chicagotribune--2020-06-18--Mayor Lori Lightfoot rips Chicago Teachers Union’s ‘Scooby-Doo’ tweet as ‘racist’

The tweet , which was unavailable Thursday afternoon , depicted the African American mayor bound with rope , surrounded by @ @ @ @ @ have taken a police officer mask off her head to reveal that the officer is @ @ @ @ @ s a play on the scene at the end of each episode of the Hanna-Barbera @ @ @ @ @ of youngsters would solve the mystery by unmasking a villain to show it was actually @ @ @ @ @ met earlier in the episode .

Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Thursday lambasted as “clearly racist” and “deeply offensive” a tweet by the Chicago Teachers Union depicting an apparent cartoon version of her tied up, wearing a police uniform and being unmasked by the characters from the “Scooby-Doo” TV show.
The tweet, which was unavailable Thursday afternoon, depicted the African American mayor bound with rope, surrounded by the white characters, who have taken a police officer mask off her head to reveal that the officer is actually Lightfoot. It’s a play on the scene at the end of each episode of the Hanna-Barbera cartoon, when the team of youngsters would solve the mystery by unmasking a villain to show it was actually a person they’d met earlier in the episode.
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Lightfoot said she hadn’t seen the tweet but had it described to her. The original image was still available on Instagram Thursday evening.
“Let me say this: If that kind of tweet, which is clearly racist, had been put forward by a right-wing group, we would rightly be denouncing them, and I think our scorn should be no less because it was put out by the CTU,” she said at a morning news conference about repairs to the Lakefront Trail.
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“It’s certainly disappointing when a group that professes to be educators, people who are in our classrooms, teaching our young people, would engage in these kinds of really deeply offensive and disappointing tactics,” Lightfoot added.
In response, CTU spokeswoman Chris Geovanis released a statement pointing out Lightfoot has opposed recent demands from black activists such as defunding the Chicago Police Department, removing police from Chicago Public Schools, establishing Juneteenth as a paid public holiday and establishing a civilian oversight board with the power to investigate and fire police officers.
“To every demand this mayor and this administration has offered a resounding ‘no,‘ ” Geovanis’ statement reads in part.
“It’s striking that so many of those outraged over a meme have little to nothing to say about the nullification of those most responsible for this moment.”
Geovanis said the union empathizes “with our black brothers and sisters who are triggered by any image that reminds us of the violence perpetrated against us in this land over 400 years and counting.”
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As a Twitter furor erupted over the tweet after the CTU posted it on Wednesday night, union Vice President Stacy Davis Gates tweeted, “Miss me with the ‘racist meme.’ Talk about the real issue. The manufacturing of outrage? There’s real real outrage abt real racism & injustice.”
Miss me with the “racist meme.” Talk about the real issue. The manufacturing of outrage? There’s real real outage abt real racism & injustice. — #CTUINC (@stacydavisgates) June 18, 2020
Lightfoot and the CTU have been high-profile political opponents since before the mayor was elected last spring. The union poured money and manpower into backing Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle for mayor, only to see Lightfoot beat her.
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Then the union went out on strike for 11 school days last fall, further eroding the relationship between the organization and the mayor.
When asked Thursday about CTU’s tweet, Preckwinkle said she saw it and “thought it was in poor taste.” Pressed further about whether she’d ask the union’s leadership to remove the tweet, she said she wouldn’t go that far: “What they do is on them.”
Chicago Tribune’s Lisa Donovan contributed.
jebyrne@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @_johnbyrne


Corrections and clarifications

· A story published June 8 about the coronavirus outbreak in France said the nation is faring better with its @ @ @ @ @ the United States but omitted information that would explain that conclusion .
The story should @ @ @ @ @ greater population density and sharp declines in hospitalizations and death curve .

· A review on Page 2 of Tuesday’s Arts + Entertainment section about Dave Chappelle’s YouTube special of “8:46” misidentified the ancestor Dave Chappelle said lobbied Woodrow Wilson. It was his great-grandfather.
· A story published June 8 about the coronavirus outbreak in France said the nation is faring better with its response compared with that of the United States but omitted information that would explain that conclusion. The story should have noted France’s greater population density and sharp declines in hospitalizations and death curve.
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The Tribune regrets the errors.
Publishing information quickly and accurately is a central part of the Chicago Tribune’s news responsibility and a value shared in all our publications. Our editorial code of principles governs professional behavior and journalism standards. Everyone in our newsroom must agree to live up to this code of conduct. Download the file.
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chicagotribune--2020-06-18--Illinois Supreme Court rules older Chicago police misconduct records should remain available to publ

Illinois Supreme Court rules older Chicago police misconduct records should remain available to public

“ For way too long , we have not been as transparent as we need to be in this city @ @ @ @ @ a Thursday morning news conference on another topic .
“ We have to have accountability @ @ @ @ @ ’ t come if we hide from the public documents that underscore what has happened @ @ @ @ @ in our city .
”

Chicago police misconduct records that are more than five years old will remain available to the public, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled Thursday, turning away an attempt by the city’s police union to have them destroyed as a matter of course.
The Chicago Fraternal Order of Police had sued, contending that such records should be eliminated after five years under the city’s police collective bargaining agreement. A court arbitrator had called for the city and the FOP to come to an agreement on the issue, but the city had successfully challenged that decision at the appellate level.
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The state’s high court found 6-1 that the arbitration outcome violated clear public policy in the state’s Local Records Act, siding with City Hall.
“In sum, we find there is a ‘well-defined and dominant’ public policy rooted in state law concerning the procedures for the proper retention and destruction of government records,” the majority wrote.
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The state Supreme Court decision comes at a sensitive time nationally on policing issues and misconduct, and as Mayor Lori Lightfoot is under pressure to speed up reforms at CPD. The mayor called the court’s ruling the right decision.
“For way too long, we have not been as transparent as we need to be in this city,” said Lightfoot at a Thursday morning news conference on another topic. “We have to have accountability and legitimacy and that can’t come if we hide from the public documents that underscore what has happened with disciplinary investigations and records in our city.”
CPD’s critics have supported the release of such complaint records, arguing they can help identify patterns of misconduct by officers even if they were never disciplined by the department. The FOP has opposed their release, claiming that many complaints made against cops are bogus and that officers who amass the most complaints are likely the ones who work hard and make a lot of arrests.
FOP President John Catanzara on Thursday said he “couldn’t be more disappointed” with the court’s decision, and said he is instructing the union’s lawyers to see if there is a way to take the case to the U.S. Supreme Court.
"It goes against every ounce of logic there is," Catanzara said. "The contractual rights that were in our collective bargaining agreement for the better part of four decades were set in stone."
Citing the dissent of Justice Thomas Kilbride, Catanzara said other unions across Illinois should also be “screaming from the top of their lungs” to fight the decision alongside the FOP.
“I think it’s nonsense and we’re certainly not going to take it at face value,” Catanzara said.
The five-year rule is one of the host of provisions in police union contracts that reform advocates have complained hinder transparency and further hobble the notoriously slow and ineffective officer disciplinary system. They’ve called on the department to renegotiate its union contracts to eliminate that rule, along with disciplinary protections such as the ones that delay the statements of cops who shoot people and ban rewards for cops who blow the whistle on misconduct.
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Lightfoot herself has been one voice making those calls. Before her election, she chaired Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s police reform task force, which in 2016 recommended that the city rework the union deals.
FOP leaders have vowed not to let the protections go during the ongoing bargaining process, and they have complained that the city wants to railroad cops.
In his dissent, Kilbride wrote it was his belief that the arbitrator ordered the parties to meet on the issue, not specifically for records to be destroyed. He also wrote that the decision could have an impact on other labor issues in the state.
“The majority decision strikes at the heart of the collective bargaining process protected by the Public Labor Relations Act and may, as a consequence, adversely affect public sector collective bargaining contracts that contain arbitration agreements,” he wrote.
The FOP contended that by allowing the records in question to be subject to open-records requests under the state’s Freedom of Information Act, the city violated the union’s collective bargaining agreement.
The majority noted that the agreement does call for the destruction of disciplinary records, including those kept by the predecessor to the Civilian Office of Police Accountability, after five years, and that the city did systematically eliminate them up until 1991. At that point, federal judges in civil actions began issuing orders preserving records.
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The FOP filed grievances over the issue in 2011 and 2012.
In 2014, the state appellate court ruled that all complaints about Chicago police misconduct and the related investigative files, even for accusations considered unfounded, are public records and must be turned over by city officials. At the time, a three-judge panel rejected the city’s claim that such files are exempt from the Illinois Freedom of Information Act.
Before that, the public was only allowed to learn the outcomes of police disciplinary cases, including the types of punishment, if complaints against officers resulted in a finding of “sustained,” denoting the cops in question are guilty of the allegations against them.
That ruling came from a lawsuit filed by South Side activist and journalist Jamie Kalven, who was pursuing police misconduct records. As a result of that litigation and a second lawsuit, several lists were generated with the names of officers who amassed the most complaints from around 2001 into December 2008.
The records showed the city rarely handed out punishment to the officers who were listed. Among the most complained-against officers, the records revealed, were those from one of the most scandal-plagued police units in the city’s history, the Special Operations Section, which disbanded in the 2000s after several of its cops abused and robbed citizens for their own financial gain.
In a separate lawsuit, the Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times later filed FOIAs requesting police misconduct records going back to 1967, when complaint records were first kept. CPD was days away from releasing the information in 2014 when the FOP filed a lawsuit and emergency motion with the Cook County Circuit Court claiming that making it public would violate the union’s collective bargaining agreement with the city, which required any disciplinary records five years old to be destroyed.
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The court noted “the FOP argues that there is no well-defined, dominant public policy that would allow Illinois courts to set aside a provision within a collective bargaining agreement mandating document destruction of governmental records like police disciplinary and investigation records.”
But the majority disagreed.
“In light of the plain language of the Local Records Act, we agree with the City that the statutory framework the General Assembly constructed makes clear that Illinois recognizes a public policy favoring the proper retention of government records and that the destruction of public records may occur only after consideration by and with the approval from the Commission in a process established by the (Local Records) Commission.”
jgorner@chicagotribune.com
jebyrne@chicagotribune.com
dhinkel@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-06-18--Coronavirus in Illinois updates: 593 new known COVID-19 cases and 55 more deaths reported as reopeni

