chicagotribune--2020-02-28--Illinois officials announce 2 new test labs for coronavirus, stress risk here still low

Next week , the state expects to open two new state coronavirus testing laboratories in Springfield and Carbondale , in @ @ @ @ @ lab in Cook County .
Illinois was the first state able to conduct in-state testing @ @ @ @ @ results within 24 hours .
In a news briefing Friday , the U.S. Centers for @ @ @ @ @ plans to have every state and local health department able to test for coronavirus by @ @ @ @ @ .

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Gov. J.B. Pritzker and public health officials, announce new precautionary measures against the coronavirus during a news conference at the Thompson Center on Feb. 28, 2020. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
State and local officials are gearing up for the possibility of more coronavirus cases in Illinois, even while saying the risk of infection in the state remains low.
The state is taking precautionary measures to ensure public safety, including expanding testing across Illinois, Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced Friday.
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“We’re ready to put the full weight of the state behind a full-fledged response when needed,” Pritzker said in a news conference at the Thompson Center.
Next week, the state expects to open two new state coronavirus testing laboratories in Springfield and Carbondale, in addition to the current state lab in Cook County. Illinois was the first state able to conduct in-state testing, allowing doctors to receive results within 24 hours. In a news briefing Friday, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced plans to have every state and local health department able to test for coronavirus by the end of next week.
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Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of immunization and respiratory diseases at the CDC, acknowledged flaws with some of testing kits sent to some health departments earlier this month, which delayed results. Only a few states, including Illinois, initially were able to properly test for the virus.
“As I’ve said before, this has not gone as smoothly as we would have liked,” Messonnier said.
In addition, select hospitals will begin taking samples from patients who display flu-like systems but do not have the flu and sending those samples to one of the three labs.
The state Health Department has launched a statewide hotline, 1-800-889-3931 and hotline email, dph.sick@illinois.gov, where residents can ask questions or report a suspected case.
The CDC warned Tuesday that the virus will likely begin to spread in the U.S. and Americans should prepare accordingly.
But Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Friday that Chicagoans have no real cause for alarm.
“I want to stress to residents that the chances of contracting the virus continue to remain low,” Lightfoot said. “Our residents should continue and enjoy the city, its neighborhoods, particularly Chinatown, and its amenities as they normally do. Fear can not guide us in this moment.”
More than 100 staff members from the city Health Department are involved in the city’s coronavirus response, according to Director Allison Arwady.
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City health staff have been at O’Hare International Airport every day, distributing thermometers and collecting information as a complement to the CDC’s federal screening.
Arwady said the city Health Department also is monitoring hundreds of recently returned travelers and arranging testing if they display symptoms. The department also is monitoring hospital bed availability and updating health care partners.
“Here in Chicago and here in Illinois, our public health systems are strong, we are at a point where we are focusing all of our resources on every individual case,” Arwady said.
So far, there have been two confirmed cases of the coronavirus in Illinois. A Chicago woman gave the disease to her husband, marking the first instance of the respiratory coronavirus spreading from one person to another in the United States.
While there is no vaccine for the coronavirus, Dr. Ngozi Ezike, Illinois Department of Public Health director, said the two Illinois patients responded well to inpatient hospital care.
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As of Friday, there were at least 62 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the U.S. Of those, 47 people were brought back to the country by the U.S. State Department. As of Friday, there were 76 patients under investigation in Illinois, with 70 testing negative.
Public health officials urge residents to take the same precautions as they would during flu season; cover mouths when coughing, washing hands and staying home if sick.
Chicago Tribune’s Angie Leventis Lourgos contributed.
ssherry@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-02-28--Chicago police shoot man at Grand station on CTA Red Line

The shooting comes the same day Chicago police unveiled plans to beef up patrols because of a spike in crime @ @ @ @ @ rail system .
The department announced it will add 50 more officers to the unit @ @ @ @ @ , ” bringing the total to 250 .
And , in a first for the @ @ @ @ @ officer will be equipped with tracking devices to better monitor and adjust how they ’ @ @ @

Rosemary Sobol, Jeremy Gorner, Javonte Anderson

Police officers put up crime scene tape at the corner of Grand Avenue and State Street above the CTA Red Line Grand station on Feb. 28, 2020, in Chicago. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)
Chicago police shot a man at the CTA’s Grand Red Line station Friday afternoon, authorities said.
The man was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where he remains in critical but “stable” condition following surgery, police Deputy Superintendent Barbara West told reporters at a news conference Friday night.
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The shooting happened shortly after 4 p.m. in the subway as officers were calling a 10-1, code for officer in need of assistance. “The whole train stop is gonna be a crime scene,” an officer radioed from the scene after the shooting.
West said two officers assigned to the mass transit unit tried to stop a man who they saw “jumping from train (car) to train (car),” which is a violation of a city ordinance.
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The officers pursued the man from the train and onto the platform, where a struggle ensued when the officers tried to place the man in custody, causing both officers to deploy their tasers on the man.
“At some point” during the brawl, one of the officers discharged their gun, striking the man twice, West said.
Both officers will be restricted from field duties and will be placed on administrative duties pending the outcome of an investigation, West said.
“We are conducting concurrent criminal and administrative investigations into this incident,” West said.
West said she had been in contact with the interim police superintendent, Charlie Beck, and said they were both “extremely concerned” and had “significant questions” about the incident.
West also told reporters police were “aware” of a video circulating on social media of the shooting. She added, however, that there was additional video from passengers on the train. Police declined to answer when asked if a weapon was confiscated from the man shot.
This is the two minutes leading up to the previous video. (Twitter won't let me upload it all at once.) pic.twitter.com/rkWrIfSkpE — The Unaffiliated Critic (@FreeRangeCritic) February 28, 2020
In a series of tweets following the news conference, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said she had viewed the “widely shared footage” of the incident and called the video “extremely disturbing” and the actions of the officers “deeply concerning."
“With the strong caveat that one perspective does not depict the entirety of the incident, the video is extremely disturbing and the actions by these officers are deeply concerning,’’ Lightfoot tweeted.
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“Furthermore, to ensure full transparency and accountability, I support Superintendent Beck’s decision to contact the State’s Attorney due to the potential criminal nature of this incident.’’
[ ‘Shoot him’: Viral video appears to show police shooting at Grand Red Line station ]
A woman, who asked not to be identified, said she saw paramedics bring a person on a stretcher up on the Red Line elevator at the corner of Grand Avenue and State Street.
Police quickly set up a perimeter with yellow tape blocking the intersection of Grand and State, tying up downtown traffic. Police also blocked off the 500 block of North State Street. Passersby walked by a throng of reporters and TV cameras as several helicopters buzzed overhead.
The Civilian Office of Police Accountability will be investigating the shooting, as is routine.
Trains resumed stopping at the Grand station a little before 11 p.m., according to the CTA.
The shooting comes the same day Chicago police unveiled plans to beef up patrols because of a spike in crime on the CTA’s rail system. The department announced it will add 50 more officers to the unit that patrols the “L,” bringing the total to 250. And, in a first for the department, each transit unit officer will be equipped with tracking devices to better monitor and adjust how they’re deployed.
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The department is also opening a Strategic Decision Support Center in the downtown police district, which for the first time will give police a central location to monitor the system’s 32,000 cameras in real time.
[ How Chicago police will combat CTA crime spike: 50 more cops on ‘L’ patrols, new center for real-time monitoring of surveillance cameras ]


chicagotribune--2020-02-28--White Sox catcher Yasmani Grandal says his strained left calf ‘feels good right now,’ but there’s st

White Sox catcher Yasmani Grandal says his strained left calf ‘feels good right now,’ but there’s still no timeline for playing in a Cactus League game

“ We were doing sprints , resistance sprints , and there could have been a lot of things , ” @ @ @ @ @ have been dehydration or just trying to go too hard .
We can ’ t @ @ @ @ @ .
All we can do now is just get stronger so it doesn ’ t @ @ @ @

GLENDALE, Ariz. — Yasmani Grandal’s Thursday included fielding bunts and participating in situational drills.
Friday, the White Sox catcher took swings against Michael Kopech and Dylan Cease in batting practice. And when he connected, he ran to first base.
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It’s all part of the process of recovering from a mild left calf strain.
“It feels good right now,” Grandal said Friday. "We still have a few hurdles to get over. More mental than anything. For the most part it’s felt really good.
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“The plan is still the same. We’re going to take it a day at a time and assess it and go from there.”
The two-time All-Star is making progress.
“In terms of strength, he’s feeling very, very well,” Sox manager Rick Renteria said. “All the measurements and metrics that are used to measure strength and endurance seem to indicate that he’s doing quite well. We’re happy to hear that.”
Dylan Cease on the mound. Yasmani Grandal at the plate. pic.twitter.com/BG4PHgFima — LaMond Pope (@lamondpope) February 28, 2020
After signing a four-year, $73 million contract, the largest in franchise history, with the Sox in November, Grandal has been slowed by the calf injury this spring. He suffered the setback about 10 days before camp began.
“We were doing sprints, resistance sprints, and there could have been a lot of things,” Grandal said. “Could have been dehydration or just trying to go too hard. We can’t really pinpoint what it was. All we can do now is just get stronger so it doesn’t happen again.”
As for the timeline for playing in an exhibition game, Grandal said, “As of right now, we’re going to try everything out, in the back fields after practice, before we start.”
He is confident he will play in a Cactus League game.
“We have it planned out,” Grandal said. “We gave ourselves room to make sure I’m playing back-to-back days. Make sure I’m playing three days in a row. We gave some room for error."
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The work now is building toward that.
“That was one of the points that I was stressing to them: I need to make sure I’m able to play three days in a row,” Grandal said. “We need to make sure I’m catching at least seven innings on back-to-back days because if you catch seven, you can catch nine.”
Grandal has spent a ton of time connecting with his new pitching staff.
“I’ve got a lot of things I get to do outside of a game in order to still be involved,” he said. “We’re just going to take (the injury) one day at a time.”
The switch hitter also is getting his work done at the plate.
“I’ve been swinging,” Grandal said. “I’ve been hitting lefty, I’ve been hitting righty. I’ve been hitting live BP. Swinging is fine. What we are worried about is that quick movement off of it that could potentially do something to it. That’s some of the variables we’re trying to cover.”
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Grandal joked that when it came to his cardio work, “I’m a catcher, I don’t need cardio.”
“Just kidding,” he added. “We’ve been running. It’s fine. I don’t think it has anything to do with cardio. It’s got everything to do with how you bounce back the next day. How is it recovering? And it’s been fine so far.”
Grandal knows it’s not easy to simulate moves that are made in a game.
“That’s why you’ve got to cover a lot of ground in order to get out to a game,” Grandal said. "And on top of that, it’s just being comfortable. Being comfortable pushing off of it and not really thinking about it. Because once you start thinking, you’re done.
“We’re close, but we’re still going to take it as slow as we can.”


