chicagotribune--2020-06-22--Don’t defund Chicago police contract with CPS, but let local councils decide whether to have resourc

Don’t defund Chicago police contract with CPS, but let local councils decide whether to have resource officers, schools chief says

“ It is clear this is not just about physical safety ; it ’ s also about psychological safety , @ @ @ @ @ I think the way we start to address that is , first , we have @ @ @ @ @ cause , which is the relationship between , in particular , Black students and police @ @ @ @ @ strengthen that relationship than to have them know police officers through their school , in @ @ @ @ @ , and I would even dare to say that they become police officers .
We @ @ @ @ @ disrupt or change the system from the outside .
”

The divisive use of police officers embedded in schools lands before the Chicago Board of Education Wednesday, when there could be a vote on whether to end its $33 million contract with the Chicago Police Department.
But that idea won’t come with an endorsement from the city’s schools chief.
Advertisement
Shortly after Wednesday’s scheduled vote was made public, Chicago Public Schools CEO Janice Jackson and a group of principals spoke Monday on their belief in the importance of school resource officers. Mayor Lori Lightfoot has previously dismissed the idea of removing police from schools, despite a growing call.
Jackson said she supports keeping the decision at the school level and understands the discomfort some students feel with police around.
Advertisement
Chicago Public Schools CEO Janice Jackson speaks at a news conference on Monday, June 22, 2020, about police in schools. (Zbigniew Bzdak/Chicago Tribune)
“It is clear this is not just about physical safety; it’s also about psychological safety,” Jackson said. “I think the way we start to address that is, first, we have to deal with the root cause, which is the relationship between, in particular, Black students and police. What better way to strengthen that relationship than to have them know police officers through their school, in some cases in their families, and I would even dare to say that they become police officers. We’re not going to disrupt or change the system from the outside.”
That’s why the district has a program for students who want to become firefighters or police officers, she said.
“It’s a hard thing to do because of this historic relationship between the Black community and police, but I don’t think creating a bigger divide between the two groups is the right approach,” Jackson added. Instead, she said the focus should be making sure the right officers — with clean records and proper training — are in schools.
Student activists and the Chicago Teachers Union were already leading a push to remove police from CPS schools, amplified by the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis last month.
That city’s Board of Education and those in several other cities have cut ties with their police departments since Floyd’s death.
In Chicago, the call to end CPS’ contract with CPD has been the subject of recent protests, and South Side Ald. Roderick Sawyer, 6th, has submitted a City Council ordinance that would sever the city-school tie.
On June 5, Lightfoot quickly dismissed the idea of taking police out of schools.
“Yeah, we’re not gonna do that,” she said in response to a question at a news conference.
Advertisement
Wednesday’s scheduled vote will reveal how many Board of Education members, all of whom were appointed by Lightfoot, will go against her on the issue.
The motion submitted to the Board of Education to end the CPD contract states the district must “identify ways to holistically support, rather than criminalize, students.” The motion cites a “well-documented history of police misconduct, abuse, violence, and disregard of human dignity and Black life,” along with recent cases of police violence against Black people in the country and locally, which “are in direct conflict with the values of the District.”
The motion also states that police assigned to CPS have more than 2,300 combined complaints against them.
Those figures could not immediately be confirmed Monday. Denying a separate Tribune request for basic public records about complaints filed against officers assigned to schools since 2015, the Police Department said the request was unduly burdensome because there were too many files related to such complaints.
At the Monday news conference, Jackson said the decision should be left to individual Local School Councils. They were given the power last year to vote on whether to keep student resource officers, and CPS has said all schools that had them kept them.
Wednesday’s proposed Board of Education motion, however, is to end the CPD contract that provides for 144 officers assigned to schools, 48 mobile officers and 12 sergeants.
Advertisement
At the news conference with Jackson on Monday, several principals, a local school council chair and a Bronzeville pastor spoke about the reasons why they want to keep police in their schools, giving examples of times when their officers have protected students.
Opponents have been critical of making decisions based on anecdotes, instead turning to research showing how having police in schools contributes to the school-to-prison pipeline and disproportionately affects students who are not white or who have disabilities.
Amundsen High School Principal Anna Pavichevich said she’s read a “great deal of data around school resource officers.” But she is guided by two particular points: the unanimous vote this month of her Local School Council, which includes CTU members, to retain the officers, and the relationships she has observed between police and students, who can interact inside a school building in ways that wouldn’t happen on the street.
Michael Bradley, a parent on the local council for Percy L. Julian High School, said: “I completely agree with everyone when they say that we don’t want children being walked out in handcuffs... But that is not what our experience is in our school. We have police officers who work hard to be part of our school and keep our children safe.”
Meanwhile, the CTU is trying to get people to join a car caravan and Federal Plaza march Wednesday while the virtual school board meeting is underway.
The union wants police pulled from schools and the $33 million reallocated to restorative justice and trauma supports, such as investing in economic development and affordable housing for CPS families. The CTU also is demanding guarantees for when schools reopen, such as cleaning and supplies, personal protective equipment, temperature checks and smaller class sizes — which they have long fought for regardless of social distancing measures.
Advertisement
“The mayor spent $33 million last year on cops in our schools, despite the documented harm to Black and Brown students, who are four times more likely than white students to face criminalization,” reads the CTU announcement. “The racism that snatched the life of George Floyd and countless others is the same racism that fuels the sabotage of education for Black, Brown, Indigenous and working-class children.”
Other sponsors for the action include Black Lives Matter Chicago, Brighton Park Neighborhood Council, Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, Grassroots Collaborative, Kenwood Oakland Community Organization, Northside Action for Justice, Pilsen Alliance, Raise Your Hand, Teachers for Social Justice, United Working Families and other educator unions.
hleone@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-06-22--COVID-19 cases in Illinois by ZIP code: Search for your neighborhood

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

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


chicagotribune--2020-06-22--Amazon to build two distribution warehouses in south suburbs, but local officials want more — an air

Amazon to build two distribution warehouses in south suburbs, but local officials want more — an airport in Peotone

“ The addition of the third airport .
It is very clear that it is needed .
You see the @ @ @ @ @ We see traffic coming up .
We have great intermodal .
We have great transportation @ @ @ @ @ going to continue to build out the platform throughout the south suburban region , ” @ @ @

An artist's rendering shows the design of an Amazon fulfillment center being built at Harlem Avenue and Vollmer Road in Matteson. (Village of Matteson)
A host of local officials welcomed Amazon’s decision Monday to open distribution centers in Matteson and Markham, and the 2,000 jobs that go with them, but asked for more — a company decision to use the long proposed south suburban airport as an air cargo hub.
Amazon “is in all respects on the cutting edge of e-commerce. And with so many Amazon facilities emerging in the Chicago metro area, I am certain that we’re going to need a more accessible airport … that isn’t on the other side of Chicago,” said U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly, a Matteson Democrat.
Advertisement
“A lot of the new Amazon facilities are within a few miles of the proposed South Suburban Airport. The growth opportunities here in the south suburbs are vast, and a third airport would only multiply the existing opportunities,” she said at a ceremony at the Matteson Community Center.
State Sen. Napoleon Harris, D-Harvey, was even more direct on the airport issue in addressing Gov. J.B. Pritzker.
Advertisement
“Gov. Pritzker, I’m calling on you to come and help support us in our efforts in securing the third airport here in the great state of Illinois. This is another economic development tool we can use here in the southland to create jobs, to have better foundations for our future,” Harris said.
“The addition of the third airport. It is very clear that it is needed. You see the fulfillment centers coming up. We see traffic coming up. We have great intermodal. We have great transportation through here and Amazon is going to continue to build out the platform throughout the south suburban region,” he said.
Sign up for The Spin to get the top stories in politics delivered to your inbox weekday afternoons.
The proposed airport, 44 miles south of Chicago, dates to the 1980s, but the boom in e-commerce and Amazon’s investment in the area has generated renewed discussions about its practicability with passenger airlines wedded to O’Hare International and Midway airports.
Pritzker noted his Rebuild Illinois infrastructure plan includes more than $205 million for road construction off Interstate 57 related to the airport property. But he also emphasized that corporate investment would be needed to make the third regional airport a reality.
“We want to make sure that we’re bringing along … people at Amazon that certainly will be an important part of the decision making about whether companies like Amazon will want to move their cargo operations to an airport like Peotone,” the governor said.
“So we’re trying to bring together on the government side the infrastructure investments that need to be made and on the private side the businesses that will be necessary for it to be successful,” he said.
Michael Flannery, Amazon’s regional director of operations, made no reference to the airport project in his remarks.
Advertisement
The local officials’ ask came as they celebrated the potential for 1,000 jobs apiece at the two company “fulfillment centers,” paying a minimum $15 an hour plus benefits. The two projects will bring to 15 the number of company distribution centers in Illinois, the first located in Joliet in 2015, and bringing Amazon’s employment in Illinois to 20,000.
Both facilities, pairing distribution workers with robotics, are scheduled to open in 2021, company officials said.
“We all know that the economic impact of this pandemic has made our work to create jobs more urgent than ever before,” Pritzker said. “Much-needed jobs with benefits at this very critical moment.”
rap30@aol.com
Twitter @rap30


chicagotribune--2020-06-22--Metra adds express routes as it brings back trains on three lines

Metra ridership fell as much as 97 % between the end of March and late May , though ridership has @ @ @ @ @ the region starts to reopen for business .
Metra was hit worse than CTA or @ @ @ @ @ dependent on commuters going to and from downtown , whereas people are more likely to @ @ @ @ @ non-work travel .