Coronavirus in Illinois updates: 593 new known COVID-19 cases and 55 more deaths reported as reopening plans for Lakefront and 606 trails next week take shape

The Food and Drug Administration sent warning letters to the companies Wednesday , saying their products are illegal because they @ @ @ @ @ the agency for home use .
While the FDA has OK ’ d a handful @ @ @ @ @ to collect saliva samples at home , the agency has not cleared any tests for @ @ @ @ @

We have lifted the paywall on this story. To support essential reporting, please consider becoming a subscriber .
The Fulton Market area of Chicago is no longer the ghost town it was during the depths of the COVID-19 virus pandemic shutdown. As restrictions on restaurants are eased, a worker takes a woman's temperature before she can enter Federales restaurant on Morgan Street on July 1, 2020. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)
The Lakefront and 606 Bloomingdale trails will reopen Monday after closing for nearly three months due to the coronavirus pandemic. The plan for reopening the trails, which will both be open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily, requires users to stay in constant motion. The city said compliance is “critical” to prevent congregating and make sure users are practicing social distancing.
Meanwhile, state health officials on Thursday announced 593 new known cases of COVID-19 and 55 additional deaths, bringing the total number of known cases to 134,778 and the death toll to 6,537 statewide.
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Also on Thursday, the total number of confirmed cases in Chicago surpassed 50,000, as the citywide total reached 50,084. At least 2,459 Chicagoans have died from COVID-19.
DuPage County, the next largest county after Cook, has 8,574 confirmed cases and 443 deaths. Even when taking population into account, Chicago has a higher rate of confirmed COVID-19 cases than suburban counties.
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[ When can Illinois move to phase 4? Here's where each region stands. ]
[ How will Illinois reopen? Three charts breaking down Pritzker’s plan ]
[ COVID-19 cases in Illinois by ZIP code: Search for your neighborhood ]
[ As the coronavirus spreads, the Tribune is tracking Illinois cases here ]
Here’s what’s happening Thursday with COVID-19 in the Chicago area and Illinois:
5:07 p.m.: City planning 30 miles of new bikeways, more open streets
The city of Chicago is taking advantage of the challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic to test using streets in new ways, by opening them up to dining, pedestrians and cycling.
“This is an opportunity for Chicago as a whole to think about what our public streets mean to us,” Chicago Department of Transportation Commissioner Gia Biagi said.
Besides creating open streets that limit vehicle traffic and closing sections of some streets for weekend dining, the Transportation Department will add up to 30 miles of new bikeways this year, compared with 13 miles last year. The city also plans to paint fresh striping on 40 miles of bikeways, compared with the 10 miles that were restriped last year.
On top of this is a much more ambitious scooter pilot with 10,000 scooters later this summer, four times as many as last year, and an expanded Divvy program.
The city has created, with community input, 6 miles of “open streets,” which are limited to local traffic and make it easier to use them for walking and biking. The locations include a section of Leland Avenue in the Ravenswood neighborhood, Wabansia Avenue in West Town and Drexel Boulevard in Kenwood.
“People are saying ‘Chicago ... where are your 73 miles of shared streets?” Biagi said. “It was important for us to learn from other cities and also listen really well. ... Every neighborhood is different and there are different traffic challenges. We want to make sure we’re supporting business.”
Read more here. —Mary Wisniewski
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4:48 p.m.: Illinois unemployment rate dropped to 15.2% in May as businesses began reopening
The Illinois unemployment rate fell to 15.2% in May, down from a 44-year high of 17.2% in April, as businesses shut down by the coronavirus began reopening, according to the state’s Department of Employment Security.
The national seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for May was 13.3%, an increase from 3.6% a year prior and down from 14.7% in April.
Compared to a year earlier, the the state had 737,900 fewer nonfarm jobs in May. Many of the job losses were in the leisure and hospitality sector, which lost 285,200 jobs over the year and has been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic. The trade, transportation, and utilities sector also lost 102,100 jobs over the year.
“As we continue to grapple with the unprecedented impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, we remain committed to safely reopening the state to begin economic recovery,” Deputy Governor Dan Hynes said in a news release.
—Chicago Tribune staff
2:47 p.m.: University of Illinois will reopen with face masks and COVID-19 testing but also virtual classes; other colleges also plan blend of online, in-person learning
After months of deliberation, the state’s largest public university signaled Thursday that it will bring students back to its Urbana campus this fall and let them take in-person classes in “a modified manner” as long as they wear face masks, submit to coronavirus testing, practice social distancing and otherwise help prevent the spread of COVID-19.
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Students who don’t or can’t return to the downstate campus, which hit record enrollment last year with more than 51,000 students, can take classes solely online, UIUC is expected to announce later Thursday. But students who already signed up to live university housing or freshmen who are required to reside on campus will have to submit special documentation and receive approval to learn from a distance.
Read more here. —Elyssa Cherney
2:35 p.m.: 593 new known COVID-19 cases, 55 additional deaths
On Thursday, state health officials announced 593 new known cases of COVID-19 and 55 additional deaths, bringing the total number of known cases to 134,778 and the death toll to 6,537 statewide since the start of the pandemic. Officials also reported 25,504 new tests in the last 24 hours.
2:05 p.m.: Lakefront, 606 trails reopen Monday: What you need to know
The Lakefront and 606 Bloomingdale trails will reopen Monday after closing for nearly three months due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“We want the public to enjoy these iconic opportunities in the outdoors, but we want everyone to do this safely,” Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said. Planning to venture out?
Here’s what you need to know. —Jennifer Day
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1:52 p.m.: Now you can bet from home, too. Rivers launches first online sportsbook in Illinois as casinos remain closed.
Professional sporting events may still be few and far between under wide-ranging coronavirus restrictions, but as of Thursday, sports fans in Illinois can bet on games online.
Rivers Casino Des Plaines and Rush Street Interactive launched the state’s first online sportsbook at 10 a.m. Thursday at BetRivers. Users can sign up from home and place bets from their desktop or mobile device as they watch games live from the site, the companies said in a news release.
Read more here. —Jocelyn Allison
12:53 p.m.: From the teachers strike to the school shutdown, looking back at an extraordinary year in Chicago Public Schools
The 2019-20 school year in Chicago Public Schools — which formally ends Thursday — started out with the looming threat of a teachers strike.
That came to pass a few weeks later. But the shutdown of schools and disruption of lives it caused would turn out to be a dry run for the unimaginable that was to come months later when the coronavirus showed up. And one of Illinois’ very first cases turned out to be a CPS classroom aide.
Take a look back here at CPS’s strange and extraordinary year, from picket lines to a global pandemic.
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—Sophie Sherry and Jemal R. Brinson
12:45 p.m.: Amtrak to end daily service on most long-distance routes starting in October
Amtrak will cut service later this year on most of its long-distance routes nationwide to three times a week instead of the current daily service because ridership has fallen significantly during the coronavirus pandemic.
Amtrak spokeswoman Kimberly Woods said Wednesday that the cuts will take effect Oct. 1 and remain in place until at least the summer of 2021, but daily service could be restored if demand improves along its long-distance routes. Many of Amtrak’s routes begin or end in Chicago.
Read more here. —Associated Press
Noon: Chicago’s iO Theater is shutting down permanently
Chicago’s iO Theater will shut down, owner Charna Halpern has told the Tribune, and the theater building at 1501 N. Kingsbury St. will be put up for sale. Halpern said she has no official closing date yet, but like all Chicago theaters, iO has been closed since late March by the pandemic.
The reasons for the closing are financial, Halpern said. She and the theater recently were charged with racism via a petition posted on change.org; the petition made a series of demands for changes in ownership and practices at the theater. Halpern said those events were not the deciding factor.
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She instead pointed to looming property taxes bills of close to $100,000 that would have had to come out of her personal savings.
Read more here. —Doug George
10:23 a.m.: Chicago resale shops open with safety precautions. With surge in quarantine spring cleaning, potential treasures await thrifters.
For shoppers who are redecorating or looking for a fashionable find on the cheap, Chicago’s thrift shops have reopened and are expecting a deluge of donations. After all, the last three months of at-home time gave us the opportunity to dig deep into our closets, basements and garages for a spring cleaning like no other.
We spoke to two of Chicago’s most popular thrifts shops and one hard-core thrifter about the new safety guidelines in place and the treasure trove that awaits.
Read more here. —David Syrek
7 a.m.: Billionaire Ken Griffin giving $5 million to help repair damaged Lakefront Trail as it and the 606 are set to reopen
Chicago billionaire Ken Griffin, who gave $12 million in 2016 to create separate paths for pedestrian and bicycle traffic on the busy Lakefront Trail, is giving another almost $5 million to help repair storm and water damage along the route, the city is expected to announce Thursday.
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The trail is set to reopen to the public Monday after it was closed in late March to guard against crowding during the coronavirus pandemic. The city also plans to announce the Monday reopening of The 606 Bloomingdale Trail, another popular public bike and pedestrian path on the Northwest Side closed due to the pandemic.
Read more here. —Mary Wisniewski
6:45 a.m.: Indiana Dunes beaches, with an influx of Illinois residents, are seeing large crowds. ‘Every day is like the Fourth of July.’
The usual announcement came across the loudspeakers Wednesday at Indiana Dunes State Park.
“Good morning, ladies and gentlemen! It’s 11 o’clock. The water is open,” the announcer said, shortly after lifeguards took to their stations, with reminders to only go in the water chest-deep and that inflatables and boogie boards were not allowed.
What’s been different this year, said officials with the state park and the Indiana Dunes National Park, as well as law enforcement, is the sheer volume of the crowds since beach season started Memorial Day weekend.
Read more here. —Amy Lavalley
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6:30 a.m.: Federal regulators warn Chicago firm, two other companies over illegal at-home COVID-19 tests
U.S. health regulators are cracking down on three companies -- including one from Chicago -- for selling at-home blood tests for coronavirus, warning the products have not been shown to safely and accurately screen for COVID-19.
The Food and Drug Administration sent warning letters to the companies Wednesday, saying their products are illegal because they have not been reviewed by the agency for home use. While the FDA has OK’d a handful of tests that allow patients to collect saliva samples at home, the agency has not cleared any tests for use completely at home.
At-home testing carries risks because consumers could mishandle the sample or misinterpret the results.
The companies targeted by FDA include: Medakit Ltd. of Hong Kong, Antibodiescheck.com of the United Arab Emirates and Sonrisa Family Dental of Chicago.
The letter to the Chicago company flagged online posts promoting “15 minute Covid tests for the whole family!” Among other violations, the company falsely claimed its products were “FDA approved” and appropriated the FDA logo without permission, the agency said.
Emails and calls to the companies were not immediately returned.
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—Associated Press


