chicagotribune--2020-10-07--Illinois annual gambling tax revenues fell $200 million due to pandemic shutdown

The growth of video gaming — there are now more than 36,000 terminals across the state — has both offset @ @ @ @ @ in casino revenue , Noggle said .
But that didn ’ t help in the @ @ @ @ @ disabled and many of the businesses that housed them shut down by the state .

Guests and media crowd into the sports book at the Rivers Casino in Des Plaines on March 9, 2020. Rivers Casino opened the state's first legal sport book just before the state’s 10 casinos were closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)
When Illinois passed sweeping legislation last year to expand gambling in the state, it was envisioned as a way to generate increased tax revenue.
But the COVID-19 pandemic has led to a much different result, with gambling tax revenue down by 13.4% for the first full year under the new law.
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The state’s gambling tax revenue fell by nearly $200 million to $1.2 billion for fiscal year 2020, which ended June 30. Everything from horse racing to bingo took a hit, according to an annual wagering report by the state.
Illinois was on pace for a modest annual increase in tax revenues until gambling operators were shut down in mid-March, said Eric Noggle, a senior analyst with the state’s Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability who co-authored the study.
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“We were seeing increasing revenues, and then everything just kind of stopped,” Noggle said.
The state’s 10 casinos and thousands of video gaming locations were closed March 16 as the COVID-19 pandemic prompted a statewide stay-at-home order for everything but essential businesses. The gambling venues were allowed to reopen with capacity limits July 1.
Casinos were the hardest hit, with adjusted gross revenue for the year declining by 30% to $943 million, the report said. At Rivers Casino in Des Plaines, the state’s busiest casino, adjusted gross revenue fell by 27%, to $321 million — the lowest full-year total since launching in 2011. Adjusted gross revenue is the amount of money casinos keep after winnings are paid out to gamblers.
“No one could predict COVID-19 and the impact it would have on the gaming industry and the entire economy,” Corey Wise, general manager of Rivers Casino, said in an email Wednesday. “Since reopening in July, our gaming revenues are down over last year, but we have implemented stringent new protocols, including limiting the capacity of the casino.”
Casino revenues in Illinois peaked at $1.98 billion in 2007, and have been declining steadily since the state allowed video gaming terminals at bars, restaurants and truck stops in 2012.
The growth of video gaming — there are now more than 36,000 terminals across the state — has both offset and contributed to the decline in casino revenue, Noggle said. But that didn’t help in the spring when video terminals were disabled and many of the businesses that housed them shut down by the state.
Video gaming revenue declined by about 23% to $1.22 billion. The state’s share of tax revenue fell by $56 million to about $342 million, despite increasing the video gaming tax rate from 30% to 33% in 2020, the report said.
The Illinois Lottery had sales of $2.8 billion, down $173 million or 5.8%, from last year. It was the worst decline since the early days of the lottery in the late 1970s.
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Expectations going into 2020 were high as Illinois began implementing the biggest change in the gambling landscape since approving riverboat casinos in 1990.
The gambling expansion bill, signed into law by Gov. J.B. Pritzker in June 2019, opened the door to everything from sports betting to racinos at horse racing tracks, and provided for six new casino licenses across the state.
Applicants are vying for new casino licenses in Waukegan, the south suburbs, Rockford, Danville and Williamson County in southern Illinois.
Plans for a Chicago casino with up to 4,000 gaming positions — twice the amount allowed at other Illinois casinos — were delayed after a 2019 study determined a 33.3% city gambling tax was too “onerous” to attract developers. The state approved a revised tax structure for the Chicago casino in June.
In August, Mayor Lori Lightfoot put out a request for proposals to build Chicago’s first casino, but there is no deadline for the city to submit applications to the state, Gaming Board spokesman Joe Miller said.
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The state has until Oct. 28 to award the other casino licenses — 12 months from the application submission deadline — but can extend that time period with a “written explanation” to the applicants, Miller said.
Once approved, casino operators will be allowed to open in temporary facilities for two years while building permanent locations.
Sports wagering got off to a rough start when Rivers Casino launched its BetRivers sportsbook in March, only to shut it down one week later as the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
In July, the first full month of sports betting in Illinois, Rivers Casino and the Argosy Casino Alton generated more than $52.5 million in wagers, according to the Illinois Gaming Board. The adjusted gross revenue — the amount the sportsbooks keep after winnings are paid — totaled $3.6 million.
Since then, a number of online and retail sportsbooks have opened, including Grand Victoria in Elgin, the Hollywood casinos in Joliet and Aurora, the Par-A-Dice in East Peoria, and Hawthorne Race Course in Stickney, the state’s first racino.
In August, sports betting generated $139.3 million in wagers, according to the Gaming Board. The adjusted gross revenue totaled $6.9 million.
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The state gets 15% of the adjusted gross revenue for sports betting in taxes, which amounted to about $1.6 million through the first two months of activity, according to the Gaming Board.
Noggle said sports betting will likely produce “a little extra income” for the state, but he sees more potential tax revenue in fiscal year 2021 from the expansion of gaming positions at casinos and other venues across the state.
Video gaming terminals, which continue to proliferate with increased betting limits, will lead the way, Noggle said.
“I would expect to see a huge increase, assuming that you don’t have big shutdowns and people are able to go to video gaming parlors from here on out,” Noggle said.
rchannick@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-10-07--Man fatally shot in struggle over gun during state police traffic stop in Harvey

Troopers made a traffic stop about 12:40 a.m. in Harvey when a male passenger attempted to get into the sport @ @ @ @ @ ’ s side and a trooper saw a gun in his waistband , police said @

A man died early Wednesday after his gun discharged during a struggle over the weapon as troopers were conducting a traffic stop in south suburban Harvey, Illinois State Police said.
The 30-year-old Chicago man was pronounced dead at 4:25 a.m. after being injured near 147th Street and Halsted Avenue, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.
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Troopers made a traffic stop about 12:40 a.m. in Harvey when a male passenger attempted to get into the sport utility vehicle’s driver’s side and a trooper saw a gun in his waistband, police said.
A struggle over the gun followed during which the weapon discharged and struck the passenger, who was later pronounced dead at a local hospital, police said.
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The troopers were not shot and they did not fire their weapons, police said.
After the shooting, the SUV rolled forward and hit a trooper, who police said suffered minor injuries.
Police were seen investigating an SUV that crashed into a bus shelter near a Walgreens parking lot near 147th and Halsted.
The shooting remained under investigation, police said.
Check back for updates.
Chicago Tribune staff contributed.


chicagotribune--2020-10-07--Marijuana ads are here and largely unregulated, as the industry acts to set own guidelines

Expect to see more ads , as the industry has more money to play with during the upcoming holiday season @ @ @ @ @ Sunnyside dispensaries , Cresco launched an “ Ask us anything ” ad campaign answering basic @ @ @ @ @ is CBD , or how many edibles should one consume ?

Cigarette commercials have been banned from radio and television since 1970. Liquor ads were once prohibited from TV as well. Illinois law allows marijuana advertising on the airwaves — but the federal prohibition on pot effectively limits ads to within the states where it’s legal.
Faced with conflicting regulations for a newly legal and growing industry, members of the industry are coming up with their own guidelines. They hope to promote a positive image in the public eye, as lawmakers consider whether to let legal cannabis continue its expansion nationwide.
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Cresco Labs, headquartered in Chicago and one of the biggest cannabis companies in the country, is issuing a detailed set of marketing standards it shared with the Tribune on Tuesday. Fellow industry heavyweight Green Thumb Industries has its own general principles. And the National Association of Cannabis Businesses has standards as well.
People check in before entering the Sunnyside dispensary, by Cresco Labs, in Schaumburg on Aug. 6, 2020. (José M. Osorio/Chicago Tribune)
But Cresco plans to promote its guidelines with regulators, advertisers and publishers. Its 35 principles prohibit advertising or events aimed at minors, unfounded claims, or depicting getting wasted or driving while high, and not using certain medical words or symbols like “RX,” among other things.
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The guidelines largely agree with Illinois law that bans false messages, ads aimed at those under 21 or those that show overconsumption. Illinois law also bans the depiction of the consumption of cannabis, precludes ads within 1,000 feet of a school, park or library, or on public transportation, and bars any health claims.
With 11 states having legalized pot, and 33 allowing medical marijuana, each state has its own regulations. Industry officials said they’d like one set of rules to create a positive, professional image for a business that used to be defined by outlaws and stoners.
“It’ll be good for this industry, the customers and stakeholders,” said Cresco’s chief commercial officer, Greg Butler.
With Illinois seeing explosive growth in sales, in June Cresco showed it can turn a profit, as the industry consolidates. Butler expects it to become one of the top 10 consumer goods in the country within a decade.
Expect to see more ads, as the industry has more money to play with during the upcoming holiday season. To introduce its new Sunnyside dispensaries, Cresco launched an “Ask us anything” ad campaign answering basic consumer questions like, what is CBD, or how many edibles should one consume?
On the national level, the federal ban on use or possession of cannabis means that most networks won’t touch cannabis ads. That helps explain why CBS kept a pot spot from running during the Super Bowl last year.
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As a result, most cannabis companies keep their ads highly targeted to within the state where it’s legal, using magazines, newspapers, radio or digital media.
At this crucial time in the industry’s development, officials say they want to be on their best behavior, to help turn the legal and business framework around.
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Critics of marijuana legalization, though, remain opposed to the spreading presence of cannabis ads.
Kevin Sabet, president of Smart Approaches to Marijuana, cited a recent study showing that roughly one-third of youths ages 15-19 saw marijuana ads on social media and were five times more likely to report using it in the past year.
“Simply put, the marijuana industry should not be able to advertise its highly potent and addictive products,” Sabet said. “The data is clear here that advertising further normalizes the industry, which normalizes the use of the drug, which leads to harmful consequences for health and safety.”
Despite opposition, as advertising ramps up, big brands are likely to emerge, said Timothy Calkins, marketing professor at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.
“Cannabis has a long history full of colorful characters,” Calkins said, “They’re trying to transition to a very different spot that is responsible and productive. It’s not just about making sure it’s legal, it’s about making sure media companies are comfortable with the advertising, so they really need some standards.”


