chicagotribune--2020-07-31--The Spin: Gov. Pritzker calls on Speaker Madigan to explain himself | Pritzker tells Biden to pick D

The Spin: Gov. Pritzker calls on Speaker Madigan to explain himself | Pritzker tells Biden to pick Duckworth as running mate | Lightfoot orders another Columbus statue removed

During an interview on Yahoo News ’ Skullduggery podcast , Pritzker was asked whether he was backing anyone in the @ @ @ @ @ s vice president , and he quickly responded : “ Our junior senator Tammy Duckworth @ @ @ @ @ president of the United States .
I think that she not only has proven herself @ @ @ @ @ but also , she will show up Donald Trump as someone who ran away from @ @ @ @ @ the country needed him , and he ’ s not somebody that stands up for @ @ @ @ @ away .
”

House Speaker Michael Madigan stands behind Gov. J.B. Pritzker as Pritzker delivers his budget address to a joint session of the Illinois House and Senate, at the Illinois State Capitol in Springfield, Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2020. (Antonio Perez/pool/Chicago Tribune) (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
Powerful Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan issued a statement last night saying he’s done nothing wrong and that he doesn’t plan to step down amid a federal bribery investigation of Commonwealth Edison that has encircled his political operation. But today Gov. J.B. Pritzker, a fellow Democrat, said that explanation won’t suffice.
“He continues to have unanswered questions hanging out there. He needs to stand up and answer those questions - I’ve said this from the very beginning,” Pritzker said, sidestepping a question about where he stands after a small but growing list of Dems have called on Madigan to resign. Pritzker has said that if the allegations in the ComEd bribery case, which implicate Madigan, are true, then the speaker should step down.
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A symbolic resolution OK’d by the Cook County Board this week to redirect police and jail funds to social services — a central issue for the defund the police movement — could serve as a guide for 2021 budget talks, my Tribune colleague Alice Yin writes.
With presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden ready to name at any time now his running mate, Pritzker said he put in a good word for Illinois U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, who is among a handful of candidates for the job. During an interview on the Skullduggery podcast, Pritzker said he let the Biden camp know his preference.
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Starting today, new quarantine rules go into effect for Chicagoans traveling to neighboring Wisconsin, now among 22 states on the mayor’s list of COVID-19 hotspots that require residents to stay home for 14 days after a visit there. In case you missed it Gov. Pritzker, whose family has at least two residences up north, said at a news conference earlier this week, “I will adhere to that rule because I live in the city of Chicago,” he said, adding that his family would, too.
Welcome to The Spin.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker and and Speaker of the House Michael J. Madigan talk after the Illinois House voted on a bill raising the statewide minimum wage Feb. 14, 2019. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune / Chicago Tribune)
From the Tribune’s Rick Pearson: Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Friday that House Speaker Michael Madigan’s declaration that he would not resign after being implicated in ComEd’s federal bribery scandal wasn’t a sufficient response and that he owes the public a full explanation.
“I believe people who serve the public interest, people who get elected to public office, have a duty to be transparent and to live up to the integrity that’s demanded by the public for their public service,” said Pritzker, who has called on Madigan to resign if it is proved he played a role ComEd’s efforts to gain political influence with him by offering jobs, contracts and payments to close allies. Read Pearson’s full story here.
As Pearson wrote yesterday, Madigan has faced growing calls to step down from his legislative post, as well as his chairmanship of the state Democratic Party, after ComEd paid a $200 million fine and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors who accused the utility of a “yearslong” scheme to provide jobs, contracts and payments to Madigan allies to win favor with the speaker.
Amid reports that he was polling fellow Democrats to gauge support, Madigan issued a statement saying in part, “I have never made a legislative decision with improper motives and any claim otherwise is unfounded” and “I have no plans to resign.”
The tally: Overall, seven Democratic legislators — Reps. Terra Costa Howard of Glen Ellyn, Stephanie Kifowit of Oswego, Kelly Cassidy of Chicago, Anne Stava-Murray of Naperville and Sens. Melinda Bush of Grayslake and Heather Steans and Iris Martinez of Chicago — have called on Madigan to at least resign his speakership.
On Friday, Democratic state Rep. Jonathan “Yoni” Pizer, of Chicago, called for Madigan to step down as speaker and as Democratic chair.
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U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth participates in a reenacted swearing-in with then-Vice President Joe Biden at the U.S. Capitol Jan. 3, 2017. (Aaron P. Bernstein / Getty Images)
During an interview on Yahoo News’ Skullduggery podcast, Pritzker was asked whether he was backing anyone in the race to become Biden’s vice president, and he quickly responded: “Our junior senator Tammy Duckworth would make a terrific vice president of the United States. I think that she not only has proven herself to be a great legislator but also, she will show up Donald Trump as someone who ran away from service at a time when the country needed him, and he’s not somebody that stands up for the military — he runs away.”
Trump received five draft deferments during the Vietnam War. One deferment came after a physician stated in a letter that Trump suffered from bone spurs in his feet. Duckworth, a U.S. Army pilot who lost both legs when her Black Hawk helicopter was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade in Iraq in 2004, nicknamed Trump “Cadet Bone Spurs.”
Asked whether he had conveyed his thoughts about Duckworth to Biden, Pritzker said “Yes, I have.”
Stay tuned. Meantime, you can listen to the podcast here.
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker wears a mask during his coronavirus pandemic briefing at the Illinois Capitol May 20 in Springfield. (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune)
Eleven of Illinois’ 102 counties have been put on a state “warning level” as COVID-19 cases in the state rise, the Tribune’s Jamie Munks reports.
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The state classifies a county as reaching a “warning level” when officials see an increase in at least two risk indicators under the state’s coronavirus resurgence mitigation plan, which allows for tighter restrictions for regions that breach levels set for various metrics.
On the map: The counties at warning level include Jo Daviess County in the state’s northwestern corner, and, in central Illinois, Cass and Sangamon counties, the latter of which includes Springfield. The remaining warning level counties are in Metro East near St. Louis and southern Illinois: Gallatin, Jackson, Johnson, Perry, Randolph, Saline, St. Clair and White, according to the state health department.
Data point 1: State public health officials said that during the prior 24 hours, there were 1,941 newly confirmed coronavirus cases across the state, and an additional 21 people with COVID-19 in Illinois had died.
Data point 2: The seven-day average statewide positivity rate is now 3.9%, and the statewide totals now stand at 178,837 known cases of COVID-19 in Illinois and 7,495 deaths since the pandemic began, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health.
Date point 3: The state is broken down into 11 geographical zones that and data is collected from each region to monitor the outbreak. Any one of the regions could see restrictions reimposed if it shows a sustained rise in the positivity rate of testing — a rolling average compiled over seven days in a 10-day period — coupled with a sustained increase in COVID-19 hospitalizations or a reduction in the capacity of hospitals to handle a surge.
Restrictions also would be placed in a zone if the positivity testing rate exceeds 8% for three consecutive days.
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Pritzker’s office says GOP congressmen’s complaints on federal pandemic relief are ‘baseless political attacks’: The Tribune’s Rick Pearson has the details here.
‘Health and safety strikes’ are on the table if schools reopen without adequate COVID-19 protections, two Illinois statewide teachers union announce: The Tribune’s Clair Hao writes about it here. But it’s unclear whether CPS would follow suit, Hao writes in a separate piece here.
Chicago parents struggle to get rid of car seats, children’s items after COVID-19 closures: ‘Recycling is really seeing a decline’: The Tribune’s Kelli Smith has the details here.
A view of the U.S. Capitol building from the Washington Monument in Washington in 2019. (Patrick Semansky/AP)
With aid expiring, the White House offered a short-term extension Thursday of a $600 weekly unemployment benefit that has helped keep families and the economy afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic, but Democrats rejected it, saying President Donald Trump’s team failed to grasp the severity of the crisis.
Democrats are pressuring for a more sweeping bill. And while Republicans have been fighting to trim back the $600 jobless benefit in the next coronavirus package, their resolve weakened with the looming expiration of the popular benefit — and as Trump indicated that he supports keeping the full $600 benefit for now.
The U.S. House announced it would cancel its annual August recess to strike a deal, while the U.S. Senate adjourned for the weekend with leadership making a procedural move to come back and vote. (Associated Press) More details here.
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‘We are in dire straits’: Chicago venues, theaters asking for economic relief from Congress: The Tribune’s Adam Lukach has the details here.
Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle. (Antonio Perez, Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune)
The Cook County Board of Commissioners overwhelmingly passed a symbolic resolution Thursday that supports diverting money from policing in the wake of nationwide protests demanding police budgets be defunded. It could serve as a guide to 2021 budget planning. Read the full story here.
The sole no vote yesterday came from Commissioner Sean Morrison, R-Palos Park. He said he was against the resolution because of its “bombastic” language to “castigate” law enforcement, and noted the Chicago police officers shot earlier in the morning. Commissioner Frank Aguilar, D-Cicero, reversed course from his support during Monday’s criminal justice committee meeting and voted present because he felt “very uncomfortable” with defunding and that it would be “very dangerous.”
The board decides the budgets of the courts system and Cook County sheriff’s office, which includes Cook County Jail — another target that Chicago activists have sought to defund. Sheriff Tom Dart is balking at the idea.
Neither Mayor Lori Lightfoot nor Gov. J.B. Pritzker have backed the defund police movement, but Cook County President Toni Preckwinkle on Thursday reiterated her support for reducing law enforcement funding. (Alice Yin)
Mayor Lori Lightfoot speaks at South Shore Cultural Center in Chicago on July 9, 2020. (Jose M. Osorio/Chicago Tribune)
Mayor Lori Lightfoot has removed a third statue of Christopher Columbus, this one at Drake Fountain on 92nd Street at South Chicago and Exchange avenues.
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The Italian explorer has been condemned by activists around the country who point to his mistreatment of Indigenous people after he landed in the Americas in 1492. The Tribune’s Gregory Pratt has more details here.
Illinois State to rename floors in residence hall named after U.S. secretaries of state who owned slaves: The Tribune’s Kelli Smith has the details here.
Anti-racism rally held in Evanston after Confederate flag displayed at beach: Genevieve Bookwalter writes about it in the Evanston Review,
Other Chicago news: Lightfoot names new buildings commissioner, says he’s first Native American to head city department - The Tribune’s John Byrne has the details here.
As violence surges, police try a new version of an old solution. Can it work? Read the deep dive from the Tribune’s Dan Hinkel and Jeremy Gorner here.
President Donald Trump, center, walks from Marine One and heads toward Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base Friday, July 31, 2020. (Susan Walsh/AP)
For days now, I’ve been trying to get some details about former Bears great Mike Singletary’s flight aboard Air Force One with President Donald Trump to the linebacker’s home state of Texas. The White House said they traveled together Wednesday, but didn’t respond to requests for details. No word from the campaign side either.
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So was it for a photo op? Last night the president tweeted a photo of them together, with the statement “Great to spend time with Mike Singletary while going to Texas. He’s one of the greatest football players ever — A strong man and a really good person. Great being with you Mike!” But no details beyond that.
Singletary recently stepped down from a Texas high school coaching job, the Dallas Morning News reported in May, and planned to focus on motivational speaking engagements and consulting. In June, Singletary, a Houston native, Baylor University alum and member of the Bears 1986 Super Bowl-winning team, participated in a Dallas roundtable discussion with the president on race relations.
Related: The president stirred the pot during the trip to Texas over a tweet thread and remarks about rolling back an Obama-era fair housing rule aimed, The New York Times writes, at combating racial segregation in the suburbs.
“The tweet, sent from aboard Air Force One as Mr. Trump traveled to Texas, was the latest example of the president stoking racial division as he seeks to win over voters in his bid for re-election. White suburban voters, particularly women, were key to his victory in 2016 but are slipping away from him,” the Times writes. Read the full story here.
Column: Realizing your childhood home had a racist covenant — Daily Southtown columnist Ted Slowik writes about a sibling unearthing what appears to be a covenant from the developer of the suburban La Grange subdivision where he grew up that reads in part: “… No part of said subdivision shall at any time be leased, conveyed nor sold to nor occupied by any person not a Caucasian …” Slowik says of the stunning revelation, “It is one thing to read about legalized racism. It is another to realize one’s own family helped perpetuate systemic inequality.” Read the full column here.
Great to spend time with Mike Singletary while going to Texas. He’s one of the greatest football players ever — A strong man and a really good person. Great being with you Mike! pic.twitter.com/lWsYn4lhOm — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 30, 2020
Thanks for reading The Spin, the Tribune’s politics newsletter. Sign up here to have it delivered to your inbox weekday afternoons. Have a tip? Email host Lisa Donovan at ldonovan@chicagotribune.com.
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Twitter @byldonovan