Commuters heading to work next week will have more Metra service, including express routes, as the railroad adds trains to three lines.
Starting on Monday, Metra will add service on the North Central Service, SouthWest Service and Heritage Corridor lines.
Advertisement
New morning and evening express trains will run on the North Central Service between Union Station and Antioch, and the SouthWest Service between Union Station and Orland Park. It will be the first time that express service has been available on either route, Metra said.
On the Heritage Corridor line, Metra is adding an inbound and outbound train between Joliet and Union Station.
Advertisement
Metra ridership fell as much as 97% between the end of March and late May, though ridership has been slowly coming back as the region starts to reopen for business. Metra was hit worse than CTA or Pace because it is so dependent on commuters going to and from downtown, whereas people are more likely to use CTA and Pace for non-work travel.
Metra CEO Jim Derwinski said the agency has used the time of reduced service as an opportunity to reevaluate demand.
“That’s why we’re offering these new express trains, which our customers have long requested, as a pilot project,” Derwinski said in a statement. “It’s our hope these changes will bring more riders back to our trains as highway traffic increases.”
Schedules for all Metra service can be found at the Metrarail website.
Metra cut weekday service in half in late March, and in May made further cuts to service on the Heritage Corridor, the North Central, and the SouthWest, its three least busy lines.
To lure back customers, Metra is also offering a $10 all-day pass through July 31. Metra advises passengers to wear masks and practicing social distancing while on the trains and in stations.
mwisniewski@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-06-22--Illinois coronavirus graphs: 6,671 deaths, 137,224 confirmed cases, 1.38 million tests, 4.94% positi

Illinois coronavirus graphs: 6,671 deaths, 137,224 confirmed cases, 1.38 million tests, 4.94% positivity rate for northeast region

The region with the most cases is the northeast region , home to Chicago and the suburbs , with 123,453 @ @ @ @ @ which is made up of 27 counties , has the fewest , with 4,058 confirmed @ @ @ @ @ you take the number of cases and divide that by the number of tests , @ @ @ @ @ t that far apart : The positivity rate for the northeast region is 4.49 % @ @ @ @ @ southern region .
Both regions have seen drops in hospitalizations and have ICU beds available @ @ @ @ @ metrics here .

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


chicagotribune--2020-06-22--Two die in wrecks on Saturday in Porter County

Hollowell died at the scene , according to the coroner ’ s office .
Police said two passengers were airlifted @ @ @ @ @ in the Shelton Fireworks parking lot on U.S. 20 .
The driver was transported to @ @ @ @ @ later airlifted to a Chicago hospital due to her injuries .
Their conditions were not @ @ @

The Porter County Coroner’s Office and local police investigated two fatal wrecks this weekend, including the second one in recent days involving a teen victim and the third with a motorcyclist.
Cher’lin Hollowell, 15, of Portage, died at the scene of a crash at 5:34 p.m. Saturday on U.S. 12 just west of Mineral Springs Road in Porter. Hollowell, according to Porter police and the coroner’s office, was a rear-seat passenger in the vehicle, a 2020 Kia Forte, which hit a tree.
Advertisement
The car, police said, had four occupants, ages 15 to 17, and the driver told police she was passing vehicles and lost control after hitting a wet spot in the road. The driver told police she was following friends in another vehicle.
A witness told police that the Kia was reportedly traveling at a high rate of speed and lost control while passing on the curve in the area of U.S. 12 and Mineral Springs Road. The vehicle struck a guardrail and then crossed the road, striking a tree.
Advertisement
Hollowell died at the scene, according to the coroner’s office. Police said two passengers were airlifted from a landing zone established in the Shelton Fireworks parking lot on U.S. 20. The driver was transported to Porter Regional Hospital but was later airlifted to a Chicago hospital due to her injuries. Their conditions were not immediately known.
The coroner’s office said Hollowell was unrestrained in the car and autopsy and toxicology results are pending.
Porter Fire and EMS also were called to the scene and were assisted by several other agencies; the accident is being reconstructed by the Porter County Sheriff’s Department Reconstruction Team.
Late the night of June 16, Cristian Villarreal, 15, of Boone Grove, died when the car he was a passenger in went off the road at a high rate of speed and struck a tree in Porter Township, authorities said.
David Collazo, 39, was the third motorcyclist to die in the county in less than a week. The coroner’s office was called around 8:59 p.m. Saturday to the area of Clem Road and U.S. 20 in Portage for a report of a single fatality involving a motorcycle.
Collazo, of Lake Station, was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the coroner’s office.
Officials said he was traveling westbound on U.S. 20 near Clem Road and crossed into the eastbound lane, striking the guardrail. He was not wearing a helmet, the coroner’s office said. A toxicology report is pending.
The Portage Police Department assisted with the crash, which is still under investigation.
Advertisement
The coroner’s office was called to a fatal motorcycle accident in which James Tapocsi Jr., 26, of Valparaiso, died June 18 after authorities said he struck a tree in Union Township.
Aaron Heffron, 27, of Westville, died June 17 after being ejected from a motorcycle when it struck a tree in the 300 block of U.S. 6 East in Jackson Township.
Amy Lavalley is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.


chicagotribune--2020-06-22--Naperville firefighters rescue resident from burning home

The Naperville Fire Department responded at 9 p.m. after receiving reports of a fire at a single-family home in the @ @ @ @ @ from a Naperville patrol unit and a neighbor who called 911 , a press released @ @ @ @ @ said .

Naperville firefighters rescued a resident from a burning home near 75th Street and Book Road Saturday night.
The Naperville Fire Department responded at 9 p.m. after receiving reports of a fire at a single-family home in the 2100 Block of Jessica Court from a Naperville patrol unit and a neighbor who called 911, a press released from Division Chief Scott Salela said.
Advertisement
Within four minutes, Salela said firefighters were on the scene to find heavy, black smoke and fire coming from the side of the house.
One resident was evacuated from the house by firefighters, Salela said.
Advertisement
No injuries were reported, but the home was deemed uninhabitable.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
subaker@tribpub.com


chicagotribune--2020-06-22--Watch live: Mayor Lori Lightfoot discusses phase 4 of city’s coronavirus reopening plan

Mayor Lori Lightfoot is expected to provide an update as Chicago moves toward phase 4 of the city ’ s @ @ @ @ @ the latest updates on COVID-19 here .

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


chicagotribune--2020-06-22--Lincoln Park Zoo sets public reopening for Monday with Shedd Aquarium and Brookfield Zoo to follow

Shedd Aquarium may be the first of the big indoor institutions to open up again .
A spokesman said an @ @ @ @ @ later this week for a limited reopening at some point next week .
Chicago History @ @ @ @ @ early July reopening , as well .

