chicagotribune--2020-07-16--Coronavirus in Illinois updates: Growing infections among young people could force state and Chicago

Coronavirus in Illinois updates: Growing infections among young people could force state and Chicago to pull back on reopening

MSI , like almost all Chicago cultural institutions , closed in mid-March because of the coronavirus pandemic and has remained @ @ @ @ @ state brought down their infection rates through physical distancing , widespread stoppage of public activities @ @ @ @ @ common sense .
Both Chicago and Illinois are now in Phase 4 of their 5-step @ @ @ @ @ will enter the final phase until a COVID-19 vaccine or treatment is widely available .

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Paca Kujtim of Arlington Heights self-administers a COVID-19 test in his car at the Arlington International Racecourse on March 31, 2021 in Arlington Heights. Kujtim was getting testing as a precaution for upcoming travel. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)
Gov. J.B. Pritzker warned parents Thursday to prepare for a semester unlike “any other” as Illinois school districts grapple with the need to require masks, social distancing and remote learning options to deal with the coronavirus pandemic.
Pritzker also said his confidence level in leading the state through the pandemic was high after case numbers started dipping in May, but acknowledged he now feels “challenged” due to nationwide spikes and an uptick in Illinois.
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Also on Thursday, Illinois health officials announced 1,257 new known cases of COVID-19 and 25 additional fatalities. Officials also reported 43,006 new tests in the last 24 hours, a new daily record.
On Wednesday, Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot voiced concerns over the increasing number of positive test results among younger people, which could lead to reimposing bans on bars, indoor dining and youth sports activities. Chicago health data shows 29% of confirmed COVID-19 cases since June 15 have been among people ages 18 to 29. That’s a stark change from May, when cases of the virus peaked in the city and overwhelmingly affected older people.
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[ Illinois’ new COVID-19 plan: How the state will manage any outbreaks in 3 charts ]
[ COVID-19 cases in Illinois by ZIP code: Search for your neighborhood ]
[ Schools reopening tracker: What suburban Chicago districts are planning for the fall ]
[ 20 questions about assessing your COVID-19 risk at restaurants, gyms and more ]
Here’s what’s happening Thursday regarding COVID-19 in the Chicago area and Illinois:
7:32 p.m.: Walmart, Target, Kohl’s join retailers making masks mandatory at stores nationwide. But how will it be enforced?
If you want to shop in person, a growing number of the nation’s biggest retailers say you’ll have to wear a mask — whether local rules require it or not.
Walmart, Target, CVS, Kohl’s, Best Buy, Kroger, Costco and Starbucks are all making face coverings mandatory for customers at stores nationwide.
Many retailers began requiring workers wear masks at all stores early in the pandemic, but some were reluctant to make employees confront customers who didn’t want to wear a face covering, especially in cities and states without a mask mandate. While 80% of Target’s stores are in areas that already require masks in stores, only about 65% of Walmart’s stores are.
Though many customers comply with the rules, some see masks as a political issue and they have led to confrontations between employees and customers. A customer at a Home Depot in northwest suburban McHenry was charged with misdemeanor battery following a dispute with another customer over wearing face masks earlier this month.
Videos of similar disputes at other retailers across the U.S. have been shared on social media, and some and have turned violent. In May, a security officer at a Michigan Family Dollar store was fatally shot after telling a customer to wear a mask.
Now, pointing to the rising number of COVID-19 cases nationwide, a growing number of retailers say they want all customers to wear them.
Here’s what to expect. —Lauren Zumbach
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5:35 p.m.: How a struggling company won $1.6 billion to make a coronavirus vaccine
In late February, as the coronavirus spread around the world, Dr. Richard Hatchett, head of an international nonprofit that gives money to vaccine developers, got on an important call to discuss vaccine candidates after his plane touched down at London’s Heathrow Airport.
Executives from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which helped found and finance the nonprofit, were on the line, enthusiastic about Novavax, a small biotech company they thought had the potential to develop a vaccine against the virus — fast.
Although the company, based in Gaithersburg, Maryland, had never brought a vaccine to market in its 33-year history, these experts were optimistic about its technology, which uses moth cells to pump out crucial molecules at a much faster rate than typical vaccines — a major advantage in a pandemic.
Hatchett’s organization, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, would go on to invest $388 million in the company’s coronavirus vaccine. With that powerful backing, Novavax made an aggressive push to the U.S. government. The company’s effort paid off last week when Operation Warp Speed, the Trump administration’s effort to hurry coronavirus vaccines to the market, gave Novavax $1.6 billion, the largest award to date. The company’s stock surged 30%.
It was a dramatic turnaround for a little-known company that, just one year earlier, had been on the verge of collapse. One of its leading vaccine candidates — to prevent a deadly virus in infants — had failed for the second time in three years. The company’s stock was trading so low that it risked being removed from the Nasdaq. Looking for cash, it sold its manufacturing facilities. Word spread around the small world of Maryland biotech that Novavax might be closing soon.
Novavax’s good fortune may appear puzzling, given its track record and the air of secrecy surrounding Operation Warp Speed. But for those in the insular biotech world where connections matter, it is far less surprising. In the face of a deadly pandemic that is devastating the economy, the government is placing huge bets on vaccines and treatments that could enable a return to some semblance of normal life.
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Read more here. —The New York Times
3:31 p.m.: Cook County Board passes resolutions on use of CARES Act funding, moving more of $51 million to disinvested suburbs under ‘equitable’ funding formula
All but one Cook County Board commissioner voted during a special board meeting Thursday in favor of a funding formula aimed at shifting more federal COVID-19 stimulus money to disinvested municipalities throughout the suburbs.
Two resolutions commissioners approved will guide how some of the $429 million allocated to Cook County under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act will be sent to suburban communities as they fight to stay afloat during the coronavirus pandemic.
The first one will use an “equitable funding formula” with a heavy emphasis on economically disinvested areas, distributing $51 million of CARES Act money among Cook County municipalities to reimburse direct costs incurred while responding to the outbreak. The second resolution shifts nearly $82 million from the Coronavirus Relief Fund to the Bureau of Economic Development to support local businesses, assist renters, fund hotels sheltering people experiencing homelessness and more.
“COVID-19 is having a disproportionate impact on Black and brown communities,” County Board president Toni Preckwinkle said of the new funding formula. “This approach is designed to ensure that these dollars are going to communities most impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. Allocations to each municipality were determined through an equitable lens.”
Read more here. —Alice Yin
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3:29 p.m.: Concerns were raised multiple times about COVID-19 and Smithfield Foods’ St. Charles plant before the health department shut it down, records show
In the days before the Kane County Health Department ordered Smithfield Foods’ St. Charles meat processing plant to close due to concerns about COVID-19, and before the health department confirmed an employee had died, a call came in to police.
The caller had concerns about Smithfield, a police transcript of the call shows, and told dispatchers their mom was a COVID-19 patient and an employee.
The 911 call is among several complaints raised about Smithfield’s St. Charles plant, a dry sausage-making facility that employs about 325 people, before the county health department ordered it to close April 24, police reports and documents obtained by the Beacon-News through an open records request show.
The health department received at least two reports, and the 911-caller contacted police twice, once days before the closure and once days afterward. Kane County sheriff’s deputies visited the plant twice before the closure at the request of the health department, following up on complaints, police reports and a spokesman indicated.
The documents paint a picture of mounting concern at the facility in the days before it was ordered closed, as meat processing plants across the country faced pressure over social distancing, protective equipment and COVID-19 safety practices. Workers at some plants nationwide became sick and some facilities temporarily closed, including other locations of Smithfield, which bills itself as the world’s largest pork processor.
Read more here. —Sarah Freishtat
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2:57 p.m.: Pritzker warns parents to expect a school year unlike any other; admits feeling ‘challenged’ amid nationwide COVID-19 surge, Illinois uptick
Gov. J.B. Pritzker warned parents Thursday to prepare for a semester unlike “any other” as school districts grapple with the need to require masks, social distancing and remote learning options to deal with the coronavirus pandemic.
Pritzker also said his confidence level in leading the state through the pandemic was high after case numbers started dipping in May, but acknowledged he now feels “challenged” due to nationwide spikes and an uptick in Illinois.
The governor, whose comments came during unrelated news conferences in Rockford, again appealed to bar and restaurant owners to stick to 25% capacity limits on indoor serving or risk an outbreak that could lead to the re-imposition of closure orders.
Pritzker said while school districts will develop their own re-opening plans, and should get parental input, there would be no “compromise on the question of masks and distance. That is the No. 1 thing that slows and even stops the spread of COVID-19. It’s also — without masks, without distance — the No. 1 thing that spreads it.”
”If those rules are followed and if we can maintain and push down the numbers as we watch them in Illinois, then I would say that there can be in-person learning. And again, not for everybody,” he said, specifically pointing to children and families with immunocompromised systems.
”So we have to be very, very careful. This is not going to be a school semester like any other that I’m aware of. Just be prepared for that fact. It’s just really going to be that way, no matter what. Even if we keep our numbers down, this virus has not gone away,” he said.
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Read more here. —Rick Pearson