chicagotribune--2020-07-31--Pritzker’s office says GOP congressmen’s complaints on federal pandemic relief are ‘baseless politic

Pritzker’s office says GOP congressmen’s complaints on federal pandemic relief are ‘baseless political attacks’

“ While Gov .
Pritzker continues to criticize the federal government and call for additional federal support , he must @ @ @ @ @ public about how the federal taxpayer money he is withholding will be disbursed and a @ @ @ @ @ of government can get access to the funding , ” they said .

U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., attends a House Foreign Affairs Committee markup in Rayburn Building on July 29, 2020, in Washington. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call)
Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s administration accused the state’s five Republican congressmen of engaging in “baseless political attacks” by contending the state shouldn’t be seeking more federal pandemic aid when it hasn’t spent or been transparent about the money it’s already received.
Pritzker’s office said the congressmen need to understand basic facts involving how Illinois’ budget year works.
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In a statement, the five GOP lawmakers said “the lack of transparency regarding the federal funding sent to Illinois to support our communities through this pandemic” was “unacceptable.”
“While Gov. Pritzker continues to criticize the federal government and call for additional federal support, he must immediately provide information to the public about how the federal taxpayer money he is withholding will be disbursed and a process for how smaller units of government can get access to the funding,” they said.
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The statement was issued by Republican Reps. John Shimkus of Collinsville, Darin LaHood of Peoria, Rodney Davis of Taylorville, Adam Kinzinger of Channahon and Mike Bost of Murphysboro.
Rep. Darin LaHood, R-Ill., walks the House steps of the Capitol before the House passed a $2 trillion coronavirus aid package by voice vote on March 27, 2020. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call)
The five cited data from the U.S. Treasury Department’s inspector general showing how much each state received from the federal government and how much was spent as of June 30. The report showed Illinois received more than $3.5 billion and spent only $505 million.
That amount, the Republicans said, represented only “14.4% of the federal COVID-19 relief funding allocated by Congress as of June 30th.”
But the June 30 date is key, the governor’s office said. That’s because it’s the start of the current state budget year.
“In order to fully expend the funds, the General Assembly had to pass appropriations and create grant programs that will enable the state to spend the funds during (this budget year), which started July 1,” said Pritzker spokeswoman Jordan Abudayyeh.
“A majority of the funding is allocated to … programs that support critical needs such as contact tracing and testing, health care providers, economic development and local governments across the state,” she said.
Abudayyeh said the congressmen could find the specific spending allocations online through the governor’s budget office.
“Instead of baseless political attacks over information that is readily available online, congressional Republicans should focus on getting members of their party to support a comprehensive federal funding package for states and local governments that are providing vital services working families rely on,” she said.
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Illinois current-year budget counts heavily on supplemental federal aid to pay off borrowing used to offset the loss of tax revenue caused by the pandemic.
The actions by the Republican congressmen appear to follow the lead of the GOP minority on the House Ways and Means Committee. In a statement, the group contend that the minimal spending means “throwing cold water on calls from Democrats to give more to states as a next round of federal relief continues to be debated in Congress.”
LaHood is Illinois’ lone Republican member of the committee.
rap30@aol.com


chicagotribune--2020-07-31--Lightfoot names new buildings commissioner, says he’s first Native American to head city department

Matthew Beaudet had been serving as the acting commissioner at the Buildings Department , which oversees construction permits and building @ @ @ @ @ stepped down in June after five years at the helm .
He has been the @ @ @ @ @ commissioner since 2011 .

Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Friday named a new head of the Chicago Buildings Department and said he’s the first Native American commissioner of a city department.
Matthew Beaudet had been serving as the acting commissioner at the Buildings Department, which oversees construction permits and building codes, since Judy Frydland stepped down in June after five years at the helm. He has been the department’s first deputy commissioner since 2011.
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Marlene Hopkins will be promoted to first deputy in the department, Lightfoot said.
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Matthew Beaudet is a new city Buildings Department commissioner. Mayor Lori Lightfoot said he's the first Native American to hold a commissioner post at a city of Chicago department. (Walter S. Mitchell III/City of Chicago)
“This city was built on world-renowned architecture and urban design, and through these historic appointments, we are truly building on that legacy and laying the bricks for a foundation of new business, investment and development in every neighborhood,” Lightfoot said in a statement.
Beaudet serves as the legal counsel and on the Council of Elders for the Montaukett Tribe of Indians in Long Island, New York, according to Lightfoot’s office.
Lightfoot credited Beaudet with helping streamline the city’s building code and speed up the process of getting permits and inspections for businesses.
He will need to be confirmed by the City Council.
jebyrne@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @_johnbyrne


chicagotribune--2020-07-31--Chicago police station attack that left officer in coma, several others injured began after suspect

Chicago police station attack that left officer in coma, several others injured began after suspect allegedly kept gun hidden during arrest

“ He walks right up to the Porsche and he enters the Porsche , trying to drive away , ” @ @ @ @ @ Brendan Deenihan told reporters at a news conference Friday .
“ It just shows how @ @ @ @ @ The officers are right there , and this guy walks right past the front of @ @ @ @ @ just jumps in this vehicle , trying to start it and drive away while the @ @ @ @ @ ”

