chicagotribune--2020-09-18--Coronavirus in Illinois updates: 2,120 new known COVID-19 cases reported as DuPage county no longer

Coronavirus in Illinois updates: 2,120 new known COVID-19 cases reported as DuPage county no longer at ‘warning level’ and Pritzker says bars and indoor dining can return in Will and Kankakee counties

Gov .
J.B. Pritzker announced Friday that bars and indoor dining can reopen in the region that includes Will and Kankakee counties after weeks under stricter rules aimed at slowing the spread of coronavirus .
The region that encompasses Will and Kankakee counties was the second to see tougher rules imposed after it surpassed a state threshold of 8 % positivity rate for three consecutive days .
As of Friday , the region ’ s positivity rate was 5.6 % .
Meanwhile , DuPage County is no longer among the Illinois counties at “ warning level ” for a possible @ @ @ @ @ @ @ DuPage being removed from the list , no Chicago-area counties are currently under warning .
Illinois public health officials Friday announced 2,120 newly diagnosed cases of COVID-19 and 20 more deaths .
That raises the statewide known case tally to 270,327 throughout the course of the pandemic .
The state reported death toll is now 8,411 .
The statewide seven-day rolling positivity rate stands at 3.6 % .
The devastating impact of COVID-19 on the number of airline passengers using O ’ Hare International Airport could delay completion of the massive airport terminal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a recent document .
While Lightfoot administration officials have said the $ 8.5 billion project is moving ahead in spite of the steep downturn in passengers and the revenue they generate to help fund the work , documents submitted this week to try to refinance airport debt show the city hedging its bets on the timing .
“ The city continues to assess COVID-19 and its potential effects on ” the project , the document reads .
It ’ s in “ the early stages of design and the estimated completion date remains @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of COVID-19 or other economic and operational factors.
” Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle ’ s temporarily expanded powers during the coronavirus pandemic might be extended again , this time until the end of the year .
Cook County commissioners are set to vote next week on a measure that stretches out the end date of her countywide disaster proclamation until Dec. 31 , giving her 90 additional days of ability to make certain decisions without the Board of Commissioners ' approval when it comes to responding to the coronavirus outbreak .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ County ’ s ability to access the resources , equipment and personnel needed to address ongoing and changing circumstances on the ground which is particularly necessary should the number of COVID-19 cases rise and the demands on County staff and partners continue to increase , ” according to the resolution ’ s text .
4 p.m. : Contact daze : Chicagoland athletes and coaches adjust to the new world of IHSA-approved contact days in the fall In 2020 , it could be the only thing remotely close to being normal in this football-crazy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ what quarterback Kyle Oroni envisioned for his senior year .
Normally packed bleachers are quiet minus the fans , the band and the raucous student sections .
Yes , players are on the field working out , but the pads aren ’ t popping .
This is the state Oroni operates in for a practice now allowed this fall by the Illinois High School Association .
This counts as a contact day , but there ’ s limited interaction between the masked athletes under the direction of their masked coaches .
Thanks to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is all Oroni and his football teammates have right now .
They are striving to make the most of it .
The North Side is losing another barbecue spot after Fat Willy ’ s Rib Shack announced Thursday evening that it will close at the end of the month .
The Logan Square restaurant has been in the neighborhood for more than 19 years and has a loyal following of diners who go there for baby back ribs , pulled pork , brisket and mac and cheese .
“ It ’ s with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sadness that we are announcing our closure at the end of this month , ” reads a Facebook post on the restaurant ’ s account .
“ Many of you became a special part of our lives and it was an amazing thing to feed you all .
We will miss our restaurant guests and employees .
We all look forward to a renewed and brighter future.
” 1:30 p.m. : Barrington schools chief eyes late October return to in-person learning : ‘ I know it ’ s not soon enough for some @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Harris laid out steps at the school board meeting Tuesday for a return to in-person learning by late October , but acknowledged that the schedule wouldn ’ t please some parents and school board members impatient with the pace of the shift .
“ I know it ’ s not soon enough for some people , ” Harris said during his presentation , adding that even when hybrid learning – a combination of in-person and remote engagement – starts , it won ’ t mean all students back in all school buildings at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ speakers during the public comment portion of the meeting Tuesday called on board members and Harris to open the school buildings to in-person learning immediately .
That was in line with demands from a crowd of hundreds of parents who demonstrated in the village Monday at Citizens Park .
DuPage County is no longer among the Illinois counties at “ warning level ” for a possible resurgence of the new coronavirus .
The weekly list released Friday by the Illinois Department of Public Health includes 24 counties , down from 30 a week @ @ @ @ @ @ @ list when they reach two or more benchmarks indicating the virus that causes COVID-19 is spreading locally .
With DuPage being removed from the list , no Chicago-area counties are currently under warning .
The counties currently at warning level are : Bond , Bureau , Cass , Clinton , Coles , Crawford , Cumberland , DeWitt , Edwards , Effingham , Greene , Jasper , Jo Daviess , Lawrence , Madison , Marion , Rock Island , St. Clair , Shelby , Washington , Wayne , Williamson , Wabash and Union .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ controversial piece of coronavirus guidance and said anyone who has been in close contact with an infected person should get tested .
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention essentially returned to its previous testing guidance , getting rid of language posted last month that said people who didn ’ t feel sick didn ’ t need to get tested .
That change had set off a rash of criticism from health experts who couldn ’ t fathom why the nation ’ s top public health agency would say such a thing amid @ @ @ @ @ @ @ control .