chicagotribune--2020-02-28--Corona claps back at claims coronavirus scare will hurt sales

`` These claims simply do not reflect our business performance and consumer sentiment , which includes feedback from our distributor @ @ @ @ @ country .
We ’ ve seen no impact to our people , facilities or operations @ @ @ @ @ perform very well .
Unlike many of our competitors , sales of our beer brands @ @ @ @ @ the U.S. market .
Our company does not have much exposure to international markets such @ @ @ @ @ most impacted by this situation .
I ’ m extremely proud of the efforts of @ @ @ @ @ ve built good momentum as we gear up for the upcoming summer selling season .
@

Corona is the nation’s seventh-biggest selling beer with more than $110 million in sales since the start of the year (Tim Boyle / Getty Images)
Is there a cure for idiocy?
Because that’s where we’ve landed in the discussion regarding the relationship — or, more accurately, non-relationship — between coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, and Corona beer.
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Constellation Brands, the U.S. manufacturer of the imported Mexican beer, took the extraordinary step Friday afternoon of issuing a press release to insist that its business is just fine after a New York public relations firm claimed that “38 percent of beer-drinking Americans would not buy Corona under any circumstances now.”
The firm, 5WPR, said it was examining “opinions about the popular Mexican beer brand, Corona, as a result of the deadly coronavirus that’s spreading around the world.”
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The 38 percent statistic was sent on wide blast and summarily ignored by many media outlets — including the Chicago Tribune ― Thursday evening. But it was seized upon by CNN Business and the New York Post, among others, and repeated seemingly endlessly on social media.
Such articles cited the 38 percent statistic, sometimes accompanied by information from an article by public opinion and data company YouGov that says “coronavirus is creating negative buzz around Corona beer.” According to YouGov, Corona’s “buzz score” — which grades positive and negative feelings around a brand — has decreased “from a high score of 75 at the beginning of January to 51 as of late February.”
By Friday, Constellation Brands decided it had had enough.
The company’s press release began by issuing “thoughts and prayers ... to those affected by this terrible virus” before getting down to business.
“It’s extremely unfortunate that recent misinformation about the impact of this virus on our business has been circulating in traditional and social media without further investigation or validation," Bill Newlands, president and chief executive officer at Constellation Brands, is quoted in the press release.
"These claims simply do not reflect our business performance and consumer sentiment, which includes feedback from our distributor and retailer partners across the country. We’ve seen no impact to our people, facilities or operations and our business continues to perform very well. Unlike many of our competitors, sales of our beer brands are focused almost entirely on the U.S. market. Our company does not have much exposure to international markets such as China that have been most impacted by this situation. I’m extremely proud of the efforts of our team. We’ve built good momentum as we gear up for the upcoming summer selling season.”
The press release cited IRI market research firm data that shows Corona dollar sales are up about 5 percent during the four-week period ending Feb. 16 — which in fact is close to double the brand’s 2.4 percent growth in 2019.
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According to IRI statistics released at the end of January, Corona is the nation’s seventh-biggest selling beer with more than $110 million in sales since the start of the year. Volume sales for Corona were up 3.1 percent at the end of January, ahead of its 1 percent growth in 2019.
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As for that 38 percent statistic that appears to have Corona beer on its deathbed? New York-based 5WPR says the information is based on a phone survey taken this week of 737 “American beer drinkers over the age of 21.”
5WPR also reported that four percent of regular Corona drinkers said they would stop drinking Corona due to coronavirus while 14 percent “said they wouldn’t order Corona in a public venue.” Also, 16 percent “of beer drinking Americans were confused about whether Corona beer is related to the coronavirus," 5WPR claimed.
“There is no question that Corona beer is suffering because of the coronavirus. Could one imagine walking into a bar and saying “Hey, can I have a Corona?” or “Pass me a Corona,” Ronn Torossian, founder and chief executive officer of 5WPR is quoted in the press release issued Thursday. “While the brand has claimed that consumers understand there’s no linkage between the virus and the beer company, this is a disaster for the Corona brand. After all, what brand wants to be linked to a virus which is killing people worldwide?”
A call to Torossian was diverted to 5WPR’s marketing department Friday afternoon and a message was not returned.
Website TruthOrFiction.com rated the 38 percent statistic as “decontextualized” — and also noted that 5WPR has counted Constellation Brands’ competitor Anheuser-Busch as a client. Torossian followed up by email to confirm that Anheuser-Busch is a past 5WPR client. A spokesman for Anheuser-Busch said he was looking into that claim.
jbnoel@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-02-28--Foxconn’s Wisconsin factory isn’t what it initially promised. Can it still turn Mount Pleasant into

Foxconn’s Wisconsin factory isn’t what it initially promised. Can it still turn Mount Pleasant into a high-tech hub?

The changes in Foxconn ’ s plans have raised concerns about whether the work underway in Mount Pleasant is still @ @ @ @ @ in its contract with the state , said Missy Hughes , who took the reins @ @ @ @ @ economic development agency , the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. , last fall .
Taxpayers agreed @ @ @ @ @ certain kind of project , and that ’ s changed , taxpayers deserve to know @ @ @ @ @ vision , ” she said .