Chicago police investigate the scene where three police officers and a suspect were injured in an exchange of gunfire July 30, 2020. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
A surprise attack at a Northwest Side police station that left one officer in a coma and several others injured began after a carjacking suspect “squirmed and shielded his body” during a pat-down — successfully concealing a loaded pistol near his groin area, authorities said.
From the back of a squad car, Lovelle Jordan somehow maneuvered his cuffed hands to the front of his body. He grabbed the gun. And as an officer opened the car door to lead him into the station, he opened fire, prosecutors said Friday.
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Multiple officers were hurt in the ensuing shootout Thursday morning. And Jordan, a 25-year-old parolee, was held without bail on attempted murder charges as he underwent treatment for multiple gunshot wounds at Stroger Hospital.
Jordan was charged with six counts of attempted murder of a peace officer, a charge carrying 20 to 80 years in prison, Cook County Assistant State’s Attorney Kevin DeBoni said in court Friday. He also faces multiple other felony counts, including possession of a stolen vehicle, unlawful use of a weapon by a felon and armed habitual criminal.
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The sequence of events began routinely enough Thursday morning, when officers saw a stolen white Porsche parked in the North Austin neighborhood, DeBoni said Friday. It had been carjacked at gunpoint a few days before.
The two officers were in their squad car beginning paperwork to have the Porsche towed when Jordan walked directly in front of them and got into the driver’s seat of the Porsche, then started to drive off, DeBoni said in court.
“He walks right up to the Porsche and he enters the Porsche, trying to drive away,” Chicago police Chief of Detectives Brendan Deenihan told reporters at a news conference Friday. “It just shows how emboldened these criminals are. The officers are right there, and this guy walks right past the front of the officers’ car and just jumps in this vehicle, trying to start it and drive away while the officers are right there.”
They tried to get Jordan out of the car, but he “struggled against the officers by stiffening and flailing his arms,” DeBoni said. He also repeatedly reached for his waistband, a signal often understood by police to mean a subject is armed.
As the officers tried to pat him down, he “squirmed and shielded his body from them,” and they only got drugs and some personal items from his pockets, DeBoni said.
So they missed the Glock subcompact pistol, loaded with at least five rounds. Deenihan said the gun seems to have been “extremely secreted” close to Jordan’s groin area.
Jordan was handcuffed behind his back, put in the back seat of a different officer’s police vehicle, and taken to the police station at 5555 W. Grand Ave.
At some point, Jordan managed to move his cuffed hands from behind his back and pull out the gun. So when an officer opened the door to get him into the station, Jordan raised the pistol and fired at close range.
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It sparked a dramatic gunbattle — much of which was caught on multiple cameras.
The officer was shot in the neck, and fell to the ground. Two nearby officers shot at Jordan, who returned fire from the back seat of the squad car as they called for assistance.
At least four times, Jordan ducked in and out of the back seat to fire and then take cover — then “popped out of the back seat” and ran around the opened door to drop into a crouched firing position, DeBoni said. He continued firing, then moved to the front bumper and shot a police vehicle before running north while still pointing his pistol at the officers, authorities said.
Officers continued to fire. Jordan was hit multiple times and fell to the ground.
Police said as many as 60 shots were fired in the shootout.
The first officer shot, who is assigned to the district and has been a Chicago cop since 2003, was struck in the chin area and bullet fragments ended up in his neck, Deenihan said. That officer was being treated at Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, where he was placed in a medically induced coma to prevent spinal damage and will be reevaluated in two days, according to DeBoni.
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Another officer was shot in his bulletproof vest, the bullet glancing off of it. A third officer was hit in the hip by an “unknown object” that left bruising and redness. Two other cops were treated for chest pains.
Meanwhile, Jordan is paralyzed from the chest down. He is being treated at Stroger Hospital and did not appear in court Friday. His attorney, Assistant Public Defender Scott Finger, objected to proceeding on prosecutors’ request to deny bond, since Jordan could not appear in court and attorneys could not present any mitigating information.
Judge Arthur Wesley Willis overruled Finger’s objection and ordered Jordan held without bail. In addition, since Jordan is on parole, the state Department of Corrections issued a no-bail hold on him for the parole violation.
Between 2012 and 2015, Jordan was convicted in three different cases for felony drug possession and delivery. In 2016 he was convicted of aggravated assault after he drove away from police during a traffic stop and then, after getting stopped again, accelerated while an officer had reached her hand into the car — nearly driving over her foot.
He was released from the Pinckneyville Correctional Center less than four months ago after serving time on a gun conviction, records show. He pleaded guilty in 2018 to being a felon in possession of a firearm and was sentenced to five years in prison; with credit for good time and a year in county jail awaiting trial, he was paroled in April.
jgorner@chicagotribune.com
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mcrepeau@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-07-31--2-year-old girl dies after shooting, Hammond police say

“ Our hearts are heavy with this news , and now more than ever , we ask the public for @ @ @ @ @ ’ s life was stripped from her in an act of senseless violence that will @ @ @ @ @ her , ” Kellogg said .

Joette Malone, 2, of Gary, died at a Chicago hospital. She was shot Wednesday night in a car parked at a Hessville apartment complex. (Hammond Police / HANDOUT)
A toddler shot outside a Hammond apartment complex died Friday morning, police said.
The girl was identified as Joette Malone, 2, of Gary, said Brittany Hill, public information officer for the Cook County Bureau of Administration. Autopsy results were expected Saturday afternoon.
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The child, nicknamed Jo Jo, died around 11:30 a.m. Friday, Hammond Police Lt. Steve Kellogg said in a release. Police are asking the public for help with information on the case.
“Our hearts are heavy with this news, and now more than ever, we ask the public for help. This little girl’s life was stripped from her in an act of senseless violence that will forever impact those who knew her,” Kellogg said.
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About 9:30 p.m. Wednesday, officers from Hammond police were called to Kennedy Crossings apartment complex, in the 3300 block of Craig Drive after someone reported hearing gunshots in the area, according to a statement from Hammond police. When they arrived officers approached a vehicle and found a mother and the girl inside, officials said.
It appeared the girl had been shot in the head and the mother was not injured, police said. Authorities first said they were unsure where the gunfire came from or who the target was.
“The mother and child involved in (the) shooting were caught in the crossfire between two unknown subjects shooting at each other. This is not a domestic situation and the mother and child were not involved with either suspect,” Kellogg wrote in an email.
The girl was flown by helicopter to Comer Children’s Hospital in Chicago in critical condition, Kellogg said. Her mother was taken to an area hospital for observation.
Neighbors described the area as usually quiet.
“We were here last night, and my husband heard it, but we didn’t go out,” said Dominique True, who lived on the next block. “This neighborhood is quiet, though.”
Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to contact Lt. Mark Tharp of the Hammond police at 219-852-2988.


chicagotribune--2020-07-31--Pritzker says Madigan, who has vowed not to resign after being tied to ComEd scandal, owes public a

Pritzker says Madigan, who has vowed not to resign after being tied to ComEd scandal, owes public a full explanation

“ I believe people who serve the public interest , people who get elected to public office , have a @ @ @ @ @ to live up to the integrity that ’ s demanded by the public for their @ @ @ @ @ said .
“ He needs to stand up and answer these questions because people have @ @ @ @ @ and any public servant who isn ’ t willing to do that .
And I @ @ @ @ @ .
”

House Speaker Michael Madigan, left, and then-Senate President John Cullerton, right, congratulate Gov. J.B. Pritzker after his first budget address, at the Illinois State Capitol in Springfield on Feb. 20, 2019. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)
Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Friday that House Speaker Michael Madigan’s declaration that he would not resign after being implicated in ComEd’s federal bribery scandal wasn’t a sufficient response and that he owes the public a full explanation.
“Look, he continues to have unanswered questions hanging out there. He needs to stand up and answer those questions,” said Pritzker, who has called on Madigan to resign if it is proven he played a role ComEd’s efforts to gain political influence with him by offering jobs, contracts and payments to close allies.
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“I believe people who serve the public interest, people who get elected to public office, have a duty to be transparent and to live up to the integrity that’s demanded by the public for their public service,” Pritzker said. “He needs to stand up and answer these questions because people have serious questions about those things and any public servant who isn’t willing to do that. And I’ve made that clear.”
Pritzker’s comments at an unrelated news conference in the Little Village neighborhood came a day after Madigan, long the state’s most powerful politician and the nation’s longest-serving statehouse speaker, vowed he would not step down from his governmental role or from his state Democratic Party chairmanship after polling members of his 73-member House majority by phone.
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Last month, ComEd agreed to pay a $200 million fine and cooperate with federal prosecutors after they alleged a near-decadelong bribery and influence scheme aimed at winning favor with Madigan. The Southwest Side Democrat, who is not charged with any wrongdoing, was identified as “Public Official A” in the federal documents against ComEd.
In a statement issued Thursday night after contacting members of his caucus, Madigan said, “I have never made a legislative decision with improper motives and any claim otherwise is unfounded.”
“I understand that the last couple of weeks have been difficult for our caucus and party, and I have had many candid conversations with members of the Democratic caucus on this matter. The feedback is positive and demonstrates continued support for me and my leadership roles,” he said.
“I have no plans to resign,” said Madigan, 78, who has held the speaker’s gavel since 1983 with the exception of two years in the mid-1990s when Republicans gained control of the chamber.
Madigan has seen increasing calls for him to resign from his legislative post, his state party chairmanship or both. On Thursday, two members of his House majority said Madigan was polling members asking if they agreed with Democratic state Reps. Terra Costa Howard of Glen Ellyn and Stephanie Kifowit of Oswego, who both asked Madigan to step down from his governmental post. Costa Howard also said Madigan should resign as state Democratic chair.
Overall, seven Democratic legislators — Reps. Costa Howard, Kifowit, Kelly Cassidy of Chicago and Anne Stava-Murray of Naperville; and Sens. Melinda Bush of Grayslake, and Heather Steans and Iris Martinez of Chicago — have called on Madigan to at least resign his speakership.
On Friday, Democratic state Rep. Jonathan “Yoni” Pizer of Chicago, called for Madigan to step down as speaker and Democratic chair.
“I urge my fellow members of the Illinois General Assembly to join me in calling for Speaker Madigan’s resignation,” Pizer said. “This is a principled position which should be met without threats of political retribution from House leaders or staff. With the speaker’s resignation, I believe we can focus on the critical issues that matter most to our state and our nation.”
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Pizer was appointed to the House in February and lost a primary bid in March for election to the North Side seat.
rpearson@chicagotribune.com
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chicagotribune--2020-07-31--United to add international routes in September, including a flight between Chicago and Tel Aviv

`` We continue to be realistic in our approach to building back our international and domestic schedules by closely monitoring @ @ @ @ @ people want to go , '' Patrick Quayle , United 's vice president of International @ @ @ @ @ in a news release .

A United Airlines jet takes off at Chicago O'Hare International Airport on July 6, 2020, in Chicago. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)
United Airlines plans to resume service on more than 25 international routes in September and add a route between Chicago and Tel Aviv, the airline said Friday.
Chicago-based United’s September schedule has about 37% of the flights it flew the same month last year. That’s about 4% more flights than it plans to operate in August, as recent increases in COVID-19 cases slow passengers’ return to flying.
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Several of the routes United is adding back are beach destinations in the Caribbean and Hawaii, as leisure travel is expected to recover more quickly than business travel.
Other international destinations where the carrier plans to restart or add flights from Chicago include Hong Kong, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, San Juan, Puerto Rico and Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. United said the Hong Kong and Tel Aviv flights are subject to government approval.
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While some travel restrictions imposed to contain the coronavirus pandemic have been lifted, the European Union extended a ban on travelers from the U.S. earlier this week.
"We continue to be realistic in our approach to building back our international and domestic schedules by closely monitoring customer demand and flying where people want to go," Patrick Quayle, United's vice president of International Network and Alliances, said in a news release.
United also extended a waiver on fees for changing flights to those booked through Aug. 31.
lzumbach@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-07-31--Fire, police crews search Lake Michigan near Navy Pier after unoccupied paddle boat found

Police and fire crews conducted grid searches to see if anyone was in the lake , Langford said .
The @ @ @ @ @ p.m. after helicopter and boat crews didn ’ t find anyone , according to police @

Chicago fire and police crews Friday afternoon searched Lake Michigan near Navy Pier after someone spotted an unoccupied paddle boat floating in the water, according to authorities.
Police came upon the paddle boat about noon and started searching “right away,” according to Chicago Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford.
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“When you find an unattended paddle boat, that’s a sign that someone may have been on it,” Langford said.
Police and fire crews conducted grid searches to see if anyone was in the lake, Langford said. The search was suspended about 1 p.m. after helicopter and boat crews didn’t find anyone, according to police.
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kelsmith@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @KelliSmithNews


chicagotribune--2020-07-31--Chicago’s three Christopher Columbus statues: A brief history

This 32-foot-tall coral granite structure with four drinking water basins was intended to provide free , ice-cooled water beginning on @ @ @ @ @ a national holiday for the 400th anniversary of Columbus ’ arrival in America and also @ @ @ @ @ World ’ s Fair dedication — but the 7-foot-tall bronze statue of the explorer had @ @ @ @ @ .
Though some materials to complete the fountain were also still in transit , “ @ @ @ @ @ so that it might be said that water had been drawn during the World ’ @ @ @ @ @ the Tribune reported .

