chicagotribune--2020-12-02--Drivers busted going 100 mph-plus on I-72 part of Illinois ‘trend,’ state police say

Unlike many speeding offenses , those going 35 mph or more over the speed limit can be charged with a @ @ @ @ @ is just a notch below a felony .
In addition to fines , conviction could @ @ @ @ @ in jail .

State police say they are writing more and more tickets for drivers sailing along at triple-digit speeds — including two in the past few days in west-central Illinois.
Illinois State Police statistics show that while citations for reckless driving are in line with the past few years, tickets for speeding over 100 mph are up dramatically.
Advertisement
Troopers have issued 540 more citations for speeding above 100 mph so far this year than in all of 2019.
After hitting a high of 3,034 tickets for the violation in 2018, the number fell to 2,883 last year. Through Nov. 20, this year’s number had reached 3,423 statewide, state police said.
Advertisement
Troopers at Illinois State Police Post 20 in Pittsfield — which covers the five-county region of Pike, Scott, Brown, Schuyler and Adams counties — said two separate drivers were ticketed on the charge during a three-day period.
A driver was stopped Sunday going 109 mph in a 70 mph zone along Interstate 72. That followed a driver being clocked going 115 mph Thursday on the interstate, according to state police.
Law enforcement agencies nationwide have noted similar trends. The Governors Highway Safety Association, a group that represents state highway safety offices, said it has seen a significant surge in reports of 100 mph-plus speeders since pandemic restrictions started thinning the number of people on the roads.
It noted that the increase is not confined to rural roads but also is being seen in major cities.
“Less traffic has coincided with a rise in speeding in some areas of the country,” according to James Owens, deputy administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. “That’s a problem because speeding increases the risk of crashes and can increase crash severity, as well.”
Unlike many speeding offenses, those going 35 mph or more over the speed limit can be charged with a Class A misdemeanor, which is just a notch below a felony. In addition to fines, conviction could mean up to a year in jail.
Visit the Jacksonville Journal-Courier (Jacksonville, Ill.) at www.myjournalcourier.com


chicagotribune--2020-12-02--The coronavirus pandemic has forced mourners to think of different ways to honor the dead and say go

The coronavirus pandemic has forced mourners to think of different ways to honor the dead and say goodbye

The modified version used by a Jewish burial society in Boston includes the prayer : We ask your forgiveness for @ @ @ @ @ you during this tahara , most of all for the ways in which we have @ @ @ @ @ preparation of your body for its final journey .
... During this time of plague @ @ @ @ @ , the changes we make are an affirmation of the life you have lived and @ @ @ @ @ care for you now .

Norma Rodriquez hugs a visitor at the wake for her father, Ruben Beltrán, at Symonds-Madison Funeral Home on Nov. 13, 2020, in Elgin. Beltrán, 68, died of COVID-19 and pneumonia in late October. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)
Hours before the grandfather died on a COVID-19 hospital floor, his closest kin entered the room two at a time, all covered in protective gowns, gloves, masks and face shields .
Barely breathing, the family patriarch pointed to each of his loved ones, then to his heart, and raised a fist in the air.
Advertisement
This was not how relatives had envisioned their last moments with 68-year-old Rubén Beltrán of northwest suburban Hanover Park, one of more than 12,000 lives lost to the new virus in Illinois and 1.4 million worldwide.
“But it was a blessing that we were able to say goodbye,” said granddaughter Amairani Jarvis, who planned Beltrán’s funeral in November. “Because I know a lot of people are dying alone right now, and they’re not allowed to say goodbyes to their loved ones.”
Advertisement
Just as the pandemic has altered so many aspects of life, it has also disrupted the experience of death and grieving. In response, mourners are creating new and innovative ways to honor the dying and departed while keeping within the bounds of pandemic protocols.
Many of these adaptations draw on cultural customs and ancient religious rites, said Roy Grinker, an anthropology professor at the George Washington University in Washington, D.C., who is co-leading a yearlong study on changes in funeral practices during the pandemic.
“There’s an extraordinary resilience and creativity of people to figure out how to do what they need to do in order to mourn, in order to grieve,” Grinker said.
A Muslim funeral director in Australia began giving out smaller bottles of perfume used during the ritual shrouding of a body, because the smell was such a powerful connection to the dead. She explained how family members would traditionally wash and shroud their loved one, but when this practice was interrupted by the pandemic, next-of-kin expressed difficulty coming to terms with the loss, sometimes wondering if their parent or spouse or sibling had even died. The familiar fragrance helped the grieving process.
“They could then use that as a very sensory way of remembering their loved one,” the funeral director said during a virtual roundtable discussion on the impact of COVID-19 regulations on death and dying.
In upstate New York, a funeral director commemorated the life of a beloved football coach by sending whistles to mourners, a tactile and aural reminder of the deceased. At a funeral in Oklahoma, clear masks enabled mourners who were deaf to read lips and see facial expressions.
In another case the anthropologists studied, around 100 people attended a funeral but only 10 were permitted at the gravesite; the other 90 friends and family members stayed out of the cemetery but climbed a fence lining the perimeter, to view and be a part of the moment the coffin was lowered into the ground, Grinker recounted.
Loss and healing rely in so many ways on the five senses. The sight of a body at an open-casket funeral. The scent of flowers at a memorial. The taste of certain foods while sitting shiva, in the tradition of Jewish mourning. The comforting melody of dirges and chanting. An embrace in shared grief.
Advertisement
There is a near-universal need for communal mourning, which becomes increasingly difficult with physical distance requirements, said Grinker, who was born and raised in Chicago.
“Whatever religion, whatever tradition we’re talking about, one of the common threads is the difficulty of not being able to be with others in large groups, to touch each other and to stimulate each other’s emotional release,” he said.
For the study, called Rituals in the Making, researchers are interviewing clergy, funeral directors and mourners; the project was funded by the National Science Foundation and is expected to be complete in May.
“We’re doing these things in different ways than we did before,” he said. “We are still trying to manage this important transition in social life, where we need to not only deal with our own emotional concerns but also have to carry out the cultural practices of transitioning somebody from the world of the living to the world of the dead.”
Disconnect from death
The Beltrán family gathered for the visitation on Nov. 13 at Symonds-Madison Funeral Home in Elgin. Everyone donned black masks bearing the inscription “forever in our heart” in gold letters.
The message professed their eternal love for the deceased. The material served as a tangible defense against the virus that Beltrán had battled for a month, before his lungs collapsed and he could no longer breathe on his own.
Advertisement
The colors matched the black and gold urn holding his cremated remains. A Spanish version of the mask, “siempre en nuestro corazón,” was sent to Beltrán’s relatives in Mexico, along with a small packet of his ashes to be scattered near the home where he was born and raised.
“We gave him a pretty good farewell,” Jarvis said. “We sent him to Mexico, gave him a celebration here. We did it to the best of our ability.”
Daniel Symonds, a second-generation funeral director who arranged Beltrán’s services, fears for the emotional burden of those left behind when they aren’t able to grieve in a typical manner.
He recounts a group of siblings who lost a brother early in the pandemic. Another sibling was high-risk for contracting the virus, so they decided to pay for a memorial and have the body cremated, but wait to hold services until they could gather safely.
That memorial still hasn’t happened. Symonds worries that this family and others in a similar state of limbo won’t be able to process their loss or begin healing. .
“When you can’t see them, you can’t say goodbye to them, that causes guilt, anger sadness, frustration, depression,” he said. “We are a communal society. That’s something we need to get through the pain.”
Advertisement
Narratives on social media sites offer a glimpse at some of the heartache of survivors who feel a disconnection from death.
A Texas woman on the website Reddit recalled how her 93-year-old mother-in-law died of COVID-19 without any loved ones by her hospital bedside.
“My mother-in-law created a huge family, she dedicated her life to all these offspring and remembered everyone’s birthdays and loved catching up on family news good and bad,” the comment said. “And she was there alone — probably the first time in her life she’d been alone. … This is not what she deserved.”
A New York rabbi posted on Twitter in April about presiding over the burial of 95-year-old Holocaust survivor. The rabbi explained that under normal circumstances, members of Jewish burial societies would have come to perform tahara, a ritual cleansing of the body.
“It is the most dedicated and conscious act, to perform these rites,” the rabbi said. “Not this day. Tahara is not happening. It’s not safe. Typically the body is watched until burial. Guarded by members of the community. Her son called me heartbroken. … No guard. Her body, like ours is to be alone.”
Since then, various Jewish burial societies have created virtual components of the ritual or modifications designed to minimize exposure, like misting the body instead of washing, and integrating strict rules for infection control as well as use of personal protective equipment.
Advertisement
The modified version used by a Jewish burial society in Boston includes the prayer: We ask your forgiveness for any distress we may cause you during this tahara, most of all for the ways in which we have had to modify the ritual preparation of your body for its final journey. ... During this time of plague that besets and endangers all, the changes we make are an affirmation of the life you have lived and the lives of those who care for you now.
Present, at a distance
There’s a certain closure in viewing a final resting place.
Until Jarvis saw her grandfather’s ashes lowered into the ground, she didn’t quite believe he was gone.
Beltrán, a cancer survivor, had been in and out of the hospital for years even before he contracted COVID-19. Until the interment, Jarvis kept thinking her grandfather was just hospitalized like before and would be coming home again soon.
Days before services, the arrangements had to be revamped due to rapidly evolving limits on gatherings amid a surge of COVID-19 cases. Only 10 relatives were permitted at the gravesite, a difficult mandate for the large, tight-knit clan. Beltrán was survived by his wife of 48 years, six children, 16 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
“My family was upset,” Jarvis said. “But we all understood what the regulations were. We all understood why. We had just gone through that with my grandfather. It started with COVID. COVID took his life.”
Advertisement
Like other large gatherings, funerals without social distancing precautions have been linked to coronavirus outbreaks in Chicago as well as other cities, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and media reports.
To be safer, some funerals have begun integrating cars into the service, a modern twist to preserve ancient customs or accommodate big crowds.
A funeral director in Washington state recalled a March burial for a grandmother who just arrived months ago from Ukraine; the family longed for an open-casket service, a cultural tradition, so the funeral home arranged for an open coffin viewing in its van at a site a near the cemetery, encircled by the cars of loved ones to maintain some privacy.
“It wasn’t what they wanted — it wasn’t what they ever would have envisioned — but it was something,” the funeral director said.
A funeral home in Texas recently built a drive-in funeral theater, where services on a large outdoor screen are viewed by relatives and friends from their parked cars.
“This also allows the family to feel the love and support they need at a time of loss and grief,” the funeral home’s website said. “The service concludes with three honks representing comfort, support and love as they drive away.”
Advertisement
A large part of the George Washington University study examines how traditional death rituals are being transformed into virtual practices, from “Zoom funerals” to video-recorded memorials to livestreamed visitations.
Results have been mixed. Some mourners said glitches and Wi-Fi outages compromised the occasion; there were instances where the grieving reported clicking on a link that took them to the wrong funeral or memorial, Grinker said.
In other cases, virtual rituals were surprisingly gratifying — even rivaling traditional in-person rites and practices.
Screens helped Grinker, the anthropologist, navigate his own grief earlier in the pandemic after his 95-year-old mother died of natural causes in Chicago. The family held a virtual memorial, the first time Grinker’s 93-year-old father ever spoke to anyone using a computer.
The online gathering allowed more people across the country to mourn together, he said, expanding his father’s opportunity to celebrate his mother’s life.
“It was actually quite emotionally powerful for him in a way I think it perhaps wouldn’t have been if people had been able to visit at the house,” Grinker said. “It’s about creating social bonds. These are times when we reaffirm our relationships. And if we can’t do that, it makes us feel all the more isolated.”
Advertisement
As for Jarvis, she described feelings of guilt that she was among the 10 relatives standing at the gravesite, potentially taking the place of another relative during that pivotal moment of interment.
To help include everyone, she created a Facebook page with photos and a livestream of Beltrán’s funeral. Relatives across the country and in Mexico were able to pray along with the funeral Mass and see the gravesite immediately, an experience the family wouldn’t have thought to create if it weren’t for the pandemic.
“We were able to make people present, while still keeping distance,” she said.
eleventis@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-12-02--Coronavirus in Illinois updates: Here’s what happened Dec. 1 with COVID-19 in the Chicago area

