chicagotribune--2020-09-08--Appellate court upholds $18.5 million verdict to family of 6-year-old who drowned in Bridgeview pool

One of the park district counselors supervising the kids said that she saw Duda about 15 minutes before he was @ @ @ @ @ the child was holding on to the edge of the pool and did not have @ @ @ @ @ according to trial testimony .
She told him to get out of the pool and @ @ @ @ @ to leave .

A state appeals court has upheld an $18.5 million verdict against Justice and its park district stemming from the 2014 drowning of a 6-year-old who was a participant in a park district summer camp.
A Cook County Circuit Court jury in late 2018 awarded $21.5 million to the family of Michal Duda, who was pulled unresponsive June 17, 2014, from a pool operated by the Bridgeview Park District, which the Justice district used for part of its summer camp.
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The wrongful death lawsuit had been filed against both park districts and the villages of Bridgeview and Justice. The verdict is believed to be among the largest ever involving the drowning death of a child in Illinois, according to the Clifford Law Offices, which represented the family.
Michal Duda (Clifford Law Offices)
Jurors held the Justice Park District to be 80% at fault and the Bridgeview district 20%.
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Duda’s family had previously accepted a $3 million settlement from Bridgeview, and the Justice Park District appealed the $18.5 million verdict against it.
Justice argued that the verdict amount was excessive and that a new trial should have been held. It also argued its conduct was not willful and wanton and that evidence presented during the trial demonstrated it had taken numerous precautions to avoid the risk of injury.
The district also maintained that it had not received a fair trial in that it was limited in presenting some evidence that would have shown its actions were negligent rather than willful and wanton.
In its ruling Thursday, the appellate court denied Justice’s claims and said the size of the verdict was not excessive.
Duda was among a group of children who were at the pool complex at Bridgeview’s Commissioners Park and was found floating at the shallow end of the pool, unresponsive and without a flotation device.
Efforts to revive the boy were unsuccessful and he was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn.
Doctors were able to stabilize Duda’s heart rate after he had been in cardiac arrest for 78 minutes, during which time he suffered irreversible brain damage due to a lack of oxygen to his brain, testimony and evidence at trial showed. The boy was removed from life support and he died the following day.
An autopsy later determined he had drowned and his death was ruled an accident.
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Campers who were part of the Justice Park District program were tested for their swimming ability, and Duda was tested twice and determined to be a non-swimmer, according to evidence shown at trial.
He and other non-swimmers were required to wear water wings, and a couple of times during the June 17 pool outing the boy was reprimanded for being in the pool without the flotation device, evidence showed.
One of the park district counselors supervising the kids said that she saw Duda about 15 minutes before he was found unresponsive, and that the child was holding on to the edge of the pool and did not have his water wings on, according to trial testimony. She told him to get out of the pool and testified she saw him begin to leave.
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There was no evidence presented that showed any the counselors on hand were aware the boy had apparently reentered the pool.
Testimony suggested that the park district was at fault for not requiring non-swimmers to wear Coast Guard-approved flotation devices, with a counselor in the pool with non-swimmers at all time.
During trial, Justice lawyers suggested that the verdict should have been in the range of $2 million to $4 million and had sought, and was denied, a retrial immediately after the initial trial.
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Evidence at trial noted that one of Duda’s two sisters is his twin, and she was at the pool the day her brother was found floating.
The appellate panel rejected the notion the damage award was excessive, and that evidence presented at trial “shows that Michal’s family suffered a devastating loss in a very tragic manner.”
A message left with Justice Park District on Tuesday seeking comment was not immediately returned.
mnolan@tribpub.com


chicagotribune--2020-09-08--Suspect in fatal Waukegan party shooting where North Chicago woman was shot turns himself in

Police initially responded to a report of a shooting Aug. 22 on McAllister Avenue , where they found Nunnally in @ @ @ @ @ wound , according to a police release .
Based on their investigation , police believe @ @ @ @ @ fired when Nunnally tried to intercede in a confrontation and ran into the street .

A man charged with first-degree murder in the death of a North Chicago woman, allegedly shot while trying to mediate a fight at a Waukegan party more than two weeks ago, is in custody.
Damar McDonald, 32, of Waukegan, arrived at the Waukegan Police Station Saturday and surrendered to authorities in connection with an arrest warrant issued for him on Aug. 24, according to a release.
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McDonald is believed to have fired the shot that killed Annie Nunnally, 63, of North Chicago, when she attempted to mediate a fight between two men during a party on McAllister Avenue in Waukegan on Aug. 22, authorities said.
He was being held Tuesday in the Lake County jail in lieu of $3 million bail, according to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
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Lee Filas, a spokesperson for the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office, said McDonald appeared in Lake County Court for a bond hearing Tuesday and is apparently attempting to hire an attorney. McDonald is scheduled to return to court Monday.
Police initially responded to a report of a shooting Aug. 22 on McAllister Avenue, where they found Nunnally in the street with a gunshot wound, according to a police release. Based on their investigation, police believe at least one shot was fired when Nunnally tried to intercede in a confrontation and ran into the street.
Another defendant in the case, Achley Cruz-Oquendo, 32 of Waukegan, surrendered to police on charges of obstruction of justice on Aug. 25 and remained Tuesday in the Lake County jail in lieu of $250,000 bail.


chicagotribune--2020-09-08--Aurora man dies in head-on crash

Aurora man dies in head-on crash

First responders tried to perform lifesaving measures on the man and he was taken to Rush Copley Medical Center in @ @ @ @ @ pronounced dead , police said .
The man ’ s identity has not been released @

A 20-year-old Aurora man died Monday when his motorcycle collided head-on with a vehicle on the city’s near East Side, police said.
Aurora police said the man, driving a 2000 Suzuki motorcycle, was heading west on the 700 block of Liberty Street at a high rate of speed around 5:12 p.m. Monday when his motorcycle collided with a 1996 Chevy Tahoe heading eastbound, according to a news release.
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First responders tried to perform lifesaving measures on the man and he was taken to Rush Copley Medical Center in Aurora, where he was pronounced dead, police said. The man’s identity has not been released.
Police closed Liberty Street for several hours while investigators reconstructed the crash by creating a 3D digital map of the scene using drone technology and locating surveillance footage.
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Anyone with information about the crash is asked to call police at 630-256-5330 or submit anonymous tips to Crime Stoppers at 630-892-1000.
mejones@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-09-08--Watch live: CPD provides update on fatal stabbing at Wicker Park Walgreens

Chicago police will provide an update at 3:30 p.m. CDT on the fatal stabbing of a woman who was working @ @ @ @ @ over the weekend .

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chicagotribune--2020-09-08--Suspect arrested for August shooting in which Elgin man was injured, police say

The incident occurred about 12:40 a.m. Aug. 22 when two men were shot while driving in the area of Kimball @ @ @ @ @ reports said .
One man was killed and a second treated for injuries that were @ @ @ @ @ .

Dru K. Jarvis, of Lake in the Hills, has been charged with three counts of felony aggravated battery in connection with an Aug. 29 shooting in Elgin in which an Elgin man was injured, police said. (Kane County Sheriffs Office / HANDOUT)
A Lake in the Hills man has been arrested for an August shooting in which an Elgin man was injured.
Dru K. Jarvis, 21, of the 1300 block of Cunat Court, faces three counts of aggravated battery under charges filed by the Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office. He is being held in the Kane County jail in lieu of $250,000 bail.
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Jarvis was identified as a suspect an Aug. 29 shooting, which took place about 9:40 p.m. in the 300 block of South McLean Boulevard, Elgin police said. The victim, 41-year-old Francisco Trujillo-Uscanga, was taken to an area hospital for a non-life-threatening gunshot wound, police said.
Jarvis was located in the 1100 block of North McLean Boulevard Thursday and taken into custody on a warrant.
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Elgin police have had 44 reported gunfire incidents — and made 11 arrests — so far this year, Police Chief Ana Lalley said.
Gunfire incidents have been on the rise around the county and the city hasn’t been immune, Lalley said,
“While this in no way alleviates concerns or our investigative diligence, multiple factors appear to be driving a national increase in shots fired calls,” she said.
“Causes experts have outlined include changes to the court system due to COVID-19, diversion of resources to manage (Black Lives Matter) demonstrations, enforcement efforts affected by the political climate towards police, and minor disputes escalating due to people’s stress levels during the pandemic,” she said."
There has been one murder in Elgin this year, and the case remains under investigation with no arrests made.
The incident occurred about 12:40 a.m. Aug. 22 when two men were shot while driving in the area of Kimball and State streets, police reports said. One man was killed and a second treated for injuries that were not life-threatening, reports said.


chicagotribune--2020-09-08--Chicago adds Kentucky to city’s travel quarantine order, removes California and  Puerto Rico

Last week , Dr. Allison Arwady , Chicago ’ s public health commissioner , said Indiana crossed the threshold and @ @ @ @ @ but as of Tuesday the neighboring state ’ s numbers had declined and it was @ @ @ @ @ .
Much of Indiana ’ s rise was attributed to a change in data reporting @ @ @ @ @ of cases in college towns , Arwady said in a Facebook Live Q & A @ @ @

