chicagotribune--2020-07-20--71 shot, 12 fatally in Chicago weekend violence

“ The police have one consequence : We put handcuffs on people and arrest them .
I always mention the @ @ @ @ @ .
That ’ s important because 91 % of our homicides are by gun , @ @ @ @ @ So I always like to emphasize , Chicago PD is doing its job .
It @ @ @ @ @ .
And there ’ s many other things outside of the control of the police @ @ @ @ @ this podium answering your questions .
”

Family members gather in prayer July 19, 2020, after a shooting injured three family members, including two boys, in the 8200 block of South Ada Street. A 10-year-old boy was wounded in the ankle and calf, and an 11-year-old boy was struck in the arm, police said. They were taken to Comer Children’s Hospital in good condition, according to police. A 27-year-old, struck in the leg and arm, was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center in good condition. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)
At least 71 people were shot, 12 of them fatally, from Friday afternoon to Monday morning in Chicago, according to authorities.
Ten of those shot were younger than 18, but no children were killed. The youngest victims wounded were 10 and 11 years old, both shot in a daylight drive-by attack Sunday in the Gresham neighborhood. The two boys were among three people shot in that attack, officials said. The oldest people killed were 60 and 67 years old, in separate shootings.
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[ Two boys injured in Sunday shooting in Gresham neighborhood ]
The previous weekend, at least 64 people were shot and 11 of them died, according to data compiled by the Tribune.
Chicago police Superintendent David Brown took questions Monday morning about the level of violence seen weekend after weekend and stressed that the solution won’t come until the myriad root causes of crime are addressed. He also said at the halfway point of this year, officers already have taken more than 5,200 guns off the streets.
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“The police have one consequence: We put handcuffs on people and arrest them. I always mention the number of guns we collect. That’s important because 91% of our homicides are by gun,” Brown said. “So I always like to emphasize, Chicago PD is doing its job. It’s doing its part. And there’s many other things outside of the control of the police that needs to be at this podium answering your questions.”
The youngest victims over the weekend were wounded in an attack just after 4:30 p.m. Sunday in the 8200 block of South Ada Street. The 10-year-old boy, the 11-year-old boy and a 27-year-old man were in front of a home when a vehicle pulled up and someone inside fired shots, police said.
The 10-year-old was wounded in the ankle and calf, and the 11-year-old was struck in the arm, police said. They were taken to Comer Children’s Hospital in good condition, according to police.
Early Sunday, a man was killed and woman wounded in an attack on the Near North Side, just north of the Wabash Avenue Bridge.
Gregory Crawford, 35, of Maywood, was pronounced dead at Northwestern Memorial Hospital soon after he was shot in the 300 block of North Wabash Avenue about 2:30 a.m. Sunday, according to authorities. The 25-year-old woman who had been with him in a car suffered two gunshot wounds to the left arm and was also taken to Northwestern, where she initially was in good condition.
Witnesses said the shooting happened while as many as a thousand people were drinking and hanging out by the riverfront on Wacker Drive. There were four to six shots, then people started running, according to a witness who asked not to be named.
A manager of at least one neighboring business recently asked authorities for assistance dispersing people from the impromptu gatherings, most often taking place after dark on hot weekend nights, because intoxicated people were harassing employees going home after their shifts, said a law enforcement source who asked to remain anonymous. The manager said it appeared people, many with coolers of alcohol, were parking along Wacker Drive before setting up chairs near the riverfront, the source said.
A police spokeswoman, Maggie Huynh, said the Chicago Police Department recently learned from patrol officers that sizable groups were gathering near the river, but did not say whether business managers made a complaint.
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About 11:50 p.m. Sunday, a group of people were on the street in the 11300 block of South Carpenter Street in the Morgan Park neighborhood when someone began firing shots toward them, police said.
A 26-year-old man was shot multiple times in the head and body, police said. He was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center and died soon after. He later was identified as Devonte Merrill, of Country Club Hills, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office. A 41-year-old man was shot in the back of the head and taken to Roseland Community Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead, police said. He hadn’t been identified Monday.
The shootings Sunday came after at least six people were killed and 25 people wounded in shootings from 7:30 p.m. Friday into early Saturday morning.
Five people were shot, one of them fatally, in just one attack about 3:15 a.m. Saturday in 1600 block of South Keeler Avenue in the Lawndale neighborhood.
A 25-year-old man was hit in the chest. He was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Four others suffered gunshot wounds and also were taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where they were listed in good condition, police said.
The 67-year-old man killed was shot just before 12:30 a.m. Saturday in the 4900 block of West Hubbard Street in the Austin neighborhood, when a gunman in a vacant lot opened fire, striking him in the neck. He was taken to Stroger Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, police said.
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During the news conference, Brown was asked if he expected the violence to persist or whether he’d hoped to have implemented some solution to the violence now that he’s more than two months into his job.
“One of the things I’ve repeatedly said about crime and public disorder is that it takes more than just the police,” he said.
“If police is the only people at the podium answering questions, likely nothing will change,” Brown said.
Chicago Tribune’s Claire Hao contributed.


chicagotribune--2020-07-20--Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, Illinois House progressives say Speaker Michael Madigan should step do

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, Illinois House progressives say Speaker Michael Madigan should step down if allegations involving ComEd are true

“ One of the things that has become obvious about all the information over the last few days is that @ @ @ @ @ in Denmark when it comes to certain lobbyists and the way they conduct their business @ @ @ @ @ that in the bud , ” Pritzker said at a separate downstate news conference Monday @ @ @ @ @ why I ’ ve called for so much transparency .
”

Lisa Donovan, Gregory Pratt, Jamie Munks

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said if allegations involving Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, who for decades has been at the controls of whether legislation lives or dies inside the State Capitol, and the state’s largest utility, Commonwealth Edison, are true then he should step down.
Lightfoot, a former federal prosecutor, went further in her comments on Monday than she did previously and echoed the sentiments of Gov. J.B. Pritzker, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and a bloc of progressive lawmakers in Madigan’s House Democratic caucus. But she said she stopped short of calling for him to step down because he hasn’t been charged with a crime.
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“If those allegations are true, obviously he should resign,” Lightfoot said at an unrelated news conference Monday. “But we don’t know that they are true yet.”
Federal prosecutors on Friday alleged a near-decadelong bribery and influence scheme conducted through ComEd. In court records filed Friday, prosecutors allege the utility attempted to “influence and reward” Madigan, who was identified as Public Official A, by providing financial benefits to some close to him.
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Madigan has not been charged with any wrongdoing. The federal complaint did not mention Madigan by name but specifically said, “Public Official A was the Speaker of the House of Representatives.” Madigan is the nation’s longest-serving House speaker.
In a statement Friday, Madigan spokeswoman Maura Possley said in an email, “He has never made a legislative decision with improper motives and has engaged in no wrongdoing here. Any claim to the contrary is unfounded.
“The speaker has never helped someone find a job with the expectation that the person would not be asked to perform work by their employer, nor did he ever expect to provide anything to a prospective employer if it should choose to hire a person he recommended,” Possley’s statement read.
ComEd has agreed to cooperate with the ongoing probe and pay a $200 million fine in exchange for deferred prosecution.
Pritzker on Monday said it’s “very important” that Madigan “step forward and answer the questions” raised by federal prosecutors. The governor also renewed a call for ethics reform at an unrelated news conference Monday in Peoria, one of many items lawmakers didn’t act on in a spring legislative session that was cut significantly short due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Lawmakers aren’t scheduled to return to Springfield until November, but Pritzker said he hopes the work of a legislative ethics commission can resume and result in “major ethics reform.”
“One of the things that has become obvious about all the information over the last few days is that there apparently is something rotten in Denmark when it comes to certain lobbyists and the way they conduct their business. We need to nip that in the bud,” Pritzker said at a separate downstate news conference Monday. “That’s why I’ve called for so much transparency.”
Pritzker repeated on Monday that if the allegations are true in the documents federal prosecutors filed last week, “the speaker would have to step down, and that applies for all the leadership positions that he holds.”
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Twelve members of the Illinois House Progressive Caucus also have signed a statement on the matter that reads in part: “The behavior alleged in this document is an unacceptable breach of the public trust.” The bloc also stated that “If these allegations are true, Speaker Madigan and any other elected official involved in this scheme must resign from public service.”
It goes on to note: “We founded the Progressive Caucus because we believe that government can be, and must be, a force for fairness and justice in people’s lives. This kind of behavior is exactly why so many Illinoisans have lost faith in that notion. We deserve better, and we must demand better.”
State Rep. Kelly Cassidy, a Chicago Democrat who signed on to the statement, also issued her opinion, which reads: “The conduct alleged is outrageous, and comes at the end of a long chain of unacceptable breaches of the public trust not unlike the pattern of ‘lather, rinse and repeat.‘” She goes on to write, “I agree with the Governor. If any of these allegations are true and Speaker Madigan or those closest to him are involved, then he must resign.”
In addition to Cassidy, caucus members who signed the statement are state Reps. Carol Ammons, of Urbana; Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz, of Glenview; Robyn Gabel, of Evanston; Anna Moeller, of Elgin; and Anne Stava-Murray, of Naperville; along with lawmakers representing Chicago including Will Guzzardi, Lindsey LaPointe, Theresa Mah, Yoni Pizer, Delia Ramirez and Ann Williams.
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Calling for Madigan to resign if the allegations prove true leaves politicians with considerable wiggle room. Such a statement allows politicians to come across as concerned about the federal corruption allegations but does not define what specifically would need to happen for Madigan to step down.
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State Sen. Melinda Bush of Grayslake was a rare Democratic lawmaker calling outright for Madigan to not only resign his legislative post but also the state Democratic Party chairmanship, a post he has held since 1998, “effective immediately.”
Underscoring Madigan’s power, few Democrats in the chamber issued statements on Friday about the nation’s longest-serving statehouse speaker, who also runs the state Democratic Party.
On Friday, hours after the U.S. attorney’s office announced ComEd had agreed to pay a $200 million fine as part of a federal investigation into the utility, Lightfoot was asked whether Madigan should resign from his statewide leadership positions.
“Well, that’s not really for me to say,” Lightfoot said then. “And as mayor, what I’m really focused on is the conduct of ComEd. And since this story broke last year, I’ve consistently said ComEd is going to have to come before the Chicago City Council and give account for its conduct.”
Pritzker, who worked with Madigan to approve a wide-ranging legislative agenda in 2019, on Friday said he was “deeply troubled and frankly I’m furious.”
“The speaker has a lot that he needs to answer for — to authorities, to investigators and most importantly to the people of Illinois,” Pritzker said Friday. “If these allegations of wrongdoing by the speaker are true, there is no question that he will have betrayed the public trust and he must resign.”
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In all, prosecutors put a value of at least $150 million on the legislative benefits ComEd received. The federal documents in particular noted the 2011 passage of the Energy Infrastructure and Modernization Act, which “helped improve ComEd’s financial stability” by establishing rate guidelines and a smart grid overhaul.
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
gpratt@chicagotribune.com
jmunks@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @byldonovan
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chicagotribune--2020-07-20--Family questions whether ComEd bribery scheme played a role in state’s decision not to fully investi

