and suspects it was brought to take advantage of the former officer’s criminal trouble.
“I’d be surprised if there weren’t more (lawsuits) from everyone he’s arrested who happen to be in prison now wanting to contend he’s fabricated everything,” the attorney said.
zkoeske@tribpub.com
Twitter @ZakKoeske


chicagotribune--2020-07-24--4 counties put on ‘warning’ after outbreaks as Illinois announces 1,532 new coronavirus cases, 19 de

4 counties put on ‘warning’ after outbreaks as Illinois announces 1,532 new coronavirus cases, 19 deaths

In Cook County , a woman in her 60s , three women in their 70s , a man in his @ @ @ @ @ their 80s and four women in their 90s died .
The DuPage County deaths were @ @ @ @ @ and one woman more than 100 years old .
One woman in her 60s and @ @ @ @ @ died in Winnebago County .

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Paca Kujtim of Arlington Heights self-administers a COVID-19 test in his car at the Arlington International Racecourse on March 31, 2021 in Arlington Heights. Kujtim was getting testing as a precaution for upcoming travel. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)
After announcing more than 1,500 new known coronavirus cases and 19 confirmed deaths, state health officials said Friday four counties are at a “warning level” for COVID-19 because of outbreaks of the virus.
A total of 1,532 new known COVID-19 cases were disclosed Friday by the Illinois Department of Public Health, with all new confirmed deaths from Cook, DuPage or Winnebago counties. The new numbers came a day after officials announced the highest daily total of new cases since Memorial Day, 1,624 new infections. Officials also reported 44,330 new tests in the preceding 24 hours. The seven-day statewide positivity rate was 3.4%.
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In Cook County, a woman in her 60s, three women in their 70s, a man in his 70s, four women in their 80s and four women in their 90s died. The DuPage County deaths were three women in their 90s and one woman more than 100 years old. One woman in her 60s and another woman in her 90s died in Winnebago County.
The state reported 1,471 people in Illinois hospitalized as of Thursday night with COVID-19. Hospitals saw 325 of these patients in intensive care units, with 58% of ICU beds in use, and 115 patients on ventilators, with 20% of ventilators in use. Patients with reported cases range from under 1-year-old to more than 100 years old.
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Justin Reyes, left, places a sample into a bag held by Emily Rivera as the duo performs COVID-19 testing outside Heartland Health Center in Chicago's Rogers Park neighborhood on July 10, 2020. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune)
LaSalle County, just outside the Chicago area, and Peoria County, as well as Adams County, with a county seat Quincy, in western Illinois, and rural Randolph County in southwest Illinois were put on a “warning level” Friday. The four counties all saw outbreaks of coronavirus recently related to various risk factors, according to state officials.
Counties at warning levels are those identified as having two or more risk factors for increased COVID-19 cases. The warnings don’t necessarily change a region’s lockdown level, but are meant to be a guide for local officials and residents regarding “personal and family gatherings, as well as what activities they choose to do,” according to a state news release.
LaSalle County had a jump in coronavirus cases because of family and social gatherings, young people going to bars and inconsistent mask requirements, according to officials. The county also saw more cases reported by people younger than 29. Peoria County is also had an increase in people younger than 29 getting COVID-19, and outbreaks related to gatherings and travel to Florida, Iowa, Texas and Wisconsin.
Adams County saw outbreaks related to residents traveling to Missouri and Iowa, states identified as COVID-19 hot spots. Outbreaks also happened following large social events, health care exposure, and travel to worship and youth sports, according to state officials.
Randolph County saw cases related to bars not complying with mask and social distancing guidelines, crowded places and parties among households — including one party with more than 200 people, officials said.
Counties with 50 or more new cases per 100,000 people or death numbers increasing more than 20% for two weeks in a row are at risk, according to the state. The agency said seven-day test positivity rates above 8% can contribute to warnings.
Counties at risk also can include those with: more than 80% if intensive-care beds occupied; 20% weekly increases in COVID-19-related emergency room visits; and 20% increases in weekly coronavirus hospitalizations.
sczyzon@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-07-24--As districts make back-to-school plans, Northwest Indiana parents are ‘going back and forth’ whether

As districts make back-to-school plans, Northwest Indiana parents are ‘going back and forth’ whether to keep their kids home

Ceiga said her son , who has high-functioning autism and an individualized education program , was worried about doing school @ @ @ @ @ was unsure of what his IEP would look like if he were to continue school @ @ @ @ @ she asked , the school corporation wasn ’ t sure either .
She said she @ @ @ @ @ could do some classes online and some in-person if he needed extra help , and @ @ @ @ @ .