Mayor Lori Lightfoot leaves following her budget address with the media at the Cultural Center in Chicago on Aug. 31, 2020. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
The city of Chicago added Kentucky to its mandatory quarantine order and removed California and Puerto Rico, officials announced Tuesday.
The new addition will be effective Friday, when the list will cover 21 states, according to a Chicago Department of Public Health news release. The removal of the state and territory applies immediately.
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The city adds a state to its quarantine list if it averages more than 15 new daily COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents over a seven-day period. People who have spent more than 24 hours in the high-risk states are required to self-quarantine for 14 days after entering Chicago.
In addition, five states on the list have dipped below the threshold and will be removed from the list next week if they remain under the requirement. They are Idaho, Nevada, Texas, North Carolina and Hawaii.
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The states on the list as of Friday will be Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee and Texas.
Last week, Dr. Allison Arwady, Chicago’s public health commissioner, said Indiana crossed the threshold and could be added soon, but as of Tuesday the neighboring state’s numbers had declined and it was not on the quarantine list. Much of Indiana’s rise was attributed to a change in data reporting as well as a concentration of cases in college towns, Arwady said in a Facebook Live Q&A on Tuesday.
However, Arwady said that Wisconsin’s numbers were slightly up — in the 10 to 15 daily cases per 100,000 residents range — so the city is “keeping a close eye” on that state.
“Good news also on this front: The country overall, doing much better in terms of COVID,” Arwady said. “The Midwest, though, does remain the area of biggest concern and universities are a big concern.”
Hawaii, Nebraska and North Carolina were added to the order last week.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s self-quarantine requirement was implemented during the Fourth of July weekend. Though the order is generally not being enforced aside from signs and billboards telling people that they must self-quarantine, violators are subject to fines of $100 to $500 per day, up to $7,000.
Exceptions to the self-quarantine order include essential workers, those traveling for medical treatment and those for whom “self-quarantine is not possible, practicable or advisable.” The order also does not apply to people who are at the airport for a connecting flight or are driving through the city on their way elsewhere.
Chicago’s cases have fallen slightly to an average of 308 positive test results a day and a seven-day rolling positivity rate of 5%, according to Sunday numbers. The hospitalization rate remains stable, although two to three people are still dying of COVID-19 every day on average, Arwady said.
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The headway must continue for consecutive weeks in order for the city to be prepared for the cooler months that will bring less opportunity for outdoor gatherings, Arwady said.
“I want to be confident in that for at least another week or two before I sort of say, ‘Yes we’ve fully turned the corner there,’ but definitely we’re seeing some progress and pleased to be seeing that,” she said. “Now is the time to double down on the things that we know work.”
Also on Tuesday, Illinois health officials announced 1,392 new known cases of COVID-19 and seven additional fatalities, bringing the total number of known infections in Illinois to 252,353 and the statewide death toll to 8,186 since the start of the pandemic.
ayin@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-09-08--Man charged in ‘violent’ attack on Wilmette Public Library employees, police say

George Seaberry , 26 , formerly of Evanston , who is homeless , was charged with two counts of aggravated @ @ @ @ @ age of 60 , and one count of aggravated battery based on injury , Wilmette @ @ @ @ @ said Tuesday .

A 26-year-old man is facing two counts of aggravated battery after allegedly beating two Wilmette Public Library employees Friday afternoon.
George Seaberry, 26, formerly of Evanston, who is homeless, was charged with two counts of aggravated battery of victims over the age of 60, and one count of aggravated battery based on injury, Wilmette Police Cmdr. Michael Robinson said Tuesday.
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The attack took place in the building’s lobby as Seaberry was leaving the library, and suddenly began punching a 62-year-old male library employee numerous times in the head and body, Robinson said.
George Seaberry was charged with two counts of aggravated battery in Wilmette. (Wilmette Police Department)
Seaberry then pushed a 69-year-old male employee to the ground, before fleeing on foot, Robinson said.
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“This was unprovoked, and a pretty violent attack," Robinson said.
The 69-year-old employee was treated for injuries on the scene, and the 62-year-old employee was transported to Evanston Hospital, where he was treated and released, Robinson said.
Seaberry was arrested on Sunday after he was found sleeping in a vestibule of a building in the 1100 block of Greenleaf Avenue, Robinson said.
A spokeswoman for the Cook County Sheriff’s Office said Tuesday that a judge set Seaberry’s bond at $100,000, and he remains in custody.
kcullotta@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @kcullotta


chicagotribune--2020-09-08--Waukegan pedestrian struck, killed by car

Police said they found the body of the man in westbound lane in the 2100 block of Belvidere Road , @ @ @ @ @ Avenue intersection .
The man , described as being in his 30s , has not @ @ @ @ @ an autopsy , police said .
He was pronounced dead at the scene

A Waukegan man was killed Friday night when he was struck by car along Belvidere Road, Waukegan police said.
Police said they found the body of the man in westbound lane in the 2100 block of Belvidere Road, which is near the Lewis Avenue intersection. The man, described as being in his 30s, has not been formally identified, pending an autopsy, police said. He was pronounced dead at the scene
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Investigators said it appears that a motorist driving a 2014 Chrysler 300 in the westbound lane struck the pedestrian, who was in the roadway. The incident took place around 11:40 p.m. Friday, police said.
The driver, a Waukegan man in his 20s, stopped and was cooperative with police, authorities said. He was not cited, police said.


chicagotribune--2020-09-08--Acclaimed Italian-influenced Korean restaurant Passerotto closing, in part due to the coronavirus

“ These last three years have been full of warm memories , life-altering connections and so much good food + @ @ @ @ @ post says .
“ I failed more than I succeeded on most days , but @ @ @ @ @ together , something really started to take shape .
We — as a collective — @ @ @ @ @ we wanted a workplace to look and feel for each other .
I grew immensely @ @ @ @ @ folx ; I learned about the power of collective care .
I became someone I @ @ @ @ @ people here .
”

When chef Jennifer Kim opened Passerotto in 2018, she described her restaurant as an ode to growing up Korean American and training in Italian kitchens. That love letter resonated with Chicago diners and the culinary world at large, garnering a slew of awards, including a Chicago Tribune Critic’s Choice Dining Award (naming Kim as Rookie of the Year), James Beard Award nominations, Best Neighborhood Restaurant by the Jean Banchet Awards and a Michelin Bib Gourmand Award. It also landed a spot on the Chicago Tribune’s Phil’s 50 list. But over the weekend, the Andersonville restaurant announced that it would be closing its doors permanently, in part due to the coronavirus pandemic. The last day is Saturday.
“These last three years have been full of warm memories, life-altering connections and so much good food + wine,” the Instagram post says. “I failed more than I succeeded on most days, but as we continued to grow together, something really started to take shape. We — as a collective — started to re-write the way we wanted a workplace to look and feel for each other. I grew immensely alongside other compassionate and passionate folx; I learned about the power of collective care. I became someone I could love because of the people here.”
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Kim said the decision to close was a result of multiple conversations with staff and investors, and ultimately they decided that “operating a restaurant safely in the midst of multiple pandemics was going to negatively affect our community in the long run.” A pop-up project was also teased on the restaurant’s profile.
A proponent of healthy workplaces, Passerotto and Kim supported initiatives like The CHAAD Project, a grassroots organization that runs an accountability database for Chicago hospitality establishments, and loudly advocated for mistreated workers during Chicago’s reckoning with abuse earlier this year and the Black Lives Matter movement and through the industry group Chicago Hospitality United.
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To celebrate the end of its run, the restaurant is offering a farewell menu with heat-and-serve meal kits, cocktails for two, preserved pantry items, a picnic in the park for two, and wellness and care boxes.
“We leave behind a space, but we take with us forever the community we shared,” a statement on the Passerotto website says. ”We will miss you all so terribly. We love you.”
Passerotto will be open Thursday through Saturday and online ordering is live at passerottochicago.com.
gwong@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-09-08--Target reinstates car seat recycling program with contactless trade-in option

Target reinstated its car seat recycling program this month despite COVID-19 uncertainty , according to the corporation ’ s website @ @ @ @ @ through Sept. 26 , customers enrolled in Target ’ s loyalty program can bring any @ @ @ @ @ seat in exchange for a coupon for 20 % off any new car seat , @ @ @ @ @ or select baby home gear , such as high chairs or rockers .