Kim Mahoney stands outside her home near the ongoing construction at Foxconn's manufacturing facility on Feb. 13, 2020 in Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin. Mahoney and her family moved into their house in February 2017 and later that year they learned that Foxconn planned to build. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)
By the end of the year, Taiwanese electronics giant Foxconn expects to start production at a brand-new liquid crystal display manufacturing plant in southeast Wisconsin.
The million-square-foot building’s outline is visible from what used to be quiet two-lane roads, widened to accommodate the surge of activity Foxconn is expected to bring to an area that was once largely farmland. A handful of additional buildings and a power substation are taking shape nearby.
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Foxconn’s plans have changed dramatically since its initial announcement, feeding skepticism over whether it can deliver on a pledge to create 13,000 jobs and turn southeast Wisconsin into a hub of high-tech electronics manufacturing. Some question whether the project will pay off for Mount Pleasant and Racine County, which are investing hundreds of millions of dollars and have seen several residents displaced from their homes.
“It’s like a bait-and-switch,” said Kim Mahoney, who lives in the only house still standing in what used to be a small subdivision on the Foxconn site.
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Kim Mahoney's house is the only house still standing in area in a small subdivision near the Foxconn construction site, in Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin, shown July 1, 2019. (Coburn Dukehart/Wisconsin Watch)
But backers say Foxconn’s arrival has been a much-needed shot in the arm for workforce development efforts in an area lacking in skilled manufacturing workers and they remain confident even a scaled-down project will boost the local economy.
“You would love the movie if you hadn’t seen the trailer,” said Tim Sheehy, president of the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce.
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It was “the trailer” that convinced the state to offer an incentive package worth up to $3 billion if the company hit benchmarks tied to jobs, wages and investment and to fast-track preparations for Foxconn’s arrival. Local government agencies agreed to front investments in infrastructure improvements and buy property promised to Foxconn, at a total cost currently estimated at $808 million.
The company’s agreement with Mount Pleasant and Racine County calls for those expenditures to be repaid over time through property taxes and special assessments. Foxconn is obligated to make up any shortfall if it doesn’t raise the value of the main site to $1.4 billion by 2023.
Foxconn continues to fulfill its financial obligations under the local contract, which “ensures strong taxpayer protections and minimum valuation guarantees,” Racine County Executive Jonathan Delgrave said in a statement. The company paid $8.4 million in property taxes and special assessment payments, in addition to a one-time $60 million payment, as of Dec. 30.
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Meanwhile, Wisconsin officials have said the company’s shifting plans call into question its eligibility for up to $3 billion in incentives negotiated at the start of the project. Foxconn missed job creation and investment targets required to earn tax incentives in 2018, and won’t report on last year’s progress until April.
It’s not that nothing is happening in Mount Pleasant. Foxconn said earlier this year it has invested nearly $372 million at the site, where it has started building a 260,000-square-foot plant that will manufacture and assemble components for computer servers and a data center with offices, in addition to the million-square-foot liquid crystal display factory.
But it’s also building a different kind of factory than the one agreed to in its contract with Wisconsin. The company originally was to build a Generation 10.5 factory that would produce large LCD panels often used to make large flat-screen TVs. Instead, it will build a Generation 6 facility producing smaller panels with potential applications in education, medicine, entertainment and the military.
A smaller Generation 6 factory would be less likely to attract additional suppliers to hoping to do business with Foxconn to Mount Pleasant, said Bob O’Brien, co-founder and president of Display Supply Chain Consultants, who was recently hired by the state as an expert on the flat-panel display industry.
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Those other businesses would have brought more jobs and helped build out a “Wisconn Valley” beyond just Foxconn.
“The notion that it will deliver on all of its initial promise is not conceivable,” O’Brien said. “But the notion it will deliver on some and you could have an LCD manufacturing site in Wisconsin is still in the realm of possibility.”
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Analysts said it wasn’t surprising Foxconn abandoned plans for the cutting-edge Generation 10.5 plant, as prices for the large TV panels made at those factories plunged.
“In 2017, you could see an oversupply coming unless you had just crazy expectations about how big the TV market could get,” said Charles Annis, with technology research firm Omdia.
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Sheehy, of the Milwaukee commerce association, said officials in Wisconsin underestimated how rapidly the industry was evolving. Usually, incentives are offered to companies with more defined plans, he said.
Both Foxconn and Wisconsin have gone through leadership changes as well. Foxconn founder Terry Gou stepped down to consider a run for the presidency of Taiwan last year before withdrawing from the race. Wisconsin’s governor when the deal was signed, Republican Scott Walker, was replaced by Tony Evers, a Democrat, in 2018.
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The changes in Foxconn’s plans have raised concerns about whether the work underway in Mount Pleasant is still eligible for the incentives outlined in its contract with the state, said Missy Hughes, who took the reins of the state’s economic development agency, the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp., last fall. Taxpayers agreed “to invest in a certain kind of project, and that’s changed, taxpayers deserve to know what’s the new vision,” she said.
“We want to continue to have a partnership, and coming to the table doesn’t eliminate that partnership," she said. "It hopefully strengthens it.”
Foxconn Technology Group said it made changes to the plan in response to market demand, and the company has remained in discussions with the state “regarding our commitment to bring substantial impact to Wisconsin’s economy, workforce and educational institutions.” It will continue to report on hiring and capital expenditures.
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“While Foxconn continues to respond to an ever-changing technology and supply chain landscape, our commitment to creating a global technology hub and manufacturing ecosystem in Wisconsin remains unchanged,” Foxconn said in the statement.
Asked how much the company expected to invest, how many people it expected to employ in Mount Pleasant, and how those jobs would be divided between research and manufacturing roles, Foxconn said it “will make business and hiring decisions based on timing that positions the company, its employees, and its local partners for long-term success while continuing to comply with the WEDC pay-for-performance agreement.”
Jermaine Jones, 16, a student at Racine Engineering Arts and Leadership School, uses a robot at a Gateway Technical College class on Feb. 13, 2020, in Sturtevant, Wisconsin. As the community gears for an anticipated need for more skilled manufacturing workers, Gateway is using part of a $5 million in state funding to upgraded its advanced manufacturing curriculum. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)
Despite the uncertainty, the community is preparing for Foxconn’s production to ramp up. The anticipated need for thousands more skilled manufacturing workers helped secure $5 million in state funding for investments in advanced manufacturing programs at Kenosha’s Gateway Technical College, including a 35,800-square-foot expansion to a facility for manufacturing and engineering programs.
Even if Foxconn falls short of its plans to create 13,000 jobs, Gateway President Bryan Albrecht said he isn’t worried about keeping those courses full. Wisconsin companies like Rockwell Automation, InSinkErator and S.C. Johnson — even gummy candy maker Haribo, which plans to open a factory in Pleasant Prairie this year — have been calling for more workers with the skills to work with automated systems, he said.
In Illinois, the College of Lake County is making similar investments in programs that could prepare students for careers in advanced manufacturing, which will help accommodate more students.
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Those investments were driven by demand from local employers, but Foxconn “has been a good thing for manufacturing because it created a dialogue among a lot of people considering their needs and how we can support manufacturers here,” said Richard Ammon, dean of engineering, mathematics and physical science.
Older workers are retiring and there isn’t a big enough pipeline of young workers to replace them. Companies also are adding new technology, creating more demand for workers who know how to analyze data from sensors, program robots or keep automated systems running smoothly.
“It got to the point where we enrolled an employee in a nine-month (automation technician) certification program because we figured he’d graduate before we’d find someone,” said Robyn Safron, senior human resources manager at Hydraforce, a Lincolnshire-based hydraulic valve maker that brought in its first robot two years ago.
Waukegan High School studen Aji Blopleh asks a question on an educational tour of HydraForce on Jan. 23, 2020 in Lincolnshire. HydraForce started giving high school students and counselors tours of its factories to push back misconceptions they might have about what manufacturing jobs involve and encourage young people to consider careers in the industry. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)
Companies competing for talent say they’ve raised wages in certain roles and are investing in in-house training, as well as apprenticeship programs that let employees work while studying in the classroom and getting on-the-job training.
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The prospect of a scaled-down Foxconn is something of a relief to Mundelein-based MacLean-Fogg, which manufactures components for the auto industry.
“We were nervous about it as to how it was going to impact our ability to be able to fill positions, because it was hard enough as it was,” said Kristin Malbasa, executive vice president of human resources. “At the same time, because it’s hard, we didn’t know where they were going to find 13,000 people.”
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In addition to workforce development, efforts are underway in Wisconsin to build the infrastructure needed to accommodate Foxconn’s growth.
About $250 million is being spent on state, village and county roads around Foxconn’s Mount Pleasant site, widening some and building new ones. The Foxconn development also helped secure funding that sped up planned improvements to nearby Interstate 94, said Wisconsin Transportation Department spokesperson Michael Pyritz.
But in Milwaukee, officials rejected plans to provide additional public transit options for people commuting to Mount Pleasant, said Milwaukee Alderman Robert Bauman, who pointed to uncertainty about the project’s eventual scale and lack of dedicated funding.
The Foxconn campus is shown under construction on Jan. 6, 2020. A million-square-foot liquid crystal display factory, a 260,000-square-foot computer server manufacturing and assembly plant and a data center with offices are among structures planned for the Wisconsin site. (Mark Hertzberg/for the Chicago Tribune)
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In Mount Pleasant, some homeowners said they were shocked to learn their property had been promised to Foxconn while watching the project’s announcement on the news. Others said it was difficult to start looking for new homes while waiting to hear what the village would offer for their land. Mount Pleasant said it paid 140% of fair market value for homes, plus relocation benefits.
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Mahoney, who has been unable to reach an agreement on the sale of her property on the Foxconn site, said she and her husband don’t want the project to fail but don’t believe the village’s offer would “make us whole." Her husband, Jim, occasionally checks out the construction site through a spotting scope. Mahoney said she tries not to look past the trees at the edge of their yard.
She’s running for a seat on Racine County’s Board of Supervisors and said she wants to know what the county is doing to protect itself in case Foxconn’s plan falls short.
But other residents, including some who hadn’t been eager to move, said they remain optimistic the deal will be good for the community despite the changes.
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“What business doesn’t change as the economy and other things happen out there? It doesn’t bother me … things are still progressing forward,” said Randy Burrow, 61, who retired after working in UPS’ automotive department and moved to Spring Prairie after the village bought his home in Mount Pleasant.
Tom Fleiss, who used to farm land that is now part of the Foxconn site, was skeptical the company would create the 13,000 jobs initially promised but still thinks it will benefit an area that’s already seeing development.
“Everything around it is going to have a lot of jobs, we’ve just got to get the next generation to fill them,” he said.
That’s why Hughes is confident investments in workforce and infrastructure will be needed — whether or not Foxconn drives that need.
“The energy is there. We’ll see whether or not the return comes from Foxconn or others, but I have a lot of confidence that investment is strong there,” she said.
lzumbach@chicagotribune.com
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chicagotribune--2020-02-28--Dow closes down 357 points, giving the stock market its worst week since 2008

Bond prices soared again as investors sought safety and became more pessimistic about the economy 's prospects .
That pushed @ @ @ @ @ .
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell sharply , to 1.16 % from @ @ @ @ @ It touched a record low of 1.14 % , according to TradeWeb .
That yield @ @ @ @ @ mortgages and many other kinds of loans .

