chicagotribune--2020-05-18--Hundreds defy stay-at-home order to attend church while mayor’s office warns that violators may be c

Hundreds defy stay-at-home order to attend church while mayor’s office warns that violators may be cited after review

Callahan , the Urbana church pastor , who believes coronavirus is “ a real sickness , a real disease ” @ @ @ @ @ yet to hold in-person services , instead hosting weekly Sunday services by video .
He @ @ @ @ @ coronavirus stay-at-home measures but said it ’ s time for them to end for places @ @ @ @ @ he is waiting to see what the Illinois legislature may do when it meets again @ @ @ @ @ an eye on lawsuits related to stay-at-home orders .

Laura Rodríguez Presa, Patrick M.  O'Connell, Jessica Villagomez

The Rev. Joseph Wyrostek holds his 1-year-old son, Titus, while standing next to his wife, Nancy, and their daughters Bethany, Joy and Hannah during a service May 17, 2020, at the Metro Praise International Church in Chicago. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)
Met by protesters and defying the stay-at-home order, Michael Valentine attended services Sunday at Metro Praise International Church in Belmont Cragin, an area that has been particularly hard hit by the coronavirus.
“There is something great about praising the Lord when you’re with other brothers and sisters,” the 24-year-old said. “It’s powerful, and it strengthens your faith and encourages you, especially during times like these.”
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Valentine joined at least 100 other members of the congregation who also decided to attend the in-person services, according to the Rev. Joseph Wyrostek, one of the religious leaders advocating for local and state governments to allow all churches to open as soon as possible.
Wyrostek is not alone. Across the country, a growing assortment of church and faith leaders has been pressing for government restrictions on worship services to be lifted.
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Nearly 200 church leaders, including a handful in Illinois, have signed an online petition called Peaceably Gather, started by a Texas megachurch pastor, the Rev. Brian Gibson. There, faith leaders can affirm their desire to reopen. Gibson, in spelling out the reasons for the online petition, states, “it’s not just ironic, it’s a deliberate slap in the face to religious freedom” that people are allowed inside grocery stores or Walmart but cannot attend church.
Jon Callahan, the lead pastor of Harvest Church in Urbana, saw the petition on Facebook and decided to sign.
“We just kind of feel like our rights are being trampled on,” Callahan said Sunday when reached by phone at the independent, nondenominational evangelical church, which is not affiliated with the Harvest Bible Chapel network of churches in the Chicago area. “It’s time to get things back to normal.”
Callahan said he does not believe Gov. J.B. Pritzker has the authority or the power to continue to prevent churches from holding in-person services. He wants to host worship services for church members with safeguards in place, including practicing social distancing, blocking off every other row inside the church and providing hand sanitizer. Callahan said he would not require masks. In a typical week, fewer than 100 people attend services at the church, which was founded in 1984.
Back in Chicago, at Elim Romanian Pentecostal Church in Albany Park, the Rev. Cristian Ionescu said that nearly 115 people attended the church’s morning service and the same number was expected for the evening service. Ionescu said he has not received any complaints from neighbors.
Banners hang over windows outside the Elim Romanian Pentecostal Church on May 17, 2020, in Chicago. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)
Last week, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said the city was prepared to enforce stay-at-home orders against houses of worship that hold in-person services. Chicago police said there were no arrests made or citations issued. On Sunday evening, Lightfoot’s office said in a statement that city officials worked with the Police Department to monitor large gatherings that defied the stay-at-home order, including faith gatherings.
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“The local districts are reviewing reports of large gatherings that took place today at various establishments not abiding by the Stay at Home order,” the statement read. “Following that review, the Department will issue and mail citations where necessary."
Though Valentine said he was thankful for services through Zoom and Facebook Live the past couple of weeks, he believes it is safe to congregate in the church as long as social distancing guidelines are followed.
He added that, like Wyrostek, he believes there is enough scientific research and resources in the state to deal with those who will be “inevitably” infected by the virus.
Some members of the community in Belmont Cragin don’t agree and say the congregation could potentially be contributing to the growing number of COVID-19 cases in the predominantly Latino neighborhood.
Belmont Cragin has one of the highest number of coronavirus cases in the city. Most of the community area lies within the 60639 ZIP code, one of four city ZIP codes that has recorded more than 1,231 coronavirus cases, according to the Chicago Department of Public Health.
On Sunday, the Illinois Department of Public Health reported 1,734 new known coronavirus cases and 51 additional deaths. The newly released numbers pushed the statewide total of known cases to 94,191 and total Illinois deaths to 4,177 since the pandemic began. The daily deaths released Sunday were the lowest in a 24-hour period since May 4.
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About 50 people gathered in front of Metro Praise International at 5405 W. Diversey Ave. on a rainy Sunday morning before the services in a “silent protest” organized by leaders of the Belmont-Cragin United group. Many sat in parked cars with signs in their vehicles, said Eric Ramos, a resident of Belmont Cragin and one of the organizers.
Ramos said the group doesn’t oppose the church, just the risks in-person attendance creates. “A lot of people feel they have the right to open up and go along with their beliefs,” he said. “But at the same time, they have to understand that doesn’t mean they couldn’t endanger the community around them.”
Mely Rangel, who protested from her car, said opening the church is “not fair” to her neighborhood.
“This community is falling really sick,” she said in Spanish. “The police are not helping. Lori (Lightfoot) is saying being home is the best option, and that’s not what is happening in that church.”
Rangel said she saw about four families with small children enter the church for services Sunday morning. She said most visitors were not wearing face coverings.
Members of the congregation stand during a service at the Metro Praise International Church on May 17, 2020, in Chicago. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)
Katarzyna Estrada, 33, who has been a member of the Metro Praise International congregation for three years, said she understands residents’ fears but equated the risks of going to church to shopping.
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“If I wear a mask to Walmart and follow social distancing rules, I should be able to do the same at church,” said Estrada, a teacher who lives in Albany Park. “I don’t believe the virus discriminates from a Walmart or a church.”
Elsewhere in the city, Willie Wilson, the frequent mayoral candidate who has sparred with Lightfoot over protective masks, spoke Sunday at a church that defied the stay-at-home order. During services at the Philadelphia Romanian Church of God in the Ravenswood neighborhood, Wilson, wearing gloves, said laws should not come before God.
“I tell everybody this year, wherever I go, practice your social distancing, do what the signs say, do what the laws say, but don’t ever put the law before God,” Wilson said during the services. Later, he added, “To the church I say to you today: Stay on, stay on, stay on, hang on, stay on with God!”
In a statement afterward, Wilson said Lightfoot and Pritzker should meet with church leaders this week to discuss a reopening plan.
“We defied government intimidation to be a witness for our God,” Wilson said in his statement. “Governor Pritzker has shown total disdain and disrespect for the church.”
At Elim Romanian, 4850 North Bernard St., only 15% of parishioners are allowed to attend the religious services at one time, and those who come are advised to pray in their car until it is their turn to enter the church, Ionescu said.
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Ionescu said the church has been following social distancing guidelines established by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, adding that the church “cannot survive without physical gatherings.”
The pastor said several people have called the church recently to find out how they can help organize against the government, “but we don’t want this to escalate, we just want to be left alone.”
Neither Wyrostek nor Ionescu said they plan to stop in-person services. And some members of their churches also don’t plan to stay home next Sunday.
“We’re not being reckless,” said Metro Praise International member Estrada. “We love the community and we don’t want anyone to get hurt, but we believe we have the right to gather peacefully and safely.”
Callahan, the Urbana church pastor, who believes coronavirus is “a real sickness, a real disease” with real consequences, has yet to hold in-person services, instead hosting weekly Sunday services by video. He said he initially supported the coronavirus stay-at-home measures but said it’s time for them to end for places of worship. Callahan said he is waiting to see what the Illinois legislature may do when it meets again this week and is keeping an eye on lawsuits related to stay-at-home orders.
“In terms of civil disobedience,” he said, “there’s a time and a place.”
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But, Callahan added, that time may be coming soon.


chicagotribune--2020-05-17--Charges pending after Lakeview restaurant worker struck by deliveryman during quarrel over social di

Charges pending after Lakeview restaurant worker struck by deliveryman during quarrel over social distancing

In a statement , GrubHub said that the driver cleared all of its background checks and had no prior reports @ @ @ @ @ that the company has stopped working with him and was cooperating with police .
“ @ @ @ @ @ by these reports , and our hearts go out to the person injured and her @ @ @

Criminal charges were pending Sunday against a food delivery driver who was supposedly recorded driving his Toyota Prius into a worker during a quarrel outside a Lakeview restaurant, authorities said.
The incident took place around 6:15 p.m. Friday outside Ms. T’s Southern Fried Chicken in the 3300 block of North Broadway, Chicago police confirmed.
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A 40-second video posted to YouTube picks up after the quarrel has already begun and showed two women standing along the curb blocking the driver’s car from traffic. “He threatened to run me over!” said a woman standing just off camera, exchanging words with the driver behind the wheel wearing a face mask.
Toward the end of the video, the deliveryman drives into one of the women, appearing to knock her down in front of the car before the video ends.
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In an interview with WGN-TV, Ms. T’s owner, Nita Tanner, identified her daughter as the 24-year-old woman struck by the Prius and said the incident escalated when the driver was asked to wait outside for social distancing reasons. The man then kicked the door and damaged it, she said.
Tanner couldn’t be reached for comment Sunday afternoon. The Prius’ driver left the scene but turned himself into police Saturday evening and was awaiting criminal charges, authorities said.
In a statement, GrubHub said that the driver cleared all of its background checks and had no prior reports of misconduct, but added that the company has stopped working with him and was cooperating with police. “We are shocked and appalled by these reports, and our hearts go out to the person injured and her family.”


chicagotribune--2020-05-17--Federal judge moves up petitions deadline for third-party and independent candidates but rejects cal