Lesley Johnson addresses the Highland school board regarding the reopening of schools amid the COVID-19 pandemic during a meeting at Highland High School on July 20, 2020. (Michael Gard / Post-Tribune)
Parents and guardians across Northwest Indiana have been grappling with the decision to send their children back to in-person classes amid the global pandemic as classes are scheduled to begin in mid-August.
As numbers of COVID-19 cases in Northwest Indiana are on the rise and districts release plans, many parents, like Sally Ceiga, have changed their minds multiple times on the decision regarding the 2020-2021 school year.
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“I kept going back and forth for two weeks,” Ceiga said. “It was awful.”
Ceiga, who has two children in the Lake Central School Corporation, said after listening to the district’s school board meeting Monday she contacted the school to give them her final decision, ultimately deciding to send her two children, ages 18 and 13, back to in-person learning.
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“I was switching back and forth,” Ceiga said. “My original decision was to send them to school, but then after I kept reading the material they sent me, I was really uncomfortable … so I opted to keep the kids at home, but then I still was uncomfortable with the decision.”
While some have decided to return to in-person learning, other parents like Erica Bizon — who has a second and third grader in the School Town of Highland — have opted to keep their children at home to do online school. Bizon said she expected her kids to want to return to school, but found the opposite.
“I have to wait until there’s a vaccine,” Bizon, who is immunocompromised, said. “They’re a lot younger, so they don’t understand … they just didn’t want to go back because they don’t want to wear masks all the time.”
Many schools reopening, such as Valparaiso Community Schools, have cited socialization for students as a reason to return to in-person classes. However, in terms of socialization for her children, Bizon says she has a small group in her neighborhood that her kids are able to play with.
“We have this bubble of them, they started playing again together maybe two months ago,” Bizon said. “We have that socialization there, but if we didn’t, I would make sure that we could create a bubble of some sort.”
Erica Bizon addresses the Highland school board regarding the re-opening of schools amid the COVID-19 pandemic during a meeting at Highland High School on July 20, 2020. (Michael Gard / Post-Tribune)
Karen Jennings, a parent from the School Town of Munster, said she will also opt for her child to do online learning for this upcoming school year.
“Right now, at this point, I don’t think they should return (in-person),” Jennings said. “With everything that’s going on and the cases continuing to rise, I think for the first quarter it should be all remote learning.”
After flipping between online and in-person, Ceiga said she believes her children will likely experience both, as they will return online if there’s another outbreak. She said a big reason she decided to have her children return to school was to give them a chance to get to know their teachers face-to-face.
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“They’re not expecting to have the school open the whole school year… but in the meantime they get to go to school and build a rapport and get to know their teachers,” Ceiga said. “At least (when they go virtual) they will know their teachers, and the teachers will know them well enough to have an easier time communicating.”
Ceiga said her son, who has high-functioning autism and an individualized education program, was worried about doing school online. Ceiga said she was unsure of what his IEP would look like if he were to continue school virtually, and said when she asked, the school corporation wasn’t sure either. She said she wanted to know if he could do some classes online and some in-person if he needed extra help, and she was told probably not.
“He was really worried about having to do this at home, he’s been kind of down and I didn’t realize how that decision to stay at home really affected him,” Ceiga said. “As soon as I told him he’s going back to school, he perked up and he seemed happier.”
The return back to school will feature masks, social distancing and plenty of precautions, and to students and teachers, it will look far from past years, but those opting to return are looking for some regularity for their children.
“I’m trying to get them to be as normal as possible,” Ceiga said.
Lesley Johnson from the School Town of Highland, said one of her children is going to take classes online and the other will likely attend in-person classes, though she said she is still unsure.
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Johnson said regardless of whether her children go to face-to-face classes, the district needs to make sure things are safe and masks are mandated in classrooms.
“We’ve never been in a pandemic before and we have to adapt accordingly,” Johnson said. “I just feel that we need to make sure we’re dotting all our i’s and crossing all our t’s before we open up our buildings.”
Hannah Reed is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.


chicagotribune--2020-07-24--Taking cue from group in Portland, Wall of Moms forms in Chicago to protect protesters

As first reported in Block Club Chicago , leaders emphasized that they want to keep the spotlight on demonstrators of @ @ @ @ @ many of whom are white , declined official comment for this story after arguments on @ @ @ @ @ they were rushing into things with a “ white savior complex.
” The group posted @ @ @ @ @ quickly took it down , while commentators noted that mothers of color have long been @ @ @ @ @ shootings and violence by police .

Norma Lewis holds a flower while protesting with the group Wall of Moms during a Black Lives Matter rally in Portland, Oregon, on July 20, 2020. (Noah Berger / AP)
Inspired by protesters in Portland, Oregon, a new group of mothers in the Chicago area plans to offer a human wall of protection for those protesting police brutality and broader racism.
Moms attracted widespread media coverage last weekend when they linked arms at Black Lives Matters protests in Portland, and got sprayed with tear gas and pushed away by federal agents who said they were protecting the courthouse.
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A Wall of Moms member washes her face after tear gas was used during protests in Portland, Oregon, on July 21, 2020. (Mason Trinca/The New York Times)
Following that example, Wall of Moms Chicago attracted more than 5,000 members on Facebook in its first days of existence this week.
Group members said they do not organize protests, but join those led by Black, Indigenous and people of color (abbreviated as BIPOC).Organizers said the group will be nonviolent and will wear yellow clothing, bike helmets and the word “mom.”
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On its Facebook page, organizer Katje Lilith Sabin, of Rogers Park, earlier this week announced, “IT’S GO TIME!”
The group has planned its first collaboration for Saturday afternoon in Grant Park with Tikkun Chai International, whose president, Rabbi Michael Ben Yosef, welcomed the support at an event that will call for defunding police.
Yosef emphasized that it will be a peaceful event, unlike last weekend’s demonstration at the Christopher Columbus statute in Grant Park, which devolved into violence.
“It’s a brilliant idea,” he said of the moms group. “It helps to show diversity and to show the world we can get along and coexist in a world that seems to be decaying in craziness.”
The moms’ entry into the political arena comes as the streets have recently become more dangerous.
Chicago police Superintendent David Brown said that a small group of “agitators” hijacked a peaceful protest by thousands in Grant Park on July 17, throwing frozen water bottles and rocks, and injuring some 49 police officers.
The “mob” tried to tear down the statue, he said.
Video of that clash also appeared to show an officer striking a female protester in the face, knocking out at least one of her teeth, resulting in one of more than 20 complaints filed against police.
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Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot temporarily removed two Columbus statues, including the one at Grant Park, early Friday.
Activists, angered by federal agents’ actions in Portland, are concerned about President Donald Trump’s announcement this week that he planned to send an influx of agents into Chicago to combat street violence. Lightfoot has said she welcomes added resources but does not want to see the type of force that has been used against protesters in Portland. Agents there have used rubber bullets and tear gas.
Wall of Moms organizers acknowledged the danger. Group member Terry Henderson offered safety training, warning the moms on their website to bring shields because they may get beaten. “This is dangerous,” she posted. “It is critical we have every bit of safety gear we can get our hands on.”
As first reported in Block Club Chicago, leaders emphasized that they want to keep the spotlight on demonstrators of color. The moms, many of whom are white, declined official comment for this story after arguments on their Facebook page over whether they were rushing into things with a “white savior complex.” The group posted a press statement, but quickly took it down, while commentators noted that mothers of color have long been protesting, against both gang shootings and violence by police.
In one recent example last month, as the Tribune reported, Black and Latina women from the West Side marched together to oppose racism and support Black Lives Matter.
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Tanya Wood, executive director of the Westside Justice Center, who helped lead the march, welcomed any reinforcements to the cause.
“Disrupting systems of racism, that’s work that has to be done by all of us,” she said. “We certainly welcome that support. It’s about community with one another… (regardless of) geography, ethnicity, and artificial social concepts that keep humans apart.”
Wall of Moms members will only go where asked by other protest groups, and members do not need to be mothers, Sabin clarified. “If you feel called to join us to protect peaceful protestors by standing up to these bullies, then you are a Mom!” she wrote on Facebook.
The site posted instructions from Black Lives Matter for protesting, including wearing masks due to the pandemic and for anonymity, bringing umbrellas to block visibility and the sun, following the chants of Blacks, Indigenous, and people of color, and writing emergency contact information on one’s body. When seeing police, they advised, “Don’t Run! Lock arms! Don’t ask them to take a knee!!”
Likewise, inspired by protesters in Hong Kong and Portland, a group of dads is looking to support “anti-racist, pro-justice” movements by blowing away tear gas with leaf blowers.
“If you know of any people who embody dad spirit and wish to join,” one organizer wrote on the Wall of Moms site, “we are gathering leaf blowers now and planning to show up for justice.”
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mccoppin@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @RobertMcCoppin


chicagotribune--2020-07-24--Chicago’s two Christopher Columbus statues: A brief history