Soon they couldn ’ t keep up with the deliveries , so they set up a table every day from @ @ @ @ @ filled it with meals for people to come by and pick up .
Their goal @ @ @ @ @ free lunches a day — no small task for a restaurant with a dwindling bottom @ @ @ @ @ Castro and Sanchez to help with the cooking and assembly .

We have lifted the paywall on this story. To support essential reporting, please consider becoming a subscriber .
CTU workers direct vehicles lined up for COVID-19 testing outside of the Chicago Teachers Union on Dec. 30, 2021, in Chicago. CPS starts back to school on Monday following their holiday break. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)
After several days of lower COVID-19 infections during the holiday weekend, Illinois saw a significant jump Tuesday as health officials announced 12,542 newly confirmed and probable cases.
They also reported 125 additional deaths. That brings the state’s total since the pandemic began to 738,846 new and probable cases and 12,403 fatalities.
Advertisement
Later on Tuesday, Dr. Allison Arwady said the city of Chicago expects to begin rolling out vaccines for health care workers later this month and could provide them to lower-risk residents in spring and children by summer.
The first distribution of vaccines will go toward Chicago hospitals and health care workers, possibly by the third week of December, Arwady said. The city’s also working with long-term care facilities in the city on vaccines, she said.
Advertisement
Here’s what’s happening Tuesday with COVID-19 in the Chicago area and Illinois:
7 p.m.: What you need to know about when and how Chicago schools will welcome students back
In the new year, Chicago Public Schools plans to start reopening schools, beginning with students in prekindergarten and special education clusters and phasing in upper elementary grades. The district released a reopening guide just before the Thanksgiving holiday.
Here’s how it addresses some common questions. —Hannah Leone
5:55 p.m.: CDC to shorten guidance for quarantining after COVID-19 exposure to 10 days, 7 with a negative test
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is set to shorten the recommended length of quarantine after exposure to someone who is positive for COVID-19, as the virus rages across the nation.
According to a senior administration official, the new guidelines, which are set to be released as soon as Tuesday evening, will allow people who have come in contact to someone infected with the virus to resume normal activity after 10 days, or 7 days if they receive a negative test result. That’s down from the 14-day period recommended since the onset of the pandemic.
The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to preview the announcement, said the policy change has been discussed for some time, as scientists have studied the incubation period for the virus. It was discussed Tuesday at a White House coronavirus task force meeting.
Read more here. —Associated Press
5:10 p.m.: US panel says 1st COVID-19 vaccine shots go to health care workers, nursing homes
Health care workers and nursing home residents should be at the front of the line when the first coronavirus vaccine shots become available, an influential government advisory panel said Tuesday.
Advertisement
The panel voted 13-1 to recommend priority be given to those groups in the first days of any coming vaccination program, when doses are expected to be very limited. The two groups encompass about 24 million Americans out of a U.S. population of about 330 million.
Read more here. —Associated Press
5 p.m. (updated): McConnell now says he’s sticking with scaled-back COVID relief bill
Top Senate Republican Mitch McConnell said Tuesday he’s largely sticking with a partisan, scaled-back COVID-19 relief bill that has already failed twice this fall, even as Democratic leaders and a bipartisan group of moderates offered concessions in hopes of passing pandemic aid before Congress adjourns for the year.
The Kentucky Republican made the announcement after President-elect Joe Biden called upon lawmakers to pass a downpayment relief bill now with more to come next year. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi resumed talks with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin about a year-end spending package that could include COVID relief provisions. Key Senate moderates rallied behind a scaled-back framework.
It’s not clear whether the flurry of activity will lead to actual progress. Time is running out on Congress’ lame-duck session and Donald Trump’s presidency, many Republicans won’t even acknowledge that Trump has lost the election and good faith between the two parties remains in short supply.
McConnell said his bill, which only modestly tweaks an earlier plan blocked by Democrats, would be signed by Trump and that additional legislation could pass next year. But his initiative fell flat with Democrats and a key GOP moderate.
Advertisement
“If it’s identical to what (McConnell) brought forth this summer then it’s going to be a partisan bill that is not going to become law,” said Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, who joined moderates in unveiling a $908 billion bipartisan package only hours earlier. “And I want a bill that will become law.”
Democrats declined to release details of their concessions to McConnell.
Read more here. —Associated Press
4:45 p.m.: How to get a fast, affordable COVID-19 test in Chicago area
As many as one in five Americans traveled for the Thanksgiving holiday, and all of them should be tested for COVID-19, according to top U.S. health officials.
That has some Chicago-area testing centers expecting larger crowds this week.
“We’re watching closely and believe that today will be busy,” Heather Keirnan, a nurse and vice president of operations for Northwestern Medicine Immediate Care, said Tuesday.
Advertisement
So how can you navigate an already stressed system — and get the most convenient, affordable and reliable COVID test possible?
If you have a primary care doctor, start there, Keirnan said.
Read more here. —Nara Schoenberg
4:38 p.m.: Known for never closing, Omega Restaurant in Niles shuts down temporarily due to COVID-19 pandemic
The ongoing pandemic has shut down — temporarily — a popular Niles restaurant known for never closing.
Omega Restaurant, which offered 24-hour service seven days a week at 9100 W. Golf Road, locked its doors Nov. 29 and will remain closed until February, owner Tom Konstantopoulos said.
“The reason we closed was so we can be here next year, so we can minimize the losses,” he explained. “We’re not closing for good, we’re not going anywhere. We had our best year last year in 2019 and we were doing great, but then the pandemic came and kept chopping away at us.”
Advertisement
Unable to provide indoor dining due to the state’s current restrictions, Konstantopoulos said staying open for carryout and delivery “doesn’t make sense” financially. A message shared with customers on the restaurant’s Facebook page stated, “the reality is that we cannot maintain operations, compensate our employees what they deserve and survive without indoor seating.”
Government assistance helped the restaurant survive the first indoor dining shut-down in the spring, Konstantopoulos said, but this fall, there has not been a second COVID-19 relief package approved by the federal government.
Read more here. —Jennifer Johnson
2:25 p.m.: 8 states including Ohio added to ‘red’ category in Chicago’s travel quarantine order
More of the country will be under Chicago’s most severe category for its travel quarantine order, city officials announced Tuesday while bracing for a post-Thanksgiving surge.
The same 46 states and Puerto Rico remain under Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s travel quarantine order for those returning to Chicago, but as of Friday, eight of them will be bumped up to the “red” classification that mandates a two-week quarantine. Only travelers from Maine, Vermont and Hawaii have no additional safety requirements.
Those added to the red category on Friday will be Alaska, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma and Rhode Island. They will join Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, Wisconsin, and Wyoming to make a total of 19 red states.
Advertisement
Twenty-seven states plus Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico are in the next level, orange, while the lowest stage, yellow, has three states.
Chicagoans should still avoid travel to any of the red or orange states, public health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady reiterated in a Tuesday press conference. She had urged residents to avoid Thanksgiving travel and other traditional plans during her last travel order update two weeks ago, around when the city was seeing as many as one in 15 people with active COVID-19 infections.
Read more here. —Alice Yin
1:50 p.m.: Chicago could get vaccines in December, give to lower-risk residents and children by next spring and summer
The city of Chicago expects to begin rolling out vaccines for health care workers later this month and could provide them to lower-risk residents in spring and children by summer, public health commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said Tuesday.
The first distribution of vaccines will go toward Chicago hospitals and health care workers, possibly by the third week of December, Arwady said. The city’s also working with long-term care facilities in the city on vaccines, she said.
Two companies have produced vaccines that look to be more than 90% protective, Arwady noted, and federal officials will consider approving them later this month.
Advertisement
The city anticipates initially getting between 20,000 to 25,000 doses of vaccine and continuing to get regular allotments from the government, she said.
“We are ready to accept whatever amount of vaccine we receive,” Arwady said.
Pharmacies will be doing “strike teams” to help deliver vaccines to long-term care facilities, she said.
Arwady also said it’ll likely be “later in the spring” when the city will be able to more broadly spread vaccines to people who are at lower-risk, and the summer for children, but that is up in the air depending on vaccine production and how well trials do.
But she noted, at the start, there won’t be enough for all health care workers to get immediate vaccinations.
Read more here. —Alice Yin and Gregory Pratt
Advertisement
1:15 p.m. (updated): Illinois coronavirus daily case tally jumps back above 12,000, with 125 more deaths also reported
Illinois public health officials on Tuesday announced 12,542 newly confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, a significant jump after several days of lower numbers.
Officials have voiced cautious optimism over the past week about a flattening of statewide coronavirus numbers after weeks of steady growth, and the higher number of cases reported on Tuesday is likely due, at least in part, to a testing lag over the holiday weekend.
The daily case count was last above 10,000 on Thanksgiving Day and has been below 8,000 since Friday.
