chicagotribune--2020-06-15--Chicago’s Arab American store owners face reckoning in wake of George Floyd killing

“ I ’ ve done it both ways .
I used to be really friendly , I gave people credit @ @ @ @ @ I did it like , ‘ Hi , thank you , bye.
’ I don @ @ @ @ @ your name , I don ’ t want you to know my name , ” @ @ @ @ @ it feels like the more someone knows about you , the easier it is to @ @ @ @ @ ”

Mutasim Odeh fields telephone calls at his clothing and electronics shop, Exclusive, on West 87th Street in Chicago on June 11, 2020. The store was hit by looters in the aftermath of the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)
At Exclusive, an electronics and clothing store in Auburn Gresham, the windows are boarded up.
But the boards have art on them, five black faces peering out into this South Side neighborhood. Under the cardboard “Open” sign, there is a sixth face, black with an angel wing next to it. The faces are striking, but the boards are there to protect the store.
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Sumi Odeh, the Palestinian American owner, said the store suffered damage, caused by people he thinks came from outside the neighborhood, and he’s been keeping in touch with neighboring businesses so that they can keep each other safe.
“I went to high school down the street, I grew up working at my dad’s grocery store, we do toy drives, turkey drives, back to school drives,” said Odeh. “That’s what this area is about, it’s about relationships.”
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After Mahmoud Abumayyaleh, the owner of the Minneapolis store outside of which George Floyd was killed by police, spoke out against police brutality on Facebook and in news media, Arab American business owners have been encouraged to reflect on their relationships with their communities. That’s especially the case when their businesses are in majority-black neighborhoods.
The interior of the clothing and electronics store Exclusive on West 87th Street on June 11, 2020. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)
In Chicago and other cities around the country, Arab American business owners have had stores — including convenience, electronic and grocery stores — in black neighborhoods for decades. Sometimes, their relationships with customers have been tense.
While Chicago Arab American business owners interviewed recently said they have a good relationship with their black community, some black neighborhood residents pointed to ways stores discourage their presence. In convenience stores on the South and West sides, there are often large security camera feeds displayed, signs to discourage loitering and glass partitions between customers and clerks.
Down the street from a Bronzeville convenience store on 43rd Street recently, 25-year-old artist TwoWeeks, who goes by his artist name, reflected on his typical experience when he visits a corner store.
“For the most part, there isn’t really an interpersonal relationship. It’s obvious that it’s about the transaction rather than the customer’s experience,” said TwoWeeks. “There are boarded-up windows, or someone will be following you around. It’s noticeable”
Kelly Inshasi, who has owned his store in Hyde Park for 25 years, said it’s easier to keep the transaction short.
“I’ve done it both ways. I used to be really friendly, I gave people credit, food. And then I did it like, ‘Hi, thank you, bye.’ I don’t want to know your name, I don’t want you to know my name,” said Inshashi. “Sometimes it feels like the more someone knows about you, the easier it is to break into the store.”
During the protests after Floyd’s killing, store owners and employees said they felt they had to take precautions to keep their businesses secure. A convenience store manager in Bronzeville, Hassan Aoun, said he hired five extra security guards.
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“I had to pay a lot of money so we could stay open,” he said.
Margari Hill, co-founder of MuslimARC, an anti-racism organization, hosted a webinar on Facebook Live called “Doing Business In Black Neighborhoods,” several days after Floyd was killed. About 8,000 people tuned in.
Panelists talked about the history of racism against black people at Arab and South Asian owned stores, including aspects like over-securing of stores in black neighborhoods.
“We’re trying to do anti-racism work where you don’t need a graduate degree to understand it,” Hill said. “There’s a way to take everyday people through their own lives and show them where they can find the white supremacy.”
Nadine Naber, a University of Illinois at Chicago professor, said these stores and their owners cannot be separated from the context in which they arrive in the U.S. That includes anti-blackness in Arab countries, often exacerbated by European ideas of white supremacy, the prevalence of U.S. media — criticized for depicting black people as prone to violence — in Arab countries, and the struggle to assimilate into a culture that rewards whiteness, Naber said.
“There is anti-Arab racism here and immigrants are responding to knowing that they are seen as other, or as potential terrorists, or as having a backwards culture," said Naber. “They can sometimes respond to that by trying to prove that, ‘We’re not so bad, we’re good Americans.’ And part of being a good American is anti-blackness.”
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In Chicago, the Inner-City Muslim Action Network has a corner store campaign that encourages business owners in majority-black neighborhoods to invest in those neighborhoods by making sure their businesses are beneficial to the community. Senior organizer Sara Hamdan said owners are given suggestions to improve their stores, like providing more fresh food, improving facades, and getting out from behind glass partitions.
“Historically there’s been some that understand the responsibility that they have but maybe need some direction,” Hamdan said. “But there are some that are like, ‘I feel fine the way it is, why do I have to make any changes?’”
She said younger relatives of owners, born here and with fewer cultural and language barriers, also have a role to play.
“What drew me to the campaign was the recognition that other Arabs were causing harm to black folks in black neighborhoods,” Hamdan said.
Kanan Ashkar, who has stores in West Lawn and Albany Park, has worked with the Inner-City Muslim Network for more than two years. It’s made good business sense to have a relationship with customers, he said.
“Just to be in business, you should be good to your customers,” said Ashkar. “If a customer has had a bad day or something, you can just solve things in the store and not deal with police.”
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Naber said Chicago has a long history of Arab Americans, who often come to the U.S. after their countries are invaded and are then the victims of bias here, asserting solidarity with black people Education efforts for business owners, she said, have to focus on imagining a different kind of system.
“What if instead of hiring security guards, you organized a neighborhood watch group with the people around you?" she said.
Ashkar, who moved to the U.S. from Jerusalem in the 1980s, said he’d seen issues with policing as a Palestinian, and understands there are reasons to solve concerns with customers without involving the police.
“People might think grocery store owners don’t care about these things, but we do. We see it.”
nhusain@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-06-15--Column: Donald Trump is using America’s fear of black men to destroy the anti-racism coalition

Calls by some activists to “ defund the police ” sound like they want to get rid of law and @ @ @ @ @ the new racially sensitive converts are in favor of reforming police departments — at least @ @ @ @ @ they are scared to death of what might happen if violent black men are allowed @ @ @ @ @ .

President Donald Trump pauses while speaking to cadets in the Class of 2020 during a commencement ceremony June 13, 2020, at the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York. (Alex Brandon/AP)
Donald Trump is such a cunning politician. He knows the kumbaya moment taking place in America right now will not last forever.
He realizes that this multiracial alliance is fragile, because anything that has to do with race always is. Before George Floyd could be laid to rest last week, cracks already were forming in our cohesive platform.
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While we were basking in the excitement of white, black and brown people marching in lockstep over Floyd’s killing, Trump was busy looking for fractures.
He found two very quickly. First, it was the looters. Now it’s the volatile phrase “defund the police.”
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Both fit perfectly into his law-and-order narrative. But there also is a more dubious connection. The underlying issue in both is fear — in particular, the fear of black men.
In our collective anger over Floyd’s death in Minneapolis and now Rayshard Brooks’ in Atlanta, it is easy to ignore that blacks and whites often view the world though lenses that are colored by our individual life experiences. Our implicit biases are always there, and they creep up on us unexpectedly.
But Trump never forgets.
On Friday, he responded to an assertion made by Fox News contributor Marc Thiessen regarding white female voters. “Do you think Suburban Women want to Defund the Police? I don’t think so,” Trump tweeted.
Black men always have been the designated villains of American society. Throughout history, this abstract figure of a dark, menacing man has stirred such uneasiness in whites that laws, though not specifically stated, were created to keep him in his place. He is the convenient scapegoat for why race relations are so bad.
In the discussion over the future of policing, the black man reigns large. He is the thinly veiled mark in Trump’s proposed executive order that, in effect, would encourage officers to use force.
Though Trump described it as “force with compassion,” we know there is no such thing. And so does he.
“If somebody’s real bad, you’re going to have to do it with real strength,” he said in announcing the forthcoming order during a roundtable discussion on race relations and policing in Dallas on Thursday.
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Trump has long advocated for police officers to have more physical leverage in combating crime. His threat to bring in the military to stop looting during the recent civil unrest showed how far he is willing to go to give police absolute power.
Most Americans did not condone the looting, though many tried to understand it. In some cases, the looting was selfishly opportunistic. In others, it was a guttural cry for help — a desperate attempt to get attention when all other pleas had failed.
The looters put some who are striving to be more socially conscious in a difficult spot. On one hand, they were eager to be supportive of the “peaceful” protesters who followed the rules and posed no threat. But the troublemakers kept reminding them that black men could be pretty scary sometimes.
So they did what people always do when they’re stuck. They looked for someone to blame for the trouble. In this case, it was “outside agitators.”
The quickness to pin the looting on outside groups was reminiscent of what activists experienced in the 1960s civil rights movement. The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., as peaceful as he was, was labeled an “outside agitator” because he challenged the status quo.
Southern whites could not accept that the blacks they had lived around all their lives were unhappy enough to rebel against them. The way they saw it, King was stirring the pot. That’s how some viewed the looters.
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No way could Chicagoans be angry enough to break store windows and set police cars on fire. Sure, blacks are unhappy about their quality of life, but not so miserable that they would try to destroy the city, some surmised.
That had to be white supremacists or antifa. Despite the rumors, police have not publicly tied any cases to organized white supremacist or anarchist groups. According to arrest records, the looters included people of all races and economic backgrounds, but the black faces always are the ones that stand out.
Now, some of the Black Lives Matter activists, who seemed perfectly reasonable when they were marching peacefully, are trying push these newly socially conscious converts in a direction they aren’t comfortable going.
It is easy to mouth the words, black lives matter, especially when everyone else is saying it. But for some, the group Black Lives Matters is much too radical. Lots of people, including some African Americans, don’t really understand the organization’s mission. As far as some are concerned, it’s nearly as militant as the Black Panther Party.
Calls by some activists to “defund the police” sound like they want to get rid of law and order all together. While the new racially sensitive converts are in favor of reforming police departments — at least to a certain extent — they are scared to death of what might happen if violent black men are allowed to wreak havoc at will.
Sure, a few activists are calling for cities to get rid of police departments entirely, but sensible people are talking about redirecting some funds to programs and services that address social and economic issues in black underserved neighborhoods.
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Trump is using the catchy phrase to turn people against each other.
Some of the new converts secretly liked Trump’s threat to deploy the military to cities if mayors couldn’t get the looting under control. They were scared to death when they saw looters snatching stuff from the Gold Coast.
They condemned residents in Little Village and Bridgeport who armed themselves with baseball bats to keep the looters at bay. But deep inside, they were petrified that the mobs would head north toward their nice lakefront high-rises.
The fear was exacerbated when an unverified flyer began circulating on social media showing a black fist and the words, “Burn the Northside to Ashes.”
Some residential buildings hired armed guards. Neighborhood message boards lit up with people reporting anything that seemed the least bit suspicious. Some in my Uptown neighborhood were frantic after a man reported finding “looting tools” on his lawn.
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The consensus was that angry mobs were going to break into our homes and kill us. There were even false reports that the looters were so determined to get us that they released animals from the Lincoln Park Zoo.
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I was so fed up with the pandemonium that I posted a response on my neighborhood board.
“You people must be out of your mind,” I wrote. “Nobody is coming after you. Go to bed!”
We are enjoying our new accord too much to wonder if perhaps blacks and whites have grown too far apart over the years to really walk in sync. As our anti-racism coalition rallies in Floyd’s memory, it is easy to forget that America still hates black men.
But Trump remembers. And he’s going to keep using it against us until he gets what he wants.
dglanton@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @dahleeng