Multiple instruction stickers appear on a car seat at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge during an inspection. (Abel Uribe/Chicago Tribune / Chicago Tribune)
Parents hoping to get rid of their child’s old car seat will soon see the return of a popular sustainable option.
Target reinstated its car seat recycling program this month despite COVID-19 uncertainty, according to the corporation’s website. From this coming Sunday through Sept. 26, customers enrolled in Target’s loyalty program can bring any of its stores a car seat in exchange for a coupon for 20% off any new car seat, car seat base, stroller or select baby home gear, such as high chairs or rockers.
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Target accepts all types of car seats, including infant, convertible, harness and booster seats, car seat bases and expired or damaged ones. The seats will be disassembled and recycled by the retailer’s partner, Waste Management.
The retailer didn’t host its spring car seat trade-in program this year amid the coronavirus pandemic. Chicago-area parents were struggling to get rid of car seats and other children’s items as resale shops limited donations and retailers stalled trade-in programs out of fear of COVID-19 spread.
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“We are making it easy to have a positive impact on the environment through trade-in programs,” said a statement on Target’s website detailing the car seat event. “… We’ve taken a number of steps in support of our team and guests, with increased safety measures and operational changes.”
Target stores will have drop-off boxes located near their guest services section for the car seats, according to the retailer’s website. There will be scan sheets on the drop-off boxes, which customers can scan through their mobile device to access their coupon. Guests can only scan one coupon per Target loyalty program account.
Companies have hosted trade-in programs primarily for promotional reasons since recycling car seats is a costly endeavor, according to TerraCycle, which helped Target recycle car seats in the past. The trade-in programs were starting to occur more frequently before the pandemic.
Walmart was another corporation that had just started to host car seat trade-in programs, with its first launched in 2019. A spokesperson said Walmart would not be hosting a car seat trade-in program this year and was instead focused on launching new baby safety products.
Target has recycled nearly 1 million car seats and 14.4 million pounds of materials since its first trade-in program in 2016, according to the retailer’s website.
kelsmith@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @KelliSmithNews


chicagotribune--2020-09-08--COVID-19 in Illinois by the numbers: Here’s a daily update on cases, positivity rate and hospital da

COVID-19 in Illinois by the numbers: Here’s a daily update on cases, positivity rate and hospital data in your area

Among the metrics ( see below ) tracked under guidelines set by Gov .
J.B. Pritzker are the percentage of @ @ @ @ @ , the number of people hospitalized for COVID-19-like illnesses , and the capacity of hospitals @ @ @ @ @ state will decide how much or how little to restrict activities based on these metrics @

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.
To assess how different parts of Illinois are handling the COVID-19 pandemic, officials look at the state through the 11 regions of Emergency Medical Services. The city of Chicago is one region, for example, and the rest of Cook County is another.
Among the metrics (see below) tracked under guidelines set by Gov. J.B. Pritzker are the percentage of coronavirus tests that return positive, the number of people hospitalized for COVID-19-like illnesses, and the capacity of hospitals to take in new patients.The state will decide how much or how little to restrict activities based on these metrics. (Cases, deaths and tests data is as of Dec. 31).
• Check out the Tribune’s coronavirus coverage.
• Remembering the lives of those in Illinois who died from coronavirus.
• Other Chicago, suburbs and Illinois COVID-19 metrics.
• See how the governor’s plan to manage the regions works.
Source: Illinois Department of Public Health
Created by the Chicago Tribune dataviz team. On Twitter @chitribgraphics


chicagotribune--2020-09-08--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--2020-09-08--Daily Illinois coronavirus graphs: 7 new deaths, 1,392 new confirmed cases and 31,363 new test resul

Daily Illinois coronavirus graphs: 7 new deaths, 1,392 new confirmed cases and 31,363 new test results

Illinois announced 1,392 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 Tuesday for a total of 252,353 .
The state also announced 7 @ @ @ @ @ of 8,186 and 31,363 new test results for a total of 4.48 million .

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--2020-09-08--Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot says President Donald Trump’s threat to cut federal funding for distric

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot says President Donald Trump’s threat to cut federal funding for districts that teach ‘1619 Project’ is  ‘more hot air’

But Chicago Public Schools has adopted it as part of its curriculum , which Lightfoot defended on Tuesday by saying @ @ @ @ @ students of all backgrounds to understand slavery .
Lightfoot also said Trump has “ no @ @ @ @ @ funding from any school district .
”

A copy of The New York Times Magazine's "1619 Project" is shown Aug. 19, 2019. (Raquel Zaldivar / Chicago Tribune)
Mayor Lori Lightfoot fired back at President Donald Trump’s weekend threat to cut federal funding for public schools that teach the “1619 Project,” calling it “more hot air.”
“We’re a democracy,” Lightfoot said. “In a democracy, we do not hide or erase our history.”
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The New York Times Magazine’s “1619 Project” looked at slavery and how it shaped America. Although widely celebrated, the Pulitzer Prize-winning project has drawn criticism from some conservative politicians and scholars.
Department of Education is looking at this. If so, they will not be funded! https://t.co/dHsw6Y6Y3M — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 6, 2020
Sign up for The Spin to get the top stories in politics delivered to your inbox weekday afternoons.
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But Chicago Public Schools has adopted it as part of its curriculum, which Lightfoot defended on Tuesday by saying it’s important for students of all backgrounds to understand slavery. Lightfoot also said Trump has “no power to try to take funding from any school district.”
“If he does, obviously, we will see him in court,” she said.
The dispute mirrors a war of words from last week after Trump threatened to cut federal funding for some Democratic-run big cities. Lightfoot referred to that threat as “nonsense” meant to shore up Trump’s political support in an election year while also promising to sue his administration if it pursues the city’s money.
gpratt@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @royalpratt


chicagotribune--2020-09-08--One dead, another injured in Waukegan motel shooting

The shooting took place at a motel at the intersection of Green Bay Road and Washington Street , according to @ @ @ @ @ do not believe there is any threat to the community related to the incident .

Waukegan police are investigating the apparent shooting death of one man and the wounding of another early Tuesday.
Authorities have not released the identity of the dead man, pending an autopsy scheduled for Wednesday. Police say he was a Waukegan resident in his 20s.
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Commander Joe Florip said police were called to a hospital around 1 a.m. for a report that two people had arrived at the emergency room with gunshot wounds.
The Waukegan man died from his wounds, police said, and a North Chicago man in his 20s was reported in serious but stable condition Tuesday afternoon.
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The shooting took place at a motel at the intersection of Green Bay Road and Washington Street, according to police. Authorities said they do not believe there is any threat to the community related to the incident.


chicagotribune--2020-09-08--Back to school for CPS

Back to school for CPS

A look at one family as Chicago Public Schools begins the year with remote learning .


chicagotribune--2020-09-08--Watch live: Mayor Lightfoot to visit Chicago school as fall year begins at CPS

Mayor Lori Lightfoot will join CPS CEO Dr. Jackson to visit Dr. Martin Luther King , Jr Academy of Social @ @ @ @ @ of school .


chicagotribune--2020-09-08--8-year-old girl killed in shooting that wounds three others on South Side

Dajore Wilson , 8 , was fatally shot on Labor Day , while three adults with her , including her @ @ @ @ @ the attack in Canaryville .

Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 23 The clear casket carrying the body of 8-year-old shooting victim DaJore Wilson is carried out of Abundant Living Christian Center in Dolton after her funeral on Sept. 18, 2020. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)
Dajore Wilson, 8, was fatally shot on Labor Day, while three adults with her, including her mother, were injured in the attack in Canaryville.


chicagotribune--2020-09-08--Kyla Robinson, 15-year-old sister of man killed by Madison police in 2015, dies in car crash

La Follette High School Principal Devon LaRosa sent an email to parents and community members Monday calling Kyla a “ @ @ @ @ @ with a radiant smile and magnetic personality .
She was known and loved in the @ @ @ @ @ .
“ This is a devastating loss that is reverberating through our community .
”

MADISON, Wis. — Officials have identified the young victim of a car crash in Madison as the sister of the teenager who was shot and killed by police in 2015.
The Madison School District says 15-year-old Kyla Robinson died in the crash Friday afternoon on Madison’s east side.
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La Follette High School Principal Devon LaRosa sent an email to parents and community members Monday calling Kyla a “joyful and outgoing person, with a radiant smile and magnetic personality. She was known and loved in the community,” LaRosa said. “This is a devastating loss that is reverberating through our community.”
The school will offer virtual support for students who need help grieving Kyla’s death starting Tuesday, LaRosa said. La Follette High School Student Services staff will be available to talk over Zoom, the State Journal reported.
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The school is partnering with Kyla’s family to provide further support for students and staff, LaRosa said.
The name of Kyla’s brother, Tony Robinson, has surfaced during recent protests against police brutality and racism after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody.
The 19-year-old Black man was shot and killed by Madison police Officer Matt Kenny after a struggle in a narrow stairwell in 2015. His family received $3.35 million to settle a federal civil rights lawsuit in 2017.


chicagotribune--2020-09-08--Tracking Chicago homicide victims

Tracking Chicago homicide victims

Though there are homicides recorded throughout the city they are most concentrated in the South and West sides .


chicagotribune--2020-09-09--Daywatch: CPS kicks off school year remotely, police program flags cops who need intervention and Je

Daywatch: CPS kicks off school year remotely, police program flags cops who need intervention and Jelly Belly distances itself from Willy Wonka-style contest

In 2015 , the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency adopted stringent limits on metals that stick around in the environment and @ @ @ @ @ move up the food chain .
But President Donald Trump ’ s political appointees stalled @ @ @ @ @ office in 2017 , and last week they gutted the Obama-era standards for Oak Creek @ @ @ @ @ .
The Trump EPA ’ s alternative fails to require the most effective treatment methods @ @ @ @ @ exempts many power plants from doing anything at all .