chicagotribune--2020-10-07--Maywood couple married 56 years die hours apart after furnace malfunctions, overheats home

A fire crew was dispatched to the home after the 911 call , during which the caller also said the @ @ @ @ @ “ that they had just gotten a new furnace , ” Bronaugh said .
A @ @ @ @ @ the son who called 911 “ noted that the furnace had previously ( been ) @ @ @ @ @ malfunctioning . ''

A beloved Maywood couple married just shy of 57 years, each active with various hobbies well into their retirement years, died hours apart Sunday when a malfunctioning furnace overheated their home, family members and investigators said.
The couple were identified as Leevell Robinson and Ora Robinson, of the 1200 block of South 15th Avenue in Maywood, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office. They were found unresponsive in their home by one of their three children, who then called 911 about 2 p.m. Sunday, said Maywood Fire Chief Craig Bronaugh.
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A fire crew was dispatched to the home after the 911 call, during which the caller also said the home was excessively hot and “that they had just gotten a new furnace,” Bronaugh said. A later police news release said the son who called 911 “noted that the furnace had previously (been) serviced, as it was malfunctioning."
Leevell Robinson, 80, was pronounced dead at the home at 2:27 p.m., officials said. Ora Robinson, 78, was taken to Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood where she was pronounced dead at 6:49 p.m.
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The Robinsons were parents, grandparents and great-grandparents and their three children, daughter Terri and sons Athedus and Torvis gathered Tuesday, reflecting on the lives of their parents, fixtures in the Maywood community for nearly six decades.
“My parents lived a good life,” said Terri Robinson, the oldest of the children, in a phone interview. “It’s a loss for us. It’s a big hole in our hearts. But we’re going to be strong because that’s the way they raised us.”
Terri Robinson said her mother, who formerly worked for Jewel-Osco, was known as an excellent cook. Asked what her specialty was, all three siblings responded near instantly and in unison: Everything. “What couldn’t she cook?” someone offered.
Athedus and Torvis Robinson grew up playing baseball and Ora Robinson was known to take servings of Gatorade to all the kids gathered outside, practicing.
“Forty years later they still remember and talk about my mom. She was everybody’s mom and when she became a grandmother she was everyone’s grandma,” Terri Robinson said. “She was a loving mother, a great cook, a best friend to all of us, a great adviser.”
Family knew the spirit of the Christmas season reached the Robinson home when they heard the first notes of The Temptations singing “Silent Night,” a favorite of Leevell Robinson’s, his children said. The couple often hosted Christmas and Thanksgiving gatherings. In the summer, they would barbecue in the backyard on the Fourth of July. On other holidays or special occasions, Ora Robinson might make her often-requested apple cake.
“Holidays were the best time. Daddy would be down here playing music or be outside in the backyard, dancing or listening to the blues," Terri Robinson said.
Leevell Robinson was retired from Navistar International, the successor company of International Harvester, and he liked to tinker. He would hang on to things in case he could fix what was broken or use parts to fix something else.
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“He believed he could fix everything and sometimes he could," Terri Robinson said. "He was my fix-it man when I lived nearby them. He was a hard worker who took care of his family. He took excellent care of us, we never wanted for anything.”
Leevell Robinson was involved with the Freemasons and he was such an impressive bowler that when they were younger all his kids learned to bowl after they saw the shiny gold trophies he’d won. Ora Robinson would keep score for the family during bowling outings.
“My mom loved to travel and once a month we’d have poker night. I always had to tell them at work, I’m hosting poker so I’ve got to clean so my mother wouldn’t fuss at me,” she said with a laugh. “We’d get together for six, seven, eight hours, playing poker and laughing and talking.”
Robinson, who often took trips with her mother, said the pair last traveled together to Washington, D.C., about five years ago. Mother and daughter spoke on the phone several times a week, often discussing elaborate menus they were planning before Terri would pick up her mother to go grocery shopping during the weekend.
All three children lived within an hour of the Robinson family home in Maywood, and on Sunday, Athedus stopped to check in on their parents.
Bronaugh, the fire chief, said the couple was found in bed, unconscious in the abnormally hot home.
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Autopsies were performed Monday and the medical examiner’s office determined each died as a result of a malfunctioning furnace with underlying health issues as contributing factors. The manner of both deaths was accidental, according to the medical examiner’s office. Carmen Rivera, a Maywood police spokeswoman, said investigators were notified and found no evidence suggesting foul play.
Bronaugh said the dispatcher told the 911 caller to get out of the home in case the unresponsive couple was suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning, but it later was determined that wasn’t the case.
“We did a manual shutdown of the furnace system" upon arrival, he said. “We also conducted carbon monoxide readings and we did not find elevated levels in the home.”
The children said it has been difficult losing both parents at once and thinking forward to the upcoming holidays without them is tough to bear, as they try to figure out funeral arrangements.
“We’re here for each other. We find strength in God, in our faith in God,” Terri Robinson said. “We know it’s his will and this is his way of making us stronger.”
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kdouglas@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @312BreakingNews


chicagotribune--2020-10-07--Column: Do you find yourself hating Trump and hating that you’ve become a hater?

“ Hate , to me , means wishing ill on people , hoping bad things happen to them , believing @ @ @ @ @ without them , ” he said .
“ This is just my personal view , @ @ @ @ @ to do with redemption .
When I say I hate Trump , I am saying @ @ @ @ @ me and the people/things I love and is simply irredeemable .
”

President Donald Trump walks out of Walter Reed National Military Medical Center after receiving treatment as a COVID-19 patient on Oct. 5, 2020, in Bethesda, Md. (Evan Vucci/AP)
Hate. It’s the other pandemic.
It’s a contagious virus that easily infects people afflicted by the preexisting conditions of ignorance and fear. Now, under the influence of the superspreader known as the president of the United States, almost no one is immune. Even people who have tried to resist the ugliness of hating other human beings are succumbing in ever greater numbers.
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The other day — around the time Donald Trump left the hospital infected with a virus that has killed 210,000 Americans due in part to his actions, after he cockily and dangerously assured the nation not to be afraid of the disease, after years of his defilement of basic decency — a friend of mine posted an admission on social media.
“For most of my life, I didn’t hate anyone,” he wrote. “I was proud of that. Now I hate Trump and his enablers. I hate them for their racism, cruelty and criminality. I hate them for trying to destroy our democracy and steal my family’s future. And I hate them for making me a hater like them.”
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I read that and I winced. Not because he’d said something he shouldn’t, but because I identified. I’ve never felt hatred before, for anyone, including politicians I didn’t like. The very word — hate — feels vile.
And yet under the tyranny of Trump I find the feeling flickering into my brain. I try to fight it off, but it’s hard to do, like fighting off a nasty cough. A lot of people can relate.
“I understand,” one person replied to my friend’s post. “I don’t even recognize the part of myself that feels this way.”
“I am angry that I hate Trump,” said another. “It makes me no better than him.”
“I feel the same,” wrote someone else. “But our baseline isn’t hate. I think what we’re feeling is outrage at the injustice & unnecessary suffering. That and crises exhaustion. It’s not the same as being an amoral monster.”
It’s nice to think that what feels like hate is really just exhaustion. But is it?
Some dictionaries define hate as nothing more than intense dislike, but that doesn’t do justice to the word that is our current contagion. I hate leaf blowers and pumpkin spice lattes and misplaced apostrophes, but that emotion is really just annoyance.
And hate isn’t a synonym for disagreement, though the two have become conflated in many minds. It’s turned into a schoolyard taunt: You’re a hater! No, you’re a hater! Insult becomes a cheap substitute for reasonable argument.
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Philosophers through the ages have spent a lot of words trying to define hate. Some say hatred includes a desire to harm other people, to dominate or eliminate. I asked my friend how he defined hate as he used it in his post.
“Hate, to me, means wishing ill on people, hoping bad things happen to them, believing the Earth would be better without them,” he said. “This is just my personal view, but it has a lot to do with redemption. When I say I hate Trump, I am saying he has done damage to me and the people/things I love and is simply irredeemable.”
Trump has had a full presidential term to prove that he is redeemable. He has failed, over and over. And to Americans of any political party who value honesty, decency and fairness in a leader, that is very scary.
Trump, with his constant assault on what we call “norms,” has given us great, reasonable cause to be afraid. And fear, especially when mixed with futility, leads to hate.
But here’s one problem with hatred: It feels bad. It feels wrong.
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Sure, there are people for whom hate is exhilarating to the point of addictive, but addiction rarely ends well. I recently read a story about a recovering white supremacist, who likened hate to a drug.
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“You take a drug to feel better,” he said, “but you end up feeling worse in the long run.”
The hatred expressed by white supremacists is more dangerous than the hatred aimed at Trump and his enablers, but hatred is hatred, and it’s never good.
So what should we do with these ugly feelings? You can’t simply tell yourself not to feel what you feel. But it’s Self-Help 101: Look at what you feel. Acknowledge it. Then look for healthy, helpful ways to feel better.
It’s an ancient truth that hatred breeds hatred, that hatred breeds violence, that violence breeds violence. What we need now is not more hatred, it’s an escape from the cycle. We need stamina. And we need to vote, for the candidate who doesn’t stoke hatred.
The vote is the closest thing we have to a vaccine.
mschmich@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-10-06--Coronavirus in Illinois updates: Here’s what happened Oct. 6 with COVID-19 in the Chicago area