The state also reported 125 deaths of people with COVID-19 on Tuesday, raising the statewide death toll to 12,403. The state has reported 738,846 known and probable cases throughout the course of the pandemic.
The cases reported Tuesday came out of a batch of 116,081 tests conducted over a 24-hour period. The seven-day statewide positivity rate for cases as a share of total tests was 10.4% for the period ending Monday.
Read more here. —Jamie Munks
Advertisement
1:05 p.m.: Indiana’s COVID-19 deaths nearly double during November
The number of COVID-19 deaths in Indiana has nearly doubled for November from a month earlier as health officials continue adding to those reports and the state’s coronavirus-related hospitalizations remain at their highest point during the pandemic.
The Indiana State Department of Health added 142 deaths to the statewide toll with its daily update on Tuesday. Most of those deaths occurred over the past week with a reporting lull from local officials over the Thanksgiving weekend.
Locally, Lake County has reported 475 fatalities including six new deaths in Tuesday’s reporting. While Porter County showed one new fatality Tuesday, the state dashboard shows a total of 91.
Marion County shows the most deaths with 15 new ones for a total of 885, according to the state.
Those boost Indiana’s coronavirus deaths during November to at least 1,416 people — surpassing the previous monthly peak during April by nearly 400 and almost double October’s total of 732 deaths.
Gov. Eric Holcomb on Tuesday also signed an extension of the state’s public health emergency through Dec. 31. Under authority from that emergency, the governor has issued the statewide mask order and limits on crowd sizes based on the county risk level of coronavirus spread.
Advertisement
Read more here. —Associated Press
12:35 p.m. (updated): Bipartisan group of lawmakers pitch $908 billion bill as Biden urges Congress to pass down payment on COVID-19 relief
A bipartisan group of lawmakers is putting pressure on congressional leaders to accept a split-the-difference solution to the protracted impasse over COVID-19 relief in a last-gasp effort to ship overdue help to a hurting nation before Congress adjourns for the holidays.
The group includes Senate centrists such as Joe Manchin, D-W. Va., and Susan Collins, R-Maine, who hope to exert greater influence in a closely divided Congress during the incoming Biden administration.
In Wilmington, Delaware, President-elect Joe Biden called on lawmakers to approve a down payment on COVID relief, though he cautioned that “any package passed in lame-duck session is — at best -- just a start.”
The proposal hit the scales at $908 billion, including $228 billion to extend and upgrade “paycheck protection” subsidies for businesses for a second round of relief to hard-hit businesses like restaurants. It would revive a special jobless benefit, but at a reduced level of $300 per week rather than the $600 benefit enacted in March. State and local governments would receive $160 billion, and there is also money for vaccines. It does not include a second round of stimulus checks, the New York Times reported.
Earlier, larger versions of the proposal — a framework with only limited detail — were rejected by top leaders such as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. But pressure is building as lawmakers face the prospect of heading home for Christmas and New Year’s without delivering aid to people in need.
Advertisement
Read more here. —Associated Press
11:53 a.m.: Column: A parting love letter to City Lit, my favorite bookstore in Chicago, on its final day of business
On a chilly Thursday evening in 2017, City Lit bookstore in Logan Square transformed itself into an apothecary.
Sales associates were bibliotherapists, tasked with prescribing literature to heal what ails us — lovesickness, loneliness, a sense of impending doom. Local writers (including me) were invited to read passages from books they found curative. (I chose “The Interestings,” by Meg Wolitzer.) A portion of the sales that night went to 826CHI, a nonprofit that supports creative writing programs for Chicago students.
It was a small and unforgettable evening, the sort of quiet magic that only happens, really, in a bookstore. People talking and laughing and wondering about stories, ideas, history, fate.
A neighborhood bookstore is a gift, and City Lit was an incomparable one — small enough to remain intimate, large enough to hold both standards and surprises; staffed by generous experts; filled with cross-legged kids during weekend storytimes and curious grown-ups during evening author readings. It has been my favorite bookstore in Chicago.
And now it’s closed. Tuesday is the last official day of business, though its doors haven’t been open for browsing or events since March 14.
Advertisement
Read more here. —Heidi Stevens
11:33 a.m.: Giving Tuesday and holiday donations can bring scammers; the pandemic makes it worse.
It’s officially the season to be jolly, and for many people, that involves giving back through monetary donations.
Most people tend to give a bulk of their donations between now and the end of the year, with days like Giving Tuesday being a big one for charities. But these days often bring higher chances of charity fraud, especially while in the midst of a pandemic.
“Charities get about 30% of their revenue from (Giving Tuesday) and end of the year,” said Steve Bernas, president and CEO of the Better Business Bureau of Chicago and Northern Illinois. “Everybody is trying to make their donations before the end of the year for tax purposes — and the scammer knows that. … There’s always an increase of charity fraud this time of year because there’s also an increase in consumers donating to charities.”
The pandemic has only exacerbated the likelihood of becoming a victim of charity fraud. In his 33 years at the bureau, Bernas said scams have never been as rampant as they are now.
“With the pandemic, everybody’s trying to help as much as they possibly can; they know people are in need. Unfortunately, with COVID-19, it forces everybody online and the scammer goes toward where the money’s at as well,” said Bernas. “For scammers, this is a field day for them.”
Advertisement
Diligently researching an organization before deciding to donate to it can be integral to wading off charity fraud, said Bernas. Ask for information on where the money goes, and don’t wait until the last minute; be proactive in your giving and find an organization meaningful to you, he said.
Read more here. —Christen A. Johnson
8:44 a.m.: Esports arena for professional video game competitions planned for Chicago’s Near South Side
Professional video game players could compete in front of large crowds on the Near South Side if a local real estate developer’s unique, post-pandemic vision comes to fruition.
Scott Greenberg, best known for Chicago hotels such as the Wit in the Loop and the EMC2 hotel in Streeterville, wants to build a $30 million esports venue called Surge near the Stevenson Expressway.
The 106,000-square-foot venue at 2500 S. Wabash Ave. would serve food and drinks from three large kitchens, and include an arena large enough for 800 spectators to watch top players compete, Greenberg said.
“What we’re doing is not like anything else in the world, as far as esports stadiums,” said Greenberg, president of Lincolnshire-based ECD Co.
Advertisement
ECD’s partner on the project is Chicago-based virtual reality company MassVR, which had a smaller esports venue in Old Orchard shopping mall in Skokie before it closed during the coronavirus pandemic.
During COVID-19, video games mostly have been limited to players’ homes, creating a boom for the industry. But the development of vaccines is bringing hope that large gatherings can safely resume in 2021.
Read more here. —Ryan Ori
6:15 a.m.: Evanston students auction time and talents to save Gyros Planet, a struggling restaurant feeding thousands of hungry families
A group of Evanston Township High School students and alums is rallying around a family business near their school in the sort of gesture that lights the way for all of us.
Gyros Planet and Taqueria, down the block from ETHS, has been a gathering spot for students and neighborhood families since wife-and-husband team Erika Castro and Pablo Sanchez bought the storefront from its previous owners and reopened it in March 2019.
In April, shortly after the restaurant’s one-year anniversary, Castro and Sanchez started handing out a few dozen free meals each day, hoping to fill the hunger gap caused by the coronavirus pandemic. At first, they took turns packing and delivering free food to their customers — customers they’d known and loved for months — who would call and tell them about their needs. (Sick family members. Furloughs. Layoffs. No health insurance.)
Advertisement
Soon they couldn’t keep up with the deliveries, so they set up a table every day from 11 a.m. to noon and filled it with meals for people to come by and pick up. Their goal was to give away 100 free lunches a day — no small task for a restaurant with a dwindling bottom line and no employees besides Castro and Sanchez to help with the cooking and assembly.
Read more here. —Heidi Stevens
6 a.m.: Chicago Park District to approve smaller budget for 2021 amid $100 million loss in revenue during the pandemic
The Chicago Park District will vote Wednesday on its 2021 budget, as it attempts to keep its head above water after a $100 million loss in revenue during the pandemic and an ongoing pension crisis.
The proposed $481.8 million budget is a drop from last year’s $487 million budget, which included a modest tax increase for homeowners and followed a new labor agreement for the district’s workers.
At last month’s Park District meeting, Superintendent Michael Kelly addressed challenges posed by the “daunting circumstances” of the pandemic in a video recorded at Gately Park, the new 139,000-square-foot track and field facility on the South Side.
“In prior years, the annual budget would highlight program expansion, it would detail plans for new and renovated facilities, and the overall growth of opportunities,” Kelly said. “The glaring difference in 2021 over previous years are the extreme mitigation efforts that we will implement to remain on sound financial footing.”
Advertisement
Kelly highlighted the Park District’s quick pivot to online programming as one way the district has met the challenges of the pandemic. He also said the district was able to keep necessary capital projects on track, including shoreline protection work after severe storm damage, and construction projects like the beach house at the South Shore Cultural Center and the Gately facility.
But the district suffered a $100 million loss in revenue in the last year, Kelly said, in part from program fees and special events disappearing.
Read more here. —Morgan Greene
Breaking coronavirus news Stay up to date with the latest information on coronavirus with our breaking news alerts.
In case you missed it
Here are some recent stories about COVID-19.