The Christopher Columbus statue is transported after being removed in Grant Park in the early hours of July 24, 2020. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)
Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s commission on monuments has recommended that three statues of Christopher Columbus should not return to their old spots in Grant Park or Little Italy, the Tribune reported today.
Controversy over Christopher Columbus is not new, but the clash between Chicago police and protesters in Grant Park in 2020, led to the removal of two Chicago statues “until further notice,” according to Lightfoot.
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[ Christopher Columbus statues should not return to Chicago parks, long-awaited monuments report recommends ]
“We took this step in response to demonstrations that became unsafe for both protesters and police, and to efforts by individuals to independently pull the Grant Park statue down in an extremely dangerous manner,” she said in a series of tweets. “This step is an effort to protect public safety and to preserve a safe space for an inclusive and democratic public dialogue about our city’s symbols. It also will allow us to focus public safety resources where they are most needed — particularly in our South and West Side communities.”
Read more on the mayor’s middle-of-the-night action here.
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A week later, Lightfoot removed a lesser-known Columbus statue from a traffic island in South Chicago.
Here is a brief history of the three statues.
The Christopher Columbus Monument in Arrigo Park. (Alyssa Pointer / Chicago Tribune)
Christopher Columbus Monument
Location: Arrigo Park (801 S. Loomis St., Chicago)
Artist: Moses Ezekiel
Created: 1892
Installed: 1966
Though the 9-foot-tall bronze statue was created for and displayed in the Italian Pavilion at the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893, it spent much of the 1960s stored flat on its back in a yard outside the Joseph Lumber Company on the city’s Northwest Side.
”We’ll find a place eventually,” said James Murray Haddow, then the vice president of the Municipal Art League of Chicago, in a 1965 interview with the Chicago Tribune. “He is too good looking to be lying where he is lying.”
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The statue had been placed in a niche above the entrance to the Columbus Memorial building at State and Washington streets following the 1893 World’s Fair. That’s where it stood until the structure was demolished in 1959.
One reason why it was problematic to find the statue a new home — its lack of a back. It had been secured by a rod, which meant the statue could not stand on its own.
Chicago Tribune, Feb. 14, 1965. (Chicago Tribune Archives)
State Rep. Victor Arrigo, an Italian American lawyer, spearheaded a campaign to raise $25,000 to move the statue to Loomis Street in Little Italy.
”I think this is the first time that an artistic landmark has been preserved and made the focal point of a rehabilitated neighborhood,” Arrigo said in a May 15, 1966, Chicago Tribune story.
The statue was dedicated in this location on Oct. 12, 1966, and was removed from the site on July 24, 2020. The park was renamed for Arrigo following his death in 1973.
The Christopher Columbus Memorial in Grant Park. (Chicago Tribune historical photo) (Chicago Tribune)
Christopher Columbus Memorial
Location: Grant Park (northeast corner of Columbus Drive at Roosevelt Road)
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Artist: Carlo Brioschi
Created and installed: 1933
The 12-foot-tall bronze statue stood atop a 20-foot pedestal until it was removed early in the morning on July 24, 2020. According to the Chicago Tribune archives, even the creation of this sculpture was controversial.
In 1932, Illinois’ State Board of Art, in reviewing sculptor Carlo Brioschi’s models for this figure, announced, “This statue is so bad it should not be put on public display.” Several days later, however, the board members admitted it was the pedestal it objected to — not the statue. The piece, gift of Italian Americans living in Chicago and Cook County, was dedicated on Aug. 3, 1933, in Grant Park as part of Italian Day at the city’s A Century of Progress International Exposition.
The monument was again singled out in 1963 when a Tribune reader complained to the paper that a likeness of Benito Mussolini, former Italian prime minister and leader of the country’s National Fascist Party, was one of four bas reliefs included in the statue’s pedestal.
“What’s (Mussolini) doing with Columbus, Amerigo Vespucci, and Paolo Toscanelli?,” the unnamed Tribune reader asked. “Might as well have a bust of Hitler.”
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A figure on the corner of the Christopher Columbus Memorial in Grant Park appeared to be Italian prime minister Benito Mussolini, according to a Tribune reader's observation in 1963. (Chicago Tribune Archives)
Amerigo Brioschi, the sculptor’s son, told the Tribune the relief was only an allegorical figure — representing the Roman symbol for strength and unity — as are the three other busts on the pedestal underneath the statue.
“In no way was it intended to be a memorial to the Italian dictator,” said the younger Brioschi, who worked on the monument with his father.
A statue of Christopher Columbus sits at 92nd and South Chicago Avenue at the Ice Water Fountain on Oct. 7, 1970, in Chicago. (Arthur Walker/Chicago Tribune) scanned from print, published on Oct. 8, 1970. (Arthur Walker/Chicago Tribune)
Drake Fountain
Location: 92nd Street between South Chicago and Exchange avenues
Statue sculptor: Richard Henry Park
Created: 1892
Installed at current location: 1909
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Hotelier John. B. Drake, whose sons would later build and operate the Blackstone and Drake hotels, was one of many philanthropists to gift the city with public works of art in advance of the World’s Columbian Exposition in 1893.
This 32-foot-tall coral granite structure with four drinking water basins was intended to provide free, ice-cooled water beginning on Oct. 21, 1892 — a national holiday for the 400th anniversary of Columbus’ arrival in America and also the day of the 1893 World’s Fair dedication — but the 7-foot-tall bronze statue of the explorer had not yet arrived from Italy. Though some materials to complete the fountain were also still in transit, “the work has been rushed so that it might be said that water had been drawn during the World’s Fair dedication,” the Tribune reported.
With the fountain turned off for the winter but its Columbus statue finally in place, Drake Fountain, then located in a courtyard on Washington Street between an old county building and City Hall, was dedicated on Dec. 26, 1892. Due to inclement weather, the dedication was held indoors.
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The depiction of Columbus was panned, at the time, by Chicago police chief of detectives John D. Shea who called the statue a “stiff.” And, unlike other representations of the explorer already on display around the city, this one had some funky anatomy to deal with, “The lake-front Columbus had at least straight sturdy legs that were not ashamed of each other, while the City Hall legs have curves that would have puzzled his tailor, if long trousers had been in vogue in his days,” the Tribune reported on June 14, 1897.
Though intended to benefit people, primarily, the fountain soon became a “free barnyard,” the Tribune reported, with hitching post and watering hole for horses. Just five years later, it also became a garbage heap containing “the bodies of dogs and cats, a winter’s accumulation of old newspapers, tin cans, cast-off clothing, and worn-out shoes.”
Illustration of Drake Fountain in the courtyard of Chicago's City Hall, as published in the June 26, 1897, edition of the Chicago Tribune. (Chicago Tribune Archives)
In 1905, plans were made to move Drake Fountain to accommodate construction of a new county building. But where would it end up? During a heated meeting in December 1905, aldermen balked at the $3,300 cost to remove then maintain the fountain. Sculptor Lorado Taft said the city could afford to let this Columbus statue be put out to pasture, “It is not an absolute disgrace, but it is a question whether it would be approved today by the municipal art commission. For one thing, it is wholly out of proportion.” Public works commissioner J.M. Patterson noted, “while it is not a distinguished work of art, (the fountain’s) existence is justified by the fact that thousands of persons drink its water daily,” the Tribune reported. The fountain was temporarily relocated to the LaSalle Street side of city hall.
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The South Chicago location was chosen in 1908 for the fountain against the wishes of members of the Catholic fraternity Knights of Columbus, which preferred the statue stay in the city’s center. Without delay, however, it was taken piece-by-piece to its new home in horse-drawn wagons.
Drake Fountain was rededicated in its current location on Oct. 11, 1908, featuring a parade of 5,000 people and a 10-gun salute from a nearby ship. The Columbus statue was removed from the fountain on July 30, 2020.
Check out the Tribune’s archives at your fingertips at Newspapers.com.
Sources: City of Chicago; Chicago Park District; Chicago Tribune archives


chicagotribune--2020-07-31--Column: As Lightfoot readies a review of Chicago’s monuments, including three removed Columbus statu

Column: As Lightfoot readies a review of Chicago’s monuments, including three removed Columbus statues, Philadelphia offers edgy alternatives

“ What we ’ re gon na be announcing is a process by which we take stock of murals and @ @ @ @ @ our past , but also that we talk about the past that hasn ’ t @ @ @ @ @ , ” Lightfoot told reporters last week .
“ There ’ s a lot of @ @ @ @ @ Chicagoans as a city that doesn ’ t appear in any way , shape or @ @ @ @ @