chicagotribune--2020-06-18--City planning 30 miles of new bikeways, more open streets

Biagi said the city does not plan a third scooter pilot , and wants to make sure it gets this @ @ @ @ @ requirement is that scooters have to be locked to fixed devices at the end of @ @ @ @ @ left in the middle of sidewalks .

Bicyclists ride on North Milwaukee Avenue approaching West Armitage Avenue in Chicago on June 18, 2020. Protected bike lanes will be added on Milwaukee between Western and California next month. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)
The city of Chicago is taking advantage of the challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic to test using streets in new ways, by opening them up to dining, pedestrians and cycling.
“This is an opportunity for Chicago as a whole to think about what our public streets mean to us,” Chicago Department of Transportation Commissioner Gia Biagi said.
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Besides creating open streets that limit vehicle traffic and closing sections of some streets for weekend dining, the Transportation Department will add up to 30 miles of new bikeways this year, compared with 13 miles last year. The city also plans to paint fresh striping on 40 miles of bikeways, compared with the 10 miles that were restriped last year.
On top of this is a much more ambitious scooter pilot with 10,000 scooters later this summer, four times as many as last year, and an expanded Divvy program.
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The city has created, with community input, 6 miles of “open streets,” which are limited to local traffic and make it easier to use them for walking and biking. The locations include a section of Leland Avenue in the Ravenswood neighborhood, Wabansia Avenue in West Town and Drexel Boulevard in Kenwood.
Bicyclists ride on North Milwaukee Avenue approaching West Armitage Avenue in Chicago on June 18, 2020. Protected bike lanes will be added on Milwaukee between Western and California next month. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)
Biagi said the city is collecting community input to decide on other open streets, but emphasized that she is not “in a race” to keep up with what New York City or other cities are doing.
“People are saying ‘Chicago ... where are your 73 miles of shared streets?” Biagi said. “It was important for us to learn from other cities and also listen really well. ... Every neighborhood is different and there are different traffic challenges. We want to make sure we’re supporting business.”
Street dining
Biagi said the pandemic created an opportunity to try things that the city was already thinking about in terms of expanded use of streets, beyond their use for cars.
“These are great opportunities to say, you know what, we can calm traffic and make a street a place to play, especially in areas that don’t have as much access to open space,” Biagi said.
Starting this past weekend with a section of Broadway in Lakeview East and part of Rush Street, the city is closing six streets on weekends for outdoor, socially distanced dining. More closures are planned for Taylor Street in Little Italy, 26th Street in Little Village, portions of Randolph Street in the West Loop and 75th Street in Chatham.
Biagi said the city is reviewing more than 100 applications for other street closures for dining. Local chambers of commerce, business associations or clusters of three restaurants on a block can apply.
New bikeways
Half the new bikeways planned for this year are on the South Side, including 4 miles along Loomis Avenue between 98th Street and Marquette Road and 2 miles along Michigan Avenue between 94th and 100th streets.
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The city also plans next month to put protected lanes along Milwaukee Avenue between Western and California avenues, a stretch which already sees heavy bike traffic.
Asked if the massive scooter pilot planned for later this summer might compete with the existing Divvy bike program, Biagi said the scooters will offer another mobility option.
Jim Merrell, advocacy director for the Active Transportation Alliance, said that the Alliance is interested in seeing how the city will use the scooter program to complement Divvy and not undermine it.
Scooters, electric bikes
Biagi said the city does not plan a third scooter pilot, and wants to make sure it gets this one right. One new requirement is that scooters have to be locked to fixed devices at the end of rides, instead of being left in the middle of sidewalks.
Biagi also said the city is “pretty close” to figuring out how to price Divvy electric bikes, which will be introduced later this year. While the price is expected to be higher than ordinary Divvy bikes, Biagi said the city is looking at a program that will allow lower-income residents to try out the bikes at lower prices.
Using streets in different ways can help with combating generational poverty, Biagi said, since a vibrant, welcoming street can help businesses.
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“What I hope is that people are using their streets in ways that they haven’t before, that they’re seeing the street as an extension of their front yard, their front stoop, and that we do a better job taking care of each other in the street,” Biagi said.
She said the pandemic has created a period where people have had to learn to take care of their neighbors, and maybe this could extend to how people use the streets, “where we drive a little slower, and we look out for each other.”
mwisniewski@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-06-18--University of Illinois will reopen with face masks and COVID-19 testing but also virtual classes; ot

University of Illinois will reopen with face masks and COVID-19 testing but also virtual classes; other colleges plan blend of online, in-person learning

“ The University plans to welcome you back in the fall and is excited to do so , ” according @ @ @ @ @ by Interim Provost Kathleen Hagerty and Vice President for Student Affairs Julie Payne-Kirchmeier .
“ @ @ @ @ @ who have left and will return to campus will find yourselves in a new and @ @ @ @ @ continue to change and evolve as the academic year progresses .
”