Family questions whether ComEd bribery scheme played a role in state’s decision not to fully investigate electrocution

“ Looking at what ’ s been filed recently in federal court , it begs the question : Does ComEd @ @ @ @ @ believes it will not be held to account by the state agencies that are charged @ @ @ @ @ far does ComEd ’ s influence with its regulatory agency go ?
” said attorney @ @ @ @ @ Jordan Zulauf .
“ This is a lot of the information that has been sought @ @ @ @ @ ’ ve been stonewalled and stymied at every turn .
And I think it ’ @ @ @ @ @ with these federal filings coming out , that we got these answers .
”

Video shows the scene where Robert Zulauf died and his nephew, Jordan Zulauf, was severely injured after being electrocuted while working in Sterling, Ill. (Handout (handout, handout))
Jeanette Zulauf never understood why state regulators didn’t investigate her husband’s electrocution by a ComEd wire that had been out of code for decades.
She couldn’t figure out why those same state regulators tried to shield ComEd in her wrongful death lawsuit against the utility company, either, as she watched the Illinois Commerce Commission fight hard against a court order to turn over any documents related to her case and initially refused to let agency employees be deposed.
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Robert and Jeanette Zulauf before the accident. (Family photo)
Her bewilderment narrowed significantly Friday, when ComEd stipulated in federal court documents that it had engaged in a yearslong bribery scheme as it sought legislative help for rates and other considerations.
The documents did not mention the Zulauf case, but she questions whether ComEd’s possible favored status played a role in the ICC’s hands-off approach to her husband’s death.
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“I have been trying to find answers for so long,” Jeanette Zulauf said. “I could never have imagined we would be here. It’s a different ballgame now. It’s one thing when I thought it was just an accident. Is it still an accident? If someone would have done their jobs, would this have still happened? There are just a lot of questions, and it brings out a lot of anger.”
The bribery case is expected to play a part in the wrongful death lawsuit, as attorneys for the Zulauf family say they intend to depose alleged players to determine how deep the power company’s paid-for influence runs within state government. Specifically, the legal teams want to know if the ICC’s lack of independent investigation into the electrocution and public safety risks caused by improperly installed wires had anything to do with the cozy relationship cemented by ComEd’s checkbook.
“Looking at what’s been filed recently in federal court, it begs the question: Does ComEd act this way because it believes it will not be held to account by the state agencies that are charged with its oversight? How far does ComEd’s influence with its regulatory agency go?” said attorney David Wise, who represents Jordan Zulauf. “This is a lot of the information that has been sought in this case. We’ve been stonewalled and stymied at every turn. And I think it’s about time, particularly with these federal filings coming out, that we got these answers.”
The attorneys said at a news conference Monday that they have reached out to federal prosecutors to share the information they already gleaned through their lawsuits.
ComEd agreed to pay a $200 million fine to end the federal investigation into the company. Though the company acknowledged extensive wrongdoing, the situation was completely unrelated to Robert Zulauf’s death and did not involve the Illinois Commerce Commission, a company spokesman said.
“The agreement resolves all aspects of the government’s investigation into ComEd, as outlined in the Statement of Facts, which contain no allegations related to the ICC,” spokesman Paul Elsberg said.
An ICC spokeswoman disputed suggestions that the commission placed ComEd’s interest above public safety.
“The ICC works tirelessly to ensure consumers across Illinois have access to safe, reliable and affordable utility service, and to be fair and transparent in the process,” spokeswoman Victoria Crawford said.
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A Tribune investigation last year found the Illinois Commerce Commission has done little to ensure that the politically influential power company addresses the public safety risk that resulted in Robert Zulauf death.
Zulauf, a 32-year-old cable line worker, died in November 2016 after an out-of-code guy wire — a metal line that runs diagonally from the pole to the ground to provide support — came loose and made contact with a ComEd wire. His nephew, 23-year-old Jordan Zulauf, suffered severe injuries and had to have both arms amputated.
The electrical current that shot through Robert Zulauf’s body was so strong that his hard hat flew off and he burst into flames, according to police reports. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Jordan Zulauf, who worked for his uncle, was also seriously injured by the wire. He was flown from the northern Illinois town of Sterling to Rockford, where doctors amputated his arms and he remained in a coma for several weeks.
Jordan Zulauf pulls silverware out of the kitchen drawer as his aunt Jeannette Zulauf makes lunch for her children Dylan, 9, Delanney, 12, and Donovan, 2, on Aug. 21, 2019, at their West Chicago home. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
At the time of Robert Zulauf’s death, his wife, Jeanette, was seven months pregnant with their third child. Besides her two school-age children, she would soon become the primary caretaker to a newborn and an adult nephew who had to relearn even the most basic skills.
Court records show that the ICC — the government entity charged with ensuring reliable, efficient and safe utility services to the public — did not conduct its own investigation of Robert Zulauf’s death. Instead, regulators relied on ComEd’s findings, a tightly held report in which the utility cleared itself of wrongdoing.
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ComEd engineers have acknowledged in court records that the guy wire involved in Robert Zulauf’s electrocution had been improperly installed in 1968 and remained a public safety risk for nearly 50 years until the tragedy.
The Illinois Commerce Commission did not verify whether ComEd has addressed the safety issues that led to Robert Zulauf’s death. It gave ComEd a set of orders after its review of the company’s investigation, but state law bars those documents from public inspection.
The ICC has “only their word” that ComEd complied with orders from its regulator, according to court records.
The state agency has just two engineers responsible for millions of poles. ComEd has 30 inspectors for its 1.4 million poles.
“The way ComEd has willfully ignored the maintenance of its nearly 1 million poles was simply a tragedy waiting to happen,” said attorney Bob Bingle, who represents Jordan Zulauf. “We demand that the ICC meet its obligation to properly oversee ComEd so that it does not abuse its virtual monopoly in a large portion of Illinois.”
Jeanette Zulauf questions whether the $1.32 million ComEd says it paid to associates of Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan for doing “little or no work” as part of the bribery scheme from 2011 to 2019 could have been used to hire more inspectors. Prosecutors noted the scheme began in 2011 when key regulatory matters were before the Illinois House, which Madigan controls.
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“With all the emotions I’m feeling right now, I feel suffocated,” Jeanette Zulauf said. “Anger, annoyance, frustration, sadness. I’m feeling all of that. It’s all bringing me back to those first couple of days after it happened.”
Jeanette Zulauf speaks about her husband, Robert Zulauf, on Aug. 21, 2019, at her West Chicago home. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)
Jordan, who has been forced to relearn even the most basic skills such as dressing and feeding himself, told the Tribune he had experienced only one emotion when he learned of the criminal case.
“When has the state of Illinois ever looked out for anyone else?” he asked. “I was more angry than anything else.”
Court records show ComEd blames the Zulaufs for the electric shocks, arguing that one of the men purposefully detached the guy wire and caused it to come in contact with the power line. In the same documents, the utility did not explain its reasons for believing the men tampered with the wire and has acknowledged the wire was improperly installed.
Zulauf family attorneys deny either man did it, saying they were both safety-driven contractors who wouldn’t have put their lives at risk.
“We are calling on ComEd to come clean on its behavior, where for decades it has not lived up to its responsibility to provide the safe transmission of power to the people of our state,” said attorney Stephan Blandin, who represents Jeanette Zulauf and Robert Zulauf’s estate.
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The ICC announced late Friday that it is requesting ComEd appear before the commission to discuss ethics reforms later this month. A ComEd spokesman said company executives would attend the meeting.
“To support accountability and transparency, ComEd welcomes the opportunity to appear at the ICC’s open meeting to discuss the robust actions we’re taking to aggressively identify and address deficiencies, including enhancing our compliance governance and our lobbying policies, to ensure this cannot happen again,” Elsberg said.
In touting the agency’s commitment to transparency and accountability, the ICC announcement did not mention that its chairwoman, Carrie Zalewski, is the daughter-in-law of one of the alleged players in bribery scheme.
Zalewski, an attorney and engineer, has worked for several other state agencies and was a regulator at the Illinois Pollution Control Board before being appointed to a five-year term in March 2019. She is married to state Rep. Michael J. Zalewski, D-Riverside, who is the son of former Chicago Ald. Michael R. Zalewski, who stepped down in May 2018.
The court documents allege a member of Madigan’s camp and a ComEd executive arranged for Associate 3 — a former alderman who retired in May 2018 — to be paid $5,000 a month indirectly as a subcontractor. The Tribune has identified that former alderman as Michael R. Zalewski.
An ICC spokeswoman said the chairwoman does not have a conflict of interest in overseeing ComEd regulation. Gov. J.B. Pritzker also said he has full confidence in her.
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Blandin, however, has called for her to step down following a bitter legal battle in which the ICC tried unsuccessfully battle to shield ComEd from scrutiny in the family’s wrongful death lawsuit. The state agency spent months fighting a court order to turn over documents related to an electrocution.
Blandin said he tried to call Carrie Zalewski to discuss the need for transparency during that time, but she would not return his calls. He wants the ICC to audit ComEd’s poles to determine how many improperly installed wires exist, but the commission has made no public moves toward that end.
After taking depositions of several ComEd employees, Blandin said he believes there could be thousands of guy wires that are out of code in northern Illinois.
“She has known for over a year that we have been attempting to get the documents from the ICC to find out what happened,” Blandin said. “Even though this has been in the media for a better part of a year, she hasn’t done anything. And you have to wonder why.”
Since 2009, the company has identified “a few thousand” utility poles with guy wire insulator defects or violations – representing less than .5 percent of the 1.4 million utility poles in ComEd’s service territory. The defective wires were promptly scheduled for repair, Elsberg said.
With the case set to go to trial early next year, Jeanette Zulauf is bracing herself for future revelations from federal prosecutors, who say their investigation is ongoing.
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“I don’t know what will happen next,” she said. “We’re going backwards on our grief train now and the wounds are very rough.”
Jordan Zalauf’s eyes welled with tears as he thought about the future. He doesn’t know what kind of career he can have now. He just knows he wanted the old one.
“I loved my job,” he said as his voice choked with emotion. “I wanted to work with my uncle. I just loved my job.”
sstclair@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @StacyStClair