Hank Willis Thomas' All Power to All People sculpture in Philadelphia on Sept. 14, 2017. Mural Arts Philadelphia installed the sculpture , which has a black handle topped by a clenched fist, as part of Monument Lab, an initiative to create public works about issues such as social justice and gentrification. (Matt Rourke / AP)
To those of us who eyeball soaring skyscrapers for a living, the statues and other works of art in parks and plazas may seem like mere adornments.
But as the unrest sparked by the killing of George Floyd has revealed, these monuments are, in reality, highly charged objects. They represent who our culture venerates, how it chooses to remember the past and what visions it has for the future.
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Now, in Chicago, they are about to come under intense scrutiny.
A work crew removes the Christopher Columbus statue in Chicago's Grant Park in the early hours of July 24, 2020. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)
Shortly after ordering the controversial, middle-of-the-night removal of Christopher Columbus statues in Grant Park and Little Italy — a third Columbus statue, on the city’s Southeast Side, was taken down Friday — Mayor Lori Lightfoot is expected this week to kick off a comprehensive, potentially combustible review of the city’s public monuments and icons.
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The sweeping survey may help determine the ultimate fate of the Columbus statues, whose removal, Lightfoot has insisted, is temporary and prompted by public safety concerns.
But the scope of the review, which is likely to be carried out by a team of experts on monuments as well as Chicago residents who care passionately about what to do with them, will be much broader than the Columbus statues.
“What we’re gonna be announcing is a process by which we take stock of murals and monuments and other memorials to our past, but also that we talk about the past that hasn’t been highlighted or lifted up,” Lightfoot told reporters last week. “There’s a lot of richness to our history as Chicagoans as a city that doesn’t appear in any way, shape or form of memorialization.”
That sounds straightforward, but bring the issue down to specifics and things get messy. Protesters have graffitied Chicago statues of George Washington because the first President owned slaves. Others have called for the Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D.C. to be taken down, citing Thomas Jefferson’s ownership of more than 600 slaves during his lifetime.
How should cities assess the future of such monuments? What new works of public art might be raised to better tell the stories of their people? Many American cities are confronting these questions, but in the realm of ideas, at least, historic Philadelphia stands at the forefront.
Before 2017, Philadelphia’s roughly 1,500 pieces of public art and monuments did virtually nothing to recognize people of color and real women (as opposed to mythological figures). But then, two arts organizations, Mural Arts Philadelphia and Monument Lab, mounted a temporary citywide exhibition of 10 works by local and internationally known artists that shook things up.
Artist Hank Willis Thomas offered a giant Afro pick that tapered to a Black power fist at the end of its handle. Titled “All Power to All People,” the 800-pound, aluminum-and-steel sculpture was provocatively placed near a bronze statue of the former Philadelphia mayor and police commissioner Frank Rizzo, who for many Philadelphians was a symbol of police brutality directed at African Americans and other people of color.
People walk near Hank Willis Thomas' All Power to All People sculpture on Sept. 14, 2017, in the same plaza where a statue of former Philadelphia mayor and police commissioner Frank Rizzo was placed. (Matt Rourke / AP)
Hank Willis Thomas' All Power to All People sculpture in Philadelphia, on Sept. 14, 2017. (Matt Rourke / AP)
Another artist, Sharon Hayes, designed nine classically styled, cast-concrete pedestals that displayed names of women who made contributions to Philadelphia’s civic life. But the pedestals were pointedly left empty, suggesting both how women had been ignored and the possibility that some might be recognized in the future. The piece, titled “If They Should Ask,” asked the public to suggest other names through a website.
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“We were really interested in this question of unevenness,” Ken Lum, Monument Lab’s co-founder and chair of the Department of Fine Arts at the University of Pennsylvania school of design, told me. “We were interested in how monuments themselves, far from being benign surfaces of metal and marble, are upholders of a kind of dominant narrative. We discerned the voices that are not heard.”
The contentious statue of former Mayor Frank L. Rizzo is surrounded by bike racks during the March to End Rape Culture, an annual event in Philadelphia, Sept. 29, 2018. The statue has since been removed. (Michael Candelori / Sipa USA)
The effort has opened eyes and minds. In June, after protesters defaced the 22-year-old Rizzo statue in the wake of Floyd death, city workers removed it. “The statue represented bigotry, hatred, and oppression for too many people, for too long,” Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney wrote on Twitter “It is finally gone.”
I asked Lum what advice he would give Lightfoot on her re-examination of Chicago’s public art. He urged that artists and creative thinkers be part of the review. And he warned against further removal of statues without public debate.
Addressing the Columbus statues, he said the mayor should “consider some hiatus, some interregnum of time, that can be allowed for creative responses to the statues. That can foment public dialogue for a period, and then see what happens.”
When I brought up the accusations leveled against Founding Fathers, Lum called for carefully weighing the legacy of the imperfect men who sought, through the Constitution, to form a more perfect union.
“It’s a messy, messy question, and it’s a messy, messy thing to deal with,” he said.
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While Jefferson’s actions were glaringly inconsistent with the ideals he penned in the Declaration of Independence, “that doesn’t take away from the real possibilities that were produced for the future of this nation ... It doesn’t take away from his relationship to slavery, but it is countervailing. I think that’s important to acknowledge. It would be too absolutist, even authoritarian to a degree, not to take that into account.”
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Tim Samuelson, Chicago’s official cultural historian, who is not expected to be part of Lightfoot’s review of public monuments, agreed.
“You want to build on the momentum of the big picture of inequities and bringing to light prejudice and racism,” Samuelson said in a telephone interview. “You want to keep that pot boiling strong, but you don’t want that to impact historical references to people who have general achievements worthy of honor.”
Buckle your seat belts, Chicago.
Blair Kamin is a Tribune critic.
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bkamin@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @BlairKamin


chicagotribune--2020-07-31--Elgin man charged with reckless homicide in crash that left one bicyclist dead, another badly injure

Elgin man charged with reckless homicide in crash that left one bicyclist dead, another badly injured

Lance C. Neal , 28 , of the first block of Clifford Court , is accused in two Elgin hit-and-run @ @ @ @ @ 27 , the first at East Chicago Street and North Spring Street in which he @ @ @ @ @ the second at Raymond Street and Purify Road , in which the two bicyclists were @ @ @ @ @ s attorney ’ s office news release said .

Lance Neal, of Elgin, has been charged with reckless homicide and other counts related to two hit-and-run crashes, one of which left one bicyclist dead and a second severely injured, the Kane County State's Attorney's Office said. (Kane County Sheriffs Office / HANDOUT)
An Elgin man has been charged with reckless homicide after he allegedly drove his car into two bicyclists, killing one and severely injuring the other, and then fled the scene, the Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office said.
Lance C. Neal, 28, of the first block of Clifford Court, is accused in two Elgin hit-and-run crashes the afternoon of July 27, the first at East Chicago Street and North Spring Street in which he struck another vehicle, and the second at Raymond Street and Purify Road, in which the two bicyclists were hit, a state’s attorney’s office news release said.
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The driver of the first vehicle chased Neal, and was able to flag down an Elgin police officer, who tried to pull Neal over, the release said.
“Neal continued to accelerate well beyond the 30 mph limit until he lost control of the vehicle and struck two bicyclists,” the release said. “Neal abandoned the car and fled on foot. He was taken into custody about two hours later.”
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Sandra E. Sampey, 52, of Bartlett, was taken to Amita St. Joseph Hospital in Elgin, where she was pronounced dead Monday, the Kane County Coroner’s Office said. The second victim, a 58-year-old man from Bartlett, received life-threatening injuries and remains hospitalized, the news release said.
In addition to reckless homicide, Neal has been charged with failure to report an accident or death, aggravated fleeing a peace officer and driving without insurance, all felonies.
Neal’s bail was set at $1 million Friday, and he is being held in the Kane County jail. His next court appearance is scheduled for Aug. 7.
Anyone with additional information on the two crashes should call Elgin police at 847-289-2600.


chicagotribune--2020-07-31--Illinois puts 11 counties at ‘warning level’ for coronavirus resurgence as daily case count pushes c

Illinois puts 11 counties at ‘warning level’ for coronavirus resurgence as daily case count pushes close to 2,000

To date , the state Department of Public Health has conducted nearly 2.7 million COVID-19 tests , with 49,782 in @ @ @ @ @ .
As of Thursday night , 1,369 people in Illinois were hospitalized with COVID-19 , @ @ @ @ @ in an intensive care unit and 148 on ventilators .

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)
Eleven of Illinois’ 102 counties have been put on a state “warning level” based on key metrics for measuring the resurgence of COVID-19, officials said Friday, as the state logged its highest daily count of new known coronavirus cases since May 24.
State public health officials said that during the prior 24 hours, there were 1,941 newly confirmed coronavirus cases across the state, and an additional 21 people with COVID-19 in Illinois had died.
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[ COVID-19 cases in Illinois by ZIP code: Search for your neighborhood ]
The seven-day average statewide positivity rate is now 3.9%, and the statewide totals now stand at 178,837 known cases of COVID-19 in Illinois and 7,495 deaths since the pandemic began, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health.
The state classifies a county as reaching a “warning level” when it sees an increase in at least two risk indicators under the state’s coronavirus resurgence mitigation plan, which allows for tighter restrictions for regions that breach levels set for various metrics.
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Michael Rebresh, one of the organizers of the Million Unmasked March, leads a group of protesters as they march near the Illinois Capitol July 25, 2020, in Springfield. (Justin L. Fowler/The State Journal-Register)
The counties at warning level include Jo Daviess County in the state’s northwestern corner and, in central Illinois, Cass and Sangamon counties, the latter of which includes Springfield.
The remaining warning level counties are in Metro East near St. Louis and southern Illinois: Gallatin, Jackson, Johnson, Perry, Randolph, Saline, St. Clair and White, according to the state health department.
[ Illinois’ new COVID-19 plan: How the state will manage any outbreaks, in 3 charts ]
The counties have experienced coronavirus outbreaks from a range of activities and settings, including parties, bars and restaurants, religious gatherings, long-term care facilities and sporting events, state health officials said.
“Residents of many communities are not wearing face coverings that have been proven to reduce the spread of COVID-19,” the state Department of Public Health said in a news release Friday. “Public health officials are finding that most contacts to cases are testing positive as well.”
Some of the counties that were issued warnings have imposed limits on activities considered risky for the spread of COVID-19, including a measure Springfield Mayor Jim Langfelder imposed earlier this month making bars and restaurants that aren’t compliant with phase four rules in Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s reopening plan subject to fines and liquor license suspensions.
[ Illinois coronavirus graphs: Here's the latest data on deaths, confirmed cases, tests and more ]
The state is monitoring a range of metrics to determine whether there’s a coronavirus resurgence in a given community, including deaths, hospital admissions, new cases per 100,000 people, weekly test positivity and ICU availability.
To date, the state Department of Public Health has conducted nearly 2.7 million COVID-19 tests, with 49,782 in the most recent 24-hour period. As of Thursday night, 1,369 people in Illinois were hospitalized with COVID-19, with 346 of those patients in an intensive care unit and 148 on ventilators.
jmunks@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-07-31--Hometown teen charged after fatal shooting at Burbank gas station

Police responded to the station , located at 8458 S. Cicero Ave. , at 10:49 p.m. and found Mena in @ @ @ @ @ of his vehicle , which had crashed into a flower shop across the street , @ @ @ @ @ statement .