chicagotribune--2020-12-03--Daywatch: A third of PPP money went to large businesses in Illinois, see how your neighbors voted an

Daywatch: A third of PPP money went to large businesses in Illinois, see how your neighbors voted and ‘Shameless’ executive producer shares Chicago memories

Chicago drill rapper G Herbo grew up on the Southeast Side in an area dubbed “ Terror Town , ” @ @ @ @ @ world of private jets , tropical villas and designer puppies .
But as his star @ @ @ @ @ likes of Nicki Minaj and Chief Keef and money rolled in , Herbo , whose @ @ @ @ @ III , said he started to realize it was time to move on from his @ @ @ @ @ fame .
Now Wright , finds himself with new difficulties .

Good morning, Chicago. Illinois public health officials reported 238 coronavirus deaths Wednesday, the most in a single day since the pandemic began. The state also recorded 9,757 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19.
Meanwhile, wondering if you should give up alcohol during the pandemic? Or how can you get a quick and affordable test for the coronavirus? Health and science experts answer your questions about COVID-19.
Advertisement
Here’s more coronavirus news and other top stories you need to know to start your day.
For your smart speaker | Holiday gift guide | Join our COVID-19 Facebook group | More newsletters | Puzzles & Games
Advertisement
Kelly Miller gives back change to a customer at a Potbelly shop on Oct. 14, 2013. (Phil Velasquez / Chicago Tribune)
When the $659 billion Paycheck Protection Program launched in April, it was supposed to help small businesses survive a few months of disruption until the COVID-19 pandemic subsided.
Eight months later, the pandemic persists, small businesses are still hurting and the biggest beneficiaries of the forgivable PPP loans include publicly traded companies and larger enterprises that are far closer to Wall Street than Main Street.
Joe Biden won Illinois by nearly 17 percentage points, Sen. Dick Durbin sailed to reelection over Republican challenger Mark Curran and the graduated-rate income tax amendment fell by a wide margin. But how did your neighborhood vote? Use our map to search for your address, ZIP code or town to see how your neighbors cast their ballots.
In this file photo, Mayor Lori Lightfoot stands with Chicago Public Schools leaders at a news conference about contract negotiations with the Chicago Teachers Union, at City Hall on Oct. 7, 2019. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
Two days before the Chicago Teachers Union officially went on strike in 2019, one of Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s top aides sent her a note about what he called “The Bet.”
In the email, Lightfoot senior adviser and legal counsel Michael Frisch laid out a wager and its stakes.
G Herbo performs during Lollapalooza at Grant Park on Aug. 2, 2018. (Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune)
Chicago drill rapper G Herbo grew up on the Southeast Side in an area dubbed “Terror Town,” a far cry from the world of private jets, tropical villas and designer puppies. But as his star rose with collaborations with the likes of Nicki Minaj and Chief Keef and money rolled in, Herbo, whose real name is Herbert Wright III, said he started to realize it was time to move on from his past and embrace his newfound fame. Now Wright, finds himself with new difficulties.
Cameron Monaghan, from left, plays Ian Gallagher and Noel Fisher plays Mickey Milkovich on Season 11 of "Shameless," which is scheduled to premiere in December 2020. (Paul Sarkis / Showtime)
The final season of “Shameless” kicks off Sunday with an episode called “This is Chicago!” The title is not quite accurate since the cast of the Showtime series did not film in Chicago this season because of the coronavirus pandemic — much to the chagrin of fans who travel here each year to spot a Gallagher.


chicagotribune--2020-12-03--Column: Rahm Emanuel belongs in America’s political past, not in Joe Biden’s Cabinet

When a ruthless police officer was caught on dashcam video murdering one of our kids on a Chicago street in @ @ @ @ @ hidden for more than a year and even fought in court to prevent it from @ @ @ @ @ denials , many Chicagoans were convinced that he conspired with the police to keep it @ @ @ @ @ was reelected .

Medical students stage a die-in, citing a "public health crisis of excessive police violence and complete lack of accountability by city leaders in the killing of Laquan McDonald," in front of Chicago City Hall on Dec. 10, 2015. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
Joe Biden wouldn’t be president-elect if not for African Americans. Now, Black people are waiting to see whether he will betray us.
Reports emerged in the media this week that Biden is considering naming former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel secretary of transportation. It is not surprising that Emanuel, a former U.S. congressman who briefly served as President Barack Obama’s chief of staff, would be on Biden’s shortlist for a top political slot.
Advertisement
In the name of Laquan McDonald and every African American who has fallen victim to our nation’s lopsided system of social justice, that must not happen.
Emanuel was forced out of Chicago politics after he stuck a knife in the backs of African American constituents who helped him win two terms. If Biden offers him a Cabinet position, it would be like taking that same knife and stabbing Black people in the heart.
Advertisement
Most African Americans across the country don’t roll out of bed in the morning thinking about Emanuel. But in Chicago, he’s always on Black people’s minds.
When a ruthless police officer was caught on dashcam video murdering one of our kids on a Chicago street in 2014, Emanuel kept it hidden for more than a year and even fought in court to prevent it from being released. Despite his denials, many Chicagoans were convinced that he conspired with the police to keep it from us until after he was reelected.
In this city, Laquan McDonald and Rahm Emanuel are inescapably linked. We think of Emanuel every time a police officer shoots an unarmed African American. When we look at videos of these dead Black men in their final moments, we see 17-year-old Laquan lying on the ground, his body twitching from 16 gunshots.
Though Emanuel’s name is rarely mentioned in the national conversation, he has come to represent the kind of establishment politics that represses African Americans by standing in the way of measurable social justice reform.
He is the antithesis of Black Lives Matter.
He is a symbol of the status quo, the power structure that unleashes unrelenting punishment by police, most notably death, on Black and brown people without the benefit of a defense. The same system offers white counterparts unlimited opportunities to turn their lives around and start anew.
Emanuel is the kind of politician that Black people went to the polls in great numbers this year to get rid of. He is who we hoped finally would be part of our nation’s political past, certainly not its future.
Only after Emanuel was safely reelected in 2015 did the truth about the shooting come to light when a judge ordered the videotape released to the public.
Advertisement
Laquan was an innocent victim. Police Officer Jason Van Dyke shot the teenager as he was walking away. A jury found Van Dyke guilty of second-degree murder and put him behind bars.
Until the truth was revealed, Laquan was summarily dismissed as a thug, a troublemaker and a low-life who deserved exactly what he got.
Meanwhile, Emanuel seemed content watching Laquan be reduced to a mere footnote in a year of violence, just another perpetrator who provoked police to shoot him down.
It was the mayor’s duty to fight for the rights of this Chicago citizen with all his might. But Emanuel didn’t have the guts. If he had done so, he would have lost the election.
The murder eventually led to an investigation by Obama’s Justice Department, which found the Chicago Police Department rife with corruption and hostility, primarily toward African Americans.
That is a big part of Emanuel’s legacy, but not all of it.
Advertisement
When Biden glances at the former mayor’s resume, he likely will be impressed by some of his accomplishments.
Emanuel worked behind the scenes to make sure the Obama Presidential Center would bring its economic engine to the Chicago’s South Side, where it belongs.
He helped reduce food deserts in low-income communities, convincing Whole Foods to take a chance on impoverished Englewood. Under his tenure, the minimum wage went up to $13 per hour. High-achieving Chicago Public Schools students and low-income Catholic school students can now attend Chicago City Colleges tuition-free.
And he stood up against Donald Trump’s demands that Chicago help federal agents round up people living in the city without documentation, choosing instead to make Chicago a sanctuary city.
Some might say he deserves a second chance. But second chances rarely come in politics. Biden shouldn’t make Emanuel an exception.
Most African Americans believe that Biden owes us an immeasurable debt for turning out to support him with 87% of our vote. Maybe it cannot ever be fully paid. But we deserve a down payment.
Advertisement
Chicago Tribune Opinion Weekdays Read the latest editorials and commentary curated by the Tribune Opinion team. By submitting your email to receive this newsletter, you agree to our Subscriber Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy >
Emanuel’s betrayal was hurtful to African Americans. Rewarding him with a Cabinet position not only would cause African Americans to lose faith in the newly elected president, it also would put the entire Democratic Party at risk.
Emanuel is an unnecessary land mine. Coupled with the growing criticism that he has fallen short thus far in naming African Americans to top-level positions in his Cabinet, Biden risks alienating the group that he and his party need most.
Emanuel left an indelible stain on Chicago. The relationship between the Black community and law enforcement officials continually declined after Laquan’s murder.
Chicago is still suffering from the damage caused by the former mayor’s underhanded act of self-preservation. We don’t know if we will ever fully recover.
If Biden cannot understand how deeply Emanuel plunged the knife into the backs of Black people, then the president-elect did not deserve our support at the polls.
dglanton@chicagotribune.com
Advertisement
Twitter @dahleeng


chicagotribune--2020-12-03--Coronavirus in Illinois updates: 9,757 new COVID-19 cases and 238 additional deaths reported Wednesd