Students head to class at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign in January, before the coronavirus shut down campus. The school plans to reopen with restrictions and online offerings in the fall. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)
In a welcome announcement for restless college students, the University of Illinois confirmed Thursday that all three of its schools will hold modified classes on campus this fall as long as the masses of students coming back wear face masks, undergo coronavirus tests and practice social distancing to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.
That means dorms, dining halls, research labs and other campus facilities will begin to reopen in some fashion, with amended protocols to protect students and faculty from falling ill, according to a joint statement issued by university leaders.
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“Plans to restore in-person instruction were developed through weeks of exhaustive review that brought together literally hundreds of key stakeholders and considered every available option, from a full return to traditional instruction to remaining fully online,” said the message, also signed by university President Tim Killeen.
Exactly how college life will look this fall is top of mind for many students deciding whether to move back and reunite with classmates or remain at home and continue taking classes online. Northwestern University, DePaul University, the University of Chicago and public universities in Illinois are all taking steps to offer a blend of in-person and remote coursework. Though many decisions aren’t finalized, enhanced cleaning, contract tracing and access to testing are common features across campuses.
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At Illinois’ Urbana-Champaign campus, creating enough room for students to sit in classes, grab food from dining halls and socialize with peers could be particularly challenging given its record enrollment of more than 51,000 students last year. An email sent to students Thursday laid out the plans for fall, saying “we will resume on-campus instruction for the Fall 2020 semester in a manner modified to address the ongoing pandemic concerns.”
Not all classes will be offered in-person, with most large lectures available solely online because of caps on gatherings of more than 50 people when Illinois enters the next phase of Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s Restore Illinois plan. Courses that involve lab work, performances or group discussions will be more likely to meet in person, the school website says. The university is trying to space out courses, scheduling them at off hours and using rooms that don’t typically function as classrooms to increase capacity.
Until a vaccine or treatment is developed, UIUC will have to rely on 20 testing stations located throughout campus to identify infected students, though people with symptoms can also self-report. Student will have access to saliva-based testing at the stations, but UIUC hasn’t determined whether it will require them to get tested during orientation or while moving into dorms, according to spokeswoman Robin Kaler. UIUC is seeking federal approval for the saliva test, which was developed by its own researchers and can already be used in its labs.
Additional details also remain elusive. UIUC did not say whether it will limit the number of students allowed to live on campus, an option that some schools such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have adopted to reduce density. MIT, a prestigious engineering school, said it might allow only up to 60% of undergraduate students to return due to physical distancing constraints.
Though some schools are not requiring students to have roommates, U. of I. leaders said up to two people could be assigned to live together this fall. “The level of in-person instruction and residential occupancy will be determined as restrictions of space, health and safety allow,” according to a statement on the UIUC website.
Doubles make up the majority of housing options at UIUC, and freshmen are required to live on campus. First-year students and those already signed up to live in university dorms need to obtain approval to reside off campus and can submit documentation about medical concerns. Additional rooms will be reserved to house students who contract COVID-19 and need a place to isolate. Students who don’t return to campus can take classes solely online.
Unlike some schools that are starting the year early to get ahead of any anticipated resurgence of COVID-19 infections this winter, UIUC will begin classes as scheduled on Aug. 24. While some schools will end in-person instruction before Thanksgiving break to limit student travel back and forth from campus, UIUC still has a fall break on its calendar.
“Those are all being finalized. We will release decisions as they are made,” Kaler said.
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Other schools in the Chicago area are also ironing out their plans. Most include the aspiration for in-person and online courses, though the ability to provide both options will depend on whether the region continues to see decreased infections.
Schools are keenly aware they might need to clear campus again and revert to remote instruction again if the situation worsens.
Here’s a look at Chicago-area campuses:
NU expects ‘significant portion’ of classes to be remote
Northwestern plans to start most classes about a week early, finish face-to-face courses before the Thanksgiving break and offer all exams remotely this fall. The law and business schools will also begin terms earlier than usual.
In an update to students sent Tuesday, NU administrators said that while they “expect that a significant portion of fall instruction will be conducted remotely,” the school is working to offer safe, in-person experiences to students who choose to return to campus while also accommodating those who need or want to learn from a distance. Academic departments will decide which classes can have in-person components.
“The University plans to welcome you back in the fall and is excited to do so,” according to the message, signed by Interim Provost Kathleen Hagerty and Vice President for Student Affairs Julie Payne-Kirchmeier. “However, those of you who have left and will return to campus will find yourselves in a new and different environment, which may continue to change and evolve as the academic year progresses.”
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Students returning to campus must agree to follow a number of safety protocols, such as wearing face coverings, disinfecting hands frequently, practicing social distancing and participating in the school’s contract tracing efforts.
It’s not clear yet how residence halls will operate. Students intending or required to live in campus dorms will receive more information about that next week. Currently, NU has prohibited outside guests from visiting dorms, limited gatherings to groups of 10 or less in shared lounges and required students to wear face coverings when outside their assigned room.
Northwestern also announced on Thursday that it will not require rising high school seniors to take the SAT or ACT in order to apply for admission. Students who completed the tests can still submit their scores if they want as part of a temporary test-optional policy.
The change is being rolled out to account for students who had difficulty accessing the exams since many national test dates this spring and summer were cancelled. Many schools nationwide have adopted the same approach, saying they will look to grades, letters of commendation and extracurricular participation to evaluate candidates in lieu of test results.
DePaul will offer ‘as many classes on-campus as we can safely deliver'
DePaul is working with the deans of its 10 schools to prioritize which classes will be conducted on campus this fall. Students will be able to take many of DePaul’s first-year courses in person, while others will be offered solely online, according to a message Monday from Interim Provost Salma Ghanem.
But there are a great deal of logistics involved with finalizing the fall schedule. DePaul is in the process of identifying classrooms that are large enough to host students with proper social distancing and is using some of its federal stimulus money to upgrade technology and equipment in 110 classrooms.
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“Class sizes will be reduced, tables and seating will be arranged to promote social distancing, and no rooms will be scheduled with back-to-back classes, all of which will make it easier for Facility Operations staff to sanitize tables and seating after each class,” Ghanem wrote.
Most students will know next week whether the courses they are considering will be online, for in-person learning or as a combination of modalities. Some on-campus classes will also involve Zoom components, with students gathering in-person for part of the time and completing other aspects of the course suing the video conferencing service. The quarter begins Sept. 9.
As for residence halls, DePaul said it has moved its room selection process online this year. The housing department is exploring how it might reduce occupancy in the fall but is still encouraging students to consider living on campus, even though final details have not been announced yet.
“The only thing we can confirm is that converted housing will not be available,” according to a statement on the school’s website.
U. of C. prepares for slow resumption of campus activities
John Boyer, Dean of the College at the U. of C., told students in a video address last week that more information about fall plans will be shared by the end of June.
“Our intention is to provide as many in-person learning experiences that we can reasonably accommodate with the current health guidelines,” he said. “Some of our classes will have to function remotely. And many will have a blended structure that will combine both in-person and online instructional interactions.”
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Fall classes are scheduled to begin Sept. 27 — much later than schools on the semester system — giving U. of C. more time to finalize its decision.
Provost Ka Yee C. Lee said in a recent campus update that nonessential employees who can work remotely should continue doing so and that in June, more faculty will return to campus to prepare for the new academic year.
While she has pointed to promising developments to contain the virus — including that the university hospital has exceeded capacity to conduct 1,000 daily COVID-19 tests — she warned that much progress needs to be made before the campus can look the way it did prior to the outbreak.
“Until there is a vaccine or an effective treatment for COVID-19, some portion of the University community will need to continue to stay home and work remotely,” Lee said.
echerney@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-06-18--The Spin: ‘Racist’ — that’s what Lightfoot calls meme posted by CTU | The 606, along with the Lakefr

The Spin: ‘Racist’ — that’s what Lightfoot calls meme posted by CTU | The 606, along with the Lakefront Trail, reopen Monday | U.S. Rep. Chuy Garcia:  Supreme Court’s DACA decision a temporary victory for Dreamers

Timing : The ruling comes as calls grow louder for police reform in the wake of the Minneapolis police killing @ @ @ @ @ in a line of unarmed African Americans in this country who died at the hands @ @ @ @ @ elected leaders and activists argue that police union contracts make it difficult to punish , @ @ @ @ @ officers who rack up dozens of citizen complaints while police unions have argued that they @ @ @ @ @ , to ensure officers accused of wrongdoing are given due process .
As WBEZ ’ @ @ @ @ @ Union President John Catanzara said it was unfair for officers to be followed forever by @ @ @ @ @ in which there was insufficient evidence of misconduct .
”