2:35 p.m.: New daily testing record as 1,257 new COVID-19 cases and 25 more deaths reported
Illinois health officials on Thursday announced 1,257 new known cases of COVID-19 and 25 additional fatalities, bringing the total number of known cases to 157,950 and the statewide death toll to 7,251 since the start of the pandemic.
Officials also reported 43,006 new tests in the last 24 hours, a new daily record. Only three days — four including today’s numbers — have more than 35,000 tests reported.
The seven-day statewide positivity rate is 3.1%.
—Chicago Tribune staff
1:11 p.m.: Cook County health system to help test antibody-based drug
Cook County’s public health system announced Thursday that it is part of a nationwide effort to test the effectiveness of an antibody-based medicine against COVID-19.
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Cook County Health, which operates Stroger Hospital, will help determine if a drug derived from an antibody from one of the first surviving COVID patients in the United States helps people recover more quickly. The study, called BLAZE-1, is sponsored by drug maker Eli Lilly.
”It is important to evaluate therapies that use technology to mirror our own immune system’s ability to disarm potential damaging effects of viral infections to prevent serious complications we’ve seen during this COVID-19 pandemic,” said Dr. Gregory Huhn, an infectious disease physician for Cook County Health and principal site investigator of the BLAZE-1 study. “Our hope is that the antibody drug will reduce COVID symptoms quickly after diagnosis and help to eradicate the virus more quickly.”
A couple dozen medical institutions across the country are taking part in the study. Participants in the research will be given either the drug, called LY-CoV555, or an inert placebo. Evaluators will determine whether those given the drug fare better over the next 12 weeks than those who got the placebo.
—Hal Dardick
12:22 p.m.: Glenview Park District pool closes same day it reopened after three more lifeguards test positive for COVID-19
The Glenview Park District has closed Flick Aquatic Center the same day it reopened after announcing that three more lifeguards have tested positive for COVID-19.
The Wednesday announcement came after the park district closed the swimming facility on July 9 after two high-school-to-college-aged lifeguards tested positive for the novel coronavirus.
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The lifeguards with the most recent COVID-19-positive results were not working at the facility on Wednesday when the pool was open, according to the district.
“We are reporting to IDPH (Illinois Department of Public Health) and following all state guidelines to ensure public safety,” said a July 15 statement by from Glenview Park District announcing the second closure.
The park district announced on its website that the aquatic center would be closed “until further notice.” In the statement, officials said that contact tracing would be undertaken and the facility would undergo “another full cleaning and sanitizing.”
Read more here. —Karie Angell Luc
11:34 a.m.: Cubs weekend night game plan for COVID-19 season advances, heads to full council
Aldermen Thursday advanced a one-season lifting of bans on Friday and Saturday night games at Wrigley Field in light of the “extraordinary circumstances” in Major League Baseball as a 60-game season shortened by the COVID-19 pandemic gets set to start.
Wrigleyville Ald. Tom Tunney, 44th, has long fought to block weekend night games on the grounds the already-crowded neighborhood can’t handle the extra traffic and the added security concerns if notoriously hard-partying Cubs fans spend all day drinking at bars surrounding the historic ballpark.
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But he told the License Committee the change is needed to allow six Friday night games and six Saturday night games among the 30 games set for Wrigley Field starting July 24.
Read more here. —John Byrne
10:56 a.m.: UK, US and Canada accuse Russian government’s ‘Cozy Bear’ of hacking coronavirus vaccine trials
Britain, the United States and Canada accused Russian hackers on Thursday of trying to steal information from researchers seeking a coronavirus vaccine, warning scientists and pharmaceutical companies to be alert for suspicious activity.
Intelligence agencies in the three nations alleged that the hacking group APT29, also known as Cozy Bear and said to be part of the Russian intelligence service, is attacking academic and pharmaceutical research institutions involved in COVID-19 vaccine development.
“It is completely unacceptable that the Russian Intelligence Services are targeting those working to combat the coronavirus pandemic,‘' British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said in a statement, accusing Moscow of pursuing “selfish interests with reckless behavior.”
Read more here. —Associated Press
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10:11 a.m.: Chicago Symphony Orchestra cancels 2020 performances
The Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association has canceled all its programs scheduled for Sept. 17 through Dec. 23 due to the coronavirus, according to an announcement Thursday morning.
These include CSO concerts, Symphony Center Presents, MusicNOW, Civic Orchestra of Chicago concerts and public programs presented by the Negaunee Music Institute .
“The decision follows careful review of the rapidly evolving conditions related to the COVID-19 pandemic and is in accordance with the State of Illinois and City of Chicago’s multi-phase recovery plans, and in response to the current safety guidelines from public health officials,” said a CSOA statement.
Read more here. —Howard Reich
8:37 a.m.: More than 1.3 million sought unemployment benefits last week, as jobless claims remain high
The number of laid-off workers seeking unemployment benefits remained stuck at 1.3 million last week, a historically high level that indicates many companies are still cutting jobs as the viral outbreak intensifies.
The elevated level of applications for jobless aid is occurring as new confirmed cases of coronavirus are spiking across much of the Sun Belt, threatening to weaken the economic recovery. Case counts are rising in 40 states and 22 states have either paused or reversed their efforts to reopen their economies, according to Bank of America.
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Rising infections paralleled rising applications for aid in some states getting hit right now, and fell in states with declining infections. In Florida claims doubled to 129,000, and in Georgia they rose nearly one-third to 136,000. In California they increased 23,000 to nearly 288,000. Applications also rose in Arizona and South Carolina.
Applications fell in Texas, New Jersey and New York.
Read more here. —Associated Press
8:12 a.m.: Abbott earnings top expectations, with $615M in sales from COVID-19 testing
Abbott Laboratories on Thursday reported second-quarter net income of $537 million.
The company, based in north suburban Abbott Park, said it had profit of 30 cents per share. Earnings, adjusted for one-time gains and costs, came to 57 cents per share.
The results surpassed Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of nine analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 43 cents per share.
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The maker of infant formula, medical devices and drugs posted revenue of $7.33 billion in the period, also topping Street forecasts. Six analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $6.83 billion.
Read more here. —Associated Press
6:50 a.m.: Museum of Science and Industry to reopen August 1 — with food on the front lawn and the front doors open again
Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry will end its more than four-month coronavirus closure on Aug. 1, welcoming the public back with two weeks of free admission and some new features, the museum announced Thursday.
The South Side science museum will have no-cost entry, with a ticket reserved in advance, through Aug. 14, and the front doors on the north side of the building will be open for the first time in 15 years, while the normally overlooked front lawn will feature food and beverage sales under a tent.
Members will be able to partake three days earlier, with the museum ending its COVID-19 closure for them beginning July 29.
A big special exhibition, “Marvel: Universe of Super Heroes,” will be delayed from the planned Oct. 8 opening until March 4 of 2021, and it will reside at the museum through Sept. 6 of that year.
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MSI, like almost all Chicago cultural institutions, closed in mid-March because of the coronavirus pandemic and has remained shuttered while the city and state brought down their infection rates through physical distancing, widespread stoppage of public activities and enforcement of public health common sense. Both Chicago and Illinois are now in Phase 4 of their 5-step reopening plans, although neither will enter the final phase until a COVID-19 vaccine or treatment is widely available.
Read more here. —Steve Johnson
6:45 a.m.: Remote learning must continue in Chicago Public Schools this fall, Chicago Teachers Union says
Saying there is no way to reopen schools safely this fall, the Chicago Teachers Union is calling for virtual learning to continue in Chicago Public Schools when the new year begins after Labor Day.
“We stand for a safe and equitable reopening of the schools, but today COVID-19 cases are soaring instead of dissipating,” CTU President Jesse Sharkey said in a release Wednesday evening. “There is simply no way to guarantee safety for in-school learning during an out-of-control pandemic — and that means we must revert to remote learning until the spread of this virus is contained.”
While CPS officials have already committed to measures like mandatory face masks, temperature checks and sanitizing protocols for when schools do reopen, the teachers union has said more needs to be done to reduce the health risks, including safe transportation plans for students and nurses in every school.
Read more here. —Chicago Tribune staff
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6:30 a.m.: Should you dine out in Chicago? Health experts weigh in on risks, and how to reduce them.
Nevada closed bars in Las Vegas and Reno again on Friday due to an increase in local COVID-19 cases. On Monday Louisiana ceased indoor bar service statewide, while California ordered all restaurants and bars to stop indoor dining. These moves backward in reopening the economy are the latest in recent weeks across the country.
On Tuesday, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker said he’s watching bars in the state as potential hot spots while known coronavirus case numbers rise. Wednesday morning Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said sternly in a press conference that she would not just stop the car and turn around, but make those who misbehave get out and walk back.
As restaurants and bars continue to reopen for indoor dining, while struggling to survive, the question for some customers remains: Should you dine out indoors? Guidelines from the city and state have been confusing at best, and conflicting at worst.
We spoke with four experts. —Louisa Chu


chicagotribune--2020-07-16--Zion woman charged in fatal June 4 hit-and-run in Waukegan

The bicyclist – identified as Chad Aiello , 37 , of Kenosha – was southbound in the northbound lanes of @ @ @ @ @ by the SUV , according to the release .
Officers , who were dispatched to @ @ @ @ @ , found him in the roadway badly injured .