chicagotribune--2020-06-15--Video shows police gave CTA supervisor a choice: Drop complaint against Chicago officer or face arre

Video shows police gave CTA supervisor a choice: Drop complaint against Chicago officer or face arrest

She said she did not participate in any recent protests because she had to work , but she supports the @ @ @ @ @ culture across the country .
As she followed news reports about the demonstrations and saw @ @ @ @ @ , she says she empathized with the fears and frustrations protesters expressed .

Police body-camera video shows a dispute between CTA supervisor Martesa Lee and Chicago police Officer Raymond Haran, and subsequent her arrest, after she complained to his supervisor about the interaction. (Chicago Tribune Handout)
When CTA supervisor Martesa Lee attempted to lodge a complaint against a Chicago police officer in February, she was given a choice:
Drop her grievance against the officer she accused of pushing her out of an unmarked crime scene on a Red Line platform or face possible arrest.
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“Is it worth it to you?” Chicago police Sgt. William Spyker asked her.
It was.
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Authorities arrested Lee in front of her co-workers and a platform of CTA riders after she informed the sergeant she would not let the matter go. With her hands cuffed behind her back and tears streaming down her face, she refused additional opportunities to retract her grievance and regain her freedom.
“He pushed me,” she said, again and again.
The incident, captured on police body camera videos obtained by the Tribune, exemplifies the kind of small, typically undocumented occurrences that can erode community trust in the Chicago Police Department, especially at a time of renewed focus on law enforcement conduct nationally. Critics contend it highlights, yet again, a decades-old “code of silence” — an unwritten understanding that officers protect one another at all cost — that has led to federal oversight of the department in recent years.
In this case, not only did the sergeant immediately dismiss Lee, he had the officer who was the subject of her complaint cuff her.
“This is precisely how the code of silence works,” said Craig Futterman, a University of Chicago law professor who specializes in police accountability issues. “It’s controlling that narrative, it’s manufacturing that narrative in a way that protects the officer from discipline and hides ongoing police abuse.”
Martesa Lee, a Chicago Transit Authority supervisor, was arrested after complaining to a Chicago police sergeant about an interaction she had with an officer at a crime scene at the Jackson Red Line station on Feb. 4, 2020. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)
A Chicago Police Department spokeswoman declined to comment on the incident, saying it is under review by the city agency tapped to investigate officer misconduct.
The officers involved in the incident declined interview requests made through their attorney. Both denied any wrongdoing in court documents connected to a lawsuit Lee filed after her arrest.
“We cannot answer your specific questions due to the pending litigation, but we dispute the allegations of this case and will continue to defend our position,” said Kathleen Fieweger, spokeswoman for the City of Chicago Law Department, which is representing the officers.
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Lee, 35, was about to start the second half of her swing shift Feb. 4, when a call came over her CTA radio for a supervisor needed immediately at the Red Line’s Jackson stop. Though her shift wouldn’t start for another 15 minutes, Lee responded she was close and could handle it.
The public transit agency appointed her as its incident commander at the scene.
When Lee arrived at the stop, she saw musician Michael Malinowski, a street performer best known as “Machete Mike” for the way he shreds on his electric guitar, standing shirtless and bleeding on the track. She sought help for him, then began assessing the situation to determine whether the trains should bypass the station or continue normal operations.
As she was making the determination, she says, Chicago police arrived on the scene. She had worked alongside officers countless times before as a supervisor overseeing several Loop stops, so she continued handling her job as they began doing theirs.
Authorities charged a 38-year-old woman with a long criminal history and a possible mental illness in connection with Malinowski’s stabbing. According to police, the woman told Malinowski she wasn’t in the mood for his music before slashing his arm, damaging his amplifier and tossing his guitar on the tracks.
Authorities quickly determined the platform was a crime scene, but they could not cordon it off because they didn’t have enough of their standard yellow tape to do so, according to the body camera recordings.
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More than a dozen people walked through the unmarked crime scene before Officer Raymond Haran spotted Lee doing the same. He called out to her as she spoke with the CTA control center over her radio.
“You need to get out of the crime scene, ma’am,” he said. “Please get out of the crime scene.”
Lee held up her hand to him, indicated that she was on the radio and kept walking along the platform. The officer followed her, grabbed her by the elbow and physically steered her out of the unmarked area.
“Do not touch me,” Lee told Haran.
“Do not go in the crime scene,” Haran replied.
“I’m doing my job,” Lee said. “Don’t touch me.”
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The interaction lasted just 31 seconds and ended with both going back to work, according to a body camera recording. Haran made no mention of arresting Lee and later said on video that, from his perspective, the incident was “over” at that point.
Seven minutes later, Lee approached Sgt. Spyker on the scene and noted that he was the “white shirt” there, police slang for a supervisor. Lee, in her job with the CTA, also wears a white shirt to indicate her position of authority.
She told Spyker, a 22-year CPD veteran, she had an “issue” with one of his officers.
“I was walking and talking. They (the CTA control center staff) were telling me to assess the situation,” she said. “He grabbed me and pushed me.”
“Oh, maybe you were in the crime scene. I’m not sure,” Spyker said in a friendly tone. “He wouldn’t grab you just for no reason.”
“He grabbed me and pushed me. Clearly, it can be seen, too, (on the body camera),” Lee responded, adding she “wanted something to be done.”
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At that point, Lee told the Tribune last week, she still considered herself on the same team as the officers because of her role with the transit authority. The two city agencies often work side by side when incidents like this one occur, and her CTA booth had always been a place where officers could stop to warm up or have a friendly conversation.
She said she initially had no intention making a formal complaint with the Civilian Office of Police Accountability, the agency that investigates allegations of officer misconduct. She only wanted a fair airing of her grievances and for Haran to understand why she believed he had crossed a line when he touched her.
The situation, however, quickly escalated when Spyker warned Lee that her complaint could prove problematic for her.
“If he tells me that you were obstructing the crime scene, we’re going to arrest you,” Spyker said.
“You aren’t going to arrest me for doing my job,” Lee told him.
“Yes, we are,” the sergeant said. “That’s the way it’s gonna go if you want to complain.”
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Spyker called Haran over to discuss the situation. The police officer denied pushing Lee but acknowledged he touched her arm as he pulled her away from crime scene. The video shows at least a dozen people — including Spyker — walked through the unmarked area before the police tape arrived.
Both Haran and Lee insisted his body camera would prove their version of events.
“You’re not done with it?” Spyker asked Lee.
“Oh, I’m not,” Lee replied.
Spyker then turned to Haran, who had asked to return to his duties after providing his explanation.
“Do you want to have her arrested for obstructing our crime scene,” Spyker asked.
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Haran did not reply. Lee gave a nervous-sounding laugh.
“She can laugh all she wants,” Spyker said. “But she cannot obstruct our crime scene.”
He then ordered Haran to arrest Lee, an eight-year CTA employee with no criminal history. She stood handcuffed on the platform for the next eight minutes, wondering if her decision to speak out had just cost her job and her future.
A local TV crew appeared at the scene and filmed her from behind. She would appear on television later that night in a story about the stabbing, a close-up of her cuffed hands clearly suggesting that she had been accused of the violent crime. The video is still available on the internet.
“I was humiliated, degraded, embarrassed,” she told the Tribune. “I couldn’t understand why it happened. But after they handcuffed me, I never thought about backing down because I had already been belittled in front of my co-workers and the public. There was no reason to back down at that point.”
Lee continued to argue her position during her detainment, even as her manager tried to convince police it had all been a misunderstanding. At one point during the video, a black police officer appears in the frame and softly tells Lee to “just apologize” to Haran and Spyker, who are white.
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“That made me sad and mad at the same time,” Lee said. “Here he is, an African American man telling me, an African American woman, to shut up and apologize so I can get it over with when he didn’t even know what happened.”
Sgt, William Spyker, right, speaks with CTA supervisor Martesa Lee, left, and her supervisor after Lee was arrested for walking into a crime scene. (Chicago Tribune Handout)
After listening to pleas from Lee’s manager, police released her and did not press charges. However, her name appears in the official report from the scene, accusing her of obstruction of justice and potentially contaminating the crime scene.
“Haran escorted Offender (Lee) from the perimeter of the scene,” the report states. “Offender became irrate (sic) and was momentarily detained.”
The report does not mention Lee’s request to lodge a complaint or that she wasn’t arrested for another seven minutes after Haran removed her from the unmarked crime scene and returned to his job.
Department rules require police supervisors to “initiate a complete and comprehensive” investigation after receiving a complaint. On the video, Spyker raised the specter of arrest within 35 seconds of Lee approaching him with her concerns.
City policy also requires Spyker to report her grievance to the Civilian Office of Police Accountability within one hour of receiving it. A police spokeswoman declined to say whether Spyker forwarded the complaint to the independent agency for review.
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Lee submitted her own report to COPA, where the matter is under investigation. She also has filed a federal lawsuit against the two officers and the city of Chicago, alleging false arrest and a violation of her First Amendment right to free speech.
“They’re criminalizing police accountability,” said her attorney, Jordan Marsh, who spent two decades defending police misconduct lawsuits for the city’s Law Department. “They’re making it a crime to complain about the police.”
According to data maintained by the Invisible Institute, neither Spyker nor Haran have had previous complaints against them sustained by outside investigators. It’s difficult to put that number into perspective given the city’s well-documented history of clearing officers accused of wrongdoing.
Spyker has been named in 14 complaints since joining the department in 1997, according to the Invisible Institute. Haran, who became a police officer in 1998, has six complaints and twice as many civilian compliments, the data shows.
Lorenzo Davis, a former supervisor in a past incarnation of the city’s police oversight agency, told the Tribune it’s unlikely Haran would face discipline for removing Lee from the crime scene as he has a responsibility to protect the scene’s integrity.
However, he said the events that followed could be more problematic for the department. Citizens should not be retaliated against for speaking up or voicing a concern, he said.
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“Everyone has a right to file a complaint. An arrest should never be conditioned on whether that person drops the complaint or not,” he said. “That destroys trust in the community.”
It’s nearly impossible to gauge how often the public is threatened with arrest after making a complaint because such scenarios would not make it into police reports. Anecdotally, Davis, who is also a former Chicago police commander, said it often happened years ago during domestic violence calls involving CPD employees until the department changed its policies on handling such incidents.
In 2010, Chicago police arrested a local woman who secretly recorded a conversation with the department’s internal affairs after they tried to dissuade her from filing a sexual harassment complaint against a patrol officer. Prosecutors charged her with violating an obscure state eavesdropping law that makes audio recording of police officers without their consent a felony offense.
A Cook County jury took less than an hour to acquit her.
The department’s increased use of body cameras could help determine how often the public may be threatened with arrest after making a complaint, experts said. But such counts still will rely on people like Lee to speak out.
“It took heroic efforts on her part to actually insist upon and make sure a complaint was filed,” Futterman said. “That almost never happens because a person in that situation is, indeed, too vulnerable and rightly fearful of losing their freedom and losing their job if they go through with it.”
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Lee did not face any discipline because of the incident and has continued to work as an agency supervisor throughout the pandemic, a CTA spokesman said.
She no longer laughs and jokes with the police officers who stop by her booth each day. She says she limits her interactions to those required by her job and nothing else.
She said she did not participate in any recent protests because she had to work, but she supports the calls to change the police culture across the country. As she followed news reports about the demonstrations and saw the signs on the street, she says she empathized with the fears and frustrations protesters expressed.
“It brought back all those feelings of sadness and anger that I felt in that moment,” she said. “This experience has changed me. I’m not the same.”