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Good morning, Chicago.
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On Tuesday, Illinois health officials announced 1,392 new known cases of COVID-19 and seven additional fatalities, bringing the statewide totals to 252,353 known cases and 8,186 deaths.
In Chicago, California and Puerto Rico were taken off the mandatory quarantine order on Tuesday, while a new state was added to the city’s list. If you’re planning an out-of-state trip, here’s what you need to know to avoid a large fine.
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And with the coronavirus sidelining much of in-person arts and entertainment, we asked you a question: What would it take for Chicagoans to go to an indoor show? Here’s what you told us.
Here’s more coronavirus news and other top stories you need to know to start your day.
Javier Lopez, 8, a Chicago Public Schools student at Skinner North Classical Elementary School, raises his hand to answer a question on the first day of remote learning at his Chicago home on Sept. 8, 2020. (José M. Osorio/ Chicago Tribune)
Surrounded by four computer monitors, Nightingale Elementary teacher Lauren Kullman joked that she felt like she was producing the Emmys. But it was just the first day of school.
As Chicago Public Schools on Tuesday began fall quarter with remote learning, most educators were teaching from their homes, though some streamed lessons from their school classrooms. Families around the city reported a range of successes and frustrations as the watershed day came to a close.
Six months into the pandemic, CPS has served more than 21 million free meals and won’t let up anytime soon
A police officer works the scene where eight people were shot, four fatally, July 5, 2020 in Chicago. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)
The Chicago Police Department has unveiled a pilot program that will analyze records of personnel complaints, excessive force and other data to identify officers who may need intervention in the hopes of preventing events that shake the community’s trust in officers.
But experts who reviewed the department’s plan say it includes no accountability for officers who may show a pattern of problematic behavior, leaving the department without recourse to pull officers from the street or take disciplinary measures based on the information turned up by the program.
The Oak Creek coal-fired power plant in Wisconsin, shown Sept. 8, is the largest industrial source of toxic metals dumped into Lake Michigan. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)
Towering above Lake Michigan north of the Wisconsin border, the Oak Creek coal-fired power plant is one of the largest sources of toxic metals dumped into American waterways. By now the coal plant’s owner should have dramatically reduced its pollution.
In 2015, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency adopted stringent limits on metals that stick around in the environment and become more dangerous as they move up the food chain. But President Donald Trump’s political appointees stalled the regulations soon after taking office in 2017, and last week they gutted the Obama-era standards for Oak Creek and other fossil fuel plants. The Trump EPA’s alternative fails to require the most effective treatment methods, pushes back deadlines and exempts many power plants from doing anything at all.
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The Vista Tower seen traveling northbound on Lake Shore Drive, June 18, 2020. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)
Vista Tower hasn’t opened yet, but a buyer of a $10 million condo in what will be Chicago’s third-tallest skyscraper wants to back out of the deal. A lawsuit filed last week in Cook County Circuit Court by Steve Vogel, a recreational boating entrepreneur, seeks to void one of the highest-priced condo sales in the 101-story tower, where the first residents are set to move in later this year.
David Klein, who invented the Jelly Belly jelly bean, poses for photos in Covina, Calif., on Oct. 12, 2011. (Jae C. Hong / ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Jelly Belly Candy Company on Tuesday sought to distance itself from a Willy Wonka-style contest that promises to award a winner the keys to a candy factory. The nationwide “gold ticket” treasure hunt was launched by Jelly Belly jelly beans inventor David Klein, as a way to “give back” before his retirement. It gained so much interest from wannabe winners that within days its Facebook page gained 38,000 followers.


chicagotribune--2020-09-09--Trump EPA guts tough standards for toxic metals dumped into U.S. waterways by coal-fired power plant

Trump EPA guts tough standards for toxic metals dumped into U.S. waterways by coal-fired power plants, including biggest polluter on Lake Michigan

In an April 2019 decision , the 5th District Court of Appeals judges chided the EPA for allowing energy companies @ @ @ @ @ leaky pits .
The judges noted the agency ’ s wastewater standards for power plants @ @ @ @ @ since 1982 , “ the second year of President Reagan ’ s first term , @ @ @ @ @ the release of the first CD player , the Sony Watchman pocket television , and @ @ @ @ @ .
”

The Oak Creek coal-fired power plant in Wisconsin, shown Sept. 8, is the largest industrial source of toxic metals dumped into Lake Michigan. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)
Towering above Lake Michigan north of the Wisconsin border, the Oak Creek coal-fired power plant is one of the largest sources of toxic metals dumped into American waterways.
Only six other power plants nationwide released more arsenic, lead, mercury and other metals into lakes and rivers last year, according to a Chicago Tribune analysis of federal records. On the shores of Lake Michigan, no other polluter comes close.
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By now the coal plant’s owner should have dramatically reduced its pollution. In 2015, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency adopted stringent limits on metals that stick around in the environment and become more dangerous as they move up the food chain.
But President Donald Trump’s political appointees stalled the regulations soon after taking office in 2017, and last week they gutted the Obama-era standards for Oak Creek and other fossil fuel plants. The Trump EPA’s alternative fails to require the most effective treatment methods, pushes back deadlines and exempts many power plants from doing anything at all.
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Buried in the fine print of the Republican administration’s new regulations is a stunning admission: Benefits for energy companies would come at the expense of more than 20 million Americans who drink water and eat fish from lakes and rivers polluted by coal plant discharges.
A view from a neighborhood near the Oak Creek coal-fired power plant, Sept. 8, 2020, in Wisconsin. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)
Low-income Black and Latino communities face disproportionate risks from the pollution, the Trump EPA also acknowledges in its regulatory documents.
“There is just no way anyone can justify that trade-off,” said Betsy Southerland, who led an EPA team that drafted the Obama-era rule and became a vocal critic of the agency after retiring in 2017.
Weaker regulation of power plant wastewater is one of several environmental rollbacks drafted by Trump appointees who formerly worked in the coal industry, a once-dominant source of electricity in steep decline.
As recently as a decade ago, coal accounted for more than half of all electricity generated in the United States. This year its share is expected to drop to just 18% as power companies spurn the fossil fuel in favor of cleaner, less-expensive natural gas and renewable energy, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
The rapid shift is driving coal companies into bankruptcy, prompting scores of layoffs at coal mines and shaving billions from the balance sheets of coal plant owners.
Industry lobbyists and Trump administration officials blame the Obama EPA for job losses at coal mines and power plants struggling to compete in energy markets. The Utility Water Act Group, an industry trade organization, said the former administration’s wastewater regulations failed “to consider accurately the cumulative costs of EPA’s major rules affecting the utility industry, the coal industry and the communities depending on them.”
Documents filed by the Trump EPA estimate its new regulations will save the industry $140 million and slow the move away from coal-fired electricity.
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“Newer, more affordable pollution control technologies and flexibility on the regulation’s phase-in will reduce pollution and save jobs at the same time,” said EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler, a former lobbyist for Murray Energy, one of the coal companies that pushed for the rollback.
The purported reductions in pollution could be a mirage, though. Wheeler and other Trump administration officials grounded their regulations on the assumption that investor-owned companies will volunteer to spend millions of dollars upgrading coal plants.
Along with other pollutants, metals are concentrated in ash left behind from the burning of coal and in residue from scrubbers that reduce air pollution. Power plants generally mix the waste with water and store the slurry in open pits that are gradually emptied into lakes and rivers.
Many of the pits also leach into groundwater tied to underground aquifers. Nationwide, more than 90% of the sites storing coal ash violate EPA health standards, according to a review of industry records by the nonprofit Environmental Integrity Project.
The Obama EPA’s regulations targeted arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead, mercury and selenium — metals that when ingested through water or food can cause cancer, lower the IQ of children and trigger organ damage and reproductive problems.
Despite dozens of coal plants closing or converting to natural gas during the past three years, the industry is still responsible for about a third of the metals-laden pollution released into water nationally — more than any economic sector.
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Indiana led all states with 16,527 pounds of the six metals discharged by coal plants last year, according to industry records filed with the EPA’s Toxics Release Inventory.
Others in the top five are Texas (7,255 pounds), Michigan (6,348 pounds), Ohio (5,179 pounds) and Georgia (4,901 pounds). Illinois coal plants released 618 pounds during the year.
The 2,165 pounds dumped into Lake Michigan by the Oak Creek coal plant accounted for nearly two-thirds of all discharges into Wisconsin waterways last year, the Tribune analysis found.
During the past decade, the amount of mercury pollution from Oak Creek has steadily increased. Wisconsin officials last year cleared We Energies, the plant’s owner, to release concentrations of the brain-damaging metal nearly three times greater than state law allows.
Brendan Conway, a company spokesman, said permits for Oak Creek include deadlines for improvements required under the Obama-era regulations.
“We are evaluating how this new rule might change additional wastewater treatment technologies we are designing,” Conway said in an email. “However, we believe we are well positioned to meet many of the new … requirements with existing environmental control technologies.”
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Eliminating the pollution costs substantially less than it did when the Obama EPA adopted its regulations five years ago, the Trump EPA acknowledges. But Wheeler and his aides chose to require less effective technology that will leave millions of Americans at risk from harmful metals and chemical pollutants, according to complex charts scattered throughout regulatory documents.
Power companies are exempt from even the less stringent requirements at coal plants scheduled to close by 2028.
“They had an opportunity here to protect people at a fraction of the costs we estimated,” said Southerland, the former EPA official. “They just chose not to do so.”
While the Trump administration’s changes will be challenged in court, several power companies already have indefinitely delayed projects intended to comply with the Obama-era regulations.
Northern Indiana Public Service Co. had sought approval from state regulators to charge ratepayers $170 million for wastewater treatment at its Schahfer Generating Station in Jasper County. The company put its project on hold and later announced it will close the coal plant by 2023 as part of a transition to wind and solar power.
Thom Cmar, a lawyer for the nonprofit group EarthJustice, said loopholes in the Trump EPA regulations are intended to benefit a few dozen other coal plants.
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“They’re propping up a dying industry, “ Cmar said. “But this pollution should have been eliminated a long time ago.”
Three federal judges — two appointed by Trump and another by President George W. Bush — agree government and industry have taken too long to address the threats to public health and the environment.
In an April 2019 decision, the 5th District Court of Appeals judges chided the EPA for allowing energy companies to continue storing waste in leaky pits. The judges noted the agency’s wastewater standards for power plants hadn’t been updated since 1982, “the second year of President Reagan’s first term, the same year that saw the release of the first CD player, the Sony Watchman pocket television, and the Commodore 64 home computer.”
mhawthorne@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-09-09--Column: Winter’s coming. The secret to surviving it in a pandemic? Pace yourself.