A 47-year-old Zion woman faces charges for fatally hitting a bicyclist with the SUV she was driving and then fleeing the scene, Waukegan police said.
Authorities say Linda J. Ray, who turned herself in Wednesday morning at the Waukegan Police Department, was driving a 2015 black Cadillac SUV June 4 in the 3600 block of North Lewis Avenue when she hit the bicyclist.
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The SUV was not registered to Ray, according to a news release.
The bicyclist – identified as Chad Aiello, 37, of Kenosha – was southbound in the northbound lanes of Lewis when he was hit by the SUV, according to the release. Officers, who were dispatched to the scene around 11:30 p.m., found him in the roadway badly injured.
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Aiello was taken to an area hospital where he subsequently died, according to the release.
Ray was charged with leaving the scene of a fatal accident, according to the release. Her bail was set at $100,000. She remained in the Lake County jail Thursday morning.


chicagotribune--2020-07-16--Flick pool in Glenview closes same day it reopened after three more lifeguards test positive for COV

Flick pool in Glenview closes same day it reopened after three more lifeguards test positive for COVID-19

A small number of staff members had close contact with the initial two lifeguards who tested positive , according to @ @ @ @ @ all staff members who had close contact are being required to self-quarantine for two weeks @ @ @ @ @ , regardless of whether or not they have negative test results .

A passerby walks along the fence approximately one hour after Flick Aquatic Center closed on July 15 in Glenview. (Karie Angell Luc / Pioneer Press)
The Glenview Park District has closed Flick Aquatic Center the same day it reopened after announcing that three more lifeguards have tested positive for COVID-19.
The July 15 announcement came after the park district closed the swimming facility on July 9 after two high-school-to-college-aged lifeguards tested positive for the novel coronavirus. As of Tuesday, July 21, the facility remained closed.
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The lifeguards with the most recent COVID-19-positive results were not working at the facility on Wednesday when the pool was open, according to the district.
“We are reporting to IDPH (Illinois Department of Public Health) and following all state guidelines to ensure public safety,” said a July 15 statement by from Glenview Park District announcing the second closure.
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The park district announced on its website that the aquatic center would be closed “until further notice.” In the statement, officials said that contact tracing would be undertaken and the facility would undergo “another full cleaning and sanitizing.”
Flick Aquatic Center opened at 5:30 a.m. for lap lane users at 3600 Glenview Road. Advance reservations were required due to measures intended to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
Due to limited capacity, the district was allowing entry to only Glenview Park District residents, park center health and fitness members and aquatic members.
Media were invited to take interior photos of Flick Aquatic Center at 11 a.m. to publicize the reopening, but the district hastily canceled access about a half-hour before a Pioneer Press photographer was planning to arrive, citing privacy concerns.
At the time, the swim center was open to swimmers and patrons.
“We’re all about being transparent,” said Jena Johnson, director of brand strategies and community engagement with the Glenview Park District.
Lynne Stiefel, the Village of Glenview’s communications manager said on Wednesday, “We are confident the Glenview Park District is taking all appropriate and necessary precautions when it comes to park facilities in accordance with Phase 4 of the state’s ‘Restore Illinois’ plan.”
According to the Glenview Park District, Flick Aquatic Center had been deep-cleaned and disinfected. The pool was not drained.
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“The chlorine in the water makes the virus inactive,” Johnson said.
According to the district, the first lifeguard to test positive worked on July 1, from 5:30 to 10:30 a.m. and on Monday, July 6, from 3:30 to 7:45 p.m.
The second lifeguard worked on June 30 and July 7 during in-service shifts while the pool was closed to the public.
The district said the first two lifeguards spent the majority of their shifts in the lifeguard chair.
A small number of staff members had close contact with the initial two lifeguards who tested positive, according to the park district, and all staff members who had close contact are being required to self-quarantine for two weeks from the date of exposure, regardless of whether or not they have negative test results.
Regarding the first two confirmed cases, the Glenview Park District, which owns and operates Flick Aquatic Center, “does not believe any member of the public had ‘close contact’ with the individuals, as defined by the CDC,” according to a statement.
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Through the view of a locked gate, a lifeguard chair is empty approximately one hour after Flick Aquatic Center closed on July 15 in Glenview. (Karie Angell Luc / Pioneer Press)
Lap swim at Flick Aquatic Center opened for the season on Saturday, June 27. Public swim opened Monday, June 29.
Patrons needed to reserve swimming time seven days in advance. Public swim blocks were capped at 100 visitors.
The Glenview Park District said it will release updates on its website, www.glenviewparks.org/.
Karie Angell Luc is a freelancer.


chicagotribune--2020-07-16--Remote learning must continue in Chicago Public Schools this fall, teachers union says. ‘People will

Remote learning must continue in Chicago Public Schools this fall, teachers union says. ‘People will get sick, and we can’t look at that as collateral damage.’

“ The health and safety of our students and staff is paramount , and our planning for the fall will @ @ @ @ @ available data and guidance from state and local health officials .
We know that families @ @ @ @ @ learn more about the coming school year , and we appreciate that there are a @ @ @ @ @ that are valid and must be considered , ” Passman said .
“ A preliminary @ @ @ @ @ year will be introduced this week to gain feedback from students , parents and staff @ @ @ @ @ the potential for in-person instruction will not be made until closer to the school year @ @ @ @ @ the public health situation at that time .
We are speaking regularly with union leadership @ @ @ @ @ the strongest possible plans for the fall , and we will continue to engage a @ @ @ @ @ our plans best meet their needs .
”