“ We took this step in response to demonstrations that became unsafe for both protesters and police , and to @ @ @ @ @ pull the Grant Park statue down in an extremely dangerous manner , ” Lightfoot said @ @ @ @ @ .
“ This step is an effort to protect public safety and to preserve a @ @ @ @ @ and democratic public dialogue about our city ’ s symbols .
It also will allow @ @ @ @ @ resources where they are most needed — particularly in our South and West Side communities @ @

The Christopher Columbus statue is transported after being removed in Grant Park in the early hours of July 24, 2020. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)
Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s commission on monuments has recommended that three statues of Christopher Columbus should not return to their old spots in Grant Park or Little Italy, the Tribune reported today.
Controversy over Christopher Columbus is not new, but the clash between Chicago police and protesters in Grant Park in 2020, led to the removal of two Chicago statues “until further notice,” according to Lightfoot.
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[ Christopher Columbus statues should not return to Chicago parks, long-awaited monuments report recommends ]
“We took this step in response to demonstrations that became unsafe for both protesters and police, and to efforts by individuals to independently pull the Grant Park statue down in an extremely dangerous manner,” she said in a series of tweets. “This step is an effort to protect public safety and to preserve a safe space for an inclusive and democratic public dialogue about our city’s symbols. It also will allow us to focus public safety resources where they are most needed — particularly in our South and West Side communities.”
Read more on the mayor’s middle-of-the-night action here.
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A week later, Lightfoot removed a lesser-known Columbus statue from a traffic island in South Chicago.
Here is a brief history of the three statues.
The Christopher Columbus Monument in Arrigo Park. (Alyssa Pointer / Chicago Tribune)
Christopher Columbus Monument
Location: Arrigo Park (801 S. Loomis St., Chicago)
Artist: Moses Ezekiel
Created: 1892
Installed: 1966
Though the 9-foot-tall bronze statue was created for and displayed in the Italian Pavilion at the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893, it spent much of the 1960s stored flat on its back in a yard outside the Joseph Lumber Company on the city’s Northwest Side.
”We’ll find a place eventually,” said James Murray Haddow, then the vice president of the Municipal Art League of Chicago, in a 1965 interview with the Chicago Tribune. “He is too good looking to be lying where he is lying.”
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The statue had been placed in a niche above the entrance to the Columbus Memorial building at State and Washington streets following the 1893 World’s Fair. That’s where it stood until the structure was demolished in 1959.
One reason why it was problematic to find the statue a new home — its lack of a back. It had been secured by a rod, which meant the statue could not stand on its own.
Chicago Tribune, Feb. 14, 1965. (Chicago Tribune Archives)
State Rep. Victor Arrigo, an Italian American lawyer, spearheaded a campaign to raise $25,000 to move the statue to Loomis Street in Little Italy.
”I think this is the first time that an artistic landmark has been preserved and made the focal point of a rehabilitated neighborhood,” Arrigo said in a May 15, 1966, Chicago Tribune story.
The statue was dedicated in this location on Oct. 12, 1966, and was removed from the site on July 24, 2020. The park was renamed for Arrigo following his death in 1973.
The Christopher Columbus Memorial in Grant Park. (Chicago Tribune historical photo) (Chicago Tribune)
Christopher Columbus Memorial
Location: Grant Park (northeast corner of Columbus Drive at Roosevelt Road)
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Artist: Carlo Brioschi
Created and installed: 1933
The 12-foot-tall bronze statue stood atop a 20-foot pedestal until it was removed early in the morning on July 24, 2020. According to the Chicago Tribune archives, even the creation of this sculpture was controversial.
In 1932, Illinois’ State Board of Art, in reviewing sculptor Carlo Brioschi’s models for this figure, announced, “This statue is so bad it should not be put on public display.” Several days later, however, the board members admitted it was the pedestal it objected to — not the statue. The piece, gift of Italian Americans living in Chicago and Cook County, was dedicated on Aug. 3, 1933, in Grant Park as part of Italian Day at the city’s A Century of Progress International Exposition.
The monument was again singled out in 1963 when a Tribune reader complained to the paper that a likeness of Benito Mussolini, former Italian prime minister and leader of the country’s National Fascist Party, was one of four bas reliefs included in the statue’s pedestal.
“What’s (Mussolini) doing with Columbus, Amerigo Vespucci, and Paolo Toscanelli?,” the unnamed Tribune reader asked. “Might as well have a bust of Hitler.”
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A figure on the corner of the Christopher Columbus Memorial in Grant Park appeared to be Italian prime minister Benito Mussolini, according to a Tribune reader's observation in 1963. (Chicago Tribune Archives)
Amerigo Brioschi, the sculptor’s son, told the Tribune the relief was only an allegorical figure — representing the Roman symbol for strength and unity — as are the three other busts on the pedestal underneath the statue.
“In no way was it intended to be a memorial to the Italian dictator,” said the younger Brioschi, who worked on the monument with his father.
A statue of Christopher Columbus sits at 92nd and South Chicago Avenue at the Ice Water Fountain on Oct. 7, 1970, in Chicago. (Arthur Walker/Chicago Tribune) scanned from print, published on Oct. 8, 1970. (Arthur Walker/Chicago Tribune)
Drake Fountain
Location: 92nd Street between South Chicago and Exchange avenues
Statue sculptor: Richard Henry Park
Created: 1892
Installed at current location: 1909
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Hotelier John. B. Drake, whose sons would later build and operate the Blackstone and Drake hotels, was one of many philanthropists to gift the city with public works of art in advance of the World’s Columbian Exposition in 1893.
This 32-foot-tall coral granite structure with four drinking water basins was intended to provide free, ice-cooled water beginning on Oct. 21, 1892 — a national holiday for the 400th anniversary of Columbus’ arrival in America and also the day of the 1893 World’s Fair dedication — but the 7-foot-tall bronze statue of the explorer had not yet arrived from Italy. Though some materials to complete the fountain were also still in transit, “the work has been rushed so that it might be said that water had been drawn during the World’s Fair dedication,” the Tribune reported.
With the fountain turned off for the winter but its Columbus statue finally in place, Drake Fountain, then located in a courtyard on Washington Street between an old county building and City Hall, was dedicated on Dec. 26, 1892. Due to inclement weather, the dedication was held indoors.
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The depiction of Columbus was panned, at the time, by Chicago police chief of detectives John D. Shea who called the statue a “stiff.” And, unlike other representations of the explorer already on display around the city, this one had some funky anatomy to deal with, “The lake-front Columbus had at least straight sturdy legs that were not ashamed of each other, while the City Hall legs have curves that would have puzzled his tailor, if long trousers had been in vogue in his days,” the Tribune reported on June 14, 1897.
Though intended to benefit people, primarily, the fountain soon became a “free barnyard,” the Tribune reported, with hitching post and watering hole for horses. Just five years later, it also became a garbage heap containing “the bodies of dogs and cats, a winter’s accumulation of old newspapers, tin cans, cast-off clothing, and worn-out shoes.”
Illustration of Drake Fountain in the courtyard of Chicago's City Hall, as published in the June 26, 1897, edition of the Chicago Tribune. (Chicago Tribune Archives)
In 1905, plans were made to move Drake Fountain to accommodate construction of a new county building. But where would it end up? During a heated meeting in December 1905, aldermen balked at the $3,300 cost to remove then maintain the fountain. Sculptor Lorado Taft said the city could afford to let this Columbus statue be put out to pasture, “It is not an absolute disgrace, but it is a question whether it would be approved today by the municipal art commission. For one thing, it is wholly out of proportion.” Public works commissioner J.M. Patterson noted, “while it is not a distinguished work of art, (the fountain’s) existence is justified by the fact that thousands of persons drink its water daily,” the Tribune reported. The fountain was temporarily relocated to the LaSalle Street side of city hall.
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The South Chicago location was chosen in 1908 for the fountain against the wishes of members of the Catholic fraternity Knights of Columbus, which preferred the statue stay in the city’s center. Without delay, however, it was taken piece-by-piece to its new home in horse-drawn wagons.
Drake Fountain was rededicated in its current location on Oct. 11, 1908, featuring a parade of 5,000 people and a 10-gun salute from a nearby ship. The Columbus statue was removed from the fountain on July 30, 2020.
Check out the Tribune’s archives at your fingertips at Newspapers.com.
Sources: City of Chicago; Chicago Park District; Chicago Tribune archives