chicagotribune--2020-07-20--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--2020-07-20--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--2020-07-20--Illinois Federation of Teachers latest to urge school districts and colleges to stick with remote le

Illinois Federation of Teachers latest to urge school districts and colleges to stick with remote learning this fall

“ There are many parents who are working who will need to be away from home during the school day @ @ @ @ @ “ We have to help them .
It ’ s not going to help them @ @ @ @ @ these congregate environments where they themselves may get sick and the parents get sick , @ @ @ @ @ is that we have good effective safe child care .
”

Goudy Technology Academy in Chicago sits empty earlier this month. The Illinois Federation of Teachers is urging schools to continue with remote learning this fall. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)
The Illinois Federation of Teachers called on school districts Monday to return to remote learning for the beginning of the school year unless in-person teaching is safe and possible.
The announcement made IFT the latest statewide educators union to endorse the continuation of virtual instruction, though the federation didn’t completely reject the idea of in-classroom learning.
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“There are some places in the state, and some school buildings, where they may be able to fashion some form of safe, in-person instruction,” IFT President Dan Montgomery said during a Monday news conference. “And if that can happen‚ that’s a good thing. But the big note for everybody is that’s an extremely rare occurrence in our experience.”
Illinois officials have released guidelines for students’ return to the classroom, which includes face coverings and social distancing “as much as possible.” It suggested staggered schedules, schoolwide cleaning and disinfection, temperature checks for people entering schools and limited gatherings.
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However, the Chicago Teachers Union, which is a member of IFT, has said Chicago Public Schools cannot reopen safely and called for the state’s largest school system to continue with virtual instruction in the fall. That conflicts with CPS’ preliminary plan to offer a hybrid of in-person, remote and live online learning.
The Illinois Federation of Teachers, whose members include the Chicago Teachers Union, says remote learning should continue this fall. Chicago Public Schools' Goudy Technology Academy in Uptown is pictured here. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)
The other 850 districts around the state have been formulating their own blueprints for the fall. Some plan to reopen schools with modified schedules, while others are sticking with remote learning or giving parents a choice.
The IFT wants all reopening plans to be negotiated with employee unions and include temperatures checks and limiting groupsto 15 students in elementary and secondary classrooms, as well as contact tracing and “special paid sick leave” for employees who are quarantined because of a positive COVID-19 test or high-risk exposure. The union is also calling for special accommodations for students and staff members with preexisting conditions that put them at risk.
Whether instruction is remote, in-person or a blend of the two, “whatever is going to be successful, it’s the people who are delivering it — those professionals need to be deciding and helping create what it’s going to look like,” Montgomery said. “Any superintendents doing what they want would be making a huge mistake, and I would hope that doesn’t happen.”
He called for younger kids and those who are most learning challenged, such as students with disabilities, to be brought in the classroom first.
The IFT also called for trauma-informed practices, a halt on evictions and foreclosures, and government support for child care for students across the state.
“There are many parents who are working who will need to be away from home during the school day,” Montgomery said. “We have to help them. It’s not going to help them to bring kids and create these congregate environments where they themselves may get sick and the parents get sick, but what can help them is that we have good effective safe child care.”
Rachel Esposito, the union president in Cicero District 99, said during Monday’s news conference that whatever precautionary measures are taken, “the reality is that there are still going to be positive cases. ... And we see it all the time, especially in a town like Cicero, this is a working-class community, we have a lot of essential workers that work in this community.”
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Pankaj Sharma, vice president of the teachers union in Niles Township High Schools District 219, added that daily interaction with students is “one of the joys of teaching.” But he added: “Unfortunately, we strongly believe because of the safety of our students, their families and our colleagues, we cannot have in-person learning at this point.”
Tawnja Trimble, president of the McHenry County College Staff Council Local 1642, noted that health questionnaires and temperature screenings do little to protect against coronavirus transmission by asymptomatic carriers.
“Additional mandates such as face coverings add another layer of concern for our members,” Trimble added. “As we have often seen, attempts to enforce these mandates often escalate quickly, and many have even ended with violence.”
Montgomery said enforcement is a concern that many teachers have on returning to school.
“If you’re in a building, and the kids come in without wearing a mask, is your superintendent, is the school board going to back us up when we say those people can’t be in the building?” Montgomery asked. “The guidance is clear. Everyone has to wear a mask. Is it going to be enforced? If it’s not enforced, we have a huge public health problem.”
The IFT represents about 100,000 teachers and other school and college employees around the state.
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Last week, another statewide school employees union, the Illinois Education Association, also urged school districts pursuing in-person instruction to meet a series of safety standards or consider remote learning.
kelsmith@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-07-20--Illinois coronavirus graphs: 7,301 deaths, 162,748 confirmed cases and 2.28 million tests

Illinois announced a 1,173 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 Mondayday , as well as 6 additional deaths .
The totals @ @ @ @ @ but so was the number of test results announced : 34,598 .

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 ]
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chicagotribune--2020-07-20--Police say attacks on officers at Grant Park protest appeared organized as more than 20 complaints f

Police say attacks on officers at Grant Park protest appeared organized as more than 20 complaints filed against cops

“ We have to stop this culture of trying to blame victims for the abuse they ’ ve dealt with @ @ @ @ @ “ There is no excuse for a grown man to use excessive force on a @ @ @ @ @ is no excuse regardless of what she said , regardless of what her stance is @ @ @ @ @ man to have hit her .
”