Trader Fred DeMarco works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Feb. 28, 2020. Global stock markets are falling as coronavirus fears spread. (Richard Drew/AP)
Stocks sank again after another wild day, extending a rout that left Wall Street with its worst week since October 2008. The market clawed back much of its intraday losses in the last 15 minutes of trading.
The coronavirus outbreak has been shutting down industrial centers, emptying shops and severely crimping travel all over the world. More companies are warning investors that their finances will take a hit because of disruptions to supply chains and sales. Governments are taking increasingly drastic measures as they scramble to contain the virus.
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The market’s initial losses moderated somewhat after the Federal Reserve released a statement saying it stood ready to help the economy if needed. Investors increasingly expect the Fed to cut rates at its next policy meeting in mid-March.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 357 points, or 1.4%, to 25,409 at market close. It was down as many as 1,085 points in early trading. The S&P 500 lost 24 points, or 0.8%, to 2,954. The benchmark index has lost 13% since hitting a record high 10 days ago. The Nasdaq rose 1 point to 8,567.
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Overseas markets also fell. China’s benchmark index fell 3.7% and Germany’s DAX fell 3.9%.
The rout has knocked every major index into what market watchers call a “correction,” or a fall of 10% or more from a peak. The last time that occurred was in late 2018, as a tariff war with China was escalating. Market watchers have said for months that stocks were heavily overpriced and long overdue for another pullback.
Financial and health care stocks were among the biggest losers in Friday’s broad market slide.
[ Coronavirus taking a toll on Chicago companies. ‘You know a wave is coming.’ ]
Bond prices soared again as investors sought safety and became more pessimistic about the economy's prospects. That pushed yields to more record lows. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell sharply, to 1.16% from 1.30% late Thursday. It touched a record low of 1.14%, according to TradeWeb. That yield is a benchmark for home mortgages and many other kinds of loans.
Crude oil prices sank 4.9% over worries that global travel and shipping will be severely crimped and hurt demand for energy. The price of benchmark U.S. crude has now fallen 15% this week.
“All this says to us is that there are still a lot of worries in the market,” said Gene Goldman, chief investment officer at Cetera Financial Group. “We need the Fed to come out and say basically guys, we got your back.”
Traders have been growing more certain that the Federal Reserve will be forced to cut interest rates to protect the economy, and soon. Goldman said the Fed’s current lack of action amounts to a tightening of rates compared with other nations and their actions to offset the impact of the coronavirus.
Investors now widely expect the Fed to cut interest rates by a half-point at its meeting that winds up March 18. According to data from CME, the expectations for a half-point cut jumped from 47% just before the Fed's statement was released to 100% shortly thereafter.
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The weeklong market sell-off follows months of uncertainty about the spread of the virus, which hit China in December and shut down large swaths of that nation by January. China is still the hardest hit country and has most of the 83,000 cases worldwide and related deaths.
Uncertainty turned into fear as the virus started jumping to places outside of the epicenter and dashed hopes for containment.
Airlines and cruise operators have suffered some of the worst hits as flight routes are cancelled, along with travel plans. Big names like Apple and Budweiser brewer AB InBev are part of a growing list of companies expecting financial pain from the virus. Dell and athletic-wear company Columbia Sportswear are the latest companies expecting an impact to their bottom lines.
Cruise operators have also been hard hit, with shares sinking 30% or more as shipboard infections rose. But companies were having a far better day Friday, with some on Wall Street believing that the sell-off was overdone.
A big concern investors have is that the stock market rout could have a psychological effect on consumers, making them reluctant to spend money and go to crowded places like stores, restaurants and movie theaters.
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The late-2018 stock market plunge, for instance, derailed holiday sales that year. Now, analysts are worried that the latest stock swoon could cause consumer spending — which makes up some 70% of the economy and has played a huge role in keeping the U.S. expansion going — to contract again.
Craig Johnson, president of Customer Growth Partners, a consumer consultancy, says he had expected annual retail sales to be up 4.1%, but he now says it could increase just 2.2% if the impact of the new virus in China persists beyond April.
‘’This is a moving target right now,”’ he said. ‘’There is a lot of uncertainty.’’
Nitin Jain, managing director of the retail practice at AlixPartners, said that while sales of everyday items like canned goods and medical supplies could increase in the short term, sales of luxury goods could tail off as high-end shoppers become nervous.
Many companies face the prospect of crimped financial results with their stocks already trading at high levels relative to their earnings. Before the virus worries exploded, investors had been pushing stocks higher on expectations that strong profit growth was set to resume for companies after declining for most of 2019. If profit growth doesn’t ramp up this year, that makes a highly priced stock market even more vulnerable.
Nearly 60 nations representing every continent, except Antarctica, have confirmed cases. The virus outbreak has prompted a wide range of reactions from nations hoping to contain its spread and economic impact.
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The Geneva auto show was cancelled as Swiss authorities banned large events of more than 1,000 people. Parts of Italy’s northern industrial and financial center remain under quarantine. Japan is preparing to close schools nationwide. The U.S. is preparing for the virus after a case unrelated to travel was confirmed in California.
The AP’s Anne D’Innocenzio contributed.
Follow @ChiTribBusiness on Facebook and @ChiTribBiz on Twitter.


chicagotribune--2020-02-28--R. Kelly lawyers seek dismissal of racketeering charges against singer in New York

The 11-page motion also said the common purpose of the enterprise as alleged in the indictment , to promote Kelly @ @ @ @ @ R. Kelly brand , fails to pass muster .
It ’ s not illegal to @ @ @ @ @ charges are “ silent on how any other individual benefited from Mr. Kelly allegedly engaging @ @ @ @ @ the motion states .

A courtroom sketch shows defense attorneys Ashley Cohen, from left, and Jennifer Bonjean with singer R. Kelly at the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse in Chicago on Sept. 14, 2022. (Cheryl Cook / Chicago Tribune)
Lawyers for embattled singer R. Kelly said in a court filing Friday the federal racketeering charge brought against him in New York is a thinly veiled attempt to circumvent the statute of limitations on sexual misconduct and should be tossed out of court.
Kelly was charged in July in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn under the federal anti-racketeering statute, known as the RICO Act, which is typically used to bring cases against large drug rings, complex street gangs or organized crime figures.
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The sweeping indictment alleges Kelly and his associates recruited women and underage girls for illegal sexual contact with the singer, then isolated and threatened them to keep them under control and prevent them from going to authorities.
To prove racketeering, prosecutors have to show that Kelly was the leader of a criminal enterprise that included co-conspirators such as managers, bodyguards, drivers, personal assistants and runners.
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But according to the motion to dismiss filed Friday, the charges fail to specifically name any co-conspirators — not even by pseudonyms — and therefore fall short of the burden needed to bring a racketeering case to trial.
“Robert Kelly is not an enterprise,” Kelly’s lead attorney, Steven Greenberg, wrote in the motion. “RICO was not designed as a means to punish a single individual for his own wrongful actions. RICO is only being used in this case in an effort to subvert various statutes of limitations."
The 11-page motion also said the common purpose of the enterprise as alleged in the indictment, to promote Kelly’s music and the R. Kelly brand, fails to pass muster. It’s not illegal to promote a brand and the charges are “silent on how any other individual benefited from Mr. Kelly allegedly engaging in sexual activity,” the motion states.
Kelly, 53, is in federal custody awaiting trial on the New York charges as well as a separate indictment brought by federal prosecutors in Chicago alleging the singer conspired with two former employees — Milton Brown and Derrel McDavid — to rig his 2008 child pornography trial in Cook County by paying off witnesses and victims to change their stories.
In addition, Kelly was charged in Cook County criminal court in February 2019 with four separate indictments accusing him of sexual misconduct over more than a decade. Three of those alleged victims were underage at the time.
If convicted in all jurisdictions, the embattled singer, whose full name is Robert Sylvester Kelly, could face the rest of his life in prison.
U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber in Chicago has set a tentative trial date in April. The New York case had been set to go to trial May 18, but the judge there moved it to July 7 to avoid conflicts.
A trial in Cook County is currently set for September.
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Meanwhile, records obtained by the Chicago Tribune indicate prosecutors in New York have been collecting a wide range of evidence regarding Kelly’s associates and business interests as part of their case.
A subpoena sent last year to the Illinois secretary of state asked for driver’s license photos and vehicle registration history for 13 individuals, including Kelly.
Among the associates named in the subpoena was Jermaine “Bubba” Maxey, a Chicago music producer who was publicly accused by Jerhonda Pace of recruiting her after she’d attended Kelly’s child pornography trial in 2008 when she was 14, according to a copy of the subpoena obtained by the Tribune.
Maxey has not been charged with wrongdoing. Pace is one of the alleged victims in the Cook County case.
The subpoena also sought records on Brown and McDavid as well as several producers and sound engineers who worked with Kelly on some of his biggest hits.
In January, prosecutors in New York sent a separate subpoena to the Chicago Department of Buildings requesting documentation of inspections and code violations related to Kelly’s former recording studio on North Justine Street, according to a copy supplied to the Tribune through an open records request.
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Prosecutors have said that some of the alleged sexual abuse took place at the studio, which Kelly vacated after he was criminally charged in Cook County last year.
Chicago Tribune’s Gregory Pratt contributed.
jmeisner@chicagotribune.com
mcrepeau@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-02-28--As a man shined a flashlight into cars on his block, a FOID card holder called 911, loaded his gun a

As a man shined a flashlight into cars on his block, a FOID card holder called 911, loaded his gun and waited. Now he’s charged with second-degree murder.

“ If it ’ s just a question of Mr. Weaver ’ s version of events , that ’ s @ @ @ @ @ : Was it reasonable ?
” he continued .
“ Is it reasonable to think @ @ @ @ @ up on your vehicle in the middle of the night might be carrying a weapon @ @ @ @ @ ’ m just playing devil ’ s advocate — or angel 's advocate , I @ @ @ @ @ could he have driven away ?
Without being there or knowing if it was a @ @ @ @ @ , I don ’ t know that that was an option .
”