Chelsea Gonzalez, 9, right, with sister Abigail,4, and friend Jilliana Tirado, 6, interact with gorillas at Regenstein Center for African Apes at the Lincoln Park Zoo. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune)
After being closed more than 3 months by COVID-19, Chicago’s Lincoln Park Zoo Monday said it will begin a limited reopening for members on Friday and for the general public Monday.
Other major institutions are expected to go public with their own reopening plans soon, including some whose facilities are primarily indoors. This story will be updated as new information comes in.
Advertisement
The news follows Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot announcing Monday that the city would enter “Phase 4″ of its 5-step re-opening plan Friday, confirming the June 26th possible re-opening date cultural leaders have long understood as the likely date for that transition.
Like restaurants that will be allowed to welcome back indoor diners, museums and zoos will be limited to 25% occupancy with tours limited to 50 people or fewer, city officials said.
Advertisement
Later Monday, Brookfield Zoo announced that its limited reopening — following guidelines similar to Lincoln Park’s, detailed below --will begin July 1 for members and a week later for the general public.
Shedd Aquarium will be the first of the big indoor institutions to open up again. On Wednesday, the Shedd said it would open to members July 1 and reopen July 3 for the general public. Chicago History Museum is preparing for an early July reopening, as well, while the Illinois Holocaust Museum, in Skokie, set a firm reopening date of July 15.
Exterior of the Kovler Lion House at the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago on Monday, Aug. 27, 2018. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)
At Field Museum, the institution is preparing to reopen in the next several weeks, a spokeswoman said, while a Museum of Science and Industry representative said that museum is looking at a to-be-determined summer reopening.
“We are thrilled that Chicago is moving into Phase 4,” Art Institute of Chicago Executive Director of Public Affairs Kati Murphy said via email. “When we reopen, visitors will feel safe and comfortable while enjoying an experience they expect from the Art Institute. We expect to be ready to open by the end of July.”
DuSable Museum of African American History is still assessing the situation. “At this time, we have not set a firm reopening date as we are still reviewing the various rules and recommendations that will apply,” President and CEO Perrri Irmer said in a statement. “Our reopening will be approached with the health and safety of our employees and visitors as our top priority.”
Lincoln Park’s reopening will be for timed-entry admission only, a major adjustment for the free zoo, which has long just opened its gates and let people in. In order to keep capacity safe and manageable, guests can reserve hourly entry slots via EventBrite or by telephone at 312-742-2000.
The zoo will ask visitors to limit their stay to two hours and to wear a face covering while they are on the grounds of the north side institution. Only the East and West Gates will be open, and indoor habitats will remain closed for the time being.
Pathways will be marked one-way “to facilitate social distancing,” the zoo said in its announcement, and “food and gifts will be available via outdoor, minimum or no-contact transactions.”
Advertisement
Almost all of the area’s major museums and nature institutions closed in mid-March as a result of the pandemic.
The 1,700-acre Morton Arboretum, the last to close (in early April), was also the first to re-open, welcoming members to outdoor spaces only on June 1 with the general public following two weeks later. Chicago Botanic Garden on June 9 began a similar reopening plan.
This story may be updated as more institutions share their plans.
sajohnson@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @StevenKJohnson


chicagotribune--2020-06-22--Fatal shooting in Zion, gunshot injury in Gurnee both under investigation

An initial investigation indicates the man met with “ an acquaintance in the parking lot of the complex ” near @ @ @ @ @ about 12:30 a.m. Sunday , according to the release .
The man was shot in @ @ @ @ @ , who fled the area before police arrived .

A 44-year-old Zion man was found shot about 11 p.m. Sunday after a Zion police officer was flagged down in the 2800 block of Galilee Avenue for a report of someone possibly passed out, Zion police said Monday.
The police officer administered first aid to the man, who had “several gunshot wounds to his lower body,” according to a news release.
Advertisement
The man was taken by ambulance to the Vista Medical Center East in Waukegan where he died shortly after midnight, according to the release.
Investigators are working to determine how long the man was lying in the grass and when the actual shooting occurred, Zion Police Chief Kirk Henderson said. It is unknown at this time whether the man was specifically targeted.
Advertisement
Police have identified the man, but as is typical, the release of his name will be handled by the Lake County Coroner’s Office, Henderson said.
The Lake County Major Crime Task Force is assisting the Zion Police Department with the investigation. Anyone with information is urged to contact the Zion Police Department at (847) 872-8000 or Lake County Crime Stoppers at (847) 662-2222.
Another shooting in Lake County that took place over the weekend also remains under investigation Monday, Gurnee Police Department spokeswoman Shawn Gaylor said.
The 23-year-old Gurnee man found shot in the back about 12:30 a.m. Sunday was in recovery at the hospital as of Monday morning, Gaylor said.
Gurnee police had responded to an apartment complex in the 4300 block of McClure Avenue where 911 callers said they had heard gunshots and someone yelling for help, according to a news release. Officers found the man lying in the grass.
Officers provided first aid until paramedics arrived, according to the release. The man was taken to Advocate Condell Medical Center where he remained Monday with injuries that are not life threatening.
An initial investigation indicates the man met with “an acquaintance in the parking lot of the complex” near the man’s apartment about 12:30 a.m. Sunday, according to the release. The man was shot in the back by the acquaintance, who fled the area before police arrived.
Shell casings were recovered near where the man was found, according to the release. The shooting appears to be “an isolated occurrence” with no threat to the public at large.
Advertisement
“It was not a random act as the victim knows the offender,” according to the release.
Gurnee police are asking anyone with information to contact the department at 847-599-7000. Anonymous tips can also be submitted to Lake County Crime Stoppers at lakecountycrimestoppers.com or 847-662-2222.


chicagotribune--2020-06-22--CTA to distribute kits with face masks, hand sanitizer to riders this week

The agency last week added a ridership dashboard to its website to help customers see which bus routes are most @ @ @ @ @ in order to make decisions about when to ride .
The agency said it continues @ @ @ @ @ trains and buses .

A person rides the Metra Electric District line, May 11, 2021, in Chicago. With some coronavirus pandemic restrictions lifted, some people may be returning to public transit. (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune)
The CTA, which has seen steep ridership drops due to the coronavirus pandemic, is handing out face masks and hand sanitizer to passengers at busy “L” stations and bus terminals this week.
Starting Tuesday morning, the CTA said it will give away about 20,000 “Travel Healthy” kits containing a two-ounce bottle of hand sanitizer, a reusable cloth mask and a healthy riding tips guide.
Advertisement
The CTA said it will be handing out about 20,000 "Travel Healthy" kits containing a face mask and hand sanitizer to passengers at busy "L" stations and bus terminals this week. (CTA)
The agency last week added a ridership dashboard to its website to help customers see which bus routes are most crowded at which times, in order to make decisions about when to ride. The agency said it continues a rigorous cleaning regimen for trains and buses.
The CTA experienced a ridership drop of about 80% during the last couple of months due to the pandemic, but is starting to see a slow return of passengers as the region reopens. Face masks are required on trains and buses.
Advertisement
The kits were created in-house by the CTA, using an existing inventory of hand sanitizer and face masks set aside for operators, spokesman Brian Steele said. He said the cost was “very minimal,” though he did not have a tally.
The kits will be available between 8-10 a.m. on:
- Tuesday at 95th Street and Clark/Lake on the Red Line and Polk on the Pink Line;
- Wednesday at Howard on the Red Line and Roosevelt on the Red, Green and Orange Lines;
- Thursday at Jefferson Park on the Blue Line and Roosevelt on the Red, Green and Orange Lines;
- Friday at Midway on the Orange Line and Harlem/Lake on the Green Line.
To enable social distancing, the agency is limiting capacity to 15 customers on a standard 40-foot bus and 22 customers on a 60-foot articulated bus or rail car.
mwisniewski@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-06-22--Column: Chicago toddler gunned down, another soon-to-be-forgotten tragedy in city where violence get

Column: Chicago toddler gunned down, another soon-to-be-forgotten tragedy in city where violence gets ignored

I wrote this : “ This city ’ s murder factory churns out names , nothing else .
Those names @ @ @ @ @ and on TV , in sympathetic or outraged social media posts and on the tongues @ @ @ @ @ mean nothing .
If they did — if all the names over all these years @ @ @ @ @ might still be an 11-year-old girl playing with friends .
Lavontay might still be breathing @ @ @ @ @ joy to the world that a 2-year-old can , with only a laugh .
Kanari @ @ @ @ @ girl with a future .
”