The idea that we ’ re only halfway through the pandemic may be depressing , but it ’ s also @ @ @ @ @ proper pacing is to set proper expectations .
Pacing yourself means not going too fast @ @ @ @ @ means resisting the urge to push ourselves to pointless fatigue , and it means resisting @ @ @ @ @ .
We have to keep seeking mental and physical practices that will get us to @ @ @

Labor Day in the Pandemic Year of 2020 has come and gone, and by the day after, Tuesday, something had changed. You could feel it and hear it, some shift in the light and the air and the mood, changes that in a normal year we might associate with going back to school and the end of summer pleasures.
But this is no normal year. For millions of kids, back to school means back to the computer in the kitchen or the bedroom. The waning summer doesn’t resemble any summer we can remember.
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These post-Labor-Day rituals — back to school, summer’s end — may bear some relation to the familiar, but they don’t mark time in the usual way because the pandemic has upended the way we process time.
On Tuesday morning, I took a walk in what is still technically summer. The flowers, though bedraggled, were still in bloom. The trees were still full of green leaves, despite the yellowed few that floated to the ground. The cicadas were still squawking.
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But the breeze was newly cool. I sidestepped dead cicadas on the wet sidewalk, heard a couple of pleasantly melancholy autumn songs float through my mind — “oh, the days dwindle down to a precious few” — and from out of nowhere came a voice.
“Winter’s coming,” the voice said, “and this is only mile 14 of the marathon. Pace yourself.”
Pace yourself. It’s advice we apply to long runs and hard work, to any endeavor that risks exhausting us before we’ve done what we need to do.
To pace yourself, according to one definition, means “to do something at a speed that is steady and that allows one to continue without becoming too tired.”
Figuring out how to pace ourselves through the pandemic has been one of the big challenges of the past six months. How do you pace yourself when you don’t have a clue what the course looks like, or how long it is?
In the early days of the pandemic, we could kid ourselves that we were in for nothing more than a hard sprint. Anyone who was paying attention, of course, knew that this would be at least a 10K. But who was paying that kind of attention?
We were too busy racing to the store for Clorox wipes (sold out) and toilet paper (sold out) and stocking up on whatever weird vegetable was left in the supermarket freezer, meaning frozen riced cauliflower.
Back in the early days — March, April, into May — few of us could imagine we were embarking on a marathon. It’s hard to imagine what you’ve never experienced, and we’d never experienced a pandemic.
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But we began to find a new rhythm, not always comfortable but sometimes steady. The days settled into a new structure. We stopped worrying about toilet paper. The frozen cauliflower sat blissfully untouched in the freezer. Summer came, and we could go outside, which distracted us periodically from life in lockup.
But anyone who was paying attention could deduce by July that this was no sprint. It was no 10K. This was a marathon, and we weren’t even halfway through.
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And now, with summer waning, a lot of us — most? all? — have realized that we haven’t paced ourselves mentally for such a long haul, and we are very tired.
It’s still hard to know exactly where we are along the pandemic route, but the little voice that spoke to me on Tuesday says mile 14 so, for the sake of pacing, I’m going to believe it, for now.
The idea that we’re only halfway through the pandemic may be depressing, but it’s also liberating. One key to proper pacing is to set proper expectations. Pacing yourself means not going too fast or too slow. It means resisting the urge to push ourselves to pointless fatigue, and it means resisting the urge to give up. We have to keep seeking mental and physical practices that will get us to the end.
Yoga, walking, meditation, prayer, Zoom gym classes, Zoom music classes, (your-practice-here). It’s not easy to stay steady, but we have to keep seeking ways.
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I once read a set of tips for marathoners. In addition to proper pacing, it recommended enlisting friends and family to stand along the course to cheer you on.
We have a long way to go before this pandemic’s done, but we can do this. Even with winter coming on. Besides, what’s the choice? Think: Steady. Steady. Steady. Cheer someone on.
mschmich@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-09-09--New CPD program to use data to flag officers who need intervention. But information gathered won’t l

New CPD program to use data to flag officers who need intervention. But information gathered won’t lead to punitive actions against cops.

“ To the public , it omits the reality that we won ’ t use the information to get rid @ @ @ @ @ said .
“ To the officers , it says this is only about hand-holding and @ @ @ @ @ when at least it should also be about trying to correct behavior and address problematic @ @ @

A police officer works the scene where eight people were shot, four fatally, July 5, 2020 in Chicago. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)
The Chicago Police Department has unveiled a pilot program that will analyze records of personnel complaints, excessive force and other data to identify officers who may need intervention in the hopes of preventing events that shake the community’s trust in officers.
But experts who reviewed the department’s plan say it includes no accountability for officers who may show a pattern of problematic behavior, leaving the department without recourse to pull officers from the street or take disciplinary measures based on the information turned up by the program.
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Instead, the program is promoted as an officer wellness tool, being rolled out along with another pilot program, a telehealth app that will allow officers expanded options for mental health treatment on their phones.
The wellness focus comes a little more than a month after the suicide of a high-ranking police official in July and as the department’s mental health programming has been under scrutiny for years following a U.S. Department of Justice investigation into the department that found services severely lacking. Since 2018, 10 officers have died by suicide, including two this year.
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The department hopes the pilot program, called Officer Support System, or OSS, will allow officials to intervene before an officer is involved in an incident that may be detrimental to their own health or to people in the community. The pilot launched Wednesday in the department’s Calumet District on the Far South Side.
CPD officials say this program is not punitive, and that they already have other systems in place to investigate allegations and discipline officers. Instead, the Officer Support System will identify officers when the problems are minor and refer them to their supervisor, which may lead to counseling or retraining.
Chicago police look on as groups lead a rally across from the department's Homan Square facility July 24, 2020. The demonstrators called for defunding police. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)
But as renewed calls for police reform reverberate through the U.S. following recent citizen deaths at the hands of police officers in Minneapolis, Rochester, New York, and Kenosha, some community stakeholders say this program does not go far enough because it may flag issues missed by traditional CPD discipline channels, but it does not allow the department to investigate patterns of abuse.
And mental health and policing experts say officers are likely to be skeptical of the program and unlikely to fully cooperate with something that appears to be based on misconduct.
“You’re putting together a program that could be well-suited to identify patterns of problematic behavior and then saying, ‘We have all this knowledge but the one thing we can’t use it for is to actually investigate and address those patterns of abuse,’” said Craig Futterman, a law professor at the University of Chicago who specializes in police accountability. “That is the very antithesis of an accountable police department.”
Early intervention
Early intervention programs like the OSS have been around in police departments for decades and are often recommended to cities with police departments under consent decree, experts said. They are developed to identify problems when they are small, before they turn into major issues.
The system will be a first for CPD, which has been developing the pilot program with the University of Chicago Crime Lab since 2016, officials said.
Scientists at the Crime Lab looked at hundreds of data points while developing the system, including training, commendations, assignment history, time on the job and other factors, according to Maggie Goodrich, of the University of Chicago Crime Lab.
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Ultimately, they found that using complaint and excessive force data was the most useful metric for identifying problems.
“If you look at the data historically, what really is indicative of and statistically related to an adverse outcome ultimately for an officer in their career, it boiled down to some combination of complaints and use of force or misconduct of some sort,” Goodrich said.
Deputy Superintendent Barbara West said the metrics will also include factors like domestic incidents and suspensions. The OSS will scan department data each month and create a work order for a member identified by the algorithm and refer the member to supervisors, who are being trained to handle the referrals.
West said the supervisor will develop an action plan that could include training, counseling or other supportive measures.
“It’s supportive. It’s not disciplinary,” West said. “It doesn’t involve any type of sanction. It’s not a factor in performance reviews.”
But experts question the usefulness of a program that flags potentially problematic behavior but doesn’t allow the department to investigate that behavior.
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“When you see triggers of potential patterns of abuse, the remedy isn’t, let’s talk to the officer. It’s, investigate it and root it out,” Futterman said. “That’s what’s fundamentally missing.”
CPD spokesman Luis Agostini said the department has “separate functioning systems of accountability that will investigate complaints of misconduct, excessive use of force or any other violation of department policy.”
In those systems, the bureau of internal affairs and the Civilian Office of Police Accountability investigate complaints made against officers on a case-by-case basis as allegations come up, Agostini said.
Futterman also questioned whether the department would make information from the OSS public to be transparent about “potential patterns of abuse and misconduct,” though CPD said the OSS will be for internal use only.
Wellness?
The department is unrolling the OSS as part of an overall officer wellness initiative, an area the department has been working to improve since the 2017 U.S. Department of Justice report concluded the department did not have an “overarching officer wellness plan that includes robust counseling programs, comprehensive training, functioning equipment and other tools to ensure officers are successful and healthy.”
Along with the OSS, the telehealth app will connect officers with therapists on a 24/7 basis outside of the department’s own employee assistance program.
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Carrie Steiner, a former Chicago police officer who is now a therapist who treats first responders, heralded the telehealth app as a way to expand mental health offerings for officers, but questioned the effectiveness of the OSS as a mental health tool.
“That isn’t wellness, that’s accountability,” Steiner said.
Steiner said a source of stress for many officers is their supervisors, so putting sergeants in charge of fielding the issues in the OSS is unlikely to be effective, unless the officer already has a good relationship with their boss.
“If you’re my supervisor judging my mental health, I’m not going to tell you anything,” she said.
Fraternal Order of Police Lodge No. 7 President John Catanzara declined to comment.
Maria Haberfeld, a professor of law, police science and criminal justice at John Jay College, said officers are likely to view the OSS skeptically and feel stigmatized by it. She said the department would likely have a better outcome if it made sure that the whole department had the necessary training and resources to deal with stressful situations.
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“It will absolutely be perceived as a punitive measure,” Haberfeld said, “as opposed to something that becomes part of mandatory training for officers.”
Futterman said CPD may be trying to “assuage two masters” in pitching the early intervention system as a wellness initiative.
“To the public, it omits the reality that we won’t use the information to get rid of officers,” he said. “To the officers, it says this is only about hand-holding and supporting officer health and wellness when at least it should also be about trying to correct behavior and address problematic behavior.”
mabuckley@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-09-09--Coronavirus in Illinois updates: 1,392 new known COVID-19 cases and 7 more deaths reported as CPS be