Coronavirus in Illinois updates: 9,757 new COVID-19 cases and 238 additional deaths reported Wednesday, the highest daily death toll since start of pandemic

“ A person ’ s pattern of alcohol consumption can have an impact on health , ” he said .
@ @ @ @ @ suggest limiting drinks to up to one drink per day for women or two drinks @ @ @ @ @ Having one drink per day is not the same as having seven drinks all at @ @ @ @ @ .
It ’ s best to spread them out as recommended in the guidelines .
@

We have lifted the paywall on this story. To support essential reporting, please consider becoming a subscriber .
CTU workers direct vehicles lined up for COVID-19 testing outside of the Chicago Teachers Union on Dec. 30, 2021, in Chicago. CPS starts back to school on Monday following their holiday break. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)
Illinois public health officials reported 238 coronavirus deaths Wednesday, the most in a single day since the pandemic began.
The previous high was 192 deaths reported on May 13, during the height of the pandemic’s first wave. In all, the state has recorded 12,639 deaths since March. Illinois has averaged 116 fatalities per day over the past week, near the record high of 118 set in the spring and matched a week ago.
Advertisement
Officials also reported 9,757 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, bringing the total number of known cases to 748,603 statewide.
In contrast to the grim news of record deaths, Gov. J.B. Pritzker sounded a positive note Wednesday when discussing how widely available a vaccine could be in Illinois within the next two to three weeks. The governor’s comments came a day after Chicago officials said they expect to begin rolling out coronavirus vaccines for health care workers later this month and could provide them to lower-risk residents in the spring and children by summer.
Advertisement
Here’s what’s happening Wednesday with COVID-19 in the Chicago area and Illinois:
8:05 p.m.: Number of COVID-19 patients in US hospitals hits record high of nearly 100,000
U.S. hospitals slammed with COVID-19 patients are trying to lure nurses and doctors out of retirement, recruiting students and new graduates who have yet to earn their licenses and offering eye-popping salaries in a desperate bid to ease staffing shortages.
With the virus surging from coast to coast, the number of patients in the hospital with the virus has more than doubled over the past month to a record high of nearly 100,000, pushing medical centers and health care workers to the breaking point. Nurses are increasingly burned out and getting sick on the job, and the stress on the nation’s medical system prompted a dire warning from the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“The reality is December and January and February are going to be rough times. I actually believe they are going to be the most difficult time in the public health history of this nation,” Dr. Robert Redfield said.
Read more here. —Associated Press
5 p.m.: IHSA confirms winter sports will not begin until 2021
The Illinois High School Association announced Wednesday that low-risk winter sports, including boys and girls bowling, boys swimming and girls gymnastics, will not start before January 2021.
Where that leaves boys and girls basketball, deemed high-risk sports by the Illinois Department of Public Health, is a mystery.
What is known? Those seasons won’t be starting anytime soon.
Advertisement
“I just think they’re kicking the can down the road,” Brother Rice coach Bobby Frasor said. “You look at what’s happening in the NFL and college football and basketball with games being canceled.
“They’re doing testing and still having these issues. Maybe the (COVID-19) numbers will start going down.”
Read more here. —Pat Disabato, Daily Southtown
4:05 p.m.: Hospitals will distribute some of the first vaccines to their frontline workers, although shots probably won’t be mandatory
With a limited supply of COVID-19 vaccines potentially arriving in Chicago this month, many area hospitals are finalizing plans for which workers will get them first and how they’ll be stored and distributed.
Most hospitals will prioritize vaccines for front line workers that deal directly with patients. At least a handful of Chicago-area hospital systems said Wednesday the vaccine won’t be mandatory for employees, for now — even though many require employees to get flu shots each year.
Unlike the flu shot, if a COVID-19 vaccine is approved, it will be approved under an emergency use authorization, which is when the FDA allows products that have not gone through the regular approval process to be used in emergencies.
Advertisement
“We don’t really feel like we can make it mandatory while it’s under EUA (emergency use authorization),” said Dr. Michael Kelleher, who leads Amita Health’s COVID-19 vaccine steering committee. “Once it’s approved by the FDA, we will probably make it mandatory, but I think we need to wait and see what happens with that.”
Read more here. —Lisa Schencker
3:40 p.m.: COVID-19 Q&A: Readers’ questions answered on Facebook Live with UChicago Medicine’s Dr. Emily Landon
Illinois on Wednesday had the highest number of coronavirus-related fatalities in a single day since the pandemic began in March. The Chicago Tribune’s Darcel Rockett spoke with the University of Chicago’s infectious diseases expert Dr. Emily Landon, who answered reader questions Wednesday on Facebook Live.
The coronavirus has touched all of our lives — from impacting our health to how we do our jobs, continue our education, interact with the outside world and maintain our relationships.
Landon touched on many COVID-19-related topics, including how cold weather might impact the virus, vaccine side effects, transmission and in-home treatment. To watch the COVID-19 Q&A Facebook Live, click here.
If you have COVID-19-related questions, please submit them to us at chicagotribune.com/ask, or check our continuously updated Q&A.
Advertisement
—Chicago Tribune staff
3:15 p.m.: Answers to readers’ questions about COVID-19
Does alcohol have an impact on your immune system? What’s the fastest, most affordable way to get a COVID-19 test. These are the latest questions readers have asked that we’ve put to health and science experts. Have your own pandemic question? Send it to the Tribune here.
Should you give up alcohol during the pandemic?
The full impact of COVID-19 on alcohol use is not yet known, but rates of alcohol usage have been rising during the pandemic. According to the World Health Organization, alcohol compromises the body’s immune system and increases the risk of adverse health outcomes. The organization suggests people minimize their alcohol consumption — particularly during the pandemic.
The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) has issued communications warning people to avoid excessive drinking. According to NIAAA Director George Koob, people who choose to consume alcohol should follow the U.S. Dietary Guidelines.
“A person’s pattern of alcohol consumption can have an impact on health,” he said. “The current 2015-2020 guidelines suggest limiting drinks to up to one drink per day for women or two drinks per day for men. Having one drink per day is not the same as having seven drinks all at once in a single day. It’s best to spread them out as recommended in the guidelines.”
Advertisement
What’s the fastest, most affordable way to get a COVID-19 test?
Health officials say that if you traveled for the Thanksgiving holiday, you should be tested for COVID-19.
Start with your primary care doctor; many doctors offer in-office testing. If you don’t have a doctor who does testing, then rapid testing, in-home testing or drive-thru testing are options. If an option is not affordable enough or closed to you due to restrictions, try crowdsourcing information to get up-to-date information about local testing sites, appointment availability, cost and wait times.
Looking for a rapid test with same-day results? Those tests are best for people who actually have COVID-19 symptoms, said Heather Keirnan, a nurse and vice president of operations for Northwestern Medicine Immediate Care. If you don’t have symptoms, the PCR test, which can detect very small amounts of the coronavirus, is a better choice, she said.
Northwestern and other local hospitals and state drive-up testing sites offers PCR tests. Northwestern offers drive-up testing for those with Northwestern doctors’ referrals in Wheaton, Aurora, St. Charles, Bartlett, Glenview, Vernon Hills, Sycamore, McHenry and Huntley, and both drive-up and walk-up testing at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in downtown Chicago.
For free tests, your options include state drive-up sites in Arlington Heights, Harwood Heights and South Holland. Tests are free for those without insurance; if you have insurance, bring your information, and the state will submit a claim.
Advertisement
The city of Chicago and Cook County also offer free testing.
For those who care more about convenience than cost, private clinics offer shorter waits. Many require upfront payments of $175 to $300. If you want to submit a claim to your insurance company, check the rules for coverage. Your insurer may require that you are referred for testing by a doctor.
Read the full Q&A blog here. —Chicago Tribune staff
2:33 p.m.: Should pregnant women get a COVID-19 vaccine? What about women considering pregnancy? Guidance is hard to find because trials exclude pregnancy.
Hospital workers are under an immense amount of stress this year. But help might be on the way soon as a federal advisory committee recommended Tuesday that they be first in line for vaccines.
But what if they are pregnant?
Like all pregnant women, health care workers will be operating without much data, as pregnant women have been excluded from clinical trials so far.
Advertisement
Read more here. —Alison Bowen
2:25 p.m.: Top Democrats swing behind bipartisan coronavirus aid bill in hopes of breaking monthslong logjam
Democratic leaders swung behind a bipartisan COVID-19 relief effort Wednesday, cutting their demands for a $2 trillion-plus measure by more than half in hopes of breaking a monthslong logjam and delivering much-sought aid as a coda to a tempestuous congressional session.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democrat leader Chuck Schumer made the announcement in a joint statement. It was aimed at budging Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell who so far has been unwilling to abandon a $550 million Senate GOP plan that has failed twice this fall.
The Democrats embraced a $908 billion approach from moderate Sens. Joe Manchin and Susan Collins among others. It would establish a $300 per week jobless benefit, send $160 billion to help state and local governments, boost schools and universities, revive popular “paycheck protection” subsidies for businesses, and bail out transit systems and airlines.
“In the spirit of compromise we believe the bipartisan framework introduced by Senators yesterday should be used as the basis for immediate bipartisan, bicameral negotiations,” Pelosi and Schumer said. They said they would try to build upon the approach, which has support in the House from a bipartisan “problem solvers” coalition.
The new plan includes a liability shield for businesses and other organizations that have reopened their doors during the pandemic. It’s the first time Pelosi and Schumer have shown a willingness to consider the idea.
Advertisement
McConnell had dismissed the bipartisan offer on Tuesday, instead aiming to rally Republicans around the $550 billion GOP proposal.
Read more here. —Associated Press
1:21 p.m.: People wary of COVID-19 are avoiding the ER, and that has doctors worried. Here’s what Chicago-area hospitals are doing to keep patients safe.
Chicago-area hospitals continue to see a decline in emergency room visits as wary Illinoisans delay care out of concerns of contracting the coronavirus, and that has doctors worried.
Emergency department visits nationwide declined by 42% from March 29 through April 25 compared with the same period a year prior, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Several Chicago-area hospitals say visits are still down, or only just starting to return to pre-pandemic levels.
Doctors say they are worried about the potential risks patients face by not seeking emergency care for serious illnesses like asthma, heart attacks and strokes, which could be more challenging to address if left untreated.
Read more here. —Abdel Jimenez
Advertisement
12:05 p.m.: Illinois reports 238 COVID-19 deaths, the most in a single day since the pandemic began
Illinois public health officials reported 238 coronavirus deaths Wednesday, the most in a single day since the pandemic began.
The previous high was 192 deaths reported on May 13, during the height of the pandemic’s first wave. In all, the state has recorded 12,639 deaths since March. Illinois has averaged 116 fatalities per day over the past week, near the record high of 118 set in the spring and matched a week ago.
Officials also reported 9,757 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, bringing the total number of known cases to 748,603 statewide.
Read more here. —Dan Petrella
11:36 p.m.: In Illinois, more than one-third of PPP funds, meant for small businesses, went to larger companies that got $1 million or more. Search the list.
More than one-third of the funds Illinois businesses and nonprofits received through the federal Paycheck Protection Program went to less than 2% of participants, according to data released late Tuesday by the Small Business Administration.
Nearly 4,000 businesses in Illinois received loans of $1 million or more, adding up to $8.67 billion, or 38% of the total. In Illinois, the SBA approved more than 221,000 loans worth nearly $23 billion, according to the newly published data.
Advertisement
The agency released the data under a court order in a federal lawsuit filed by news organizations, making public the names and loan amounts for millions of recipients of the forgivable federal loans.
Read more here. —Robert Channick
9:31 a.m.: Naperville rejects mask mandate in split council vote
The Naperville City Council affirmed that everyone who is medically able should wear a protective face covering in public to prevent the spread of COVID-19, but stopped short of mandating masks.
After hearing to two hours of comments Tuesday from nearly 150 people, many of whom oppose wearing masks or governmental interference in their decision to cover their face, the council opted to take a positive approach than a punitive one.
The council initially voted 5-4 against an ordinance requiring people to mask up in Naperville anytime a 6-foot distance cannot be maintained.
[ Mask mandate debate sets record for public comments at Naperville council meeting — here’s what some residents had to say ]
Mayor Steve Chirico and council members Kevin Coyne, Patty Gustin, Paul Hinterlong and John Krummen opposed the mandate; council members Judy Brodhead, Patrick Kelly, Theresa Sullivan and Benny White voted in favor of it.
Advertisement
After the measure failed, the council voted 8-1 on a resolution to continue and increase the city’s public awareness campaign promoting mask usage.
Read more here. —Suzanne Baker, Naperville Sun
6 a.m.: Mourners craft new and innovative funeral practices to honor the dead during pandemic
Just as the pandemic has altered so many aspects of life, it has also disrupted the experience of death and grieving. In response, mourners are creating new and innovative ways to honor the dying and departed while keeping within the bounds of pandemic protocols.
Many of these adaptations draw on cultural customs and ancient religious rites, said Roy Grinker, an anthropology professor at the George Washington University in Washington, D.C., who is co-leading a yearlong study on changes in funeral practices during the pandemic.
“There’s an extraordinary resilience and creativity of people to figure out how to do what they need to do in order to mourn, in order to grieve,” Grinker said.
There is a near-universal need for communal mourning, which becomes increasingly difficult with physical distance requirements, said Grinker, who was born and raised in Chicago.
Advertisement
“Whatever religion, whatever tradition we’re talking about, one of the common threads is the difficulty of not being able to be with others in large groups, to touch each other and to stimulate each other’s emotional release,” he said.
For the study, called Rituals in the Making, researchers are interviewing clergy, funeral directors and mourners; the project was funded by the National Science Foundation and is expected to be complete in May.
Read more here. —Angie Leventis Lourgos
Breaking coronavirus news Stay up to date with the latest information on coronavirus with our breaking news alerts.
In case you missed it
Here are some recent stories about COVID-19:


chicagotribune--2020-12-03--Prosecutors: Chicago police officer accused of sexually assaulting teen and another young woman year

Prosecutors: Chicago police officer accused of sexually assaulting teen and another young woman years before he was hired

The 38-year-old victim said she met Neely on a dating app in June 2013 .
When he visited her Oak @ @ @ @ @ , he told her he was a cop , according to Murphy .
She bought @ @ @ @ @ unattended to get him a glass of water at his request .
Shortly after drinking @ @ @ @ @ became disoriented and her vision became blurry , Murphy said .
Neely then allegedly assaulted @ @ @ @ @ but left once she began bleeding , prosecutors said .

A Chicago police officer appeared before a judge on Wednesday facing felony allegations that he sexually assaulted a high school student and a young woman years before he was hired as a cop in 2017.
Winford L. Neely, 39, of the Sauganash neighborhood, was charged with five counts of criminal sexual abuse for alleged assaults on victims dating back to 2013, according to Cook County prosecutors. His attorney proclaimed his innocence, saying he was a family man and devoted coach.
Advertisement
Winford L. Neely, 39. (Cook County Sheriffs Department / HANDOUT)
During a bail hearing broadcast on YouTube, prosecutors told Judge Arthur Wesley Willis that both victims, now 21 and 38, delayed reporting the assaults to authorities. The 21-year-old victim filed a police report in late September after telling her boyfriend, who encouraged her to contact authorities, Assistant State’s Attorney James Murphy told the court.
The second victim reported the assault last year to Chicago police, where Neely told her he worked in 2013, which wasn’t true at that time, Murphy pointed out. Because the alleged incident occurred in Oak Park, the case was transferred to police there, and the woman implicated Neely in a video interview.
Advertisement
The 38-year-old victim said she met Neely on a dating app in June 2013. When he visited her Oak Park apartment the next month, he told her he was a cop, according to Murphy. She bought wine but left her glass unattended to get him a glass of water at his request. Shortly after drinking from her glass, she became disoriented and her vision became blurry, Murphy said. Neely then allegedly assaulted the woman on her bed but left once she began bleeding, prosecutors said.
The second victim was a 15-year-old student and basketball player at an unnamed school while Neely worked as a security guard and basketball coach at her school, authorities said. Neely allegedly began sexually assaulting the girl on school property in fall 2014, something that prosecutors said happened multiple times through March 2015.
In winter months, Neely volunteered to drop off students at home after practice, but he allegedly took the victim to the basement of his home, where he would give her alcohol and sexually assault her, Murphy said.
Once he even pulled her from English class with a false story so he could allegedly assault her in a school book room, Murphy said.
Neely left the school to become a Chicago police officer in 2017 but continued to reach out to the victim through social media as recently as October, Murphy said.
The day after the victim filed a police report, Neely sent her a friend request on Snapchat that she ignored, Murphy said. She gave police audio and video recorded statements naming Neely as the person who assaulted her, prosecutors said.
Neely’s attorney, Adam Sheppard, said his client was a good cop with more than 10 honorable mentions and that he has been cooperative with investigations by the Bureau of Internal Affairs and the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services. Neely has a long history of coaching youth basketball, volleyball and football, Sheppard said, and his client has no other such allegations against him.
“He was a beloved basketball coach with no allegations by anybody at the high school of any misconduct other than the accuser in our case,” Sheppard said in a telephone interview after Wednesday’s hearing.
Advertisement
Willis released Neely on $100,000 bail but also gave him a curfew and barred him from having any contact with the victims.
Neely’s work status with Chicago police was uncertain. In a statement Wednesday evening, authorities confirmed an internal investigation but wouldn’t say whether Neely would remain on active duty. “If it’s determined the allegations are true, appropriate disciplinary action will be taken,” the statement read.
Sheppard said Neely had been working his regular shift during the investigation and planned to continue working unless told otherwise.
Neely is scheduled to return to court on Dec. 23.
Tribune reporter Megan Crepeau contributed.


chicagotribune--2020-12-02--People wary of COVID-19 are avoiding the ER, and that has doctors worried. Here’s how Chicago-area h

People wary of COVID-19 are avoiding the ER, and that has doctors worried. Here’s how Chicago-area hospitals keep patients safe.

Certified nursing assistant Tramelle Thompson checks Johnnie Hampton 's blood pressure Dec. 1 , 2020 , at the emergency room @ @ @ @ @ Chicago .
Hampton came to the emergency room because she had difficulty breathing during her @ @ @ @ @ COVID-19 .
`` Be strong and hold on and pray to God .
Because God @ @ @ @ @ gon na heal you and make you strong , '' Hampton said .