chicagotribune--2020-07-24--Sheriff’s deputy in McHenry County placed on leave amid allegation excessive force was used during a

Sheriff’s deputy in McHenry County placed on leave amid allegation excessive force was used during arrest of suspected lawn mower thieves

“ Upon review of the footage , the sheriff ’ s office conferred with the McHenry County state ’ s @ @ @ @ @ it was determined that sufficient evidence existed warranting a criminal investigation into the deputy ’ @ @ @ @ @ sheriff ’ s office said in its statement .
“ An outside law enforcement entity @ @ @ @ @ investigation , so as to remove any potential appearance of impropriety .
”

The McHenry County sheriff’s office has placed a deputy on administrative leave while an outside agency investigates an allegation of inappropriate use of force during the arrest last month of four alleged lawn mower thieves outside of Woodstock.
In a statement, the sheriff’s office said the unidentified deputy had been assisting Woodstock police during the June 17 arrest of four people. Woodstock police Chief John Lieb said they were suspects in the theft of two riding lawn mowers and a trailer from a Blaine’s Farm and Fleet.
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Lieb would not detail the allegation against the deputy, but on June 25, his department sent a video of the arrests to the sheriff’s office.
“Upon review of the footage, the sheriff’s office conferred with the McHenry County state’s attorney’s office and it was determined that sufficient evidence existed warranting a criminal investigation into the deputy’s actions,” the sheriff’s office said in its statement. “An outside law enforcement entity was contacted to conduct the investigation, so as to remove any potential appearance of impropriety.”
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The deputy was stripped of police powers and placed on paid administrative leave, the statement said.
A spokeswoman for the sheriff’s department did not immediately return a call seeking comment. The four suspects in the lawn mower theft are still in custody at the McHenry County Jail, according to an online jail census.
The Tribune has made a public records request for the video.
jkeilman@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-07-24--McDonald’s to require masks at restaurants, delays reopenings another month

“ The latest science suggests droplets have the potential to stay in the air for extended periods of time , @ @ @ @ @ spread , especially from asymptomatic carriers , ” McDonald ’ s said in explaining its @ @ @ @ @ result , the most recent guidance from the Centers for Disease Control ( CDC ) @ @ @ @ @ effective way to prevent the spread of COVID-19 .
”

McDonald’s will require customers to wear face coverings at its restaurants, joining other large businesses that are tightening rules as COVID-19 cases mount across the country.
The Chicago-based fast food giant also said Friday that it will delay for another 30 days the reopening of dining rooms that remain closed.
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The mask requirement takes effect Aug. 1.
McDonald’s will offer masks to customers who don’t have one. If a customer declines to wear one, their order will be expedited and they will be guided to a designated pickup spot a safe distance from other customers.
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Nearly 82% of McDonald’s 14,000 U.S. restaurants are in states or areas that require facial coverings for customers, including Illinois, but “it’s important we protect the safety of all employees and customers,” the company said.
There is no federal mask mandate and some local governments have not imposed one.
Conflicts have arisen as employees confront customers who refuse to wear masks. McDonald’s employees will be trained to address those situations, and the company “will re-share resources for our and our franchisees’ employees who want to revisit de-escalation training,” the company said.
A growing number of businesses are requiring shoppers to wear masks, including Walmart and Home Depot, as public health officials determine it is key to preventing the spread of the coronavirus. The U.S. on Friday reported more than 72,000 cases of COVID-19, including 1,113 deaths.
“The latest science suggests droplets have the potential to stay in the air for extended periods of time, increasing the risk of virus spread, especially from asymptomatic carriers,” McDonald’s said in explaining its decision. “As a result, the most recent guidance from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reiterates face coverings are an effective way to prevent the spread of COVID-19.”
The company on July 1 announced a three-week pause to dining room openings as COVID-19 cases climbed. At the time, about 2,200 McDonald’s dining rooms were already open.
McDonald’s also has developed a series of divider panels for its restaurants and kitchens to be able to increase staffing levels, order taking and seating capacity while maintaining social distancing requirements.


chicagotribune--2020-07-24--Retired meteorologist Jerry Taft, ‘the face of ABC 7 weather’ for more than 3 decades, dies at 77

“ Jerry Taft was an exceptional meteorologist and the face of ABC 7 weather for more than three decades .
@ @ @ @ @ and all of us here at the station .
Jerry taught us all the value @ @ @ @ @ at yourself .
He will be truly missed and we send out heartfelt sympathies to @ @ @ @ @ WLS President and General Manager John Idler said in a statement .