Federal judge moves up petitions deadline for third-party and independent candidates but rejects call to require more signatures

“ In any ruling I make that would require or expect or anticipate or even assume that there ’ s @ @ @ @ @ of the governor ’ s direction would , I think , be a grave mistake @ @ @ @ @ t do that , ” Pallmeyer said .
“ So I do need to be @ @ @ @ @ the plaintiffs are in a very difficult position with respect to gathering signatures .
”

A federal judge has modified her ruling that gave third-party and independent candidates for Illinois’ Nov. 3 election until Aug. 7 to submit petitions, instead ordering a deadline of July 20 to allow time for challenges and for the ballot to be printed.
But U.S. District Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer left intact the portion of her April 23 order that those candidates only need to collect 10% of the previously required number of signatures and can collect them electronically because of Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s stay-at-home order.
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Pallmeyer’s revised decision Friday came after attorneys for the state asked for a rehearing on her April order, which moved the filing deadline from June 22 to Aug. 7 and lowered the number of valid signatures needed to gain access to the ballot.
Michael Kasper, the longtime legal counsel and treasurer for the state Democratic Party, acted as an appointed special assistant attorney general for the State Board of Elections
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Kapser argued that Pallmeyer’s earlier order setting an Aug. 7 filing deadline was unworkable in dealing with petition challenges, and the schedule for certifying, printing and mailing ballots. He also contended reducing the number of signatures to qualify for the ballot to 10% was too low to measure candidate support.
“In any ruling I make that would require or expect or anticipate or even assume that there’s going to be a violation of the governor’s direction would, I think, be a grave mistake. I just won’t do that,” Pallmeyer said. “So I do need to be sensitive to the fact that the plaintiffs are in a very difficult position with respect to gathering signatures.”
Pallmeyer said she didn’t think “there’s any clear way to address all of the concerns that have been generated by this public health emergency … in a way that’s truly fair to both sides.”
“These are hard issues and they’re important issues,” she said. “And I wish I could do more for both sides.”
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Sam Cahnman, a Springfield attorney representing independent presidential candidate Kyle Kopitke, who is seeking a spot on the Illinois ballot, said his client was pleased that Pallmeyer “recognized the new world we live in” with the coronavirus and did not increase the signature requirement.
“On the filing deadline, while we are disappointed the signature collection period was shortened from the prior order, we are happy the court also rejected the board’s request for an even earlier July 6th deadline, as getting signatures even with the relief granted is still extremely difficult right now,” he said.
Pallmeyer’s earlier ruling also allowed presidential, vice presidential and U.S. Senate candidates for the Green and Libertarian parties on the general election ballot without the normal petition-gathering process.
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rap30@aol.com


chicagotribune--2020-05-17--Data breach in new Illinois online unemployment system exposes private information

The Illinois Department of Employment Security “ is aware there was a glitch ” in a new system for processing @ @ @ @ @ and the self-employed that “ made some private information publicly available for a short time @ @ @ @ @ remedy the situation , ” Pritzker spokeswoman Jordan Abudayyeh said in a statement .
“ @ @ @ @ @ to assess exactly what happened and how many people were impacted .
Those who were @ @ @ @ @ ”

A glitch in a newly launched state system for processing unemployment claims for gig workers publicly exposed personal information, a spokeswoman for Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Sunday.
The Illinois Department of Employment Security “is aware there was a glitch” in a new system for processing unemployment claims for independent contractors and the self-employed that “made some private information publicly available for a short time, and worked to immediately remedy the situation,” Pritzker spokeswoman Jordan Abudayyeh said in a statement. “A full investigation is underway to assess exactly what happened and how many people were impacted. Those who were impacted will be notified.”
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[ Applying for unemployment benefits for the first time? Here are 7 things you need to know. ]
It’s the latest in a series of issues for a beleaguered state agency that has struggled to handle a deluge of unemployment claims as the coronavirus pandemic has ravaged the state’s economy.
For months, people have reported issues accessing the online filing system and getting through by phone, which Pritzker has blamed on inadequate technology and agency understaffing.
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The new online portal for gig workers to apply for federally funded unemployment benefits through the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program went live Monday. In his daily coronavirus briefing days earlier, Pritzker highlighted the new system and steps the state had taken to remove roadblocks many Illinois residents have experienced in filing for unemployment benefits.
[ Self-employed started applying for unemployment benefits, but there’s a catch ]
[ 2.3 million more Illinois jobs at risk: The devastating economic toll of the virus in 6 charts ]
The state hired outside contractors to build the new system, which Pritzker indicated “has a much higher capability than the existing systems” the agency is using. "So I believe that it will be able to handle the unemployment claims that come in under the PUA system,” he said.
The data breach was first reported by WBEZ, Chicago’s public radio station.
Republican state Rep. Terri Bryant issued a news release Saturday night about a “possible massive data breach involving the private information of thousands of Illinois unemployment applicants.”
A pedestrian passes the closed Chicago Workforce Center in Pilsen on May 1, 2020. According to a sign on the window, IDES offices have been "closed to the public until further notice." (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
A constituent contacted Bryant on Friday to say she “stumbled upon” personal information for thousands of unemployment applicants on the IDES website, including name, address, Social Security number and unemployment claimant identification information, the lawmaker said in a statement.
Bryant, of Murphysboro in southern Illinois, said she “immediately” took the issue to Pritzker’s office and the state employment agency. On Saturday, she sent Pritzker and the employment agency director a letter calling on the governor to “immediately release any information about this potential data breach as soon as possible so those affected can protect themselves from identity theft and fraud.”
The department processed more than 1 million initial claims between March 1 and May 2, compared with 78,100 initial claims during the same period in 2019, state officials have said.


chicagotribune--2020-05-17--Heavy rain continues Sunday, flash flooding possible

By the afternoon , severe thunderstorms — in some areas , capable of dropping more than an inch of rain @ @ @ @ @ through .
And , according to the National Weather Service , “ With soils already @ @ @ @ @ will result in an increased flash flooding risk through this evening .
”

The light showers many in northern Illinois will get early Sunday are just the beginning.
By the afternoon, severe thunderstorms — in some areas, capable of dropping more than an inch of rain per hour — will roll through. And, according to the National Weather Service, “With soils already saturated, the heavy rain will result in an increased flash flooding risk through this evening.”
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[ Visit the Tribune weather page for the latest forecast, radar and updates ]
Tornadoes could be possible, as well as high waves on Lake Michigan, meteorologists said. The main risk is from 2 p.m. to about 7 p.m. for communities east of Interstate 39 and south of Interstate 88, including parts of the southern Chicago metro area, they said.
The potential for heavy rain continues today, especially this afternoon when thunderstorms will be capable of producing rain rates >1”/hr. With soils already saturated, the heavy rain will result in an increased flash flooding risk through this eve. Renewed river rises likely. pic.twitter.com/cKThCvJRIe — NWS Chicago (@NWSChicago) May 17, 2020
“Thunderstorms are expected to develop as a slow-moving line this afternoon. Some of these thunderstorms may become strong to severe, with brief tornadoes and isolated damaging wind gusts possible,” the weather service website said.
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Conditions are not expected to improve much on Monday, especially for those who live along the lake, according to the weather service.
“Strong and gusty northeast winds will develop late tonight into Monday, resulting in building wave action. These higher waves, combined with the near-record lake levels are expected to result in a period of mainly minor lakeshore flooding Monday into Monday night,” it said.
Check back for updates.
kdouglas@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @312BreakingNews


chicagotribune--2020-05-17--At hard-hit Geneva nursing home where nearly a quarter of its residents died, anger and a rallying c

At hard-hit Geneva nursing home where nearly a quarter of its residents died, anger and a rallying cry amid COVID-19 outbreak

“ The commitment from our team and the loyalty to each person who lives here is incredible , ” she @ @ @ @ @ all absolutely heartbroken .
What COVID threw at us is absolutely devastating .
What keeps @ @ @ @ @ who still need our care , our support , our love .
They need to @ @ @ @ @ them and we will never give up on them .
”