Myesha James, center, the mother of 3-year-old Mekhi James, hugs Charles Morrison, Mekhi's father, during a vigil for their son in the Austin neighborhood on June 22, 2020, in Chicago. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)
A 3-year-old boy was shot and killed in Chicago over the weekend. Two hours later, a 13-year-old girl was shot and killed just blocks away.
Between Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning, seven people were killed, including the 3-year-old, the 13-year-old and two other teenagers.
Advertisement
What do you want me to write?
Should I go with, “Enough is enough”? Or maybe, “These tragedies must stop”?
Advertisement
You want me to echo Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s weekend tweet? The one that read: “Our city’s collective heart breaks to hear the unfathomable news of a 3-year-old boy who was shot and killed tonight on Chicago’s West Side.”
That’s nonsense. If this city’s “collective heart” actually broke to pieces in the wake of “unfathomable news” about a child’s life being cut short by a bullet, we’d all have scarred feet from years of walking on shards.
The toddler, Mekhi James, was in a car with his 27-year-old father Saturday evening in the South Austin neighborhood. Another vehicle pulled up behind them and someone opened fire, hitting Mekhi in the back. Police say the father was likely the target — Mekhi was the victim, as innocent as they come.
That killing, along with the slaying of other teenagers, set the usual ritual in motion: Faith leaders and activists rushing in to hold a vigil and demand an end to violence. Neighbors saying perfectly sensible things like: “Our babies can’t be getting killed. What kind of future do we have if our babies are getting killed?” Police stepping up patrols, promising to remain vigilant. The mayor expressing outrage.
And Mekhi James briefly becoming the face of Chicago violence, at least until another child takes his place, and the cycle repeats.
Since I came to Chicago 18 years ago, there have been roughly 7,000 homicides. The year-to-year numbers have gone up and down, but whether speeding up or slowing down, the deaths have been a drumbeat people find too easy to tune out.
It has never made sense. I’ve never understood how a city filled with intelligent, powerful, wealthy people can allow this kind of carnage.
But clearly it can. So you’ll pardon me if I’m jaded. You’ll pardon me if I don’t think this city’s heart will break at the news that another Black child was shot dead.
Advertisement
In early December 2016, when 700 human beings had already been slain in Chicago that year, I wrote that “we need to accept that if parts of Chicago are so out of control that men, women and children are being slaughtered daily, then ALL of Chicago is out of control. That has to mean something, and there has to be a collective force of will to regain control. We can’t keep talking about problems in ‘those neighborhoods.’ We can’t keep partitioning ourselves from the ‘parts of Chicago’ where bad things happen.”
I said “we can’t,” but we did.
Kanari Gentry-Bowers, 12, from left, Lavontay White Jr., 2, and Takiya Holmes, 11, died within two days of each other in 2017 after being shot in separate attacks in the city. All were victims of stray bullets meant for others in gang-related attacks, police said. (Family photos)
In 2017, three children were shot in the span of a few days. Their names were: Lavontay White Jr., 2; Takiya Holmes, 11; and Kanari Gentry-Bowers, 12.
I wrote this: “This city’s murder factory churns out names, nothing else. Those names turn up in the newspaper and on TV, in sympathetic or outraged social media posts and on the tongues of politicians. And they mean nothing. If they did — if all the names over all these years ever meant anything — Takiya might still be an 11-year-old girl playing with friends. Lavontay might still be breathing and bringing the kind of joy to the world that a 2-year-old can, with only a laugh. Kanari might still be a little girl with a future.”
In July 2018, Lashanna Howard, a 27-year-old mother of two little girls, was gunned down walking into a South Side apartment building.
I wrote this: “This city will forget Howard in an instant, just as it forgets everyone on the nightly death rolls. The politicians will take note of her only if pressured or if they see an opportunity. The people who ignore these neighborhoods, the ones who ignorantly say, ‘Oh, you can’t drive through there, you’ll get shot,’ will see it as a tragedy in another world. The people who could actually make a difference, the city’s rich and powerful, will let it pass as part of an unfixable problem.”
Advertisement
And that’s exactly what happened.
An image of Candice Dickerson, shown on a screen during her memorial service at Norwegian American Hospital in Chicago on May 7, 2019. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
In April 2019, Candice Dickerson was with two of her three sons at the counter of a South Side cellphone shop when a stray bullet struck her in the back of the head. She died in front of her children, and I wrote about watching a television interview with her young son.
“I watched the video of Candice Dickerson’s sweet 12-year-old boy trying mightily to speak about seeing his mother get shot in the head, holding back tears and confronting a reality — ‘She’s gone’ — that will hurt forever. And I thought: How are we not doing everything humanly possible to prevent something like this from happening again?”
I still don’t have an answer to that question.
It confounds me. With every weekend death toll. With every tragic story of young lives cut short. And every time a child like Mekhi James is gunned down and the rich and powerful of Chicago have the gall to claim this city’s heart is breaking.
This city’s heart seems unbreakable.
Advertisement
Though I imagine if children like Mekhi, children similar in all ways except skin color, were being shot in white neighborhoods, that line about a collective heart breaking might be true.
And the speed with which Chicago would suddenly find a way to solve its crisis of violence would make our collective heads swim.
rhuppke@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-06-22--Vice President Mike Pence to visit Milwaukee suburbs Tuesday with Betsy DeVos, Scott Walker

Pence was last in Wisconsin in April for a tour of GE Healthcare , where he touted the company 's @ @ @ @ @ treat patients with COVID-19 .
Pence was also in Wisconsin for a school choice rally @ @ @ @ @ January .
He also joined Trump for the Milwaukee rally .

Vice President Mike Pence speaks during a campaign rally for President Donald Trump at BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla., Saturday, June 20, 2020. (Ian Maule/Tulsa World via AP) (Ian Maule / Tulsa World)
MADISON, Wis. — Vice President Mike Pence plans to visit two conservative Milwaukee suburbs during a Tuesday trip to Wisconsin.
Pence was to be joined by U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos for a school choice round table discussion at Waukesha STEM Academy, the White House said Monday. Following that, Pence will kick off his first “Faith in America” event in Pewaukee. Former Republican Gov. Scott Walker was to join Pence for that event.
Advertisement
The Pence visit comes two days before President Donald Trump was to be in Marinette for a tour of the Fincantieri Marinette Marine shipyard. That will mark Trump's first visit to Wisconsin since January, when he held a rally in Milwaukee.
Pence was last in Wisconsin in April for a tour of GE Healthcare, where he touted the company's work to build ventilators to treat patients with COVID-19. Pence was also in Wisconsin for a school choice rally in the state Capitol in January. He also joined Trump for the Milwaukee rally.
Advertisement
Wisconsin is a key battleground state. Trump carried it by fewer than 23,000 votes in 2016 and polls show him to be in a tight race with Democrat Joe Biden this year.


chicagotribune--2020-06-22--Racing at Arlington to start in July after agreement reached between racecourse owners, horsemen’s g

Racing at Arlington to start in July after agreement reached between racecourse owners, horsemen’s group

The Illinois Thoroughbred Horsemen ’ s Association handles collective bargaining for horse owners at the track .
Last week , @ @ @ @ @ an impasse and had not signed off on a detailed agreement governing issues related to @ @ @ @ @ officials had announced Wednesday the framework of a pact with the ITHA , but a @ @ @ @ @ that deal appeared in jeopardy , as both parties appeared before the Illinois Racing Board @ @ @ @ @ t have an agreement .

After a weekend of negotiations that looked to break an impasse, representatives for Arlington International Racecourse and the Illinois Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association struck a deal Monday morning that paves the way for horse racing to begin next month at the track.
“I’m thrilled to death that we got to the finish line,” David McCaffrey, ITHA executive director, said at the virtual Illinois Racing Board meeting Monday.
Advertisement
Specific terms of the agreement were not immediately available.
The Illinois Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association handles collective bargaining for horse owners at the track. Last week, the two sides were at an impasse and had not signed off on a detailed agreement governing issues related to opening this year. Arlington officials had announced Wednesday the framework of a pact with the ITHA, but a day later, however, that deal appeared in jeopardy, as both parties appeared before the Illinois Racing Board to reveal they didn’t have an agreement.
Advertisement
State law requires such an agreement before the state racing board can sign off on a deal that would allow Arlington to open, with a schedule this year of Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays July 23 through Sept. 26.
At issue had been several terms relating to the second year of what could be a two-year deal covering the 2020 and 2021 racing seasons. Meetings before the state racing board were continued twice — and discussions held over the weekend — before the announcement at the Monday meeting that an agreement between the two sides had been reached.
Once that happened, the state racing board voted at its virtual meeting to allow racing at Arlington.
“We’re very, very happy for all the employees that make their living either at Arlington or through employment of one of the owners,” Arlington Racecourse President Tony Petrillo said at the meeting.
He told Pioneer Press Monday afternoon that the stalemate had been broken with the help of the IRB.
Advertisement
Tom McCauley, a commissioner on the Illinois Racing Board, was involved in trying to bring the two sides together in negotiations.
“It’s very gratifying that there will be racing at Arlington this year and next year,” he said. “Both the ITHA and Arlington should be proud and grateful for having the representatives that they do.”
Racing is scheduled to take place a total of 30 days this summer. And the agreement, the details of which were not disclosed Monday, also includes dates in 2021.
“All is well that ends well,” said McCaffrey.
Goldsborough is a freelance reporter.


chicagotribune--2020-06-22--How much did protests spread COVID-19 in Chicago? No way to know for sure, but overall figures conti

How much did protests spread COVID-19 in Chicago? No way to know for sure, but overall figures continue to trend downward.