Katherine Rosenberg-Douglas, Jeremy Gorner, Javonte Anderson, Gregory Pratt

Chicago police released a video showing what they say are a group of protesters wielding black umbrellas and shields pelting officers with projectiles. (Chicago Tribune Handout)
Chicago police Superintendent David Brown said Monday that officers will wear full protective gear when assigned to future protests after “agitators” hijacked a protest Friday at the Christopher Columbus statue in Grant Park, injuring 49 police officers.
Brown and Belmont Area Cmdr. Daniel O’Shea also urged people to seek out “both sides” after activists at Friday night’s protest said this weekend that officers’ actions left many in the crowd injured as well.
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Among them was activist Miracle Boyd, who describes herself as a “dedicated freedom fighter,” who held a news conference Monday, saying she was hit in the face by a Chicago police officer during the skirmish in Grant Park, knocking out at least one of her teeth.
Miracle Boyd shows her teeth as she and members of GoodKids MadCity talk to media in front of the George Washington Statue in Chicago, July 20, 2020. She said she was hit in the face by a Chicago police officer during the skirmish in Grant Park, knocking out at least one of her teeth. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune)
Miracle Boyd, right, and fellow members of GoodKids MadCity, talk to the press at a George Washington Statue in Chicago on July 20, 2020. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune)
The superintendent didn’t directly address a video of that confrontation widely circulated on social media but stressed the importance of showing the clash as police saw it.
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“What began as a peaceful protest at Grant Park Friday evening devolved into a very dangerous situation in which mob action deliberately sought to injure officers, provoke retaliation and damage property. Forty-nine Chicago police officers were injured. Forty-nine,” Brown said. “Eighteen of whom were sent to area hospitals for their injuries.”
The morning police news conference began with overhead video taken by city cameras, in an effort to show that some in the crowd of thousands that had marched toward the Columbus statue in Grant Park had planned an attack on police officers. It appeared at least a dozen people used umbrellas to shield people in the crowd who changed into all black clothing; distributed frozen water bottles, rocks, and explosive devices that were thrown at officers; and used sharpened PVC pipe as a weapon, O’Shea said.
“I want to point out that we’ve had multiple protests at the statue prior to this event that were all peaceful, and we respected everyone’s First Amendment right to protest peacefully, but this was not — what you’re seeing here is obviously an ambush on police officers,” O’Shea said. “They had multiple, multiple restocking of items to throw at the police — weapons, basically.”
Brown said “criminal agitators” were responsible for the fireworks and other items thrown at officers, adding that 12 people were arrested on charges of mob action, battery to a police officer or criminal damage to property.
"If the statue was successfully toppled, likely members in that mob that would have been seriously injured or killed by the toppling of that statue," Brown said. "This cannot stand. We cannot be a city that thinks mob action of a crowd is acceptable behavior."
He said the police response to the chaotic confrontations in Grant Park diverted much-needed police resources from other parts of the city where shootings took place at the start of another violent weekend in Chicago. Tribune data show at least 71 people were shot over the weekend, 12 of them fatally.
Brown said officers now must be prepared for the possibility that any protest could turn into an attack.
“It’s a sacred right to protest in this country and we don’t want to now assume peaceful protest might turn violent,” Brown said.
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Brown said he has fielded questions about why officers weren’t wearing full protective gear as they stood near the statue, putting them immediately on the defensive when projectiles flew toward them. He said that while most protesters are peaceful, the department no longer has the luxury of assuming that those in the crowd won’t want to hurt officers.
“I have ordered all of our officers to wear any and all protective gear when protests appear. ... Because of these mob actions, we must protect our officers,” Brown said.
No permit had been issued for the march that preceded the conflict in Grant Park, Brown said, suggesting leadership was fractured. Brown also warned that those who participate in protests should be aware that this type of violent clash might be more common in the future and to be careful, particularly when bringing children to events.
“These peaceful protests have been hijacked and that’s one of the things I think people need to consider,” he said.
When asked whether the police investigation has shown that the protest organizers were working with the agitators, Brown said, saying: “God I hope not. But it sure looks like it.”
Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Monday didn’t mince words, decrying those who hurled projectiles at police as “a group of vigilantes” who came to Chicago “for a fight, not a peaceful protest.” Brown also said there was some preliminary evidence, such as out of state license plates, that suggested some might not be local.
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Lightfoot said the video played at the police news conference “shows these people before they got to the Columbus statue, kneeling down, dressing in all black, with goggles, forming a phalanx with umbrellas and with shields around them, and then pummeling the police with projectiles.
Chicago police released a video of what they said shows a group of protesters wielding black umbrellas and shields pelting officers with projectiles on July 17, 2020, in front of the Christopher Columbus statue in Grant Park. (Chicago Police Department)
“That’s not peaceful protest. That’s anarchy. We are going to put that down. We’re actively investigating and we will bring those people to justice,” she said.
Though she condemned the actions of the instigators, during the weekend Lightfoot also mentioned “several reports of excessive force by the police.” She called them “unacceptable” and said she has spoken to the director of the Civilian Office of Police Accountability, which will investigate the complaints.
On Sunday, that office said it received more than 20 complaints against Chicago police officers resulting from the protests in Grant Park.
Ephraim Eaddy, a COPA spokesman, said the complaints included allegations of excessive force, unnecessary use of chemical spray, denial of counsel and "operational violations."
“Preliminary investigative steps led to the review of widespread video shared via social media, body-worn camera, (third) party video, tactical response reports and other materials,” Eaddy said in a statement. He said these investigative steps also apply to the widely distributed video purported to show Boyd getting punched in the face by an officer.
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In her first public comments 18-year-old Boyd addressed a crowd of more than 100 people who gathered at the George Washington statue, 5531 S. King Drive at the entrance to Washington Park, to show their support for her.
“There is no way I should have left a protest bruised and battered for exercising my freedom of speech and freedom to assemble,” said Boyd, whose event took place at the same time as the police news conference.
Boyd was joined by GoodKids MadCity co-founder Taylore Norwood, who said she was there to speak out against another instance of police brutality. The group is an anti-violence organization with which Boyd has volunteered that focuses on violence prevention in neighborhoods where its members live and has been raising money for people struggling during the coronavirus pandemic.
Her dedicated activism led state Sen. Robert Peters to offer Boyd an internship last week, Peters said at the news conference.
This weekend the group shared a photo of Boyd on social media that shows the teen with a cut lip and missing teeth.
“There is no reason that Miracle should have left a peaceful protest with her teeth missing, traumatized mentally, emotionally and scarred by CPD,” Norwood said.
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Throughout the hourlong event, the crowd showed support for Boyd, who stepped to the microphones to chants of “We love you.” An emotional Boyd started crying during her remarks as she discussed the backlash she has suffered since Friday.
"My life has been threatened, I have received several hate messages and racist messages," she said.
"I will not allow the public to tear me down and humiliate me. I am not a menace, a hood rat, nor a rebel. But a dedicated freedom fighter."
The crowd became boisterous after reporters asked questions about a video showing Boyd berating police officers, including as they apprehended a protester Friday.
“What this officer did was target Miracle because she was expressing her opinion about the police department with lethal force,” Sheila Bedi, an attorney representing Boyd said.
Upset with the questions, Norwood grabbed a megaphone and addressed the media.
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“We have to stop this culture of trying to blame victims for the abuse they’ve dealt with,” she said. “There is no excuse for a grown man to use excessive force on a 5-foot tall woman. There is no excuse regardless of what she said, regardless of what her stance is on CPD, for that man to have hit her.”
The Chicago Tribune’s Claire Hao and Madeline Buckley contributed.
kdouglas@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @312BreakingNews


chicagotribune--2020-07-20--Retired Cook County sheriff’s deputy charged with sexual abuse, possession of child pornography in W

Retired Cook County sheriff’s deputy charged with sexual abuse, possession of child pornography in Wilmette

While in the car , Pradun showed the girls an explicit photo of himself on his phone , prosecutors said @ @ @ @ @ of the girls , he pulled his car over , and asked the girl he @ @ @ @ @ he could trust her , and then proceeded to sexually abuse her , prosecutors said @

A retired sergeant in the Cook County sheriff’s office has been charged with sex abuse and other crimes involving children, authorities said Monday.
John P. Pradun, 62, of Wilmette, was charged with two counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse, indecent solicitation of a child, grooming, harmful material, possession of child pornography and possession of a controlled substance, said Wilmette Deputy Police Chief Patrick Collins.
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Wilmette police began investigating Pradun earlier this month after receiving a report of a possible sexual abuse involving a minor, Collins said.
During the investigation, Wilmette police obtained evidence that Pradun had allegedly committed sex offenses against two minors in the last month, including showing a nude digital photograph of himself and supplying alcohol and drugs to minors, police said.
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According to court records, prosecutors allege the female victims, ages 15 and 14, went to Pradun’s home frequently for parties there with other girls, parties in which alcohol was made available for minors.
Pradun was aware of the parties and would offer the girls alcohol, marijuana, cigarettes and Xanax, according to prosecutors.
The girls who attended the parties were aware that he was a retired law enforcement officer and they referred to him by the nickname “Po-Po,” according to prosecutors.
After one of the parties earlier this month, Pradun was driving a group of minors to a second location to drop them off for the remainder of the night, according to prosecutors.
John P. Pradun, 62, a former Cook County sheriff's office deputy, was charged with multiple counts of child sex abuse. (Wilmette police)
While in the car, Pradun showed the girls an explicit photo of himself on his phone, prosecutors said. After dropping off two of the girls, he pulled his car over, and asked the girl he was left alone with if he could trust her, and then proceeded to sexually abuse her, prosecutors said.
According to court records, the incident came to the attention of law enforcement when the father of another girl who attended the same high school as the victim overheard his own daughter and her friends discussing the matter.
After Wilmette police launched their investigation, another family with a child at the same high school came forward indicating their own 14-year-old daughter had been assaulted by the Pradun at his home, prosecutors said.
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On July 17, Wilmette police arrested Pradun at his home after detectives executed search warrants and recovered controlled substances — Xanax and Alprazolam — and evidence of child pornography on an electronic storage device belonging to Pradun, prosecutors said.
Pardun has no prior criminal background, authorities said.
Pradun retired in November 2019 as a sergeant for the Cook County sheriff’s office, where he had served since June 1993, according to a spokesperson.
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A Cook County judge set Pradun’s bond at $150,000 and he is expected to appear Tuesday at the Skokie courthouse.
Wilmette police are asking that anyone with information to contact Detective Sgt. Gehrken at 847-853-7546.
kcullotta@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @kcullotta


chicagotribune--2020-07-20--‘That’s worse than any war zone that we’re in by a lot.’ When Trump talks about Chicago, we track it

‘That’s worse than any war zone that we’re in by a lot.’ When Trump talks about Chicago, we track it.

Since becoming president Trump has returned the theme frequently bashing the city in Tweets and interviews .
It ’ s @ @ @ @ @ .
In a 2016 interview with Fox ’ s Sean Hannity Trump said : “ @ @ @ @ @ have big investments in Chicago , and I think it ’ s a great city @ @

Chicago and its violence have been a frequent subject of President Donald Trump’s attention. It was a common campaign thread Trump used to hammer Hillary Clinton, President Barack Obama and now Joe Biden.
Since becoming president Trump has returned the theme frequently bashing the city in Tweets and interviews. It’s not all vinegar, though. In a 2016 interview with Fox’s Sean Hannity Trump said: “I love Chicago. I have big investments in Chicago, and I think it’s a great city.”
Here are Trump’s mentions of Chicago — and the state of Illinois — with annotations where appropriate.


chicagotribune--2020-07-20--On reopening day at Field Museum, members find new procedures and some very old friends

“ Almost everywhere you turn , there is a hand sanitizer station , ” he said , auto-dispensing and therefore @ @ @ @ @ the new procedures .
Interactive touch-screen maps for instance , have been turned into static @ @ @ @ @ advance tickets online is recommended , and the new hours include being closed Tuesdays and @ @ @ @ @ grab-and-go food at the Field Bistro on the main floor , but you won ’ @ @ @ @ @ coats or bags , and some smaller galleries remain closed for safe distancing reasons .