Illinois health officials Wednesday announced 2,630 new known cases of COVID-19 and 42 additional confirmed fatalities , bringing the total number of known infections in Illinois to 307,641 and the statewide death toll to 8,878 since the start of the pandemic .
Officials reported 58,820 new tests in the last 24 hours , as the state surpasses 6 million total COVID-19 tests .
The seven-day statewide positivity rate is 3.5 % .
The new statewide numbers come as Gov .
J.B. Pritzker said Wednesday that the gains that most regions in Illinois had been making in bringing down COVID-19 positivity @ @ @ @ @ @ @ off a bit.
” The governor noted specifically that the northeastern region that includes Lake and McHenry counties has seen a reversal after a period of decline .
“ That progress has cooled off a bit , across Illinois , ” Pritzker said .
“ We are seeing changes in positivity averages around the state level off , with three regions that were decreasing last week now sitting at a stable level.
” 7:15 p.m. : CPS says clerks must report to work in person , despite labor ruling that questions COVID-19 protections @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ‘ threatens jobs.
’ Despite an arbitrator ’ s ruling that certain Chicago Public Schools employees should be allowed to work from home when feasible during remote learning , the district is continuing to require them to work in person .
An email from Chief Talent Officer Matt Lyons sent late Tuesday told clerks , clerk assistants and technology coordinators that the expectations have not changed .
“ As critical members of our school community , you are integral in our collective work communicating and supporting families , staff , and students , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ means you will continue to be expected to report to work in person , unless you have an approved or pending request for a leave of absence or accommodation .
“ You may have received conflicting information recently on this reporting requirement , ” the email continued , “ but we are writing today to confirm CPS ' expectation and directive to report to work onsite.
” Without a leave of absence or accommodation request approved or pending , employees are not allowed to work from home , according to the email , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t show up in person , “ CPS will consider your absence unauthorized and proceed accordingly.
” The Chicago Teachers Union is interpreting the email as a threat of discipline and an attempt “ to strongarm workers into schools in defiance of the ruling.
” The union also claims CPS is stalling on bargaining over remedies .
After spending much of Tuesday night calling colleagues at The Purple Pig , Ryan Love felt upbeat about the five people who committed to picketing the Chicago restaurant Wednesday morning .
The protest , which ended @ @ @ @ @ @ @ signs saying , “ 211K Americans dead .
Tapas anyone ?
” and “ No transparency , no accountability , ” was inspired by frustration over the perceived actions of restaurant chef and owner Jimmy Bannos Jr. and other members of management .
Love contends they did not take appropriate steps to keep employees and guests safe after a staff member tested positive for COVID-19 on Sept. 24 .
Love , a lead server and bartender , said a full week had passed before the restaurant was deep-cleaned and staff was notified about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ management didn ’ t act until pushed , he said .
He heard the news that a staff member had tested positive from other colleagues during his shift Sept. 26 and emailed management Sept. 28 .
There was no all-staff announcement before Love sent his email , he said .
“ That was basically the confirmation that they ’ re not taking this seriously and it is a serious situation , ” Love said .
“ I was really , really mad that they would be so careless.
” 6:35 p.m. : Notre @ @ @ @ @ @ @ campus after getting the coronavirus As college leaders deliberated whether to bring students back to campus , none led the charge for reopening more forcefully than the president of the University of Notre Dame .
The Rev .
John I. Jenkins , the university ’ s president and a 66-year-old Catholic priest with degrees in philosophy and divinity , was among the first to invite students back for dorm life , intercollegiate sports and face-to-face classes , arguing in a New York Times op-ed in May that the college had a moral obligation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ He also seemed humble about the challenge : When he forgot social distancing rules as he posed for pictures with students returning to campus in August , he issued a public apology .
But all the humility in the world might not have spared Jenkins from the storm of protest he now faces over the latest news from South Bend : that he not only violated his own health rules — appearing without a mask at a White House reception last month for Judge Amy Coney Barrett , a Supreme Court nominee and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ but also is infected with the coronavirus himself .
Students have petitioned for his resignation , angry over what they consider his hypocrisy as well as the rising tide of infections on campus .
Others have reported him to a coronavirus hotline for violating his own mask mandate .
The student newspaper called the affair “ embarrassing ” in an editorial .
And the faculty senate stopped one vote short Tuesday night of considering a vote of no confidence in his leadership .
“ I haven ’ t seen people this outraged in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been here since 2001 , ” Eileen Hunt Botting , a political science professor , said .
5:10 p.m. : ‘ Wisconsin is what happens when you politicize public health , ’ Mayor Lori Lightfoot says Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot blamed Wisconsin Republicans for that state ’ s recent spike in coronavirus cases , saying “ Wisconsin is what happens when you politicize public health.
” Lightfoot made her comments after Wisconsin health officials announced Wednesday that a field hospital will open next week at the state fairgrounds near Milwaukee as a surge @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Referring to the field hospital , Lightfoot said , “ The fact that , in October , a state is having to open up a field hospital because of the stress on the healthcare system , because of the explosion in cases requiring hospitalizations , is a disgrace.
” And alluding to the clashes between Evers and Republicans , Lightfoot said , “ Public health should never be politicized.
” Only 16 % of the state ’ s 11,452 hospital beds were available as of Tuesday afternoon , according to the DHS @ @ @ @ @ @ @ had grown to 853 , its highest during the pandemic according to the COVID Tracking Project , with 216 in intensive care .
4:40 p.m. : Pritzker says state ’ s recent progress on COVID-19 has ‘ cooled off a bit ’ The gains that most regions in Illinois had been making in bringing down COVID-19 positivity rates in recent weeks have “ cooled off a bit , ” Gov .
J.B. Pritzker said Wednesday , noting specifically that the northeastern region that includes Lake and McHenry counties has seen a reversal after @ @ @ @ @ @ @ last week that there were “ promising declines in nearly every region of the state , ” with the exception of the northwest region , where the state imposed more strict rules over the weekend due to the positivity rate there surpassing a threshold that triggers a scaled-back reopening .
“ That progress has cooled off a bit , across Illinois , ” Pritzker said Wednesday during a virtual news conference , as he continued to quarantine after one of his staff members tested positive for COVID-19 .
“ We are seeing changes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ off , with three regions that were decreasing last week now sitting at a stable level.
” Wisconsin has become a hot spot for the disease over the last month , ranking third nationwide this week in daily new cases per capita .
Health experts have attributed the spike to the reopening of colleges and K-12 schools as well as general fatigue over wearing masks and socially distancing .
“ We hoped this day wouldn ’ t come , but unfortunately , Wisconsin is in a much different , more dire place today @ @ @ @ @ @ @ become overwhelmed by the surge of COVID-19 cases , ” said Democratic Gov .
Tony Evers .
“ This alternative care facility will take some of the pressure off our healthcare facilities while expanding the continuum of care for folks who have COVID-19.
” Eli Lilly is asking the federal government for emergency approval of an antibody drug it says has shown success in early trials stopping some COVID-19 patients with mild symptoms from later needing hospitalization .
The Indianapolis-based pharmaceutical giant said Wednesday it would petition the U.S. Food and Drug Administration @ @ @ @ @ @ @ make the treatment more widely available to patients at high-risk for serious COVID-19 complications .
Its drug is similar to one that President Donald Trump received on Friday from Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc .
These medicines supply concentrated versions of specific antibodies to help the immune system clear the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 .
They ’ re given as a one-time treatment through an IV .
Illinois has now conducted more than 6 million COVID-19 tests since the pandemic began earlier this year , Gov .
J.B. Pritzker announced on Wednesday .
The state @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 58,820 tests during the latest 24-hour period , which resulted in 2,630 newly confirmed cases of COVID-19 .
The state also reported 42 additional deaths of people with COVID-19 .
The testing total is now 6,033,289 .
Illinois has seen a total of 307,641 known cases of coronavirus to date , and the state is reporting 8,878 deaths of people with COVID-19 .
As of Tuesday night , 1,679 people with COVID-19 were hospitalized in Illinois .
Of those patients , 372 patients were in an intensive care unit , and 165 were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ children in suburban Cook County public housing to get free laptops as remote learning continues to present digital barriers Hundreds of school-age children in suburban Cook County public housing will get free laptops paid for by federal coronavirus stimulus money starting Wednesday , as part of an ongoing effort to ensure digital access after the COVID-19 pandemic upended in-person learning .
About $ 270,000 of CARES Act money allocated to the Housing Authority of Cook County will be used to purchase laptops for 900 students who live in the public housing complexes to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ remote learning .
The giveaway is part of Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle ’ s efforts to address long-standing racial inequities that have intensified under the grip of the coronavirus .
11:25 a.m. : Trump has COVID , but many supporters still eschew masks : ‘ The far-left liberals are causing this ’ On the day that President Donald Trump defiantly left the hospital where he was being treated for a coronavirus infection and returned to a White House that appears to be one of Washington ’ s most contagious hot spots @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Pennsylvania showed no signs of questioning their own defiance of experts ' advice on how to limit the virus ’ s spread .
In the Lebanon Valley east of Harrisburg , where support for Trump remains particularly strong , the president ’ s failure to protect his family and inner circle from the virus was not seen as a reflection on his inability to protect Americans , as the death toll passed 210,000 .
On the contrary , Trump loyalists echoed misinformation that the president has spread for much of the year , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ threat of the virus to aid his reelection .
11:01 a.m. : How much would Trump ’ s coronavirus treatment cost most Americans ?
President Donald Trump spent three days in the hospital .
He arrived and left by helicopter .
And he received multiple coronavirus tests , oxygen , steroids and an experimental antibody treatment .
For someone who isn ’ t president , that would cost more than $ 100,000 in the American health system .
Patients could face significant surprise bills and medical debt even after health insurance paid its @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have struggled with both the long-term health and financial effects of contracting coronavirus .
Nearly half a million have been hospitalized .
Routine tests can result in thousands of dollars in uncovered charges ; hospitalized patients have received bills upward of $ 400,000 .
Trump did not have to worry about the costs of his care , which are covered by the federal government .
Most Americans , including many who carry health coverage , do worry about receiving medical care they can not afford .
10:37 a.m. : Second stimulus check updates @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tweet , Trump tries to pick and choose parts of COVID-19 relief The White House on Wednesday tried to salvage its favorite items lost in the rubble of COVID-19 relief talks that President Donald Trump blew up , with his administration pressing for $ 1,200 stimulus checks and a new wave of aid for airlines and other businesses hard hit by the pandemic .
As part of a barrage of tweets and retweets , Trump pressed for passage of these chunks of assistance , an about-face from his abrupt and puzzling move on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ longtime rival , House Speaker Nancy Pelosi .
The California Democrat has rejected such piecemeal entreaties all along .
But the COVID-19 pandemic has led to a much different result , with gambling tax revenue down by 13.4 % for the first full year under the new law .
The state ’ s gambling tax revenue fell by nearly $ 200 million to $ 1.2 billion for fiscal year 2020 , which ended June 30 .
Everything from horse racing to bingo took a hit , according to an annual wagering report by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for a modest annual increase in tax revenues until gambling operators were shut down in mid-March , said Eric Noggle , a senior analyst with the state ’ s Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability who co-authored the study .
7:20 a.m. : County officials to announce program to distribute laptops for children still in need of online learning help Cook County officials were scheduled Wednesday morning to announce a program to give laptops to school-age children who still need devices for online learning .
County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and the Housing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ laptops Wednesday morning at the Richard Flowers Apartments in Robbins as part of Digital Inclusion Week , according to a release from Preckwinkle ’ s office .
Digital Inclusion Week seeks to increase online literacy , widen internet access to people with lower incomes and increase media literacy .
5 a.m. : Coronavirus outbreak flares again at Jacksonville prison A COVID-19 outbreak at Jacksonville Correctional Center that had remained stable for weeks is growing again .
Eight prisoners at the facility tested positive between Saturday and Monday , taking the total prisoner infections @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the prison also have tested positive since the outbreak began .
A reinfection also was noted in a resident of Aperion Care in Jacksonville , where another resident also tested positive , according to a daily briefing by the Morgan County Department of Public Health , Jacksonville/Morgan County Emergency Management , Memorial Health System , county commissioners and the city of Jacksonville .
There have been 305,011 known coronavirus cases and 8,836 confirmed deaths in Illinois since the start of the pandemic .
Here are five things that happened Tuesday related to COVID-19 @