Daniel Michmerhuizen, a teacher at Benito Juarez Community Academy in Chicago, helps his son, Mateo, 6, with remote learning in May. The Chicago Teachers Union wants remote learning to continue this fall. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune)
Saying there is no way to reopen schools safely this fall, the Chicago Teachers Union is calling for virtual learning to continue in Chicago Public Schools when the new year begins after Labor Day.
“There is simply no way to guarantee safety for in-school learning during an out-of-control pandemic — and that means we must revert to remote learning until the spread of this virus is contained,” CTU President Jesse Sharkey said. “We stand for a safe and equitable reopening of the schools, but today COVID-19 cases are soaring instead of dissipating."
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In a news conference with CTU leadership Thursday, CPS teachers said there is not enough time to institute a plan for in-person learning that will protect students and staff, and that CPS must instead focus on mitigating harm.
“I love my job, I love my students and, if it were up to me, I would return in the fall. But it’s not up to me; it’s up the virus right now,” said Ariam Abraham, a teacher at Simeon High School.
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“It’s really difficult to even try to understand how we’re still having these conversations, without any sort of real plan,” Abraham added. “People will get sick, and we can’t look at that as collateral damage.”
While CPS officials have already committed to measures like mandatory face masks, temperature checks and sanitizing protocols for when schools do reopen, the teachers union has said more needs to be done to reduce the health risks, including safe transportation plans for students and nurses in every school.
But late Wednesday, the CTU went further, calling for virtual instruction to continue into the fall. Sharkey noted two big-city school systems in California — Los Angeles and San Diego — have made the decision to continue with remote learning for nearly all instruction this fall. “But whether the mayor and the school board in Chicago will implement these common-sense measures isn’t yet known,” Sharkey said.
CPS leaders have said they’re preparing for different scenarios for the fall, but Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Tuesday that a decision might not come until late August. She said more discussions and input from teachers, parents, students and public health experts are needed. Many Chicago-area districts are looking at a hybrid model that would combine remote learning with in-class learning for smaller groups of students who would be rotated in to maintain social distancing.
Later Wednesday, CPS spokesman Michael Passman released a statement saying the district knows families and staff are eager to learn more and that a preliminary framework for fall will be out soon.
“The health and safety of our students and staff is paramount, and our planning for the fall will be guided by the best available data and guidance from state and local health officials. We know that families and staff are eager to learn more about the coming school year, and we appreciate that there are a range of needs and views that are valid and must be considered,” Passman said. “A preliminary framework for the new school year will be introduced this week to gain feedback from students, parents and staff, but a decision on the potential for in-person instruction will not be made until closer to the school year when we can fully assess the public health situation at that time. We are speaking regularly with union leadership as we work to develop the strongest possible plans for the fall, and we will continue to engage a variety of stakeholders to ensure our plans best meet their needs.”
But the union — whose contentious relationship with the mayor was on daily display during last fall’s 11-day teachers strike — contends it’s already too late to contemplate reopening schools without firmer plans in place now.
“School executives have failed to guarantee strategies for social distancing, masks, other PPE, testing, rigorous facilities cleaning and other critical protocols that are essential if schools are to move to in-person learning,” the CTU said in its Wednesday news release. “Both the school district and charter operators have also failed to come up with concrete strategies to protect at-risk educators and students, even as the Union asked again for guarantees for at-risk children and adults in a bargaining session with CPS late Tuesday afternoon."
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The union contends that if CPS commits now to remote learning, that will provide more time to prepare and ensure all students have access to broadband and a device, according to CTU officials.
“What we need, that we did not have in March, is time to effectively plan as best we can what that (remote) learning looks like,“ said CTU Vice President Stacy Davis Gates. “We need a decision made now. We need certainty over confusion.”
The CTU also released a 10-page report Wednesday called “Same Storm, Different Boats,” which addresses its concerns and lays out a framework for what it says would be a safe and equitable way to reopen schools. The paper — which borrows from a similar report by the Los Angeles teachers union — emphasizes the disproportionate effect the coronavirus pandemic has had on people of color, who make up a majority of CPS students.
“The United States is at an unprecedented moment of overlap between a global pandemic, deep economic recession, and an uprising for Black Lives that exposes the structural race and class fissures that have resulted in higher unemployment, exposure, infection, and death rates in Black and Brown low-income communities,” the CTU said in its release. “Plans to restart public education in Chicago must address these deeply linked dynamics of inequity and common good needs.”


chicagotribune--2020-07-16--Cubs weekend night game plan for COVID-19 season advances, heads to full council

“ While obviously we would very much be looking forward to playing with fans , or even a smaller number @ @ @ @ @ as soon as it ’ s safe to do so , that we continue to @ @ @ @ @ of Public Health and the Chicago Department of Public Health and the commissioners as well @ @ @ @ @ we understand where their thinking is , ” Lufrano said .
“ We want to @ @ @ @ @ want to do it only when it ’ s safe to do so .
”

Aldermen on Thursday advanced a one-season lifting of bans on Friday and Saturday night games at Wrigley Field in light of the “extraordinary circumstances” in Major League Baseball as a 60-game season shortened by the COVID-19 pandemic gets set to start.
A night Cubs game is played at Wrigley Field. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)
Wrigleyville Ald. Tom Tunney, 44th, has long fought to block weekend night games on the grounds that the already crowded neighborhood can’t handle the extra traffic and the added security concerns if notoriously hard-partying Cubs fans spend all day drinking at bars surrounding the historic ballpark.
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But he told the License Committee the change is needed to allow six Friday night games and six Saturday night games among the 30 games set for Wrigley Field starting July 24.
“This is a long story of night games at Wrigley Field and the prohibition on Friday and Saturday nights,” Tunney said. “But ... these are extraordinary circumstances, and I think we need to be working as diligently to get the Cubs schedule and season, that being 30 games in Lakeview, and not to prohibit Friday and Saturday for this year only. This is a one-time exception.”
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Even without 40,000 fans descending on the neighborhood to crowd into the park, Wrigleyville has been in the news lately as maskless young people pack into bars there to drink. The Cubs playing night games will offer another reason for people to head to the entertainment district even if they aren’t allowed into the stadium.
Cubs Vice President Mike Lufrano told the committee Thursday the team would love to allow fans in the stands this year eventually, but said the team will listen to city health officials to see if that becomes possible.
“While obviously we would very much be looking forward to playing with fans, or even a smaller number of fans in the ballpark as soon as it’s safe to do so, that we continue to work with the Illinois Department of Public Health and the Chicago Department of Public Health and the commissioners as well, to make sure that we understand where their thinking is,” Lufrano said. “We want to do it, but we want to do it only when it’s safe to do so.”
After Cubs President of Business Operations Crane Kenney spoke on the radio last month about the team being optimistic there will be fans in seats at Wrigley Field at some point this year, Mayor Lori Lightfoot responded that “We’re not there yet.”
The night game ordinance will head to the full City Council next week.
jebyrne@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @_johnbyrne


chicagotribune--2020-07-16--Report: Former police Superintendent Eddie Johnson drank ’several large servings of rum,’ sat in car

Report: Former police Superintendent Eddie Johnson drank ’several large servings of rum,’ sat in car for two hours at Chicago intersection

With two police cars following him , Johnson eventually can be seen on dashcam video heading west toward his residence @ @ @ @ @ was seen failing to stop at a stop sign , then making a “ slow @ @ @ @ @ the wrong lane , moves into the correct lane and proceeds northbound on South Racine @ @ @ @ @ states .

The city of Chicago released bodycam footage related to an October incident where former police Superintendent Eddie Johnson was found asleep in a car. (Chicago Tribune Handout)
After finding then-police Superintendent Eddie Johnson asleep in a city SUV following his consumption of “several large servings of rum,” Chicago police trailed their boss home as he ran a stop sign and briefly drove in the wrong lane, the city watchdog reported Thursday.
Inspector General Joseph Ferguson’s quarterly report gave a fuller account of the incident last fall that led Mayor Lori Lightfoot to fire Johnson, and it raised the possibility of discipline for other officers. Among other allegations, the report says another cop — Johnson’s driver — also drove home in a city vehicle after drinking with the superintendent that night.
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The new account was unflattering both to Johnson and the department, as it indicated the former top cop might have gotten a pass from other officers on a force repeatedly accused of covering up misconduct. Ferguson’s summary also could ratchet up pressure on Lightfoot to release the fuller report on the incident, which so far she has declined to do.
Discipline could be coming, as Ferguson’s summary said he’d delivered reports on the conduct of other cops. Ferguson wrote that those reports address the actions of the other officer who allegedly drove after drinking, as well as “the CPD member response” to the call that led to police finding Johnson asleep in his SUV.
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The Police Department’s response to those reports is due by the end of July. Police spokesman Luis Agostini said in an email that, “The department will take any necessary disciplinary measures upon their complete review of that report.”
Neither Johnson nor his lawyer could be reached for comment.
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On the night of Oct. 16, 2019, Johnson and his driver drank at Ceres Cafe in the Loop, according to details previously reported and Ferguson’s summary of events. Ferguson reported that both drank rum at the bar famous for its generous pours.
Ferguson’s report does not say when they left the bar. But he wrote that Johnson drove, and around 10:30 p.m. he dropped her off at police headquarters in the Bronzeville neighborhood. The inspector general reported that she drove away in her city vehicle.
Johnson then drove toward his home. Security footage showed he parked illegally at 34th Place and Aberdeen Street in the Bridgeport neighborhood at 10:39 p.m., Ferguson wrote. He remained there with the SUV running until a member of the public called 911 to report someone asleep in a vehicle and officers arrived at 12:33 a.m, according to the report.
Previously released body camera footage shows that officers found Johnson slumped in his seat.
Ferguson wrote that a Chicago Fire Department member also came to the scene, approached the SUV and asked what was going on before stopping abruptly and walking away.
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The body camera footage showed that Johnson appeared to have put his police credentials against the window, Ferguson wrote. The officer asked his boss, “You just sitting here, or do you wanna go home?”
“I’m good,” Johnson replied. The officer responded, “You good? Alright, sir, have a good night.”
The officers did not perform any sobriety tests on Johnson, Ferguson wrote.
Other police vehicles came to the scene, and an officer called for a supervisor, who arrived about 12:43 a.m., Ferguson wrote. Johnson was allowed to drive off at 12:46 a.m., initially heading away from his home, with the supervisor following him, the report states.
At nearly the same time, an officer coded the stop to indicate that no police action had been needed, Ferguson wrote.
Dashboard camera video showed that two police vehicles followed Johnson as he failed to halt at a stop sign and then made a “slow, wide right turn into the wrong lane” before correcting himself, Ferguson wrote. GPS location data showed that two police vehicles ended up in “the area of the superintendent’s residence,” according to the report.
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Ferguson accused Johnson of making false statements during a news conference the next day when he said he was out for dinner with a group of friends before his encounter with police and that he’d ordered an internal investigation. The report also notes that Johnson failed to acknowledge he’d been drinking and instead blamed a medication mix-up.
While he acknowledged to Lightfoot that he had drinks, he also repeated to the mayor his contention about the medication mishap and said he’d directed officers to initiate a complaint against him, Ferguson wrote.
Citing the inspector general, Lightfoot removed Johnson as superintendent in early December. He dropped back to the rank of lieutenant and then resigned. He brings in a pension of about $190,000 yearly.
While Ferguson’s summary Thursday offered new information, the Lightfoot administration has declined to release the more detailed report of the incident despite pressure from media outlets and some aldermen.
Lightfoot ran for mayor on her credentials as a police reformer and promised transparency. Following her election, Lightfoot’s administration supported an ordinance passed last fall that allows the release of reports from the inspector general in cases that lead to a death or may involve a felony and generate a “compelling public interest.”
But City Hall officials have argued that none of Johnson’s alleged conduct could have been a felony. Law Department spokeswoman Kathleen Fieweger told the Tribune that stance had not shifted.
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“The mayor has addressed this and there is no change,” Fieweger wrote in an email on Thursday.
Asked whether the city should release the full report, Ferguson spokeswoman Natalie Kuriata said the new summary “was meant to provide some more context to the investigation completed back in November and the pending investigation responses.”
But, Kuriata added in a statement, the law on releasing the reports “specifies grounds for release and doesn’t grant that ability to” Ferguson.
Chicago Tribune’s Annie Sweeney contributed.
jebyrne@chicagotribune.com
dhinkel@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-07-16--Video is played at JoAnn Cunningham’s sentencing hearing of her berating 5-year-old son AJ Freund, w