Health officials were evasive about why they had made the change in August , and some speculated it was forced on the CDC by political appointees within the Trump administration .
12:37 p.m. : Chicago ’ s Billy Goat Tavern owner Sam Sianis won ’ t retire , no matter the challenges of the pandemic era When you descend to the depths of Lower Michigan Avenue now , the neon signs of the Billy Goat Tavern seem gone .
The lights still glow behind blue painted boards .
The owner beams @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ m at the Billy Goat , I feel better !
” said Sam Sianis , owner of perhaps the most iconic restaurant and bar in Chicago .
Sianis , who tends to speak at a shout , turns 86 on Dec. 12 .
He was born in 1934 , the same year the tavern was founded .
That places him in the age group at greatest risk for severe illness from COVID-19 , according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention .
He ’ s just one of the thousands of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ ve devoted their lives to the family business .
Just one of the many faces we came to expect behind the counter , who knew our orders by heart .
Just one of those who may never go back to work again at the place that made them and us and our city .
12:10 p.m. : 2,120 new known COVID-19 cases and 20 more deaths reported Illinois health officials on Friday announced 2,120 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 20 additional fatalities .
The Illinois Department of Public Health is now @ @ @ @ @ @ @ including 8,411 deaths , in 102 counties in Illinois since the start of the coronavirus ' spread .
The seven-day statewide positivity rate is 3.6 % .
Within the past 24 hours , laboratories have reported 61,918 new tests , according to the IDPH .
1,481 people in Illinois are in the hospital with COVID-19 .
Of those , 329 patients were in the ICU and 149 patients are on ventilators , according to state health officials .
11:23 a.m. : Adult obesity rates are up , reaching nearly 32 % in Illinois @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the rate higher , new report finds The report by Washington , D.C.-based nonprofit Trust for America ’ s Health found the obesity rate among adults nationwide passed 40 % for the first time , and food insecurity during the coronavirus pandemic could put more Americans at risk for obesity in the future .
It is the 17th year the group has published the report , which used 2019 data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention .
John Auerbach , president and CEO of Trust for America ’ s Health , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are partly because many can ’ t afford healthier food options , which tend to be more expensive .
Auerbach said another reason is low-income neighborhoods tend to have more fast-food restaurants and convenience stores rather than grocery stores .
“ One of the counterintuitive things about obesity is that it ’ s correlated with poverty .
The poorer you are , the more likely you are to be obese , ” he said .
10:56 a.m. : Bars and indoor dining to return in Will and Kankakee counties as COVID-19 positivity rate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Friday that bars and indoor dining can reopen in the region that includes Will and Kankakee counties after weeks under stricter rules aimed at slowing the spread of coronavirus .
That region logged three consecutive days this week under a 6.5 % COVID-19 test positivity rate , allowing the stricter rules to be lifted as of 5 p.m. Friday , Pritzker said at a news conference Friday morning .
The region that encompasses Will and Kankakee counties was the second to see tougher rules imposed after it surpassed a state threshold of 8 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The seven-county Metro East region , the first to see a rollback in its reopening , remains under the stricter rules for bars , restaurants and gatherings .
The rollback meant the closure of bars and indoor dining , and a lowering of the gathering cap to 25 people .
In Phase 4 of Pritzker ’ s reopening plan , which the state entered in late June , the gathering cap is 50 people , and bars and indoor dining are allowed to be open with capacity limits .
8:42 a.m. : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ suicides in first 6 months of 2020 , suggests link to isolation during pandemic An increase in the number of suicides since the COVID-19 pandemic started is raising concerns with the DuPage County coroner about whether the trend will continue through the end of the year .
He said 34 suicide deaths in the county occurred after the state implemented measures in March to stop the spread of COVID-19 , ordering nonessential businesses to shut down and residents to stay home , and later limiting where and how many people could congregate .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ the executive director of the International Latino Cultural Center of Chicago , has retained a slate of 43 features and 38 short films .
The work comes from all over Latin America , Spain , Portgual and Chicago ; the features are paired , as usual , with a short , such as the 12-minute “ Under the Skyway , ” director Daniel Laboy Valdez ’ s 12-minute tale of brother against brother , shot in East Chicago with a sharp eye for landscape and faces — two essential building blocks for any @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : As they focused on others with COVID-19 and refused to walk away , Illinois health care workers bore the brunt of pandemic More than 100 lives of professionals working in the health care field have been lost in Illinois in the six months since COVID-19 began its deadly march through the state .
At last count , at least 112 had died and more than 15,250 had contracted the virus as of Sept. 10 , according to state public health officials , who said the exact figure is unknown and likely higher @ @ @ @ @ @ @ infections were listed in a separate category for first responders , not including law enforcement .
5 a.m. : Deadly toll of COVID-19 on health care field : A memorial to 46 of those who died .
More than 100 professionals working in the health care field have died in Illinois since COVID-19 began its deadly march through the state this past spring , according to public health officials , who said the exact figure is likely higher .
They include nurses , doctors , medical assistants , technicians , therapists and other @ @ @ @ @ @ @ food and provide security .
They worked in hospitals , nursing homes , private offices or on ambulance crews and in homes as health aides .
Most were minorities .
The Tribune has identified and interviewed dozens of families to chronicle the devastating loss of life and acts of heroism .
If you know someone you would like to submit to this memorial , please contact us .
Read their stories here .
—Christy Gutowski , John Keilman and Jonathon Berlin Here are five things that happened Thursday related to COVID-19 :