WLS-Ch. 7 meteorologist Jerry Taft gets a ride on a golf cart during the Chicago Auto Show media preview at McCormick Place on Feb. 11, 2016. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)
Retired WLS-Ch. 7 meteorologist Jerry Taft — known for his love of technology, passion for golf and laugh that filled a room — died Thursday at the age of 77, his family said.
Taft retired in 2018 after more than 40 years on Chicago TV, 33 of them at the ABC station. He retired to Naples, Florida, where he played golf and worked part time as an Uber driver to get out of the house and meet people. His family did not disclose the cause of his death.
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Retired Chicago anchorman Ron Magers, who started working with Taft in 1981, remembered the meteorologist as an “extremely good golfer” and “the most honest person I maybe have ever known.”
“Jerry was unpredictable, to say the least. Whatever was on his mind came out his mouth. It was always a great experience,” Magers said. “If he thought it, he said it.”
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WLS-Ch. 7 weatherman Jerry Taft. Taft retired in 2018 after more than 40 years on Chicago TV, 33 of them at the ABC station. (WLS-Ch. 7/HANDOUT)
Born in 1943, Taft hailed from Chappaqua, New York, and briefly studied architecture at the Georgia Institute of Technology. He joined the U.S. Air Force, where his first assignment was radar maintenance. That job took him to a remote part of Alaska.
While in the Air Force, he studied meteorology at the University of Wisconsin. He underwent pilot training at Columbus Air Force Base in Mississippi after earning his degree. He took an unusual route to broadcasting. He was teaching instructor pilots at Randolph Air Force Base near San Antonio, Texas, in the 1970s. He met and befriended the local TV weatherman, Maclovio Perez, who suggested Taft take his job when Perez eventually left for a gig in San Diego.
“Jerry immediately got hired right there on the spot. I left, came back six months later, and I said, ‘Hey, whatever happened to Jerry Taft?’ ‘Oh, he’s a big-time in Chicago,‘ ” Perez recalled in a 1996 TV special.
After working as the weekend weatherman at the NBC affiliate in San Antonio, Taft forecast the weather at WMAQ-Ch. 5 for seven years. WLS hired him in 1984.
“Jerry Taft was an exceptional meteorologist and the face of ABC 7 weather for more than three decades. He was loved by Chicagoans and all of us here at the station. Jerry taught us all the value of being able to laugh at yourself. He will be truly missed and we send out heartfelt sympathies to his entire family,” WLS President and General Manager John Idler said in a statement.
Magers, who retired from WLS in 2016, worked with Taft at channels 5 and 7. “Jerry loved what he did. Jerry was a weather geek and a computer geek. Jerry got into computers and how they could change the world of forecasting very early on. There was a period of time at NBC when he actually had people working on writing weather forecasting models for computers,” he said. “He really did love the science and technology of it all.”
Taft was also close with WLS sports anchor Mark Giangreco. “Jerry was an incredible personality. His life could’ve been a bestselling novel,” Giangreco said in a statement. “We laughed so hard together we cried. That’s what I’ll miss the most.”
Taft, who lived in Lemont for years, is survived by his longtime wife, Shana; his children, Skylar, Storm, Dana and Jay; and five grandchildren. No services will be held.
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“We’re grateful how warm and welcoming (viewers) always were to Jerry,” Shana Taft said. “He appreciated them welcoming him into (their) home.”
tswartz@tribpub.com


chicagotribune--2020-07-24--Illinois’ new COVID-19 plan: How the state will manage any outbreaks in 3 charts

The plan also includes mitigation steps unique to different categories , like restaurants and bars , offices or salons , @ @ @ @ @ specifically respond to a type of outbreak in a specific part of the state .
@ @ @ @ @ s plan here .

Jemal R. Brinson, Nausheen Husain, Jonathon Berlin

Amid an uptick of COVID-19 cases over the past month, Gov. J.B. Pritzker laid out a new approach to managing any resurgence across the state.
The new approach is more surgical, dividing the state into 11 regions — Illinois’ existing Emergency Medical Services regions — and tightening the metrics officials will watch to determine if any action is warranted.
The plan also includes mitigation steps unique to different categories, like restaurants and bars, offices or salons, that could be used to specifically respond to a type of outbreak in a specific part of the state. Read more on Pritzker’s plan here.
Check our tracker for daily metrics for each region.
Here is a breakdown of the plan.


chicagotribune--2020-07-24--COVID-19 cases in Illinois by ZIP code: Search for your neighborhood

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

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


chicagotribune--2020-07-24--Illinois coronavirus graphs: 7,385 deaths, 168,457 confirmed cases and 2.43 million tests

• How are Illinois regions doing ?
Check our daily charts on where each region stands on positivity rate and @ @ @ @ @ .

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


chicagotribune--2020-07-24--Police in Bali arrest DuPage County man wanted in an investment fraud case brought in Chicago, sayin

Police in Bali arrest DuPage County man wanted in an investment fraud case brought in Chicago, saying he escaped on bogus passport

U.S. national Marcus Beam , center , wearing protective equipment as a precaution against the coronavirus , is flanked by @ @ @ @ @ to the media during a press conference at the Regional Police Headquarters in Denpasar , @ @ @ @ @ July 24 , 2020 .
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said on its website @ @ @ @ @ , Illinois , is accused of misappropriating about $ 500,000 from investors .