Bria of Geneva is among the Kane County nursing homes hardest hit by COVID-19. (Steve Lord / The Beacon-News)
Quiet settled onto the Bria of Geneva nursing home as COVID-19 spread, resident Debbie Jacobs said.
The halls were empty. There was no chatter at the nurses station, where residents weren’t allowed to congregate. Staff wearing protective gear “looked like they were from outer space,” Jacobs said.
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The nursing home felt spooky.
“We just took a hit,” she said. “I don’t understand how anything could have went through a building as fast as this COVID-19 did. I mean, it hit us hard.”
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Bria of Geneva has more coronavirus cases and deaths than any long-term care facility in Kane County. Since the start of the outbreak, the nursing home has reported 113 cases of COVID-19 among its 91 residents and 120 staff. Nearly a quarter of residents — 22 — have died at the nursing home, state and nursing home figures show.
Most of the residents and staff who tested positive are no longer ill, a nursing home spokeswoman said, and Jacobs said it feels at Bria like the worst of the outbreak may have passed. But, at the height of the outbreak, Jacobs, staff and families have painted a picture of an onslaught of cases. The nursing home became a rallying point for the Geneva community, receiving an outpouring of support. Some families said the nursing home failed to adequately communicate during the pandemic.
Residents of nursing homes and assisted living facilities are particularly vulnerable to the coronavirus. Even as they seek to limit the virus’ spread, some nursing homes and employees have highlighted challenges such as a lack of staffing, protective equipment and other measures to guard against the virus. Many have called for increased access to testing, saying tests were prioritized for hospitals but not nursing homes.
Some nursing homes have also fielded criticism for failing to communicate with families. At one Naperville nursing home, some families said they weren’t notified in a timely manner of the extent to which COVID-19 had spread, and the home’s administrator sent a letter to families apologizing and saying the lack of communication was unacceptable.
At Bria, some families said they, too, were disappointed in communication and had a hard time getting answers about their loved ones. Enhanced safety precautions mean visitors, generally, cannot enter the home, leaving families to turn to Facetime and phone calls.
Ed Borowiak, whose mother-in-law lived at Bria, and Kristin Davison, whose mother lived at the home, were angry with the nursing home’s communication and handling of their loved ones’ deaths. They both described difficulty connecting with Bria staff in the days and weeks before their parents died, saying phones went unanswered and messages were not returned.
Davison’s mother, Patricia Yanni, died May 1, about a week after she returned from a brief hospital stay after contracting COVID-19, Davidson said. She had lived at Bria for eight years.
Borowiak’s mother-in-law, Lucy James, also died May 1 and had COVID-19. She had lived at Bria for about three-and-a-half years.
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“It’s just sad that she had to go like this,” Borowiak said. "We were just trying to find out how she was doing, that’s all.”
Both said they didn’t have those communication problems before the COVID-19 outbreak.
In a statement, a Bria spokeswoman said a physician, nurse practitioner and administrator spoke to Yanni’s family at least once a day beginning April 27, and coordinated Facetime meetings for the family.
She said general communication about the outbreak began with phone calls before and after the initial COVID-19 cases at the home, then turned to emails and text messages. Phone calls continue to be made regarding individual residents’ care and condition, the spokeswoman said.
Administrator Patti Long described in a statement long days and what she termed the devastation of COVID-19. She said one day, she took and made nearly 100 calls to family members seeking to provide information and reassurance.
“The commitment from our team and the loyalty to each person who lives here is incredible,” she said. “We are all absolutely heartbroken. What COVID threw at us is absolutely devastating. What keeps us going is our residents who still need our care, our support, our love. They need to know we are here for them and we will never give up on them.”
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As the virus tore through the nursing home, Jacobs, who is the president of the home’s resident council, said she recalled the phone ringing nonstop at the front desk. And, at the beginning of the outbreak, many staff were out, she said, speculating it could be because they were sick or feared coming to work.
The outbreak at Bria began April 17, medical director Phil Branshaw has said, when staff learned early in the morning of the first positive case. Two days later, 15 residents had developed symptoms, he has said.
The nursing home soon after undertook widespread testing, which Branshaw has previously attributed in part to the high number of cases. That was when the home learned the sheer number of residents who were sick, 63% of whom have been asymptomatic, nursing home staff have said in a statement.
Once testing was conducted and the results returned, nursing home staff separated residents based on their status, they have previously said in a statement. Residents who showed symptoms and tested positive went to one unit, residents who did not show symptoms but tested positive went into another, residents who tested negative went to a third unit, and those who recovered from COVID-19 went into a different unit.
By Friday, of 76 total residents who had tested positive, 45 had recovered, a spokeswoman said. A total of 35 staff had tested positive, and 33 had recovered, she said.
As news spread of the extent of the outbreak, the community rallied around the nursing home. Jennifer Siegele, a Geneva resident, set out to coordinate support for the home.
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“I figured if a fire had occurred at the nursing home and so many people had died and then (were) injured, that the community would have rallied around, provided housing, clothing, whatever they needed," she said.
In the weeks since, she has helped coordinate donations of packaged snacks for residents and baked goods for staff. Volunteers created a poster to show support. They delivered flowers and cards for Mother’s Day, and days afterward raised money to have 19 pizzas delivered.
Next, Siegele is planning a dropoff of books, games and puzzles. She hopes to coordinate a pet parade.
Inside Bria, Jacobs said things are calming down, though she doesn’t know that they will ever go back to normal. She lost many of her friends to the virus, and others remain sick, she said.
Jacobs, 64, has lived at Bria for six years. She said she tested positive for COVID-19, but never showed symptoms.
As the coronavirus spread across the U.S., protections ramped up at the nursing home and the situation was scary, Jacobs said. Some staff weren’t showing up for work, possibly because they were sick, scared or had their own health conditions, she said. Those who worked were sometimes unrecognizable in masks and face shields, she said.
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She commended nursing home leaders for keeping residents informed, and said she felt precautions were taken. Still, she said, every day she woke up and wondered how her friends and other residents were doing.
“It was crazy,” she said. “But then, all of a sudden, it was like, OK we went over that little hill, now we’ve gotta reach the next one.”
Now, staff have returned and Jacobs again feels like there are enough employees.
Residents who do not have the virus can leave their rooms again, as long as they wear masks and follow social distancing protocols. They can talk to each other in the doorways of their rooms, and sometimes step outdoors just in front of the nursing home, Jacobs said.
There are still no group activities, she said. They still cannot eat in the dining room. When everything is over, Jacobs wants to have a hugging line to make up for the separation residents have endured.
When group activities were first banned and residents confined to their rooms during increasing coronavirus precautions, they created a new type of bingo game. Each resident would sit in his or her own room and play bingo over the nursing home intercom.
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The games stopped as the virus picked up. Staff were needed for other jobs, Jacobs said.
Thursday, Jacobs again played intercom bingo.
sfreishtat@tribpub.com


chicagotribune--2020-05-17--Aurora teen charged with attempted murder after house fire where girl suffered smoke inhalation

When firefighters arrived , they could a 15-year-old girl inside calling for help .
Firefighters forced their way into the @ @ @ @ @ out of the house .
She was taken to a hospital in serious condition , @ @ @ @ @ officials said .

An Aurora teenager was charged with attempted murder after she allegedly set a house on fire on Aurora’s east side and a girl was injured, authorities said.
Dajah S. Tilis, 19, was charged with aggravated arson, attempted first-degree murder and arson, Kane County court records show.
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Aurora Fire Department Battalion Chief Jim Rhodes said the cause of the fire is still under investigation.
Firefighters responded to the fire around 11:10 a.m. May 9 in the 1200 block of 5th Street after a bystander, who saw smoke coming from the house, called 911, Aurora fire officials said in a news release.
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When firefighters arrived, they could a 15-year-old girl inside calling for help. Firefighters forced their way into the building and pulled the girl out of the house. She was taken to a hospital in serious condition, suffering from smoke inhalation, officials said.
A 19-year-old, later identified as Tilis, was also taken to the hospital for smoke inhalation and remains hospitalized, Aurora police spokesman Paris Lewbel said.
It took firefighters 15 minutes to extinguish the fire that caused $75,000 worth of damage. The two teens and their mother were displaced by the fire, Rhodes said.
If convicted of the most severe charge of attempted first-degree murder, Tilis faces a sentence ranging from six to 30 years in prison.
mejones@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-05-17--Governors State names new president to succeed retiring Elaine Maimon, who is embattled in $1.5 mill

Governors State names new president to succeed retiring Elaine Maimon, who is embattled in $1.5 million payroll scandal

The employees were even told to submit falsified timesheets to make it look like they were still working full-time at @ @ @ @ @ said .
It was part of a poorly monitored and inconsistent system for firing certain @ @ @ @ @ report , which laid the blame squarely on Maimon , who served as GSU ’ @ @ @ @ @ .

Governors State University in University Park has named Cheryl Green as its new president, taking over for Elaine Maimon who retires at the end of June. (Mike Nolan / Daily Southtown)
Governors State University has picked a Chicago native to succeed embattled President Elaine Maimon who is retiring at the end of June amid the fallout of a $1.5 million payroll scandal that took place under her watch.
The GSU board of trustees voted Friday to name Cheryl Green as the University Park school’s sixth president, starting July 1.
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She worked for more than two decades at Chicago State University and for several years headed up the union representing university faculty there and at other Illinois schools, including GSU.
Cheryl Green has been named president of Governors State University in University Park, succeeding Elaine Maimon. (Governors State University)
Faculty and students at GSU had urged the board earlier this year to oust Maimon following a state investigator’s report, made public in December, that showed 33 people had been terminated from the university but continued to collect their full salaries and benefits.
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Some of those people were technically employed by Governors State but were doing no work, while others found other employment, according to the findings by the governor’s office of executive inspector general.
The employees were even told to submit falsified timesheets to make it look like they were still working full-time at the university, the report said. It was part of a poorly monitored and inconsistent system for firing certain workers, according to the report, which laid the blame squarely on Maimon, who served as GSU’s president for 13 years.
She, according to the watchdog, authorized the falsified timesheets and "mismanaged” the terminations of multiple employees.
In urging that Maimon either step down or be forced out, GSU faculty said the report’s findings had put the university in a bad light and hurt morale among staff. In January, the faculty senate took a no-confidence regarding the president.
Governors State University has named Cheryl Green to succeed Elaine Maimon, shown, as president of the University Park school. Maimon retires at the end of June. (Governors State University)
At a February board meeting where she accepted the blame but rebuffed calls for her to leave the school, Maimon said "I regret the cost to the university,” but that “I never personally benefited.”
A graduate of Chicago’s Lindblom Tech High School, Green was most recently vice chancellor of student affairs at the Oshkosh campus of the University of Wisconsin, and also served as interim chancellor at UW-Whitewater until a permanent chancellor was named in May 2019.
She was at Chicago State from 1989 to 2012, and for five years chaired the university’s counseling department and taught psychology, according to her resume.
Before University of Wisconsin, Green served for five years as assistant vice president of student affairs at Tennessee State University in Nashville.
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During her time at Chicago State, Green also served as chair, from 1996 to 2003, of Local 4100 of the University Professionals of Illinois, which bargains on behalf of faculty at seven public universities, including Chicago State and GSU.
Green has a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s and doctorate in counseling from Southern Illinois University.
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Officials with GSU, which last year marked its 50th anniversary, which last year marked its 50th anniversary, said Green’s selection followed a national search that involved input from faculty, staff, students and community members.
“Dr. Green brings a superior academic record, impressive fiscal leadership, and community building skills at this critical juncture in Governors State University’s history," Lisa Harrell, chairman of the GSU board, said in a news release. "The Board is confident Dr. Green is the absolute best person to ensure the success of our students for the next 50 years.”
Green, in the release, said she is stepping into the role at a time when GSU and other universities have had to close campuses and turn to remote learning.
“In our nation, and in the higher education community, we are currently facing challenging and volatile times,” she said. “As I explore and embrace the impressive history of GSU and its ability to navigate change, promote academic excellence, and lead by example, I am confident that together we will forge a new direction for our university that will serve as a beacon of hope and determination for our students, fellow educators and our community partners.”
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Faculty at the university said they were looking forward to working with Green, noting her background with University Professionals of Illinois.
“She comes to us with a deep understanding about what it means to advocate for faculty,” Sandi Estep, president of the University Professionals of Illinois chapter at the school, said in an email Friday. “We are looking forward to working with her and for new beginnings for GSU.”
mnolan@tribpub.com


chicagotribune--2020-05-17--Michael McCaskey, former Chicago Bears chairman, dies at 76