Field Museum's Luciana Brown, guides members at the east entrance of the museum, the only entrance for now, July 17, 2020. (Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune)
In its time on Earth, Sue has faced challenges: maintaining status as an apex predator; suffering the injuries paleontologists have diagnosed from its bones; getting layered over by sediment, fossilizing and then being encased in rock for tens of millions of years.
The latest hurdle in the path of the world’s top T. rex specimen was an inability to be before its public because of a new kind of virus that hit humanity in late winter.
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Sue’s forced isolation began to change Friday as its home, Chicago’s Field Museum of Natural History, reopened after COVID-19 closure.
And the good news for the animal whose likeness is huge on gift-shop T-shirts — and now available on $9.99 gift-shop masks — is that the popularity of Sue (whose gender is unknown) does not seem to have waned.
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In a survey of a handful of guest groups attending Reopening Day, all mentioned Sue as the Field attraction they were eager to see again.
“He loves dinosaurs and he’s been asking about seeing Sue,” South Loop resident Cathay Lancaster said of her 4-year-old son Henry, as they prepared to enter the museum’s East doors, the only ones currently open.
It was the same for Katie Aliaga of Oak Park, a med student who became a member partly to be able to attend this week -- the museum opens to the general public on the 24th — and who brought her two younger siblings.
“He wants to see Sue,” she said, pointing to her brother.
For some of the guests on hand, visiting the Field was the first outside-the-home indoor thing they’ve done that didn’t involve such essentials as grocery shopping. And the good news is that the museum’s cavernous, central Stanley Field Hall, populated by as many guest ambassadors as actual guests early Friday, felt like it could handle social distancing for species much larger than our own.
If, say, the famed fighting African elephants on display there wanted to separate a bit out of caution and concern for one another, there was room. There was probably even space to put another titanosaur skeleton at a safe remove in the hall’s opposite corner.
Having non-employee humans on hand was a huge relief to Jacob Shuler, the Field’s guest relations manager.
“It’s been sort of like a ghost town” the past couple of weeks as employees have returned to the building to prepare for reopening, he said. “It feels really good to have people back in this building.”
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It will, of course, be a number of people limited to 25 percent of ordinary capacity by the city’s safe reopening rules. All those people must be wearing facial masks, and they’ll be able to cleanse their hands almost obsessively.
“Almost everywhere you turn, there is a hand sanitizer station,” he said, auto-dispensing and therefore contactless like everything else in the new procedures. Interactive touch-screen maps for instance, have been turned into static, wide-perspective maps. Buying advance tickets online is recommended, and the new hours include being closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays. You can buy grab-and-go food at the Field Bistro on the main floor, but you won’t be able to check coats or bags, and some smaller galleries remain closed for safe distancing reasons.
Like almost all Chicago cultural institutions, the Field closed in mid-March, days ahead of city and state orders, in order to help prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus. Like almost all of them it has laid off and furloughed staff, citing the massive financial hit of losing all spring and an unknown amount of future attendance revenue going forward.
And like most, it is tentatively reopening now that the city and state are in Phase 4 of their five-stage reopening plans. The MCA and Art Institute will follow on July 24 and 30, respectively.
How much revenue that will bring is an open question, but it certainly wasn’t bumming visitors out to be doing something that felt at least a bit like the before times.
“I figured it would be a nice alternative to sitting in the house all day,” said member Lynn Phlaum, interviewed outside the museum’s “Ancient Americas” exhibit.
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“And I love the opportunity to see it without a lot of people here,” she added.
Outside, by the southeast corner of the museum’s massive wedding cake of a building, one economic measure suggested there is value in reopening. The Kim and Carlo’s Chicago Style Hot Dogs booth has been doing surprisingly well since its two Museum Campus locations reopened late last month, said worker Maria Cruz.
“We actually are having foot traffic with the Shedd reopening,” she said, referring to the nearby aquarium that began having the general public back in July 3.
The Field’s outdoor areas are newly worth spending time in, and not just because science believes outside is safer than in for limiting coronavirus transmission. Newly planted is a riotous prairie garden on the museum’s northwest terrace and adjacent patio area, matching and even surpassing the similar gardens already on the other side of the north front steps. Animals at the Field are typically frozen in time by taxidermists, but these gardens are teeming with bees, butterflies and vivid flowers.
Back inside, guest services head Shuler said he is especially excited that people will be able to see “Apsáalooke Women and Warriors,” a groundbreaking special exhibition that had a run of exactly one day before the museum closed. That day, Shuler noted drily, was Friday the 13th (of March).
“It’s already my favorite exhibition since I’ve been here,” said Shuler, who bought the official exhibition book when the museum closed because he wanted to spend more time with its story.
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But now the vibrant look at the Native American plains people more commonly known as the Crow — and the museum’s first major exhibition curated by a Native American scholar — is ready again to tell its tale of the Apsáalooke in history and today and with a particular emphasis on female roles.
“It’s so nice,” said Chicagoan Gloria Nardini, a member who brought her Elmhurst grandsons Leo and Enzo Nardini. “I love the emphasis on women. And I like the fact that I didn’t know about this — and I’m a PhD with an emphasis on anthropology.”
Still, as compelling and innovative as the new exhibition is, it’s hard to outshine celebrity.
Aaron Knight brought his wife and two teenage kids on reopening day with the membership the family has maintained even since moving to Pennsylvania, he said.
“We wanted to see Sue,” said Knight. “Sue’s always the star.”
sajohnson@chicagotribune.com
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Twitter @StevenKJohnson


chicagotribune--2020-07-20--Hazel Crest man charged with aggravated DUI in fatal I-94 crash

The crash was reported at 3:53 a.m. after the driver of a red Chevrolet Camaro failed to reduce his speed @ @ @ @ @ Ford Crown Victoria that burst into flames on impact , Illinois State Police said in @ @ @

A Hazel Crest man has been charged in the death of a driver whose car he struck early Friday morning on Interstate 94 South at 73rd Street, state police said.
The crash was reported at 3:53 a.m. after the driver of a red Chevrolet Camaro failed to reduce his speed and slammed into a black Ford Crown Victoria that burst into flames on impact, Illinois State Police said in a statement.
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The Crown Victoria’s driver died at the scene, police said. Their identity has not been released.
The Camaro’s driver, identified as 47-year-old Daryl L. Garrett, was taken to a local hospital, state police said.
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Neither vehicle had any passengers, a state police spokeswoman said.
Garrett was charged the following day with one count of aggravated driving under the influence resulting in death, a Class 2 felony that carries a sentence of three to 14 years in prison.
Police did not immediately release what evidence led them to charge Garrett, whose bond was set at $50,000.
He posted bond Sunday and was released from custody, police said.
zkoeske@tribpub.com
Twitter @ZakKoeske


chicagotribune--2020-07-20--Protesters and Chicago police clash in front of the Christopher Columbus statue in Grant Park

Chicago police released a video showing what they say are a group of protesters wielding black umbrellas and shields pelting @ @ @ @

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chicagotribune--2020-07-20--Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot decries group of protesters at Columbus statue in Grant Park on Friday:

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot decries group of protesters at Columbus statue in Grant Park on Friday: ‘That’s not peaceful protest. That’s anarchy.'

`` Frozen water bottles , cans , other projectiles .
There were a number of police officers that were injured @ @ @ @ @ , '' Lightfoot said .
`` That 's not peaceful protest .
That 's anarchy @ @ @ @ @ put that down .
We 're actively investigating and we will bring those people to @ @ @

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 blamed a group of protesters she said wielded black umbrellas and shields as they pelted Chicago police officers for inciting “anarchy” at the statue of Christopher Columbus in Grant Park on Friday.
Lightfoot said the clash between protesters and officers happened because "a group of vigilantes" came to Chicago "for a fight, not a peaceful protest."
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She said Chicago police Superintendent David Brown would be showing video “that shows these people before they got to the Columbus statue, kneeling down, dressing in all black, with goggles, forming a phalanx with umbrellas and with shields around them, and then pummeling the police with projectiles.
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Chicago police released a video showing what they say are a group of protesters wielding black umbrellas and shields pelting officers with projectiles. (Chicago Tribune Handout)
"Frozen water bottles, cans, other projectiles. There were a number of police officers that were injured as a result of that," Lightfoot said. "That's not peaceful protest. That's anarchy. We are going to put that down. We're actively investigating and we will bring those people to justice."
Lightfoot also said she isn't happy with officers who may have mistreated protesters or reporters.
Chicago's statues of Columbus have become a heated controversy for Lightfoot, who has rejected calls to bring down monuments honoring Columbus.
She has also rejected calls to rename the Columbus Day holiday.
gpratt@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @royalpratt


chicagotribune--2020-07-20--Column: Push to turn Muddy Waters’ house into museum gets boost with grant

Waters owned and lived in the red brick 1889 house , located at 4339 S. Lake Park Ave. , in @ @ @ @ @ neighborhood , from 1954 until he moved to Westmont two decades later , according to @ @ @ @ @ He and other musicians held jam sessions in the basement .