A Hometown teenager has been charged following a fatal shooting last weekend at a Burbank gas station.
Andrew Elam, 18, was arrested Tuesday and charged with aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, a Class 4 felony.
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Police identified Elam as the man who shot 39-year-old Burbank resident Joshua Mena multiple times in the parking lot of a Gulf gas station Sunday night, but for reasons that remain unclear have not been able to secure criminal charges related to the shooting.
Burbank Division Chief W. Casey said Mena had been driving through the station’s parking lot after filling up his 2005 Chrysler Pacific with gas when he was shot several times by a man standing in the lot.
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The shooter, later identified as Elam, ran off, Casey said.
Andew Elam, 18, of Hometown (Cook County sheriff's office)
Police responded to the station, located at 8458 S. Cicero Ave., at 10:49 p.m. and found Mena in the driver’s seat of his vehicle, which had crashed into a flower shop across the street, the department said in a statement.
Mena was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where he died early Tuesday evening.
Casey said police were not sure whether Elam knew Mena and had yet to establish a motive for the shooting.
The men had, however, exchanged words prior to the shooting, which was captured on surveillance video and witnessed by multiple people, he said.
Casey said Elam was with another person at the time of the shooting, but that police were not seeking that individual as an accomplice.
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Officers took Elam into custody Tuesday in Hickory Hills after spotting him outside while checking addresses where they believed he might be staying, the division chief said.
Casey declined to elaborate on the decision not to charge Elam with more serious charges, saying only that “there were some factors in this case.”
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The Cook County state’s attorney’s office said in a statement Friday that, after a thorough review of the evidence and circumstances of the incident, it could not meet its burden of proof to file murder charges.
“As prosecutors, we have both an ethical and legal obligation to make charging decisions based on the law and case evidence,” the statement said. “The Burbank Police Department agreed with this decision.”
Elam, who is being held at Cook County Jail on $500,000 bond, is due back in court Aug. 27.
zkoeske@tribpub.com
Twitter @ZakKoeske


chicagotribune--2020-07-31--Chicago airports restrict access to people with tickets and those helping them, workers

“ It ’ s a policy the airports have been considering for some time , and we ’ ve been @ @ @ @ @ the department told the Tribune Friday in a statement that was not attributed to any @ @ @ @ @ is a good time , particularly as it comes to decreased passenger traffic , and @ @ @ @ @ .
”

A passenger walks outside of Terminal 2 at O'Hare International Airport after arriving in Chicago on April 30, 2020. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune)
Chicago aviation officials are restricting access to O’Hare International and Midway airports starting Friday night for “safety and security” reasons, including the coronavirus pandemic.
COVID-19 was not the sole motivation for the new policy, according to the Chicago Department of Aviation, although it was a contributing factor.
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“It’s a policy the airports have been considering for some time, and we’ve been doing due diligence,” the department told the Tribune Friday in a statement that was not attributed to any one person. “Now is a good time, particularly as it comes to decreased passenger traffic, and our desire to maximize efficiencies.”
City Aviation Department officials and Chicago police were scheduled to set up a nightly checkpoint at the airports’ CTA stations to confirm people entering the airport have a reason to be there, according to the release.
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Other methods of enforcement will vary throughout the day, the department said.
The city cited other airports that have similar policies that were “implemented successfully,” including LAX, New York’s LaGuardia and JFK airports and Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson airport. Chicago in the past has had issues with homeless people congregating at the city’s airports, over the years putting various restrictions in place to keep people from staying overnight at O’Hare.


chicagotribune--2020-07-31--Illinois State to rename floors in residence hall named after U.S. secretaries of state who owned sl

Illinois State to rename floors in residence hall named after U.S. secretaries of state who owned slaves, including Jefferson, Monroe and Madison

The dorm , the 28-story Watterson Towers , opened in 1968 and divided into north and south towers , is @ @ @ @ @ houses ” of five floors each , all named after U.S. secretaries of state , @ @ @ @ @ Monroe and James Madison .
Eight of those 10 figures “ actively took part in @ @ @ @ @ ” an Illinois State news release said .

Illinois State University announced Thursday it plans to rename a residence hall’s floors that are named after slave owners.
The dorm, the 28-story Watterson Towers, opened in 1968 and divided into north and south towers, is made up of 10 “houses” of five floors each, all named after U.S. secretaries of state, including Thomas Jefferson, James Monroe and James Madison. Eight of those 10 figures “actively took part in the system of slavery,” an Illinois State news release said.
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The decision to rename them was made “in the wake of the tragic death of George Floyd,” according to the release. It comes in conjunction with similar efforts across Chicago and the country, as activists call for the removal or renaming of schools, parks, statues and other symbols representing controversial historical figures.
“I am proud to see that we are moving in the same direction,” said Illinois State President Larry Dietz in a news release. “Our students and alumni using their voice is a celebration of the university’s core values of diversity and inclusion, and civic engagement.”
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The change follows a petition created by former Watterson Towers resident assistants, who called for the floors to be renamed and gathered about 1,500 signatures in two weeks.
“These are not just names, but symbols that carry meaning,” the petition said. “Renaming the houses in Watterson Towers after people who have changed our society for the better and made a positive impact for many will mean more to our campus community.”
The change is a positive step forward for the university, said Doris Houston, Illinois State’s interim assistant to the president for diversity and inclusion, in the release.
“Asking students to live in places that carry the names of those who represent centuries of oppression and systemic injustice becomes part of the trauma that racism inflicts on people every day,” Houston said.
The university plans to have the new names in place by the fall.
kelsmith@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @KelliSmithNews


chicagotribune--2020-07-31--Antiviral drug remdesivir helps white, Black and Latino patients equally, Chicago study finds

The trials found that patients placed on remdesivir who recovered did so faster than those who did not receive the @ @ @ @ @ intravenously and is being rationed by the federal government .
Those faster recovery times are @ @ @ @ @ are suffering and hospitals at risk of becoming overwhelmed with caseloads , doctors said .

Vials of the drug Remdesivir on display during a news conference about the start of a study with use of the drug in severely ill patients at the University Hospital Eppendorf in Hamburg, Germany, on April 8, 2020, amid the coronavirus pandemic. (Ulrich Perrey/AFP/ULRICH PERREY/AFP/Getty Images North America/TNS)
Remdesivir, the only drug given emergency approval for treatment of COVID-19, appears to provide equal benefits to white, Asian, Black and Latino patients, according to an analysis led by researchers at University of Chicago Medicine.
It’s encouraging news, infectious disease experts say, because of the disparate effects of the disease on different groups. Black people are dying at higher rates than people of other races, and Latinos are contracting the disease at higher rates than others.
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Dr. Kathleen Mullane, a UChicago Medicine infectious disease expert, said the results — which were reviewed by other scientists but are not published in a medical journal — are particularly encouraging for her institution given that it treats many patients of color. “We are so proud and excited and happy that our patients did well,” she said.
Mullane led UChicago Medicine’s arm of a drug trial conducted by Gilead Sciences, the manufacturer of the antiviral drug. It was one of two studies, with the other conducted by the National Institutes of Health, that led the Food and Drug Administration to issue an emergency use authorization for remdesivir as a treatment for COVID-19 patients.
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The trials found that patients placed on remdesivir who recovered did so faster than those who did not receive the drug, which is administered intravenously and is being rationed by the federal government. Those faster recovery times are helpful to both patients who are suffering and hospitals at risk of becoming overwhelmed with caseloads, doctors said.
UChicago’s new analysis, relying on data from the Gilead trial, showed that “traditionally marginalized racial/ethnic groups do not have worse clinical outcomes compared to other groups,” according to a presentation by Mullane at a virtual international conference on COVID-19. In fact, Black patients had slightly better outcomes than the other three racial and ethnic groups that were analyzed, the presentation states.
The data, the researchers said, was adjusted to account for preexisting risk factors. Although many women participated in the study, there was no evaluation in the analysis of how well female patients fared compared with men. Further evaluations of the data are being conducted.
Mullane said there may be benefits to expanding the use of remdesivir so it’s given to patients earlier in the trajectory of their disease — in keeping with UChicago Medicine’s efforts to get people on the drug before they “needed aggressive ventilation” to help them breathe.
“If we were able to treat people earlier, we might be able to do even better,” Mullane said in an article on the analysis prepared by UChicago Medicine. “We want to start therapy while the virus is present and actively replicating, not after it’s cleared and the immune system has gone haywire.”
She was referring to an overreaction to COVID-19 by the immune system that afflicts some patients and becomes as much of a problem as the disease itself.
Some doctors are using the steroid dexamethasone to treat COVID-19 patients after they have been placed on ventilators. It appears to lower death rates in those patients, but supply is an issue.
hdardick@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-07-31--SPACE to host a series of real, live outdoor concerts as part of an ongoing series

Tickets are sold by the table .
Individual tickets run from $ 20- $ 30 , and guests are required @ @ @ @ @ for a table , but not required to fill them .
The 18 tables — @ @ @ @ @ — have varying capacities of two , four , five and six people .
Kids @ @ @ @ @ .