chicagotribune--2020-06-15--Man accused of pushing police officer who stopped him for driving toward crowd of protesters, police

Man accused of pushing police officer who stopped him for driving toward crowd of protesters, police say

Kozielec was arrested just before 5 p.m. Saturday in the 2600 block of West 31st Street in the Little Village @ @ @ @ @ after an officer saw him driving a semi toward a group of protesters , police @ @ @ @ @ police supervisor asked him to get out of the truck , he hit and shoved @ @ @ @ @ or her to fall .

The attorney for a Southwest Side truck driver accused of driving a semitrailer recklessly toward a crowd of protesters and shoving a high-ranking police officer to the ground over the weekend, told a judge his client’s alleged actions weren’t “political in nature.”
Authorities said Adam Kozielec, 44, ignored direct orders from a deputy police chief to stop as he drove around a police squad car blocking eastbound traffic at the intersection of California Avenue and 31st Street on Saturday. As he drove around the police vehicle, Kozielec’s semi veered toward several protesters standing nearby, but no one was struck, prosecutors said.
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The deputy chief stepped up to the semi and opened the driver’s side door, but was shoved away by Kozielec, who fled the scene, authorities said. He was arrested just before 5 p.m. Saturday in the 2600 block of West 31st Street, police said.
Kozielec, of the Vittum Park neighborhood on the Southwest Side, is facing one felony charge of aggravated battery of an officer in addition to driving with a suspended license and reckless conduct.
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On Saturday, the area around the Cook County Jail was the setting of protest marches and demands by activists to divert government money from the incarceration system amid national calls to defund police organizations following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
Before a judge at the Leighton Criminal Court Building, Kozielec’s court-appointed attorney said the trucker of 20 years and father of three was merely trying to get to his place of work and not targeting protesters. “There are no indications he his driving was political in nature,” said Assistant Public Defender Drew Bruno.
Kozielec’s driver’s license was suspended at the time of the incident due to “financial reasons,” according to his attorney, but otherwise didn’t have a criminal history.
Opting not to “delve” into the topic of political motivations, Judge Michael Beach II ordered Kozielec released on $1,000 bail and to adhere to restrictions by the pretrial department.
The deputy police chief struck his arm on a metal pipe as he fell from the truck, but only suffered abrasions, authorities said.
Kozielec is scheduled to return to court next Monday
pfry@chicagotribune.com
wlee@chicagotribune.com
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Twitter @paigexfry
Twitter @MidNoirCowboy


chicagotribune--2020-06-15--Explosive device set off near Lakeview ATM, police say

Police officers responded to a call of a loud explosion at 11:30 p.m. a bank in the 3100 block of @ @ @ @ @ said .
They found that an ATM was burned and the floor was damaged after @ @ @ @ @ near it .

Someone ignited an explosive device Sunday night near an ATM in Lakeview, according to Chicago police.
Police officers responded to a call of a loud explosion at 11:30 p.m. a bank in the 3100 block of North Clark Street, police said. They found that an ATM was burned and the floor was damaged after someone lit an explosive device near it.
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Bomb and arson teams cleared the area and deemed it safe, police said.
The incident is under investigation.
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pfry@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @paigexfry


chicagotribune--2020-06-15--Source: COPA investigator fired shots at car thieves on West Side

Police said the man went to the Central Park address to locate a stolen vehicle when he saw two men @ @ @ @ @ police said in a statement .
The employee , who has a concealed carry permit @ @ @ @ @ it was unclear whether the shots struck anyone .

An investigator with Chicago’s police oversight investigative agency was fired Monday, a day after the Tribune reported that authorities were looking into allegations that he fired a gun at car thieves in the Lawndale neighborhood, officials said.
The 39-year-old employee with the city’s Civilian Office of Police Accountability was accused of firing the weapon around 5:30 a.m. in the 1300 block of South Central Park Avenue, police said.
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Police said the man went to the Central Park address to locate a stolen vehicle when he saw two men fleeing in the vehicle, police said in a statement. The employee, who has a concealed carry permit, fired shots, but it was unclear whether the shots struck anyone.
The Tribune is not naming the man because he hasn’t been charged with a crime.
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On Sunday, COPA wouldn’t discuss specific details but released a statement regarding an employee discharging a weapon. On Monday evening, COPA confirmed the man’s termination.
"COPA has strict policies, a code of conduct and high standards for every employee of the agency,” chief administrator Sydney Roberts said in a statement. “There is a responsibility we have as employees of COPA and as law abiding residents of this great city to use sound judgement under difficult circumstances. When the actions of any employee violate the policies of this agency, we will hold them accountable.”
A police spokeswoman said detectives are also investigating the case but referred questions to COPA.


chicagotribune--2020-06-15--Hundreds gather in Boystown to protest police brutality and trans violence

“ We got ta support everyone .
All lives matter doesn ’ t count until everyone ’ s lives are @ @ @ @ @ said .
“ This is too important of a cause to miss out on .
@ @ @ @ @ tune this out need to listen .
We wouldn ’ t be out here unless @ @ @ @ @ ”