Dione Weaver, a legal gun owner, shot and killed an unarmed man who shined a flashlight into his orange Dodge Charger as Weaver sat parked in front of his South Shore home.
That much is undisputed. Weaver told police he was afraid, but prosecutors don’t believe that was reason enough to open fire on Larry Howard, 33, who lived around the corner and had a record of burglary arrests.
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Larry Howard was fatally shot Feb. 9, 2020, near his home by a man with a FOID card who has been charged with second-degree murder. (Family Photo)
In a rare move, prosecutors have filed second-degree murder charges against Weaver, who had a valid firearm owner’s identification card. The case is the latest example of police and prosecutors grappling with the use of lethal force as more legal gun owners in Illinois become involved in shootings.
Relatively few people in Illinois with FOID cards or concealed carry permits have been charged with a crime after shooting someone, a Tribune investigation has shown. Of 11 fatal shootings by concealed carry license holders in the last five years, only two have been charged with first-degree murder. Among those escaping prosecution is a Chicago firefighter who shot and killed an unarmed teen who was trying to steal his Jeep.
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The Cook County state’s attorney’s office would not explain its decision to file charges against Weaver. But a source indicated the shooting was not considered justified because Weaver could have avoided the confrontation even if he did feel threatened.
[ Explore: Shootings by CCL holders in Illinois since concealed carry law went into effect in 2014. ]
An attorney who represents the Illinois State Rifle Association said the case could change what’s considered “acceptable” for a legal gun owner. "There’s a lot of gray area, and this Weaver case seems like one that might be in the gray area,” said David Sigale. “Does he have a duty to retreat? Does he have a duty to run away? Could he have just pointed the firearm at him and said, ‘Get away from me'?”
Weaver, 27, parked his car in front of his South Shore home in the 7200 block of South Bennett Avenue about 4:30 a.m. Sunday, Feb. 9, and noticed a “suspicious person” with a flashlight “as if looking inside the cars for items to steal,” according to prosecutors. He phoned 911 from his car.
“During that 911 call (Weaver) described what (Howard) was doing and he informed the dispatcher that if (Howard) shined a light into his car, he was going to defend himself,” a court document states.
Weaver stayed in the car and took his Glock 9 mm from the center console and loaded it with a magazine from the glove box. Keeping an eye on the street, he said it seemed that Howard crouched behind a car whenever someone passed, according to the court document. Howard eventually made his way to Weaver’s orange Dodge Charger and shined the flashlight into the car.
Weaver "provides two versions of what happens next,” the document states.
Weaver told one of the first officers who came to the scene that he’d remained in the driver’s seat and fired at Howard through a rear window, shattering it, then fired two more shots from inside the car out of fear, though he never explicitly said he thought his life was in danger. During the police interview, which lasted about eight minutes, “it was implied to (Weaver) by the officers that shining a light is not a good enough reason to shoot someone."
Later, when Weaver was read his Miranda rights, he said he’d fired once as Howard reached behind his back while holding a cellphone in his other hand. Weaver said he got out of the car and fired again as Howard came around the car and approached. One shell casing was found in the car and “several” were discovered outside, according to a police report.
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Authorities said Howard fled north on Bennett and collapsed at the end of the block. Weaver called 911 again and said he had shot someone who walked up to his car. Prosecutors noted that Weaver "did NOT tell 911 that (Howard) was armed, did NOT say (Howard) reached for something in his rear, did NOT say (Howard) continued to approach when he was outside the car.”
Weaver went into his home and waited for officers to arrive, handing them the Glock.
A law enforcement source noted that Weaver chose to wait for a potentially dangerous situation to develop, rather than walking or driving away after alerting authorities to a suspicious person.
“The law is pretty clear,” said Anthony Guglielmi, chief spokesman for the Chicago police. “There has to be life-threatening action. Obviously, that was lacking.”
It’s not clear whether police initially sought the more serious charge of first-degree murder, but Guglielmi said that charge requires the prosecution to prove intent, which he doesn’t believe exists in this case.
Howard’s sister Justine Howard was harsher with her judgment, accusing Weaver of using his FOID card to “get away with murder.”
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“You have a man with a FOID card in a car against my brother who’s on foot and isn’t armed,” she said. “You’re in the car with the means to avoid whatever threat you think Larry posed, and instead of driving away he plans an attack. It’s a 911 call saying what he meant to do. Sits and waits, then chases my brother through a gangway, shooting the whole time. I can’t fathom what my brother was feeling in those last moments.
“It’s murder charges for a reason,” she added.
Legal experts and firearms trainers who reviewed the court documents agreed that Weaver did not appear to meet the standard of whether a reasonable person would have been in fear for his or her life. Based on the prosecution’s telling of events, he seemed to have other options.
“The first thing I would’ve done is driven away. That sounds oversimplified, but that’s the truth,” said David Lombardo, owner of Safer USA, a firearms training school based in Waterman, in DeKalb County. “Avoidance and deterrence are the best options.”
Sigale, who has been co-counsel on historic gun rights lawsuits that helped shape gun laws in Chicago and the state, acknowledged that Weaver’s differing accounts did not help him. “It appears Mr. Weaver changed his story, and I imagine they would find that sort of thing suspicious.
“If it’s just a question of Mr. Weaver’s version of events, that’s going to be the standard: Was it reasonable?” he continued. “Is it reasonable to think that a person who comes up on your vehicle in the middle of the night might be carrying a weapon? I suppose if I’m just playing devil’s advocate — or angel's advocate, I don’t know — could he have driven away? Without being there or knowing if it was a place he had to be, I don’t know that that was an option.”
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Weaver faces four to 20 years in prison if he cannot prove he acted in self-defense. “He’s going to have to convince a jury that he felt his life was in danger,” Lombardo said. “(Howard) had no gun, so it’s going to be a hard thing to do.”
The case is somewhat unusual because prosecutors are relying in part on the two versions of events Weaver provided, and because Weaver first placed a call to 911 saying he intended to “defend himself.”
“I think it works in his favor that he called 911 to report a suspicious person,” Lombardo said. “It shows he was afraid and wanted police to come handle it. Had they gotten there sooner, there isn’t a shooting.”
Howard disagrees, saying she believes that 911 call indicates Weaver had time to remove himself from the situation.
Sigale said he hopes prosecutors will look at the totality of the situation and use the evidence to determine which of the accounts was correct. It isn’t uncommon for someone who’s just fired a weapon to be confused or to fail to adequately relay events to police, he said.
Hugh Mundy, an associate law professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago’s John Marshall Law School, said the prosecution also faces a perception issue: It will be hard to present a good reason Howard was looking into cars with a flashlight at 4:30 a.m. “The victim isn’t terribly sympathetic,” he said. “Then you factor in that the law tends to favor law-abiding legal gun owners.”
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But Howard said her brother had four children of his own and a stepson he has helped raise for the past eight years. It was not unusual for him to be awake at all hours of the night with his youngest child. She described him as a “homebody” who typically went out once a day to buy cigarettes or a Pepsi, and she believes he was on his way home from making a purchase that morning.
She didn’t venture a guess as to why he had a flashlight, saying only it is not a crime. Even if it were, Weaver could’ve safely made that 911 call and left matters to police.
“Cops shine flashlights into cars all the time, how did (Weaver) know he wasn’t an undercover cop?” Howard asked. “You assumed and now he’s dead because you made an assumption. If you’re afraid, OK, then you remove yourself from danger. I felt like his intentions was actually to hurt my brother, thinking the FOID card was going to let him get away with murder.”
However the case is settled in court, both Sigale and Lombardo believe there are already lessons to be learned.
“(Gun owners) would do very well to be informed on what situations deadly force might be allowed, what situations might particularly get you in trouble,” Sigale said. “That said, how long do you sit and wait to determine the threat is actually a threat? You wait too long and next thing you know you’re dead. Clearly that’s what he was worried about.”
Lombardo, the firearms trainer, said he has taught roughly 2,000 concealed carry students and he wasn’t surprised to learn Weaver had been charged. Legal gun owners have many reasons to fear they’ll end up on the wrong side of the law if they fire their weapons and that’s precisely what he warns his students about.
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“People are under the impression that pulling the trigger solves the problem," he said. "Pulling the trigger creates a whole host of new problems: Can you justify it? How do you justify it? Will a jury believe it? All that stuff. And that’s left up to personal opinion, and you never know how that’s going to go."
Weaver did not have a concealed carry permit. To get one in Illinois, he would have undergone a mandatory 16 hours of training that would have included clear instructions that people cannot fire a weapon to defend property, Lombardo said.
“From a federal perspective, you can’t take a human life over property,” he said. “If you’re sitting in your living room and someone’s stealing your car, you can’t shoot them — that’s a property crime. But if you’re in the car and you feel that your life is in jeopardy, then you can use lethal force. It gets dicey if the guy’s not holding some type of a weapon.”
Howard said she got a concealed carry permit after she was robbed on a train years ago. “I have never once fired my gun without being at the gun range,” she said. “I have never pulled it out in anger. You definitely have to know the law and be strong-minded. You can’t trust just everybody with a gun — you have to have self-control.”
Although her brother had prior burglary arrests, she said he was artistic, creative, and loving, as well as an excellent father to his kids. He moved in with his mother as her health declined, requiring her to use a walker in recent years.
“Everywhere my mom went, my brother went,” she said. “(Weaver) took something that was really, really meaningful to my mom, to all of us. He’s not a confrontational person. He has never been in a gang, never sold drugs, never done any of this. I worry they’re going to make him out to be some kind of monster, and nothing could be further from the truth.”
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Howard, who buried her brother Friday, said she was upset to hear a judge set bond at $50,000 for Weaver, meaning his family needed to post $5,000 to get him out of jail. Weaver was released on electronic monitoring.
“You kill my brother and you just get your life right back?" she said. “You get to go home to sit with your family and hatch up your defense? That’s not OK with me, that’s not OK with my family. That’s unacceptable.”
Chicago Tribune’s Javonte Anderson, Rosemary Sobol and William Lee contributed.
kdouglas@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @312BreakingNews


chicagotribune--2020-02-28--Face masks, especially the N95, suffer shortages worldwide amid coronavirus panic

The shortages are being attributed not just to high demand , but to disruptions in supply : An outsize share @ @ @ @ @ surgical masks are made in China — 50 % , by its own estimate .
@ @ @ @ @ have ramped up production say they are hard pressed to meet local demand .
The @ @ @ @ @ , and exports have plunged .