Video is played at JoAnn Cunningham’s sentencing hearing of her berating 5-year-old son AJ Freund, whom she has admitted murdering

At times , as the video rolled , she wiped away tears and blew her nose .
The television monitor @ @ @ @ @ , so Cunningham and others in the courtroom gallery could not see the images .
@ @ @ @ @ the boy was piped through the courtroom and an overflow room where the media , @ @ @ @ @ boy ’ s disappearance and members of the public viewed the proceedings .

JoAnn Cunningham, 37, reacts as a sentence of 35 years is announced, July 17, 2020, for the murder of son, AJ Freund. (John Starks/Daily Herald)
For 15 months, ever since the battered remains of her 5-year-old son were found, breaking the hearts of a community that came together in a desperate six-day search for him, JoAnn Cunningham has been portrayed as heartless and without redemption.
At Cunningham’s sentencing hearing Thursday for murdering the boy, a McHenry County prosecutor referred to her with disgust as a “horror of a human being.” Even her own lawyers said they would not try to “defend, explain or justify” her actions, though they noted her difficult life fueled her drug addiction and rage.
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But, for the first time since her arrest, Cunningham offered a self-assessment. In a tearful, rambling speech to the judge, the 37-year-old Crystal Lake woman insisted she is “a child of God,” and deserving of mercy.
“I’m a loving, kind, compassionate woman who has feelings and loves deeply,” she said in a seven-minute speech. “I’m human. I ask God to make me a better person every day and to give me my heart and joy back.”
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She continued, “As much as I deserve punishment, I believe I deserve help. Please help me.”
Whether her tears and words had any impact will be revealed Friday in Woodstock, when Judge Robert Wilbrandt announces her punishment in a case that provoked a maelstrom of public outcry due to its cruelty and also the repeated failures by the state’s child welfare system to intervene.
Cunningham faces 20 to 60 years in prison for fatally abusing her son AJ Freund in April 2019.
Supporters from the group ROAR for AJ hold signs outside the McHenry County Courthouse on July 16, 2020, in advance of the sentencing of JoAnn Cunningham for the murder of her son AJ Freund. (Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune)
She had maintained her innocence ever since AJ was reported missing April 18, 2019. But in December, after prosecutors confronted her with a mountain of damning evidence, including newly disclosed cellphone video footage of an earlier attack on the boy, Cunningham pleaded guilty to first-degree murder.
Holding a handwritten statement, she begged for mercy Thursday and said she would “give my life to have AJ back. ... This is something I will never escape from. I am impacted forever by my heartless choices.”
“My heart and my mind are consumed with pain, sadness, grief, unceasing anguish and extreme remorse,” she said. “There is a great sorrow in my heart. I will never be able to justify anything nor do I ever want to.”
In a stinging plea for the maximum sentence, McHenry County State’s Attorney Patrick Kenneally recounted AJ’s final, dying moments and the pain he endured. He said the community has yet to recover and will forever mourn the boy.
Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 19 AJ Freund is held by his parents, Andrew Freund and JoAnn Cunningham in December 2014. The photo was taken at a baby shower for his mother, who was pregnant with her third child. AJ was about 14 months old. The couple had lost custody of him at birth due to drug use, and they were still trying to regain custody of AJ while remaining in drug treatment and after-care programs. (Family photo)
“He lived his life in the shadow of her darkness,” said Kenneally, arguing Cunningham is only sad for herself and concocted stories of childhood traumas to glean sympathy.
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“She hasn’t been sitting here crying for AJ. She’s been sitting here crying for herself. ... No remorse. No regret is expressed. And she still will not let us write the final chapter on AJ’s life by coming clean about what she did.”
Cunningham, wearing orange jail garb and a mask, her hair braided, sat through hours of testimony that included graphic photos of her battered son and cellphone video footage depicting some of the abuse. The television monitor was faced toward the judge, so Cunningham and others in the courtroom gallery could not see the images.
But audio of her berating the boy was piped through the courtroom and an overflow room where the media, FBI agents who investigated the boy’s disappearance and members of the public viewed the proceedings. A few members of AJ’s family temporarily left the courtroom before the videos were played.
A prosecution witness, Dr. JoEllen Channon, testified about a large bruise on AJ’s hip she had examined Dec. 18, 2018, just four months before he died. Channon said when she interviewed AJ alone about the cause of the bruise, his story shifted and the child suggested his mother was responsible.
“Maybe (mommy) didn’t mean to hurt me,” she said, quoting the boy.
Concerned that further prodding by her would compromise the investigation, Channon said she concluded AJ needed to be questioned by a trained forensic interviewer and examined by a child-abuse pediatrician. She notified state child welfare officials, but Channon said the investigator told her none were available.
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Two Crystal Lake police officers also testified about the dilapidated, filthy condition of the family’s home in December 2018, when the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services allowed the boy to go back home, and also months later on the day AJ was reported missing. The house has since been demolished.
Cunningham and the boy’s father, Andrew Freund, were charged April 24, 2019, after AJ’s body was discovered in a shallow grave following a frantic, six-day search. The case against Freund, 61, is pending. He did not testify Thursday.
Prosecutors also revealed video footage and text messages that showed Cunningham’s attempts to cover up the crime days after AJ had been killed. It was Freund who reported him missing that April 18. At the police station, Cunningham while alone in an interview room softly prays.
“Dear Father, please make sure AJ is safe and he comes home,” she said, her hands clasped in prayer.
At times tearful, she pleads with police to find AJ before something bad happens to him because there’s “many creeps out there.”
“He’s got to be so scared,” she said of AJ, later asking the officer to make sure someone is at her home “in case he comes home.” When the officer asks her if he can get Cunningham anything, she replied, “My son.”
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Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 10 Andrew Freund was arrested on Oct. 25, 2012, for domestic battery for an argument in his home involving an ex-roommate. (Crystal Lake Police Department)
Also, in text messages between AJ’s parents over the 72 hours before he was reported missing, Cunningham and Freund act as if he was still alive, including when the mother said AJ was having a good day.
“He’s such a charmer when he’s good,” she texted Freund, days after the boy’s April 15, 2019, slaying. “Lots of hugs.”
Throughout his short life, AJ was the subject of many police and child welfare contacts. DCFS took him into protective custody at birth after AJ was born in October 2013 with heroin in his system. The unwed couple got the boy back when he was about 20 months old and remained sober until 2018, when DCFS responded to a handful of hotline calls, including two when AJ had suspicious bruising.
In an especially poignant moment in the proceedings, Cunningham’s cousin told the judge about the impact of losing AJ. She raised the boy for nearly two years and hoped to adopt him but instead was forced to return the boy to his parents in June 2015 after they became sober and complied with other court orders.
The woman, who is raising AJ’s two younger siblings, a 5-year-old brother and nearly 14-month-old sister, has asked not to be publicly identified.
“He was a beautiful, perfect little boy who was loving and fun, caring and compassionate,” she said through tears. “(AJ) loved to play and do puzzles. He was just the perfect little boy.”
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Cunningham’s attorneys, Rick Behof and Angelo Mourelatos, requested after her guilty plea that she receive a psychological, psychiatric and substance abuse evaluation prior to this week’s sentencing. In the hearing’s mitigation phase, they presented evidence of her difficult life, including that she has been in abusive relationships and suffered repeated losses, especially the 2001 suicide of her only sibling, Joseph, 21, with whom she was close.
As a young mother, Cunningham was devoted to her firstborn child, now 20, for the first several years of his life and even was a licensed foster parent for a brief time in 2011 for another boy. But, according to public records and courtroom testimony, her life had begun to unravel not long afterward amid a volatile 2012 divorce and the protracted custody battle with her mother in 2013 over the oldest son.
Behof held up two photos of Cunningham. One of her before drugs, one after. He said she wasn’t strong enough to overcome her traumatic childhood, abusive relationships, mental health problems and drug addiction.
“And most importantly, she was not strong enough to protect AJ, and that’s why we are here,” he told the judge. “I ask you to look at her life in its entirety.”
But the cruelty displayed in cellphone videos that Cunningham had filmed was inescapable.
Prosecutors found a March 27, 2019, video from Cunningham’s cellphone in which she is seen grabbing the boy by his throat and pushing him against a bathroom wall until he chokes for air. AJ has visible cuts and bruises on his face and forehead, according to prosecutors. Cunningham had cornered him after AJ remarked he was going to get her in trouble with “someone.”
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On the video, prosecutors said, AJ is heard telling his parents he loves his family. Cunningham responds, “Bull----, you don’t show it.” She continues to taunt him, asking the boy if he thinks his parents and younger brother “do evil in this house,” to which AJ says, “no, just me.” At one point, after AJ said, “I just don’t want a family,” Cunningham responds to her 5-year-old son that he does not have one.
The video is in addition to one from March 4, 2019, also recovered from Cunningham’s cellphone, in which, prosecutors said, she is heard berating the badly beaten boy.
Prosecutors have said Cunningham filmed the first cellphone video in AJ’s bedroom to send to Freund, who was at work. It’s unclear why the couple filmed the later one taken inside the bathroom in which AJ is choked and both parents were present.
Prosecutors also provided evidence from AJ’s autopsy, which has not been made public. Besides fatal head injuries, and cuts and bruises across his body and limbs, the child inhaled his own blood before his painful death and had small, circular marks on his forehead consistent with the pattern of a detachable shower head.
Relatives have described the boy as inquisitive and bright who loved Thomas the Tank Engine, puzzles, books and his brothers. He also loved superheroes, especially Superman. Cunningham, too, said he was special.
“I had the pride of having AJ as a son,” she said, describing his birth as “one of the happiest days of my life.”
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cmgutowski@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-07-16--Illinois Wesleyan University could vote today to drop philosophy, religion, French and other liberal