Crowds cheer during the One Million Man March rally at Daley Plaza in Chicago on June 19, 2020. (Jose M. Osorio/Chicago Tribune)
At the start of June, public health officials wondered whether major street protests over police killings of African Americans would lead to a spike in coronavirus cases.
Crowds of people, at times shoulder to shoulder, had marched through Chicago and some suburbs at a time when people had been told for weeks to stay away from each other as much as possible.
Advertisement
Dr. Ngozi Ezike, the state’s health director, called it a “cause for concern,” while the city’s top health official recommended demonstrators avoid people older than 60 or with underlying health conditions.
So far, the available data shows no significant spikes in COVID-19 cases, however. Chicago was averaging about 400 confirmed cases a day when the protests began, and that number has since dropped to under 200 a day as of Friday.
Advertisement
“It’s too early to say definitively whether we’re seeing an increase or change. But, to date, we have not,” said Dr. Jennifer Layden, chief medical officer at the Chicago Department of Public Health.
Participants march to the Daley Plaza in the One Million Man March 2020, part of the Juneteenth commemoration in Chicago on June 19, 2020. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)
Experts say it’s possible the virus didn’t spread as much because of the outdoor nature of the protests and the fact that many demonstrators wore masks.
Still, public health officials and researchers caution it can be difficult to know the effect of protests for certain, given all the variables.
Why so hard to pinpoint?
The protests started May 29, a Friday night, when roughly 200 people marched through the Loop and Near North Side. Over the next week, the demonstrations grew to include thousands across the city and suburbs.
It takes roughly five days for an infected person to show symptoms, meaning that infections occurring at those times likely would have emerged by now.
But a lot of other things have been going on, too, researchers said. People have also been going out more, whether to eat, travel, or just hang out with friends and family. It’s not like demonstrations occurred in a petri dish, where scientists can study what happened in a controlled way.
And those interactions also contribute to spread and could “drown out any signal coming from protests,” said Nigel Goldenfeld, a University of Illinois physics professor who is working with colleague Sergei Maslov to study the virus’s spread.
“It would not be justified to attribute to peaceful protests any upticks in prevalence without first ruling out other equally plausible origins,” Goldenfeld said.
Advertisement
The data, at least what’s collected so far, isn’t precise enough to figure out infection sources. And health officials are weeks or months away from ramping up the kind of robust contact tracing that could better identify so-called superspreader cases originating from large public gatherings, such as protests.
Jaline Gerardin, a Northwestern University assistant professor of preventive medicine who has worked on virus modeling, said trying to answer the question would require “really high-quality contract tracing” as part of extensive research.
“That would be a lot of legwork to really get the volume of data needed,” she said.
It means that, to monitor infection trends, you have to look elsewhere — such as figures for emergency room visits, confirmed cases and hospitalizations.
ER visits
One of the earliest potential indicators of the virus spreading is people showing up to the emergency room with symptoms that might be COVID-19.
Health officials have long monitored ER data, particularly for signs of the severity of seasonal flu. It’s evolved in this pandemic to also include cases of people complaining of COVID-like symptoms.
Advertisement
“When we think of someone who’s COVID-infected, they’re not going to get a test unless they go see a provider, and one of the places they go to get tested is in the emergency room,” said Layden, the city’s chief medical officer.
The ER data system can tag cases before test results come back, which offers an early warning. The data for Chicago is promising.
City charts show that about 10% of ER visits involved COVID-like symptoms in late May. By June 16, they were averaging near 2.5%. ER visits for flu-like symptoms were nearly 13% of all ER visits, on average, in late May, dropping to less than 5% by June 16.
Case data
There are other metrics that experts already have been watching to spot a second wave. One of them is case data — the number of positive test results each day. That includes people who went to the ER and got tested, as well as those tested elsewhere.
The good news is that unlike in other states the numbers in Illinois continue to trend down.
Health officials report a similar trend for Chicago, the heart of the demonstrations and unrest. Looking at a seven-day average, daily case tallies averaged more than 400 the day the protests began, and have since dropped to under 200 through Friday.
Advertisement
(In the chart below, you’ll notice the city’s figures show regular spikes in daily case counts. The spikes appear to occur on weekdays, when more tests typically are performed.)
(If the city figures look different to you, that’s because the state has a different way of counting confirmed virus cases. The city counts a positive test on the day the test was taken. The state counts a new case on the day test results come back, which can sometimes be several days after a test was taken. But even looking at it that way, the trends still hold, with average case counts dropping in half from the first day of the protests through Friday.)
Still, there are caveats with this data. After all, it’s not based on random samples of people, which experts say would be far more illustrative of the pandemic’s reach.
Rather, these figures could just be showing more people choosing to get tested, as more tests become available, with no clear link to the pandemic’s broader rise or fall.
Sarah Cobey, a University of Chicago associate professor who has done virus forecasting, said protesters may be heeding health officials’ request to seek testing, leading to them being over-sampled. That would make it harder to draw broad conclusions about how much the virus is spreading.
But there’s another figure that could shed better light.
Advertisement
Hospitalizations
One way to avoid some of the problems with using positive case data is to narrow it just to counting COVID-19 cases when people are admitted to hospitals.
After all, people sick enough to be hospitalized, in general, have been tested throughout the pandemic. And while the testing protocols across hospitals and time haven’t been perfectly equal, researchers say they offer far more consistent ways to measure pandemic trends.
In Chicago, amid the protests, the city’s hospitals were collectively admitting about 30 to 40 people a day with the disease or COVID-like symptoms. In the most recent week, it dropped to less than 20 each day.
There is a statistical catch, though. For that unfortunate subset of infected people requiring hospitalization, it can take someone a week, even after showing symptoms, for them to worsen to the point of needing to be admitted to a hospital.
That could make it harder for researchers to see immediate effects in daily hospitalization figures, particularly from any secondary infections of people well enough to avoid hospitalization to family or friends who may not be as lucky.
Why no spike (so far)?
Health officials and researchers say that while they don’t know for sure what’s going on, they suspect the nature of the demonstrations may have played a part.
Advertisement
Experts believe the main way the virus spreads is from respiratory droplets spewed from infected people talking, coughing or sneezing. And poor air flow can allow those droplets to linger in the air.
Interactions during the protests often occurred outdoors, where there’s more air flow that dissipates droplets. And researchers said it appeared from pictures and videos of protests that attendees mostly wore masks, which are believed to significantly cut down on the spread of droplets spewed from infected people.
Participants march to the Daley Plaza in the One Million Man March 2020, part of the Juneteenth commemoration in Chicago on June 19, 2020. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)
Still, some interactions involved tear gas and pepper spray, which can lead people to tear up and cough. And sometimes, crowds swelled close together, whether it was marching or when police attempted to corral or funnel protesters — not to mention those jailed in conditions that further the spread.
In essence, it’s a mixed bag, without definitive data to dig into. So researchers caution against assumptions that the protests, by themselves, could lead to a second COVID-19 wave.
“The risk of COVID-19 transmission associated to many protests against police brutality and racism may be perhaps small. Many small, short protests outdoors will probably not contribute as much in the way of super-spreading or transmission as a single huge protest,” said Goldenfeld, of the U. of I.
Advertisement
“Probably the bigger risk of transmission comes from the aftermath of tear gas or being held at close quarters during arrest by police not wearing masks,” he said.


chicagotribune--2020-06-22--Racist graffiti found on Southwest Side preschool, alderman says

“ We have seen so many diverse people come together for racial equality and justice over the past weeks .
@ @ @ @ @ are those unwilling to live peacefully with their neighbors , ” Lopez said in the @ @ @ @ @ is a poison to our future .
It must be confronted and called out every @ @ @ @ @ others to join in their hatred for others .
”

A Southwest Side alderman is calling on residents to help catch whomever scrawled racist graffiti on the front of a preschool in the Brighton Park neighborhood.
Ald. Raymond Lopez, 15th, said he learned about the incident on Sunday. Someone wrote a racial slur in permanent marker on the front of the Kiddy Kare Preschool & Kindergarten near the corner of 44th Street and Kedzie Avenue, Lopez said Monday in a news release.
Advertisement
Sign up for The Spin to get the top stories in politics delivered to your inbox weekday afternoons.
The business has been hit with graffiti before, Lopez said in the news release.
Advertisement
“We have seen so many diverse people come together for racial equality and justice over the past weeks. However, we know there are those unwilling to live peacefully with their neighbors,” Lopez said in the release. “Their hate is a poison to our future. It must be confronted and called out every time they seek to inspire others to join in their hatred for others.”
jebyrne@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @_johnbyrne


chicagotribune--2020-06-22--CTA Red and Purple lines running with delays on North Side because of power outage

Red Line service was suspended for several hours between the Belmont and Howard stations , starting around 4:30 am , @ @ @ @ @ resumed a little after 8 a.m. Service was also suspended on the Purple Line between @ @ @ @ @ about an hour after the Red Line stoppage .
Trains still operated on the Purple @ @ @ @ @ .