Coronavirus in Illinois updates: 1,392 new known COVID-19 cases and 7 more deaths reported as CPS begins new school year with return to remote learning

Our fall arts preview typically offers readers advice on what not to miss .
This year , with so much @ @ @ @ @ the novel coronavirus , we wanted to know what you , the audience , are @ @ @ @ @ take to make you feel safe in a theater again ?
And does it matter @ @ @ @ @ a center for culture ?

We have lifted the paywall on this story. To support essential reporting, please consider becoming a subscriber .
Paca Kujtim of Arlington Heights self-administers a COVID-19 test in his car at the Arlington International Racecourse on March 31, 2021 in Arlington Heights. Kujtim was getting testing as a precaution for upcoming travel. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)
Illinois health officials Tuesday announced 1,392 new known cases of COVID-19 and seven additional fatalities, bringing the total number of known infections in Illinois to 252,353 and the statewide death toll to 8,186 since the start of the pandemic.
Meanwhile, Chicago Public Schools on Tuesday began the fall quarter with remote learning. Most educators were teaching from their homes, though some streamed lessons from their school classrooms. Families around the city reported a range of successes and frustrations as the watershed day came to a close.
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Many suburban school districts have already resumed classes, with teachers giving lessons remotely from their school classrooms. Some private schools, including the Archdiocese of Chicago’s students, already went back to school in person.
Also Tuesday, the city of Chicago added Kentucky to its mandatory quarantine order and removed California and Puerto Rico, officials announced.
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Here’s what’s happening Tuesday with COVID-19 in the Chicago area and Illinois:
8:15 p.m. (update): Back to school, from home: CPS begins a new school year with a return to remote learning, successes and frustrations
Surrounded by four computer monitors, Nightingale Elementary teacher Lauren Kullman joked that she felt like she was producing the Emmys. But it was just the first day of school.
As Chicago Public Schools on Tuesday began fall quarter with remote learning, most educators were teaching from their homes, though some streamed lessons from their school classrooms. Families around the city reported a range of successes and frustrations as the watershed day came to a close.
Kullman is married to a special education teacher, and the couple has a 5-year-old in kindergarten along with a younger child.
“Our house is embracing the chaos,” she said Tuesday. “... We are just so grateful that we are remote. The challenges we will face are nothing compared to what we could have faced in an unsafe environment.”
But she said not all school employees were spared from that. At more than 100 CPS buildings, clerks, technology coordinators and clinicians have reported unsafe conditions or lax enforcement of safety protocols, according to the Chicago Teachers Union.
While Kullman was speaking at a CTU news conference, she got a Google notification from a fifth-grade student, telling her good morning.
“They’re excited,” Kullman said of her students. “I’m excited. The thing I’m most nervous about is, not seeing some of them for the past six months, and really checking in with them.”
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Read more here. —Hannah Leone
8:10 p.m.: Six months into the pandemic, CPS has served more than 21 million free meals and won’t let up anytime soon
When all Illinois schools, including private and charter, were closed March 17 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many wondered how the roughly 355,000 students in Chicago Public Schools would be impacted, especially those who rely on school for their meals.
More than 75% of CPS students are economically disadvantaged, and Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot verbalized her hesitancy in closing the schools for this reason.
CPS has served more than 21 million meals to children since schools closed, said Crystal Cooper, executive director of nutritional support services for CPS.
Read more here. —Christen A. Johnson
7:10 p.m. (update): AstraZeneca puts COVID-19 vaccine trials on hold after recipient’s ‘potentially unexplained illness’
Late-stage studies of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine candidate are on temporary hold while the company investigates whether a recipient’s “potentially unexplained” illness is a side effect of the shot.
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In a statement issued Tuesday evening, the company said its “standard review process triggered a pause to vaccination to allow review of safety data.”
AstraZeneca didn’t reveal any information about the possible side effect except to call it “a potentially unexplained illness.” The health news site STAT first reported the pause in testing, saying the possible side effect occurred in the United Kingdom.
An AstraZeneca spokesperson confirmed the pause in vaccinations covers studies in the U.S. and other countries. Late last month, AstraZeneca began recruiting 30,000 people in the U.S. for its largest study of the vaccine. It also is testing the vaccine, developed by Oxford University, in thousands of people in Britain, and in smaller studies in Brazil and South Africa.
Two other vaccines are in huge, final-stage tests in the United States, one made by Moderna Inc. and the other by Pfizer and Germany’s BioNTech. Those two vaccines work differently than AstraZeneca’s, and the studies already have recruited about two-thirds of the needed volunteers.
Read more here. —Associated Press
6:40 p.m.: Number of active COVID-19 cases in Naperville tops 230, higher than previous peak in May
Naperville saw 235 active cases of COVID-19 Sept. 4, a new case record and a 42% increase in active cases from the city’s previous peak at the end of May.
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The number of active COVID-19 cases in Naperville has steadily increased since June 28 when there were 49 active cases in the city, Naperville’s COVID-19 dashboard shows.
Naperville passed the previous May 24 record of 166 active cases on Aug. 14 when the city had 173 active cases of COVID-19, the most recent data on the city’s coronavirus shows.
The numbers do not yet include data from Labor Day weekend and come as most of the city’s restaurants and bars have been offering indoor service for months. The Will County portion of Naperville is under more stringent restrictions.
Read more here. —Erin Hegarty
5:50 p.m.: As COVID-19 clusters emerge on campus, Bradley University tells all students to quarantine and stop socializing for two weeks
Bradley University in downstate Peoria, is requiring all students to quarantine for two weeks and is temporarily reverting to remote learning due to concerns that clusters of COVID-19 are linked to off-campus gatherings, officials announced Tuesday.
Students are being asked not to gather with anyone except roommates, not to visit bars or restaurants and to stay home, with a few exceptions.
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The school is reporting about 50 COVID-19 cases so far but already has hundreds of students in quarantine because of possible exposure.
Read the full story here. —Elyssa Cherney
5:25 p.m.: Statewide coronavirus relief fund winding down despite ‘tremendous need’
A private fundraising effort started in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic to give a boost to nonprofit organizations helping those grappling with the physical and financial consequences of COVID-19 is winding down its work, Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced Tuesday.
While acknowledging that there remains “tremendous need” throughout the state, Pritzker said the intent of the Illinois COVID-19 Response Fund when it was set up in March was to provide quick assistance as the federal and state governments were still formulating their responses.
Read more here. —Dan Petrella
2:25 p.m.: Acclaimed Italian-influenced Korean restaurant Passerotto closing, in part due to the coronavirus
When chef Jennifer Kim opened Passerotto in 2018, she described her restaurant as an ode to growing up Korean American and training in Italian kitchens. That love letter resonated with Chicago diners and the culinary world at large, garnering a slew of awards, including a Chicago Tribune Critic’s Choice Dining Award (naming Kim as Rookie of the Year), James Beard Award nominations, Best Neighborhood Restaurant by the Jean Banchet Awards and a Michelin Bib Gourmand Award. It also landed a spot on the Chicago Tribune’s Phil’s 50 list.
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But over the weekend, the Andersonville restaurant announced that it would be closing its doors permanently, in part due to the coronavirus pandemic. The last day is Saturday.
Read more here. —Grace Wong
2:05 p.m.: Target reinstates car seat recycling program with contactless trade-in option
Parents hoping to get rid of their child’s old car seat will soon see the return of a popular, sustainable option.
Target reinstated its car seat recycling program this month despite COVID-19 uncertainty, according to the corporation’s website. From Sept. 13-26, customers enrolled in Target’s loyalty program can bring any of its stores a car seat in exchange for a coupon for 20% off any new car seat, car seat base, stroller or select baby home gear, such as high chairs or rockers.