We have lifted the paywall on this story. To support essential reporting, please consider becoming a subscriber .
Paca Kujtim of Arlington Heights self-administers a COVID-19 test in his car at the Arlington International Racecourse on March 31, 2021 in Arlington Heights. Kujtim was getting testing as a precaution for upcoming travel. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)
Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced Friday that bars and indoor dining can reopen in the region that includes Will and Kankakee counties after weeks under stricter rules aimed at slowing the spread of coronavirus.
The region that encompasses Will and Kankakee counties was the second to see tougher rules imposed after it surpassed a state threshold of 8% positivity rate for three consecutive days. As of Friday, the region’s positivity rate was 5.6%.
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Meanwhile, DuPage County is no longer among the Illinois counties at “warning level” for a possible resurgence of the new coronavirus. With DuPage being removed from the list, no Chicago-area counties are currently under warning.
Illinois public health officials Friday announced 2,120 newly diagnosed cases of COVID-19 and 20 more deaths. That raises the statewide known case tally to 270,327 throughout the course of the pandemic. The state reported death toll is now 8,411. The statewide seven-day rolling positivity rate stands at 3.6%.
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Here’s what’s happening Friday with COVID-19 in the Chicago area and Illinois:
6 p.m.: North Shore school district backs off proposed COVID-19 policy keeping quarantined kids off remote learning: ‘There are no travel police’
At the urging of officials with the Illinois State Board of Education, Sunset Ridge School District 29 on Friday have scrapped a proposed policy that would have prohibited students who are quarantining from participating in remote learning.
The proposal from a District 29 task force, which was approved by the school board, would have required that students at the Northfield-based school district who are on quarantine for travel-related reasons, like visiting a high risk area, “not be permitted to access remote learning during the travel or quarantine period,” District 29 Superintendent Ed Stange said in a Sept. 16 parent letter.
Stange said the recommendation was made due to the difficulties educators face when students transition between in-person and remote instruction.
“Our general goal is to maintain consistency in the learning environment, and limit unnecessary movement between in-person and remote environments,” Stange said. “That is why we asked families to commit to in-person or remote learning through the first trimester.”
The communication, which was emailed to parents and posted on the district’s website, was quickly followed by a second message, with Stange apologizing and acknowledging that he was hearing from “concerned families,” and hoping to provide “perspective” on the recommendation.
Read more here. —Karen Ann Cullotta
5:50 p.m.: Whether a restaurant survives the pandemic could depend on an uneasy dance with the landlord
Restaurants, their receipts less than a third of what they customarily would take in, are unable to pay rent. Landlords, with mortgages and property-tax bills due, can’t survive without income.
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Since the coronavirus pandemic hit, resulting in the forced closure six months ago of restaurants and bars throughout the state, Chicago-area restaurateurs and landlords have been forced into an uneasy dance, as both camps fight for economic survival.
It’s a give-and-take struggle that will last months more, maybe into next summer.
Partners Allan Perales and David Goldberg, whose GoldStreet Partners brokerage matches landlords to restaurant tenants, from big brands such as P.F. Chang’s to single-operator restaurants such as Tzuco and Galit, see the issue from both sides.
“We’re seeing a lot of panic from the landlord and tenant perspectives,” Perales said. “It’s been a rough four-five months, and nobody’s winning right now. The greatest fear a landlord has is that their restaurant tenants aren’t able to pay rent. That could result in losing ownership of the building altogether, having it go back to the bank or to investors.”
And so, often with little choice, landlords are willing to deal. But how?
Read more here. —Phil Vettel and Ryan Ori
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5 p.m.: City O’Hare debt document indicates COVID-19 could delay huge airport terminal revamp
The devastating impact of COVID-19 on the number of airline passengers using O’Hare International Airport could delay completion of the massive airport terminal modernization project, city officials acknowledge in a recent document.
While Lightfoot administration officials have said the $8.5 billion project is moving ahead in spite of the steep downturn in passengers and the revenue they generate to help fund the work, documents submitted this week to try to refinance airport debt show the city hedging its bets on the timing.
“The city continues to assess COVID-19 and its potential effects on” the project, the document reads. It’s in “the early stages of design and the estimated completion date remains subject to change due to the impacts of COVID-19 or other economic and operational factors.”
Crain’s Chicago Business first reported on the possible delay.
Read more here. —John Byrne
4:20 p.m.: Cook County Board to vote on extending Preckwinkle’s expanded powers during pandemic
Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle’s temporarily expanded powers during the coronavirus pandemic might be extended again, this time until the end of the year.
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Cook County commissioners are set to vote next week on a measure that stretches out the end date of her countywide disaster proclamation until Dec. 31, giving her 90 additional days of ability to make certain decisions without the Board of Commissioners' approval when it comes to responding to the coronavirus outbreak.
“Extending the proclamation will enhance the County’s ability to access the resources, equipment and personnel needed to address ongoing and changing circumstances on the ground which is particularly necessary should the number of COVID-19 cases rise and the demands on County staff and partners continue to increase,” according to the resolution’s text.
Read more here. —Alice Yin
4 p.m.: Contact daze: Chicagoland athletes and coaches adjust to the new world of IHSA-approved contact days in the fall
The Friday night lights are shining brightly, as usual, on a cool September evening in Batavia.
In 2020, it could be the only thing remotely close to being normal in this football-crazy town. It certainly isn’t what quarterback Kyle Oroni envisioned for his senior year.
Normally packed bleachers are quiet minus the fans, the band and the raucous student sections. Yes, players are on the field working out, but the pads aren’t popping.
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This is the state Oroni operates in for a practice now allowed this fall by the Illinois High School Association. This counts as a contact day, but there’s limited interaction between the masked athletes under the direction of their masked coaches.
It’s a misnomer.
“There’s as little contact as possible,” Oroni said.
Thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, this contact period is all Oroni and his football teammates have right now. They are striving to make the most of it.
Read more here. —Rick Armstrong
2:50 p.m.: Beloved Logan Square barbecue restaurant Fat Willy’s closing
The North Side is losing another barbecue spot after Fat Willy’s Rib Shack announced Thursday evening that it will close at the end of the month.
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The Logan Square restaurant has been in the neighborhood for more than 19 years and has a loyal following of diners who go there for baby back ribs, pulled pork, brisket and mac and cheese.
“It’s with deep gratitude and a true shade of sadness that we are announcing our closure at the end of this month,” reads a Facebook post on the restaurant’s account. “Many of you became a special part of our lives and it was an amazing thing to feed you all. We will miss our restaurant guests and employees. We all look forward to a renewed and brighter future.”
Read more here. —Grace Wong
1:30 p.m.: Barrington schools chief eyes late October return to in-person learning: ‘I know it’s not soon enough for some’
Barrington School District 220 Superintendent Brian Harris laid out steps at the school board meeting Tuesday for a return to in-person learning by late October, but acknowledged that the schedule wouldn’t please some parents and school board members impatient with the pace of the shift.
“I know it’s not soon enough for some people,” Harris said during his presentation, adding that even when hybrid learning – a combination of in-person and remote engagement – starts, it won’t mean all students back in all school buildings at the same time.
SD220 enrolls more than 8,600 students in grades pre-K to 12, across 12 schools.
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Six of eight speakers during the public comment portion of the meeting Tuesday called on board members and Harris to open the school buildings to in-person learning immediately. That was in line with demands from a crowd of hundreds of parents who demonstrated in the village Monday at Citizens Park.
Read more here. —Graydon Megan
1:08 p.m.: DuPage County comes off ‘warning level’ list