“ Mike was already successful in every sense of the word when he took over for George S. Halas after @ @ @ @ @ Bear ’ in 1983 , ” the McCaskey family said in a statement released by @ @ @ @ @ are grateful to Mike for overseeing arguably the greatest team in NFL history , and @ @ @ @ @ service to the Bears and to us .
The oldest of eleven siblings has many @ @ @ @ @ not all of them pleasant , yet Mike handled them all with grace and patience @

Michael McCaskey, who took over the reins of the Chicago Bears from his grandfather George Halas in 1983 before the team achieved its greatest moment two years later, died Saturday. He was 76.
McCaskey became the president and CEO of the Bears after Halas’ death in October 1983 — taking over for the man who founded the franchise and co-founded the NFL — and remained at the helm of the organization in a 27-year run, serving as the chairman of the board from 1999 until 2011, when he stepped down and was replaced by his brother George.
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Michael McCaskey battled cancer for a considerable time. The oldest of Ed and Virginia McCaskey’s 11 children, he is survived by two children, John and Kathryn, and one grandson, Jackson.
“Mike was already successful in every sense of the word when he took over for George S. Halas after the passing of ‘Papa Bear’ in 1983,” the McCaskey family said in a statement released by the team. “We are grateful to Mike for overseeing arguably the greatest team in NFL history, and for his many years of service to the Bears and to us. The oldest of eleven siblings has many duties thrust upon him, not all of them pleasant, yet Mike handled them all with grace and patience.
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“Although Mike’s passing was not brought on by the novel coronavirus, our family, like so many people, is not able to gather and grieve together at this time. Our hearts go out to those who have lost loved ones to COVID-19. Our focus in the coming days will be to celebrate Mike’s life and be whatever source of support we can be to John and Kathryn and those they love.”
RIP Michael McCaskey! Five years before I became the HC of the Bears, I attended an NFL Symposium to help minority assistants become head coaches. I was blessed to randomly sit at the same table as Michael. — Lovie Smith (@LovieSmith) May 17, 2020
My deepest condolences to the McCaskey family & Chicago Bears. Michael McCaskey welcomed me as a rookie & signed off on my 1st coaching job. I am grateful for both opportunities. #GoodMan #GodBless #RIP — Ron Rivera (@RiverboatRonHC) May 17, 2020
Very saddened by the death of Michael McCaskey. Our hearts go out to matriarch Virginia, George, and the entire McCaskey family, as well as the Bears organization during this difficult time. — Mayor Lightfoot #StayHomeSaveLives (@chicagosmayor) May 17, 2020
During McCaskey’s long run with the organization, the Bears were crowned Super Bowl XX champions, and he was named NFL executive of the year following the 1985 season. The club left its old headquarters at Lake Forest College for Halas Hall in 1997. Soldier Field was remodeled in 2002, when McCaskey served as chairman of the board. The Bears hired the first African American head coach in franchise history, Lovie Smith, in 2004 and reached Super Bowl XLI two years later. He founded Bears Care, the team’s charitable arm, in 2005. The team reached the NFC championship game after the 2010 season, shortly before McCaskey stepped down.
“Michael McCaskey proudly carried forth the legacy of his grandfather and NFL pioneer George Halas as team president and chairman and played an instrumental role in the success and popularity of the Bears,” NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement. “The Bears’ memorable 1985 season and their Super Bowl XX victory helped further propel the NFL onto a global stage. Michael was a driving force in growing the NFL’s international footprint with the first American Bowl game in London featuring the Bears and the Dallas Cowboys in 1986.
“He was also dedicated to serving his community and helped create Bears Care, which became a model foundation in supporting charities throughout the Chicago area. Michael was a calm and sound voice in league meetings, befitting of his time as a professor before becoming Bears president. We extend our deepest sympathies to Michael’s children Kathryn and John, his mother, Virginia, and the entire McCaskey family, and the Bears organization.”
McCaskey called the Super Bowl XX run his proudest moment with the organization.
“I’m also proud that the Bears continued to stand for the values that our grandfather began us with and that we maintained a commitment to strengthening the league,” he told the Tribune shortly before retirement.
“I wish we had done more in the ’80s with that wonderful set of players we had. I wish we had won more Super Bowls."
Walter Payton shakes hands with Bears President Michael McCaskey, who announced the franchise was retiring jersey No. 34 during Payton's last home game on Dec. 20, 1987, at Soldier Field. (Bob Langer / Chicago Tribune)
Former quarterback Jim McMahon was critical of McCaskey just months removed from the Super Bowl XX title in his best-selling book, and McCaskey had a complicated legacy guiding a charter franchise of the NFL during a tremendous period of growth for the league. McCaskey choked back tears when he fired coach Mike Ditka after the 1992 season. He was in charge when the Bears botched the effort to hire Dave McGinnis as coach in 1999.
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Despite being a lightning rod for fan criticism, the Bears had a .539 winning percentage during McCaskey’s 27 seasons, appearing in five NFC championship games and qualifying for the playoffs 12 times.
“My heart is heavy as I think about Michael McCaskey, and I can’t believe he is no longer with us,” Ted Phillips, the team’s president and CEO, said in a statement. “His fierce love of the Bears was unmatched, as was his intellectual capacity and thirst for knowledge on myriad subjects. Michael displayed a professorial presence that could be challenging but was also inspiring. ...
“Michael always strived to do things the right way with high character and with the Bears best interests always paramount. Michael was a good man, gone much too soon. ... God bless Michael and his family.”
McCaskey graduated from Yale in 1965 with majors in philosophy and psychology and spent two years in the Peace Corps in Ethiopia. He earned his doctorate in business from Case Western Reserve in 1972 and went on to become a professor at UCLA and the Harvard Business School.
Bears President Michael McCaskey, right, talks with coach Dave Wannstedt, left, and vice president of player personnel Mark Hatley during training camp on July 24, 1998, in Platteville, Wis. (PHIL VELASQUEZ / CHICAGO TRIBUNE)
McCaskey traveled and explored his passion for photography after retiring. He told the Tribune that his interest in photography was sparked when his uncle Jimmy McCaskey gave him a 35mm camera after returning from the Korean War. He published his photography on his website michaelmccaskeyphoto.smugmug.com.
“This is the most exciting sport in the world," he said before retirement. "It’s a business started by my grandfather. It’s a little tough to leave that excitement and not be involved on the front line.”


chicagotribune--2020-05-19--City orders shutdown of controversial North Side shredding plant after explosion

`` These conditions are hazardous to any occupant or emergency responder in an emergency situation .
It has therefore been @ @ @ @ @ an immediate danger and constitutes an imminent threat to the public at large , '' @ @ @ @ @ A review of the entire operations has to be conducted by the City of Chicago @ @ @ @ @ measures are in place to prevent this from happening in the future . ''