SPACE in Evanston was among a handful of local venues that made creative attempts to host live music during the early days of the pandemic when it threw a small series of shows on neighborhood lawns.
The venue is making another foray into live performances with its Summer Stage series, a collection of 10 outdoor concerts between Aug. 9 and Aug. 30. Each show will welcome up to 50 seated guests under a big-top tent, and picnic tables.
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The series kicks off next Friday with a performance from Funkadesi Unplugged at 7 p.m.
To help protect guests, SPACE will implement “non-negotiable” safety measures. Masks are mandatory, as are temperature checks upon entering. Tables will be socially distanced. There will also be hand sanitizer at every table, replaced between shows.
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“Our biggest priority in this new endeavor is making sure customers, staff, and musicians feel safe,” SPACE said in an emailed announcement.
Drinks will be available for pre-order during the ticket checkout process, as well as during the show, using a touchless QR and mobile app system. Food will not be sold onsite, but guests are encouraged to bring their own.
Tickets are sold by the table. Individual tickets run from $20-$30, and guests are required to buy all the seats for a table, but not required to fill them. The 18 tables — 16 cabaret and two picnic — have varying capacities of two, four, five and six people. Kids and dogs are also welcome.
Here’s the full schedule of shows:
7 p.m. Aug. 7: Funkadesi Unplugged ($25)
7 p.m. Aug. 8: Part-Time Lovers ($25)
7 p.m. Aug. 9: Jason Narducy, solo ($25)
7 p.m. Aug. 14: Mud Morganfield, trioi ($250
1 p.m. Aug. 15: Yoga, Blues, & Brews with Kristin Andrews & Dave Specter ($45)
6:30 p.m. Aug. 16: Alfonso Ponticelli ($20)
7 p.m. Aug 21: Jon Langford & Nora O’Connor ($30)
7 p.m. Aug. 28: Pat McKillen & Greg Berryman recreate Dave Matthews & Tim Reynolds Live At Luther College ($20)
7 p.m. Aug. 29: Railheart plays Grateful Dead ($20)
6:30 p.m. Aug. 30: Steve Dawson & Diane Christiansen of Dolly Varden ($25)
adlukach@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-07-31--FBI seeks to identify man with a dog who vandalized pro-immigration rights church last year in Pilse

FBI seeks to identify man with a dog who vandalized pro-immigration rights church last year in Pilsen neighborhood

He was described as a white man between the ages of 30 and 40 , with close-cut brown hair and @ @ @ @ @ the time of the incident , he was wearing a long , black coat and @ @ @ @ @ a medium-sized white dog with a curled tail , the FBI said .

The FBI is asking for the public’s help identifying a man who brought a dog with him while he vandalized the Lincoln United Methodist Church in the Pilsen neighborhood. (FBI)
The FBI is asking for the public’s help identifying a man who brought a dog with him while he vandalized a church in the Pilsen neighborhood last fall.
On Oct. 15, about 1:30 p.m., the man attempted to gain entry to the Lincoln United Methodist Church, 2242 S. Damen Ave. After someone told the man the church was closed, he began to kick the glass doors, shattering both, the FBI said.
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When employees of the church confronted him, he made racist comments and performed a gesture described as a Nazi salute.
The man in question was believed to be involved in other crimes in Chicago, the FBI said.
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He was described as a white man between the ages of 30 and 40, with close-cut brown hair and a slim build. At the time of the incident, he was wearing a long, black coat and dark shoes, and had a medium-sized white dog with a curled tail, the FBI said.
Lincoln United Methodist has been vandalized several times in the past and is the sister church to Adalberto United Methodist in the Humboldt Park neighborhood, where Elvira Arellano, a Mexican immigration activist who was living in the U.S. illegally, sought sanctuary for more than a year starting in August 2006.
Anyone with information should contact the FBI Chicago office, 312-421-6700.
dawilliams@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-07-31--Illinois’ new COVID-19 plan: How the state will manage any outbreaks, in 3 charts

The plan also includes mitigation steps unique to different categories , like restaurants and bars , offices or salons , @ @ @ @ @ specifically respond to a type of outbreak in a specific part of the state .
@ @ @ @ @ s plan here .

Jemal R. Brinson, Nausheen Husain, Jonathon Berlin

Amid an uptick of COVID-19 cases over the past month, Gov. J.B. Pritzker laid out a new approach to managing any resurgence across the state.
The new approach is more surgical, dividing the state into 11 regions — Illinois’ existing Emergency Medical Services regions — and tightening the metrics officials will watch to determine if any action is warranted.
The plan also includes mitigation steps unique to different categories, like restaurants and bars, offices or salons, that could be used to specifically respond to a type of outbreak in a specific part of the state. Read more on Pritzker’s plan here.
Check our tracker for daily metrics for each region.
Here is a breakdown of the plan.


chicagotribune--2020-07-31--COVID-19 cases in Illinois by ZIP code: Search for your neighborhood

Search below by street address , ZIP code or city , then click on the map to see the number @ @ @ @ @ state is not providing data for any ZIP code with five cases or fewer .

Note: With Chicago and Illinois moving into phase 5, the Tribune is no longer updating this data. If the state moves back into bridge phase, the Tribune we reassess. Daily metrics on COVID-19, like cases, deaths and hospitalizations, can be found here. And Daily metrics on the vaccination effort can be found here. More on where the coronavirus stands nationally and around the world can be found here.
Illinois releases the number of positive COVID-19 cases by ZIP code daily. The map below shows the cumulative cases for each area as well as other analysis of the data.
• Check out the Tribune’s coronavirus coverage.
• Tracking daily Illinois coronavirus deaths, cases and tests.
Search below by street address, ZIP code or city, then click on the map to see the number of confirmed and probable cases. The state is not providing data for any ZIP code with five cases or fewer.
Data as of June 10.
The map search tool above works best in Chrome or Firefox and may not perform consistently in Internet Explorer.
Note: Because of a coding error this map was displaying the incorrect rates for new cases in the last 7 days per 100,000 people — the issue should now be resolved.. The Tribune adjusted the data shown on the map below to focus on new cases, those the state tracked in the last 7 seven days. The totals for the entire pandemic are still available, but in the pop-up after tapping or clicking on a ZIP.


chicagotribune--2020-07-31--Illinois coronavirus graphs: 7,495 deaths, 178,837 confirmed cases and 2.69 million tests

• How are Illinois regions doing ?
Check our daily charts on where each region stands on positivity rate and @ @ @ @ @ .

Johns Hopkins University & Medicine tracked coronavirus cases, deaths and test totals from Jan. 22, 2020 through March 10, 2023, but is no longer providing this data. These charts will no longer be updated.
Check the Illinois Department of Public Health for the most up-to-date data for Illinois.
[ Remembering the lives of those in Illinois who died from coronavirus ]
Can’t see these charts? Go here.


chicagotribune--2020-07-31--Brindille restaurant, reopening Friday, had a long road back

“ Some elements couldn ’ t be replaced , ” Nahabedian said .
“ The cool hanging light fixture outside @ @ @ @ @ repairable .
We had a new sign made , but it ’ s not here @ @ @ @ @ in , but with the pandemic , they had to work separately .
Dealing with @ @ @ @ @ , and what are we going to do now .
We worked for two months @ @ @ @ @ to work on .
Everything we ’ d planned for the restaurant — we felt @ @ @ @ @ had to trash it all .
Plan B , Plan C — I feel like @ @ @ @ @ Z right now .
”