DuPage County is no longer among the Illinois counties at “warning level” for a possible resurgence of the new coronavirus.
The weekly list released Friday by the Illinois Department of Public Health includes 24 counties, down from 30 a week ago. Counties are added to the list when they reach two or more benchmarks indicating the virus that causes COVID-19 is spreading locally.
With DuPage being removed from the list, no Chicago-area counties are currently under warning. The counties currently at warning level are: Bond, Bureau, Cass, Clinton, Coles, Crawford, Cumberland, DeWitt, Edwards, Effingham, Greene, Jasper, Jo Daviess, Lawrence, Madison, Marion, Rock Island, St. Clair, Shelby, Washington, Wayne, Williamson, Wabash and Union.
—Dan Petrella
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12:44 p.m.: CDC drops controversial coronavirus testing advice that caused backlash
U.S. health officials on Friday dropped a controversial piece of coronavirus guidance and said anyone who has been in close contact with an infected person should get tested.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention essentially returned to its previous testing guidance, getting rid of language posted last month that said people who didn’t feel sick didn’t need to get tested. That change had set off a rash of criticism from health experts who couldn’t fathom why the nation’s top public health agency would say such a thing amid a pandemic that has been difficult to control.
Health officials were evasive about why they had made the change in August, and some speculated it was forced on the CDC by political appointees within the Trump administration.
Read more here. —Associated Press
12:37 p.m.: Chicago’s Billy Goat Tavern owner Sam Sianis won’t retire, no matter the challenges of the pandemic era
When you descend to the depths of Lower Michigan Avenue now, the neon signs of the Billy Goat Tavern seem gone. The lights still glow behind blue painted boards. The owner beams too, sometimes.
“When I’m at the Billy Goat, I feel better!” said Sam Sianis, owner of perhaps the most iconic restaurant and bar in Chicago.
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Sianis, who tends to speak at a shout, turns 86 on Dec. 12. He was born in 1934, the same year the tavern was founded. That places him in the age group at greatest risk for severe illness from COVID-19, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
He’s just one of the thousands of restaurant owners in the Chicago area who’ve devoted their lives to the family business. Just one of the many faces we came to expect behind the counter, who knew our orders by heart. Just one of those who may never go back to work again at the place that made them and us and our city.
Read more here. —Louisa Chu
12:10 p.m.: 2,120 new known COVID-19 cases and 20 more deaths reported
Illinois health officials on Friday announced 2,120 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 20 additional fatalities. The Illinois Department of Public Health is now reporting a total of 270,327 cases, including 8,411 deaths, in 102 counties in Illinois since the start of the coronavirus' spread.
The seven-day statewide positivity rate is 3.6%. Within the past 24 hours, laboratories have reported 61,918 new tests, according to the IDPH.
1,481 people in Illinois are in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 329 patients were in the ICU and 149 patients are on ventilators, according to state health officials.
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—Chicago Tribune staff
11:23 a.m.: Adult obesity rates are up, reaching nearly 32% in Illinois, and the COVID-19 pandemic could push the rate higher, new report finds
Adult obesity rates are on the rise, reaching 31.6% in Illinois, with higher rates among Black and Latino populations, a study published Thursday found.
The report by Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit Trust for America’s Health found the obesity rate among adults nationwide passed 40% for the first time, and food insecurity during the coronavirus pandemic could put more Americans at risk for obesity in the future.
It is the 17th year the group has published the report, which used 2019 data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In Illinois, the obesity rate is 40.5% among Black adults and 34.6% among Latino adults, the study found.
John Auerbach, president and CEO of Trust for America’s Health, said the higher rates among those groups are partly because many can’t afford healthier food options, which tend to be more expensive. Auerbach said another reason is low-income neighborhoods tend to have more fast-food restaurants and convenience stores rather than grocery stores.
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“One of the counterintuitive things about obesity is that it’s correlated with poverty. The poorer you are, the more likely you are to be obese,” he said.
Read more here. —Abdel Jimenez
10:56 a.m.: Bars and indoor dining to return in Will and Kankakee counties as COVID-19 positivity rate comes down
Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced Friday that bars and indoor dining can reopen in the region that includes Will and Kankakee counties after weeks under stricter rules aimed at slowing the spread of coronavirus.
That region logged three consecutive days this week under a 6.5% COVID-19 test positivity rate, allowing the stricter rules to be lifted as of 5 p.m. Friday, Pritzker said at a news conference Friday morning.
As of Friday, the region’s positivity rate was 5.6%.
The region that encompasses Will and Kankakee counties was the second to see tougher rules imposed after it surpassed a state threshold of 8% positivity rate for three consecutive days. The seven-county Metro East region, the first to see a rollback in its reopening, remains under the stricter rules for bars, restaurants and gatherings.
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The rollback meant the closure of bars and indoor dining, and a lowering of the gathering cap to 25 people. In Phase 4 of Pritzker’s reopening plan, which the state entered in late June, the gathering cap is 50 people, and bars and indoor dining are allowed to be open with capacity limits.
Read more here. —Jamie Munks
8:42 a.m.: DuPage coroner reports 23% increase in suicides in first 6 months of 2020, suggests link to isolation during pandemic
An increase in the number of suicides since the COVID-19 pandemic started is raising concerns with the DuPage County coroner about whether the trend will continue through the end of the year.
Coroner Richard Jorgensen issued a warning Thursday that the number of suicides in the county between Jan. 1 and June 30 rose from 44 in 2019 to 54 in 2020, a 23% increase.
He said 34 suicide deaths in the county occurred after the state implemented measures in March to stop the spread of COVID-19, ordering nonessential businesses to shut down and residents to stay home, and later limiting where and how many people could congregate.
Jorgensen said the increase in suicides is particularly alarming combined with the number of drug overdose deaths in 2020.
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Read more here. —Suzanne Baker
7:30 a.m.: Chicago Latino Film Festival kicks off Friday online
The Chicago Latino Film Festival kicks off Friday online, instead of at its usual home in recent years at the AMC River East 21 multiplex.
Festival producer Pepe Vargas, who is the executive director of the International Latino Cultural Center of Chicago, has retained a slate of 43 features and 38 short films. The work comes from all over Latin America, Spain, Portgual and Chicago; the features are paired, as usual, with a short, such as the 12-minute “Under the Skyway,” director Daniel Laboy Valdez’s 12-minute tale of brother against brother, shot in East Chicago with a sharp eye for landscape and faces — two essential building blocks for any filmmaker with a future.
Read more here. —Michael Phillips
5 a.m.: As they focused on others with COVID-19 and refused to walk away, Illinois health care workers bore the brunt of pandemic
More than 100 lives of professionals working in the health care field have been lost in Illinois in the six months since COVID-19 began its deadly march through the state.
At last count, at least 112 had died and more than 15,250 had contracted the virus as of Sept. 10, according to state public health officials, who said the exact figure is unknown and likely higher. Four more deaths and nearly 400 infections were listed in a separate category for first responders, not including law enforcement.
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Read more here. —Christy Gutowski
5 a.m.: Deadly toll of COVID-19 on health care field: A memorial to 46 of those who died.
More than 100 professionals working in the health care field have died in Illinois since COVID-19 began its deadly march through the state this past spring, according to public health officials, who said the exact figure is likely higher.
They include nurses, doctors, medical assistants, technicians, therapists and other support staff who clean rooms, serve food and provide security. They worked in hospitals, nursing homes, private offices or on ambulance crews and in homes as health aides. Most were minorities.
The Tribune has identified and interviewed dozens of families to chronicle the devastating loss of life and acts of heroism. If you know someone you would like to submit to this memorial, please contact us.
Read their stories here. —Christy Gutowski, John Keilman and Jonathon Berlin
Breaking coronavirus news Stay up to date with the latest information on coronavirus with our breaking news alerts.
In case you missed it
Here are five things that happened Thursday related to COVID-19:


chicagotribune--2020-09-18--Column: FBG Duck brought a street fight between the ‘have-nots’ into the turf controlled  by the ‘ha

Column: FBG Duck brought a street fight between the ‘have-nots’ into the turf controlled  by the ‘haves’

There will be justice for FBG Duck , but not because he mimicked the life of the “ haves.
” @ @ @ @ @ was still a “ have-not ” who was killed by other “ have-nots ” on @ @ @ @ @ the “ haves .
”

Family and friends of slain Chicago rapper FBG Duck visit Oak Street at Michigan Avenue on Aug. 7, 2020, following his killing on the block last week. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune)
Two opposite worlds inhabited by the “haves” and the “have-nots” collided last week on a glitzy street in the heart of Chicago’s Gold Coast.
It isn’t often the two paths cross, which makes it easy for the “haves” to forget that violence does not recognize boundaries. Until now, the “have-nots” largely kept to themselves, seemingly content executing their deadly system of street justice within their own distressed communities on the South and West sides.
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There was no need for the “have-nots” to disturb the “haves” with their petty street fights and social media taunts that send hundreds of Black males to their graves each year.
The “haves,” of course, weren’t oblivious to the killings. But no one expected the “have-nots” to penetrate their isolated cocoons tucked far away on the North Side.
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The killing of Chicago rapper FBG Duck, gunned down in broad daylight on Oak Street, the home of exclusive stores like Prada, Christian Louboutin and Dolce & Gabbana, revealed a shocking subculture of violence in our city.
It has little to do with poverty, the underlying cause of many shootings. This lifestyle is all about the pursuit of wealth. Or as the rappers call it, clout.
The “have-nots” long viewed rap music as a path to becoming one of the “haves.” Reaching the heights of a Common or Chance the Rapper, names that command respect and prestige, is as unpredictable and unlikely as winning the lottery.
But within the brutal gang society, young artists who might never make it to the mainstream obtain instant stardom in a mostly underground hip-hop music industry that is fueled by violence and promoted on social media and YouTube.
They perform under names like Lil’ Durk, King Von and MEMO 600. Carlton Weekly, 26, was one of them. His performance name, FBG Duck, refers to his Gangster Disciples music crew, “Fly Boy Gang,” an adversary of acclaimed rapper Chief Keef.
The music that emerged from Chicago streets a decade ago isn’t the traditional rap that originated in New York and California. The local performers are known for drill music, a dark and vulgar subset of hip-hop, promoting murder and retaliation.
They start out performing in dimly lit basements on the South Side, putting hard-core lyrics to soulful beats that tell the realistic story of what it’s like to maneuver through treacherous territories of neighbors controlled by gangs.
As their popularity grows, their YouTube videos can generate 10 million to 50 million views or more. Some go on to sign contracts with major recording labels, allowing exposure to a broader audience through Spotify, Pandora and Apple Music.
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Many have criminal records going back to childhood, adding to their allure. The gang connections that propelled their rise to fame don’t always end once they get a record deal. Chicago’s continuing gang violence, in fact, propels them further.
A few years ago, FBG Duck signed with Sony Music Entertainment. But according to police, he was affiliated with a faction of the Gangster Disciples involved in a long-standing conflict with the Black Disciples on the South Side.
The rapper recently released a music video in which he made derogatory remarks about Black Disciples members who have been killed. Among those he disparaged was Odee Perry, the slain gang member for whom one of the most dangerous areas in Chicago, O-Block, is named. Police believe that made him a target.
The video is too disturbing for those unfamiliar with the gang culture to watch. It is filled with profanity and lewd sexual references. Young men smoke dope and flash large automatic weapons in front of the camera.
It is a lifestyle most Chicagoans could never fully understand, but it represents the reality of many young people who are immersed in violence.
The videos often are shot with a single camera, on location in a home or someone’s yard. Sometimes they include thinly veiled death threats against rivals. Sometimes the rappers acknowledge that their own lives are in danger.
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Weekly certainly must have known that his latest video would draw the attention of his adversaries and lead to retaliation. One of the characteristics of this genre of music is to project a machismo image that appears to defy death.
On the day he was killed, Weekly had been traveling through the city, livestreaming his whereabouts on social media. He created a trail for his killers to follow — something he had boasted in a 2017 interview on the urban news website VladTV that he would never be dumb enough to do.
Around 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, as he stood near the entrance of a high-end clothing store, two cars pulled up, two men got out of each vehicle and started firing a hail of bullets. A woman waiting for Weekly in a parked black Mercedes-Benz was injured, as well as a male who was with them.
Weekly’s relatives said he had gone to the store to purchase a birthday present for his son, one of his four children, all under the age of 10.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot described Weekly as “an individual who fancies himself as a rapper but is also a member of a gang.” FBG Duck began his music career at the age of 17 but reached fame with his single, “Slide” in 2018, which led to a recording contract.
Regardless of his status in real life, the most important thing in the world in which FBG Duck lived is image.
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A rapper who is dipping into the world of the “haves” doesn’t buy his kids’ clothes off the sale rack at Macy’s. He shops at an exclusive store that sells $200 Versace T-shirts for 5-year-olds. He flashes rolls of $100 bills in his videos and brags about having $100,000 tucked away in his studio.
His videos offer a window into who FBG Duck was and the culture that created him.
The video “OK” begins with the camera scanning a table full of prescription codeine. He picks up a bottle and pours it into a bottle of Sprite — the formula for a highly addictive drink known on the street as “lean” or “purple drank.”
He speaks about having no one to father him and pondered whether things would have been different if his dad had not always been locked up. He talks about “coming away from seeing rats and roaches” to making music for “the folks who feel helpless.”
He wondered if his older brother, an aspiring rapper who was shot to death three years ago, would be proud of him for making something of himself. The song seemed to forebode his own death.
“Got a call from ‘Lil Bro.’ That n----- trying to kill me. Everything gone be OK.
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“If it ever, ever come down to that day. I put some money in the safe just to make sure my kids and my mama ’em straight.”
In the VladTV interview, Weekly suggested that he was too smart to ever be gunned down. Though he had been shot twice, he saw no need to leave Chicago as other rappers have done when things got too hot.
“I know what to do and what not to do,” he said. “How I move around, I’m safe.
“I’m like a ghost. I can see you, but you can’t see me.”
In the aftermath of the shooting, mostly white Gold Coast residents stood on the streets, many with their dogs on a leash, watching as police surveyed the area.
It was reminiscent of a scene in the 2004 film “Hotel Rwanda,” a true story based on the genocide in which up to a million Rwandans were slaughtered over 100 days in 1994. United Nations peacekeepers loaded the white tourists onto a bus to get them out of the country as the rebel fighting intensified.
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As the bus pulls away, the camera focuses on a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, peering through the window at the frightened Rwandans left behind. His safety was more important than theirs.
By nightfall, the blood had been washed away from the sidewalk on Oak Street and the shattered glass swept up. Within a few days, there will be no signs of the tragedy that occurred.
For the “haves,” life quickly returned to normal. But for the “have-nots,” normal does not look the same.
In Englewood, Woodlawn and other neighborhoods on the South Side, signs were posted, warning of retaliation. Parents were told to keep their children inside. Many residents spent the weekend behind closed doors with their curtains drawn.
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At a news conference on Oak Street on Friday, FBG Duck’s mother, LaSheena Weekly, said she is sure her son will get justice. She is correct.
Other rappers have been killed on the South Side for similar online taunts — but not on the Gold Coast. In most cases, those shooters were never caught.
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That won’t happen this time. The four gunmen who were brazen enough to get out of their cars and shoot Weekly’s son down in an area full of surveillance cameras eventually will end up behind bars.
There will be justice for FBG Duck, but not because he mimicked the life of the “haves.” It will be because he was still a “have-not” who was killed by other “have-nots” on a street that belonged to the “haves.”
Editor’s note: This column has been updated to revise the location of the shooting.
dglanton@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @dahleeng