Dee-Ann Durbin, Anne D'Innocenzio, Joseph Pisani

People line up to buy face masks Feb. 5, 2020, in Hong Kong. Fear of the spreading coronavirus has led to a global run on sales of face masks despite medical experts' advice that most people who aren't sick don't need to wear them. (Vincent Yu/AP)
Fear of the spreading coronavirus has led to a global run on sales of face masks despite evidence that most people who aren't sick don't need to wear them.
Many businesses are sold out, while others are limiting how many a customer can buy. Amazon is policing its site, trying to make sure sellers don't gouge panicked buyers.
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In South Korea, hundreds lined up to buy masks from a discount store. Rumors that toilet paper and napkins could be used as masks have emptied store shelves in Asia of paper goods over the past few weeks.
People trying to protect themselves from the outbreak and medical centers alike are facing shortages.
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The shortages are being attributed not just to high demand, but to disruptions in supply: An outsize share of the world’s surgical masks are made in China — 50%, by its own estimate. But even factories there that have ramped up production say they are hard pressed to meet local demand. The government has taken over manufacturers, and exports have plunged.
[ Coronavirus taking a toll on Chicago companies. ‘You know a wave is coming.’ ]
“Before the outbreak of the epidemic, we used to export 600,000 to 700,000 surgical masks a month, but now the amount is zero," said David Peng, manager of Ningbo Buy Best International Trading Co. in Ningbo, south of Shanghai. The company's dozen or so suppliers in Hubei, near the center of the outbreak, have been ordered to prioritize government orders.
Apart from shortages of workers, manufacturers say they are struggling to get enough raw materials to make the masks. Tony Zhou, sales manager for Suzhou Sanical Protective Products Manufacturing Co., said his company is asking overseas customers if masks can be delivered a few months later.
In the U.S., Walgreens, Home Depot, Lowe’s and True Value Hardware are reporting a sharp uptick in sales of masks over the past several weeks and say they are scrambling to get more from suppliers.
Home Depot, the nation’s largest home improvement chain, has limited sales of N95 respirators to 10 per person. They have a close facial fit and more filtration material than general surgical masks, enabling them to keep out at least 95% of particles.
Marc Jaconski, owner of Stanley’s True Value Hardware and Rental store in Philadelphia, said he saw a surge in demand for masks, particularly the N95, two weeks ago. But since Tuesday, when the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned that the virus will almost certainly spread in the U.S., sales went through the roof.
“We would be crazy busy with snow, but we are not getting snow,’’ he said. ‘’We’re crazy busy with respirators.’’
Jaconski said his store has sold 1,000 masks of all kinds in the past two weeks. He has ordered more N95s, but customers are so desperate they are picking up lightweight dust masks or buying heavy-duty respirators used for asbestos cleanup that sell for up to $60.
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“It’s usually the oldest folks who get a little crazed,” he said. ‘’This time, it is everybody.’’
People wear N95 face masks on the Sukhumvit MRT train platform on February 28, 2020 in Bangkok, Thailand. Coronavirus fears have led to a global run on face masks. Rumors that toilet paper and napkins could be used as masks have emptied store shelves in Asia of paper goods over the past few weeks. (Lauren DeCicca / Getty Images)
The virus has sickened more than 82,000 people worldwide and killed more than 2,800, according to international health authorities.
Still, the CDC doesn't recommend that people wear masks to protect themselves from the virus. The CDC says people infected — or those showing symptoms such as fever and shortness of breath — should wear masks to avoid spreading it to others. Health care workers also need masks, the agency says.
Mike Ganio of the American Society of Health-Systems Pharmacists said some hospital pharmacies are saying that they have only a one- to two-week supply of masks and that the major wholesalers are unable to fill orders.
Within hospitals, surgical masks are worn by operating room teams — doctors, nurses, anesthesiologists — and frequently by pharmacists. Staff members caring for patients with dangerous infections wear the N95 masks.
Dr. Sarah Boston, a veterinary surgical oncologist and author in Toronto, uses 10 to 15 surgical masks per week in her practice. She switched to a less comfortable brand when her usual supplier ran out.
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“I've spoken to a lot of people who are worried that we're going to lose supply or not be able to get them,” she said.
Boston sees a lot of people wearing them incorrectly — over their mouths but not their noses, for example — and said they should understand that other things would be more effective, like frequent hand-washing.
Companies that make masks are struggling to keep up.
Medicom Group, a Montreal medical supply company, usually makes 150 million masks per year at its factory near Angers, France. At the beginning of February, the factory had orders for 500 million masks. Orders have only grown since then, the company said, and it has hired new workers and increased capacity at its plants, including two in Shanghai and one in Augusta, Georgia.
3M, the Minnesota-based manufacturer, said it has ramped up production of respirators at its facilities in the U.S., Europe, Asia and Latin America.
Many people in Asia routinely wear masks against allergies, colds and smog, and soaring demand has prompted other manufacturers to retool to begin making masks.
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Taiwan manufacturer Foxconn, a major supplier of electronics to Apple, said it has begun making about 1 million masks a day for its own factories.
A store attendant displays an N-95 mask over a box of disposable surgical masks May 6, 2009, in Manila, Philippines. N95 masks have a close facial fit and more filtration material than general surgical masks, enabling them to keep out at least 95% of particles. (PAT ROQUE / Associated Press)
Dealmed, a New York company that makes and sells medical supplies, said it expects to sell out of face masks next week. It temporarily stopped taking orders from new customers a month ago and ended sales on Amazon and Walmart.com. It now is selling only to buyers that need them most, such as hospitals, doctors’ offices or government agencies.
Sales of gloves, gowns and other items jumped as much as 300% in February from the year before, said Michael Einhorn, Dealmed’s president. Sales of face masks are so astronomical, he said, he hasn’t been able to calculate them.
In Italy, the site of Europe's biggest cluster of cases, the government met with the country’s business lobby to work out a centralized distribution system to get masks to hard-hit areas.
Italy’s financial police announced they busted 20 people based in Turin for selling masks that were falsely said to offer complete protection against the disease. They were selling for as much as 5,000 euro apiece, or about $5,500.
On Amazon, the best-selling item in its health and household section Thursday was a pack of three cotton masks for $19.99. Ten-packs of 3M masks were sold out. And a listing for 100 disposable masks said it would arrive at shoppers’ doorsteps sometime in April or May.
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Prices varied wildly on Amazon. Some sellers were charging $98.50 or more for 50 disposable surgical masks; others were charging $33 for a similar set. Hand sanitizers were also hard to find on the site, with some bottles of Purell and Amazon's own brand sold out.
Dr. John Huber, a clinical psychologist and chairman of the Austin, Texas-based nonprofit Mainstream Mental Health, said retailers need to do a better job of allaying customers' fears and sharing the CDC's advice.
"It’s the fear of the unknown,’’ Huber said. “Once we understand something, we tend not to be so fearful.”
This story has updated to correct the spelling of the last name of the owner of Stanley’s True Value in Philadelphia.
The AP’s Linda A. Johnson, Elaine Kurtenbach and Yu Bing contributed.
Follow @ChiTribBusiness on Facebook and @ChiTribBiz on Twitter.


chicagotribune--2020-02-28--Former baseball coach’s lawsuit against OPRF High School moved to federal court

According to the complaint , which was initially filed Dec. 23 , 2019 in the Circuit Court of Cook County @ @ @ @ @ OPRF and two district employees of violating his rights when he was removed as the @ @ @ @ @ coach .
Ledbetter , a recovering addict , claims his rights were violated under the @ @ @ @ @ the complaint states .

Former Oak Park and River Forest High School head baseball coach and current physical education teacher Chris Ledbetter had his lawsuit against the school moved to a federal court. (Phil Velasquez, Chicago Tribune)
A physical education teacher’s lawsuit against Oak Park and River Forest High School, which alleges the school violated his rights when he was removed as the varsity baseball coach in early 2018, was moved to federal court this week.
According to the complaint, which was initially filed Dec. 23, 2019 in the Circuit Court of Cook County, teacher Chris Ledbetter accuses OPRF and two district employees of violating his rights when he was removed as the school’s head baseball coach. Ledbetter, a recovering addict, claims his rights were violated under the Americans with Disabilities Act, the complaint states.
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The termination caused “damage to his reputation, substantial economic loss, severe emotional distress [and] other physical and mental injuries,” the complaint states. According to the complaint, Ledbetter served as OPRF’s head varsity boys baseball coach for 17 years, but was removed from the position by the district in March 2018.
When reached by Pioneer Press, OPRF spokeswoman Karin Sullivan said the district does not comment on pending litigation, but did confirm Ledbetter remains “actively employed” by the district.
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Ledbetter’s attorney, Thomas C. Cronin, said he had no comment on the matter beyond the complaint.
In addition to the high school, the lawsuit names former principal Nathaniel Rouse and current athletic director John Stelzer as defendants.
In early 2017, Ledbetter allegedly met with Rouse and Stelzer to discuss his “dependency issues” and his need “to seek professional treatment,” the complaint states. Ledbetter then began a medical leave in February 2017, which required him to take a leave of absence from his duties as a physical education teacher and head baseball coach, the complaint states.
The complaint says Ledbetter completed an in-patient treatment program in March 2017, and continued to pursue ongoing out-patient treatment and counseling. Ledbetter then returned to his teaching position in April 2017, but wasn’t reinstated as head baseball coach until July. The school had appointed an interim head baseball coach that spring, the complaint states.
According to the complaint, OPRF and its administrators “closely monitored” Ledbetter’s movements following his leave of absence, and made “unusual demands” of him.
In the complaint, Ledbetter claims Rouse and Stelzer required him to apologize to every member of the athletic department. “Ledbetter personally apologized for his addiction, and for his decision to seek treatment and counseling on medical leave pursuant to the [Family and Medical Leave Act], from his fellow OPRF athletic staff members,” the complaint states.
Ledbetter said the demands were “outrageous” and were a violation of his rights, the complaint said. The complaint claims the demands caused Ledbetter “severe emotional distress and substantial reputational injury.”
By March 2018, Ledbetter claims OPRF began questioning him about his movements during the school day and even asking his colleagues “if Ledbetter was using illegal drugs.”
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The complaint alleges Rouse and Stelzer questioned Ledbetter’s colleagues about whether they had any information about any illegal drug use by Ledbetter, questioning which “was improper and violated Ledbetter’s rights.”
According to the complaint, Ledbetter does not use or abuse illegal drugs and does not engage in any illegal drug use. Ledbetter “is a recovering addict, and has been in recovery since at least early 2017,” the complaint states.
The complaint alleges Stelzer and Rouse “demanded that Ledbetter submit to a drug test” on March 19, 2018, which he claimed to have passed. Subsequently, Ledbetter was terminated as head baseball coach on or around March 22 of that year after he refused to resign the position, the complaint states.
As part of the complaint, Ledbetter is seeking “all actual and compensatory damages arising from OPRF’s breaches of contract,” and all other relief the court deems reasonable and appropriate. Such damages “currently exceed $50,000,” the complaint alleges.
sschering@pioneerlocal.com
Twitter: @steveschering


chicagotribune--2020-02-28--Chicago-based Paper Source to reopen 30 stores closed by bankrupt Papyrus, but don’t expect any Papy