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Paca Kujtim of Arlington Heights self-administers a COVID-19 test in his car at the Arlington International Racecourse on March 31, 2021 in Arlington Heights. Kujtim was getting testing as a precaution for upcoming travel. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)
Illinois health officials on Tuesday announced 1,617 new known cases of COVID-19 and 32 additional fatalities, bringing the total number of known infections in Illinois to 305,011 and the statewide death toll to 8,836 since the start of the pandemic. Officials also reported 49,513 new tests in the last 24 hours. The seven-day statewide positivity rate is 3.4%.
Earlier on Tuesday, city officials said that Indiana is again in danger of being added to Chicago’s quarantine travel order next week. While the neighboring state is still just at a warning level, Chicago residents are “strongly advised” to avoid traveling there, according to a city news release.
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Chicago adds a state to its quarantine list if it averages more than 15 new daily COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents over a seven-day period. Indiana already has passed that threshold, but to allow Chicagoans enough time to rearrange their travel plans, the city will wait to see if it improves its numbers next week.
Meanwhile, President Trump staged a dramatic return to the White House Monday night after leaving the military hospital where he has been receiving an unprecedented level of care for COVID-19. He immediately ignited a new controversy by declaring that despite his illness the nation should not fear the virus that has killed more than 210,000 Americans — and he then entered the White House without a protective mask. On Tuesday morning, he compared it to the flu.
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Here’s what’s happening Tuesday with COVID-19 in the Chicago area and Illinois:
6:25 p.m.: Will CPS reopen next month? An arbitrator’s ruling raises news doubts.
An arbitrator has ruled that Chicago Public Schools has not been able to guarantee those working in schools this fall won’t get COVID-19 – and that could have implications for whether in-person learning resumes for the second quarter.
CPS has strongly objected to the ruling, which says the district has not been able to ensure a “safe and healthful” working environment for school clerks.
CPS calls the ruling “deeply flawed,” says it’s not based on science but on one person’s judgments and notes that it cites no specific cases of unsafe conditions.
Yet the powerful Chicago Teachers Union is pointing to the ruling as further indication that schools may not ready to resume classes in November.
Read more here. —Hannah Leone
5:40 p.m.: About a dozen students, staff members have tested positive for COVID-19 at Winnetka and Wilmette schools
More than a dozen students and staff members at public schools in Winnetka and Wilmette have tested positive for COVID-19 since the start of the new school year, district officials said Tuesday.
At New Trier High School, where 25% of the students returned to the classroom Tuesday for the first day of in-person learning, as of Oct. 2, a total of three students have tested positive for COVID-19, spokeswoman Niki Dizon said in an email statement.
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At Wilmette School District 39, officials said since the start of the new school year, there have been three students and three staff members with confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the district, said District 39 spokeswoman Stacey Finkel, in an email statement Tuesday.
At Winnetka School District 36, there have been four COVID-19 cases — two students and two staff members — in the district since the start of the 2020-2021 school year, District 36 spokeswoman Kate Hughes said in a Tuesday statement.
Read more here. —Karen Ann Cullotta
5:15 p.m.: Complaints fly after Park Ridge Republican organization’s event photos show unmasked attendees near each other
After photos of numerous unmasked people at a well-attended political event Saturday appeared on social media, Park Ridge residents and others complained it endangered the community –– particularly because it occurred days before public schools were set to reopen.
On Oct. 3, the Republican Women of Park Ridge (RWPR) hosted its annual Red, White and Blue Brunch at the Park Ridge Country Club. It was attended by an unspecified number of people.
Over the weekend, a series of photos of the event, both posed and candid, appeared on social media. They showed some guests not wearing masks and posing shoulder to shoulder for photos. Other photos showed guests sitting together at tables without masks and practicing little social distancing. This drew concern, amid the greater coronavirus pandemic, from others who reached out to Park Ridge Mayor Marty Maloney on social media.
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Maloney expressed his displeasure on his Facebook page after the pictures surfaced.
“I have been made aware of the event that was held at the Park Ridge Country Club yesterday morning,” he wrote. “This was not a city event, nor was city staff aware of the event until this morning. I have had a conversation with the city manager and have an email into the Park Ridge Country Club. Staff will be following up tomorrow morning to discuss what took place. I am as disappointed in the pictures of the event as those of you who have contacted me to share your anger.”
Read more here. —Daniel I. Dorfman
5:05 p.m.: Could pre-flight COVID-19 testing be coming to O’Hare?
Rapid COVID-19 tests soon might be available to passengers and employees at O’Hare International Airport, from a company that plans to offer the tests at other major airports starting Wednesday.
XpresCheck plans to begin offering COVID-19 tests developed by Abbott Laboratories at JFK and Newark Liberty international airports Wednesday. The Abbott ID NOW tests deliver results in 13 minutes or less.
XpresCheck, a subsidiary of XpresSpa Group, is in talks with the City of Chicago to potentially offer the tests at O’Hare as well.
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“The goal is to create a safer travel environment, work environment and reduce risks, but also restore passenger confidence as the airlines are returning, and airports are trying to return back to normal,” said Doug Satzman, XpresSpa and XpresCheck CEO.
“Like 9/11 changed safety protocol forever in our airports, we think COVID-19 will as well,” he said.
Read more here. —Lauren Zumbach
4:30 p.m. (updated): President Trump halts COVID-19 relief talks until ‘immediately after I win’ the election
President Donald Trump abandoned COVID-19 relief talks on Tuesday, saying they won’t resume until after the election. The move came as the chairman of the Federal Reserve said that further fiscal intervention is needed to prevent the economy from spiraling downward.
Trump tweeted that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was “not negotiating in good faith” and said he’s asked Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to direct all his focus before the election into confirming his U.S. Supreme Court nominee, Amy Coney Barrett.
“I have instructed my representatives to stop negotiating until after the election when, immediately after I win, we will pass a major Stimulus Bill that focuses on hardworking Americans and Small Business,” Trump tweeted.
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The unexpected turn could be a blow to Trump’s reelection prospects and comes as his administration and campaign are in turmoil. Trump is quarantining in the White House with a case of COVID, and the latest batch of opinion polls shows him significantly behind former Vice President Joe Biden with the election four weeks away. The collapse also means there won’t be a pre-election batch of $1,200 direct payments to most individuals, which appeared to be the item Trump cared most about as the potential package was taking shape.
Read more here. —Associated Press
4:15 p.m.: Lightfoot on how Trump could have better protected himself from COVID-19: ‘Don’t be stupid’
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot tore into President Donald Trump on Tuesday for his behavior since contracting COVID-19, telling him to start following health care guidelines, wear a mask and “don’t be stupid.”
A day after Trump returned to the White House from his weekend stay at Walter Reed Hospital and told Americans “don’t be afraid” of the virus, Lightfoot initially said she was going to “be careful in choosing my words” to react to his message and decisions in the days since he and others at the White House have tested positive for the virus.
“I do think it’s unfortunate, both in the way the president has behaved himself personally,” Lightfoot said. “I find it very unfortunate. We heard news today that the basic, I think, absolute obligation, given the super spreader event sponsored by the president, that the White House is refusing to provide information to do basic case investigation and contact tracing.”
But Lightfoot, who has repeatedly used blunt language in criticizing Trump, soon got more direct, saying he continuously “undermines even more the credibility of the president and White House leadership on the issue that affects all of us.”
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“It’s depressing, it is disparaging of the hard work of so many who have sacrificed, and continue to every single day, to try to keep themselves safe, their families safe, not to mention the sacrifices of the healthcare workers and the first responders who’ve been on the front lines of this horrible disease and pandemic,” she said at an unrelated news conference.
As to what Trump and his administration could have done better to protect themselves and their communities, Lightfoot said they should follow the rules doctors say are important to slow the spread of the disease.
“Follow the public health guidance. Follow the guidance of the (Centers for Disease Control). Follow the guidance of the (Chicago Department of Public Health),” the mayor said. “Any of the above. Wear a mask. Social distance. I’ll let (Chicago Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady) give the medical explanation, but, like, don’t be stupid, that’s what they could have done.”
Read more here. —John Byrne
3:50 p.m.: Ruth’s Chris Steak House closes Chicago location permanently, blaming coronavirus downturn
The coronavirus has accomplished a rare feat: It has closed down a high-end Chicago steakhouse.
Chicago steakhouses have managed to thrive in good times and bad, but in a notice filed with the Illinois Department of Commerce, the parent company of Ruth’s Chris Steak House announced that its River North location has closed permanently, after nearly 28 years.
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The restaurant had been closed since March, when restaurants across the state were ordered closed as a response to the coronavirus. This notification makes the closure permanent.