chicagotribune--2020-09-18--Man critically wounded in shooting in Gage Park neighborhood

Police said the man was sitting inside a vehicle in the 2800 block of West 51st Street about 1 p.m. @ @ @ @ @ the victim in the chin and the right side of his body .
He was @ @ @ @ @ Mount Sinai Hospital .

A 35-year-old man was seriously wounded Friday afternoon in a shooting on the Southwest Side in the Gage Park neighborhood, Chicago police said.
Police said the man was sitting inside a vehicle in the 2800 block of West 51st Street about 1 p.m. when someone opened fire striking the victim in the chin and the right side of his body. He was taken in critical condition to Mount Sinai Hospital.
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Police also said the man was being uncooperative with officers.
No one was in custody for the shooting, and police were investigating.


chicagotribune--2020-09-18--Cook County Board to vote on extending Toni Preckwinkle’s expanded powers during coronavirus pandemi

Cook County Board to vote on extending Toni Preckwinkle’s expanded powers during coronavirus pandemic

“ Extending the proclamation will enhance the County ’ s ability to access the resources , equipment and personnel needed @ @ @ @ @ circumstances on the ground which is particularly necessary should the number of COVID-19 cases rise @ @ @ @ @ staff and partners continue to increase , ” according to the resolution ’ s text @

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle’s temporarily expanded powers during the coronavirus pandemic might be extended again, this time until the end of the year.
Cook County commissioners are set to vote on a measure that stretches out the end date of her countywide disaster proclamation until Dec. 31, giving her 90 additional days of ability to make certain decisions without the Board of Commissioners’ approval when it comes to responding to the coronavirus outbreak.
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“Extending the proclamation will enhance the County’s ability to access the resources, equipment and personnel needed to address ongoing and changing circumstances on the ground which is particularly necessary should the number of COVID-19 cases rise and the demands on County staff and partners continue to increase,” according to the resolution’s text.
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The current deadline for the special powers is Sept. 30 — a 120-day extension from a previous May 31 expiration date. Preckwinkle and commissioners first declared disaster on March 10.
The resolution allows Preckwinkle and the Department of Emergency Management and Regional Security to make some decisions without the board’s direct approval. That includes issuing executive orders, moving around money such as federal coronavirus relief funds allocated to the county and procuring essential supplies including personal protective equipment.
The most recent extension passed in a 15-2 vote in May, with two commissioners arguing there needs to be more oversight on Preckwinkle’s decisions.
“This remains a challenging moment in our County’s history and we continue to respond to this historic crisis,” Preckwinkle spokesman Nick Shields wrote in a statement Friday. “Extending the proclamation of disaster through December 31, 2020 falls in alignment with our Cook County COVID-19 Response Plan.”
ayin@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-09-18--Head of Chicago’s civilian police oversight agency offers rare pushback on city government watchdog

Head of Chicago’s civilian police oversight agency offers rare pushback on city government watchdog over video releases

In a report released Tuesday , the IG found that of 122 cases that were posted on COPA ’ s @ @ @ @ @ 33 of them were found to be have posted after the 60-day deadline .
In @ @ @ @ @ the IG found , COPA employees relied on the notification date of the use of @ @ @ @ @ it occurred , which COPA has said was an “ oversight ” error , according @ @ @ @ @ findings .