Katherine Rosenberg-Douglas, Gregory Pratt

General Iron Industries scrap yard at work along Cortland Street near the Lincoln Yards development is shown on April 9, 2019. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)
The city of Chicago has ordered the immediate closure of a controversial North Side shredding plant after fire crews were called to two separate explosions there Monday morning, city officials said.
In a letter from buildings Commissioner Judith Frydland and fire Commissioner Richard Ford to General Iron Industries, the city said “the structural stability of the structures that were directly affected by the blasts is unknown.”
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“These conditions are hazardous to any occupant or emergency responder in an emergency situation. It has therefore been determined that the site poses an immediate danger and constitutes an imminent threat to the public at large,” the letter said. “A review of the entire operations has to be conducted by the city of Chicago to ensure the appropriate safety measures are in place to prevent this from happening in the future.”
While it’s shut down, General Iron can “conduct routine maintenance on the site” and “remove accumulated recycled materials from the site, but is ordered to cease intake of any new materials for recycling,” officials said in their letter.
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North Side Ald. Michele Smith, 43rd, announced the move earlier in a newsletter to her constituents. Smith said she was told in a briefing from Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s office that the city’s closure order would stop operations at General Iron “including all shredding operations and acceptance of materials for shredding.” Smith said in the newsletter that she learned from the mayor’s office briefing that the explosions there were two explosions at the plant that “damaged critical facilities of General Iron.”
No injuries were reported at General Iron Industries, and the Chicago Fire Department said tests found no increased pollution levels and “no apparent immediate health risk to residents and the surrounding community.” The plant has been shut down while the cause is investigated.
Ald. Brian Hopkins, 2nd, who has previously asked the mayor to shut down the plant because of a history of pollution violations, tweeted earlier that a “fireball” and “mushroom cloud” raised pollution readings in the gentrifying neighborhood.
He did not release any details but said later in a statement that “permanent and immediate closure of this hazardous facility is no longer a discussion point, it must happen now.”
The company said the incident was “not a normal event” and added, “We are thoroughly investigating all possible causes, including potential sabotage.” Company spokesman Randall Samborn would not elaborate. “We don’t want to speculate about what occurred.”
The General Iron Industries plant on the North Branch of the Chicago River in Chicago on Sept. 28, 2018. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune)
Smith said in her newsletter that she learned in the briefing with Lightfoot’s office that there were two explosions at the plant — the first occurring in a newly installed Regenerative Thermal Oxidizer. “The heat was so intense that it flowed back to the initial point of entry, triggering the safety ‘blow-out doors’ of the filter building and damaging it significantly. A building to the north also was damaged,” Smith said.
Police and fire crews were called to the 1900 block of North Clifton Avenue shortly after 9 a.m. after a loud boom was reported in the Ranch Triangle neighborhood, which is close to Lincoln Park and Bucktown. An explosion occurred on the company’s conveyor system, Chicago Fire Department spokesman Larry Merritt said earlier.
While initial tests found no threat, he said the Chicago Department of Public Health was conducting more tests. “Should any environmental violation be determined, the city will issue citations immediately,” Merritt said.
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Neighbors have complained for years about the odors from General Iron’s scrap yard. They renewed their objections in March when, they said, the stay-at-home order would prolong their exposure to the plant’s emissions and maybe make them more susceptible to the novel coronavirus, which attacks the lungs and upper respiratory tract.
investigation now underway in the aftermath of a HazMat Level 1 explosion at General Iron pic.twitter.com/m0zljdRb4X — Alderman Hopkins (@AldermanHopkins) May 18, 2020
General Iron — which has been targeted by federal environmental regulators three times since the 1990s — was allowed to continue operating during the pandemic under recycling and solid waste exemptions from the stay-at-home order that has forced nonessential businesses to close. General Iron has been cited with city health code violations seven times since December.
That group Clean the North Branch released a statement after the incident calling General Iron “a serial polluter and rule breaker that is a danger to families. What more do Mayor (Lori) Lightfoot and Gov. Pritzker need? Shut. Them. Down. Now.”
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker was asked Monday about the General Iron explosion and why the company was allowed to continue operating during the pandemic. Pritzker said the EPA and the city were looking into the explosion. He said the state referred to federal guidelines set by the Department of Homeland Security in deciding its list of essential businesses.
“We’re actually, as you can imagine, paying very close attention. I want to make sure that people are kept safe,” Pritzker said of General Iron. “I’m unaware of what the latest is on the matter, but it’s certainly something of great concern to me.”
kdouglas@chicagotribune.com
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gpratt@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @312BreakingNews @royalpratt


chicagotribune--2020-05-19--Daywatch: Lightfoot’s 1st year as mayor, possibly the wettest May on record and a ‘Married at First

Daywatch: Lightfoot’s 1st year as mayor, possibly the wettest May on record and a ‘Married at First Sight’ Chicago couple’s quarantine spinoff

Southwest suburban Chicago couple Anthony D ’ Amico and Ashley Petta have learned a new quarantine skill : How to @ @ @ @ @ The pair have been filming themselves at home for the new series “ Married at @ @ @ @ @ Cam , ” which is scheduled to premiere at 7 p.m. Wednesday on the Lifetime @ @ @ @ @ follows “ Married at First Sight ” fan favorites as they deal with the coronavirus @ @

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Good morning, Chicago. Here’s coronavirus news and other top stories you need to know to start your day.
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Breaking coronavirus news Stay up to date with the latest information on coronavirus with our breaking news alerts.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot, talks about her first year in office, during an interview in her office on May 15, 2020. (Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune)
During a wide-ranging interview in Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s City Hall office to mark the anniversary of her becoming Chicago’s first black woman and openly gay mayor, she told the Tribune the coronavirus pandemic “changed everything.”
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker speaks during a press briefing regarding the coronavirus pandemic on May 3, 2020 at Thompson Center in Chicago. (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune)
Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Monday sought to downplay a new enforcement tool he quietly filed last week that allows the state to cite nonessential businesses with a misdemeanor for opening up to customers in violation of his executive orders dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Pritzker contended that a misdemeanor is actually a “lighter enforcement mechanism” against business owners than having their businesses ordered shut or having any business license suspended.
Robert Ness wades through floodwaters in the area of the intersection of Southview Avenue and Circle on May 18, 2020, in Brookfield. (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune)
The rainy weather that hung over northeastern Illinois on Sunday, combined with a record rain in Chicago last week, left swaths of the city and suburbs underwater and waterlogged as many of the region’s network of rivers and streams overflowed their banks.
Several reached the damaging major flood stage. More than 8 inches of rain fell from Thursday through Sunday in the Chicago area, according to the National Weather Service, putting this May on the cusp of becoming the wettest ever on record for the city.
Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, left, speaks with Mayor Lori Lightfoot after a Sept. 9, 2019, announcement that Uber Freight will be located at The Old Post Office in Chicago. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)
Uber Technologies is laying off another 3,000 workers and closing about 45 offices around the world as the coronavirus pandemic continues to wreak havoc on its ride-share business, the company’s main source of profits.
Ashley Petta and Anthony D'Amico starred on the Chicago season of "Married at First Sight." They return for a coronavirus quarantine spin-off, "Married at First Sight: Couples' Cam," premiering in May 2020. (Lifetime network/Handout)
Southwest suburban Chicago couple Anthony D’Amico and Ashley Petta have learned a new quarantine skill: How to film a TV show. The pair have been filming themselves at home for the new series “Married at First Sight: Couples’ Cam,” which is scheduled to premiere at 7 p.m. Wednesday on the Lifetime network. The six-episode series follows “Married at First Sight” fan favorites as they deal with the coronavirus pandemic.


chicagotribune--2020-05-19--Can Chicago’s food halls survive the pandemic? Owners and chefs consider the future of what had been

Can Chicago’s food halls survive the pandemic? Owners and chefs consider the future of what had been a hot format.

It doesn ’ t appear that food halls in Chicago will be able to open any time soon .
According @ @ @ @ @ ’ s five-phase reopening plan , restaurants will be able to reopen their dining rooms @ @ @ @ @ phase four .
( Currently , we are in phase two . )
But food @ @ @ @ @ attracting large crowds , probably won ’ t be able to fully reopen until phase @ @ @ @ @ governor ’ s plan details , phase five won ’ t happen until a vaccine @ @ @ @ @ is widely available .
Dr. Anthony S. Fauci , the director of the National Institute @ @ @ @ @ , estimates it will take a year or more to develop a vaccine .