The CTA Red and Purple lines were running with delays Monday morning on the North Side after a power outage near the Wilson “L” stop caused service to be suspended for several hours.
Red Line service was suspended for several hours between the Belmont and Howard stations, starting around 4:30 am, according to CTA alerts and resumed a little after 8 a.m. Service was also suspended on the Purple Line between Howard and the Loop starting about an hour after the Red Line stoppage. Trains still operated on the Purple Line between Linden and Howard.
Advertisement
[Major Delays] Red Line trains are running w/residual delays following earlier power issues near Wilson. Service resumes between Howard and Belmont. — cta (@cta) June 22, 2020
The CTA offered shuttles between Howard and Belmont stations and recommended riders to consider taking No. 22 Clark and No. 36 Broadway buses.
There was still no information on the cause of the outage a little before 8 a.m., according to a CTA spokeswoman. A ComEd spokesperson said the company was not dealing with a power outage related to CTA lines.
Advertisement
Check back for updates.


chicagotribune--2020-06-22--Tracking Chicago homicide victims

Tracking Chicago homicide victims

Though there are homicides recorded throughout the city they are most concentrated in the South and West sides .


chicagotribune--2020-06-21--Violent June weekend in Chicago

Violent June weekend in Chicago

A 3-year-old boy died after being shot Saturday in the city ’ s South Austin neighborhood , Chicago police said @ @ @ @ @ his father , 27 , who police say was the intended target , when they @ @ @ @ @ in the 600 block of North Central Avenue , on the West Side , said @ @ @ @ @ police spokesman .


chicagotribune--2020-06-23--Ex-FBI agent charged with hoarding top secret government documents

The materials were first uncovered in August after Yung ’ s wife filed an order of protection against him and @ @ @ @ @ Springs home for “ documents related to their separation , ” according to the complaint @

A former FBI special agent who worked for years in Chicago’s organized crime division has been charged with stealing sensitive government documents and hoarding them in his home after retirement.
Yen Cham Yung, who achieved top government security clearance during his lengthy career, was arrested in Colorado earlier this week and is scheduled to be brought to Chicago to face the charges.
Advertisement
Yung, 57, was accused in a criminal complaint unsealed Tuesday of illegally keeping hundreds of documents without consent, including sensitive information about undercover informants, surveillance of gang activity and email threads between FBI supervisors concerning organized crime investigations.
The complaint also alleged Yung violated national security protocols by keeping a copy of a memorandum of understanding between the CIA and FBI “regarding the activities of those agencies overseas and domestically.”
Advertisement
The memorandum had been accessed in 2009 at the Chicago FBI headquarters by someone using Yung’s credentials, according to the complaint.
The charges do not allege Yung sold or disseminated any of the information.
The materials were first uncovered in August after Yung’s wife filed an order of protection against him and she began searching their Colorado Springs home for “documents related to their separation,” according to the complaint.
The FBI later executed several search warrants at the home and other locations and found dozens of digital storage devices that are believed to have sensitive government information on them, according to the complaint.
Yung joined the FBI in 1996 and worked in field offices in Chicago, Hawaii, Washington, D.C., and Indonesia, according to the complaint. He was given top security clearance when serving as an FBI liaison to the Defense Department’s Northern Command in Colorado Springs.
Yung retired in 2016, according to the complaint.
As of Tuesday, the court docket did not reflect whether Yung had hired an attorney.
jmeisner@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-06-23--South Chicago Heights police seek driver involved in fatal hit-and-run crash

A dark-colored Dodge sedan turned left into the path of the motorcycle as it was crossing the intersection , causing @ @ @ @ @ Dodge ’ s passenger side front door , police said .

South Chicago Heights police released this image Monday of a dark-colored Dodge sedan in connection with a fatal hit-and-run crash May 26 at the intersection of Chicago Road and Sauk Trail. (South Chicago Heights Police)
South Chicago Heights police are seeking the driver involved in a hit-and-run crash last month that critically injured a husband and wife from Lemont.
The woman, 55-year-old Christie Harkins, died last week of complications from her injuries, and her husband, Marvin, remains hospitalized.
Advertisement
The crash occurred May 26 at the intersection of Chicago Road and Sauk Trail as the couple approached a green light in their Honda Gold Wing motorcycle, police said.
A dark-colored Dodge sedan turned left into the path of the motorcycle as it was crossing the intersection, causing the motorcycle to strike the Dodge’s passenger side front door, police said.
Advertisement
The Dodge sustained extensive damage, but the driver did not stop after the crash and continued north into Chicago Heights, according to a police statement.
On Monday, South Chicago Heights police released a series of surveillance camera images of the vehicle that hit the couple and asked that anyone with information about the crash or the vehicle contact Lt. Jake Kozinski at 708-755-3521.
Police are offering a $1,000 reward for information that aids in locating the vehicle or the driver.
South Chicago Heights police released this image Monday of a dark-colored Dodge sedan in connection with a fatal hit-and-run crash May 26 at the intersection of Chicago Road and Sauk Trail. (South Chicago Heights Police)
The couple had been heading home from a family member’s house on the night of the crash, after dropping off materials about a fundraiser at their granddaughter’s daycare, their son, Ryan Hoving, said.
Hoving said his parents, who had been married for 33 years, were inseparable.
“Honestly, I don’t think they ever spent a night apart,” he said Tuesday. “They were just together, always. Every night.”
The proud, longtime residents of Lemont enjoyed bowling, camping and taking motorcycle rides along Lake Michigan, he said.
Christie had been an office manager at an insurance agency for more than 20 years, her son said. Marvin has worked as an auto body technician at Reed’s Automotive Enterprises, just a couple blocks from his home, for more than three decades.
Advertisement
Hoving said his mother was a talented artist and crafter who loved glitter, sticky notes and, most of all, her family.
She was overjoyed when she became a grandmother about 1 1/2 years ago and took selfies with her granddaughter, Reagan virtually every time they were together, Hoving said.
Marvin Harkins and Christie Harkins, of Lemont, hold their granddaughter Reagan Hoving. (Ryan Hoving)
He described his mother as selfless and caring and said you could always count on her to be there for you.
Daily Southtown Twice-weekly News updates from the south suburbs delivered every Monday and Wednesday By submitting your email to receive this newsletter, you agree to our Subscriber Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy >
“You knew that she would come through for you,” Hoving said. “If nobody else would show up, my mom would be there.”
As of Tuesday, a GoFundMe page established by Ryan and his sister, Melissa, to help with medical expenses had raised more than $23,000.
According to an update shared over the weekend, Harkins had been recovering well from a tracheostomy surgery and had even video chatted with her family a few days before her death.
Advertisement
“She was smiling and mouthing to us that she loved us and was blown away by everyone’s generosity when we told her about this Go Fund Me,” her children posted. “A couple of days later there were some complications and she was unable to recover.”
Harkins’ husband, Marvin, who was unresponsive after the crash and had to be placed on a ventilator, is making strides in his recovery, according to the recent post. He’s now off the ventilator and has been moved from the intensive care unit to a specialty hospital, where he’s receiving physical, speech and occupational therapy.
zkoeske@tribpub.com
Twitter @ZakKoeske


chicagotribune--2020-06-23--31-year-old bicyclist trapped under truck following Northwest Side collision

The 31-year-old woman was still conscious when she was removed from underneath the truck , according to witnesses at the @ @ @ @ @ she has since been taken via ambulance to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center in critical @ @