Nurses work together in the intensive care unit of Roseland Community Hospital in Chicago on Dec. 1, 2020. (Youngrae Kim / Chicago Tribune)
Chicago-area hospitals continue to see a decline in emergency room visits as people delay medical care out of concerns of contracting the coronavirus, and that has doctors worried.
ER visits nationwide declined by 42% from March 29 through April 25 compared with the same period last year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Several Chicago-area hospitals say visits are still down, or are only just starting to return to pre-pandemic levels.
Advertisement
Doctors say they are worried about the potential risks patients face by not seeking emergency care for serious illnesses like asthma, heart attacks and strokes.
“The scary part for our providers is the fact that people are staying home who are fearful of getting exposed to COVID. Then they are coming in with much more acute symptoms,” said Roseland Community Hospital CEO Tim Egan.
Advertisement
Certified nursing assistant Tramelle Thompson checks Johnnie Hampton's blood pressure Dec. 1, 2020, at the emergency room of Roseland Community Hospital in Chicago. Hampton came to the emergency room because she had difficulty breathing during her quarantine at home after contracting COVID-19. "Be strong and hold on and pray to God. Because God is the one who's gonna heal you and make you strong," Hampton said. (Youngrae Kim / Chicago Tribune)
Hospitals are making several changes to minimize the spread of the coronavirus, like screening ER patients for symptoms, testing patients who stay overnight for COVID-19 and separating non-COVID-19 patients from people who come in with symptoms.
“We are really hyperfocused on the distancing to make sure you will not find yourself sitting next to a patient coughing who may potentially have COVID,” said Dr. Paul Casey, chief medical officer and emergency medicine physician at Rush University Medical Center.
At the same time, health systems are juggling a surge of coronavirus cases that could lead to high hospitalization rates. As the number of COVID-19 patients needing a bed increases, ER patients could wait longer to be admitted and cause overcrowding in waiting rooms.
“If there are no beds in the hospital, they (patients) are stuck in the waiting room or the emergency department sometimes for hours,” said Dr. Aaron Quarles, an emergency medicine physician at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.
In an effort to meet demand, some hospitals have converted lobbies into triage centers for less seriously ill COVID-19 patients and others are sending COVID-19 patients who don’t have low oxygen levels home to recover. Other health systems have delayed certain types of elective procedures to free up beds.
Hospital workers transport a patient to the intensive care unit of Roseland Community Hospital on Dec. 1, 2020, in the Roseland neighborhood of Chicago. (Youngrae Kim / Chicago Tribune)
At Northwestern Memorial, ER visits have dropped to about 250 patients per day from its typical 300 patients per day before the pandemic, Quarles said.
Even though patient volumes are down, there are more people coming in with COVID-19-like complaints. About 20% of patients who check into the emergency department need to be admitted, he said. If hospitalization numbers don’t bend downward, it will become challenging to find beds for patients, he said.
The hospital has turned some lobby areas into expanded waiting rooms to allow for social distancing, screening all patients for symptoms and isolating COVID-19 patients from other patients.
Advertisement
At Advocate Aurora Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, about 80 patients with and without COVID-19 symptoms were waiting for a bed at the height of the pandemic in the spring, said Dr. Mila Felder, vice chair of the department of emergency medicine.
The day before Thanksgiving, Felder said two patients checked into the ER and four were waiting to be admitted. The hospital can admit patients within a couple of hours, Felder said.
“We’ve done a lot to curb the waiting times,” Felder said.
Roseland added 40 beds for COVID-19 patients, making space for them at its lobby and a multipurpose room. In the spring the hospital made room for 22 beds in lobby areas.
Advertisement
“We are moving people through quickly. We keep folks we know who are COVID-positive in negative pressure rooms in the emergency department, and if they are presenting COVID symptoms we are separating them from the regular patient populations,” Egan said.
Nurses work together in the intensive care unit of Roseland Community Hospital on Dec. 1, 2020, in Chicago. (Youngrae Kim / Chicago Tribune)
Unlike at other hospitals, ER visits at Roseland, which sees about 1,700 patients a month, have remained the same since June, Egan said. Roseland has seen an increase in patients in the past year after the closure of MetroSouth Medical Center in Blue Island, which reopened temporarily this year to house coronavirus patients, Egan said.
In recent weeks, the hospital has seen an increase in ER patients with mental illnesses who are reporting COVID-19-like symptoms. Roseland is asking the state for funding to treat those patients separately, Egan said.
“We need a separate ward for our adult population who is suffering from behavioral health issues and COVID,” he said.
In addition to the bed expansion, Egan said the hospital is only allowing certain visitors on a case-by-case basis, testing patients who stay in the hospital overnight for the coronavirus and screening all patients who check into the emergency department for COVID-19 symptoms.
At Rush, patient volumes are nearing its typical 200 patient visits per day, Casey said. The hospital has turned its main lobby into a triage center to treat less seriously ill patients with COVID-19-like symptoms in an effort to increase bed capacity.
Advertisement
Rush also is evaluating whether to cancel certain nonemergency elective procedures to make more beds available, Casey said.
A COVID-19 patient rests in bed Dec. 1, 2020, in the intensive care unit of Roseland Community Hospital in Chicago. (Youngrae Kim / Chicago Tribune)
Advocate Aurora Health, which has 10 hospitals in Illinois, announced last month it plans to delay half of its inpatient elective surgeries amid the COVID-19 surge.
At Mount Sinai Hospital, patient volumes at the emergency department are about 15% less compared with before the pandemic, said Raquel Prendkowski, assistant chief nursing officer.
Advertisement
The hospital, which is a Level 1 trauma center, a designation that means it treats patients who are seriously injured by gunshots, stabbings and car accidents, is admitting more patients with serious COVID-19 symptoms than it did in the spring, Prendkowski said.
“It seems like a lot more patients because the patients that we are seeing are still extremely sick,” Prendkowski said.
abjimenez@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @abdel1019


chicagotribune--2020-12-04--65-year-old retired Chicago firefighter killed in exchange of gunfire with carjackers on Southwest S

65-year-old retired Chicago firefighter killed in exchange of gunfire with carjackers on Southwest Side

“ He was walking to his vehicle .
He was approached by a four-door , dark-colored sedan , ” McDermott @ @ @ @ @ out and the retired firefighter was shot once in the abdomen during an “ exchange @ @ @ @

This website stores data such as cookies to enable essential site functionality, as well as marketing, personalization, and analytics. By remaining on this website, you indicate your consent.


chicagotribune--2020-12-04--The Spin: Mayor Lori Lightfoot weighs in on Madigan, ComEd | Republican Adam Kinzinger to Trump: Del

The Spin: Mayor Lori Lightfoot weighs in on Madigan, ComEd | Republican Adam Kinzinger to Trump: Delete your account | FDA commissioner defends COVID-19 vaccine approval process

“ I ’ m loathe to dictate to the Biden administration who they should pick for key positions .
I @ @ @ @ @ is , and I ’ ve been saying this all along , we need people @ @ @ @ @ particularly transportation and other places that understand collaboration ; understand collegiality ; understand that the @ @ @ @ @ all the answers — that they ’ ve got to work collaboratively with states and @ @ @ @ @ .
“ That ’ s what I ’ m seeing in some of these key @ @ @ @ @ ’ ve got to get an infrastructure bill across the finish line .
We have @ @ @ @ @ our infrastructure .
Deferred maintenance is now a significant problem .
We ’ re stepping @ @ @ @ @ infrastructure bill , but we need the federal government to do the same .
”

Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, left, walks with Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot to a House Democratic caucus meeting in 2019 at the state Capitol in Springfield. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune)
As support for Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan has waned among Democrats recently, Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Thursday said she’s been keeping tabs on developments “with great interest.”
But the first-term Democratic mayor of the state’s largest city stopped short of taking a position on the future of Madigan, the nation’s longest-serving statehouse speaker.
Advertisement
FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn, in an interview with the Tribune today, defended his agency’s COVID-19 vaccine approval process saying, “We are taking the time that we need.”
And Republican U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger said in a recent social media post that it’s time President Donald Trump delete his Twitter account.
Advertisement
Welcome to The Spin.
Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, left, walks with Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot to a House Democratic caucus meeting in 2019 at the state Capitol in Springfield. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune)
From the Tribune’s Gregory Pratt: “Citing her experience as a federal prosecutor, Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Thursday said she’s been following the ComEd bribery case that’s cast a shadow over Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan but stopped short of saying he shouldn’t be reelected to his leadership post.
“Lightfoot said she’s watched ‘with great interest the number of people who’ve stood up and said they will not vote for Mike Madigan as speaker of the House’ and said he doesn’t seem to have enough votes to get reelected at this time.
“Even though Lightfoot ran as a reform candidate and is a former federal prosecutor, she has been reluctant to take on Madigan directly even as the ComEd probe has cut into his close political circle. There is a practicality to the mayor’s hesitation: the speaker’s reputation for political retribution has been decades in the making, and if he were to hang onto control of the chamber, any criticism from Lightfoot could imperil the city’s legislative agenda.” Read the rest of the story here.
* Appearing on MSNBC later in the day, host Chuck Todd asked Lightfoot about whether Chicago would benefit if her predecessor Rahm Emanuel were to get a job as transportation secretary in Joe Biden’s cabinet.
“I’m loathe to dictate to the Biden administration who they should pick for key positions. I think the most important thing is, and I’ve been saying this all along, we need people in positions of government, particularly transportation and other places that understand collaboration; understand collegiality; understand that the federal government will never have all the answers — that they’ve got to work collaboratively with states and localities,” Lightfoot said. “That’s what I’m seeing in some of these key positions. And, we’ve got to get an infrastructure bill across the finish line. We have been on borrowed time with our infrastructure. Deferred maintenance is now a significant problem. We’re stepping up here locally with an infrastructure bill, but we need the federal government to do the same.”
* CNN’s Chris Cillizza reached out to the Tribune’s Rick Pearson for insight on the whole Madigan situation: Why the longest-serving speaker in the country is on the verge of being ousted
Food and Drug Administration commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn appears Aug. 23, 2020, during a media briefing at the White House. Hahn, the head of the agency responsible for approving any COVID-19 vaccine, was summoned to the White House Tuesday, Dec. 1, as an increasingly frustrated President Donald Trump complained that approval hasn't moved faster. (Alex Brandon/AP)
From the Tribune’s Lisa Schencker: “With Americans clamoring for a COVID-19 vaccine, all eyes will be on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration next week.
Advertisement
“An FDA advisory committee will meet Dec. 10 to discuss a potential emergency use authorization for a vaccine produced by Pfizer, and again a week later to consider a second vaccine made by Moderna. The Pfizer vaccine was 95% effective and the Moderna vaccine was 94.1% effective in clinical trials, and the FDA will make the final decisions on both.
Leading up to these historic meetings, the Tribune spoke with FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn Thursday about what happens next, concerns from some that the vaccines were rushed, and worries from others that the U.S. hasn’t moved quickly enough. The interview has been edited for length and clarity.” Read the interview here.
* From Pioneer Press’ Kaitlin Edquist: Cook County health department investigating large wedding held at Hilton Chicago/Northbrook hotel on day state marked highest number of COVID-19 deaths
* From the Tribune’s Allison Bowen: Should pregnant women get a COVID-19 vaccine? What about women considering pregnancy? Guidance is hard to find because trials exclude pregnancy
Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., speaks to the media in March 2019 at the White House in Washington. Kinzinger slammed as "beyond repugnant" President Donald Trump's tweet of a conservative pastor's comment that removing Trump from office would provoke a "civil war." (Jacquelyn Martin/AP)
Republican U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger had a five-word message for President Donald Trump when he retweeted a link to a video from the White House in which the president continued to question the results of last month’s election:
“Time to delete your account,” Kinzinger tweeted.
Advertisement
Kinzinger’s tweet came out Wednesday night, hours after the president delivered a 46-minute speech from the White House’s Diplomatic Room. During what Trump called “the most important speech” of his presidency, he challenged Democrat Joe Biden’s victory, claiming widespread voter fraud. Read the rest of the story here.
* From The Associated Press: Trump aide banned from Justice Department building after pressuring staffers for sensitive information on election fraud
* Illinois’ congressional delegation: Veteran North Shore Democratic U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky of Evanston was reappointed to the role of senior chief deputy whip. In a statement, Schakowsky said she was “honored and humbled” for the appointment. “Following a disastrous four years, particularly the last year during the COVID-19 pandemic, we have a tremendous amount of work ahead of us to restore our nation’s confidence in our federal government.”
Meanwhile, Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Bost of Downstate Murphysboro tweeted today that he’ll be the ranking Republican member on the House Veterans Affairs Committee when the new Congress starts next year. “I’m honored that my @HouseGOP colleagues have elected me as the lead Republican on @HouseVetAffairs for the 117th Congress. The U.S. is home to over 18 million veterans, & I will fight every day to ensure that they, my brothers & sisters, are taken care of. My full statement.”
Sign up for The Spin to get the top stories in politics delivered to your inbox weekday afternoons.
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., left, meet with reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington Nov. 12, 2020. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP)
From The Associated Press: “Optimism about delivering long-sought COVID-19 relief is building on Capitol Hill after additional rank-and-file lawmakers voiced support for a bipartisan, middle-of-the-road plan taking shape in the Senate and as top congressional leaders connected on the topic for the first time in months.
Advertisement
“House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell — frequent rivals but proven dealmakers — spoke on the phone Thursday, a conversation that came the day after Pelosi signaled a willingness to make major concessions in search of a COVID rescue package in the $1 trillion range.” Read the rest here.
* From the Tribune’s Robert Channick: In Illinois, more than one-third of PPP funds, meant for small businesses, went to larger companies that got loans of $1M or more. Search the SBA list.
Thanks for reading The Spin, the Tribune’s politics newsletter. Sign up here to have it delivered to your inbox weekday afternoons. Host Lisa Donovan is on vacation this week. If you have a tip, email her at ldonovan@chicagotribune.com.