Mayor Lori Lightfoot makes an emotional announcement during a press conference at City Hall, Thursday, June 11, 2020, on how Chicago police officers made popcorn and coffee in U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush's office while nearby businesses were being looted last month. (Antonio Perez/ Chicago Tribune) (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
“Clearly racist” — that’s how Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot described a tweet from the Chicago Teachers Union showing an apparent cartoon version of her bound, wearing a police uniform and being unmasked by the characters from the “Scooby-Doo” TV show, my Tribune colleague John Byrne writes. The image of an all-white group surrounding Lightfoot, the city’s first African American female mayor, with her tied up drew sharp rebuke and some heated debate.
Asked about criticism over the meme and accompanying message, a CTU spokeswoman pointed to Lightfoot’s response to recent demands from black activists such as defunding the Chicago Police Department, removing police from Chicago Public Schools and more.
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And Chicago Tribune columnist Dahleen Glanton writes that it’s “not good enough” for companies to give employees the day off to mark Juneteenth or for, say, Chicago-based Quaker Oats Co., a unit of PepsiCo, to remove Aunt Jemima’s name and picture from bottles of syrup. “Corporations should be leading the charge to revamp economically deprived neighborhoods that have long suffered from disinvestment,” she notes. Read the column here.
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Mayor Lori Lightfoot talks to reporters regarding the reopening of the lakefront and announces a new donation that will go toward repairing damage on the lakefront caused by rising water levels and erosion near 51st Street and Lake Shore Drive in Chicago on Thursday, June 18, 2020. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)
The mayor isn’t alone in blasting the CTU’s tweet and meme, which you can see here.
“Let me say this: If that kind of tweet, which is clearly racist, had been put forward by a right wing group, we would rightly be denouncing them, and I think our scorn should be no less because it was put out by the CTU,” the mayor said at a morning news conference about repairs to the Lakefront Trail and the reopening of The 606 trail. More on that below.
“It’s certainly disappointing when a group that professes to be educators, people who are in our classrooms, teaching our young people, would engage in these kinds of really deeply offensive and disappointing tactics,” Lightfoot added.
What one teacher’s union leader is saying: “(A)s a Twitter furor erupted over the tweet after the CTU posted it on Wednesday night, union Vice President Stacy Davis Gates tweeted ‘Miss me with the ‘racist meme.’ Talk about the real issue. The manufacturing of outrage? There’s real real outrage abt real racism & injustice,” Byrne notes in his piece.
More from the union: In a statement, CTU spokeswoman Chris Geovanis pointed out Lightfoot has opposed recent demands from black activists such as defunding the Chicago Police Department, removing police from Chicago public schools, establishing Juneteenth as a paid public holiday and establishing a civilian oversight board with the power to investigate and fire police officers, Byrne reports.
CTU vs. Lightfoot goes back to the mayor’s race: Byrne reminds, “Lightfoot and the CTU have been high-profile political opponents since before Lightfoot was elected last spring. The union poured money and manpower into backing Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle for mayor, only to see Lightfoot beat her.”
But the mayor is taking some heat over opposing removal of Christopher Columbus statues in Chicago: In other cities, statues of the explorer have been vandalized or taken down by officials amid unrest over George Floyd’s death. But Lightfoot argues they should serve as teaching tools, the Tribune’s John Byrne reports. Columbus has become a divisive figure, at once celebrated for his influence in opening up the Western world and someone whose work ushered in centuries of genocide against indigenous populations in the Americas. Across the country, statues of Confederate leaders also have been targeted as symbols of the fight to preserve slavery.
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Ald. Lopez vs. Lightfoot in 2023? Tribune columnist John Kass presses Ald. Ray Lopez — Lightfoot’s most persistent critic — about whether he’s planning to run against her in the next mayoral election, presuming she’s running again. Read his piece here.
The Illinois Supreme Court building in Springfield. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)
Chicago police misconduct records that are five years old and older will remain available to the public, according to a ruling today from the Illinois Supreme Court. The Tribune’s Jeremy Gorner, John Byrne and Dan Hinkel have more details here.
Why it’s important: “The decision was a victory to police accountability advocates who say the records can help identify problematic officers and patterns of abuse,” WBEZ-FM 91.5′s Patrick Smith writes in this piece.
The fight: The Chicago Fraternal Order of Police had sued the city contending that such records should be destroyed after five years under the city’s police contract. An arbitrator had called for the city and the FOP to come to an agreement on the issue, but the city had successfully challenged it at the appellate level.
Timing: The ruling comes as calls grow louder for police reform in the wake of the Minneapolis police killing of George Floyd, one in a line of unarmed African Americans in this country who died at the hands of law enforcement. Some elected leaders and activists argue that police union contracts make it difficult to punish, much less weed out, officers who rack up dozens of citizen complaints while police unions have argued that they are there, in part, to ensure officers accused of wrongdoing are given due process. As WBEZ’s Smith writes: “Union President John Catanzara said it was unfair for officers to be followed forever by long-past allegations, especially ones in which there was insufficient evidence of misconduct.”
People rally outside the Supreme Court in November as oral arguments are heard in the case of President Trump's decision to end the Obama-era, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA). , (Jacquelyn Martin/AP)
From The Associated Press: “The Supreme Court on Thursday rejected President Donald Trump’s effort to end legal protections for 650,000 young immigrants, a stunning rebuke to the president in the midst of his reelection campaign.” Read the full story here.
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The fight: The justices rejected administration arguments that the 2012 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program is illegal and that courts have no role to play in reviewing the decision to end DACA, which covers people who have been in the United States since they were children and are in the country illegally. In Chicago, my colleague Laura Rodriguez Presa talked to immigrants who would be affected by the decision ahead of the ruling.
It’s not the final word: Chief Justice John Roberts wrote for the court that the administration did not pursue the end of the program properly. That means the Department of Homeland Security can try again, he wrote.
As Trump, a Republican, criticized the decision, Illinois Democrats lauded the nation’s highest court.
U.S. Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, who resides in Little Village, which has one of Chicago’s larger immigrant communities, said in a statement: “This important victory is a testament to the effective organizing by immigrant youth who have fought for years to stay in the country they call home. We celebrate today, but we keep fighting tomorrow. The Supreme Court decision is not a permanent solution and does not provide a pathway to citizenship.”
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot chokes up upon hearing U.S. Supreme Court blocked Trump attempt to end DACA: ‘It’s a great day’: The Tribune’s Gregory Pratt notes, “As mayor, Lightfoot has made a point of supporting immigrant communities, personally handing out “know your rights” flyers over the summer of 2019 when Trump announced large-scale ICE raids. But she’s also faced criticism from activists who want her to do more.” Read the full story here.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker tweeted about the ruling as well: I’m pleased the Supreme Court has stopped @realDonaldTrump‘s lawless attempt at ending the DACA program. This is a victory for the nearly 700,000 young Americans who are invaluable to our nation and our future. Let this reaffirm that the American Dream is possible for everyone.”
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And, Illinois U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin said: “A decision that went the other way would have been a disaster for 700,000 protected by DACA. A decision that went our way on that is no guarantee the president won’t try again.”
Durbin reflected on introducing the DREAM (Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors) Act 20 years ago in the Senate that would have provided an eventual pathway for citizenship. But getting traction proved elusive. Once elected, former President Barack Obama issued an executive order establishing DACA, which allowed Dreamers to live, work, attend school and travel in the U.S. so long as they followed a reregistration program every two years.
Durbin, the second-ranking Senate Democrat, said he’s publicly begged Trump not to toss DACA, especially in this moment. “Some 40,000 of these 700,000 are on the front lines of battling COVID-19 as health care workers,” Durbin said in a phone interview. Another 200,000 are essential workers.
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker announces that all K-12 schools statewide will be closed for a period of time in an effort to curtail the spread of the COVID-19 virus in March. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago / Chicago Tribune)
My colleague Dan Petrella writes: “The bulk of the money — at least $540 million, according to the governor’s office — will be doled out as grants to businesses that were forced to shut down or restrict operations due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Half of that money will be set aside for businesses providing child care.
“Another $300 million will be available through two separate programs to provide rent and mortgage assistance to Illinois residents who’ve been unable to keep up with their monthly payments because of a loss of income connected to the virus. Read the full story here.
RELATED: The 606, along with the Lakefront Trail, will reopen Monday: Signs and “social distancing ambassadors” will be on hand at the Northwest Side 606 trail and at the lakefront to, as one of my grade school teachers liked to say after recess, “keep it moving, people.” Some more signs of the city lifting coronavirus-related restrictions include the reopening of the Lakefront Trail and The 606 on the Northwest Side. The Tribune’s Mary Wisniewski has the details here.
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University of Illinois will reopen with face masks and COVID-19 testing, but also virtual classes: Other colleges plan blend of online, in-person classes: The Tribune’s Elyssa Cherney has the story here.
Chicago resale shops open with safety precautions: The Tribune’s David Syrek has the details here.
Chicago’s iO Theater is shutting down permanently: The Tribune’s Doug George has the story here.
Facebook is displayed on Apple's App Store in Chicago in 2019. (Amr Alfiky/AP)
From The New York Times: “For months, Facebook has weathered criticism for its willingness to show all types of political advertising to its billions of users, even if those ads contained lies.”
This week, the Times notes, “the social network said it would allow people in the United States to opt out of seeing social issue, electoral or political ads from candidates or political action committees in their Facebook or Instagram feeds. The ability to hide those ads will begin with a small group of users in the coming weeks, before rolling out to the rest of the United States and later to several other countries.” Read the full story here.
Facebook removes Trump ads displaying Nazi symbol: Read the New York Times story here.
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Thanks for reading The Spin, the Tribune’s politics newsletter. Sign up here to have it delivered to your inbox weekday afternoons. Have a tip? Email host Lisa Donovan at ldonovan@chicagotribune.com.
Twitter @byldonovan


chicagotribune--2020-06-18--Victim of fatal Beach Park officer-involved shooting identified

Clyde McLemore , the founder of the Lake County chapter of Black Lives Matter , said he has not received @ @ @ @ @ police have said so far .
McLemore , who has worked with Robinson ’ s @ @ @ @ @ death , said he has spoken to at least one person who was at the @ @ @ @ @ the Lake County Sheriff ’ s Office .

Lake County Sheriffs Office personnel, along with the Lake County Major Crimes Task Force, investigate an officer-involved shooting by members of the Great Lakes Regional Fugitive Task Force, outside a house on North Green Bay Road in Beach Park, on June 16, 2020. (Rob Dicker / Chicago Tribune)
The 24-year-old black man fatally shot in Beach Park Tuesday afternoon when white law enforcement officers returned fire while attempting to arrest him was identified Thursday as Brandon Gardner of Beach Park by the Lake County Coroner’s Office.
An autopsy performed on Gardner Wednesday morning found he died from a gunshot wound, officials said. Toxicology results are pending.
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Coroner Howard Cooper declined to say how many times Gardner was shot, saying in an email that information was not being released “at this time.”
The shooting took place as members of the U.S. Marshals Service’s Great Lakes Regional Fugitive Task Force were attempting to arrest Gardner at a home in the 38500 block of North Green Bay Road, according to Sgt. Christopher Covelli, a spokesman for the Sheriff’s Office.
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As law enforcement officers began approaching the home, Gardner exited his vehicle armed with a semi-automatic pistol, Covelli said. He shot at the officers, and two of the officers, according to reports.
The investigation into the shooting will be conducted by the Lake County Major Crime Task Force, which will hand over its findings to the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office, said Det. Heather Cognac, a task force spokeswoman.
The arrest warrant the fugitive task force had been attempting to enforce had been obtained by the Zion Police Department on Dec. 21, 2018, two days after Nicholas D. Robinson, 18, of Zion, had been found shot in the parking lot of the Woodstone Village Apartments, according to Zion Police Chief Kirk Henderson.
Robinson had been taken to Vista Medical Center East in Waukegan where he was later pronounced dead, according to a news release from that time.
Henderson said multiple people fired more than one gun, but declined to provide further details, saying they “will have to come out at trial.”
The homicide was investigated by Zion police and the Lake County Major Crime Task Force, which obtained arrest warrants for three other people in connection to the death.
Quantell L. Williams, who was 22 at the time of the shooting; Eric K. Whitaker, who was 24, and Brandyn Q.T. Jones, who was 19, all of Zion, were charged with murder and aggravated discharge of a firearm, according to court records.
Whitaker turned himself in at the Zion Police Department on Dec. 26, 2018, according to Henderson. Williams turned himself into the Lake County jail on Jan. 3, 2019.
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Jones was booked into the jail on Feb. 6, 2019, according to jail records. All three were in custody at the jail on Wednesday.
Clyde McLemore, the founder of the Lake County chapter of Black Lives Matter, said he has not received any information contrary to what police have said so far. McLemore, who has worked with Robinson’s family since his December 2018 death, said he has spoken to at least one person who was at the house Tuesday as well as the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
McLemore said the timing following the in-custody death of George Floyd in Minneapolis may have residents on edge, but he’s encouraging people to “get the facts before they react.”
“This younger generation is sick and tired, not willing to go to jail,” McLemore said. “They were willing to die. … This guy was wrong, but what if he was right.”
The two officers involved in Tuesday’s fatal shooting include a Lake County sheriff’s deputy who was taken to an area hospital as a precaution, and a McHenry County deputy who had a laceration to the arm, Covelli said. It was not immediately clear what caused the laceration.
Both deputies have been released from the hospital, Wauconda Police Det. Heather Cognac, a spokeswoman for the Lake County Major Crime Task Force, said Wednesday.
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Several other people, including a child, had been in the home at the time of the shooting, Covelli said. None of them were injured.