The head of Chicago’s civilian agency that probes police misconduct offered rare pushback against the city’s government watchdog for that office’s report suggesting the agency has not released video or other investigative material in a number of police use-of-force cases within a required 60-day period.
At a public meeting Thursday night, Sydney Roberts, who leads the Civilian Office of Police Accountability, sought to downplay the delays cited by the city inspector general’s office by trying to provide context to what the IG described as COPA’s failure to comply with the city’s video release policy.
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In a report released Tuesday, the IG found that of 122 cases that were posted on COPA’s website over three years, 33 of them were found to be have posted after the 60-day deadline. In 14 of those cases, the IG found, COPA employees relied on the notification date of the use of force rather than the date it occurred, which COPA has said was an “oversight” error, according to the IG’s findings.
Roberts said Thursday night those 14 cases were only delayed by one day.
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During the monthly meeting of the Chicago Police Board, Roberts insisted there hasn’t been any “deliberate or intentional delay of video in any officer-involved shooting or investigation that qualified for release.”
“We own our actions and have and will make necessary corrections,” said Roberts. “That’s the essence of responsibility on which we hold ourselves accountable.”
Roberts said there have been times when police-involved shootings or other use-of-force incidents occurred during the 11 p.m. hour on a given day, or some time in the late evening before midnight, and Chicago police didn’t get around to notifying COPA of the incidents until after midnight when a new day had already begun.
Instances like these caused COPA to mistakenly begin the 60-day countdown for releasing video, 911 recordings and police reports a day late. The clock started at the time COPA investigators were notified of the incidents instead of when they actually occurred, as required by policy, Roberts explained.
This scenario was to blame for the 14 cases cited by the IG, she said.
“Again, delaying the release for just one day,” said Roberts. “And this has been corrected.”
In another batch of 12 cases, the IG’s office found delays resulting from the “flagging” process during which COPA employees were trying to determine if the reported use of force mandated public release.
For that finding, Roberts explained that when those 12 complaints were filed, her investigators did not immediately learn through their preliminary reviews that a use of force causing a serious injury had occurred.
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They only learned of that when those complaint investigations were underway, and the 60-day countdown only began in those cases when COPA established that officers used significant force. Roberts explained COPA investigators can figure out if police actions led to serious injuries through their review of medical records, an interview with the complainant and other factors.
The video release policy only requires investigative material to be made public on COPA’s website if the agency learns someone was shot by police or suffered other serious physical harm during a confrontation with an officer.
“And in these 12 instances, COPA released the transparency materials 60 days after confirming that the complaint was eligible for release,” Roberts said. "These are but a small fraction of the more than 300 use-of-force transparency releases COPA has carried out.
“But they are instances in which we take, I take, full responsibility.”
IG officials have stressed that their report’s conclusions and recommendations are significant, considering the deep distrust in the Chicago Police Department and the need for a “robust disciplinary system” that instills confidence for officers and the public.
On Thursday night, Roberts did not address other shortcomings the IG pointed out in its report, including how the Office of Emergency Management and Communications, which retains some of the video and audio COPA gathers, is often backlogged turning the evidence over to COPA — which means some evidence could be missing when COPA posts it.
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“COPA reported that as a result of this backlog, many of the incidents on (its) case portal are missing all relevant video and audio files,” the IG report stated.
The IG report notes that OEMC personnel reported that the office has increasingly been asked to provide video and other material to an “increasing number of agencies.” But the workload increased — without an increase in staffing, the report said.
The policy calling for a 60-day release window was created in 2016 in the wake of the fatal on-duty shooting by a white officer of Black teenager Laquan McDonald. Video evidence of that shooting, which showed officer Jason Van Dyke firing 16 shots into McDonald as he was walking away, was withheld by the city under Mayor Rahm Emanuel for a year before a court order forced its release.
In response to the sustained protest and outrage over the delay, Emanuel created the Police Accountability Task Force, which was headed by Lori Lightfoot before she announced her candidacy for mayor. The task force wrote the video policy, which was said to be the first of its kind in the country.
It was heralded as a long-overdue effort at the kind of transparency that can restore public trust between the community and police.
The policy, however, was always intended to be reviewed after the first year to see whether the 60-day deadline should be updated.
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Randall Samborn, an attorney and former longtime spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office in Chicago who served on the working group that drafted the policy, said the 60 days, with a 30-day extension option, was chosen to allow for the fact that the city was launching a first-of-its kind policy. The group wanted to give city officials enough time to establish a sound process for how they would gather and publish the material.
“But we put the ongoing review section in the policy because of our belief at the time that the review might demonstrate that an earlier timeline would be feasible and manageable," Samborn said "That it would not only be manageable but would serve the interest of transparency and building community trust.”
In a statement Friday, COPA spokesman Ephraim Eaddy said the office has engaged in “numerous discussions" aimed at improving its operation.
Eaddy said the policy is, however, currently undergoing a “more substantive review” with Chicago police, OEMC and the mayor’s office.
“These discussions will include the feasibility of reducing the time period for release as well as providing more transparency to the process itself,” Eaddy said.
jgorner@chicagotribune.com
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asweeney@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-09-18--Zion man with ‘astounding’ criminal history sentenced to 60 years in prison for drug-money murder

Authorities gathered security camera footage that put Farella in the area around the estimated time of the shooting .
A @ @ @ @ @ days after the shooting , Farella gave her a shotgun with orders that she hide @ @ @ @ @ she wrapped the weapon in a coat and left it in a wooded area near @ @ @ @ @ police to the gun .