chicagotribune--2020-12-04--Children from poorer Chicago areas are still less likely to attend top-performing high schools, desp

Children from poorer Chicago areas are still less likely to attend top-performing high schools, despite CPS efforts to even the playing field, new report finds

Black students and students living in neighborhoods with low socioeconomic status are also the least likely to have a top-rated @ @ @ @ @ school and to rank a high-performance program as their first choice during the high school @ @ @ @ @ the report by Lauren Sartain an assistant professor University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill @ @ @ @ @ affiliated researcher at the University of Chicago Consortium on School Research , and Lisa Barrow @ @ @ @ @ the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago .
Both have also published previous work on the @ @ @ @ @ .

In Chicago, children from wealthier and whiter neighborhoods are more likely to enroll in higher-rated public schools, attributable in part to access and choice, according to research released Thursday looking at potential barriers along a student’s path to a top-performing high school.
More than three-fourths of Chicago Public Schools students who entered ninth grade in fall 2018 went to a school other than their default neighborhood school, and 65% went to a school that had one of the district’s top two performance ratings, according to the report. Additional data compiled by CPS shows a decrease in the percentage of all high school students attending schools with those top ratings, from 65% in fall 2016 to 53% in fall 2019.
Advertisement
“Our analysis of applications data finds that Black students are less likely to apply to a high-performance high school compared to their non-Black peers, and this ultimately translates into different rates of enrollment in high-performance schools by student race/ethnicity,” according to the report, which notes similar but smaller differences between students living in neighborhoods with different socioeconomic statuses.
Students walk to Lake View High School in Chicago in March. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)
CPS places each student into one of four socioeconomic tiers — determined by factors such as median income, percentage of single-parent homes and achievement scores in the area where a student lives — in an attempt to make its application process more equitable, reserving a portion of seats at selective and magnet schools for students in each tier.
Advertisement
Black students and students living in neighborhoods with low socioeconomic status are also the least likely to have a top-rated school as their zoned neighborhood school and to rank a high-performance program as their first choice during the high school application process, according to the report by Lauren Sartain an assistant professor University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Education and an affiliated researcher at the University of Chicago Consortium on School Research, and Lisa Barrow, a senior economist with the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. Both have also published previous work on the CPS high school application process.
“We find that Black students are much less likely than other students to be assigned to a neighborhood high school with a high accountability rating,” according to the report. “They are also less likely to meet pre-application eligibility requirements for programs with strong academic reputations (e.g., selective schools and IB programs) due to lower academic performance in elementary school. Further, Black students tend to live in census tracts with lower levels of financial resources and attend lower-performing elementary schools than other students.”
The CPS School Quality Rating Policy gives each school one of five performance ratings: Levels 1+, 1, and 2+ indicate good standing, while a Level 2 means a school needs provisional support, and Level 3 denotes schools need intensive support.
The district’s annual regional analysis shows how school ratings vary by location: During the last year, 88% of high school seats in the Central Area, which includes downtown and adjacent neighborhoods, were Level 1 or 1+, compared with only 10% in the South Side region, which includes neighborhoods around Englewood, Ashburn and Chatham. Less than one third of Level 1 and 1+ high school seats were open enrollment, meaning they didn’t have admissions criteria, according to the CPS.
In fall 2018, of ninth grade students in CPS who enrolled in a high school with a Level 1 or 1+ rating, about 53% were Latino, 26% Black and 21% students of other races, according to the report. In contrast, the student population is about 47% Hispanic or Latino, 36% Black, 11% white, 4% Asian, and less than 3% multiracial or another race. In all, fewer than half of Black ninth graders enrolled in a highly rated school in 2018, compared with 70% of Latino students and 90% of white and Asian students, according to the research.
Among all grades, district data shows 41% of Black students, 66% of Hispanic or Latino students and 90% of white students attend a Level 1 or 1+ school.
Each student in CPS defaults to a zoned school in their attendance boundary. Among ninth graders in 2018, just 9% of Black students and 21% of Latino students were assigned to a Level 1 or 1+ high school. By socioeconomic status, 5% of students in the lowest tier were zoned to attend the top-rated schools, while that figure was 21% for the middle two tiers and 51% for the highest tier, according to the report.
About 91% of students in the lowest socioeconomic tier and 85% of students in the highest-tier neighborhoods live within 2.5 miles of a high-performing high school, according to the report. Yet the difference flips in terms of students who are offered seats and ultimately enroll in those schools, with 52% of students in the lowest tier and 86% of students in the highest-tier neighborhoods enrolling.
Advertisement
Based on just household income for their census tract, 87% of all students in the highest income areas and 31% of students in the lowest income areas go to Level 1 or 1+ schools, according to CPS data.
In response to the report, a CPS spokesman said that since the launch of GoCPS, the platform that manages the high school application process, “the overwhelming majority of students have consistently gained acceptance to one of their top three high school choices.”
“Still,” the CPS statement continued, “many families bear the burden of long standing, systemic inequities in our city, and we strive to create a more equitable district where all students have access to a high-quality school option in their neighborhood. We remain fully committed to making high-quality school options more equitable and accessible through sustained investments, especially in high-needs communities, and we will continue to evaluate our admissions practices.”
The report’s authors suggest school districts consider looking at the locations of high-quality programs and making sure they’re accessible to students of all racial and economic backgrounds. Schools may also need to do more to support parents and school counselors in figuring out the best options for a particular student’s interests and qualifications, according to the report.
“This may mean opening new high-quality options, or reallocating programs, but it could also mean exploring ways to alleviate transportation issues particularly in urban areas where districts could rely on robust public transportation systems,” according to the report. “Districts may also want to reconsider the academic prerequisites that affect eligibility and the probability of admission. For example, any program with minimum GPA requirements will disproportionately disqualify Black boys who have the lowest grades, on average, in the district.”
The paper continues by saying that “eliminating GPA eligibility requirements may help close enrollment gaps by race. Or instead of admitting students in order of points determined by grades and test scores, programs could hold a lottery for all students who meet the prerequisites.”
Advertisement
Some families may lack complete information about high school options, and differences in factors related to access can explain most of the gaps in enrollment at top performing high schools between students of different races or socioeconomic tiers, according to the report.
Analysis including eligibility, distance and elementary school rating “suggests that if Black and Latinx students had the same distribution of eligibility factors, distances from schools and CTA transportation, and elementary school and community resources, the gap in enrolling in a high-performance high school would close by 77%,” according to the report. “Similarly, if Tier 1 students had the same distribution of eligibility factors and distances from high-performance schools and CTA transportation, the gap in enrolling in a high-performance high school would close by 82%.”
hleone@chicagotribune.com