chicagotribune--2020-06-18--‘Now we have everyone’s eyes and ears:’ Juneteenth march organizers focus on police reform

“ Now we have everyone ’ s eyes and ears , ” Murphy said of this year ’ s march @ @ @ @ @ this is our day of independence , I think it ’ s going to shine @ @ @ @ @ that black people were enslaved in American for over 200 years .
”

After weeks of protests across the city against police brutality, this year’s Juneteenth march will focus on police reform and equity in black communities, according to march organizers.
Ashley Munson, lead organizer of the March for US 2020, said the march scheduled for Friday morning will focus on community organizing around the city.
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“This movement started as a result of black people being fundamentally frustrated with how things are,” she said. “You can’t address police reform without addressing the other things that affect black people.”
Munson added some demands include assuring the city provides support to South and West side hospitals and equitable education for students of color.
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The Juneteenth flag, commemorating the day that slavery ended in the U.S., flies in Omaha, Nebraska, on June 17, 2020. (Nati Harnik/AP)
Juneteenth celebrates June 19, 1865, the day Union soldiers told enslaved African Americans in Galveston, Texas, that the Civil War was over and they were free. The holiday is recognized in 47 states, including Illinois.
The march will begin in the South Loop and end at City Hall. Munson said the organization estimates 4,000 to 5,000 people will participate.
“Police reform has been something that’s been needed for years, this has been a movement,” she said of recent rallies and protests. “We want more than police reform and at a fundamental base we want people to stop killing us.”
The Chicago Peace and Equality Juneteenth Rally and Celebration is also focusing on police redistribution of funds and demands for overall equality said lead organizer Romel Murphy.
The march will begin in the South Loop on Friday afternoon. An estimated 5,000 participants are expected, Murphy said.
“Now we have everyone’s eyes and ears,” Murphy said of this year’s march. “This highlights that this is our day of independence, I think it’s going to shine a light on the fact that black people were enslaved in American for over 200 years.”
jvillagomez@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @JessicaVillag


chicagotribune--2020-06-18--New data portal announced for protest-related complaints against Chicago police

Mia Wright and her cousin Tnika Tate said they were parked near the looted mall on May 31 when police @ @ @ @ @ broke the windows and searched the women and a group of friends and relatives .
@ @ @ @ @ to the pavement and a knee placed on her neck .

The oversight agency that handles allegations of wrongdoing by Chicago police announced Thursday a new data portal for tracking complaints lodged against officers during protests and unrest following the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
The portal, which is available at chicagocopa.org/data-cases/protest-related-information, provides updates and information on protest-related complaints by date, category and incident location, according to a news release from the Civilian Office of Police Accountability.
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COPA says it received a total of 591 complaints from May 29 through June 11, of which 371 “have been identified as protest-related.” The complaints include allegations of excessive force, verbal abuse, improper search and seizure, as well as denying access to a lawyer, according to the release.
“This is a critical and historic time for the nation, civilian oversight and police accountability,” Sydney Roberts, COPAs chief administrator, said in a statement. “Gaining the public’s trust requires accountability, transparency and integrity in which we hope this portal helps to demonstrate.”
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As protests surrounding Floyd’s death intensified late last month, the agency formed a specialized investigative team to review and respond to complaints in real time, according to the release. While many officers exercised restraint, the team members “also witnessed uses of force which appear excessive,” the release stated.
So far, COPA has recommended that officers involved in six separate incidents be placed on modified duty or relieved of police powers pending the outcome of the investigations. Officers in two investigations have been relieved of their police powers, the release stated.
One of the most high-profile incidents took place last month in the parking lot of the Brickyard Mall on Chicago’s Northwest Side.
Mia Wright and her cousin Tnika Tate said they were parked near the looted mall on May 31 when police officers surrounded the car, broke the windows and searched the women and a group of friends and relatives. Wright said she was thrown to the pavement and a knee placed on her neck.
According to police, Wright was placed into custody and charged with disorderly conduct after she was observed by officers “assembled with three or more persons for the purpose of using force or violence to disturb the peace.”
Two of the officers in that arrest have been relieved of their police powers while the investigation is ongoing.
jmeisner@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-06-18--COVID-19 cases in Illinois by ZIP code: Search for your neighborhood

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

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


chicagotribune--2020-06-18--Tracking Illinois coronavirus: 6,537 deaths, 134,778 confirmed cases, 1.28 million tests, 5.57% posi

Tracking Illinois coronavirus: 6,537 deaths, 134,778 confirmed cases, 1.28 million tests, 5.57% positivity rate for northeast region

The total number of confirmed cases of coronavirus in Chicago surpassed 50,000 on Thursday to a total of 50,084 .
@ @ @ @ @ 2,459 Chicagoans have died from COVID-19 .

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


chicagotribune--2020-06-18--Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot opposes removal of Christopher Columbus statues

“ The thing that we need to do is do what I think the organizers of the Columbus Day Parade @ @ @ @ @ invite many people of different backgrounds , different perspectives to participate in what is really @ @ @ @ @ , ” Lightfoot said .
“ And I think we need to spur that kind @ @ @ @ @ and not separate and divide people .
”

Faint red paint can be seen on the hand of the Christopher Columbus statue, located at Arrigo Park, on Oct. 7, 2017, after the statue was defaced in the University Village neighborhood. (Alyssa Pointer / Chicago Tribune)
Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Thursday said she doesn’t want Christopher Columbus statues in Chicago that have been targeted for vandalism taken down, but instead used to help educate people about “the full history” of the U.S.
In recent days, a Columbus statue in Grant Park had “BLM” and “genocide” spray painted on it, and a statue in the Little Italy neighborhood was spray painted with the word “killer.”
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But the mayor said they shouldn’t be removed, as Columbus statues have elsewhere in the country amid protests since the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police.
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Asked about her stance on the statues, Lightfoot said they should be used as teaching tools. “I think that the way we educate our young people, in particular, about their history is to educate them about the full history,” she said.
A Christopher Columbus statue seen from the NEMA building at 1210 S. Indiana Ave., in Chicago on Aug. 19, 2019. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
Lightfoot also opposes changing the Columbus Day holiday to Indigenous Peoples Day at the city level, a move that has drawn praise from some Italian-American organizations and others, but has been condemned by activists who point to the Italian explorer’s mistreatment of indigenous people after he landed in the Americas in 1492.
Comparing the Columbus statues to statues of Confederate Army figures being removed in other cities, Lightfoot said she favors acting “to not try to erase history, but to embrace it full-on.”
She said organizers of Chicago’s Columbus Day Parade have taken the right position by bringing other groups into that celebration.
“The thing that we need to do is do what I think the organizers of the Columbus Day Parade have done, which is invite many people of different backgrounds, different perspectives to participate in what is really a people’s celebration,” Lightfoot said. “And I think we need to spur that kind of unifying and healing dialogue and not separate and divide people.”
jebyrne@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @_johnbyrne


chicagotribune--2020-06-18--Remembering the lives of those in Illinois who died from coronavirus

As the number of deaths attributable to COVID-19 ticks upward , the Tribune is working to chronicle those who have @ @ @ @ @ Chicago area or who have connections to our region .
These are some of those @ @

They were mothers and fathers, daughters and sons. Many were proud grandparents. Two were sisters from a tight-knit South Side family. All were loved, relatives say, and will be forever missed.
As the number of deaths attributable to COVID-19 ticks upward, the Tribune is working to chronicle those who have lost their lives in the Chicago area or who have connections to our region. These are some of those victims.
If you know of someone or would like to offer a remembrance of someone please share your information here. To file a death notice, go here.
Subscribe to the Chicago Tribune: Our mission is to deliver trusted and meaningful local news. Your support allows us to continue providing the award-winning, watchdog and in-depth journalism our community deserves. Subscribe here.


chicagotribune--2020-06-18--Man shot and critically wounded by Markham police officer, chief says

Officers responded to a call of a man in distress near the DVL Express store on Dixie Highway , according @ @ @ @ @ White .
The man appeared to be harming himself , and at one point lunged @ @ @ @ @ her weapon , White said .