Illinois Wesleyan University could vote today to drop philosophy, religion, French and other liberal arts subjects — over objections of some alumni and faculty

“ I don ’ t think there is any college or university in America that isn ’ t concerned about @ @ @ @ @ are no different in that regard , ” Nugent said .
“ That was not @ @ @ @ @ The primary driver is trying to ensure that we are offering the strongest programs that @ @ @ @

Illinois Wesleyan University, a small college historically known for its liberal arts programs, will stop offering degrees in religion, anthropology, French and Italian as part of an effort to adapt to growing student demand for career-oriented classes.
The university’s board of trustees on Thursday unanimously approved the cuts, which will affect the jobs of nine faculty members. The board also voted to alter the sociology, music and philosophy departments, possibly by incorporating more interdisciplinary collaboration.
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“It’s never easy or enjoyable to make a decision to cut something, but I think the trustees just took this process very seriously,” said Illinois Wesleyan President Georgia Nugent. “They were very judicious. They considered an enormous amount of data, and I think they came to good decisions.”
But the outcome of Thursday’s vote has rankled professors and alumni who are now questioning if IWU, which serves fewer than 2,000 students in downstate Bloomington, is reneging on its commitment to the humanities. Enraged graduates have threatened to withhold donations and pleaded for the programs to be spared. And faculty say they were blindsided by some of the process.
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Mike Theune, who serves on the school’s version of a faculty senate, said departments will explore ways to appeal Thursday’s decision. Administrators have already agreed that changes won’t be implemented for the upcoming school year and any student majoring or minoring in an affected subject can still earn their degrees in that topic.
“It is a bad day,” said Theune, an endowed professor of English. “The faculty’s control of the curriculum has been taken away. … The steps that have been taken by administration and the board today does feel like overreach to me.”
Thursday’s vote marked the end of a yearlong review of the popularity and staffing levels of each academic program. About 40 were assessed, including offerings in nursing and business, which Nugent described as strong.
In a June email to faculty, Nugent made her case for why Illinois Wesleyan must evolve. About 630 majors were declared in financial and nursing subjects in 2019 — programs that have only 18 tenure-track positions — compared with 83 majors in traditional humanities fields that have 23 faculty members on hand.
“We could quibble over whether these numbers are perfect or not, but that would be fruitless,” Nugent wrote. “The overall picture they paint is accurate, and we all know it. A university where students choose to study in pre-professional fields is not a ‘different institution’; it’s the university we are.”
Nationally, demand for liberal arts degrees also appears to be waning, according to the most recent data from the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. After a decade of declining popularity, the number of graduates in the humanities has dropped from 234,737 in 2012 to 212,512 in 2015. That’s caused some colleges to dissolve programs, shed faculty or close altogether.
At Illinois Wesleyan, the first curriculum changes came in May, when trustees decided to end American culture studies and Greek and Roman studies, along with programs in international business, design, technology and entrepreneurship. Faculty members supported those cuts and were involved in the process, according to interviews with professors.
But the trustees weren’t finished. After that meeting, professors in programs that had never been recommended for termination by the faculty task force suddenly learned, through a June 12 letter, that their subject areas could be discontinued. At that point, anthropology, sociology, Italian and French were on the chopping block.
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“That really came as quite a shock to the campus,” said Carolyn Nadeau, a Hispanic Studies professor who chairs the World Languages, Literatures and Cultures Department. “Anthropology and sociology have double-digit majors. They have a vibrant curriculum. Religion and philosophy were programs that the task force had identified as core to the liberal arts education.”
In the spring, Nadeau said, faculty voted to keep the French major. She said that Italian, offered only as a minor, had never been identified as at risk either.
Sara Caligiuri, a 2018 graduate who took Italian at Illinois Wesleyan, said she was disappointed by the board’s actions. Now a voice teacher, Caligiuri said she majored in opera and studied abroad in Milan to master the language.
“The fact that (the board) is sustaining the business programs is focusing a lens that is very narrow,” said Caligiuri, 24, of Wheaton. “Their only motivation is to sustain what they know instead of uplifting what the true message of Wesleyan is, and that’s inclusion and that’s learning about your world.”
Other faculty members shared that sentiment. Teddy Amoloza, a sociology professor who’s taught at Illinois Wesleyan for 30 years, said she feared it will focus too much on pre-professional development and lose its identity as a bastion for liberal arts. On its website, the university says liberal arts have been taught there since the 19th century and “have been at the foundation of Illinois Wesleyan’s curriculum since its inception.”
Following the vote, Nugent said courses in departments slated for closure will continue to be offered, though there might be fewer options. Up to nine faculty members whose positions might be affected will receive official notice, and the school will try to place them in other roles at the university.
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While the loss of faculty members could help alleviate a budget gap, school officials have offered conflicting information about how that influenced the decision. While the review began well before the coronavirus pandemic, additional financial challenges over the last several months have only increased pressure on universities to make ends meet.
Nugent downplayed the issue, saying the school has a solid endowment and the review was started for other reasons.
“I don’t think there is any college or university in America that isn’t concerned about cost, and so we are no different in that regard,” Nugent said. “That was not the primary driver here. The primary driver is trying to ensure that we are offering the strongest programs that we can.”
Yet an email sent to faculty last year shows otherwise, according to a copy obtained by the Tribune.
The email, sent by board of trustees Chair Timothy Szerlong in September, said Illinois Wesleyan was predicting a budget shortfall and must undertake “a program review, vigorous pursuit of organizational or structural change to adjust to a reduced student population, and identification of offerings that will attract new students, and better deploy our university resources.”
Szerlong also said the school must recoup $3.3 million in 2020 through additional revenue or cuts. Szerlong, who earned a business degree from IWU in 1974, was elected board chair in May 2019. He is the former president of worldwide field operations at CNA Financial Corp.
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In March 2019, the school’s former president embarked on a $1.1 million cost-savings effort that included voluntary retirement incentives.
Last year, Illinois Wesleyan enrollment dropped slightly to 1,636, according to news reports. About 75% of students are Illinois residents, and most study in the College of Liberal Arts. Undergraduate tuition for the upcoming school year is about $51,000, according to the university’s website.
IWU was established with the help of the United Methodist Church in 1850. Its endowment was valued at $203 million in July 2018.
echerney@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-07-16--FBI looking for man who robbed downtown Aurora bank