Target accepts all types of car seats, including infant, convertible, harness and booster seats, car seat bases and expired or damaged ones. The seats will be disassembled and recycled by the retailer’s partner, Waste Management.
The corporation didn’t host its spring car seat trade-in program this year amid the coronavirus pandemic. Chicago-area parents were struggling to get rid of car seats and other children’s items as resale shops limited donations and retailers stalled trade-in programs out of fear of COVID-19 spread.
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Read more here. —Kelli Smith
12:25 p.m.: Chicago Public Schools begins a new year amid scramble to get all students connected for remote learning
The new school year in CPS began Tuesday with a different sort of test, one that will determine if hundreds of thousands of students all have the computer devices and internet access they need for at least another quarter of remote schooling.
Over the weekend, families were still trying to get computers and internet. Even as CPS is trying to get every student a laptops or tablets, distributing more than 128,000 starting in the spring and another 18,000 in recent weeks, some parents spent the holiday weekend figuring out how to get one after their school ran out.
As for whether her students all have the tools they needed to participate, Westinghouse College Prep teacher Nina Hike said Tuesday: “I think today is the day that we find out.”
Read more here. — Hannah Leone
12:20 p.m.: What will it take to get Chicagoans to go to the show? Here’s what you told us.
Our fall arts preview typically offers readers advice on what not to miss. This year, with so much closed or canceled due to the novel coronavirus, we wanted to know what you, the audience, are missing? What would it take to make you feel safe in a theater again? And does it matter to you whether Chicago remains a center for culture?
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So we asked.
The Tribune posted an online questionnaire on Aug. 20, and 361 of you responded over the next two weeks. We aren’t claiming this is scientific, but it is interesting. Think of it as something akin to 361 person-on-the-street interviews.
So what would bring audiences back to an indoor venue?
About half — 52% — said they wouldn’t return until there’s a vaccine or effective treatment. The rest said they would consider it with some mix of social distancing, sanitation, temperature checks or — for about 21% — rapid COVID-19 testing. Many more added other suggestions; air filtration is high on people’s list of demands. A few called out their fellow citizens for lousy mask-wearing habits.
Read more here. — Jennifer Day
11:50 a.m.: Doctors studying why obesity may be tied to serious COVID-19
In the early days of the pandemic, doctors noticed something about the people severely ill from COVID-19: Many were obese.
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The link became more apparent as coronavirus swept across the globe and data mounted, and researchers are still trying to figure out why.
Excess weight increases the chances of developing a number of health problems, including heart disease and diabetes. And those are among the conditions that can make COVID-19 patients more likely to get very sick.
But there’s some evidence that obesity itself can increase the likelihood of serious complications from a coronavirus infection. One study of more than 5,200 infected people, including 35% who were obese, found that the chances of hospitalization rose for people with higher BMIs, even when taking into account other conditions that could put them at risk.
Read more here. — Associated Press
11:25 a.m.: Michigan grad students strike over in-person instruction during the coronavirus pandemic
Graduate students who teach classes were on strike Tuesday at the University of Michigan over in-person instruction during the coronavirus pandemic and other issues.
The strikers chanted and held umbrellas while marching in the rain. “I do not want my students and colleagues to get a chronic illness because this university decided it was most important to collect tuition,” Surabhi Balachander wrote on Twitter.
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The Graduate Employees’ Organization, which represents more than 1,000 instructors, has called for a four-day strike.
Most classes at the University of Michigan have shifted to online. But the union says the university isn’t doing enough to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Read more here. — Associated Press
11:05 a.m.: 6 state legislature leaders — Michigan, Iowa, Minnesota, Ohio, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania — send letter to Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren
Leaders of six state legislatures in the Big Ten footprint have sent a letter to Commissioner Kevin Warren asking the conference to reconsider its decision to cancel the fall football season.
The letter is written on the letterhead of Michigan House Speaker Lee Chatfield and also signed by statehouse leaders from Iowa, Minnesota, Ohio, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.
“Recent actions taken by other conferences around the country to start football and other fall sports have placed the Big Ten, its members and students at a disadvantage,” the letter said. “These athletes are losing a vital part of student life and are becoming less marketable to future employers with each passing week. Additionally, our local universities stand to lose hundreds of millions of dollars that support vital student scholarships.
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“This is even more frustrating when we think of how our Big Ten athletic programs are leading the way by providing outstanding health and safety protocols. All of that unprecedented planning and teamwork was an unmitigated success, and yet somehow the conference has decided to cast it aside anyway.”
The Big Ten, and Warren in particular, have received strong pushback since the conference announced that university presidents voted to push back football and other fall sports until the second semester because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Read more here. — Associated Press
11 a.m.: Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says Senate to vote on ‘targeted’ coronavirus aid package
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, under pressure from GOP senators in tough reelection races, said Tuesday the Senate would vote on a trimmed-down Republican coronavirus relief package, though it has a slim chance of passage in the face of Democrats’ insistence for more sweeping aid.
The GOP leader acknowledged the package he will be putting forward “does not contain every idea our party likes.” And he said it was far less than what Democrats are seeking.
The move comes as lawmakers straggle back to Washington for an abbreviated preelection session, as hopes are dimming for another coronavirus relief bill — or much else
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Read more here. — Associated Press
10:40 a.m.: Chicago adds Kentucky to city’s travel quarantine order; removes California, Puerto Rico
The city of Chicago added Kentucky to its mandatory quarantine order and removed California and Puerto Rico, officials announced Tuesday.
The new addition will be effective Friday, when the list will cover 21 states, according to a Chicago Department of Public Health press release. The removal of the two states applies immediately.
The city adds a state to its quarantine list if the state averages more than 15 new daily COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents over a seven-day period. People who have spent more than 24 hours in the high-risk states are required to self-quarantine for 14 days after entering Chicago.
In addition, five states on the list have dipped below the 15 cases threshold and will be removed from the list next week if they remain under the requirement. They are Idaho, Nevada, Texas, North Carolina and Hawaii.The states as of Friday will be Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, North Carolina,North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee and Texas.
Last week Dr. Allison Arwady, Chicago’s public health commissioner, said Indiana crossed the threshold and could be added soon, but as of Tuesday the neighboring state’s numbers had slid back and it was not on the quarantine list.
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Read more here. — Alice Yin
6:40 a.m.: Lightfoot, Jackson to visit Englewood school to mark start of CPS school year
As Chicago public schools start the school year remotely, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Chicago Public Schools CEO Janice Jackson Mayor Lightfoot will mark the start of the year Tuesday morning by visiting Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr Academy of Social Justice, 644 W. 71st St.
Lightfoot and Jackson will tour the school and then Lightfoot was scheduled to take questions in a short news conference. — Chicago Tribune staff
Breaking coronavirus news Stay up to date with the latest information on coronavirus with our breaking news alerts.
In case you missed it
Here are five stories related to COVID-19 from the weekend.


chicagotribune--2020-09-09--Six months into the pandemic, CPS has served more than 21 million free meals and won’t let up anytim

Six months into the pandemic, CPS has served more than 21 million free meals and won’t let up anytime soon

“ When we first went out in March , we actually kept every school open , so we had a @ @ @ @ @ , ” Cooper said .
“ We had those sites open all the way for @ @ @ @ @ order to make sure that families wouldn ’ t have to come to the schools @ @ @ @ @ to do three days ' worth of food in a day .
”