U.S. national Marcus Beam, center, wearing protective equipment as a precaution against the coronavirus, is flanked by police as he is presented to the media during a press conference at the Regional Police Headquarters in Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia, on July 24, 2020. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said on its website that Beam, of Woodridge, Illinois, is accused of misappropriating about $500,000 from investors. (Firdia Lisnawati/AP)
DENPASAR, Indonesia — Authorities on the Indonesian resort-laden island of Bali have arrested an American fugitive accused of investment fraud in the United States involving hundreds of thousands of dollars, police said Friday.
Bali police chief Petrus Reinhard Golose said the suspect, Marcus Beam, had been making and selling sex videos in Bali to support his living expenses there.
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He said Beam apparently escaped from the U.S. by using a passport with a different name and entered Bali in January. Beam was arrested with his American girlfriend in a villa in Badung late Thursday based on a notice from Interpol, Golose said.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said on its website that Beam, of Woodridge, Illinois, is accused of misappropriating about $500,000 from investors that was supposed to be placed in investment funds.
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Instead of investing the money, Beam spent it on personal and business expenses, it said. To conceal the misappropriation, he sent fraudulent account statements to investors, and did not return any money when they attempted to redeem their investments, the SEC said.
It said it filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court in Chicago last September.
Beam was paraded in handcuffs and a face mask at a police news conference on Friday in Denpasar, the Bali provincial capital. Police presented evidence they seized including passports, a folding knife, 14 sex toys, five cellphones and 13 other electronic devices.
Marcus Beam, center, wearing protective equipment as a precaution against the coronavirus, is flanked by police as he is presented to the media in Bali on July 24, 2020. (Firdia Lisnawati/AP)
“He has made various sex videos and sold it to online sites to support his living expenses while in Bali,” Golose said. “We are still investigating whether he involved local people in those videos, but so far the crime he committed was only in his homeland.”
He said Beam had moved about seven times and used several identities while in Bali.
He used a passport bearing the name of Demario Faulkner and told police he was on vacation, Golose said.
Golose said there is no extradition agreement between Indonesia and the U.S., but the two nations have police-to-police cooperation arrangements that would enable Beam to be deported to his homeland.


chicagotribune--2020-07-24--Decomposed body discovered in South Shore apartment

The Cook County medical examiner ’ s office did not release information on the identity of the person and it @ @ @ @ @ an autopsy was scheduled for Friday .
It wasn ’ t clear how old the @ @ @

A female’s decomposed body was discovered late Thursday inside a second-floor apartment in Chicago’s South Shore neighborhood.
Police found the body about 10:58 p.m. in the 7400 block of South Chappel Avenue after someone at the apartment complex called police to request a well-being check, officers said.
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The Cook County medical examiner’s office did not release information on the identity of the person and it wasn’t clear if an autopsy was scheduled for Friday. It wasn’t clear how old the person was.
Detectives were conducting a death investigation, because it wasn’t clear how the person died.
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Check back for updates.
kelsmith@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-07-24--Column: Can architects help revive Chicago’s South and West Sides? Maybe. Just don’t expect miracles

Column: Can architects help revive Chicago’s South and West Sides? Maybe. Just don’t expect miracles.

Still , if redevelopment is going to occur , good design should be part of the equation .
Cites are @ @ @ @ @ not just in broad strokes .
One bright spot in the cityscape can encourage another @ @ @ @ @ over time .
Despite the bad rap the South and West Sides get because of @ @ @ @ @ ’ t lack for architectural character .

Jamal Brown, 16, left, is learns how to plant tomatoes and basil on the rooftop garden of Gary Comer Youth Center in 2012, in preparation for a visit by First Lady Michelle Obama. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune)
Can architects help Mayor Lori Lightfoot rewrite Chicago’s depressing, Dickensian “tale of two cities” narrative?
Can the designers of structures overcome decades of structural racism, from substandard housing to mass incarceration to disinvestment and limited job opportunities?
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We’re about to find out.
The city’s Department of Planning and Development recently tapped the nonprofit Chicago Architecture Center to help pick 24 to 36 architecture and design firms to take part in Lightfoot’s $750 million Invest South/West program, which seeks to boost struggling business districts in 10 neighborhoods on the South and West Sides.
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Roughly 170 firms raised their hands — almost 200 if you count the 15 or so firms that formed teams of two or more. The architecture center, which declined to identify the competing firms, gets kudos for participating in this innovative partnership.
The Gary Comer Youth Center on Chicago's South Side. (Chris Walker/Chicago Tribune)
The strong response is a heartening sign that Chicago’s architects believe their professional aims should extend beyond designing skyscrapers and mansions for the 1%.
It’s also the latest good stroke by Lightfoot’s planning commissioner, Maurice Cox. With it, he’s signaling that good design should be a priority everywhere, not just on Chicago’s affluent North Side or its glamorous, though coronavirus-emptied, downtown.
“Design matters,” Cox told me Thursday. “The quality of buildings, the quality of the built environment, communicates that we value those neighborhoods and we value the people who live there.”
Yet there are limits to architecture’s power to change lives and perceptions.
The real architects of our cities often have been politicians who plotted the course of expressways to divide one racial group from another. Or bankers who decided that a white applicant qualified for a loan while denying a comparable Black application. Or real estate agents who steered Black families away from white neighborhoods.
Then there’s Chicago’s ongoing plague of gang violence, which has sharply diminished the impact of even the finest socially conscious designs.
For all the good that projects like architect John Ronan’s brightly-colored Gary Comer Youth Center and Comer Prep have brought to troubled neighborhoods like Greater Grand Crossing, they only have been able to provide a haven from gang-related shootings, not halt them.
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As if to underscore the challenges the architects will face, one of the 10 Invest South/West neighborhoods is Auburn Gresham, where 15 people were shot Tuesday outside a funeral home.
Still, if redevelopment is going to occur, good design should be part of the equation. Cites are built and rebuilt block-by-block, not just in broad strokes. One bright spot in the cityscape can encourage another, leading to dramatic change over time. Despite the bad rap the South and West Sides get because of ongoing violence, they don’t lack for architectural character.
A good example came in June when Lightfoot announced a $4 million Invest South/West grant for a project that will turn a long-vacant commercial building at 839 W. 79th St., into a “healthy lifestyle hub” that could house medical providers, a fitness center and a restaurant. The developers plan to restore the 1926 building’s once-gleaming terra cotta facade.
Developers plan to restore a long-vacant commercial building and transform it into a "healthy lifestyle hub" in Chicago's Auburn-Gresham neighborhood. (MKB Architects.)
Whether the Invest South/West project is a renovation or new construction, the chosen architects will likely follow a similar path, mixing different uses in a single building. As the urbanologist Jane Jacobs wrote in her classic book, “The Death and Life of Great American Cities,” that’s an almost surefire way to bring vitality to moribund commercial districts.
A jury headed by Reed Kroloff, the dean of the Illinois Institute of Technology’s architecture school, will winnow the field down to the chosen firms, but the jury won’t be looking at visionary drawings for Invest South/West projects. The key standard, according to a brief that lays out the selection process, is a sustained commitment to design excellence.
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Firms of all types — large and small, established and emerging, commercial and community-oriented — will get a shot. The aim, the brief adds, is a collection of talent “as diverse as the city of Chicago.”
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Chicago being Chicago, there’s a potential catch: The winners, who will be announced in August, will be listed as a possible “resource” for developers who submit Invest South/West plans to the city. Translation: Developers won’t be required to hire the firms. But the architects still should have a leg up because they’ve received the city’s stamp of approval.
Among the potential benefits of the exercise: It could give emerging design talents, including firms headed by Black and brown architects, a chance to show their stuff. Cox also sees the effort as a way to hook developers with exciting architecture. “We are going to continue to shine a light on the value-added that design brings to investment strategies,” he said.
But it would be wise not to expect too much of this effort, especially if Chicago’s violence continues and businesses prove reluctant to invest in the South and West sidides.
Architecture can do a lot, yet it can only do so much.
Blair Kamin is a Tribune critic.
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bkamin@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @BlairKamin