When Hayden Hall opened in February, it was simply the latest food hall in a city increasingly saturated with them. Every few months, some impeccably designed project opened promising a collection of top-notch chefs, from Time Out Market Chicago in the West Loop to Wells Street Market in the Loop. Some were even getting national attention. On Feb. 26, Margaret Pak’s Thattu in Politan Row was selected as a semifinalist for best new restaurant in the country by the James Beard Foundation.
With a few exceptions, the public’s insatiable appetite for food halls looked like it would never end. For developers, the format was an easy way to attract crowds to downtown projects. And for restaurateurs, whether aspiring or established, it was an affordable way to test new ideas.
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But with all Illinois restaurant dining rooms closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, and the idea of stuffing hundreds of people together in one room sounding unsafe, will food halls be able to survive?
Revival Food Hall, one of Chicago's largest such establishments, is closed Monday, May 18, 2020, in the Loop. Bruce Finkelman, managing partner of 16″ on Center, which runs Revival, says there's no way food halls can reopen without input from medical experts. (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune)
“I’ve never felt so ill prepared to answer such a big question,” says Bruce Finkelman, managing partner of 16″ on Center, which runs Revival Food Hall in the Loop. Finkelman says he’s been focusing on the immediate issues. “It’s heartbreaking the amount of people we had to furlough,” says Finkelman. “I’ve been worried about how we pay rent. Do we have a workforce when this whole thing is over? It’s really hard to look at the bigger picture right now.”
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It doesn’t appear that food halls in Chicago will be able to open any time soon. According to Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s five-phase reopening plan, restaurants will be able to reopen their dining rooms with 50-person capacity limits in phase four. (Currently, we are in phase two.) But food halls, which depend on attracting large crowds, probably won’t be able to fully reopen until phase five. And as the governor’s plan details, phase five won’t happen until a vaccine or some other effective treatment is widely available. Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, estimates it will take a year or more to develop a vaccine.
Will food halls be able to survive being closed that long? And will customers want to return to crowded spaces? Already, a few food halls in the works have pushed back their opening dates.
London-based Urbanspace, which has U.S. food halls in New York and suburban Washington, D.C., has pushed back its planned opening at 15 W. Washington St. in the Loop, which had been set for April. A larger, 14,000-square-foot food hall is expected to open in the city’s tallest skyscraper, Willis Tower, in August or September, Urbanspace president Eldon Scott says. “It’s really, really tough,” Scott says of the pandemic. “There’s no two ways about it.”
Dr. Murphy’s Food Hall in the old Cook County Hospital building, was expected to open in July or August, but according to Chicago developer John T. Murphy, that will now depend on when restrictions are lifted.
Revival Food Hall, which remains closed Monday, May 18, 2020, in the Loop in Chicago, has been an opportunity for small restaurants to get a start on the scene. (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune)
Finkelman believes there’s no way for food halls to reopen without input from doctors. “We’re looking toward the medical community to help us to provide a safe space,” says Finkelman. “We could come up with different ways to make our customers feel safe, but we really need the medical community to help us.”
John Williamson, the general manager at Wells Street Market, echoed that view. “Unfortunately, the regulations and stipulations required for reopening are vague right now and we want to make sure we have all the guidelines before we comment,” writes Williamson in an email. “The safety of our staff and guests is our top priority and we’ll share steps we’re taking with you as soon as we have more direction from the government.”
But that hasn’t stopped Chicago chefs and restaurateurs from wondering just how a food hall can possibly adapt.
“Here’s the problem,” says Ravi Nagubadi, owner of Art of Dosa in Revival Food Hall, “everything that is good for a vendor (at a food hall) is predicated on crowds, which are no longer going to be allowed. The financial mechanics of a food hall for the next year or more could be called into question. What made it financially viable in years past is no longer in the new normal.”
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The last customers visit Time Out Market in the West Loop on March 15, 2020, as the market announced plans to close indefinitely. Soon after, Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced all bars and restaurants would be closed to dine-in customers beginning March 16, 2020. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
Brian Enyart, co-owner of Dos Urban Cantina in Time Out Market Chicago, wonders how a food hall would function with so many vendors. “What does that look like?” says Enyart. “Can you have 18 vendors manage 50 guests? That doesn’t seem possible. Can you do delivery out of there? A massive coordinated event? Open up with a couple vendors a couple days a week?”
Even if capacity limits are raised, many chefs worry if there will be enough people downtown, considering some may choose to continue to work from home. “How many people will come back to work in the Loop?” asks Joe Fontana, owner of Fry the Coop in Wells Street Market. “I’m assuming it will be a slow opening with probably only to-go orders offered for a while.”
Antonio Fiasche, owner of Tempesta Market in Wells Street Market, agrees that delivery and pickup will have to be the focus until a vaccine is developed, but still worries about disruptions. “The virus is going to keep going, so every time it spikes, will we shut everything down?” says Fiasche. “How do people downtown pay for rent? It’s going to be a new way to do business.”
Barry Sorkin, owner of Smoque BBQ in the Revival Food Hall, is also concerned about how food halls would work without large crowds, but believes there are too many unknowns at the moment. “It’s really hard to speculate about what is going to happen with food halls, concert venues and movie theaters,” says Sorkin.
Despite the questions and concerns, most food hall owners and restaurateurs won’t count food halls out just yet.
There are 221 food halls in the U.S. today, with another 80 in development, according to Colicchio Consulting, the specialty food, beverage, hospitality and entertainment group of commercial real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield. By the end of 2021, the number is expected to reach close to 500, the firm said.
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Food halls also have attributes chefs may be seeking out after an economic tailspin from which many restaurants will never reopen. Most important, food halls offer low capital costs to open and shared resources, such as the technology to provide pickup and delivery orders.
“I know from my experience in New York right now, there are a lot of people unsure if they’ll be able to open their restaurants afterward,” said Akhtar Nawab, chef and partner at restaurant and food hall consultancy Hospitality HQ, which will operate the planned Dr. Murphy’s Food Hall. “They have the skill set; it’s just they may not have a place to return to. That’s why the food hall is such an interesting model right now.”
Trip Schneck, executive managing director of Colicchio Consulting, believes that when the economy begins to recover, food halls will be well-positioned because of the revenue-sharing rent model. “We are very optimistic that food halls will be one of the primary recovery vehicles for the food and beverage industry,” says Schneck. “Food halls also are at a good price point, below fancier meals but above fast food, and there will be an abundance of talented chefs looking for work after many restaurants shut down.”
“I’m a hopelessly optimistic person,” says Finkelman from 16″ on Center. “I really do see that at some point we’ll come out of this. We’ll be able to look at the safety and the way we’re putting out our product. This is a chance for us to do it better.”
That may mean that they look different from how food halls did before. Touchless transactions, redesigned queuing and reconfigured seating are coming in the short term, industry experts say. Chefs and their landlords hope there will be crowds to manage as soon as the doors reopen.
Didier Souillat, CEO of Time Out Market, believes that the size of many food halls might actually benefit them. “Time Out Market Chicago is 50,000 square feet and as people look for safe options to go out, we have ample space to comply with social distancing rules,” writes Souillat in an email.
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When it opens again, Souillat believes that Time Out Market visitors are likely to see masked employees, staggered seating, an emphasis on touchless transactions and cleaning crews constantly moving about the space. “The most important thing we’ll have to manage is the fear factor, and we know it’s going to be there for a long time,” says Souillat later in a phone call. “We’ll open when it’s safe to do so and when it makes viable sense for our partners. There’s no point in opening to lose more money.”
While they had questions about just how food halls would return, many restaurateurs are looking forward to them returning. “I hope they do make it though,” writes Fontano from Fry the Coop, “because food halls rock!”
Urbanspace’s Scott is even more bullish. “What happened after the Spanish flu?” says Scott of the 1918 pandemic. “The Roaring Twenties. People wanted to go out again. There is that pent-up demand.”
nkindelsperger@chicagotribune.com
rori@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-05-19--Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s first year in office was filled with big moments and tough decisions. Then th

Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s first year in office was filled with big moments and tough decisions. Then the coronavirus ‘changed everything.’

“ I think where people try to say , ‘ Well , she was a lawyer that worked at Mayer @ @ @ @ @ relate to people in the city ?
’ She didn ’ t grow up as @ @ @ @ @ ” Reiter said .
“ She grew up as a kid from Ohio whose dad @ @ @ @ @ mom was a health care worker .
She saw her mom get elected to the @ @ @ @ @ trying to be a leader in her community .
I think Lori ’ s a @ @ @ @ @ the fight for the soul of our neighborhoods in Chicago .
”