Read more here. —Phil Vettel
3:40 p.m.: 4 students, 2 employees at Catholic school in Elmwood Park test positive for COVID-19
Six people at a Catholic school in Elmwood Park, St. Celestine School, have tested positive for COVID-19, according to a spokesman from the Archdiocese of Chicago.
Four students who are all in the same family tested positive, as well as two employees, spokesman Manny Gonzalez said Tuesday.
Though several other Catholic elementary and high schools have closed their buildings and reverted to all-remote learning after students or staff tested positive, St. Celestine has not. Gonzalez said those who tested positive have had limited contact with others.
Though several other Catholic elementary and high schools have closed their buildings and reverted to all-remote learning after students or staff tested positive, St. Celestine has not. Gonzalez said those who tested positive have had limited contact with others.
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One of the employees, who has not had classroom contact, is “suffering mild conditions” of COVID-19, and none of the other five who tested positive have reported experiencing symptoms, Gonzalez said. No one has been hospitalized, according to Gonzalez.
Read more here. —Anna Kim
3:25 p.m.: Wisconsin governor restricts public indoor gatherings as COVID-19 spreads unchecked across the state
Gov. Tony Evers' administration issued a new order Tuesday limiting the size of public indoor gatherings as COVID-19 spreads unchecked across the state, in a move certain to alienate Republicans as well as tavern and restaurant owners.
Wisconsin has become one of the worst hot spots for the disease over the last month, with experts attributing the spike in cases to colleges and schools reopening and general fatigue about wearing masks and social distancing. The state ranked third nationwide this week in the number of new cases per capita, with 548 cases per 100,000 people, according to Johns Hopkins University.
Read more here. —Associated Press
12:25 p.m.: 1,617 new known COVID-19 cases and 32 additional deaths reported
Illinois health officials on Tuesday announced 1,617 new known cases of COVID-19 and 32 additional fatalities, bringing the total number of known infections in Illinois to 305,011 and the statewide death toll to 8,836 since the start of the pandemic. Officials also reported 49,513 new tests in the last 24 hours. The seven-day statewide positivity rate is 3.4%.
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—Chicago Tribune staff
11:30 a.m.: Chicago residents ‘strongly advised’ to avoid Indiana, which may make next week’s quarantine travel list
Indiana is again in danger of being added to Chicago’s quarantine travel order next week, officials announced Tuesday.
While the neighboring state is still just at a warning level, Chicago residents are “strongly advised” to avoid traveling there, according to a city news release.
Chicago adds a state to its quarantine list if it averages more than 15 new daily COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents over a seven-day period. People who have spent more than 24 hours in the high-risk states are required to self-quarantine for 14 days after entering Chicago.
Indiana already has passed that threshold, but to allow Chicagoans enough time to rearrange their travel plans, the city will wait to see if it improves its numbers next week.
“If Indiana is unable to bring down the daily case average in the next week, they will be added to the quarantine list,” the news release states. “Chicago residents are strongly advised to not travel to Indiana.”
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Earlier during September, Dr. Allison Arwady, Chicago’s public health commissioner, warned Indiana was having issues with its coronavirus positivity rates, especially near college towns South Bend and Muncie. But the state ended up faring better in the coming weeks and was not added.
Read more here. —Alice Yin
10:45 a.m.: These Halloween events, activities will go on in Chicago’s suburbs
Here’s the bad news: many familiar Halloween events won’t happen this year, thanks to COVID-19.
But here’s the good news: towns from Alsip to Zion are trying their best to make October memories for the young and young-at-heart. There will be drive-through trunk or treating, events with a limited capacity, ghost tours and showings of scary movies.
If haunted houses are more your style, check out this feature on those.
While the times we live in are actually scary, it’s nice to take a break with some Halloween fun. We’ve done our best to round up some spooky-fun events near you, but make sure you call or check the website or Facebook page as things can change quickly in these COVID times.
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Read more here. —Annie Alleman
10:20 a.m.: Go inside the Bulls' bubble
The basketball inside the Chicago Bulls bubble has sometimes looked rusty, but that’s to be expected for the first team activities since March. Otherwise, the three-week Bulls minicamp, which wrapped up Tuesday, has gone off without a hitch.
Players seem excited to be back on the court for the first time in six months. The new front office hired Billy Donovan as head coach and had a chance to evaluate players in person for the first time. The players got to experience a few team bonding activities. And most crucially, the Bulls avoided an outbreak of COVID-19.
To the NBA’s credit, the virus has remained under control throughout bubbles in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., and elsewhere as the league wraps up the NBA Finals and eight individual markets — the teams not invited to the restart — held group workouts.
“The league basically just handed us the manual. It felt like they gave us a ‘bubbles for dummies’ book or something and we had to put it together,” Chip Schaefer, the Bulls director of performance health, said with a laugh during a phone interview. “But it’s no joke. The guidelines are quite strict, as they see fit, and we had to put it together and follow them.”
Read more here. —Jamal Collier
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9:15 a.m.: Why the Rose Garden COVID-19 fiasco was dismal news for the return of live entertainment
Column: At the celebratory judicial nomination event for Amy Coney Barrett, scores of maskless, prominent Americans--elected officials, high-ranking staffers, the President of the University of Notre Dame--were seen hugging, kissing and other examples of the up-close-and-personal behavior most ordinary Americans are avoiding in service of personal and community safety. It looked like no one at the Sept. 26 event in the White House Rose Garden had paid any mind whatsoever to the potential ravages of COVID-19 at a nomination celebration for a member of the United States Supreme Court.
Although it certainly fits the broader political narrative on both sides, this wasn’t entirely true.
Attendees were actually given rapid Coronavirus tests, developed by Abbott Laboratories of Lake Bluff, prior to admittance. As the Wall Street Journal and others have reported, a guest took Abbott’s so-called ID NOW test, waited around for a few minute for the result, and, in the event of their negativity, was told that they could make their way into the event without worrying about infection. In an apologetic subsequent homily, Rev. John I. Jenkins of Notre Dame said he had removed his mask (the regulations on his own campus notwithstanding) because he had been told by the White House it was safe to do so.
Wrong choice. In hindsight.
While it rarely has been entirely clear who infected whom where in this crisis, and that is true here, the evidence of multiple infections at this event suggest that the hopeful idea that rapid tests could be used as a kind of instant pandemic metal detector, a notion that has been floated well beyond the White House, is not a viable plan. The virus appears to be way too tricky a beast for that hopeful solution to our current problem.
These rapid tests have been especially beguiling to producers of indoor live entertainment.
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Read more here. —Chris Jones
7:20 a.m.: Open House Chicago releases new details on revamped program for architectural showcase during COVID-19
Open House Chicago, set for Oct.16-25, Tuesday morning released new details of its programming for this year, as the showcase of Chicago architecture shifts to outdoor tours because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Chicago Architecture Center, in charge of the festival, previously announced that its focus would be on outdoor tours and not interiors. Open House Chicago this year will include more than 100 sites, with more than 50 online programs and trail tours.
Among the newly announced programs are a neighborhood tour through Logan Square “curated and narrated” by Mayor Lori Lightfoot and first lady Amy Eshleman and a neighborhood tour in Englewood focused on the development of Englewood Square, according to a news release. Other featured tours will be a family tour “featuring seven sites for young people” and a panel discussion and online tour showcasing the Central Park Theater, 3531 W. Roosevelt Road.
Also added to the program is a special Girls Build! architectural program at the architectural center, but online information indicated the event already has reached capacity.
Preview programming for Open House Chicago, including specific events for architecture center members, starts this week.
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—Chicago Tribune staff
5 a.m.: Chicago has spent at least $222 million in overtime so far in 2020, already over budget for year
The weekend after a Kentucky grand jury declined to charge any police officers for the killing of Breonna Taylor, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot ordered a fleet of city vehicles to prepare for another possible round of civil unrest and looting.
Garbage trucks lined up along Halsted Street and North Avenue, with their drivers idling by retail corridors in case they were needed to block roadways. One worker told the Tribune he was part of a “blockade on wheels.” Another, who read a book on a folding chair in front of his truck while waiting for a crisis that did not come, summed up the city’s strategy as: “You better be safe than sorry.”
But the city’s approach to potential civil unrest has had a significant financial cost for taxpayers, records released to the Tribune in response to an open records request show. Chicago has spent at least $222 million on overtime for Chicago government workers through August, a budget-busting figure as the city faces historic shortfalls.
To put that into perspective, Lightfoot budgeted roughly $180 million in 2020 overtime costs for all city departments, records show.
Read more here. —Gregory Pratt and Alice Yin
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Breaking coronavirus news Stay up to date with the latest information on coronavirus with our breaking news alerts.
In case you missed it
Here are five things that happened Monday related to COVID-19:


chicagotribune--2020-10-08--Daywatch: Pence and Harris clash on COVID-19, Illinois won’t identify where school virus outbreaks a

Daywatch: Pence and Harris clash on COVID-19, Illinois won’t identify where school virus outbreaks are and the 25 best pizzas in Chicago

It seems like nothing , not even a pandemic , can stop Chicago pizza .
It ’ s no secret @ @ @ @ @ devastated the restaurant industry , causing an unprecedented number of closures , with more potentially @ @ @ @ @ moment might seem like the worst time to hunt for Chicago ’ s best pizza @ @ @ @ @ has seen a surprising number of incredible pizzerias open — here are the 25 best @

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Good morning, Chicago. On Wednesday, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Illinois has “cooled off a bit” on recent COVID-19 progress. His comments came as state health officials reported 2,630 new known cases of the coronavirus — the highest daily case count in a month — as well as 42 additions fatalities.
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Meanwhile, early voting in Illinois is underway. If you’re planning to vote in person, here’s a guide to everything you need to know before heading to the polls.
Here’s more coronavirus news and other top stories you need to know to start your day.
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Vice President Mike Pence listens as Democratic vice presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., answers a question during the vice presidential debate Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2020, at Kingsbury Hall on the campus of the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. (Morry Gash/AP)
Trading barbs through plexiglass shields, Republican Mike Pence and Democrat Kamala Harris turned the only vice presidential debate of 2020 into a dissection of the Trump administration’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic, with Harris labeling it “the greatest failure of any presidential administration.”
Pence, who leads the president’s coronavirus task force, acknowledged that “our nation’s gone through a very challenging time this year,” yet vigorously defended the administration’s overall response to a pandemic that has killed 210,000 Americans.
Analysis: 8 key takeaways from the Pence-Harris VP debate, including the pandemic looming over a more civil fight
Chicago police headquarters on Nov. 4, 2019. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)
The vast majority of sexual assault and abuse reports made to the Chicago Police Department in the past decade — between 80% and 90% — have not resulted in an arrest, according to a study of city data released Thursday.
The findings in the report by the Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation reflect the Chicago Police Department’s ongoing problem with clearance rates, but also shine a light on the traumatizing effects the lack of arrests can have on victims, advocates said, many of whom rarely report such crimes at all because of fears the system will challenge and doubt them.
New Trier High School students present school IDs to staff as they arrive for in-person learning, Oct. 6, 2020, in Northfield. After starting remotely for all but select students, the school reopened Oct. 5 with 25% of students in person at a time. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
Nearly two months into the school year, Illinois public health officials said they have verified COVID-19 outbreaks in at least 44 school buildings across the state, but they declined to say where those cases occurred and acknowledged they may not know the full scope of the virus’s spread in schools.
Emanuele Morso, center, receives spiritual therapy from chaplain Susan Doubet, right, who offers him Communion at Marianjoy Rehabilitation Hospital in Wheaton on Sept. 30, 2020. Morso's wife, Janet, sits by his side. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)
On the dresser in Emanuele Morso’s hospital room stand two religious artifacts. One he brought from home — a statue of Our Lady of Mount Carmel holding baby Jesus. The other is a crucifix given to Morso by Susan Doubet, a chaplain at the Marianjoy Rehabilitation Hospital in Wheaton, where he is recovering after contracting COVID-19 in June.
Doubet works in spiritual care and helps patients sort through complex questions, such as why they are alive when others are not, and what to do about the way life looks now.
Prohibited Pepperoni is a Detroit-style pizza at Paulie Gee's Logan Square. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)
It seems like nothing, not even a pandemic, can stop Chicago pizza. It’s no secret that the coronavirus pandemic has devastated the restaurant industry, causing an unprecedented number of closures, with more potentially on the way. This moment might seem like the worst time to hunt for Chicago’s best pizza. Yet, this year has seen a surprising number of incredible pizzerias open — here are the 25 best.


chicagotribune--2020-10-08--Chicago police earn ‘beyond a failing grade’ in clearing sexual assault cases, according to new repo

Chicago police earn ‘beyond a failing grade’ in clearing sexual assault cases, according to new report

“ We have been deeply distressed by the way survivors of sexual violence are being used as a political shield @ @ @ @ @ ( U.S. ) policing systems , including Chicago ’ s , ” the report reads @ @ @ @ @ What happens to rapists and abusers without police ?
’ and ‘ Won ’ t @ @ @ @ @ be more frequent if police aren ’ t there to investigate and arrest offenders ?
@ @ @ @ @ misunderstanding of how these crimes are being addressed .
For survivors seeking justice through the @ @ @ @ @ responses are grossly inadequate despite law enforcement and the public claiming that addressing sex crimes @ @ @ @ @ ”