chicagotribune--2020-07-24--6 shot, 2 fatally, in overnight West Pullman attack

The group was standing on the sidewalk when someone in a tan sedan fired shots into the crowd in the @ @ @ @ @ Avenue about 10:35 p.m. , according to a police media notification .
Police said no @ @ @ @ @

Two people were fatally shot and another four wounded in a drive-by shooting in the West Pullman neighborhood late Thursday, police said.
The group was standing on the sidewalk when someone in a tan sedan fired shots into the crowd in the 12000 block of South Prairie Avenue about 10:35 p.m., according to a police media notification. Police said no one was in custody.
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Police said a 25-year-old woman was pronounced dead on the scene with gunshot wounds to the neck and right arm. A man was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center and pronounced dead with gunshot wounds to the torso and left arm.
The identities of those killed weren’t released Friday morning by the Cook County medical examiner’s office.
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The other four people wounded were in good condition, police said. The three men — ages 25, 23 and 27 — were taken to Roseland Community Hospital and transferred to Stroger Hospital. A 23-year-old woman was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center.
The West Pullman shooting comes two days after two men were fatally shot and another wounded in separate attacks in the same neighborhood Tuesday, including one less than a half-mile away, in the 200 block of East 121st Place.


chicagotribune--2020-07-24--Chinatown, the first Chicago neighborhood closed by coronavirus fears, struggles to reopen. Here’s w

Chinatown, the first Chicago neighborhood closed by coronavirus fears, struggles to reopen. Here’s why, and where you can eat outdoors.

Chinatown in Chicago was hit first and hard by the coronavirus .
Not so much by the virus itself , @ @ @ @ @ .
Masks had sold out and Lunar New Year events were already canceled by the @ @ @ @ @ of COVID-19 in the city was announced on Jan. 24 .
Data now shows confirmed @ @ @ @ @ in the Chinatown area compared with ZIP codes with the highest numbers in Chicago .