A bicyclist peddles past Chicago police and investigators at the scene where a female bicyclist was run over by a vehicle on West Belmont and North Milwaukee avenues in Chicago's Avondale neighborhood June 23, 2020. The woman is in critical condition. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)
A city of Chicago truck driver ran over a 31-year-old bicyclist Tuesday morning on the Northwest Side, trapping her under the vehicle, authorities and witnesses said.
The 31-year-old woman was still conscious when she was removed from underneath the truck, according to witnesses at the scene, and police said she had since been taken via ambulance to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center in critical condition.
Advertisement
The crash occurred around 8:30 a.m. at the intersection of Milwaukee and Belmont avenues in the Avondale neighborhood. The 31-year-old woman was biking north on Milwaukee and stopped at the light, alongside a Chicago Department of Transportation truck.
The truck’s 48-year-old driver then turned right onto Belmont and struck the bicyclist, trapping her underneath, according to a police media notification.
Advertisement
A group standing at a nearby gas station saw the crash and immediately started running toward the truck, yelling at the driver to stop moving, according to Esteban Burgoa, 56, who observed the aftermath.
“The people here were yelling, ‘Stop, stop, stop,‘” Burgoa said. “He (the driver) was in shock. He said, ‘I killed the lady.‘”
The driver was taken to Swedish Hospital for evaluation but had no injuries, according to the Chicago Fire Department.
This type of crash, in which a motor vehicle and a cyclist are traveling in the same direction and the motorist turns right and hits the cyclist, is known as a “right hook,” said lawyer Michael Keating, who specializes in bike crashes.
Last fall, Carla Aiello, a 37-year-old counselor at a Wicker Park Catholic high school, was killed in a similar crash when the driver of a dump truck made a right turn from Milwaukee onto Kilbourn Avenue.
This crash happened several blocks north of the most recent collision, and a painted bike path with plastic bollards was added to the street. There is no marked bike lane at Belmont and Milwaukee, though Keating noted that it is a bike route indicated by city signs and is commonly used by bikes.
Keating said that right hooks are a frequent cause of crashes, and the city has seen a number of them involving cyclists being hit by commercial vehicles.
Keating noted that the municipal code states that the operator of any motor vehicle should not turn right “until it’s absolutely clear and safe to do so.”
Advertisement
The Department of Transportation said that Tuesday’s crash was under investigation and declined to comment further.


chicagotribune--2020-06-23--More than 700 Joliet nurses could strike as early as July 4

If the nurses go on strike , the action would come as hospitals continue to deal with the financial fallout @ @ @ @ @ Hospitals across the state and nation have suffered revenue losses because of canceled elective surgeries @ @ @ @ @

Nurses at Amita Health Saint Joseph Medical Center Joliet filed a 10-day strike notice on June 23, 2020. (Warren Skalski / For the Chicago Tribune/Chicago Tribune)
More than 700 nurses at a Joliet hospital say they are prepared to walk off the job as early as July 4.
The nurses at Amita Health Saint Joseph Medical Center Joliet filed a 10-day strike notice Tuesday. They have been working without a contract since May 9 and have been in contract negotiations since February.
Advertisement
It’s still possible that a strike could be averted. Two more bargaining sessions are planned between now and July 4.
Sticking points include levels of nurse staffing, benefits and pay, said Pat Meade, a longtime nurse at the hospital and a member of the Saint Joseph Nurses Association, which is part of the Illinois Nurses Association.
Advertisement
“We feel confident in the fact that we’ve done everything we can do,” Meade said. “We’ve put forth every effort. We have to stay steadfast.”
A spokesman for Amita Health did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday morning.
If the nurses go on strike, the action would come as hospitals continue to deal with the financial fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic. Hospitals across the state and nation have suffered revenue losses because of canceled elective surgeries and fewer non-COVID-19 patients.
Nurses at a number of hospitals across the country have gone on strike in recent years, often citing staffing levels as a chief concern.
Last year, more than 2,200 nurses at the University of Chicago Medical Center went on strike, seeking lower nurse-to-patient ratios. That strike lasted one day but was followed by a four-day lockout. Those nurses were part of the National Nurses Organizing Committee/National Nurses United.
The hospital maintained that its staffing levels were not a problem. During that strike and lockout, the hospital moved babies and children in intensive care units to other hospitals, canceled and rescheduled elective surgeries, and asked ambulances to take patients elsewhere.
lschencker@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-06-23--Coronavirus in Illinois updates: Here’s what’s happening Tuesday with COVID-19 in the Chicago area

Meanwhile , Chicago officials on Monday unexpectedly said the city will join the rest of Illinois in going to phase @ @ @ @ @ s reopening plan Friday .
That means museums , the Lincoln Park Zoo , youth @ @ @ @ @ indoor dining , gyms and movie theaters will be allowed to open “ with limited @ @ @ @ @ ” according to Lightfoot ’ s office .