A Zion man, who was convicted of shooting a man to death in an alleged drug money robbery, was sentenced Friday to 60 years in prison.
Lake County Judge George Strickland handed down the sentence for Frank Farella, who had been found guilty for the 2018 first-degree murder of Shane Colella in the victim’s Zion residence.
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The 60-year term was the maximum Farella faced for the crime, which the judge described as an execution, according to prosecutors. Assistant State’s Attorney Lauren Callinan asked the judge to hand down a 58-year term.
For Farella, 57, the sentence means he will likely spend the rest of his life in prison.
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“I will not give you a chance to make any more decisions,” Strickland told the defendant, according to prosecutors.
Colella was 37 when he was found dead from shotgun wounds on Sept. 5, 2018, in the kitchen of his residence in the 1600 block of 19th Street. Farella was taken into custody days later and charged with the murder, and authorities alleged that he shot Colella during an attempted drug hold-up.
A friend of the victim testified at trial that he found Colella’s body, and the friend told jurors that he had bought drugs from Colella. Authorities said they recovered marijuana and cocaine, along with a gun, at the crime scene.
Authorities gathered security camera footage that put Farella in the area around the estimated time of the shooting. A former girlfriend testified that several days after the shooting, Farella gave her a shotgun with orders that she hide it. The woman said she wrapped the weapon in a coat and left it in a wooded area near Gurnee. She later led police to the gun.
Farella testified at trial that his boss had directed him to Colella’s home the day of the shooting, but he found no one there. Farella denied shooting the victim. A jury deliberated about three hours before returning a guilty verdict last December.
In asking for a lengthy sentence, Callinan said Farella was a career criminal with an “astounding” criminal history. That includes a 2011 federal conviction for the planned robbery of a cocaine stash house, according to court records.
State’s Attorney Michael Nerheim said he hoped the sentence would provide some closure for Colella’s family.
“The 60-year sentence handed down today by Judge Strickland should go a long way toward deterring criminals from conducting business in Lake County,” Nerheim said.


chicagotribune--2020-09-18--Authorities blame miscommunication for errant email that sent ballot withdrawal papers to Cook Count

Authorities blame miscommunication for errant email that sent ballot withdrawal papers to Cook County judge: ‘Something got mixed up’

“ Our legal system is based on the principle that an independent , fair and competent judiciary will interpret and @ @ @ @ @ us .
That is the framework by which we conduct ourselves everyday , '' the @ @ @ @ @ .
`` Participating and supporting a plan that includes opposing one of our colleagues , @ @ @ @ @ embodies those principles , is a concern and something we as the 2020 retention class @ @ @ @ @

In this file photo, Cook County Judge Michael Toomin speaks following the swearing-in of former U.S. Attorney Dan Webb during a status hearing concerning actor Jussie Smollett at the Leighton Criminal Court building on Aug. 23, 2019. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
A suspected attempt to surreptitiously boot a prominent Cook County judge off the Nov. 3 ballot can be chalked up to a simple miscommunication, authorities said on Friday.
In the wake of his recent shunning by the county Democratic Party, Judge Michael Toomin publicly raised concerns that someone may have posed as him to withdraw from November’s retention ballot.
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A state employee last month sent an email to someone she believed to be Toomin, attaching the ballot withdrawal paperwork. That person later responded, asking her to confirm receipt of the completed paperwork.
The employee called Toomin and asked if he really was planning to withdraw — which he denied, he told the Tribune.
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“(It’s) either a great plan or just somebody playing a joke,” he said earlier this week.
An inquiry found that the state employee merely mixed up Toomin’s email address with that of another judge who had inquired about withdrawal paperwork around the same time, according to Dave Druker, a spokesman for the Illinois secretary of state’s office.
That judge, Patrick Rogers, has in fact filed for withdrawal from the November ballot.
“Something got mixed up,” Toomin acknowledged when reached for comment Friday. “I talked to the captain of the Secretary of State Police this morning. He said, ‘Well, those things do happen, but we’ve cleared it up, we don’t think there’s any malice intended.'”
The Cook County Democrats' surprise decision this week not to endorse Toomin for retention led to speculation by Toomin and others that they were retaliating against him for his appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate State’s Attorney Kim Foxx’s office in the Jussie Smollett matter. Party leaders, however, said they gave him the boot over his outdated approach and attitude toward juvenile justice.
In response, the Committee for Retention of Judges in Cook County this week voted not to contribute money toward the Cook County Democratic Party’s communication plan.
“Our legal system is based on the principle that an independent, fair and competent judiciary will interpret and apply the laws that govern us. That is the framework by which we conduct ourselves everyday," the group said in a statement. "Participating and supporting a plan that includes opposing one of our colleagues, Judge Michael Toomin, who embodies those principles, is a concern and something we as the 2020 retention class cannot support.”
Toomin, the head of the Juvenile Justice Division since 2010, has been on the bench for decades and presided over many of Cook County’s highest-profile cases.
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mcrepeau@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-09-18--Woman whose severed head found in luggage in Markham identified by coroner’s office

Martin had been staying with family members for about a week , and they became curious after he asked them @ @ @ @ @ to purchase clothing for him despite having arrived in Chicago toting the bags , Taylor @ @

Officials on Friday released the identity of a 31-year-old woman whose remains were stuffed in duffel bags and brought to Chicago aboard a Greyhound bus.
Ladawndra Ellington lived in the 600 block of North Hite Avenue in Louisville, Kentucky, according to Carolyn Smith, a spokeswoman for the Jefferson County coroner’s office in that state.
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The man suspected in her killing, Melvin Martin Jr., 30, of Kentucky, has initially been charged with fleeing prosecution. He had been staying with family in Markham, where the gruesome discovery was made on Monday, according to police and Markham spokesman Michael Taylor.
On Tuesday, an autopsy was conducted on Ellington by the Cook County medical examiner’s office, which said she died of "unspecified means'' in a homicide.
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Meanwhile, Martin remains in Cook County Jail, awaiting extradition.
He was arrested Monday at the Markham Public Library after curious family members peeked into the bags that Martin seemed preoccupied with during his stay, Taylor said.
A severed head and other body parts were found in the bags, while police in Kentucky found the woman’s torso, he said.
Martin had been staying with family members for about a week, and they became curious after he asked them on at least two occasions to purchase clothing for him despite having arrived in Chicago toting the bags, Taylor said.
Melvin Martin Jr. has been charged in connection with the discovery in Markham of a woman's dismembered body. (City of Markham)
Martin eventually moved the two bags to the home’s garage, and the family made the discovery after he had left for the library, Taylor said.
At a news conference Wednesday, Markham police Chief Terry White said that the woman was Martin’s girlfriend and that it appears her death was the result of a domestic dispute about a month ago.
Taylor said that Martin had made efforts to conceal any foul odors from the body parts.
Taylor said he did not know the relationship between Martin and the Markham family.
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Daily Southtown’s Mike Nolan contributed.
rsobol@Chicagotribune.com