A woman cooks in the kitchen at Seven Treasures on Wentworth Avenue in Chicago's Chinatown neighborhood on July 16, 2020. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune)
Chinatown in Chicago was hit first and hard by the coronavirus. Not so much by the virus itself, but fear of the unknown. Masks had sold out and Lunar New Year events were already canceled by the time the first confirmed case of COVID-19 in the city was announced on Jan. 24. Data now shows confirmed cases have remained relatively low in the Chinatown area compared with ZIP codes with the highest numbers in Chicago.
Business has still dropped dramatically. Most restaurants have tried to stay open — some never stopped serving bubble tea, bao and dumplings for takeout and delivery. The few bars — all karaoke — went dark until recently. Less than half of the restaurants have reopened for indoor dining and hardly any have room for outdoor dining.
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As restaurants and bars across the city reopened indoor service four weeks ago, Chinatown has remained cautious. Owners, employees and customers follow the news on Chinese media, for better or worse. They hear from family and friends in China on WeChat about what might be coming next. It’s becoming increasingly clear, however, from falling case numbers there and rising numbers here, that we’re defining our own destiny in this country.
Pass under Chinatown Gate, the landmark arching over Wentworth Avenue at Cermak Road, an ancient symbol adopted to mark Chinatown entries worldwide, and you’ll find the historic main street to the neighborhood. Streets are free from double-parked cars and sidewalks clear of white-haired pedestrians, who can speak louder in the Taishanese dialect than any honking horn. They’re the secret signs of what’s under threat. Chinatown is more than restaurants and karaoke bars for outsiders. It’s the densely populated home to a growing number of residents. They drive expansion beyond historical borders.
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The struggle continues on multiple fronts.
“I’ve gotten so many prank calls,” said Spencer Ng, the second-generation owner of Triple Crown. The family-friendly Cantonese restaurant was founded by his mother in the early ’90s. It has remained open for takeout and delivery only. “Really young kids calling and saying, ‘Hey are you guys serving that bat soup?’ If this is our future, then we’re in bad shape.”
Yao Bang Zhen prepares dim sum at Triple Crown on Wentworth Avenue in Chicago's Chinatown neighborhood on July 16, 2020. The restaurant is open for takeout and delivery only. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune)
Less than 47% of the food and beverage businesses in the Chinatown area have allowed customers back inside. This Friday, Chicago will again stop bars from serving alcohol indoors. The rollback doesn’t affect any bars in the neighborhood since all serve food too. Yet rising coronavirus numbers, especially with younger residents ages 18 to 29, prompted the prohibition, since some say they just don’t think about it.
Some do think about it, especially in a culture where multigenerational households are the norm.
“I didn’t want to work at the restaurant, risk contracting COVID and bringing that home to my mom,” said John Choi, co-owner of Chi Yatai with co-founder Mier Zhou. Their stall down in the influential Richland basement food court was the last restaurant to open in Chinatown before the coronavirus pandemic, offering Japanese street food and Taiwanese bubble tea. They closed temporarily when Gov. J.B. Pritzker ordered restaurants to shut down everything except takeout and delivery in March. Choi is the primary caretaker of his 77-year-old mother who is a three-time cancer survivor.
“So much more than the money we’d make from staying open for delivery or carryout orders, I want to protect my mom’s life and her health,” said Choi.
“My parents are healthy, thank God,” said Zhou. “But living with them as well in the Bridgeport area, I have the same concern. They are around the age of 65, so at risk.”
People wait for takeout orders at two small restaurants in the Richland food court on the lower level of the Chinatown Square mall in Chicago on July 16, 2020. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune)
Out of 111 Asian restaurants and bars in the Chinatown area, only 47 have opened indoor service. That includes establishments in the predominantly Chinese neighborhood itself, as well as adjacent Bridgeport and East Pilsen, where the community has expanded. The highly competitive real estate enclave commands rents as high as $25,000 per month for a restaurant space on Wentworth Avenue and a $100,000 investment for a stall in the Richland food court.
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“I’ve been telling customers August,” said Ng at Triple Crown about when he might reopen indoors, though he doesn’t think it’s worth it for health and financial reasons. “I told people earlier maybe the middle of July, but we’re pushing back every two weeks, just seeing how everything is going.
“Some staff has reached out, because unemployment runs out at the end of July, and they need to come back for work,” he said. “If everyone’s in agreement, maybe we open five tables at most. Instead of having 40 people in here we’ll have max 20, so those guys can make a little bit of money.”
The restaurant’s normal occupancy is 190 people, so the city would allow 25% or 47 customers indoors. Triple Crown is on the second floor, so outdoor dining is not an option.
Only 11 restaurants in the Chinatown area have outside tables. The neighborhood was touted by the city in its Make Way for Dining program, which closes streets to allow space for expanded outdoor seating, but that only applied to the Chinatown Square outdoor mall, which is already pedestrian. Joy Yee has the biggest outside space, with bubble tea windows off the central Chinese zodiac square and tables looking into its still-closed indoor dining rooms. MingHin just added outdoor tables last weekend lit with Tiki torches.
Otherwise, outside dining doesn’t work for a number of reasons in Chinatown, but first and foremost because there’s simply not enough space on the narrow sidewalks.
All of the seating has been removed in the Richland basement food court, with tables and chairs stacked up.
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“Theoretically we can reopen on Aug. 11,” said Choi of Chi Yatai. He and Zhou will move into small apartments near their families to keep them safe. The partners plan to offer a free food item every Tuesday in August to people in need. “We know there are still so many people struggling and we want to bless them,” said Choi.
Cai restaurant is the most notable among Chinatown restaurants that have not reopened. The fancy Cantonese dim sum palace served thousands of customers on a typical weekend. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune)
Ten restaurants have closed temporarily in the Chinatown area. Cai is the most notable among them. The fancy Cantonese dim sum palace served thousands of customers on a typical weekend day.
One bakery owner said as an older woman that she grew so afraid of people entering without masks despite signs everywhere that she had to shut down for now. Another restaurant owner, when asked when he might reopen, said, “Ask Donald Trump.” He declined to be identified for fear of retribution. The president called the coronavirus “kung flu” at recent campaign rallies to cheering crowds, mostly unmasked.
Construction has stalled at what was once the oldest restaurant in Chinatown. Al Capone was said to hold a regular table at the former Won Kow. The historic building was to be transformed into a multistory hot pot fantasyland. Chef and restaurateur Tony Hu was the local lead on one of the first U.S. locations of the internationally acclaimed Xiaolongkan. “Everything has stopped because of the pandemic,” said Hu.
Well, not everything, and definitely not hot pot. Hot pot popularity simmered down a few years ago in Chicago, but it’s bubbling back up. A few restaurant owners seem to be betting that the siren song of spicy cauldrons and epic spreads will still draw customers.
Qiao Lin Hotpot held its grand opening on Wednesday. It’s the first new restaurant to open in the Chinatown area after the statewide coronavirus closure in March. The spacious spalike setting can be found across the river from Lawrence’s Fish & Shrimp.
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Lao Jiu Men Hotpot will follow hot on its heels, opening Aug. 8. It’s an auspicious date, because the number eight is considered the luckiest in Chinese numerology. This sister restaurant to a Toronto import will be on Clark Street near Archer Avenue, between MeetFresh and Hello Jasmine.
Expensive and aggressive developments continue with shiny storefronts at Canal Plaza on Canal Street and Archer Avenue. Hoyt Plaza has plans for a hotel on Cermak Road in the shadow of the expressway overhead, with a supermarket and restaurants too. The massive new 78 neighborhood looms next to the lovely Ping Tom park.
Nearly lost in the shuffle of big restaurant news, the award-winning A Place by Damao is now called Da Mao Jia, after chef and namesake Aishan Zhong left her position, but the Sichuan menu remains the same. Nine Bar, a pop-up by the daughter of Moon Palace owners, Lily Wang, and partner Joe Briglio, has been selling out of Japanese convenience store-inspired sandwiches, snacks and cocktails since mid-June.
Back at Triple Crown, Ng has a new Chinese barbecue side project in the works with the son of the former Wing Chan BBQ family.
“We’re using Berkshire pork belly and higher-end meats,” said Ng. “We’re smoking with apple wood, but doing it Chinese style.” The first taste came with char siu chicken wings at a collaboration beer launch party with Marz Brewing for Lunar New Year. Ng hopes to offer his new style Chinese barbecue within a month. “Knock on wood,” he said.
Chinatown area outdoor dining
You’ll find listed below the 11 elusive spots in the Chinatown area with outdoor dining, which experts say is safer when dining out. Indoor seating and curbside pickup are also noted if available. Four restaurants may still be added to the list. Three have applied for outdoor permits (Emperor’s Choice, Evergreen and Kam Fung), while one (Dolo) has not yet decided if it will open a private patio.
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B.B.Q. King: Outdoor and indoor, Chinatown Square, 2148 S. Archer Ave., 312-326-1219, bbqkingonline.com
Daebak Korean Street Food & Chatime: Outdoor and indoor, Chinatown Square, 2017 S. Wells St., 312-225-9088, daebakstreetfood.com
Icy Honey: Outdoor only, 3132 S. Morgan St., 312-868-8855, icyhoneyshop.com
Joy Yee Noodle: Outdoor only, Chinatown Square, 2139 S. China Place, 312-328-0001, joyyee.com
Joy Yee Plus Shabu Shabu: Outdoor only, Chinatown Square, 2159 S. China Place, 312-842-8928, joyyee.com
Lee Wing Wah: Outdoor only, Chinatown Square, 2147 S. China Place, 312-808-1628, (no website)
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MingHin Cuisine: Outdoor and indoor, Chinatown Square, 2168 S. Archer Ave., 312-808-1999, minghincuisine.com
Potsticker House: Outdoor, indoor and curbside pickup, 3139 S. Halsted St., 312-326-6898, potstickerhouse.com
Saint’s Alps Teahouse and Gourmet: Outdoor, indoor and curbside pickup, Chinatown Square, 2157 S. China Place, 312-842-8882, saintsalpchicago.com
Shinya Ramen House: Outdoor, indoor and curbside pickup, 3240 S. Halsted St., 312-877-6008, shinyaramenhouse.com
Tang’s Garden: Outdoor, indoor and curbside pickup, 1826 S. Canal St., 312-226-1826, tangsgardenil.com