Hundreds lined the streets of the Boystown neighborhood Sunday evening in support of the Drag March for Change, a peaceful protest in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.
Crowds of marchers decked in flags and signs called for institutional change against racism, with many advocating for protections for trans people of color.
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The march began at Belmont Avenue and Halsted Street, where volunteers offered free water and snacks to those gathered. Groups of protesters wore colorful Rollerblades and zoomed along Halsted carrying rainbow flags and knapsacks before the march kicked off.
The group called for justice for victims of police brutality, including Tony McDade, Breonna Taylor and George Floyd. They also addressed violence against trans individuals and demanded a civilian police accountability council.
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Chants of “Black Lives Matter” and “If we don’t get it, shut it down” echoed among the crowd. Drag queens in stiletto heels strutted up the street.
Wearing fishnet stockings and blue knee-high socks paired with black-heeled combat boots, Tyler Dean, who goes by Marilyn Nouveau on stage, moved through the crowd. Dean, who goes by the pronouns he/she, said he/she came out to support his/her extended drag family in Boystown.
“It’s our family, it’s our drag family, and we’re all sisters and brothers in this,” Dean said. “We want to bring light to what’s happening.”
Protesting in chunky boots is not a problem, Dean said.
“Walking and standing in heels for a few hours is nothing compared to what our black brothers and sisters deal with every day,” Dean said.
The large crowd congregated and stopped on Halsted and Grace Street, where the group began a series of chants including “Trans Lives Matter.”
Hundreds took a knee as the sound of a drum could be heard in the background. Many said the names of victims of police brutality under their breath.
Jason Knowles, of Boystown, was walking his dog when he saw the group kneel in mourning. He took a step back and observed.
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“We gotta support everyone. All lives matter doesn’t count until everyone’s lives are treated equally,” he said. “This is too important of a cause to miss out on. People that are trying to tune this out need to listen. We wouldn’t be out here unless there was a problem.”
Various speakers addressed the crowd and made a call for Boystown residents to travel to the South and West sides of the city and “put their money where their mouth is” by supporting drag shows composed of artists of color.
Amy Kipfer, of Andersonville, stood on the outskirts of the crowd and held a cardboard sign with a glitter drawing of a raised fist. A small rainbow flag waved outside her shirt pocket.
“I’m excited to see that people are joining together to participate in a movement that black people have been leading,” she said.
Kipfer said she has an increased sense of urgency as a fifth grade teacher and has seen how young people of color can be quickly demonized.
“We have to look at this problem of racial inequality,” she said. “We all should be looking at it.”


chicagotribune--2020-06-15--$50K bail for 2 facing charges in dragging of Chicago police officer with stolen car

The officer became caught on the Malibu and was dragged as the vehicle made a U-turn , authorities said .
@ @ @ @ @ the officer was freed and fell to the ground , but he quickly had to @ @ @ @ @ of the fleeing Malibu , prosecutors said .
One of the accompanying officers fired five @ @ @ @ @ striking Mitchell and Ramey , who was in the front passenger seat .

Katherine Rosenberg-Douglas, William Lee

Two men who were shot by Chicago police after allegedly trying to evade authorities and dragging an officer from a reportedly stolen vehicle as they drove off were each ordered held on $50,000 bail Sunday during a bail hearing to answer felony charges, officials said.
Darien Mitchell, 21, of Maywood, and Cordero Ramey, 20, of Chicago, each was shot Friday after the encounter with police, which began with an auto theft investigation about 5:10 p.m. in the 7000 block of South Green Street, a police spokesman has said. Neither man suffered serious injuries, officials said.
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Mitchell faces one felony count of aggravated battery on a police officer and one count of possession of 15 to 200 ecstasy or ecstasy analog pills, and one felony count of receiving or possessing a stolen vehicle.
Ramey faces one felony count of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon for not having a firearm owner’s identification card and one felony count of receiving or possessing a stolen vehicle, officials said.
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Before a judge, prosecutors said the chain of events that led to the shooting began around 7:15 a.m. Friday when Ramey climbed behind the wheel of an unattended 2018 Chevrolet Malibu and drove off while its two occupants urinated in an alley before making a trip to a White Castle restaurant.
About 10 hours later, an officer with the department’s major auto theft investigation unit received information from the OnStar service that the Malibu was in the 7200 block of South Green Street, prosecutors said. That officer drove to the scene and pulled in front of the Malibu, while two officers in a marked police car pulled in behind it, authorities said.
As the theft unit officer approached the driver’s side door, prosecutors said Mitchell “popped up” from a reclining position. The officer drew his weapon and ordered Mitchell to turn off the engine and get out of the car, prosecutors said. But Mitchell instead reversed toward one of the other two officers before driving forward, hitting the auto theft officer as he sped away, prosecutors said.
The officer became caught on the Malibu and was dragged as the vehicle made a U-turn, authorities said. After completing the turn, the officer was freed and fell to the ground, but he quickly had to roll out of the path of the fleeing Malibu, prosecutors said. One of the accompanying officers fired five shots at the vehicle, striking Mitchell and Ramey, who was in the front passenger seat.
Despite having been dragged, the auto theft officer got into his vehicle and continued the pursuit.
The defendants drove for another four blocks before crashing into a fence in the 7100 block of South Emerald Avenue. Police recovered a loaded .40-caliber handgun in the Malibu’s front passenger seat, along with drugs found on both men, prosecutors said.
The dragged officer was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where he was treated and released for injuries to his right ankle, right elbow and left knee. Mitchell and Ramey were taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center
Judge Susana Ortiz ordered both men held on $50,000 bail, as well as a “no bail” violation of probation for Ramey, who was convicted of a felony gun charge last year. Mitchell also had a prior unlawful use of a weapon conviction, prosecutors said.
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Just after the incident, Chicago police Chief of Patrol Fred Waller described to reporters how the Malibu “came at” and dragged the officer.
Both men will return to court on June 23.
kdouglas@chicagotribune.com
wlee@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @312BreakingNews
Twitter @MidNoirCowboy


chicagotribune--2020-06-16--Police watchdog agency sacks investigator accused of firing shots at car thieves on West Side

`` COPA has strict policies , a code of conduct and high standards for every employee of the agency , @ @ @ @ @ said in a statement .
“ There is a responsibility we have as employees of @ @ @ @ @ residents of this great city to use sound judgement under difficult circumstances .
When the @ @ @ @ @ the policies of this agency , we will hold them accountable .
”


chicagotribune--2020-06-16--Coronavirus in Illinois updates: 473 new COVID-19 cases announced as Chicago says Lakefront Trail se

Coronavirus in Illinois updates: 473 new COVID-19 cases announced as Chicago says Lakefront Trail set to reopen June 22, bars and breweries on Wednesday

“ We are thrilled to be taking these long-awaited steps forward in reopening our city by safely bringing our bars @ @ @ @ @ , and , of course , taking our first , cautious move toward reopening our @ @ @ @ @ said .
“ Though we still have a long way to go before life fully @ @ @ @ @ are able to make these important steps thanks to the commitment and collaboration with our @ @ @ @ @ true partners throughout this unprecedented crisis , as well as our fellow Chicagoans who have @ @ @ @ @ their communities protected by being responsible and preventing the spread of this disease .
”