Cousins and business partners Michael, left, and Carrie Nahabedian, right, will reopen their River North restaurant, Brindille, Friday. They are pictured in the restaurant's outside dining area Thursday, July 30, 2020. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune)
To the average person, reopening a restaurant after months of inactivity merely requires dusting the tables, ordering vegetables and turning on the stove. As we watch Chicago restaurants emerging, tentatively, from the statewide lockdown imposed in mid-March due to COVID-19, it’s clear that returning to normal — or some approximation thereof — is full of complications. This is one such story.
Brindille, which closed in mid-March as part of Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s coronavirus order, reopened Friday. For owners Carrie and Michael Nahabedian (she’s the chef; cousin Michael runs the front room and the wine program), the road to recovery was long, complicated by distance and violent destruction.
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“When the shutdown was announced, we met the next day to get the staff settled, take care of the food and lock everything down,” Carrie Nahabedian said. “Keep in mind, back then we thought this was going to be two weeks.”
“My first concern was my mother, who’s 91 and living in Florida,” she said, “and Michael’s parents are down there. We spent a few days paying bills, finishing payroll, and then we drove straight to Florida. We were barely there a day when Florida locked down.”
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The Nahabedians planned to stay in Florida for a week or so, but as the Illinois shutdown was extended and extended some more, there was little reason to return. And, Nahabedian said, her mother’s beachfront property on Marco Island wasn’t the worst place to hang out.
Brindille chef/partner Carrie Nahabedian checks on the setup of tables outside of her restaurant at 534 N. Clark St. in Chicago, on Thursday, July 30, 2020. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune)
“It was pretty idyllic,” she said, “but we kept in contact with (pastry chef Craig Harzewski) and talked to a number of restaurateurs; a day didn’t go by when we weren’t comforting each other. I don’t believe I’ve had a good night’s sleep since the beginning of March.”
Shortly after Memorial Day, the Nahabedians headed back to Chicago, believing they’d be able to open soon for outdoor dining. They took a circuitous route home, visiting chef friends in cities — Asheville, Charleston — whose restaurants had reopened.
“We got home on the 30th,” she said. “And that night, the rioting and vandalism started.”
Brindille partners and cousins Carrie, left, and Michael Nahabedian have removed tables from the dining room to allow safe distancing for diners. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune)
The largest Chicago protests took place May 29 and 30, sparked by the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. After some participants turned to violent property destruction, damage was extensive in the Loop, Streeterville and River North, where Brindille sits. Brindille’s exterior was covered in graffiti. The large front window was shattered, and the wood-and-metal framing destroyed.
“We’re very lucky the vandals didn’t physically enter the restaurant,” Nahabedian said. “Our belief was that whoever perpetrated the crime didn’t realize what was inside — artwork and glass cases and a wine cabinet. Brindille is sandwiched between two bars — Blue Chicago and Fado — and nothing was salvaged from those two places.”
“We called boarding companies the next morning, and it was mayhem,” she said. “They were all completely booked, couldn’t get to us. It was very unnerving. Luckily, a very good neighbor called and sent over workmen and wood, and we boarded it all up.”
Outdoor tables at Brindille allow for more dining space. The restaurant had been set to open for outdoor dining in early June, but damage to the facade and dining room caused during civil unrest delayed the reopening. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune)
Though nobody apparently entered the restaurant, there was plenty of damage. Glass everywhere. Glass imbedded in the furniture, particularly in the banquettes by the destroyed window.
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“In March when we shut down, we just straightened up the dining room,” she said. “In retrospect, had we completely cleared it out, we wouldn’t have had as much damage.”
Repairs took a long time. It took a full month to get the new window fabricated and installed. Two weeks for a cleanup company to remove and restore the banquettes.
“Some elements couldn’t be replaced,” Nahabedian said. “The cool hanging light fixture outside the restaurant wasn’t repairable. We had a new sign made, but it’s not here yet. We had workmen in, but with the pandemic, they had to work separately. Dealing with that, and the financials, and what are we going to do now. We worked for two months on something we never planned to work on. Everything we’d planned for the restaurant — we felt so organized — and we had to trash it all. Plan B, Plan C — I feel like we’re on Plan Z right now.”
Banquettes had to be redone because glass from the smashed window had become embedded in the them. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune)
Plan Z, at least, has Brindille ready to welcome back customers. There are outdoor tables and planters in front of the purple storefront — about 20 seats — and the dining room, from which a number of tables have been removed, can seat perhaps 26.
The first weekend, Brindille was serving dinner Friday through Sunday. Thursday dinner service will be added this week, along with carryout and delivery, and next Sunday will have extended hours and an all-day menu.
“There’s more demand for early dining,” Nahabedian said. “Five o’clock dining is the new norm now.”
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The menu is compact, but still includes 10 appetizers and salads, and more than a half-dozen entrees, including the famed burger and the mezze platter — both star dishes at Naha, the Nahabedians’ previous restaurant. But the chef said she has already heard complaints about one certain dish no longer on the menu.
“People are calling, saying, ‘What do you mean, no Dover sole?‘” she said. “But it’s like nothing is coming in from Europe. I could get it, but it’ll be frozen. We’ll survive without sole; there are plenty of fishermen in the U.S. that need our business.”
A light fixture shines down upon the restored dining room. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune)
Indeed, Nahabedian met one such fisherman during her Florida hiatus.
“I made a great relationship with a shrimp farmer there,” she said. “The shrimp, the prawns were magnificent. I turned him on to a dozen restaurants in Chicago, and he kept sending me shrimp. I’d have never made that connection if I hadn’t been in Florida.”
Thus the menu’s shrimp cocktail with avocado cream, and the pan-roasted prawns with parsley flan, Robuchon potatoes and Pernod emulsion.
And now, Carrie and Michael Nahabedian see how it will work out. Reservations went live Thursday.
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“We have no idea what to expect,” she said. “How many people, how much delivery business? All my friends in the industry are willing to share information, but at the end of the day, it’s about making everyone comfortable and safe, keeping our identity and have that level of fun and vibrancy.
“All we can hope for,” she said, “is that this really was a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence.”
pvettel@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-07-31--‘We are in dire straits’: Chicago venues, theaters asking for economic relief from Congress before A

‘We are in dire straits’: Chicago venues, theaters asking for economic relief from Congress before August recess

The Logan Theatre has been one of the only non-live venues to speak publicly in favor of the RESTART act @ @ @ @ @ sent an email to subscribers asking to support the bill as well .
Like most @ @ @ @ @ Logan has remained closed during phase four .
“ This bill is specifically designed for @ @ @ @ @ revenues are down at least 90 % , if not 100 % , across the @ @ @ @ @ closed , ” read part of the email .

A closed sign is posted next to the entrance of The Hideout on April 28, 2020, in Chicago. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)
As some Chicago businesses have chanced a reopening under the city’s “phase four” plan, venues and theaters have been notably absent from that group
Institutions like the Metro, the Hideout and Logan Theatre — among many more — have had their doors shut since March, and, with infection rates yo-yo-ing nationwide, the timeline for large venue spaces to reopen remains unclear at best.
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This week, operators throughout the city called on legislators to pass at least one of two proposed pieces of legislation, the RESTART or Save Our Stages acts — if not both — which would offer urgent financial relief to live venues, theaters and similar arts and entertainment operations. These industries have been hit particularly hard by the COVID-19 regulations.
“Think of it this way: no revenue. No revenue, but the bills keep coming. And a lot of us are facing this cliff very quickly,” said Katie Tuten, who is co-owner of the 24-year-old Hideout, as well as a founding member of the Chicago Independent Venue League (CIVL), a coalition that has been spearheading the publicity push for legislation. The last time the Hideout welcomed a show to its stage was March 12.
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Mayoral candidate Lori Lightfoot, left, appears with journalists Ben Joravsky and Mick Dumke on March 5, 2019 at the Hideout. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)
“This is kind of like our last chance, really, and we’re all in dire situations. Most of us are ‘phase five’ businesses.”
According to the state’s phase-five plan, “conventions, festivals, and large events” cannot fully restart until there is a widely available treatment or vaccine, contact tracing or no new cases over a sustained period.
The National Independent Venue Association (NIVA), which has more than 2,000 members nationwide, conducted a survey among its roster of venues that indicated more than 90% of them would be forced to close within “a few months” without additional support.
“We need the help and the support now, or, without question, some of our beloved venues will close,” Tuten said. “I mean, think about it. Oh my gosh. We still have mortgages, property taxes, utilities — our bills keep coming.”
Concert industry publication Pollstar estimated in April that, based on 2020 first quarter revenue, venues in the US stand to miss nearly $9 billion in ticket revenue by the end of 2020 — and that number doesn’t even include bar sales.
“We all had money for a rainy day, but this is like a tsunami. No one was prepared for this. We absolutely without question need the support, and it really can only come from the federal level,” Tuten said
Both the RESTART act and the SOS acts have been introduced in the Senate this week. While the two bills differ in key details, Tuten said both would provide financial support that has become absolutely necessary for venues to remain open. Operators are hoping the bills will clear the Senate before it adjourns on August 7.
The RESTART act is an extension of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). The low-interest loan program is for “small businesses,” which are defined as operations with fewer than 5,000 employees, among other criteria.
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The SOS bill is a special grant with a narrower scope, limited to “small live venue operators and talent representatives,” per Congress’s website. The SOS bill also includes smaller performance venues, both for- and non-for-profit operations and industry talent representatives.
Significantly, SOS money comes in the form of a grant, as opposed to the RESTART act, which would provide a loan to be paid back within seven years. The proposed SOS grant package totals $10 billion federally.
Recipients would get the same amount of money under both acts. Allocations would be worth 45% of a business’s 2019 gross receipts, or $12 million — whichever is lesser.
Both bills are bipartisan efforts: RESTART was introduced by Senator Michael F. Bennet (D-CO) and Todd Young (R-IN), and Senators John Cornyn (R-TX) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) introduced the SOS act.
Illinois Senator Tammy Duckworth is a co-sponsor of the RESTART act and is still reviewing the SOS act, according to an email from a representative. On July 14, Duckworth tweeted that live event venues are “the backbone of the rich arts scene in IL & across the US” in support of RESTART.
The #COVID19 pandemic has hit small businesses the hardest, including live event venues—the backbone of the rich arts scene in IL & across the US. We need bipartisan, long-term financing solutions like @SenatorBennet’s RESTART Act to keep these businesses running. https://t.co/AIwNVGwHe9 — Tammy Duckworth (@SenDuckworth) July 15, 2020
Fellow Senator Dick Durbin expressed support for both bills in an email from his office.
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As opposed to jazz clubs, some of which have reopened in Chicago, most live performance venues and theaters do not serve food, which tightens their permitted capacities. Additionally, with touring acts at a standstill, there aren’t even shows to be booked right now except for the ones appearing at drive-in shows at outdoor venues.
“Our industry will not recover until the entire country is open at 100% capacity,” reads a statement on NIVA’s website. Tuten seconded the idea. Profit margins simply don’t add up at reduced capacities. More importantly, she added, venues need to be able to ensure the safety of indoor crowds at any size.
The Logan Theatre has been one of the only non-live venues to speak publicly in favor of the RESTART act. Last week, it sent an email to subscribers asking to support the bill as well. Like most Chicago movie theatres, the Logan has remained closed during phase four. “This bill is specifically designed for the hardest-hit businesses. Cinema revenues are down at least 90%, if not 100%, across the country and continue to be closed,” read part of the email.
The Logan did not respond to requests for comment.
In an emailed statement, Metro/Smartbar/Gman Tavern owner and founding CIVL member Joe Shanahan wrote, “Chicago’s independently owned and operated concert venues and music halls need a hand up, not a handout to save our stages,” calling venues “economic engines and cultural incubators.”
Metro owner Joe Shanahan, shown in 2009, is hosting a David Bowie tribute at the venue with a portion of the proceeds benefiting cancer research. Shanahan won a struggle with tongue cancer last year. (Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune)
According to estimates from the Chicago Loop Alliance, for every $1 spent on ticket sales, a total of $12 in economic activity is typically generated. Using that methodology, Tribune critic Chris Jones estimated late last year that storefront theaters generate about $80 million in annual revenue for their neighborhoods. While that number doesn’t include live music venues, Tuten points out the behavior around those events is similar to going to the theatre: before and after a show, guests often grab a drink, dinner or do some shopping in the area, or all of the above.
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“We’re deeply embedded in the neighborhoods,” Tuten said. “We also host a lot of fundraisers in the community, whether it be for local schools or charity that our staff volunteers with.”
Tuten has received reports of nearly 100,000 phone calls made to congresspeople in Illinois, and thanked people for the action to date.
“It underscores that the community supports us, and they want Congress to support us as well,” she said. The best way to help now is to continue contacting them. The National Independent Venue Association has a call to action on its website.
adlukach@chicagotribune.com