Mayor Lori Lightfoot talks about her first year in office during an interview in her office May 15, 2020. (Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune)
During her tumultuous first year in office, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot fired the police superintendent, presided over a 11-day teachers strike and fought to strip aldermen of powers in their wards.
But with more than 37,000 known COVID-19 cases in Chicago and about 1,700 deaths to date, Lightfoot’s first term will be defined by her response to a deadly challenge unlike any faced by her predecessors in a century.
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In addition to the pandemic’s public health consequences, the ongoing crisis will have deep ramifications on city government potentially for years to come, exacerbating tremendous financial woes while diverting attention from other pressing issues.
Lightfoot has earned acclaim for taking tough actions to curb the disease, such as shutting down Chicago’s iconic lakefront, but she will soon make life-or-death decisions on how to reopen the city’s economy — a task she’s compared with rebuilding after the Great Chicago Fire.
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During a wide-ranging interview in Lightfoot’s City Hall office to mark the anniversary of her becoming Chicago’s first black woman and openly gay mayor, she told the Tribune the pandemic “changed everything.”
“Our lives will be defined by the moments that we’re living right now,” Lightfoot said.
While much of Lightfoot’s agenda has been on hold for weeks as officials prioritized the COVID-19 response, the first-term mayor said she hopes the pandemic will refocus attention on Chicago’s entrenched inequities and build relationships that help the city improve its South and West sides.
“When you look at black and brown Chicago being devastated by this disease, over 70% of the cases and a significant number of the deaths, that creates a sense of urgency and acceleration of the work that we had kind of carefully plotted out around health disparities, around poverty,” Lightfoot said.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot talks about her first year in office during an interview in her office May 15, 2020. (Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune)
The mayor also said she isn’t backing down from key issues she ran on, including limiting City Council members’ so-called aldermanic prerogative over zoning in their wards.
“We continue to hear from folks about their concerns about the different sets of rules for zoning depending on what ward you’re in, so having some uniformity in the way in which we address those issues,” Lightfoot said. “And yes, of course we’re going to have to touch the electrified rail of aldermanic prerogative.”
‘Some real pain’
In her first budget cycle as mayor, Lightfoot successfully shepherded a spending plan through the City Council that closed an $838 million deficit without a dreaded property tax hike.
Later this year, the city will be facing a potentially uglier financial forecast for 2021 as officials craft their next budget.
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Since early March, when trade groups first started canceling events at Chicago’s McCormick Place and the scope of the crisis crystallized, Lightfoot has answered reporters’ questions about COVID-19′s toll on the city’s finances by touting the city’s diverse budget revenues.
But she recently told Crain’s Chicago Business that the city faces a $1 billion shortfall and acknowledged to the Tribune that the disease’s financial impact “has been significant.”
“There’s no doubt about it,” Lightfoot said. “And that for this year and certainly heading into budget season for 2021, there are going to be a lot of really hard choices that have to be made.”
In weighing her options, Lightfoot has expressed a deep reluctance to lay off workers or raise property taxes. She also said the city will likely turn to one-time measures, though she ruled out deals like former Mayor Richard M. Daley’s hated parking meters privatization.
“We need structural fixes,” Lightfoot said. “Now, that’s going to be tough to do in this economy. We’re probably going to have more one-time solutions than we would otherwise like, but we have to play the cards that we’re dealt. We’re going to experience some real pain, there’s no two ways about it."
Lightfoot’s efforts to overhaul how Chicago’s government operates likely will be viewed in years to come largely through the prism of the city’s pandemic recovery.
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As her administration prepares to pivot from admonishing people to stay at home to figuring out how to reopen the economy, observers will be looking to see where her priorities lie.
The city’s pandemic response has been criticized by those who say Lightfoot should do more to help people who are losing their jobs and income. A largely symbolic solidarity pledge she made with landlords and bankers was mocked by some aldermen, while other progressives want the city to give renters a year to pay back rent.
While Lightfoot has implemented fines and fees reforms, a Fair Workweek Ordinance and a minimum wage hike, one of the recurring criticisms of Lightfoot’s administration is that she hasn’t done enough to fulfill progressive campaign promises such as hiking the real estate transfer tax for anti-homelessness measures. Lightfoot’s administration also is moving to delay the start of a key part of the Fair Workweek Ordinance requiring large Chicago businesses to give at least two weeks’ advance notice of their schedules.
April Harris, a grassroots leader for the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless, said the group remains hopeful Lightfoot sees the wisdom in establishing a dedicated funding source for homeless services as unemployment spikes further and more families struggle to keep roofs over their heads.
“We will keep making this point to her administration, that one-time funding like the $10 million in her 2020 budget is good, but we are going to see this problem of homelessness and the need for affordable housing become more and more urgent,” Harris said.
Others aren’t so optimistic. The Chicago Teachers Union endorsed Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle in the mayoral race, and union Vice President Stacy Davis Gates has been a vocal Lightfoot critic since negotiations between the CTU and the administration turned rancorous in the lead-up to last October’s teachers strike.
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Asked what post-pandemic Chicago will look like under Lightfoot’s leadership, Davis Gates said the mayor has not shown the willingness to enact the progressive agenda on which she ran.
“We’re about to roll into a depression with a mayor who says rich people pay high enough taxes already,” Davis Gates said. “That’s dangerous for a mayor who said during the election that she was going to acquire revenue from rich people.
“Her inability to understand the stakes of this moment will be problematic for her,” Davis Gates added.
Lightfoot said a lot of the attacks from the left that she isn’t progressive enough are coming from groups that supported Preckwinkle.
“There’s always going to be criticism. Always. But what I try to do every day is live my values and also be very cleareyed about what the motivations are of the people that are criticizing me,” Lightfoot said. “There’s an organized effort to try to keep running the last race that certain people lost, and they’re going to keep doing that until petitions are filed and the next election is full-on.”
Davis Gates, who also chairs the United Working Families quasi-political party that often criticizes the mayor, countered that Lightfoot “sounds paranoid” when she ascribes opposition to her agenda to disgruntled political opponents.
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“I think that sounds like a person who’s unwilling to be responsible for the great amount of trust that she has requested from Chicago,” Davis Gates said. “There’s a responsibility that comes with running a city of people who have been relegated to second-class citizenry for generations.”
But there are also those who think Lightfoot is well-suited for the moment.
The mayor last month named Bob Reiter, president of the Chicago Federation of Labor, to her COVID-19 economic recovery task force.
Reiter noted he took a strong public position against the mayor in the teachers strike but said it hasn’t stopped them from working together. He gave her credit for pushing through the Fair Workweek Ordinance shortly after she took office.
“That was a really important victory for working people in this city, and she was not a passive player in getting that done,” Reiter said.
“I think where people try to say, ‘Well, she was a lawyer that worked at Mayer Brown, how can she relate to people in the city?’ She didn’t grow up as a Mayer Brown attorney,” Reiter said. “She grew up as a kid from Ohio whose dad was a janitor and whose mom was a health care worker. She saw her mom get elected to the school board, engaged in trying to be a leader in her community. I think Lori’s a good ally to have in the fight for the soul of our neighborhoods in Chicago.”
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Corruption probes and crime
Lightfoot’s first year in office has coincided with high-profile federal investigations of top politicians that have sent shock waves from Chicago’s City Hall to Springfield.
The feds recorded phone calls of one of House Speaker Michael Madigan’s closest confidants as part of an investigation into ComEd’s lobbying practices and raided the homes of key Madigan allies. FBI agents also seized records from prominent South Side Ald. Carrie Austin’s office, and charged state Sen. Martin Sandoval and Rep. Luis Arroyo with bribery-related offenses.
Lightfoot, a former federal prosecutor who worked with U.S. Attorney John Lausch, said she doesn’t wish ill on anyone but wants the federal government to bring cases if it has them.
“Having this uncertainty and obvious unfinished business is not a good thing for our city,” Lightfoot said.
She also made public safety a key point of her campaign and first year.
One of her earliest acts as mayor was to implement weekly “accountability” meetings with top police brass to review crime results and strategy. And in December, Lightfoot announced she had fired police Superintendent Eddie Johnson for allegedly lying about the night he was found asleep at the wheel after drinking at a bar popular for especially stiff drinks.
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“When you have someone that not only lied to me, but worse, lied to the public, orchestrated a press conference around a fabricated story that had zero truth to it, what choice did I have?” Lightfoot said. “What can I say to those line police officers about accountability and legitimacy if I let their leader manipulate everything and lie to the public in the way that he did, intentionally lied?”
Lightfoot replaced Johnson with renowned former Los Angeles police Chief Charlie Beck, who made significant changes to the city’s command structure, then hired ex-Dallas top cop David Brown as permanent superintendent. But Chicago continues to struggle with violent crime and has missed key deadlines as part of the federal consent decree aimed at reforming the Police Department.
Asked how she will fix the long-troubled department, Lightfoot said it will take “a lot of patience and a lot of focus.”
“Now that we have permanent leadership and leadership that understands the importance of reform and not just on the accountability measures that are really the bread and butter of the consent decree, but accountability all the way around,” Lightfoot said. “I have great confidence in David Brown.”
But she said the department has cultural mores that run very deep and need to be changed, such as “an addiction to overtime.”
“You blow your overtime budget, you’re going to be held accountable,” Lightfoot said. “But when you grew up in an environment where you’re going to have Memorial Day weekend, let’s just cancel days off and throw some overtime at it, that’s not strategy at all and it’s demoralizing for the rank and file when, particularly as tough and as stressful as this time is, they deserve their time off.”
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‘The mayor’s not a politician’
Lightfoot rode anti-City Council rhetoric to an unexpected landslide win.
Her tough talk about cleaning up a body with a history of malfeasance endeared her to fed-up voters, especially during the run-up to the election when new allegations of public corruption came to light against Southwest Side Ald. Edward Burke, 14th, who was then Chicago’s most powerful council member.
Burke’s legal problems damaged better-known politicians and boosted Lightfoot’s long-shot candidacy.
But the electoral dynamic also set up an adversarial relationship between the new mayor and a segment of the 50-member council that has played out over the past year. Lightfoot made curtailing so-called aldermanic prerogative, the tradition of aldermen controlling most projects within their wards, one of her signature endeavors.
Aldermen frequently complain that they don’t hear from her or staff as often as they’d like, and she has expressed contempt for the sort of horse-trading that’s common in politics.
“I don’t buy votes,” she’s said.
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Nevertheless, Lightfoot mostly has continued the long run of Chicago mayors enjoying comfortable majorities for their proposals. She has done so by elevating progressive aldermen such as Scott Waguespack and Susan Sadlowski Garza, who often fought Mayors Daley and Rahm Emanuel, to leadership positions while maintaining the backing of a bloc of establishment council members.
Though Lightfoot has not lost a vote on the City Council floor, she’s faced considerable resistance in just one year that could foreshadow future problems. In December, Ald. Jason Ervin, 28th, pushed hard to delay marijuana sales but lost a 29-19 vote. And an emergency powers ordinance last month passed 29-21.
Even her budget passed by a smaller-than-usual margin, especially one that doesn’t ask aldermen to vote for a politically damaging tax hike. Emanuel’s first budget sailed through unanimously, even though it closed six mental health clinics and set the city on a path to see water and sewer fees more than double.
Whether Lightfoot will be able to maintain control of the council is a key item to watch.
Some aldermen have fought fiercely the mayor’s attempts to centralize power by cutting into theirs, arguing they understand their neighborhoods better than her staff and that Lightfoot should collaborate more for the good of the communities.
Lightfoot’s move to try to “amass more power on the fifth floor” has hurt her and the city, according to Southwest Side Ald. Raymond Lopez, 15th, the mayor’s most outspoken council critic. While he said “certain things” like affordable housing policy should be centralized, Lopez argued the Lightfoot administration has proved itself to be “tone deaf” on other issues.
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“We’re seeing this normalization of aldermen being shut out of the process by a person who said she was going to reform city government, to bring in the light, so to speak,” Lopez said. “But instead of moving forward, we’re seeing this monumental leap back in openness and collaboration.”
Northwest Side Ald. Gilbert Villegas, Lightfoot’s council floor leader, countered that Lightfoot is open to debate. The pandemic has played to her strengths as a decisive leader, he said.
“She’s very smart, very analytically minded, and she listens,” Villegas said. “She bounces ideas off people, then makes a strong decision and sticks to it. I think if you look at what the public thinks about her performance over the past few months, dealing with a situation for which there’s really no rubric, they believe she has done a very good job showing the kind of leadership Chicago needs right now.”
Still, Villegas acknowledged Lightfoot’s distaste for politics can make things harder for her than they need to be.
“I wish she would work more at some of the relationships,” he said. “Sometimes members of her staff say, ‘The mayor’s not a politician.’ And I counter that when you run for mayor of Chicago and you win, you’d better become a politician.”
Chicago Tribune’s Jeremy Gorner contributed.
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gpratt@chicagotribune.com
jebyrne@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-05-19--‘Unreal’ rains flood homes, knock out power and put Chicago on the cusp of wettest May ever

Izzi noted that lake levels also are at near-historic highs , and warned there could be a storm surge later @ @ @ @ @ and the storm system moves out of the area .
The lake has been closing @ @ @ @ @ level for some time , and Izzi said that because the lake typically reaches its @ @ @ @ @ , “ We ’ ve never had the lake level this high in May before @ @

Patrick M.  O'Connell, William Lee, Michael Hawthorne, Katherine Rosenberg-Douglas