The vast majority of sexual assault and abuse reports made to the Chicago Police Department in the past decade — between 80% and 90% — have not resulted in an arrest, according to a study of city data released Thursday.
The findings in the report by the Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation reflect the Chicago Police Department’s ongoing problem with clearance rates, but also shine a light on the traumatizing effects the lack of arrests can have on victims, advocates said, many of whom rarely report such crimes at all because of fears the system will challenge and doubt them.
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“There is a sense of institutional betrayal,” said Christine Crow, a staff attorney at CAASE who represents survivors during criminal legal proceedings. Survivors already struggle with a sense of wanting to come forward to protect others, Crow said, and a broken system is a roadblock.
“They are trying to make sure they are doing everything in their own power to uphold the feeling of obligation they have," she said. "It’s incredibly demoralizing. For some it can be re-traumatizing.”
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The report, “Too Little, Too Late?,” examined 10 years of crime data that is publicly available on the city’s website, focusing on four sexual assault charges: aggravated criminal sexual assault, criminal sexual assault, aggravated criminal sexual abuse and criminal sexual abuse.
The group and other advocates are using the report’s findings to demand a more robust response to sexual violence in Chicago, asking politicians and policymakers to throw support and dollars — including some from the police budget — behind a wider menu of solutions, ranging from more free legal services, rape crisis centers, community-based mental health services and accommodations at schools and workplaces for survivors experiencing trauma.
“I would love to see our leaders, the mayor, our aldermen, all the folks who are involved in this system to really account for the fact that only 10 to 20% are getting an arrest,” said Madeleine Behr, policy manager for CAASE and the writer of the report. “That is beyond a failing grade.”
The findings were not surprising to the advocate community, which has long criticized Chicago law enforcement for a lack of commitment to ensure victims of sexual violence get justice. They’ve also previously called for a wider array of solutions and support for victims.
But the demands are now happening amid an intense national debate over policing effectiveness and strong calls for the diversion of policing funds in the wake of high-profile cases of excessive force, including the death in Minneapolis of George Floyd during an arrest in May.
The Chicago police budget is $1.7 billion. And the city is about to start budget hearings, with some nongovernment organizations and progressive aldermen expected to argue that policing dollars can be better spent in communities and on prevention.
In a statement, the department said it agreed with a key finding in the new report that policing alone cannot address gender violence. The department said it had recently secured a $1 million grant for Chicago police to hire a coordinator to work with advocates and organizations on policies and training.
“The report … highlights several important findings, and we share the opinion put forth in the report that sex crimes are not something that police can solve alone," the statement read. "We need the help of the communities we serve to raise awareness around sexual assault and provide additional support to Chicago’s survivors.”
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The report comes as the department has faced criticism for the rate at which it solves other serious crimes.
Between 2011 and 2017, clearance rates for nonfatal shootings and homicides in the city showed dramatic declines, falling some 20 points below national averages and far beneath other big cities such as New York and Los Angeles.
An outside evaluation of the detective division recommended several changes in 2019, including more rigorous hiring and selection of detectives, improving supervision of cases and detectives, increasing access to technology and reassigning detectives to district houses, closer to the communities they work in.
At the end of that year, the homicide clearance rate had improved somewhat to 53%, compared with 36% two years earlier, according to statistics released by the department Wednesday.
The research for the CAASE report was limited to sexual assault cases, and started last summer as a way to update existing data on outcomes of rape allegations, the organization said. But as the policing conversation around reform and funding grew more urgent this year, the advocates became concerned about some comments on social media that argued against cutting policing budgets — posts that suggested change should be resisted because victims of domestic violence and sexual assault need police to investigate cases.
“We have been deeply distressed by the way survivors of sexual violence are being used as a political shield to deflect urgent critiques of (U.S.) policing systems, including Chicago’s,” the report reads. “Questions like ‘What happens to rapists and abusers without police?’ and ‘Won’t sexual assault and domestic violence be more frequent if police aren’t there to investigate and arrest offenders?’ stem from a deep misunderstanding of how these crimes are being addressed. For survivors seeking justice through the criminal legal system, current responses are grossly inadequate despite law enforcement and the public claiming that addressing sex crimes is a top priority.”
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To make their point, the researchers decided to narrow their first report to an examination of Chicago police to offer a clear picture of current arrest outcomes. A second report on the performance of the Cook County state’s attorney’s office is also expected.
Overall, the arrest rate over the 10 years for all categories was about 13%, according to the report. And, even when an arrest occurred, survivors had to wait an average of 13 to 72 days for their assailant to be detained.
The charge with the least arrests was criminal sexual assault, the researchers found, which typically includes allegations that an offender committed rape without a weapon. This would be indicative of an acquaintance rape, which advocates say is the most common type of assault but the one investigators are least likely to vigorously investigate.
Sarah Layden, the policy and program director at Resilience, a Chicago-based rape crisis center, is among those calling on the Police Department to engage in more serious analysis of why so many cases go unsolved. Layden called some of the figures in the report “appalling,” and she said alternative ways for supporting victims should be funded.
“Through the years I have come to the reality that the criminal justice system is not the complete answer … It is simply not a system that is set up for justice across the board,” said Layden.
“We need to look at some of the investment we’ve made in the criminal justice system and find out if there are alternative ways to address sexual violence,” she said. "Perhaps there needs to be conversations around what does bring survivors healing.”
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Recommendations in the report include that Chicago police analysts do a more thorough examination of the details of each sexual assault case to find “insight into what cases are likely to see an arrest.” And the report demands state officials correct the “ineffective system” of testing and tracking rape kits, a system criticized for years for long processing delays.
And its writers also join the chorus of groups calling for diversion of police funds, backing a campaign by a network of Chicago-based domestic violence organizations calling for the reallocation of $35 million from the Chicago police budget for services for survivors.
“We support this ask, and press city leaders to commit to this funding," the report reads. “Prevention initiatives are the only way to stop gender-based violence, including sexual harm and domestic violence, from occurring in the first place and help survivors heal if it occurs.”
The study did not explore specific reasons why there are not more arrests, but rather focused on the data and the recommendations. Investigators have long said such cases can present a special challenge because of the time it takes to process evidence, the fact there are often no third-party witnesses and obstacles that arise when the perpetrator and victim know each other.
In its statement, the Chicago Police Department outlined other initiatives that aim to improve its investigations, including creating “trauma-informed” interview rooms at two of the city’s detective areas, which have more comfortable seating for survivors. The department also collaborates with prosecutors and advocates, who meet regularly to address sexual assault cases in Chicago.
And in 2018, Chicago police began teaching a class at the department’s training academy, which was required by a change in state law, that emphasizes the need for sensitivity in difficult cases but also teaches the science behind how a brain reacts to trauma. The training in Chicago is given to recruits and detectives alike, police said.


chicagotribune--2020-10-08--Illinois confirms COVID-19 outbreaks in 44 schools this school year but won’t say where they occurre

Illinois confirms COVID-19 outbreaks in 44 schools this school year but won’t say where they occurred

North suburban New Trier Township School District 203 updates an online dashboard twice a week with the number of staff @ @ @ @ @ as well as the number in quarantine .
After starting remotely for all but select @ @ @ @ @ reopened Monday with 25 % of students in person at a time .
As of @ @ @ @ @ positive cases among students and none among staff , according to the district .
Nearly @ @ @ @ @ are in quarantine , according to the dashboard .

New Trier High School students present school IDs to staff as they arrive for in-person learning, Oct. 6, 2020, in Northfield. After starting remotely for all but select students, the school reopened Oct. 5 with 25% of students in person at a time. There were five positive student COVID-19 cases and none among the staff reported before the school reopened, and New Trier does not have an outbreak. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
Nearly two months into the school year, Illinois public health officials said they have verified COVID-19 outbreaks in at least 44 school buildings across the state, but they declined to say where those cases occurred and acknowledged they may not know the full scope of the virus’s spread in schools.
Unlike many other states, Illinois doesn’t publish the number of cases linked to schools or which schools have been affected — even as parents and educators try to assess whether in-person learning is safe. State health officials released overall numbers at the request of the Tribune and ProPublica Illinois.
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This story is a collaboration between the Tribune and ProPublica Illinois.
With more than 1,800 public schools operating in person at least part time, along with an unknown number of private schools, the outbreaks represent a tiny fraction of Illinois schools in session, according to an analysis of state education data. Most outbreaks have been small — two or three cases at each school — but at least 105 students and 73 employees at public and private schools have been affected.
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State health officials said many COVID-19 cases seen among children are tied to gatherings outside school and other community events, while acknowledging that local contact tracing efforts likely have missed some school-related cases.
In all, 8,668 Illinois children ages 5 to 17 have tested positive for the virus from Aug. 15, when schools started to reopen, to Oct. 2, state health officials said. That amounts to about 180 new infections among children each day, on average, since school returned. Between March and early August, there were 11,953 confirmed COVID-19 cases among children, an average of about 72 a day. Fewer than five school-aged children have died of the disease, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health.
Even as parents, school leaders and others in the state have pushed for more transparency about cases related to schools, the state health department said this week that it continues to weigh whether to publish data on school-driven outbreaks and has no timeline to decide whether to do so.
IDPH spokeswoman Melaney Arnold said health officials are concerned that publishing COVID-19 data tied to schools could identify students and staff and violate their privacy. The department publishes case counts for other facilities, including nursing homes and psychiatric hospitals. It also specifies the number of cases in people younger than 20 in each county.
“Obviously we want to be as transparent as possible and get information out that people can use. That’s why we have on our website the county-level data. That way, counties can make their own decisions about what they want to do,” Arnold said. “We’ve certainly received a lot of interest in this data. We’ve received interest from many different groups.”
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker was asked at a news briefing Wednesday whether the state will publish data about school-related infections. He did not commit to it.
“I’m sure that IDPH is looking at school-specific reporting,” Pritzker said. “I’m very much in favor of trying to get our kids back into in-person learning; however, we want to make sure that it’s safe. And it’s very difficult at the state level to dictate how each school — of the 4,000-plus schools that we’ve got across the state of Illinois — can do that.”
Other states make district- or school-level outbreak data public online, including Ohio, Indiana and Mississippi, which post data about public and private schools; Michigan and Tennessee, which list new and ongoing outbreaks; and Kentucky, which provides student and staff case numbers “out of transparency and as quickly as possible,” according to the state website with school data.
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A school outbreak is defined as two or more confirmed cases within 14 days of the start of symptoms in people who do not share a household and did not have close contact in another setting.
Nearly two-thirds of the confirmed school outbreaks resulted in two or three infections, and about a third led to between four and nine cases. One school had an outbreak that affected 18 people.
Health department officials are also tracing current school outbreaks in which the total number of infected people isn’t yet known, said Dr. Connie Austin, an infectious disease epidemiologist with the IDPH. Austin said the department is reluctant to estimate the risk of attending school — each community is different — but emphasized that students and staff should wear masks and keep socially distant when together.
“We need a little more time to be able to evaluate these outbreaks,” Austin said. “It is certainly happening; that’s why schools need to take the precautions they can take.”
In Illinois, students and staff at about 25% of school districts are operating exclusively in person, and nearly 70% are spending at least some of the week in person. A total of about 685,000 students attend school in these districts. Some of the state’s largest school districts — including Chicago and U-46 in Elgin — are operating entirely remotely for now.
Many school districts gave parents a choice between in-person classes and e-learning but allow them to switch only during school breaks, including at the end of a grading period. For both parents and school officials, it would be helpful to know more about virus transmissions at schools, one parent advocate said.
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“Parents are in the dark about infection rates. How can we make an informed decision about whether or not to send our kids back to school when we don’t know how it is actually going at the schools that have returned to in-person school?” said Mary Fahey Hughes, a parent liaison for Raise Your Hand for Illinois Public Education, a parent group that advocates for public education.
Michigan provides weekly updates on outbreaks in schools throughout the state, and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s administration recently ordered schools to notify the public within 24 hours of any confirmed student and staff coronavirus cases. The push for transparency came from the Michigan Association of Superintendents & Administrators, among other groups, after inconsistent reporting by schools.
“The only way to get through the pandemic is using transparency,” said Peter Spadafore, deputy executive director of the Michigan superintendents group. By publishing statewide figures, school leaders “can begin to understand what measures were successful in mitigation and stopping outbreaks.”
“When we talk about returning to school in person … we then have a lot of data to understand what works and what doesn’t,” Spadafore said.
Emily Oster, a Brown University economics professor, has been working with school administrators across the country to create a national dashboard to track the virus’s spread. Participation in the dashboard is voluntary; about 115 Illinois schools are included so far, with 0.13% of students testing positive in late September, about the same as the national rate.
“If we don’t have public accountability reporting, people don’t know what is going on. That is making it hard for them to make choices,” Oster said. “There are a lot of states and places that are hiding behind privacy, and the push I keep trying to make to people is it would be good to release this data.”
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Nationally, cases among children and teens peaked in July, declined in August and then started rising again in early September, according to a recent report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. Infection rates were twice as high in teens as they were in children. The CDC said that in-person learning can be safe when community transmission rates are low, but that it could increase risk in communities where transmission is high.
Illinois data suggests that many cases among teens involve outbreaks at colleges, not at K-12 schools. There were 15,464 confirmed cases among people younger than 20 between Aug. 16 and the last week of September, according to IDPH. But in roughly the same time period, the agency documented only 178 connected to K-12 schools.
Large outbreaks on university campuses in Illinois and across the country have been documented, though, contributing to case spikes in college towns.
For example, cases have surged recently among younger people in McLean County, in central Illinois. But Jessica McKnight, administrator of the county health department, noted that many of those cases were in the 18- and 19-year-old range. Illinois Wesleyan University and Illinois State University have both reopened in the county.
She also said most of the virus spread in K-12 children so far has been tied to community sports and other gatherings unrelated to school.
“We’re making it as safe as possible within the walls of the school,” McKnight said. “You have control over what happens inside the building. It’s outside the building … that may be more concerning.”
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School districts have taken varied approaches to informing their communities about COVID-19 cases. While some publish real-time dashboards, others alert parents only with form letters when a positive case is discovered. Some send out periodic updates tallying the week’s cases.
New Trier High School students return to school on Oct. 6, 2020. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
New Trier High School staff prepare for in-person learning at the Northfield school on Oct. 6, 2020. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
North suburban New Trier Township School District 203 updates an online dashboard twice a week with the number of staff and student COVID-19 cases, as well as the number in quarantine. After starting remotely for all but select students, the high school reopened Monday with 25% of students in person at a time. As of Wednesday, there were five positive cases among students and none among staff, according to the district. Nearly 60 students and 13 employees are in quarantine, according to the dashboard.
Mike Sutton, superintendent of Highland Community Unit School District 5 in Madison County, near St. Louis, doesn’t publish a dashboard but sends families a weekly summary with a tally of the week’s confirmed COVID-19 cases. He said there have been about 25 confirmed or presumed cases in the district since the school year began.
“This has not been ideal, but we believe that’s how important it is to have kids in school,” Sutton said.
In west suburban Geneva District 304, about 5,500 students and staff members have been learning in person since Aug. 31. There have been 26 confirmed COVID-19 cases among students and school workers, though none of the cases is linked to exposure at the schools, according to district spokeswoman Laura Sprague.
“These confirmed cases are from community-based exposure rather than in our schools, which shows the health and safety precautions we put in place are working,” Sprague said.
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Students and staff wear masks during the school day; families are required to complete a daily symptom screening and certify that nobody in the family has COVID-19 symptoms. District officials email families and staff whenever they learn of a positive case in the school community, Sprague said.
Olympia District 16 in McLean County publishes its own online dashboard that updates daily.
“Being transparent with numbers, cases, etc., has helped and our staff has been positive about being in person,” said Laura O’Donnell, the district’s superintendent.
County health officials said they reviewed districts' return-to-school plans and made suggestions when necessary, and they have advised districts what to do when they have had positive cases.
In St. Clair County, in southern Illinois, school officials alert the health department when someone tests positive and they work together to trace exposure. Some school employees have taken the county’s contact tracing course to understand the process, said the health department’s executive director, Barb Hohlt.
The county, like others across the state, does not publish the number of cases tied to schools, Hohlt said.
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“We will follow the lead” of the state health department, Hohlt said. “We are leaving it up to each school (to decide what to disclose about) cases in a school. We will inform parents or teachers or employees only if there is a need to know they have been involved in a case or contact.”
Statewide, there have been 307,641 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 8,878 deaths attributed to the virus as of Wednesday.
Cohen is a reporter for ProPublica Illinois. Smith Richards is a Tribune reporter.
jrichards@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-10-08--Column: Megan Thee Stallion transformed on ‘SNL’ from raunchy rapper to social activist