We have lifted the paywall on this story. To support essential reporting, please consider becoming a subscriber .
The Fulton Market area of Chicago is no longer the ghost town it was during the depths of the COVID-19 virus pandemic shutdown. As restrictions on restaurants are eased, a worker takes a woman's temperature before she can enter Federales restaurant on Morgan Street on July 1, 2020. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)
Chicago’s iconic Lakefront Trail will have a limited reopening starting next Monday, while the city’s bars and breweries can reopen for outdoor service beginning Wednesday, Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced.
The Lakefront Trail will reopen from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. starting on June 22, but people will be limited to walking, running, biking and rollerblading, the mayor’s office said in a news release. Beaches and parks east of Lake Shore Drive, however, will remain closed.
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The announcement came as statewide health officials reported 19 additional deaths from COVID-19. The new confirmed deaths bring the statewide total to 6,326 since the pandemic began. Officials also confirmed 473 new known cases of the coronavirus in Illinois, pushing the statewide total to 133,016.
[ When can Illinois move to phase 4? Here's where each region stands. ]
[ How will Illinois reopen? Three charts breaking down Pritzker’s plan ]
[ COVID-19 cases in Illinois by ZIP code: Search for your neighborhood ]
[ As the coronavirus spreads, the Tribune is tracking Illinois cases here ]
Here’s what’s happening Monday with COVID-19 in the Chicago area and Illinois:
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7 p.m.: Illinois GOP sues Pritzker over 10-person gathering limit
The Illinois Republican Party sued Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker in federal court Monday, seeking an exemption from the 10-person limit on public gatherings in the governor’s May 29 executive order.
The state GOP, along with three local Republican groups, argue that Pritzker’s limit on in-person gatherings, which is part of his plan to slow the spread of the new coronavirus, unfairly curtails people’s First Amendment rights. Republicans are asking the court to exempt political parties from the cap on gatherings and seeking permission to hold in-person gatherings without size restrictions in the runup to the November election.
Republicans criticized Pritzker last week for attending a march with hundreds of other people June 8 in south suburban Matteson amid the fallout over the death of George Floyd at the hands of a white Minneapolis police officer.
Illinois Republicans held a virtual state convention Saturday to comply with the governor’s executive order.
“Last week the governor’s double standard was on full display as he defended, joined and endorsed large gatherings that violate his very own executive orders,” Illinois Republican Party Chairman Tim Schneider said in a statement. “It’s clear the governor keeps one set of rules for the people in politically advantageous photo ops and another for the rest of Illinois.”
The lawsuit, filed late Monday in U.S. District Court in Chicago, alleges that Pritzker’s May 29 order violates the First and 14th amendment rights of political parties, noting that an exemption to the size limit was given to religious groups.
“Unlike churches, political parties are barred from gathering in groups greater than 10," the lawsuit says. "And unlike protestors against police brutality, they have not been given an exemption based on his sympathy, recognition, and participation.”
While many Republicans initially held off on criticizing Pritzker’s stay-at-home order when it was first issued in March, tension has grown over the past three months as GOP officials have pushed the state to reopen its economy more quickly. Pritzker has faced a barrage of lawsuits over his orders, including from two Republican state representatives and from various church groups. Read more here. —Dan Petrella
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6:18 p.m.: COVID-19 vaccine testing to start at UIC next month
The University of Illinois at Chicago will begin testing a potential vaccine for COVID-19 next month, with expectations of enrolling at least 1,000 local participants in the clinical trial.
The vaccine was developed by biotech company Moderna, and the trial is being conducted in collaboration with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, which is part of the National Institutes of Health.
The phase 3 clinical trial is expected to include 30,000 participants spread across 90 sites in the U.S., said Dr. Richard Novak, lead investigator of the clinical trial at UIC.
Phase 3 is the final phase of testing before a vaccine may gain approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The trial, which is expected to start at UIC on July 9, is scheduled to last for two years, but the FDA could approve the vaccine sooner than that, if it is clearly effective, Novak said. Read more here. —Lisa Schencker
5 p.m.: Chicago sues Trump administration over refusal to allow Obamacare special enrollment period amid pandemic
Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s administration accused President Donald Trump in a federal lawsuit filed Monday of playing politics with Americans’ health by refusing to open a special enrollment session for the Affordable Care Act despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
The ACA — also known as Obamacare — calls for the Department of Health and Human Services to open a special enrollment period when consumers face “exceptional circumstances."
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The 60-page lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., alleged Trump’s decision in April not to reopen enrollment was yet another attempt in the president’s three-year campaign to sabotage the signature legislation of his predecessor.
The move has denied the ability of thousands of Chicago residents to shop for health coverage on the program’s 38 federally controlled exchanges, according to the lawsuit, which was filed on behalf of the city by the non-profit Democracy Forward.
Meanwhile, Chicago and other cities have had to pick up the slack by providing uncompensated care to uninsured residents, the suit alleged.
Included with the lawsuit was an affidavit from the city’s health commissioner, Dr. Allison Arwady, stating Chicago “is harmed as a whole when its residents feel they cannot obtain necessary medical care.”
“The more uninsured and under-insured individuals that do not seek care, the more the novel coronavirus will spread, further harming the city, its budget, its economy, and its well-being,” Arwady stated in the affidavit.
More than 49,000 Chicago residents have been infected by the coronavirus as of Monday, and as many has a half a million have lost their jobs, according to statistics cited in the suit. Read more here. —Jason Meisner
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4:54 p.m.: Lightfoot’s plan for coronavirus eviction protections advances despite concerns
Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s plan to protect tenants from eviction who’ve lost income due to the coronavirus pandemic advanced Monday, though several aldermen complained both that the package doesn’t do enough to help renters and that it leaves small-scale landlords exposed to foreclosure.
The Housing Committee sent along to the full City Council a mayoral ordinance that requires landlords to enter into seven days of “good faith negotiations” before evicting tenants who can show they have been impacted by the economic upheaval from the coronavirus.
According to the ordinance, the landlord would have the option to enter a “mutually satisfactory agreement" with the renter that includes offering to spread out repayment of each month’s unpaid rent over 60 days, to submit the matter for mediation, to apply the tenant’s security deposit toward the unpaid amount, to offer to waive all or part of the unpaid rent if the tenant moves out, or to enter into some other agreement with the renter.
The measure is meant to last for just two months, beginning whenever an executive order Gov. J.B. Pritzker enacted putting a moratorium on evictions in Illinois lapses. Housing Committee Chairman Ald. Harry Osterman, 48th, said it’s needed to bridge the gap until more federal funding becomes available to Chicago to stabilize the city’s rental market.
Without it, Osterman said he’s worried the number of evictions in the city will spike.
But some members of the committee said landlords who own just a handful of rental units or who rent out a unit in the building where they live won’t be able to make their mortgage payments if tenants can defer paying rent.
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“For me, unless we’re (exempting) six units or less and owner-occupied, I can’t support this," said South Side Ald. David Moore, 17th.
And on the other side, some aldermen and housing advocates said the additional seven-day period of good faith negotiations and 60 days of rent deferrals won’t do nearly enough to protect tenants who are suffering loss of income from getting kicked out of their apartments.
“I don’t think a one-month to two-month ratio is going to help us," said Southwest Side Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez, 25th. “My concern is that this is going to lead to massive evictions, and I do think we should be preventing that.”
Housing Commissioner Marisa Novara said Chicago should be in line for an additional $20 million in federal housing assistance targeted at helping people suffering in the pandemic fallout, but it isn’t clear when that will be available.
The City Council is set to consider Lightfoot’s plan on Wednesday. —John Byrne
3:39 p.m.: House demands to know who applied for and received billions of dollars in coronavirus aid intended for small businesses
A House subcommittee investigating billions of dollars in coronavirus aid is demanding that the Trump administration and some of the nation’s largest banks turn over detailed information about companies that applied for and received federal loans intended for small businesses.
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The requests Monday came after Treasury Secretary Stephen Mnuchin told Congress last week that the names of loan recipients and the amounts disbursed as part of the $600 billion-plus Paycheck Protection Program are “proprietary information” and do not have to be made public. Democrats say there is nothing proprietary or confidential about businesses receiving millions of taxpayer dollars. Read more here. —The New York Times
2:54 p.m.: Amusement parks — including Wisconsin Dells, Cedar Point, Holiday World — cautiously reopen with face masks, social distancing
Hugs from Mickey Mouse are out at Walt Disney World. So is bunching up at Six Flags to snag a front-seat roller coaster ride. But the season won’t be completely lost for thrill-seekers.
Carefree days of sharing cotton candy on crowded midways will give way this year to temperature scans at the gates, mandatory masks at many parks, hand-sanitizing stations at ride entrances and constant reminders to stay 6 feet apart.
Amusement parks of all sizes are adjusting everything from selling tickets to serving meals while trying to reassure the public and government leaders that they’re safe to visit amid the coronavirus crisis. Read more here. —Associated Press
2:35 p.m.: 473 new known COVID-19 cases, 19 additional deaths
Statewide health officials reported 19 additional deaths from COVID-19. The new confirmed deaths bring the statewide total to 6,326 since the pandemic began. Officials also announced 473 new known cases of the coronavirus in Illinois on Monday, pushing the statewide total to 133,016.
2:27 p.m.: Chicago announces Lakefront Trail set to reopen June 22, bars and breweries on Wednesday
Chicago’s iconic Lakefront Trail will have a limited reopening starting next Monday, while the city’s bars and breweries can reopen for outdoor service beginning Wednesday, Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced.
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The Lakefront Trail will reopen from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. starting on Monday, June 22, but people will be limited to walking, running, biking and rollerblading, the mayor’s office said in a news release. Beaches and parks east of Lake Shore Drive, however, will remain closed.
“We are thrilled to be taking these long-awaited steps forward in reopening our city by safely bringing our bars back online with outside service, and, of course, taking our first, cautious move toward reopening our beloved lakefront,” Lightfoot said. “Though we still have a long way to go before life fully returns to normal, we are able to make these important steps thanks to the commitment and collaboration with our local businesses who have been true partners throughout this unprecedented crisis, as well as our fellow Chicagoans who have done their part to keep their communities protected by being responsible and preventing the spread of this disease.”
But even as the mayor delivered the long-awaited news, her administration warned it could pull back the reopening if there’s a spike in COVID-19 cases or people flout social distancing. Read more here. —Gregory Pratt
1 p.m.: Gov. J.B. Pritzker cool to hotel industry’s push for larger gatherings in next phase of reopening
Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Monday largely dismissed a push by the hotel industry to allow meeting rooms and ballrooms to reopen at half capacity when the state moves into the next phase of the governor’s reopening plan.
Hotels and motels have remained open since Pritzker issued his stay-at-home order in March to slow the spread of the new coronavirus. But gatherings are limited to 10 or fewer people under phase three of the governor’s “Restore Illinois” plan, which took effect May 29.
With the move to phase four — which is on track to take place June 26 in all four regions of the state — the cap on gatherings would increase to 50.
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The Illinois Hotel & Lodging Association says allowing gathering spaces to accommodate groups up to 50% of their normal capacity would help the struggling tourism and lodging industries while also protecting public health.
The industry’s plan includes measures such as providing personal protective equipment for employees and ensuring attendees wear face coverings, temperature checks for workers and guests, and limiting table capacity. Read more here. —Dan Petrella
12:30 p.m: New DuPage County COVID-19 testing sites open
Two new drive-through coronavirus testing sites are opening in DuPage County, including one in Willowbrook.
People with symptoms or who may have been exposed to someone with COVID-19 can be tested at the Pillars Community Health Family Health Center at Anne M. Jeans Elementary School on Tuesday and Thursday mornings as of June 11. Reservations are required.
The school, at 16W631 91st St., is on the south side of 91st, just west of Route 83. Testing also is available for healthcare workers, high-risk individuals and essential workers who are not experiencing any symptoms of infections.
To make a reservation, call Pillars at 708-PILLARS, that is (708) 745-5277. Insurance companies will be billed for the test. If you do not have medical insurance, discuss other options with the staff at Pillars when you make an appointment.
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Individuals don’t have to be an existing Pillars Community Health patient or have children enrolled at Anne Jeans School to be eligible.
A new testing site also is opening Tuesday, June 16, at the DuPage County Complex, at 421 N. County Line Road. All residents of DuPage County can be tested free, and no appointment, doctor referral or insurance is needed. Read more here. —Kimberly Fornek
9:27 a.m.: Chicago’s Millennium Park reopens from coronavirus shutdown with restrictions
Chicago’s Millennium Park has reopened, with restrictions on the number of people who can visit and social distancing rules meant to limit potential coronavirus exposure, the city announced.
The park will be open from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., for groups of 10 or fewer wearing face masks, city officials said. Maggie Daley Park will reopen also.
Visitors will be required to enter at Michigan Avenue and Madison Street and exit at Michigan and Washington Street. So-called “social distancing ambassadors” will be in the area to keep people apart, the city said.
Though the park is reopening, it’s not going back to normal. People will be able to visit the Chase Promenades, the Boeing Galleries and Lurie Garden, but Crown Fountain and Wrigley Square will be open without their water turned on.
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Visitors won’t be able to get up close to the Cloud Gate sculpture better known as the Bean, but they’ll be able to view it “from a distance” from Chase Promenade Central. The Great Lawn will remains closed. Read more here. —Gregory Pratt
6:45 a.m.: CTA launches online tool to let passengers know when buses are too crowded
The CTA is launching a color-coded “ridership information dashboard” online Monday to let passengers know when buses are too crowded to allow for the social distancing recommended to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
The transit agency has seen ridership drops of 80% since the stay-at-home order, but the decline have been less severe on buses than on the “L,” and sometimes it has been difficult for bus passengers to stay six feet or more apart.
With the loosening of some restrictions on businesses earlier this month, riders are starting to slowly return to public transit, and the CTA said it wants to make sure it’s as safe as possible. Read more here. —Mary Wisniewski
6:30 a.m.: Illinois GOP chairman says actions taken against coronavirus are moving ‘our country more toward socialism’
Illinois GOP chairman Tim Schneider told a virtual state convention over the weekend that actions initiated to stop the spread of the coronavirus appeared aimed to “move our country more toward socialism and to defeat our president, Donald Trump, in November, and we can’t let that happen.”
Gov. J.B. Pritzker, Schneider said, was “ruling like an unaccountable king” during the pandemic. He accused the governor of issuing “meaningless” shutdown orders and making up “arbitrary timelines and metrics for reopening not used by any other state.” Read more here. —Rick Pearson
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6:15 a.m.: Officials report 19 additional COVID-19 fatalities, the lowest daily death toll since April 2
Illinois health officials on Sunday reported 19 additional deaths from COVID-19, the lowest daily death toll since April 2. The new confirmed deaths bring the statewide total to 6,308 since the pandemic began. Officials also announced 672 new known cases of the coronavirus in Illinois on Sunday, pushing the statewide total to 132,543.
Meanwhile, the city of Chicago is on pace to further reopen its economy on July 1, with restrictions potentially being loosened on indoor dining at restaurants, museums and gyms, public health commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said. Arwady made the comments at a Friday afternoon news conference where she unveiled a new coronavirus data portal. Read more here. —Chicago Tribune staff