A man brandishing two knives was shot and critically wounded by a police officer in south suburban Markham on Thursday morning, officials said.
Officers responded to a call of a man in distress near the DVL Express store on Dixie Highway, according to Markham police Chief Terry White. The man appeared to be harming himself, and at one point lunged at an officer who fired her weapon, White said.
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The man was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where he was listed in critical condition.
“The officer is shaken by the whole ordeal,” White said.
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The shooting was under investigation.
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chicagotribune--2020-06-18--From teachers strike to total shutdown: A timeline of Chicago Public Schools’ very strange year

Sept. 3 : The school year begins under rainy skies and a more serious storm brewing : Teachers start the @ @ @ @ @ and , after months of negotiations , the Chicago Teachers Union has rejected a fact-finder @ @ @ @ @ Mayor Lori Lightfoot says the city will match — for 16 % raises over a @ @ @ @ @ clock for a possible strike .
The union is holding out for 15 % raises @ @ @ @ @ with a range of other demands on staffing , class sizes and social services .
@ @ @ @ @ a 5 a.m. news conference outside Benito Juarez Community Academy in Pilsen saying the union @ @ @ @ @ for “ nearly a decade of austerity and cuts .
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When Chicago Public Schools opened for the new school year the day after Labor Day, it was clear that teacher contract talks were breaking down and that a strike was a strong possibility.
The walkout came to pass a few weeks later, but what was unimaginable then was that the coronavirus would render 2019-20 the most extraordinary school year on record in Chicago — and that the virus, unheard of when school started, would result in an unprecedented statewide shutdown of in-class instruction.
“We never really got a chance to just get settled,” Dyshawn Pope, who graduated this spring from Chicago’s Harlan Community Academy, said of his senior year. “It felt like we were rushing through it. It was just a lot.”
As CPS officially ends its school year, here’s a look back at how it shaped up, from picket lines to pandemic:
Bumpy beginning
Sept. 3: The school year begins under rainy skies and a more serious storm brewing: Teachers start the new year without a contract and, after months of negotiations, the Chicago Teachers Union has rejected a fact-finder’s recommendation — one Mayor Lori Lightfoot says the city will match — for 16% raises over a five-year deal, setting the clock for a possible strike. The union is holding out for 15% raises over three years, along with a range of other demands on staffing, class sizes and social services. CTU President Jesse Sharkey holds a 5 a.m. news conference outside Benito Juarez Community Academy in Pilsen saying the union is trying to make up for “nearly a decade of austerity and cuts.”
Mayor Lori Lightfoot — who said the previous week that the current offer puts “real money on the table” and that there was “no reason” there couldn’t be a deal before the start of school — joins CPS CEO Janice Jackson at an assembly at Englewood STEM High School to celebrate the school’s opening.
Messiah Herron heads his first day of pre-kindergarten at South Shore Fine Arts Academy in Chicago in September. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
Sept. 12: After widespread failures in how CPS has addressed sexual misconduct in its schools, the district enters into an agreement with the U.S. Department of Education that gives the agency oversight of extensive school system reforms. In its announcement, an official in Education Secretary Betsy DeVos’ office calls the CPS track record “extraordinary and appalling.”
Strike buildup
Sept. 24: The CTU kicks off a strike authorization vote with a rally featuring appearances by Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders and actor John Cusack.
Sept. 26: After months of failed negotiations, CTU announces members have voted by a huge margin to authorize a strike.
Oct. 2: The CTU announces its members will strike in two weeks if no contract is settled on by then. Joining CTU is the union representing thousands of CPS support staff members, as well as Chicago Park District workers.
Oct. 16: As the two sides show no signs of a detente, CPS officials preemptively cancel classes for the following day. Within a few hours, that becomes a moot point when the CTU officially announces it is on strike — its first open-ended walkout since 2012.
Strike begins
Thousands of Chicago public school teachers and supporters participate on the first day of strike in October. (Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune)
Oct. 17: CTU’s 25,000 members walk off the job, leaving about 300,000 students without classroom instruction. Schools remain open for child care and meals for students who need them. Another 7,000 support staff, including custodians special education assistants and bus aides, also go on strike. That evening, famed civil rights leaders the Rev. Jesse Jackson sits in the evening’s negotiation sessions to try to help broker a deal.
Oct. 19: As teachers and support staff walk the picket lines, both sides cite progress heading into the strike’s first weekend, but the angry rhetoric flies back and forth. The mayor insists there is no more money on the table for teachers, while other city and CPS officials grumble that the union is more focused on protesting than on negotiating. The union in turn accuses the mayor of failing to keep her campaign promises and says it’s her office that lacks the urgency to get make a deal.
From left, lawyer Kevin Sterling, cross-country runners Sydney Partyka of Taft High School and Ian Bacon of Jones College Prep talk to reporters in October after a hearing seeking an emergency injunction that would allow them to compete in regionals. The effort failed. (Camille Fine / Chicago Tribune)
Oct. 24: A group of CPS cross-country runners file a lawsuit to win the right to compete in regional competition.
Oct. 26: The strike has now lasted seven school days and after near-daily, marathon bargaining sessions, there are strong hopes heading into the weekend that a deal is near and that classes will resume the following Monday. But talks hit a snag for what a CPS officials calls, without elaboration, a “breach of trust” by the union.
Oct. 27: The Service Employees International Union, which represents the support staff, reaches a tentative deal with CPS but encourages its members to honor picket lines in solidarity with teachers who remain on strike.
Week of Oct. 28: Dreams for postseason play are dashed for virtually all CPS athletes. Despite the cancellation of school sports during the walkout, some teams had still held out hope to participate in playoffs but IHSA confirms its rules forbid it. The lawsuit by cross-country runners has been rejected by a Cook County judge.
Oct. 30: A tentative teachers contract deal is announced, and in the evening the union’s House of Delegates votes 364-242 in favor of it. Among other wins for the union, the deal provides 16% raises for teachers, a class size enforcement mechanism and a nurse and social worker in every school.
But just when it appears the strike is over, an 11th-hour setback: Union leaders say the vote is contingent on a separate deal on makeup days — and they want all 11 school days of the strike rescheduled. The mayor angrily accuses the union of misleading her and remains adamant that there will be no makeup days.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot and CPS CEO Janice Jackson announce a deal with the Chicago Teachers Union to end the strike Oct. 31. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)
Oct. 31: The mayor softens her stance on makeup days and says she’s willing to talk but that she won’t allow the union to “continue to ... the move goal posts unilaterally.” After a lengthy, tense, closed-door meeting at City Hall — and throngs of protesters outside — Lightfoot announces an end to the strike. The sides agree to make up five of the 11 strike days.
Returning to school
Nov. 1: Students, teachers and staff return to school for the first time since Oct. 16.
Nov. 5: CPS announced the schedule for the five strike makeup days, cutting into Thanksgiving, winter and summer breaks and pushing the last day of school to June 18.
Nov. 15: CTU announces that the new contract has been ratified, averting the prospect of the strike resuming.
Lincoln Park High scandals
January: Scandal erupts at Lincoln Park High School following the suspension of the boys basketball team and the removal of several leaders and coaches, including the firing of the interim principal and an assistant principal, after what officials call “multiple allegations of serious misconduct” involving staff and students. The situation causes chaos at the school in ensuing weeks, including student walkouts, the launching of several internal misconduct investigations, a power struggle between CPS and the Local School Council and an eventual lawsuit by the two administrators who were fired.
Lincoln Park High School found itself engulfed in scandal in January following the removal of several administrators and coaches. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)
Reacting to COVID-19
March 6: A special education classroom assistant at Vaughn Occupational High School in Portage Park becomes the sixth person in Illinois to be diagnosed with coronavirus, officials announce. The school cancels classes through the following week and students and staff are asked to self-quarantine through mid-March. The staff member had been on a cruise ship on which many passengers were sickened.
Chicago Department of Health set up a COVID testing in March outside Vaughn Occupational High School, where an aide became Illinois' sixth COVID case. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tri / Chicago Tribune)
March 10: Even as some suburban districts and private schools begin to close, city and school officials say there are still no plans for a districtwide shutdown of schools.
March 13: Lightfoot reiterates that she has no plans at this point to close all city schools because of the coronavirus. But later that day, citing the gravity of the situation and of his actions, Gov. J.B. Pritzker overrides her and announces that all elementary and secondary schools in Illinois must shut their doors by March 17 and remain closed for the rest of the month. Illinois joins eight other states in shutting down all schools to combat the coronavirus.
March 15: CPS discloses a coronavirus case at Sheridan Math and Science Academy in Bridgeport and closes the building ahead. Mansueto High School, a Chicago charter school, also announces a staff member tested positive for COVID-19 and that it was shutting down early.
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker announces the statewide school shutdown in March. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago / Chicago Tribune)
March 17: The statewide school closure begins.
March 19: The mayor announces that Chicago Public Schools will remain closed through April 20, citing the “continued upward trajectory of the virus spread.”
March 25: CPS’ Board of Education votes to create a $75 million coronavirus emergency spending fund.
Late March: The school shutdown puts a spotlight on the digital divide among CPS students: Officials say about one-third of students at district-run schools lack adequate internet access from home, and announce a plan to distribute more than 100,000 electronic devices to students.
March 31: Pritzker announces the statewide closure of schools will continue through April 30.
April 17: Pritzker announces that schools statewide will remain closed for the remainder of the school year.
Late April: The district continues to struggle with how to grade students’ remote work fairly, and the grading system it eventually settles on receives criticism from some teachers, students and parents, despite the fact that no student can earn an F or a lower grade than before the pandemic.
May 27: CPS releases data on student participation in remote learning, revealing that, as of May 11, more than 2,200 students had had no contact with teachers at all since the start of the pandemic, and another 15,000 still lacked digital access to remote learning.
Later that day, protesters take to the streets in Englewood, prompted by the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis two days before. CPS students continue to participate in protests in Chicago over the next week and beyond — many calling for CPS to end its $33 million contract with the Chicago Police Department to provide resource officers in school buildings.
Michel Adelien watches Mayor Lori Lightfoot speak during the CPS virtual graduation ceremony this week. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)
June 14: With traditional end-of-year events such as graduation and prom canceled, Oprah Winfrey gives the commencement address at a first-ever virtual citywide graduation ceremony that also features an array of local music and sports celebrities.
June 18: The final day of classes for the 2019-20 school year. How school will look in the fall — and whether and how schools will reopen — remains uncertain.