The suspect was caught on video and described as a white man , about 45 years old , with short @ @ @ @ @ a larger build and is 6 feet tall .
He was wearing a white T-shirt @ @ @ @ @ sneakers and dark-colored glasses during the robbery , FBI officials said .

The FBI is looking for this man in connection with a robbery at the Fifth Third Bank branch at 34 S. Broadway in Aurora Wednesday. (FBI / HANDOUT)
The FBI is looking for a man who robbed the Fifth Third Bank in downtown Aurora Wednesday afternoon.
Aurora police officers responded to the bank around 3:30 p.m. and searched the area, but they were not able to find the robber. Police will assist the FBI in a further investigation, Aurora police spokesman Paris Lewbel said.
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The man never displayed or implied that he had a weapon when he robbed the branch at 34 S. Broadway near Downer Place, FBI officials said.
The FBI is looking for this man in connection with a robbery of the Fifth Third Bank branch at 34 S. Broadway in Aurora Wednesday. (FBI / HANDOUT)
The suspect was caught on video and described as a white man, about 45 years old, with short brown hair. He has a larger build and is 6 feet tall. He was wearing a white T-shirt, gray sweatpants, white sneakers and dark-colored glasses during the robbery, FBI officials said.
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The FBI is asking anyone with information to call 312-421-6700 and is offering a reward of up to $1,000 for information leading directly to the arrest of the man.
mejones@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-07-16--Watch live: JoAnn Cunningham faces sentencing in 5-year-old son AJ Freund’s death

McHenry County Judge Robert Wilbrandt will begin hearing evidence Thursday to determine the sentence for JoAnn Cunningham , the 37-year-old @ @ @ @ @ guilty to first-degree murder in the beating of her 5-year-old AJ Freund .

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chicagotribune--2020-07-16--Chicago expands Divvy bikes on the Far South Side

The bike stations on the Far South Side are the first phase of a citywide plan to bring Divvy bikes @ @ @ @ @ The city said it plans to complete the 66 docking stations by September and build @ @ @ @ @ later this year , as well as additional stations on the Northwest Side by the @ @ @ @ @ call for the addition of 10,500 more electric-assist bikes throughout the city by 2021 .

Paul Wright tests out the Divvy bikes at a new station in the 8200 block of South Stewart Avenue on July 16, 2020. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)
Chicago is adding 66 Divvy docking stations on the Far South Side, starting with a new station in the West Chatham neighborhood.
The stations, announced Thursday by the city’s Department of Transportation and ride-hailing company Lyft, which owns Divvy operator Motivate, are part of a larger expansion to add bike docking stations to underserved communities over the next year.
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Lyft is investing $50 million into the city’s 6-year-old bike-sharing program to fund new bikes, stations and hardware.
The bike stations on the Far South Side are the first phase of a citywide plan to bring Divvy bikes to every Chicago neighborhood. The city said it plans to complete the 66 docking stations by September and build more on the West Side later this year, as well as additional stations on the Northwest Side by the middle of 2021. Plans call for the addition of 10,500 more electric-assist bikes throughout the city by 2021.
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Lyft is providing $77 million for transportation improvements, including bike lanes, signage, sidewalk improvements and traffic safety education, over a nine-year period. The Department of Transportation said money from Lyft will partly fund the addition of 16.5 miles of bike lanes on the Far South Side later this year.
The city has discussed expanding the bike program with aldermen and community leaders on the Far South Side since last year.
“This expansion gives our residents an affordable transportation option that will help them get around the neighborhood for shopping and recreation and also provides an easy connection to the City’s transit system and jobs and educational opportunities,” Ald. Howard Brookins, 21st, said in a news release.
Some of the bike stations will be placed near transit stops and stations in order to make them more accessible, with the first at 83rd Street and South Stewart Avenue, the city said.
Divvy launched in 2013 with 75 bike stations in the downtown and River North areas, and has expanded to about 600 stations, according to the city. When Divvy completes the expansion, there will be 16,500 bikes and 800 docking stations, the city said.
abjimenez@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @abdel1019


chicagotribune--2020-07-16--County’s prosecutors, others in criminal justice deal with budget cuts after COVID-19 hits revenue

“ Layer on top of it folks jumping up and down ( about ) defunding police … we ’ re @ @ @ @ @ 60- $ 70 million cut right now , ” he said .
“ How can @ @ @ @ @ COVID-19 at the jail ) the right way if I ’ m eviscerated here ?
@ @ @ @ @ be difficult .
”

The plaza outside of the Leighton Criminal Court Building in Chicago on July 2, 2020. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)
Cook County prosecutors must take five days of unpaid furlough before early November, and other county offices in the criminal justice sector are exploring ways to deal with a coronavirus-related budget crunch.
“As a result of unexpected expenditures and revenue loss due to the COVID-19 pandemic at the county level, we have been directed by the Cook County Budget Office to make significant, unanticipated cuts to our 2020 fiscal year budget,” read a July 6 email to state’s attorney’s office staffers obtained by the Tribune.
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That office is also looking for reductions in “non-personnel accounts,” according to a statement.
The Cook County sheriff’s office said in a statement that there will be “very limited hiring” in the next 18 months, and that units may be eliminated. The office is also looking for savings via automation and consolidation.
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Sheriff Tom Dart said in an interview Tuesday that he was told to cut 10% to 15% of his budget, which would amount to $60 million to $70 million.
While he said he is confident the county will be reimbursed for its massive expenditures on infection control at the jail — thousands of gallons of hand sanitizer, hundreds of thousands of masks — making the extra cuts will still be “tricky.”
“Layer on top of it folks jumping up and down (about) defunding police … we’re looking at a huge $60-$70 million cut right now,” he said. “How can I continue to (control COVID-19 at the jail) the right way if I’m eviscerated here? It’s going to be difficult.”
Lester Finkle, chief of staff for Cook County Public Defender Amy Campanelli, said the office is working through the budget process, and has not raised the issue of furloughs or cuts with the unions representing its staffers.
The chief judge’s office does not anticipate any furloughs or layoffs, according to spokeswoman Mary Wisniewski.
“The county holdback target was about $17.2 million. We have found budget reductions of about $19.3 million and we’re trying to find more savings where we can,” Wisniewski wrote in an email.
mcrepeau@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-07-16--Daywatch: Pritzker’s plan for virus spikes, Chicago’s young adults react to COVID-19 uptick and expe

Daywatch: Pritzker’s plan for virus spikes, Chicago’s young adults react to COVID-19 uptick and experts weigh in on dining out

As restaurants and bars continue to reopen for indoor dining , while struggling to survive , the question for some @ @ @ @ @ dine out indoors ?
We spoke with four experts : an infectious diseases doctor , @ @ @ @ @ an engineer who researches microbes on surfaces and a professor who studies airborne infectious disease @ @ @ @ @ what they said .