chicagotribune--2020-06-15--Illinois Republican Party sues Gov. J.B. Pritzker over 10-person gathering limit

The state GOP , along with three local Republican groups , argues that Pritzker ’ s limit on in-person gatherings @ @ @ @ @ his plan to slow the spread of the new coronavirus , unfairly curtails people ’ @ @ @ @ @ Republicans are asking the court to exempt political parties from the cap on gatherings and @ @ @ @ @ gatherings without size restrictions in the run-up to the November election .

Gov. J.B. Pritzker speaks with community members on Thursday, June 4, 2020, during an event in the Austin neighborhood. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)
Illinois Republicans allege in a federal lawsuit that Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s executive order limiting in-person gatherings to 10 or fewer people unfairly curtails the rights of political organizations to free speech and assembly.
The lawsuit, filed late Monday by the state GOP and three local Republican organizations, asks the court to exempt political parties from the cap on gatherings and seeks permission to hold in-person events without size restrictions in the runup to the November election.
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Republicans criticized Pritzker last week for attending a march with hundreds of other people June 8 in south suburban Matteson amid the response to the death of George Floyd at the hands of a white Minneapolis police officer.
For their part, Illinois Republicans held a virtual state convention Saturday to comply with the governor’s executive order.
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State GOP Chairman Tim Schneider said during an online news conference Tuesday morning that Pritzker is picking and choosing who gets to fully exercise their First Amendment rights, noting the governor’s participation in the protest march and an exemption to the gathering limit for religious groups.
“Gov. Pritzker is ruling Illinois like an unaccountable king, where he only gets to decide which violations of his executive order have his blessing,” Schneider said.
The 10-person limit is part of Pritzker’s May 29 executive order, which eased some restrictions he put in place to slow the spread of the new coronavirus. The state is on track to move to the next phase of the reopening plan, when gatherings of up to 50 people would be allowed, on June 26.
Republicans are seeking a temporary restraining order blocking the restriction and also want the court to declare the entire order invalid because they allege Pritzker has exceeded his authority to extend a disaster proclamation beyond the initial 30 days.
The lawsuit alleges that Pritzker’s May 29 order violates the First and 14th Amendment rights of political parties by treating them differently from religious groups or protesters.
“Political parties are for political expression what churches are for religious expression: the corporate manifestation of speech and interaction within a community of shared belief,” the lawsuit says. “Political parties’ events and rallies are also like protest rallies and marches. And like churches and marches, political parties operate in a world where time matters; the 2020 election is only months away.”
While many Republicans initially held off on criticizing Pritzker’s stay-at-home order when he first issued it in March, tension has grown over the past three months as GOP officials have pushed the state to reopen its economy more quickly. Pritzker has faced a barrage of lawsuits over his orders, including from two Republican state representatives and from various church groups.
The Illinois Republican Party along with the Schaumburg Township Republican Organization, the Northwest Side GOP Club and the Will County Republican Central Committee are being represented in the lawsuit by the conservative-leaning Liberty Justice Center.
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The group is best known for its 2018 U.S. Supreme Court victory in a case that struck down the requirement for fees to public-sector labor unions from workers who choose not to join. The so-called fair share fees were a prime target of then-Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner.
“Every American has a right to free speech, and the Constitution doesn’t allow this governor to create special exceptions for churches or protesters because they have a high media profile, because they’ve got good lobbyists or because he agrees with their political viewpoint," Daniel Suhr, an attorney with the Liberty Justice Center, said during the online news conference.
Pritzker’s initial statewide stay-at-home order took effect March 21. The state moved into phase three of Pritzker’s “Restore Illinois” reopening plan May 29. The stay-at-home order has largely been upheld so far in the face of legal challenges by churches and religious organizations, businesses and Republican lawmakers.
The U.S. Supreme Court even weighed in, denying an appeal from two Chicago-area churches seeking to overturn a previous executive order that placed the 10-person limit on religious gatherings. Before the high court ruled, however, Pritzker lifted the size limit on religious gatherings in favor of safety guidelines from the Illinois Department of Public Health.
Pritzker last week defended his decision to take part in the Matteson march, saying he was "not going to run away” from taking a stand at a time when people across the U.S. are pushing for major changes to the way police interact with African Americans and other minorities.
“I go places, and it’s very difficult to get socially distant when an awful lot of people show up, and I’m not going to run away,” the governor said June 9 at an event in Decatur.
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“Especially at this moment, it’s important to express ourselves. It’s important to stand up for people’s First Amendment rights,” he said.
Pritzker was critical of rallies that took place outside the James R. Thompson Center in Chicago and the Illinois Capitol in Springfield protesting his stay-at-home order — some of which included signs comparing the governor, who is Jewish, to Adolf Hitler — but his administration did not take any action to stop them from happening.
Pritzker spokeswoman Jordan Abudayyeh said in a statement Tuesday that the GOP lawsuit “is about scoring political points and criticizing civil rights protests supporting the Black Lives Matter movement.”
“The courts have repeatedly upheld the governor’s executive orders as based on public health guidance,” Abudayyeh said. “And as the Republicans who attended protests against the public health guidance are well aware, the state has never prevented people from exercising their First Amendment rights.”
State health officials on Tuesday reported 623 newly confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 72 more fatalities, bringing the total number of known cases to 133,639 and the statewide death toll to 6,398 since the pandemic began.
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While Tuesday’s fatalities were a large jump from the 19 reported the previous day, the number of daily deaths has been below 100 for 12 straight days. The number of newly confirmed cases has been less than 1,000 for 11 straight days.
On Monday, the governor argued that the steps he’s taken to slow the spread of the coronavirus have helped Illinois see a decline in new infections and deaths while other states that have reopened more quickly are seeing new spikes.
“You wouldn’t want political decisions made, in my opinion, about how to manage through a pandemic,” Pritzker said at an unrelated event in West Frankfort in southern Illinois. “It’s not really about politics; it should be about science. And as a result of following the data, I think we’ve been doing this right.”
As it stands, gatherings of more than 50 people would not be allowed to resume until Illinois reaches the fifth and final phase of Pritzker’s plan, which would require a vaccine for the coronavirus, an effective and widely available treatment, or the elimination of new cases for a sustained period.
dpetrella@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-06-15--Chicago announces Lakefront Trail set to reopen June 22, bars and breweries on Wednesday

“ We are thrilled to be taking these long-awaited steps forward in reopening our city by safely bringing our bars @ @ @ @ @ , and , of course , taking our first , cautious move toward reopening our @ @ @ @ @ said in a statement .
“ Though we still have a long way to go @ @ @ @ @ normal , we are able to make these important steps thanks to the commitment and @ @ @ @ @ who have been true partners throughout this unprecedented crisis , as well as our fellow @ @ @ @ @ part to keep their communities protected by being responsible and preventing the spread of this @ @ @