Roberto Acuna walks through a flooded street beside his home on Hawthorne Lane in Des Plaines after a huge amount of rain fell over the course of a couple days on May 20, 2020. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
Kelli Peterson, rain boots on, stepped cautiously onto the submerged footbridge in her yard, gripping the sides to steady herself against the pulsating current of Spring Creek.
The creek, which empties into the Fox River in eastern McHenry County, usually is only ankle deep. But after another round of drenching rains inundated northeastern Illinois over the weekend, the creek on Monday was transformed into a rushing, 5-foot-deep river.
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“It’s super fast!” Peterson called out, plunging her hand into the water to scoop out branches and muck clogging the bridge. “The center of the bridge really pulls. I gotta hang on. It’s strong right now.”
The rainy weather that hung over northeastern Illinois on Sunday, combined with a record rain in Chicago last week, left swaths of the city and suburbs underwater and waterlogged as many of the region’s network of rivers and streams overflowed their banks.
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Several reached the damaging major flood stage. More than 8 inches of rain fell from Thursday through Sunday in the Chicago area, according to the National Weather Service, putting this May on the cusp of becoming the wettest ever on record for the city.
The deluge led the Chicago River to swell to its highest level in more than 60 years, swamping the downtown Riverwalk. The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District was forced to temporarily reverse the flow of the Chicago River both downtown and in Wilmette, sending even more water into Lake Michigan, which already is near record-high levels.
Lower Wacker Drive was closed, a substation at Willis Tower lost power and underground parking garages were shuttered because of high water.
The Chicago Fire Department, using inflatable watercraft, said it rescued at least six people stranded by rising water.
In the suburbs, an 18-year-old woman with autism was swept away in the west branch of the DuPage River in the Winfield Mounds Forest Preserve on Friday night. She has not been found.
In west suburban Lyons, firefighters in boats rescued several people trapped in their homes by floodwaters. And flooding along the Des Plaines River left neighborhoods underwater, closed roadways and left the Lincolnshire Marriott Resort surrounded by water.
Chicago is just 1/20th of an inch from setting a record for the entire month, beating out records set in 2018 (8.21 inches) and again in 2019 (8.25 inches).
The Chicago River was so high by Sunday night that opening locks into Lake Michigan had little immediate effect, according to Gino Izzi, a meteorologist for the weather service. Gauges at Columbus Drive and Grand Avenue both showed levels greater than 5 feet, the second-highest since the record was set in 1954, he said.
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The river began rising after the area got 3.53 inches of rain Thursday, the wettest day of any May on record. There was more rain Friday and Saturday, and then on Sunday an all-day drenching dumped an additional 3.11 inches, Izzi said.
“Obviously, the initial storm resulted in some flooding and left everything completely soaked, which didn’t leave much room for the rain we got yesterday to soak in or get anywhere,” Izzi said. “Two of the top five wettest May days ever were in the past four days. No wonder why the flooding is so bad. That is unreal.”
An overloaded system
The rains overwhelmed stormwater systems, leading to thousands of reports of flooded basements and roads in neighborhoods throughout the city. The city’s 311 line received nearly 1,600 calls reporting basement flooding, with calls coming from all but four of the city’s 77 community areas.
“I’ve lost $6,000 or $7,000 worth of stuff,” said Thelma Brookins, 76, who suffered basement flooding at her West Side home in the 4700 block of West Ohio Street. “My lawn mower’s sitting in the water.”
Water rose into Brookins’ home through a toilet and floor drains, she said, damaging the basement’s living spaces and furniture. Brookins said she could not bring herself to turn on the electronics in her basement, fearful her brand-new washer and dryer, purchased in March, were totally ruined.
Days of rain overwhelmed the main portion of Deep Tunnel, the region’s $3 billion system of cavernous tunnels and flood-control reservoirs.
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The 3.5 billion gallon McCook Reservoir already was full of sewage-laden runoff from Thursday and Friday. Before rain began to fall again Sunday, the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District only had time to pump 5% of the reservoir to its Stickney treatment plant.
Across wide portions of Chicago and Cook County stretching from Wilmette to Westchester, stormwater tunnels deep under the Chicago River, North Shore Channel and Des Plaines River also swelled to their 1.2 billion gallon capacity.
Starting at 3:45 p.m. Sunday, the district opened a Wilmette sluice gate, allowing a surge of sewage and runoff in the North Shore Channel to flow into Lake Michigan for the second time in as many days.
Locks next to Navy Pier opened wide three hours later as district engineers attempted to draw down the Chicago River by sending it back on its once-natural course into the lake.
The downtown locks closed again at 11:45 a.m. Monday. The Wilmette gate closed at 8:15 p.m.
Sandbags, pumps at the ready
Unable to contain the weekend rains and the cumulative runoff from last week’s storms, Spring Creek in McHenry County overtopped its banks and spilled out into the yards of Peterson and her neighbors. The only thing holding back the water: hastily assembled walls of sandbags surrounding houses in the neighborhood near Fox River Grove, and even some of those barriers were no match for nature.
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The muddy floodwaters rushed through a child’s swing set, swamped driveways and turned a few houses into islands, surrounded by swirling, muddy waters. More than 2 inches of rain fell on the McHenry County area in the 24-hour period beginning Sunday morning.
“It never had any reprieve with the continuous rains just coming and coming,” Peterson said.
As the water lapped up to the brick house’s foundation, Peterson and her husband activated three pumps in an effort to keep it out of the house’s crawl space.
By Monday morning, the Des Plaines River in Lincolnshire was at 15.72 feet, more than 3 feet above flood stage and into the “major” flood designation, according to the weather service’s gauge. The river was forecast to crest late Monday at that central Lake County location, according to projections.
Downstream near Mount Prospect and the northern edge of Des Plaines, the river was nearly 4.5 feet above flood stage at the gauge at West Lake Avenue near River Road. The level observed Monday morning, 19.49 feet, if confirmed as official, would be the fifth-highest crest on record at that location. The level would mean that three of the top five historic crests have occurred since 2013.
The flooding caused by Sunday’s storms underscores the fact that Illinois and the Midwest are receiving more drenching storms more often. The changing climate is causing storms to produce more rain and, combined with increased development, especially in urban areas like the Chicago region, the result is more flooded basements, roadways and businesses.
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This spring’s flooding comes only months after the U.S. recorded its second-wettest year on record, behind 1973. Chicago experienced 49.54 inches of precipitation in 2019, the third-wettest year on record. Since Illinois meteorologists began collecting precipitation records in 1871, four of the top five wettest years in Chicago have occurred in the last decade.
With Sunday’s storm, Chicago has recorded 19.06 inches so far in 2020. The average rainfall year-to-date should be about 11.39 inches.
Conditions in northern Illinois were primed for flooding. Super-saturated soil left over from a wet 2019 and snowmelt from winter storms to the north meant spring rain runoff did not soak into the land, instead running off into the area’s network of rivers and tributaries.
Widespread flooding across city
Reports of flooded homes came from all across the city, with the largest volume in Austin, Forest Glen, Norwood Park and Portage Park.
For Brookins, on the city’s West Side, the flooding was only the second she has experienced since moving to the block in the mid-1970s. She said she is fearful the damages will not be covered since the neighborhood is a defined flood area and she does not have insurance.
“All that water was out there in the street and it was steady rising,” she recalled. “And I came into the house and something said, ‘Go into the basement … and when I stepped on the bottom step, the water came halfway up my knee.
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“What can you do when water comes up through the toilets? There’s no stopping it,” Brookins said.
For much of Monday, Brookins said she’d been on hold with 311 operators and reporting the flooding to the local alderman’s office. Now she’s worried about having to act quickly to have contaminated floodwater drained before it triggers mold and leaves a stench.
“I’ve had two knee replacements, and gonna need another one, now how in the world am I gonna go in the basement and mop?”
Meanwhile in South Austin, Jacqueline Hollister said she was grateful that the 2 feet of basement flooding in her home of 43 years receded quickly, sparing her furnace and hot water tank, which would have led to costly repairs.
“There’s furniture down there, but I’m gonna throw it away,” Hollister said. “My furnace could have been out. My hot water tank could have been completely out and I’m grateful.”
For Hollister, this was only the third flooding event on her block since 1997, the last being in 2010.
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Resident Robert Ness wades through floodwaters in the area of the intersection of Southview Avenue and Circle Drive on May 18, 2020, in Brookfield. (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune)
Downtown deluge
The overflowing Chicago River was caught on social media posts as floodwaters gushed into homes and parking garages and Lower Wacker Drive, where a ComEd substation was knocked out about 2 a.m., cutting off power to the Willis Tower, according to ComEd. The power remained out Monday afternoon.
According to the city Department of Transportation, Lower Wacker from Randolph Street to Harrison Street is expected to remain closed to traffic through Saturday.
ComEd was working with the city and Willis Tower to remove water from an underground vault that holds the substation that services the building, said ComEd spokesman Thomas Dominguez.
“ComEd crews are still unable to safely access the vault to determine a way to return electric service to the building as quickly and safely as possible,” he said.
River flooding straight into river city garage yikes pic.twitter.com/nVHFPFiLAj — Mario Castro (@mariodointhings) May 18, 2020
Izzi said the Chicago River was at 5.1 feet at Columbus Drive on Sunday, but has since gone down. The record, set in October 1954, is 5.5 feet. At Grand Avenue, the river was at 5.3 feet; the record is 5.7 feet, also set 66 years ago. Monday morning, the river was at 3.9 feet at Columbus Drive, he said.
“Yesterday’s heavy rainfall was more impactful because there was nowhere for it to go except to flood. It couldn’t go into the lake,” Izzi said. “I can’t recall there ever being a time when Lower Wacker has flooded as a result of a rain event, and it was kind of a culmination of events, including nearly historic lake levels.”
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Among countless other properties, Izzi said River City, at 700-800 S. Wells St., flooded.
City workers clear flooded Lower Wacker Drive in Chicago on May 18, 2020. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune)
“Police were dispatched for water starting to get up into apartments,” Izzi said. “That’s just something we’ve never really seen before.”
Izzi noted that lake levels also are at near-historic highs, and warned there could be a storm surge later Monday as the wind shifts and the storm system moves out of the area. The lake has been closing in on its all-time highest level for some time, and Izzi said that because the lake typically reaches its annual peak in the fall, “We’ve never had the lake level this high in May before.”
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to correct an error. It originally said 11.39 inches was Chicago’s annual rainfall but that number is actually Chicago’s average rainfall through May 18.
Chicago Tribune’s Jessica Villagomez contributed.
kdouglas@chicagotribune.com
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