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Good morning, Chicago. Here’s the coronavirus news and other top stories you need to know to start your day.
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Illinois officials reported 1,187 new known COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, as well as 8 additional fatalities
The positivity rate for the state’s Northeast region — which includes Chicago and its suburbs — remained at 4.1%. Here’s where each region stands on key COVID-19 metrics.
Have questions about how to assess your risk on public transportation, at the office and more? Here’s what experts said.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker speaks with essential workers proving coronavirus tests at Coles Elementary School on July 8, 2020. (Abel Uribe/Chicago Tribune)
Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Wednesday laid out a targeted approach to address serious spikes in coronavirus cases, segmenting the state into 11 zones to more tightly aim efforts to curb the disease’s spread without resorting to widespread restrictions and shutdowns.
Pritzker and his administration also echoed concerns voiced earlier in the day by Mayor Lori Lightfoot and city officials over the increasing number of positive test results among younger people, which could lead to reimposing bans on bars, indoor dining and youth sports activities.
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Illinois’ new COVID-19 plan: How the state will manage any outbreaks in 3 charts
Departing First Deputy Superintendent Anthony Riccio, left, congratulates Eric Carter as the new first deputy superintendent as Carter's wife, Saadia, looks on during a ceremony July 15, 2020, at Chicago police headquarters. (Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune)
Chicago police Superintendent David Brown on Wednesday announced significant department leadership changes, including the retirement of a second veteran member and naming his second-in-command. The announcements come as the department is battling a troubling uptick in violence here and as law enforcement nationally is facing intense, sustained criticism in the wake of a series of high-profile excessive-force incidents.
Crowds cool off along the lakefront near Diversey Parkway on July 14, 2020. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)
There’s a lot of attention focused on 18- to 29-year-olds right now. And not in a good way. As COVID-19 cases continue to rise across the U.S. and Chicago, leaders are zeroing in on this demographic and pleading with young people to wear masks and social distance.
Detainees held at Division 16, the Cook County Jail's isolation and quarantine facility for detainees who have tested positive for COVID-19 on May 20, 2020. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune)
The Cook County Jail successfully beat back its outbreak of COVID-19 even as the virus spread dramatically outside its walls, according to a new paper authored by medical officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and various county and city offices.
The Fulton Market area of Chicago is no longer the ghost town it was during the depths of the COVID-19 virus pandemic shutdown. As restrictions on restaurants are eased, a worker takes a woman's temperature before she can enter Federales restaurant on Morgan Street on July 1, 2020. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)
As restaurants and bars continue to reopen for indoor dining, while struggling to survive, the question for some customers remains: Should you dine out indoors? We spoke with four experts: an infectious diseases doctor, a professor of virology, an engineer who researches microbes on surfaces and a professor who studies airborne infectious disease transmission. Here’s what they said.


chicagotribune--2020-07-16--Museum of Science and Industry to reopen August 1 — with food on the front lawn and the front doors

Museum of Science and Industry to reopen August 1 — with food on the front lawn and the front doors open again

Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry will end its more than four-month coronavirus closure on Aug. 1, welcoming the public back with two weeks of free admission and some new features, the museum announced Thursday.
The South Side science museum will have no-cost entry, with a ticket reserved in advance, through Aug. 14, and the front doors on the north side of the building will be open for the first time in 15 years, while the normally overlooked front lawn will feature food and beverage sales under a tent.
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Members will be able to partake three days earlier, with the museum ending its COVID-19 closure for them beginning July 29.
A big special exhibition, “Marvel: Universe of Super Heroes,” will be delayed from the planned Oct. 8 opening until March 4 of 2021, and it will reside at the museum through Sept. 6 of that year.
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MSI, like almost all Chicago cultural institutions, closed in mid-March because of the coronavirus pandemic and has remained shuttered while the city and state brought down their infection rates through physical distancing, widespread stoppage of public activities and enforcement of public health common sense. Both Chicago and Illinois are now in Phase 4 of their 5-step reopening plans, although neither will enter the final phase until a COVID-19 vaccine or treatment is widely available.
When it reopens, MSI, like other museums, will be following the city’s attendance limit of allowing no more than 25 percent of capacity. It says its new daily cap of 2000 guests is below that limit.
Timed admission tickets will be required, as will face masks for anyone age 2 and over. The museum will reduce hours, closing on Mondays and Tuesdays, and it says it has stepped up cleaning procedures.
Tours in tight space inside the museum’s Coal Mine and U-505 submarine will remain closed, although the broader U-505 exhibit will be open.
sajohnson@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @StevenKJohnson


chicagotribune--2020-07-16--Column: Schools aren’t reopening in the fall — time to admit it and focus on making e-learning bette

Column: Schools aren’t reopening in the fall — time to admit it and focus on making e-learning better

According to a report in The Wall Street Journal : “ In recent weeks , the number of new cases @ @ @ @ @ 1,500 per day nationwide from a low of fewer than 50 a day about two @ @ @ @ @ followed outbreaks in schools that by Monday had infected at least 1,335 students and 691 @ @ @ @ @ in early May , according to the education ministry .
”

Third grader Gracie Anderson, 9, looks at her iPad loaded with her math work outside of her family's home on April 3, 2020 in Streamwood. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)
Let’s face facts, parents: Schools aren’t likely to open for in-person classes this fall, and if they do, it won’t be for long.
We can daydream a return to normalcy, and teachers and administrators can make good-faith efforts to plot out weeks of “half in-person study/half virtual study” all they want. But that won’t bend reality or stem the tide of the coronavirus pandemic, and it won’t improve the Trump administration’s abject failure to mirror other wealthy nations’ success and get COVID-19 under control.
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America leads the world in new coronavirus cases, putting us on a list with notably poorer nations like Brazil, Mexico, India and Iran. States like Arizona, Florida and Texas are seeing explosive COVID-19 spread, and the numbers in Chicago have started trending up enough that Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Wednesday: “We are dangerously close to going back to a dangerous state of conditions.”
Lake County health officials this week reported a cluster of at least 36 Lake Zurich High School students who tested positive for the virus following contact at three athletic camps and recent social gatherings.
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Earlier in the month there was an outbreak at a Missouri summer camp, with more than 80 children and staff members testing positive for the coronavirus.
Perhaps the most stark example of the risk that comes with sending children back to school too soon comes from Israel, where school outbreaks are being blamed for a massive national resurgence of the virus.
According to a report in The Wall Street Journal: “In recent weeks, the number of new cases … has risen to around 1,500 per day nationwide from a low of fewer than 50 a day about two months ago. The surge followed outbreaks in schools that by Monday had infected at least 1,335 students and 691 staff since the schools reopened in early May, according to the education ministry.”
Believe me, I want my kids back in school as much as the next parent, but the writing is on the wall. And it seems we might be wise to read it and act accordingly rather than pursuing a fantasy of packed lunch bags and morning rushes to the school bus stop.
President Donald Trump and Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos are insisting schools reopen, even threatening to pull funding from ones that don’t comply with this made-up federal edict. It’s an interesting twist. The administration made clear it had no interest in creating a federal response to a deadly pandemic, dumping responsibility on individual states. Now that same administration wants to take charge and force states to open schools when a vast majority of parents remain somewhere between uncertain and afraid.
A Quinnipiac poll released Wednesday found only 29% of Americans approve of Trump’s handling of schools reopening, and 62% think it will be unsafe to send students to elementary, middle or high school in the fall.
It’s safe to ignore the school-defunding threats from Trump and DeVos. The next time Trump follows through on a threat will be the first, and if you think an unpopular president seeking reelection — even one this self-destructive — is going to pull funding from schools in the midst of a public health crisis, guess again.
School districts here and across the country will make their own decisions based on the state of the virus spread and the comfort level of parents. But the smart money is on virtual classes, so why not direct our energy — as parents or as school officials — toward making that work better.
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Here are key questions that should be addressed, based on the understandably slapdash online schooling experience we had in the spring:
How can online classes be made more rigorous and come closer to mirroring the education time students would have if they were physically in school?
How can students who are struggling, or students who aren’t sufficiently challenged, be helped? What are the best resources and structures for everything from online tutoring to out-of-district online classes that would help push students in new directions?
What resources are available to help busy parents better monitor and assist with their child’s education? Communication seems key, so how can school districts make sure those lines of communication are open and flowing both ways?
What can be done to help parents unable to work remotely? Are there ways to connect parents whose children can’t be home alone and set up safe locations for their children to come together and learn? This is a huge issue and needs to be addressed on a federal, state and local level.
How do we help maintain the mental health of children in a virtual learning environment? Kids feel disconnected, some are scared, some are depressed. Can we find ways to bring them together in safe and socially distanced settings that would allow them to interact and at least get some of the social elements they’re missing out on?
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Questions like these deserve our attention, much more than seeking ways to bring kids back into crowded hallways and poorly ventilated classrooms.
This is temporary. It’s unclear how much our lives will be permanently changed by the coronavirus, but circumstances will undoubtedly get better and bring us back to something resembling normal.
Preparing for what’s most likely to happen this fall isn’t surrendering to the virus. It’s being pragmatic. It’s making sure we don’t throw good money after bad.
And it’s the best thing we can do for our kids, and ourselves.
rhuppke@chicagotribune.com