Chicago-based Paper Source to reopen 30 stores closed by bankrupt Papyrus, but don’t expect any Papyrus greeting cards

“ We ’ ve never closed any stores in our 37-year history .
It ’ s something to be super @ @ @ @ @ , '' Park said .
`` ... We carry products that have been hand-crafted and @ @ @ @ @ It really ties us to our birthplace .
”

A man walks past Papyrus on the 100 block of S. LaSalle Street in January. Paper Source announced Friday it is reopening 30 stores, including the LaSalle Street location, closed by Papyrus when the greeting card and gift retailer filed for bankruptcy. (Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune)
Paper Source is buying 30 stores closed by bankrupt greeting card and gift retailer Papyrus, including one in the city’s Loop.
Chicago-based Paper Source, a maker of stationery, greeting cards and craft supplies, bought the Papyrus store leases through Delaware bankruptcy court for $575,000 and plans to open those locations under the Paper Source name, starting next month.
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The deal will enable the company to open in new areas and expand in cities like New York City, where it’s buying nine Papyrus stores. Paper Source will create about 300 jobs across its stores and distribution center as a result of the acquisition.
Winnie Park, CEO of Paper Source, said the former Papyrus store at 10 S. LaSalle St. will open March 15. Paper Source does not carry Papyrus products, she said.
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“We’ve never closed any stores in our 37-year history. It’s something to be super proud of in retail history," Park said. "... We carry products that have been hand-crafted and made here in Chicago. It really ties us to our birthplace.”
The Chicago store will sell Paper Source-branded cards, in addition to cards from other suppliers. Paper Source stores typically have arts and crafts workshops, but Park said the LaSalle location will not offer those due to the limited space.
Including the Papyrus stores, Paper Source has 165 stores nationwide. Bahrain-based Investcorp Bank BCS owns Paper Source, which it bought in 2013.
Last month, Schurman Fine Papers, which owns Papyrus, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, closing 254 stores, including six in Illinois. American Greetings owns the Papyrus brand and supplies the cards to retailers.
abjimenez@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @abdel1019


chicagotribune--2020-02-28--Amtrak police officer found not guilty of murder in 2017 shooting of unarmed man at Union Station

Tankson was placed on desk duty after the shooting .
He has been free while awaiting trial after paying the @ @ @ @ @ $ 250,000 bond — an amount Robertson ’ s family in 2017 blasted as far @ @ @ @ @ sought to have him held without bail , which is far more common for murder @ @

Amtrak police Officer LaRoyce Tankson, center, arrives with his attorney William Fahy, right, at the Leighton Criminal Court Building in Chicago on Friday, Feb. 28, 2020. Tankson, who was charged with murder for allegedly shooting a fleeing unarmed man, was found not guilty. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune)
A Cook County judge on Friday acquitted an Amtrak police officer of first-degree murder in the fatal on-duty shooting of an unarmed man, saying the officer reasonably believed he was acting in self-defense when he fired his weapon.
LaRoyce Tankson hugged his attorneys and blinked away tears as Judge Dennis Porter announced his decision. His supporters in the packed gallery sighed in relief.
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“The evidence is overwhelming that (he believed) the danger actually existed,” Porter said. “The thought that Officer Tankson was some type of cowboy out to put another notch on his gun is not borne out by the record in any way, shape or form, in my opinion.”
Tankson, now 34, and his partner were on duty near Union Station in February 2017 when they stopped Chad Robertson and two of his friends for loitering and smoking marijuana, Porter noted from the bench.
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The three moved along at the officers’ direction, but did not mention they had left luggage unattended inside the station, Porter said.
[ After officer charged, Amtrak shooting detailed: Cop 'assumed a crouched firing stance' ]
When one of Robertson’s companions went back to look after the bags, it aroused the officers’ suspicion. They tracked down the trio outside the station and asked them to get on the wall for a pat-down.
“Robertson was arguing that he did not wish to be patted down, and (said) ‘why are you bothering them?’ ” Porter said.
Tankson told him it was a search for weapons, at which point Robertson took off running.
As he fled, he turned slightly toward Tankson and reached into his left pocket — an act that Tankson interpreted as Robertson reaching for a gun.
Tankson yelled “gun" and fired his weapon, Porter recounted.
Robertson apparently was reaching to retrieve two bags of marijuana from his pocket and toss them to the ground. No weapons were found on him.
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But the act of turning slightly and reaching in his pocket, coupled with Robertson’s earlier resistance to the pat-down, was enough to give Tankson a reasonable belief that Robertson was armed and about to shoot, Porter said.
“I consider this to be a very unfortunate situation, a great tragedy, and if I had the power to put everything back for the parties the way it was the week prior to February the 8th of 2017, I would do it in a heartbeat,” Porter said.
Tankson was placed on desk duty after the shooting. He has been free while awaiting trial after paying the required 10% of his $250,000 bond — an amount Robertson’s family in 2017 blasted as far too lenient. Prosecutors had sought to have him held without bail, which is far more common for murder defendants.
Robertson’s family has filed a wrongful death suit in federal court, alleging Tankson was negligent and “his use of force was extreme.” That suit was put on hold while Tankson’s criminal case was pending.
Tankson was the second cop charged with first-degree murder within the first few months of Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx’s tenure.
The first, ex-Chicago police Officer Lowell Houser, stood trial last year in an off-duty slaying on the Northwest Side.
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Houser also made self-defense the cornerstone of his argument, while prosecutors alleged the shooting was unjustified. He was convicted of second-degree murder.
Judge William Gamboney found that Houser thought his actions were justified, but that he had no objective reason to fear for his life. The ex-cop was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
mcrepeau@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-02-28--After a tumultuous 2019 season, Cubs outfielder Ian Happ seeks to stabilize his role in the lineup

After rejoining the Cubs on July 26 last season , Happ became part of the rotation — but he started @ @ @ @ @ games in which he played .
Happ knows the lineup is out of his control @ @ @ @ @ enough to force the issue and perhaps stay in center field .

SURPRISE, Ariz. — Ian Happ’s versatility has been an asset since he joined the Cubs in 2017.
But as he learned a year ago — when the Cubs sent the switch hitter to Triple-A Iowa for a humbling 3½-month stay — Happ must produce at the plate, much like he did in September.
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“Last spring I was making a lot of adjustments and thinking a lot about mechanics and not as much about competing and seeing the ball,” Happ, a 2015 first-round pick, said. “It was a lot different spring for me and just feeling comfortable at the plate.”
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Manager David Ross said before Cactus League games began that Happ, 25, would get most of his playing time in center field. But how much he plays depends on how well he reduces mistakes at the plate and produces as a switch hitter.
“It’s not a video game,” Happ said. “You just can’t plug and play. To be able to have everyday at-bats, to feel comfortable with different pitchers as you go through the league when you’re seeing guys over and over, that’s important.
“And as a switch hitter, making sure you’re getting at-bats from both sides of the plate. If you don’t get an (at-bat) from one side of the plate, it’s going to be tough.”
Spring training will afford Happ the opportunity to hit left-handed and right-handed, although he has batted mostly from the left side this spring, getting three hits in his first eight at-bats with a double and four RBIs.
Happ’s production could allow Ross to opt for a different look and take advantage of his switch-hitting skills lower in the batting order, presenting a dilemma for opposing managers later in games.
“I definitely see a guy having a (good) at-bat, hitting to all fields,” Ross said. “His right-handed swing looks really good so far. He seems in a great place mentally. I see a difference.”
Under former manager Joe Maddon, the Cubs used 140 lineups, partly in an effort to continue the development of young players such as Kyle Schwarber and Albert Almora Jr.
After rejoining the Cubs on July 26 last season, Happ became part of the rotation — but he started only 28 of the 58 games in which he played. Happ knows the lineup is out of his control — unless he hits well enough to force the issue and perhaps stay in center field.
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“We’ve talked about it,” Happ said. “There will be times when it’s necessary (to move around), but maybe late in games or if different things happen.
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“It’s always about roster construction, so it’s just a matter of who the guys are out there and how it all fits.”
Happ, who can play all three outfield positions as well as second and third base, started in only nine games in September, but Maddon often used him as a mid- to late-game substitute. In 66 plate appearances in the month, he hit .311 with four doubles, six home runs, 17 RBIs and a 1.021 OPS.
Happ also went 6-for-16 with two home runs as a pinch hitter. Although the sample size wasn’t as large as it was in 2018, when Happ spent the full season in the majors, his strikeout rate dipped from 36.1% to 25%.
That was one of the major issues the Cubs wanted Happ to address last year when they demoted him shortly before the start of the season. Happ struck out 14 times in 52 spring training at-bats and hit only .135, prompting the Cubs to carry unheralded outfielder Mark Zagunis for most of the first two months.
The Cubs waited patiently for Happ to correct his flaws from both sides of the plate, and he finally convinced them after batting .348 with five home runs, 12 RBIs and a .451 on-base percentage in his final 19 games with Iowa.
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Happ still needs to shore up the batting-average gap against right-handers (.273) and lefties (.233) from the last two months, but he showed enough signs for optimism.
“If you have good at-bats — however you can do it — if you’re helping the team enough, you should be playing every day,” Happ said.


chicagotribune--2020-02-28--Lizzo hit with copyright suit over ‘Truth Hurts’

“ Lizzo is a talented musician and performer who currently enjoys immense popularity based on a hit song that she @ @ @ @ @ ” said their attorney , Lawrence Iser , in a statement .
“ The Counterclaims @ @ @ @ @ judgment from the court that the song that is now called ‘ Truth Hurts ’ @ @ @ @ @ s home recording studio from a collaboration among our clients , Justin and Jeremiah Raisen @ @ @ @ @ with Lizzo and Jesse Saint John .
When the case proceeds to trial , we @ @ @ @ @ sound recordings , videos , photographs and musicology that 100 % prove that collaboration .
@ @ @ @ @ share of the recognition and revenue that comes from collaborating on a hit song .
@