The National Trust for Historic Preservation provided a grant last week to help restore the Muddy Waters House in the North Kenwood neighborhood of Chicago. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)
Plans to restore the house of Chicago blues icon Muddy Waters and turn it into a museum got a boost last week when the National Trust for Historic Preservation announced grants for projects that preserve African American history.
The $50,000 grant was one of 27, totaling more than $1.6 million, that the Washington, D.C.-based organization made through its African American Cultural Heritage Action fund.
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The grant was awarded to the Muddy Waters MOJO Museum, which is raising funds to turn the house into a museum and recording studio.
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While the amount is relatively small, museum leaders hope it will lead to further donations.
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“It makes us legitimate and also helps get out the word about the project,” Amy Dean, the museum’s interim executive director, said Monday.
Waters owned and lived in the red brick 1889 house, located at 4339 S. Lake Park Ave., in Chicago’s North Kenwood neighborhood, from 1954 until he moved to Westmont two decades later, according to published accounts and interviews. He and other musicians held jam sessions in the basement.
In 2013, the city issued a warning letter to the house’s owner after an inspection found the property to be unsafe. That same year, the advocacy group Landmarks Illinois placed the house on its list of the state’s most endangered places.
“The house needs roof replacement and stabilization, and the grant will enable the museum to make those critical repairs,” the trust said in a news release.
Blair Kamin is a Tribune critic.
bkamin@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @BlairKamin


chicagotribune--2020-07-20--Frank Lloyd Wright cottage to be moved

Frank Lloyd Wright cottage to be moved

Treja Kelley had been hesitant to come forward after witnessing the murder of her 17-year-old cousin .
But she found @ @ @ @ @ stand last year and helped secure a guilty verdict .
Her testimony , though , @ @ @ @ @ head , prosecutors said .
Just a few months after testifying , Kelley was shot @ @ @ @ @ not far from where her cousin had been slain .
She was 18 and pregnant @

Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 15
People watch as the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Booth Cottage is moved to its new location in Glencoe on July 21, 2020. The house is being wheeled on dollies from its current spot, 239 Franklin Road, to a new one, a park down the street at the intersection of Franklin, Meadow and Maple Hill roads. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)


chicagotribune--2020-07-20--Column: Frank Lloyd Wright-designed cottage in Glencoe, once threatened with demolition, will be whe

Column: Frank Lloyd Wright-designed cottage in Glencoe, once threatened with demolition, will be wheeled to new location Tuesday

According to the historical society , after movers will lift the structure onto the dollies , they ’ ll alongside @ @ @ @ @ down the street .
They will adjust the wheels to keep the structure level and @ @ @ @ @ said in a news release .

People watch as the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Booth Cottage is moved to its new location in Glencoe on July 21, 2020. The house is being wheeled on dollies from its current spot, 239 Franklin Road, to a new one, a park down the street at the intersection of Franklin, Meadow and Maple Hill roads. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)
It’s a small victory for Frank Lloyd Wright fans, but a victory nonetheless: A Wright-designed cottage, previously threatened with demolition, will be moved — wheeled, actually — to a new location Tuesday in north suburban Glencoe.
The one-story, three-bedroom cottage was built in 1913 as a temporary home for Wright’s lawyer, Sherman Booth. Booth developed a cluster of Wright houses, including one for himself, in the Ravine Bluffs section of Glencoe.
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Currently on a large lot at 239 Franklin Road, the cottage will be loaded onto multi-wheeled dollies and moved down the street to a small park east of Green Bay Road. The park, just south of Ravine Bluffs, is at the intersection of Franklin, Meadow and Maple Hill roads.
The building’s new owners, the nonprofit Glencoe Historical Society, plan to restore the cottage’s exterior and eventually convert its interior into a museum and research center.
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While the cottage lacks the grandeur of the Robie House in Chicago and other Wright masterpieces, historic preservationists say it anticipates the middle-class Usonian houses Wright designed from the 1930s to his death in 1959.
The cottage also helps tell the story of Ravine Bluffs, which contains several impressive Wright-designed houses; a replica of a bridge designed by Wright that spans a ravine; and geometric gateway markers to the development, also by the architect.
The move, scheduled for 8 a.m., is expected to draw spectators. Village officials and the historical society request that onlookers wear masks and practice social distancing.
The coronavirus crisis delayed the issuance of permits for the move.
“It just took a little longer than expected. We thought we might have been able to do it by April or May,” Ellen Shubart, a member of the society, said Monday.
The cottage attracted national attention last year when new owners, including Jean Jingnan Yang of Riverwoods, applied for a demolition permit. The structure would have been the first Wright house to be torn down since a 2004 demolition in Grand Beach, Michigan.
The home’s honorary landmark status triggered a 180-day demolition delay period . It also gave village officials time to conduct discussions with the new owners, who wound up donating the house to the historical society, Shubart said.
Chicago Tribune Opinion Weekdays Read the latest editorials and commentary curated by the Tribune Opinion team. By submitting your email to receive this newsletter, you agree to our Subscriber Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy >
The society negotiated a long-term lease with the Glencoe Park District to relocate the cottage to the new site.
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In advance of the move, recent additions to the house were removed, a step toward restoring its original design.
According to the historical society, after movers will lift the structure onto the dollies, they’ll alongside the cottage as it moves down the street. They will adjust the wheels to keep the structure level and change directions, the society said in a news release.
Blair Kamin is a Tribune critic.
bkamin@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @BlairKamin


chicagotribune--2020-07-20--Federal agents deployed in Portland unrest


chicagotribune--2020-07-20--Waukegan man found fatally wounded in Zion

When they arrived , officers performed CPR and an ambulance transported him to Vista Medical Center East in Waukegan , @ @ @ @ @ at 5:37 a.m. , according to the release .

A 23-year-old Waukegan man, found on a Zion street with a puncture wound to the chest, died at a hospital shortly after he was transported early Monday.
According to a statement from the Zion Police Department, dispatchers received a call at 5:01 a.m. Monday about a man laying in the street, not breathing, in the 2600 block of Gilboa Avenue.
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When they arrived, officers performed CPR and an ambulance transported him to Vista Medical Center East in Waukegan, where he was pronounced dead at 5:37 a.m., according to the release.
The identity of the man was not immediately released by authorities pending family notification by the Lake County Coroner’s Office.
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Zion police are conducting the investigation into the incident with assistance from the Lake County Major Crime Task Force.
Anyone with information regarding the case is urged to call the Zion Police Department at 847-872-8000 or Lake County Crime Stoppers at 847-662-2222.


chicagotribune--2020-07-20--Columbus statue in Grant Park targeted

Columbus statue in Grant Park targeted


chicagotribune--2020-07-20--Chicago Heights police fatally shoot 24-year-old man they say fired on officers

The pursuit started at about 9:30 p.m. after members of the department ’ s crime suppression unit who were conducting @ @ @ @ @ the 1600 block of 5th Avenue observed several people standing near a dark SUV in @ @ @ @ @ , Rogers said .

Chicago Heights police officers came under fire during a foot chase with a narcotics suspect Saturday night and returned fire, killing the man, police Chief Thomas Rogers said.
The pursuit started at about 9:30 p.m. after members of the department’s crime suppression unit who were conducting a street narcotics investigation in the 1600 block of 5th Avenue observed several people standing near a dark SUV in the middle of the block, Rogers said.
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Officers chased after four people running away from the SUV and heading west through the gangways of houses in the direction of Portland Avenue, he said.
Police spotted one of the people armed with a handgun and standing in a grass field next to the fence line just north of 1624 Portland Ave., Rogers said.
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He said officers ordered the man to drop his weapon multiple times, but that the man instead began shooting at the officers.
Multiple officers returned fire, striking the man multiple times, Rogers said.
He was taken to an area hospital, where he was pronounced dead a short time later.
Police identified him as a 24-year-old Calumet City man, but his name is being withheld pending the notification of family.
The Illinois State Police Public Integrity Task Force is investigating the shooting, as is protocol when police use deadly force against a civilian.
A state police spokeswoman confirmed they were investigating the police shooting but said they could not release any further information.
Rogers said none of his officers were injured in the shooting, but that multiple officers who were involved had been placed on administrative leave, as is department policy.
zkoeske@tribpub.com
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Twitter @ZakKoeske


chicagotribune--2020-07-20--5 people shot, 2 fatally, in Morgan Park attack, police say

A 26-year-old man was shot multiple times in the head and body , police said .
He was taken to @ @ @ @ @ critical condition and died soon after .
He later was identified as Devonte Merrill of @ @ @ @ @ to the Cook County medical examiner ’ s office .