Gregory Pratt, Josh Noel, Jessica Villagomez

A woman runs on a trail near West Wilson Drive on Chicago's lakefront near Montrose Harbor on Feb. 23, 2021. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)
The city of Chicago continued its slow return to normal on Monday as officials reopened Millennium Park, announced that bars and brewers will be allowed to serve outdoor customers on Wednesday and set the reopening of Chicago’s iconic Lakefront Trail for June 22.
But all three moves will come with restrictions aimed at preventing a resurgence in the coronavirus and could be rolled back if the city sees COVID-19 cases spike down the line.
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The Lakefront Trail will reopen solely for exercise and transit, from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. starting Monday, but residents must “keep it moving,” either while walking, running, biking or rollerblading on the trail, the mayor’s office said in a news release. Beaches and parks east of Lake Shore Drive, however, will remain closed.
Only half the trail’s access points will be open, the mayor’s office said, and park security will work with Chicago police and the Office of Emergency Management and Communication to ensure trailgoers are following public health guidelines.
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People use the Lakefront Trail near Belmont Harbor on June 15, 2020, in Chicago. (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune)
“We are thrilled to be taking these long-awaited steps forward in reopening our city by safely bringing our bars back online with outside service, and, of course, taking our first, cautious move toward reopening our beloved lakefront,” Lightfoot said in a statement. “Though we still have a long way to go before life fully returns to normal, we are able to make these important steps thanks to the commitment and collaboration with our local businesses who have been true partners throughout this unprecedented crisis, as well as our fellow Chicagoans who have done their part to keep their communities protected by being responsible and preventing the spread of this disease.”
Chicago’s Millennium Park, meanwhile, has reopened with restrictions on the number of visitors allowed while following social distancing requirements meant to limit potential coronavirus exposure.
Kennedy High School graduate Jesse Vega takes pictures in his cap and gown with his dad, Daniel Vega, at the "Cloud Gate" sculpture on June 15, 2020, as Millennium Park reopens. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)
The downtown park will be open from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., for groups of 10 or fewer wearing face masks, city officials said. Maggie Daley Park also reopened.
Visitors will be required to enter at Michigan Avenue and Madison Street and exit at Michigan and Washington Street. So-called social distancing ambassadors will be in the area to keep people apart, the city said.
Though the park is reopening, it’s not going all the way back to normal. People will be able to visit the Chase Promenades, the Boeing Galleries and Lurie Garden, but Crown Fountain and Wrigley Square will be open without their water turned on. But they won’t be able to get up close to the “Cloud Gate” sculpture better known as “The Bean.”
Bars and breweries will be able to open for outdoor service at tables that are 6 feet apart, with six people or fewer. Customers can’t stay longer than two hours, and alcohol sales at both bars and restaurants must be ended at 11 p.m., while carryout booze or delivery will end by 9 p.m.
New social distancing circles are drawn on the lawn at Wrigley Square as visitors relax on June 15, 2020, at Millennium Park. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)
Lightfoot ordered Chicago’s iconic lakefront and other high-profile public areas closed off in late March, shortly after crowds flouted social distancing rules to pack beaches and parks on a warm afternoon.
The move came just days into Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s stay-at-home order and drew praise as a tough response to the burgeoning public health crisis. Internet users launched a series of memes that boosted Lightfoot’s profile by showing her blocking the Lakefront Trail and popping up in unexpected places as part of the anti-coronavirus campaign.
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But as the number of COVID-19 cases in Illinois has decreased, she’s also been criticized for keeping the lakefront closed too long by restless Chicagoans.
In recent weeks, though Lightfoot has made it clear the lakefront remains closed, residents have been able to access Lake Michigan as security around the trails has loosened.
Chicago’s Riverwalk downtown officially reopened last Friday, with restrictions aimed at limiting activity and crowds.
Hand sanitizer dispensers are available near the "Cloud Gate" sculpture on June 15, 2020, as Millennium Park reopens. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)
The city also recently entered phase three of its planned reopening, which allowed various industries including restaurants and child care facilities, nonessential retail stores, hotels and limited services at hair and nail salons as well as barbershops to welcome customers back.
Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady last week said the city is on pace to further reopen its economy on July 1, with restrictions potentially being loosened on indoor restaurant dining, museums and gyms.
Bars and breweries largely celebrated the news, though Dave Dahl, co-founder of Lo Rez Brewery in Pilsen, said the news “totally caught me by surprise.”
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“I figured City Council would drag their feet until phase four for bars and taprooms,” he said.
Dahl and his business partner will begin on Tuesday to craft a strategy for reopening the Lo Rez patio, which he said he hopes to have operating by Friday.
The news is well-timed: Dahl said he spent the last of his Paycheck Protection Program funds on payroll this week.
“We’re still wearing super-tight pants and we still have to thread the needle to continue to operate,” Dahl said.
Reopening the patio “will help considerably, but our month-over-month numbers still won’t be what they need to be as compared to last year.”
Art Johnston, co-owner of Sidetrack, one of the largest gay and lesbian bars in Chicago, said he hopes to reopen by the weekend.
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Sidetrack’s outdoor areas have capacity for “a few hundred,” Johnston said, but that number will be reduced by the city’s restrictions, including customers needing to be seated and wide berths between tables. This will be the first time in its 37-year history that Sidetrack offers table service, Johnston said.
“It’ll be a learning experience, but this entire COVID experience has been a learning experience for us,” Johnston said. “The restrictions are severe, but we’re glad to finally have an opportunity to get back to what we do.”
Johnston said he was disappointed that the city made businesses such as his wait to reopen, but overall supports the city’s handling of the health crisis.
“I think they made a mistake by holding out on this too long, but I’d be happy to run for president of the Lori Lightfoot fan club,” Johnston said.
John Laffler, co-founder of Off Color Brewing, said he is pleased to be able to reopen.
“It levels the playing field,” he said.
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Off Color had been unable to open because the brewery does not serve food at The Mousetrap, its Lincoln Park taproom. But Laffler said it likely would take at least a week to figure out best practices for reopening.
“We’re going to take our time and put together what we need to in order to do this as best as we possibly can,” he said.
In the era of COVID-19, The Mousetrap won’t resemble the bar he closed in mid-March.
“We can’t run a bar the way we did before — nobody can,” Laffler said.
Tables will be spaced “as far apart as possible,” he said. Seating most likely will be available only via reservation, and beers likely will need to be ordered in advance via several tasting menus, he said.
Laffler wants customers and staff to interact as little as possible.
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“We don’t want to have a server walking around and checking on tables and getting orders," he said. “That puts servers in a situation I don’t want to be putting people in.”
He is pleased, however, to begin rehiring staff and get some revenue through the door.
“We’re keeping our heads above water, but this isn’t a tenable situation for the long term,” he said.
Along the lakefront at Belmont Avenue and Lake Shore Drive Monday afternoon, handfuls of people on bikes zoomed through the open pathway to enjoy the cool temperature and warm breeze. A single duck waddled by parked boats and swam through accumulated piles of debris.
Amelia Fonti from Lakeview was happy to be able to enjoy a stroll along the path after strictly following social distancing guidelines the last three months.
“I’m just happy to be out here again,” she said as she looked at a dead snapping turtle floating on the lake’s edge. “I’m disappointed a lot of people don’t have masks on."
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Most lakefront visitors did not wear face coverings though many maintained distance from others.
Fonti, who wore a fabric face mask, added that she found the lakefront opening an exciting development for the city. “I try to be good and social distance,” she said. “You have to get some fresh air and movement in.”
Some walkers, however, were concerned by the lack of face coverings and groups of people walking together.
“Everything just opened up recently and I don’t want people to ruin it for us,” Billy Fezzuoglio, of Lakeview, said.
Fezzuoglio, who wore a face mask, added he is concerned with people socializing and walking together in large groups.
“It’s nice to be outside and close to nature and not be cooped up in the house,” he said. “This is really one of the only opportunities to be outside.”
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gpratt@chicagotribune.com
jbnoel@chicagotribune.com
jvillagomez@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-06-15--Mayor Lori Lightfoot announces committee to review Chicago Police Department use of force policies