Three songwriters filed a countersuit against Lizzo in federal court on Friday, alleging that they have been denied proper credit for writing her breakout hit, “Truth Hurts.”
Lizzo sued the songwriters -- brothers Justin and Jeremiah Raisen, as well as Justin “Yves” Rothman -- last October, seeking a determination that they did not deserve credit for the song.
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On Friday, the trio fired back, alleging that "Truth Hurts" is substantially similar to "Healthy," a song they composed with Lizzo a few months earlier.
“Lizzo is a talented musician and performer who currently enjoys immense popularity based on a hit song that she did not write alone,” said their attorney, Lawrence Iser, in a statement. “The Counterclaims we filed today seek a judgment from the court that the song that is now called ‘Truth Hurts’ originated in Justin Raisen’s home recording studio from a collaboration among our clients, Justin and Jeremiah Raisen and Yves Rothman, along with Lizzo and Jesse Saint John. When the case proceeds to trial, we look forward to sharing the sound recordings, videos, photographs and musicology that 100% prove that collaboration. Our clients deserve their fair share of the recognition and revenue that comes from collaborating on a hit song.”
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According to the countersuit, a musicologist found "strikingly similar lyric and musical elements" in the two songs. Both songs open with the now-famous line: "I just did a DNA test / turns out I'm a 100% that bitch." "Healthy" continues, "even when I'm holistic," while in "Truth Hurts," the next line is "even when I'm crying crazy." The countersuit contends there are other musical similarities as well, in the use of piano, Lizzo's "vamping," and in the overall structure of the chorus and verses.
In the earlier complaint, Lizzo's attorneys said the Raisens had previously given a written waiver of any right to the song.
When the controversy first became public, Lizzo posted on social media: “The men who now claim a piece of ‘Truth Hurts’ did not help me write any part of the song. They had nothing to do with the line or how I chose to sing it. There was no one in the room when I wrote ‘Truth Hurts,’ except me, Ricky Reed and my tears.”


chicagotribune--2020-02-28--Los Angeles deputies reportedly shared graphic Kobe Bryant crash photos

The Los Angeles Times reported that a public safety source with knowledge of the events had seen one of the @ @ @ @ @ another official in a setting that was not related to the investigation of the crash @ @ @ @ @ showed the scene and victims ’ remains .

LOS ANGELES — Authorities are investigating whether deputies shared graphic photos of the helicopter crash scene where Kobe Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter and seven others were killed, according to a newspaper report.
The Los Angeles Times reported that a public safety source with knowledge of the events had seen one of the photos on the phone of another official in a setting that was not related to the investigation of the crash. He said the photos showed the scene and victims’ remains.
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The source spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the allegations.
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Deputy Maria Lucero told The Associated Press on Friday that “the matter is being looked into.”
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The Association for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs, the union that represents rank-and-file deputies, did not immediately return requests for comment.
The Times reported that it's unclear how widely the photos might have been disseminated and who was involved. It's additionally unclear whether the deputies had taken the photos themselves or received them from someone else.
Capt. Jorge Valdez, a spokesman for the sheriff's department, said the department had contacted the victims' families because of the newspaper's inquiries.
Bryant and the others were killed in the Jan. 26 helicopter crash northwest of Los Angeles were traveling to a youth basketball tournament at Bryant's sports facility in Thousand Oaks. The cause of the crash is undetermined.
Bryant and his daughter Gianna, whose team was coached by her father, were honored at a public memorial Monday at Staples Center, where Bryant starred for most of his 20-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers.
A report by the National Transportation Safety Board stated there weren't any signs of engine failure from the wreckage recovered from the crash site. The pilot, Ara Zobayan, had nearly navigated the helicopter out of blinding clouds when it turned and plunged into the mountainside.
Bryant’s widow, Vanessa, filed a wrongful death lawsuit Monday, alleging that Zobayan was careless and negligent by flying in cloudy conditions and should have aborted the flight. The lawsuit names Island Express Helicopters Inc., operator of the service, and Island Express Holding Corp., owner of the craft. It also targets pilot Ara Zobayan’s representative or successor, listed only as “Doe 1” until a name can be determined.
Also killed in the crash were Orange Coast College baseball coach John Altobelli, his wife, Keri, and their daughter Alyssa; Christina Mauser, who helped Bryant coach the girls’ basketball team; and Sarah Chester and her daughter Payton. Keri and Payton were Gianna’s teammates.


chicagotribune--2020-02-28--Police arrest man accused of punching people near Harold Washington Library

“ There was a service call placed for a battery in the 400 block of South Plymouth Street , ” @ @ @ @ @ other similar requests for police service came in , all of which were around the @ @ @ @ @ of South State Street , near the library .

An arrest has been made after several people were punched by a man near the Harold Washington Library in the Loop on Friday morning, police said.
Police spokeswoman Sally Bown, who was citing preliminary information, said officers received the first call about the situation about 8:50 a.m.
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“There was a service call placed for a battery in the 400 block of South Plymouth Street,” Bown said. Then, other similar requests for police service came in, all of which were around the area of the 400 block of South State Street, near the library.
A male suspect was taken into custody after “multiple battery incidents,” according to police spokeswoman Kellie Bartoli.
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It was unclear how badly injured the victims were, but at least one woman suffered a bloody nose and was treated on the scene by emergency responders, Bown said.
As of about 12:15 p.m., officers remained on the scene.
A Chicago Fire Department spokesman had no further information.
Check back for details.


chicagotribune--2020-02-28--Review: ‘Middle Passage’ at Lifeline Theatre is both a swashbuckling adventure and a powerful indict

Review: ‘Middle Passage’ at Lifeline Theatre is both a swashbuckling adventure and a powerful indictment of slavery

I ’ ll second all of that and add that it is unusual , now , to experience those qualities @ @ @ @ @ But although “ Middle Passage ” is an indictment of the slave trade , racism @ @ @ @ @ who should have known better , Johnson ( and Barr ) still want to tell @ @ @ @ @ story .
If that sounds a mismatch of styles , the answer is that “ @ @ @ @ @ styles , depending on which moment you are watching , and that one of the @ @ @ @ @ , both by Johnson and Barr , is to focus not just on how the @ @ @ @ @ but their elite stature , their majesty and their awe-inspiring intelligence .
In Johnson ’ @ @ @ @ @ were close to immortal , and thus symbols of hope in the face of repression @

When Charles R. Johnson wrote the novel “Middle Passage,” which won the National Book Award in 1990 for the Evanston-born writer, he immersed himself in the musings of nautical adventurers: Herman Melville, Jack London, Robert Louis Stevenson, even the mythology of Sinbad the Sailor.
But there is an important difference between those antecedents and Johnson’s story of the 1830 adventures of Rutherford Calhoun, a cocksure young citizen of Illinois who plays around on the seafront of New Orleans and then stows away on a ship, the Republic, mostly to avoid his debtors and a potential marriage to a schoolteacher about whom he is less than enthusiastic.
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Callhoun is African-American, a freed slave. The Republic, he comes to discover, is a slave ship bound for West Africa. Its human quarry is to be the Allmuseri, a fearsome tribe in Johnson’s telling, known for their longevity, height, lack of fingerprints and, it is rumored, for the second brain that occupies the base of their spines.
Callhoun does not jump ship at the very idea but signs on anyway. He is to find out that the Allmuseri are not the only object of the voyage.
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And thus Johnson tells a swashbuckling story rich with all kinds of themes, most of which explicate the inherent contradictions and complexities within American history and culture. The central figure is, of course, Rutherford, an initially invisible man who finds himself set adrift in a pool of chaos and must find his own moral center.
Andrés Enriquez, Patrick Blashill, Jill Oliver, David Stobbe, Christopher Hainsworth, Michael Morrow and Demetra Dee in “Middle Passage" at Lifeline Theatre. (Suzanne Plunkett photo)
Lifeline Theatre is famous for its literary adventure shows that take its Rogers Park audience off on all manner of improbable voyages, the small stage filling with masts, actors being blown about in the wind, and the speakers crackling with the wind and the rain. As adapted for the stage by David Barr III and Ilesa Duncan, “Middle Passage” is not an original production; it was previously staged as “Rutherford’s Travels” by Duncan, now the artistic director of Lifeline, at the Pegasus Players in 2016. In her Tribune review, critic Kerry Reid called that first staging of the show “a ripping yarn, a thrilling bildungsroman and rich in comic detail.”
I’ll second all of that and add that it is unusual, now, to experience those qualities alongside this particular theme. But although “Middle Passage” is an indictment of the slave trade, racism and self-serving complicity by those who should have known better, Johnson (and Barr) still want to tell a swashbuckling and often funny story. If that sounds a mismatch of styles, the answer is that “Middle Passage” has many styles, depending on which moment you are watching, and that one of the key aims and achievements here, both by Johnson and Barr, is to focus not just on how the captured Africans were treated, but their elite stature, their majesty and their awe-inspiring intelligence. In Johnson’s imagination, the Allmuseri were close to immortal, and thus symbols of hope in the face of repression.
Certainly, there are physical limitations and also subtler pieces of theater in town, although Alan Donahue’s set certainly takes you out to sea and back again. There’s a deftly toned lead performance from the young actor Michael Morrow, evoking part a cipher and, maybe, an eventual man who finally knows himself. Add in a full-throated theatrical turn from Patrick Blashill as Captain Falcon, and Bryan Carter as one of big characters on the quay and you’re in the company of skilled storytellers in service of the explication of freedom. The show is great for anyone about 11 years old and up.
Chris Jones is a Tribune critic.
cjones5@chicagotribune.com
Review: “Middle Passage” (3 stars)
When: Through April 5
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Where: Lifeline Theatre, 6912 N. Glenwood Ave.
Running time: 2 hours, 10 minutes
Tickets: $45 at 773-761-4477 or www.lifelinetheatre.com