Five people were shot, two fatally, around 11:50 p.m. July 19, 2020, in the 11300 block of South Carpenter Street in the Morgan Park neighborhood, according to Chicago police.
Two people were killed and three others injured in a shooting Sunday night on the Far South Side, according to Chicago police.
About 11:50 p.m., a group of people was on the street in the 11300 block of South Carpenter Street in the Morgan Park neighborhood when someone began firing shots toward them, police said.
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A 26-year-old man was shot multiple times in the head and body, police said. He was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in critical condition and died soon after. He later was identified as Devonte Merrill of Country Club Hills, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.
A 41-year-old man was shot in the back of the head and taken to Roseland Community Hospital in critical condition, police said. He was later pronounced dead.
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A 26-year-old man was shot in the head and taken to Christ Medical Center in critical condition, police said.
A 37-year-old man was shot in the lower left leg and taken to Roseland Community Hospital in good condition, police said.
A 48-year-old man was shot in the left side and taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center in critical condition, police said.
A neighbor, who asked not to be named, said at the scene that he called police about 30 minutes before the shooting because of a party and loud music.
The call taker said a squad car would come out to the area, but the music continued until the neighbor heard at least 12 shots come from the same place, the neighbor said.
He called 911 again. While on the phone, he heard another six shots and women screaming.
The scene early Monday stretched across 113th Place. At least 33 evidence markers were placed in the intersection of 113th and Carpenter, and 15 more were placed east of the intersection. A small puddle of blood and an upside-down hat lay on the street.
Neighbors stood around the scene. Many said the shots woke them up, but they hadn’t seen what happened.
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A man walked up to the scene soon after the shooting and asked police officers if he could just take the hat and said he was related to the victim.
“The hat. I just want the hat,” he said. The officers said he couldn’t take it, saying the scene had to be processed and the hat would likely be taken into evidence.
As detectives and evidence technicians continued working the scene and neighbors went back inside, a car with two men inside drove up to them. One of the men had a gunshot wound to the arm, a law enforcement source said.
The man was shot in the right forearm in a separate attack around 3:35 a.m. in the 11700 block of South Loomis Street in the West Pullman neighborhood, police later said. He was taken to Christ Medical Center in good condition.
No arrests had been made in either shooting.
pfry@chicagotribune.com
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Twitter @paigexfry


chicagotribune--2020-07-20--Chicago man killed, 2 others shot at party on 10-acre property in Crete Township owned by family ser

Chicago man killed, 2 others shot at party on 10-acre property in Crete Township owned by family service agency

“ This investigation is going to take some time due to the fact of the potential amount of people that @ @ @ @ @ to how large of a gathering it was , ” Jungles said .
“ The @ @ @ @ @ to thus far have not been very cooperative , but we definitely have some leads @ @ @ @ @ ”

When the first Will County sheriff’s deputy pulled up outside a house on the sprawling 10-acre property of a family service center in unincorporated Crete Township where a disturbance was reported Friday night, he heard gunshots and saw flashes of gunfire as a shooter fired into the residence.
A large group of people congregating outside the home in the 25000 block of Stoney Island Avenue scattered, while others began to fight each other, according to a sheriff’s office news release.
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“The entire scene was mass chaos,” said Dan Jungles, a deputy chief with the Will County Sheriff’s Office.
Police estimated that as many as 200 people, nearly all of whom did not live in the area, were at the home for a woman’s birthday party.
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The deputy who witnessed shots being fired called for backup and as law enforcement gained control of the scene, they found two people in the home had been shot.
One of the victims, a Chicago man later identified as DeAngelo Young, 23, was pronounced dead at an area hospital, officials said.
The other, a 28-year-old man who’d been shot in the chest, was rushed to a hospital and was listed in critical condition. He was expected to undergo surgery Monday, Jungles said.
A third shooting victim, age 29, turned up at a local hospital where his condition was stabilized. He remained hospitalized Monday with gunshot wounds to his lower extremities, sheriff’s office spokeswoman Kathy Hoffmeyer said.
Jungles said the shooting stemmed from a dispute between two women that escalated.
He said police were not yet sure how many people fired shots, but that authorities recovered one firearm and more than a dozen shell casings of different calibers, indicating that there were multiple gunmen.
Detectives have interviewed several witnesses, but have not identified any suspects nor placed anyone in custody, Jungles said.
The witnesses interviewed to date, including one of the victims, have not been cooperative, Hoffmeyer said.
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“This investigation is going to take some time due to the fact of the potential amount of people that need to be interviewed due to how large of a gathering it was,” Jungles said. “The people we’ve spoken to thus far have not been very cooperative, but we definitely have some leads to follow up on.”
The property where the shooting occurred is owned by a nonprofit family service center, records show.
The APOH Family Service Center describes itself in tax filings as a provider of neighborhood housing assistance programs for low-income single female parents, including day care services.
According to its website, the organization is also known as Donna’s House, A Place of Hope (APOH) Christian Ministries, and runs a day camp for youth.
“We are a Christian-based program,” the Donna’s House website states. “We teach traditional ethics and morals and remind children how important the values of honesty, respect, teamwork, and accountability are to their success.”
Donna Richardson, the nonprofit’s president, answered a reporter’s call Monday, but said she could not speak until later because she had deputies on the other line.
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Jungles said Richardson had been at the multibuilding property on the night of the shooting, but was not in the home when it occurred.
He said she told detectives she did not know the person who organized the party, but that she has permitted people to use her Crete property for parties in the past.
“The property owner told us that she does not advertise the place for parties, it’s just kind of word of mouth,” Jungles said. “And generally, parties are catered toward at-risk youth looking to escape the city of Chicago for a more quiet party.”
He said the location was known to the sheriff’s office as a party spot and that deputies had responded there in the past for complaints about party buses blocking the roadway and to at least one other incident where shots were reportedly fired.
Richardson has not been cited at this point, but may be at a later date, the sheriff’s office said
Police ask anyone with information regarding the homicide investigation to contact detective Daryl Morse at 815-727-8574, Ext. 4947.
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Tips also can be left online anonymously at www.willcosheriff.org/enforcement/submit-a-crime-tip or by calling Will County Crime Stoppers at 800-323-6734.
zkoeske@tribpub.com
Twitter @ZakKoeske


chicagotribune--2020-07-19--Coronavirus in Illinois updates: Here’s what happened July 18-19 with COVID-19 in the Chicago area

COVID-19 patients may be at risk of developing the neuroimmune condition ME/CFS that depletes one ’ s energy .
ME/CFS @ @ @ @ @ of those affected unable to work and 25 % homebound or bedridden , impacts 15 @ @ @ @ @ worldwide , and symptoms may be triggered by an infection , according to the National @ @ @ @ @ Anthony Fauci , director of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases , says @ @ @ @ @ showing symptoms that resemble those seen in ME/CFS patients .