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Mayor Lori Lightfoot answers questions after announcing a new Community Working Group designed to review and revise CPD's use of force policies at City Hall in Chicago on June 15, 2020. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)
Under pressure from Chicago activists demanding broad changes to how the city polices, Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced a task force to review the Police Department’s use of force policies.
The committee will include residents, students, lawyers, advocates and elected officials, Lightfoot said. Deputy Chief Ernest Cato, a veteran of the department who was a runner-up for the police superintendent job earlier this year, will co-chair the committee alongside activist Arewa Karen Winters, whose great nephew Pierre Loury was killed by police.
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Lightfoot’s task force was announced by the city on Monday amid national fallout from the Minneapolis police killing of George Floyd, though the mayor and police Superintendent David Brown said the group was created earlier this year as part of the city’s federal consent decree governing Police Department reforms.
Currently, Chicago police officers, at minimum, must receive annual training on laws and the department’s use of force policy, according to a CPD general order in February. Officers also must qualify with their firearms each year. Every two years, they must receive refresher training on other weapons and chemical spray devices.
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If they’re certified to use tasers, they must get recertified each year, the order states.
Officers may use force that is “objectively reasonable, necessary, and proportional, under the totality of the circumstances” to remain in control during intense confrontations, the general order states. An officer’s use of deadly force, such as shooting someone, striking someone in the head or neck with a blunt weapon, or neck restraints can only be used as a last resort, according to the order.
In determining reasonable use of force, officers must decide whether the subject is posing an imminent threat to the public, assess the risk of harm and level of resistance by the subject, and figure out whether the subject has access to any weapons, the order states.
Whenever possible, officers also are required to use de-escalation techniques to quell situations.
The department’s use of force policies, long criticized as too permissive of excessive force, have seen recent revision and could change further. Three years ago — amid the controversy sparked by video of white Officer Jason Van Dyke shooting black teenager Laquan McDonald 16 times — the department rewrote the rules.
The 2014 McDonald slaying led to sweeping policy changes for the department and an investigation into the CPD by the U.S. Justice Department. After the release of video showing McDonald’s killing, CPD infused its use of force guidelines, on paper, with language emphasizing how officers must protect the “sanctity of human life” during confrontations with the public.
Lightfoot acknowledged the department overhauled its use of force policies after the Obama-era Department of Justice’s CPD examination but said it’s worth checking if they’ve withstood “the test of time.”
“This is another opportunity for the community to be involved and we believe that’s important,” Lightfoot said.
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Forming a task force is a common move for politicians looking to deal with a heated issue.
The panel Lightfoot announced Monday includes several people and groups already involved in the litigation over the court order, including University of Chicago law professor Craig Futterman, who represents activist groups in the case.
Already, though, the task force is drawing criticism from some members of the City Council and police advocates.
Winters, the activist co-chair, opened her remarks by saying “good morning to my beautiful, broken city” and shouted out Black Panthers leader Fred Hampton, who was killed by police in 1969.
Winters told reporters she is “incensed” by videos of police misconduct and criticized Chicago police officers for an incident at the Brickyard Mall where Chicago cops pulled a woman from a car by her hair and placed a knee on her neck, then noted that Chicago Police Board President Ghian Foreman during a recent protest “was beaten and now himself is a survivor of police violence.” She also criticized the city for not terminating an officer who killed a teenager in 2013.
“Other cities are firing them and, here, they get 30 days desk duty and then they’re returned back to the streets in our communities,” Winters said. “As far as I’m concerned, psychopaths with guns. So I am infuriated. I am furious.”
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Northwest Side Ald. Nick Sposato, 38th, who represents a first responders-heavy ward, said Winters’ comments were an embarrassment and raise questions about the group’s ability to be fair to police.
Meanwhile, CPD is operating under a consent decree — a wide-ranging 2019 court order aimed at overhauling the department. It mandated various changes to use of force tactics and mandated the study of more potential reforms. In fact, the court order says that every two years, the department will do a “comprehensive review” of its use of force policies to make sure they meet the requirements of the consent decree, the law and best practices.
Late last year, the department set up a Force Review Board to help the department address training or policy shortcomings that lead to unnecessary uses of force by cops against citizens.
Still, Lightfoot is under significant pressure from activists to push more ambitious change, such as slashing the police budget and instead spending that money on social programs.
Chicago is the biggest city in the United States not to endorse some form of defunding police. Earlier this month, Lightfoot said "it would be irresponsible for me to even entertain any idea that we would cut back on our public safety resources at this time.“
During subsequent media appearances, Lightfoot has answered the question of defunding police by saying that struggling parts of the city need aid and vowing “critical investments in neighborhoods" — but she has not endorsed the idea of cutting Chicago’s police budget.
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Lightfoot has a long, complicated history in the local police reform movement. She’s a former federal prosecutor who headed the board that oversees police discipline and chaired the Police Accountability Task Force formed by Mayor Rahm Emanuel. But she is often criticized by activists as being pro-police.
For months, Lightfoot has been in a dispute with activists over how a civilian oversight commission of the Police Department would work, with critics wanting more power given to people outside City Hall. She initially promised a new civilian police oversight body within 100 days of taking office.
In a speech after Floyd’s killing, Lightfoot said she wanted to implement several police reforms within 45 days, including a plan to teach Chicago cops about “the history of neighborhoods taught from the perspective of community members, inspired by youth-led neighborhood tours done by My Block, My Hood, My City.”
The city also will implement an officer wellness program and complete an officer support program that supports cops in crisis, mandate crisis intervention and procedural justice training for all officers, and establish a new recruit program on police-community relations and community policing with views from the community about what works, she said.
Those measures have been criticized as not going far enough.
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Lightfoot also called for state licensing of police officers, despite expected opposition from state lawmakers in Springfield.
Chicago Tribune’s John Byrne contributed.
gpratt@chicagotribune.com
jgorner@chicagotribune.com
dhinkel@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-06-15--COVID-19 vaccine testing to start at UIC next month

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A person receives a shot in the first-stage safety study clinical trial of a potential vaccine for COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, at the Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute in Seattle on March 16, 2020. The first experimental COVID-19 vaccine in the U.S. is on track to begin a huge study next month to prove if it really can fend off the coronavirus. The vaccine, developed by the U.S. National Institutes of Health and Moderna Inc., will be tested on 30,000 volunteers. (Ted S. Warren/AP)
The University of Illinois at Chicago will begin testing a potential vaccine for COVID-19 next month, with expectations of enrolling at least 1,000 local participants in the clinical trial.
The vaccine was developed by biotech company Moderna, and the trial is being conducted in collaboration with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, which is part of the National Institutes of Health.
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The phase 3 clinical trial is expected to include 30,000 participants spread across 90 sites in the U.S., said Dr. Richard Novak, lead investigator of the clinical trial at UIC.
Phase 3 is the final phase of testing before a vaccine may gain approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The trial, which is expected to start at UIC on July 9, is scheduled to last for two years, but the FDA could approve the vaccine sooner if it is clearly effective, Novak said.
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The Moderna vaccine is one of a number being developed across the country to fight COVID-19, which has claimed more than 100,000 lives in the U.S., including more than 6,300 in Illinois.
At least 10 potential COVID-19 vaccines were being clinically evaluated as of June 9, according to the World Health Organization. The Moderna vaccine is one of the first to reach phase 3 clinical trials, Novak said.
“It could potentially be a huge deal if the vaccine turns out to be effective,” Novak said. “If we have an effective prevention strategy we can give to everyone, then we can potentially end this pandemic.”
The trial aims to see if the vaccine will prevent symptomatic cases of the illness and/or severe cases of COVID-19, such as those requiring hospitalization.
Researchers will focus on those at highest risk of becoming seriously ill from COVID-19: older people and those with underlying health conditions. About 40% of those who are enrolled in the trial will be 65 or older, Novak said.
Those who enroll will be randomly divided into two groups — one that will get the vaccine and one that will get a placebo. Neither the participants nor the researchers will know who gets the vaccine.
Participants will then receive a second dose 28 days later, Novak said. Participants will be monitored by phone or by electronic diary to see if they develop symptoms of COVID-19. If they do, researchers will collect samples to see if they have the illness, and they’ll be monitored to see how severely ill they get.
Researchers plan to recruit participants from neighborhoods such as Pilsen, Little Village and Hyde Park. Latino and African American communities have been especially hard hit by COVID-19 in Chicago. Anyone interested in participating should contact UIC researchers at 312-413-5897 or email ProjectWishDOM@uic.edu.
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The vaccine is an RNA vaccine. That means it includes genetic material called RNA that, in this case, is supposed to instruct cells to create the spikelike proteins that the virus uses to get inside cells. That should then trigger the immune system to produce antibodies to keep COVID-19 from entering cells, Novak said.
Because the vaccine contains only a part of the virus, and not the whole virus, it cannot give people COVID-19 infections, he said.
Phase 1 of the trial of the vaccine produced positive results, Moderna announced last month. The company said last week that it is on track to deliver 500 million doses a year and, possibly 1 billion doses a year, by 2021.


chicagotribune--2020-06-15--Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s plan for coronavirus eviction protections advances despite concerns

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Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s plan to protect tenants from eviction who’ve lost income due to the coronavirus pandemic advanced Monday, though several aldermen complained both that the package doesn’t do enough to help renters and that it leaves small-scale landlords exposed to foreclosure.
The Housing Committee sent along to the full City Council a mayoral ordinance that requires landlords to enter into seven days of “good faith negotiations” before evicting tenants who can show they have been impacted by the economic upheaval from the coronavirus.
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According to the ordinance, the landlord would have the option to enter a “mutually satisfactory agreement" with the renter that includes offering to spread out repayment of each month’s unpaid rent over 60 days, to submit the matter for mediation, to apply the tenant’s security deposit toward the unpaid amount, to offer to waive all or part of the unpaid rent if the tenant moves out, or to enter into some other agreement with the renter.
The measure is meant to last for just two months, beginning whenever an executive order Gov. J.B. Pritzker enacted putting a moratorium on evictions in Illinois lapses. Housing Committee Chairman Ald. Harry Osterman, 48th, said it’s needed to bridge the gap until more federal funding becomes available to Chicago to stabilize the city’s rental market.
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Without it, Osterman said he’s worried the number of evictions in the city will spike.
But some members of the committee said landlords who own just a handful of rental units or who rent out a unit in the building where they live won’t be able to make their mortgage payments if tenants can defer paying rent.
“For me, unless we’re (exempting) six units or less and owner-occupied, I can’t support this," said South Side Ald. David Moore, 17th.
And on the other side, some aldermen and housing advocates said the additional seven-day period of good faith negotiations and 60 days of rent deferrals won’t do nearly enough to protect tenants who are suffering loss of income from getting kicked out of their apartments.
“I don’t think a one-month to two-month ratio is going to help us," said Southwest Side Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez, 25th. “My concern is that this is going to lead to massive evictions, and I do think we should be preventing that.”
Housing Commissioner Marisa Novara said Chicago should be in line for an additional $20 million in federal housing assistance targeted at helping people suffering in the pandemic fallout, but it isn’t clear when that will be available.
The City Council is set to consider Lightfoot’s plan Wednesday.
jebyrne@chicagotribune.com
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Twitter @_johnbyrne


Corrections and clarifications

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· A story on Page 1 Saturday incorrectly said that Friday marked the end of the first seven-day period with fewer than 100 deaths from the new coronavirus each day since state officials reported 125 fatalities on April 16. The first seven-day stretch without a single daily death toll of 100 or more ended Thursday.
The Tribune regrets the error.
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