Parents pick up meals for their children at James Ward Elementary School in Chicago on Sept. 8, 2020. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune)
When all Illinois schools, including private and charter, were closed March 17 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many wondered how the roughly 355,000 students in Chicago Public Schools would be impacted, especially those who rely on school for their meals.
More than 75% of CPS students are economically disadvantaged, and Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot verbalized her hesitancy in closing the schools for this reason.
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CPS has served more than 21 million meals to children since schools closed, said Crystal Cooper, executive director of nutritional support services for CPS.
“When we first went out in March, we actually kept every school open, so we had a little over 600 sites open,” Cooper said. “We had those sites open all the way for spring break, and in order to make sure that families wouldn’t have to come to the schools so often, we decided to do three days' worth of food in a day.”
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The meal kits included three days' worth of breakfast and lunch. Parents and guardians could pick up the kits without having to show any proof that their child is a CPS student.
“We were still averaging, at that point, the same amount of meals we do on a regular school day because the need was so large across the city,” Cooper said.
During spring break, the sites for food were consolidated to around 150, and the three-day meal kits were still being offered, Cooper said. After the break, the sites increased to around 277, and that number held steady through the summer. The number of meals served quadrupled in the summertime compared with previous years, Cooper said. Last summer, there were 100 sites open.
“Normally we serve about 30,000 meals a day in the summer,” she said. “We went up to about 120,000 to 150,000 meals a day across the city. It just amplifies the fact that our families and students really rely on school nutrition and school services to fill that need during the day.”
Azell Cook-Tate, right, distributes meals for children at James Ward Elementary School in Chicago on Sept. 8, 2020. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune)
With the start of the new school year, more than 450 sites are open for meals with the same three days' worth of food distribution. In order to accommodate the remote learning schedule, the sites are also opening an hour earlier than during the summer, operating from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Illinois was granted a federal waiver that allowed these new flexibilities to be in place. On Aug. 31, the U.S. Department of Agriculture extended the waiver until Dec. 31, allowing “summer meal program operators to continue serving free meals to all children into the fall months.”
The summer meal programs will continue into the fall semester until funding is no longer available, according to the USDA, but Cooper said she doesn’t suspect the funding is in jeopardy at this point, nor has there been any hint that there’s going to be an issue with funding in the future, she said.
Parents, guardians and any child 18 and under — they do not have to be a CPS student — can go to any school in the city that is open, explained Cooper. Parents and guardians say they have a child or children and are given the appropriate amount of necessary meal kits without question.
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“Our goal is to feed, our goal is to not scrutinize; none of that kind of ‘ask all these questions,'" Cooper said. “We want to make sure that we’re doing our part and not shaming people. … We have the food, you come to us, and we will provide you the food.”
Similarly, the Greater Chicago Food Depository had programs that adjusted and looked different in order to efficiently and safely feed children during the pandemic.
The food depository, which partners with organizations providing free access to summer meals as a sponsor, typically starts its summer programs when schools go on break, but this year, because of the flexibilities from the approved federal waivers, it was able to start providing meals through the summer meal program in March, explained Kelsie Kliner, associate director of youth programs at the depository.
Since March, Greater Chicago Food Depository has partnered with more than 115 community organizations and has provided more than 470,000 meals for children, Kliner said.
This summer, the food depository offered grab-and-go meals and allowed parents or guardians to pick up the food on behalf of anyone in their household 18 and under.
One program the food depository directly ran in the summer is its Lunch Bus, a refrigerated van that went out to the depository’s food sites and distributed meals, Kliner said. After seeing gaps in access in suburban Cook County, the Lunch Bus primarily focused on serving those surrounding areas.
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The Lunch Bus gave out more than 55,000 meals during summer break, Kliner said.
“This was a significant increase from what we had done the year prior,” Kliner said, “which is both because of the increased need that we’re seeing, but also the changes in the program.”
For the new school year, the food depository will continue to support its partners with meals.
“We will continue to support them during this time with both options to have grab-and-go, pre-packed boxes for those that are doing remote after-school programming," Kliner said, "as well as providing those sites that have kids staying on site with sort of a congregate meal for them to eat.”
In a typical school year, CPS usually provides breakfast, lunch, after-school snack, after-school meals, and sometimes Saturday and Sunday meals, Cooper said. Knowing that the district is comprised of underserved populations, she is vehement about food being an essential that families should not have to worry about.
“When children are not in school, they still need food,” she said. “They rely on the school heavily for food, and you don’t want to take that away.”
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chrjohnson@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-09-09--Chicago receives more than 350,000 vote-by-mail applications, working to fill 14,000 election judge

Chicago receives more than 350,000 vote-by-mail applications, working to fill 14,000 election judge spots

The Chicago Board of Elections has received more than 350,000 vote-by-mail applications for the general election , up from about @ @ @ @ @ that number could grow to a third of all city voters by Election Day , @ @ @ @ @ said Tuesday .

Flat mail trays are seen in the parking lot of Chicago's Ravenswood Station U.S. post office on Aug. 13, 2020. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune)
The Chicago Board of Elections has received more than 350,000 vote-by-mail applications for the general election, up from about 250,000 in mid-August, and that number could grow to a third of all city voters by Election Day, the board’s chair said Tuesday.
The new count was discussed Tuesday at the board’s biweekly meeting. Officials also detailed plans for election judge recruitment and selected a new executive director, Charles Holiday, who begins his new position Dec. 1.
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The number of vote-by-mail applications the city has received so far is more than triple the board’s all-time record of 118,000, reached during this year’s primary, according to Marisel Hernandez, chairwoman of the Chicago Board of Elections.
Given the current rate, Hernandez said in an interview later, the city "could easily reach 500,000” vote-by-mail applications out of about 1.52 million registered voters.
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Some voters have been concerned about sending in their ballot through mail, she said. The method has been scrutinized in recent weeks after some federal officials, including President Donald Trump, have cast doubt on it.
Hernandez has been "advising voters that there will be several options in this election” if they don’t feel confident about sending in their ballot by mail, including drop boxes at early voting sites, she said.
The board plans to have early voting and drop box locations finalized by Sept. 24, when mail-in ballots will start being sent out.
The city needs about 14,000 election judges, who will be paid $14 an hour during early voting and a $230 flat rate for Election Day, Hernandez said. Volunteers can apply to be an election judge at chipollworker.com.
“We have received a lot of support from our voters, and we have seen an increase in applications to be judges in elections,” Hernandez said.
As voters continue to apply for mail-in ballots, they should receive emails confirming their applications and can track their ballot through the U.S. Postal Service to ensure it’s received and counted. If applicants don’t receive an email confirmation, they should contact the board at 312-269-7900, Hernandez said.
A common mistake seen in Chicago vote-by-mail applications has been missing signatures on the outside of the return envelope. Officials urged applicants to sign where indicated to prevent any problems.
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kelsmith@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @KelliSmithNews


chicagotribune--2020-09-10--Half of Chicago households report serious financial problems during the COVID-19 pandemic, NPR-Harva

Half of Chicago households report serious financial problems during the COVID-19 pandemic, NPR-Harvard poll finds

“ They ’ re struck with two waves : ( Black and Latino households ) are more at risk of @ @ @ @ @ from it , and they don ’ t have the financial support to get through @ @ @ @ @ said Robert Blendon , a poll co-director and professor emeritus of health policy and political @ @ @ @ @ School .

Affordable housing advocate Ryan Spangler holds a sign while talking with fellow advocates June 30, 2020, during a rally to bring awareness about rent costs during the coronavirus pandemic, at the south end of Lincoln Park in Chicago. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)
Half of Chicago households, many of them Black and Latino families, reported facing serious financial problems caused by the coronavirus pandemic, according to a poll of more than 3,400 respondents in four major U.S. cities published Wednesday.
The poll was conducted from July 1 through Aug. 3 in New York, Los Angeles, Houston and Chicago by NPR, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
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During the pandemic, many Chicago residents have struggled to pay bills, rent and utilities, as well as afford medical care and child care. Many have also depleted their savings, according to the study.
The poll found 69% of Black households, 63% of Latino households and 59% of households making less than $100,000 annually in Chicago reported serious financial problems.
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“They’re struck with two waves: They (Black and Latino residents) are more at risk of contracting the virus and dying from it, and they don’t have the financial support to get through this economic downturn,” said Robert Blendon, a poll co-director and professor emeritus of health policy and political analysis at the Harvard Chan School.
Blendon said the poll was done before most federal aid programs expired over the summer. Even with those federal funds, Blendon said some families need more support.
“In Chicago, if you earn less than $100,000 annually, had a job or wage cut, and are a Black or Latino American, the problems are dramatically greater. People are not in this all together," he said, referring to the disparities.
About half of Chicago households reported a job loss or a reduction in wages or work hours since the start of the pandemic. Of those households with a job or wage loss, 69% said they are having serious financial problems, according to the poll.
In addition, the report found 23% of Chicago households surveyed were unable to obtain care for a serious medical problem during the pandemic, and more than half reported negative health consequences as a result.
Blendon said one of the main reason respondents gave was that they could not find a doctor to see them, as many hospitals delayed elective surgeries and other medical procedures in the early months of the pandemic.
As a new school year begins, Chicago parents are faced with additional challenges.
Blendon said a number of households are struggling to keep the education of their children going. In Chicago, 40% of households reported having serious problems with the internet connection to do schoolwork or their jobs, or not having a high-speed internet connection at home.
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“Just think, there’s a block of five hours and when the internet goes down, it’s a serious problem for educating children. We are empathetic at how hard it has been for families,” he said.
abjimenez@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @abdel1019