chicagotribune--2020-06-18--Chicago-area DACA recipients lived with fear and uncertainty before Supreme Court rejected bid to en

Chicago-area DACA recipients lived with fear and uncertainty before Supreme Court rejected bid to end immigrant protection program

Trump ’ s action has since been ruled against by lower courts , and the Supreme Court this month could @ @ @ @ @ legality of the administration ’ s changes .
Blancas , Zepeda , and others in @ @ @ @ @ the program say they will keep working to find a way toward what they see @ @ @ @ @ , regardless of the court ’ s decision .

Michelle Zepeda and her husband, David Blancas, push their children Tanok, 3, and Adenine, 6, on a swing set in their Aurora backyard on June 11, 2020. Zepeda and Blancas are Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipients. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)
Thursday’s ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court — rejecting a bid President Donald Trump’s administration to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program — is being lauded as a stunning victory for DACA recipients and immigration advocates.
Prior to the high court’s action, Chicago-area DACA recipients talked to the Tribune about the fears, anxiety and uncertainty that has loomed over their lives as they awaited Thursday’s ruling.
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David Blancas, 32,and his wife put dreams of buying a home on pause after President Donald Trump rescinded the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program that granted them — and thousands of others living in the country illegally — protection from deportation and the right to work in the United States.
His wife, Michelle Zepeda, 30,wept as she recalled recently that they learned the program would be eliminated on the day their now-6-year-old daughter started kindergarten.
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In spite of the uncertainty looming over their lives, the couple ultimately bought a small ranch-style home in Aurora. Both have master’s degrees and jobs that they are grateful for, Blancas said. All thanks to DACA.
But once again, their future, and the future of their two children, both U.S. citizens, is at stake.
David Blancas and his son, Tanok, 3, on a hammock in their backyard in Aurora. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to rule in the coming weeks on the fate of the DACA program that protected them because they came to this country as children, without knowingly breaking the law. Roughly 700,000 other immigrants are protected under the program created in 2012 under President Barack Obama that Trump rescinded in 2017.
Trump’s action has since been ruled against by lower courts, and the Supreme Court this month could settle the disputes over the legality of the administration’s changes. Blancas, Zepeda, and others in the Chicago area covered by the program say they will keep working to find a way toward what they see as a just immigration system, regardless of the court’s decision.
More than 42,000 people in Illinois were covered by the program when it was created. Regardless of the Supreme Court’s decision, Blancas said he believes that other fellow DACA s, the immigrant community and their allies, are ready to stand up to demand protection for all, not just those who benefited from DACA.
Though he fears the worst, Blancas said he still has faith. “Perhaps not in the government but in the community.”
David Blancas and his wife, Michelle Zepeda, with children Adenine, 6, and Tanok, 3, in Aurora. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
With a rise in activism and awareness because of the coronavirus and the killing of George Floyd, he is confident that regardless of the fate of DACA, “people will rally for what is right.”
Though his wife shares the same sentiment, she said that she is worried. And she is tired of living with an expiration date, as program recipients must re-register every two years and can be denied.
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Zepeda, a project manager at a cancer research center, said she tries to live a “normal life” by putting her immigration status in the back of her mind. However, every time she files with immigration authorities to renew her status under DACA, she has to face reality.
“We have spent so many years worrying about what is next, it is exhausting,” she said.
The two met in college and told each other about their immigration status when they decided to spend the rest of their lives together.
“It’s been a roller coaster, but at least we have each other,” Zepeda said.
Many others, including Elizeth Arguelles, 25, face the uncertainty alone. She is the only one in her immediate family who has a permit to work in the United States.
Elizeth Arguelles, 25, a DACA recipient, graduated from Dominican University in May and still sells tamales during the weekend to help her mother. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)
When DACA was first announced, Arguelles knew that it was going to open doors to fulfilling her mother’s dream of having a daughter with a college degree.
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Arguelles graduated from Dominican University in May with the help of many people who helped her pay for college, because students here under the DACA program do not qualify for federal financial aid.
She worked part time as a career coach and sold tamales in Chicago’s Little Village on weekends to make her payments.
“It feels surreal to have a college degree because I did it against so many odds,” Arguelles said, sitting in her backyard while she got ready to attend a unity march to strengthen the bond between black and Latino people in her neighborhood.
Through her teens, Arguelles also became involved in community organizing and activism. She said she and other activists have begun to mobilize to respond to the Supreme Court’s decision.
As she grew up and faced more responsibilities, Arguelles said she had to seek therapy to deal with the pressure from her family and from society to maintain the image to fit the narrative of the “good immigrant versus the bad immigrant.”
“Not all undocumented people brought to the country as children were able to graduate high school or go to college, and they also deserve to be here,” Arguelles added.
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Elizeth Arguelles sells tamales and hot drinks in Little Village on Jan. 6, 2019, to help her mother and pay for her college education. (Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune)
Since the start of the program, those who are not “exemplary individuals” have been singled out and left behind, said Katherine Greenslade, managing attorney of the Immigrant Advocacy and Defense Project at the Resurrection Project.
Greenslade has worked with the children of immigrants living in the country without permission for more than a decade, helping them to find ways to apply for any immigration relief they may qualify for, or resources to pay for school and navigate the system as “undocumented,” she said.
Those who have even minor criminal records “would most likely” get denied, the lawyer said. But "others who have gotten their GED or attended college mostly get approved regardless.”
According to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services agency, those who have a felony offense, significant misdemeanor offense, or three or more other misdemeanor offenses aren’t eligible for DACA.
Although the COVID-19 pandemic may have delayed a decision from the Supreme Court, Greenslade said that she has been advising DACA recipients to renew their permits even if they don’t expire for more than a year.
“That would give them time to prepare in case the program is eliminated and their permits are revoked,” she said.
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Most DACA recipients are no longer young high school or college students. The oldest ones are now nearing 40 and the youngest ones are around 18 to 19, Greenslade said.
"The youth who fought for the program are now college graduates, lawyers, doctors, engineers, business owners, mothers, and fathers,” she said.
Chirayu Patel is 37, and despite having a job that allows him to live comfortably and help his parents, who brought him to Chicago from India when he was 11, he hasn’t been able to buy a home or form a family.
“I just never know what might happen, they can take the permit away at any moment," he said.
DACA recipient Chirayu Patel, of India, on June 15, 2020. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)
The accountant graduated from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Although he knows he has a few more years until he pays off his student loans, he isn’t certain if he will be in this country to do that.
Patel said he doesn’t expect a favorable decision from the Supreme Court and has explored the possibility of moving to another country. However, he doesn’t want to leave behind his parents, who haven’t been able to legalize their immigration status.
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“Feeling frustration would be an understatement, but that is the reality many of us are going through,” he said.
Unlike Patel, Yearim Choi, 23, is more optimistic.
Yearim Choi, 23, graduated from UIC in December and is set on becoming a physician assistant. (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune)
She graduated from UIC in December of 2019 with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and is focused on becoming a physician assistant to help those who are unable to get medical help because of fear or language limitations. She needs a work permit such as the one she has under DACA to fulfill the number of work hours needed to be admitted to the program, she said.
Choi was brought to the Chicago area from South Korea by her parents when she was 5. Although she’s anxious, she chooses to focus on her work.
“At the end of the end, we are dreamers and we have fought and will continue to fight for our goals and dreams, those for which our parents sacrificed for,” Choi said.
Arguelles and other DACA recipients said they don’t want the granting of deferred action to a small minority of undocumented immigrants to be used as cover to allow the country to target many of the other estimated 11 million people here without legal status, including their parents.
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“We need immigration reform and a path to citizenship for all, because I’m tired of the politicians using us to bargain as if we were objects. We are human beings,” Arguelles said.
larodriguez@chicagotribune.com