If you are a baby boomer , you likely have never heard of Megan Thee Stallion .
I first learned @ @ @ @ @ months ago when she and Cardi B released “ WAP , ” a sexually explicit @ @ @ @ @ fall out of my chair when I first heard it .

Megan Thee Stallion delivered a powerful message to America on “Saturday Night Live” last weekend. She wasn’t talking to white America. This message was for Black people.
“We need to protect our Black women and love our Black women, because at the end of the day, we need our women,” she said, while appearing as the musical guest during the premiere of “SNL’s” 46th season.
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“We need to protect our Black men and stand by our Black men because at the end of the day, we’re tired of seeing hashtags about Black men.”
It speaks volumes that a 25-year-old rapper would feel the need to stop and preach to Black folks in the middle of her televised performance. But Breonna Taylor was on her mind. Taylor remains on the minds of a lot of Black people right now.
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In this combative period of social unrest, some of the loudest voices condemning racial injustice have come from entertainers, athletes and other young celebrities who have realized the power of their voice.
And racially conscious leaders are paying attention. In August, rapper Cardi B interviewed Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden about policing, health care and other topics in a Zoom event for Elle magazine.
At the height of the coronavirus pandemic, Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry conducted an Instagram live video with infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci. It included a discussion was about the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on African Americans.
They are not unlike the celebrities who spoke out during the civil rights movement in the 1960s. Harry Belafonte, Nina Simone and baseball great Jackie Robinson were among those who risked their careers to stand up for justice.
Some paid a high price for it, but they could not remain silent.
Long before protesting police brutality became popular, San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick took a knee, and it cost him his career in the National Football League.
Now others — some whom we least expected — have joined the growing chorus of influential celebrities raising their voices to speak out for a generation of young Black people that has largely been ignored.
After Eric Garner was killed by police officers in New York in 2014, Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James took to the basketball court wearing a T-shirt that said, “I Can’t Breathe.”
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When Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron announced last month that the officers who killed Taylor would not be charged, James went on Twitter to express his dismay.
“I’ve been lost for words today!” he tweeted. “I’m devastated, hurt, sad, mad!”
Megan Thee Stallion made her debut as a politically conscious voice on “SNL.” And by the end of the show, the woman known primarily for her raunchy, erotic lyrics had successfully made the transition from a rapper to a social activist.
If you are a baby boomer, you likely have never heard of Megan Thee Stallion. I first learned who she was a few months ago when she and Cardi B released “WAP,” a sexually explicit song that made me nearly fall out of my chair when I first heard it.
She has had her fair share of publicity recently, both good and bad. In July, she made news when a male rapper allegedly shot her in both feet. This month, her skyrocketing fame landed her on the cover of Time Magazine as one of the 100 most influential people.
Her decision to take on social injustice while appearing on “SNL” proves that she does not take the Time designation lightly. She had something important to say, and whether viewers were interested or not, they heard it.
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Dressed in a zebra print leotard that looked as though she had been poured into it, the rapper pranced in front of the camera twerking and repeating the lyrics:
“I’m a savage. Classy, bougie, ratchet. Sassy, moody, nasty. Acting stupid, what’s happening?”
Then suddenly, midway through, the music stopped. The sound of gunshots rang out, the screen went dark and images of blood ran from giant bullet holes in the background as Malcolm X’s voice took over.
“The most disrespected, unprotected, neglected person in America is the Black woman. Who taught you to hate the texture of your hair? The color of your skin? The shape of your nose?
“Who taught you to hate yourself from the top of your head to the soles of your feet?"
The audio was from one of Malcolm X’s most powerful speeches, made in Harlem in 1962.
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The voice of modern-day activist Tamika Mallory followed. She had shockingly harsh words for Cameron, the African American prosecutor who has acknowledged that he never made a case to the grand jury to indict the officers who burst into Taylor’s apartment and shot her to death.
“Daniel Cameron is no different than the sellout Negroes that sold our people into slavery,” said the 40-year-old African American woman who was a leading organizer of the 2017 Women’s March.
Megan Thee Stallion included her own commentary, adding “by savages” at the end.
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During an appearance on “Fox and Friends” on Tuesday, Cameron, a Republican and protégé of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, tried to blow it off.
“The fact that someone would get on national television and make disparaging comments about me because I’m simply trying to do my job is just disgusting,” he said.
He went on to repeat his argument for not pursuing charges against the officers. But here’s one thing I know about many Black people. We don’t like being accused of having an “Uncle Tom” mentality. Regardless of what Cameron might say, it’s humiliating and uncomfortable being labeled a sellout on “SNL.”
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Megan Thee Stallion exposed him to a whole generation of young African Americans, who will decide for themselves whether he is worthy of their respect. Regardless, you can be sure that Megan Thee Stallion isn’t done.
She has unleashed her powerful voice and nothing is more dangerous than a hardcore rapper with a social agenda and a microphone. Don’t be surprised if Cameron’s name turns up in her next hot-selling song.
dglanton@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @dahleeng