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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)
Illinois reported 965 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Sunday, bringing the state’s total case number to 161,575.
State health officials also said six more people have died after contracting the virus. So far, 7,295 people have died in Illinois.
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The state also reported 32,113 new COVID-19 tests in a span of 24 hours, a day after setting a record with 46,099 tests.
On Friday, suburban Cook County announced it was joining the city of Chicago in requiring people coming to Illinois from states with high rates of COVID-19 infection to quarantine upon arrival for 14 days.
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That news came after Chicago Public Schools released a much-anticipated blueprint for fall instruction, saying it plans to adopt a hybrid-learning model that will bring most students back for two-consecutive days of in-person learning on a rotating basis if public health officials say it can be done safely.
CPS says it will solicit feedback from parents in five virtual meetings through the end of July, with sessions held in English and Spanish, and parents can also their reactions in a new survey launched by the district. The district will share the final plan in early August.
[ Illinois’ new COVID-19 plan: How the state will manage any outbreaks in 3 charts ]
[ COVID-19 cases in Illinois by ZIP code: Search for your neighborhood ]
[ Schools reopening tracker: What suburban Chicago districts are planning for the fall ]
[ 20 questions about assessing your COVID-19 risk at restaurants, gyms and more ]
Here’s what’s happening this weekend regarding COVID-19 in the Chicago area and Illinois:
1:50 p.m.: Craving some Chicago baseball? Here’s how to watch Cubs and White Sox exhibition games.
After a renewed spring training limited to intrasquad games so far due to the coronavirus, the Cubs and White Sox are scheduled to play exhibition games against each other at 7:05 p.m. Sunday at Wrigley Field and at 7:10 p.m. Monday at Guaranteed Rate Field.
On Wednesday night, the Cubs host the Minnesota Twins at 6:05 and the Sox welcome the Milwaukee Brewers at 7:10 as a prelude to season openers Friday. Here’s how to watch. —Phil Rosenthal
1:45 p.m.: Trump calls Dr. Anthony Fauci an ‘alarmist’ about COVID-19
President Donald Trump, in a wide-ranging interview with Chris Wallace on Fox News, described the nation’s top infectious diseases expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, as a “a little bit of an alarmist” about the coronavirus pandemic.
Trump stuck to what he had said back in February — that the virus is “going to disappear.” On Fox, he said, “I’ll be right eventually.” The United States tops the global death toll list with over 140,000 and confirmed infections, with 3.7 million.
Questioned about the coronavirus, Trump chided Fauci, the National Institutes of Health expert, and repeated false claims that anybody could get a test and that increased testing was the only reason that the U.S. was seeing more cases. When Wallace cited criticism about the lack of a national plan to confront the virus, Trump said, “I take responsibility always for everything because it’s ultimately my job, too,” and claimed, “I supplied everybody.”
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Case are rising because people are infecting each other more than they were when most everyone was hunkered down. The percentage of tests coming back positive for the virus has been on the rise across nearly the entire country. Read more here. —The Associated Press
10:30 a.m.: How will the first COVID-19 vaccine impact women? ‘This leaves a big question mark.’
When it finally arrives, will a COVID-19 vaccine work the same for women as for men? What about for women who are pregnant or going through menopause?
We might not know. And that’s no surprise to Nicole Woitowich, associate director for the Women’s Health Research Institute at Northwestern University. Woitowich recently finished a 10-year review examining whether medical studies included male and female subjects, and if data was analyzed by sex. She found that although more studies included both sexes, there was no improvement on breaking down results among males and females. This matters because without analyzing results by sex, she said, it’s hard to assess whether men and women react differently to treatment.
When Woitowich read about the potentially promising COVID-19 vaccine trial results in the U.S. last week, she saw that men and women took part, but was disappointed that it did not mention if the data was analyzed by sex.
“I was incredibly frustrated,” she said.
Woitowich said that although the study did not show a results breakdown by sex, it doesn’t mean that analysis isn’t happening, but if it is, it’s not mentioned. Even this is concerning, she said, because sex should be a consideration in a vaccine made for everyone.
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“If we are developing a vaccine that is going to be implemented on a global scale, we need to know if that vaccine is going to be safe for both men and women, and effective for both men and women,” she said. “This leaves a big question mark.” Read more here. —Alison Bowen
Saturday
7:35 p.m.: Mistrust of a coronavirus vaccine could imperil widespread immunity
Almost daily, President Donald Trump and leaders worldwide say they are racing to develop a coronavirus vaccine, in perhaps the most urgent mission in the history of medical science. But the repeated assurances of near-miraculous speed are exacerbating a problem that has largely been overlooked and one that public health experts say must be addressed now: persuading people to actually get the shot.
A growing number of polls find so many people saying they would not get a coronavirus vaccine that its potential to shut down the pandemic could be in jeopardy. Distrust of it is particularly pronounced in African American communities, which have been disproportionately devastated by the virus. But even many staunch supporters of immunization say they are wary of this vaccine.
Read more here. —The New York Times
6:25 p.m.: Patients lying in hallways, nurses working extra shifts: As coronavirus surges in some US states, emergency rooms are being swamped
A fast-rising tide of new coronavirus cases is flooding emergency rooms in parts of the United States, with some patients moved into hallways and nurses working extra shifts to keep up with the surge.
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Patients struggling to breathe are being placed on ventilators in emergency wards since intensive care units are full, officials say, and the near-constant care they require is overtaxing workers who also are treating more typical ER cases like chest pains, infections, and fractures.
In Texas, Dr. Alison Haddock of the Baylor College of Medicine said the current situation is worse than after Hurricane Harvey, which swamped Houston with floodwaters in 2017. The state reported a new daily record for virus deaths Friday and more than 10,000 confirmed cases for the fourth consecutive day.
“I’ve never seen anything like this COVID surge,” said Haddock, who has worked in emergency rooms since 2007. “We’re doing our best, but we’re not an ICU.”
Read more here. —Associated Press
6:20 p.m.: Older children spread the coronavirus just as much as adults, study finds
In the heated debate over reopening schools, one burning question has been whether and how efficiently children can spread the virus to others.
A large new study from South Korea offers an answer: Children younger than age 10 transmit to others much less often than adults do, but the risk is not zero. And those between the ages of 10-19 can spread the virus at least as well as adults do.
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The findings suggest that as schools reopen, communities will see clusters of infection take root that include children of all ages, several experts cautioned.
Read more here. —The New York Times
2:35 p.m.: Illinois COVID-19 cases surpass 160,000; state sets one-day record for number of tests
Illinois reported 1,276 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Saturday, bringing the state’s total case number to 160,610.
State health officials also said 18 more people have died after contracting the virus. So far, 7,290 people in 102 counties have died in Illinois.
The state also set a record on Saturday for COVID-19 tests reported in a span of 24 hours, with 46,099 tests completed, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health. It was the third consecutive day with more than 40,000 tests conducted.
Two male teenagers were among the 18 who died on Saturday, officials said.
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On Friday, the state reported 1,384 new cases and 22 deaths.
—Madeline Buckley
Saturday 10:35 a.m.: Normal life still far away: Coronavirus numbers continue marching up in United States, around the world
South Africa was poised Saturday to join the top five countries most affected by the coronavirus pandemic, while breathtaking infection numbers around the world were a reminder that a return to normal life is still far from sight.
The country’s 337,000 cases make up roughly half of all confirmed infections on the African continent and its struggles are a sign of trouble to come for nations with fewer health care resources. South Africa was on track to join the U.S., Brazil, India and Russia as current trends show it will surpass Peru.
“The simple fact is that many South Africans are sitting ducks because they cannot comply with World Health Organization protocols on improved hygiene and social distancing,” the foundation of former South African archbishop and Nobel Peace Prize winner Desmond Tutu and his wife, Leah, warned in a statement.
The development comes a day after the World Health Organization reported a single-day record of new infections at over 237,000. Daily death tolls have been reaching new highs in several U.S. states and India’s infections are over 1 million. Experts believe the true numbers around the world are higher because of testing shortages and data collection issues in some nations.
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Read more here. —Associated Press
Friday 7:22 p.m.: As schools weigh whether to reopen in the fall, anxiety is high among parents and teachers
As a longtime teacher in public schools and the mother of four sons, Gladys Marquez was hopeful that all of her kids — her students at Eisenhower High School in Blue Island and her youngest child still under her roof — would be heading back to the classroom this fall.
But Marquez said her early optimism has been replaced with fear and apprehension in recent weeks, as a surge in COVID-19 cases nationwide — especially among young adults — underscores the potential dangers of a premature return to school as “normal” when the virus continues to rage.
“I’ve lost two family members to COVID, my cousin and my great uncle, so I’m frustrated by those who are taking this situation very lightly, because they just don’t understand the risks,” Marquez said. “I have asthma, and one of my sons, who’s also a teacher, has diabetes. If we’re back in the classroom, I’ll be exposed to 1,800 students, and could bring COVID home to my own family. This is not time to be getting students back together, as having their lives at risk is just not an option.”
As Chicago-area school districts begin to unveil their back-to-schools plans — in many cases still tentative — they are under pressure both to reopen their buildings and to keep them closed. And anxiety is running high for parents, teachers and administrators.
Read more here. —Karen Ann Cullotta and Sophie Sherry
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Friday 7:14 p.m.: How does COVID-19 affect kids? Science has answers — and gaps.
What role children play in the coronavirus pandemic is the hot-button question of the summer as kids relish their free time while schools labor over how to resume classes.
The Trump administration says the science “is very clear,” but many doctors who specialize in pediatrics and infectious diseases say much of the evidence is inconclusive.
“There are still a lot of unanswered questions. That is the biggest challenge,” said Dr. Sonja Rasmussen, a pediatrics professor at the University of Florida and former scientist at the U.S. Centers of Disease Control and Prevention.
Read more here. —Associated Press


chicagotribune--2020-07-21--Daywatch: Trump to send federal force to Chicago, Lightfoot halts indoor alcohol sales and South Sid

Daywatch: Trump to send federal force to Chicago, Lightfoot halts indoor alcohol sales and South Side transgender couple featured on TLC

The Homeland Security Investigations , or HSI , agents are set to assist other federal law enforcement and Chicago police @ @ @ @ @ to sources familiar with the matter , though a specific plan on what the agents @ @ @ @ @ what their limits would be — had not been made public .

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Good morning, Chicago. Here’s the coronavirus news and other top stories you need to know to start your day.
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Illinois announced 1,173 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 Monday, as well as 6 additional deaths. The totals were lower than recent days but so was the number of test results announced: 34,598.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker laid out a new coronavirus plan last week. How the state will manage any outbreaks in 3 charts.
Want to know how many COVID-19 infections have been confirmed in your neighborhood? Search our database by ZIP code.
Federal agents use crowd control munitions to disperse Black Lives Matter protesters at the Mark O. Hatfield United States Courthouse on July 20, 2020, in Portland, Oregon. (Noah Berger / AP)
Chicago may see an influx of federal agents as soon as this week as President Donald Trump readies to make good on repeated pledges he would try to tamp down violence here, a move that would come amid growing controversy nationally about federal force being used in American cities.
U.S. Department of Homeland Security, for example, is crafting plans to deploy about 150 federal agents to the city this week, the Chicago Tribune has learned.
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The Homeland Security Investigations, or HSI, agents are set to assist other federal law enforcement and Chicago police in crime-fighting efforts, according to sources familiar with the matter, though a specific plan on what the agents will be doing — and what their limits would be — had not been made public.
People hang out in the cabanas at Deuce's on Clark Street in Chicago's Wrigleyville neighborhood on July 2, 2020. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune)
Chicago bars that don’t sell food will no longer be allowed to serve alcohol indoors starting this Friday as part of a new effort to curb the spread of the coronavirus, Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced Monday. The city also will limit all indoor fitness classes to a maximum of 10 people and ban personal services requiring the removal of masks, such as shaves and facials, her administration announced.
Residential buildings to set visitor limit at 5 due to COVID-19, but questions raised over how to enforce rule: ‘There’s not a lot of teeth’
Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan speaks after a House Democratic caucus meeting at the Illinois State Capitol in Springfield on Nov. 12, 2019. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune)
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said if allegations involving Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, who for decades has been at the controls of whether legislation lives or dies inside the State Capitol, and the state’s largest utility, Commonwealth Edison, are true then he should step down.
An Illinois State Police patrol car is parked near a BMW SUV with bullet holes near the 5900 block of the Dan Ryan Expressway southbound lanes in Chicago on June 13, 2020. According to the Illinois State Police, two gunshot victims were transported to hospitals from the vehicle. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)
Expressway shootings have surged in the Chicago area this year, already surpassing what is normally seen in an entire year and increasing pressure for the installation of better cameras as well as scanners that read license plates.
Myles Brady Davis, who identifies as transmasculine, got pregnant via in vitro fertilization. (Mystic Images Photography/Handout)
A South Side transgender couple share their journey to parenthood on the new TV special “My Pregnant Husband.” Myles and Precious Brady-Davis welcomed their daughter, Zayn, in December 2019. Cameras follow the couple during Myles’ third trimester as he expresses discomfort with his body, faces a pregnancy complication and recounts a “heartbreaking” encounter with police officers he said mistook his baby bump for stolen merchandise.