We have lifted the paywall on this story. To support essential reporting, please consider becoming a subscriber .
The Fulton Market area of Chicago is no longer the ghost town it was during the depths of the COVID-19 virus pandemic shutdown. As restrictions on restaurants are eased, a worker takes a woman's temperature before she can enter Federales restaurant on Morgan Street on July 1, 2020. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)
Illinois officials on Tuesday announced guidance for students and teachers to return to the classroom in the fall.
Every school district, college and university will be asked to develop their own reopening plan, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said. But the guidance issued Tuesday requires the use of face coverings, limits the number of people gathering in one place, calls for social distancing “as much as possible” and requires more school-wide cleaning and disinfection.
Advertisement
The announcement came as health officials announced 601 new known cases of COVID-19 and 38 additional fatalities, bringing the total number of known cases to 137,825 and the death toll to 6,707 statewide. Officials also reported 20,507 new tests in the last 24 hours.
On Monday, Chicago officials unexpectedly said the city will join the rest of Illinois in going to phase four of the state’s reopening plan Friday. That means museums, the Lincoln Park Zoo, youth summer camps and amenities such indoor dining, gyms and movie theaters will be allowed to open “with limited capacities and appropriate safeguards,” according to Lightfoot’s office.
Advertisement
[ Illinois will enter phase 4 of reopening plan Friday. Here’s a guide to what’s allowed. ]
[ How will Illinois reopen? Three charts breaking down Pritzker’s plan ]
[ COVID-19 cases in Illinois by ZIP code: Search for your neighborhood ]
[ As the coronavirus spreads, the Tribune is tracking Illinois cases here ]
Here’s what’s happening Tuesday with COVID-19 in the Chicago area and Illinois:
6:37 p.m.: Northwestern offers buyouts to 4,000 employees
Northwestern University is offering buyouts to 4,000 staff members.
The offer is an attempt to cut costs because the university anticipates “reduced revenues and additional expenses next year” because of COVID-19, according to a statement from the university.
“In this context, a voluntary separation plan supplements the cost-containment measures we have taken already, allows us to manage staffing levels to match our outlook and reduces the possibility of potential actions such as further furloughs or involuntary layoffs,” said Jon Yates, a university spokesman, in an email.
Crain’s Chicago Business first reported the buyout offer.
Yates said the university expects 150 to 200 employees to take the buyout, which is voluntary. Staff were given the period between June 8 and June 30 to apply, and the university may not approve every application.
It’s not clear how much money this would save the university. Yates said that would depend on a lot of factors.
In May, the university announced furloughs for about 250 workers, suspended contributions to employee retirement plans and dug deeper into its endowment.
Advertisement
—Chicago Tribune staff
4:43 p.m.: No decision yet on CPS reopening in the fall, despite governor’s announcement
For Chicago Public Schools’ 355,000 students, how or even whether schools will reopen in the fall remains undetermined, despite the governor’s proclamation.
CPS did announce Tuesday that summer school will remain remote.
As for the fall, though, CPS spokeswoman Emily Bolton said in a statement that the district is “eager to open its doors to students as soon as it is safe to do so, and the district is gathering feedback from families and staff to inform draft reopening guidelines for our schools. We will continue to work closely with (city and public health officials) to ensure we are able to open safely.
“Nothing is more important than the safety of our students, staff and families, and we remain committed to widespread engagement to ensure our plan for reopening supports the diverse needs of our entire school community,” she said.
CPS was already planning, for when its schools do reopen, to require everyone to wear masks and said it would provide a limited number to students and staff at the beginning of the school year.
Advertisement
Students and staff will also be subject to daily temperature checks, and “stringent” cleaning protocols are planned.
CPS is still working on guidelines for the fall, and seeking input from students, families and employees using surveys and focus groups. But officials said draft reopening guidelines should be released in coming weeks for further community review and feedback.
The Chicago Teachers Union has criticized CPS for not being farther along in planning for the fall but has also stressed the importance of adequate protections for students and staff.
“While Governor Pritzker and ISBE have so far been helpful and clear on policies and guidance regarding contending with COVID-19, Illinois’ size and geographic diversity was bound to catch up with the state’s ability to issue useful guidance,” CTU said in a Tuesday statement. “Today’s guidance from ISBE is both too general and too vague to serve as a useful road map for CPS. In short, we’re going to be required to figure out many of the most critical features of school work for ourselves, in bargaining.”
—Hannah Leone
3:45 p.m.: With only days before phase 4 begins, what do new cases say about direction of outbreak in Illinois?
On Tuesday, the state announced 38 additional deaths from COVID-19 as well as 601 new confirmed cases.
Advertisement
With only days before the state transitions to phase four, what does 38 deaths and 601 new cases say about the direction of the outbreak in Illinois?
For four weeks in late April and May, the state averaged more than 2,000 new confirmed coronavirus cases a day. During that same period from April 26 to May 23, the state averaged around 100 deaths a day. The average for the week of June 14 is 605 cases and 49 deaths.
Another metric that shows the direction of the outbreak is the positivity rate. That rate looks at the proportion of coronavirus tests that come back positive. This measure has been dropping across the state. Those two metrics are lower than earlier in the outbreak.
Also Tuesday, the state announced 20,507 new test results.
See more coronavirus data here. —Chicago Tribune staff
2:57 p.m.: Illinois officials offer school districts guidance for reopening to in-person classes this fall
State officials on Tuesday announced guidance for students and teachers to return to the classroom in the fall.
Advertisement
Every school district, college and university will be asked to develop their own reopening plan, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said. But the guidance issued Tuesday requires the use of face coverings, limits the number of people gathering in one place, calls for social distancing “as much as possible” and requires more school-wide cleaning and disinfection.
The rules also call for schools to conduct symptom screening and temperature checks, or that people “self-certify that they are free of symptoms before entering school buildings.”
Schools also should prepare for the possibility that they will need to return to remote learning if there is a coronavirus resurgence in the state, Pritzker said.
Pritzker ordered in-person instruction suspended statewide on March 17, and teachers and students finished out the 2019-2020 in a remote learning capacity.
All of the four regions of the state, as defined by the governor’s “Restore Illinois” reopening plan, are poised to move into the next phase on Friday, which allows for gatherings of up to 50 people.
—Jamie Munks
Advertisement
2:35 p.m.: Officials report 601 new cases and 38 more deaths
Illinois officials on Tuesday announced 601 new known cases of COVID-19 and 38 additional fatalities, bringing the total number of known cases to 137,825 and the death toll to 6,707 statewide since the start of the pandemic. Officials also reported 20,507 new tests in the last 24 hours.
2:30 p.m.: Unusual salvo of fireworks in Chicago as city sees 700% jump in calls
Already on edge on multiple fronts, many Chicagoans are now having to contend with yet another challenge to their peace of mind, not to mention their sleep — an unrelenting barrage of fireworks.
During late-night hours, the sound of loud explosions has echoed through many Chicago neighborhoods, resulting in a staggering increase in 911 calls. The city has received more than 7,000 emergency calls for fireworks disturbances so far this year, compared with only 842 last year during the same time period, a 736% increase, according to data provided by the Office of Emergency Management and Communications.
The numbers mirror increases in cities throughout the country, which those in the fireworks industry say can be traced to the cancellation of organized shows because of the coronavirus pandemic. There has been a surge in complaints about fireworks in New York, Boston and Hartford, Connecticut. Residents of other cities, including Los Angeles and Baltimore, have taken to social media to vent their frustration.
Read more here. —Javonte Anderson
1:55 p.m.: European Union may bar American travelers as it reopens borders, citing failures on coronavirus
European Union countries rushing to revive their economies and reopen their borders after months of coronavirus restrictions are prepared to block Americans from entering because the United States has failed to control the scourge, according to draft lists of acceptable travelers seen by The New York Times.
Advertisement
That prospect, which would lump American visitors in with Russians and Brazilians as unwelcome, is a stinging blow to American prestige in the world and a repudiation of President Donald Trump’s handling of the virus in the United States, which has more than 2.3 million cases and upward of 120,000 deaths, more than any other country.
European nations are currently haggling over two potential lists of acceptable visitors based on how countries are faring with the coronavirus pandemic. Both include China, as well as developing nations like Uganda, Cuba and Vietnam.
Travelers from the United States and the rest of the world have been excluded from visiting the European Union — with few exceptions mostly for repatriations or “essential travel” — since mid-March. But a final decision on reopening the borders is expected early next week, before the bloc reopens July 1.
Read more here. —The New York Times
1:19 p.m.: Chicago setting up mobile COVID-19 testing sites to help monitor disease
In an effort to get COVID-19 tests to people who need them, Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Tuesday announced mobile testing for residents in hard-hit African American neighborhoods on the South and West sides, and for first responders on the Northwest and Southwest sides where lots of police and firefighters live.
Mobile testing for residents will operate out of Kennedy-King College in Englewood and the Austin Health Center in that West Side neighborhood. While prior spikes in cases in predominantly Black and Hispanic zip codes are less pronounced now than they were a few weeks ago, city officials this week said infection rates in those neighborhoods are still higher than they would like.
Advertisement
The mobile sites will be able to test up to 500 people per day, and the city will work with local community organizations to set up events in neighborhoods for residents to get swabbed for the virus.
Meanwhile, with police, firefighters and paramedics at risk to catch the disease because of their daily interactions with the public, the city will run mobile sites for them around neighborhoods where many of them live, the city announced.
If these four sites prove successful, the city will set up more mobile testing, Lightfoot said.
Read more here. —John Byrne
11:10 a.m.: Steppenwolf adjusts season, now plans to resume in December
Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre has reduced its 2020-21 season of shows down to four mainstage productions and now plans to resume live operations in mid-December.
The comeback show, assume nothing changes further, will be Matt Charman’s “Good Night, and Good Luck,” a new stage play adapted from the 2005 George Clooney movie about the conflict between Sen. Joseph McCarthy and journalist Edward R. Murrow.
Advertisement
Both Broadway In Chicago and the Goodman Theatre, among others, are also hoping to resume live performances in the fall, but theaters are still awaiting city and state COVID-19 guidelines, as well as firm agreements with unions. Read more here. —Chris Jones
9:45 a.m.: Dr. Anthony Fauci, other health officials to testify at House hearing as COVID-19 infections spike in half of US states
With coronavirus cases rising in about half the states and political polarization competing for attention with public health recommendations, Dr. Anthony Fauci returns to Capitol Hill on Tuesday at a fraught moment in the nation's pandemic response.
The government’s top infectious disease expert will testify before a House committee, along with the heads of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration, and a top official at the Department of Health and Human Services. Watch live here starting at 10 a.m. — Associated Press
7:15 a.m.: State officials to give coronavirus update
More than three weeks after Gov. J.B. Pritzker and other state officials ended the practice of holding daily coronavirus updates, they were scheduled to hold a news conference Tuesday afternoon to announced updates on the pandemic situation in Illinois.
Pritzker began the daily updates in mid-March and continued them until the state’s stay-at-home order was allowed to expire at the end of May. The state has since been updating coronavirus illness and death statistics in daily news releases and updates the state health website. — Chicago Tribune staff
6:10 a.m.: Chicago expanding coronavirus testing at community sites
Chicago was launching a pilot program Tuesday to expand coronavirus testing for the public and emergency responders, starting at a health center in Austin and at Kennedy-King College.
Advertisement
The first community site will be at Austin Health Center, 4800 W. Chicago Ave., starting operations Tuesday, with the second at Kennedy-King College, 6301 S. Halsted St., later this week, according to a news release from the mayor’s office.
The opening of the new tests sites comes as the city moves to phase four of the state’s reopening plan on Friday, and works to meet its goal of 4,500 COVID-19 tests per day.
Tests are being offered without charge to city residents at the clinics. For more information and to register to get a test, people can visit chi.gov/covidtesting. — Chicago Tribune staff
Breaking coronavirus news Stay up to date with the latest information on coronavirus with our breaking news alerts.
Here are five things that happened Monday in Illinois related to COVID-19:


chicagotribune--2020-06-23--Jewel, Aldi bagged salads linked to outbreak of intestinal parasite

People become infected with Cyclospora by consuming food or water contaminated with human feces that contain the parasite , with @ @ @ @ @ the most common symptom , according to the Illinois Department of Public Health , which @ @ @ @ @ and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention .
Symptoms , which usually begin a @ @ @ @ @ also include loss of appetite , weight loss , cramping , nausea , fatigue and @ @ @

Federal authorities are warning consumers not to eat certain bagged salads from Jewel-Osco, Aldi and Hy-Vee as they investigate an outbreak of Cyclospora that has sickened 76 people in the Midwest.
Jewel-Osco and Hy-Vee over the weekend recalled their store-branded packaged garden salads, which are manufactured by Fresh Express, the Food and Drug Administration announced Monday. The agency said Aldi reported it removed its Little Salad Bar Garden Salads from store shelves.
Advertisement
Hy-Vee, Inc., based in West Des Moines, Iowa, is recalling its 12 oz. Hy-Vee Bagged Garden Salad product across its eight-state region due to the potential that it may be contaminated with Cyclospora. The recall also includes Jewel-Osco and Aldi-branded bagged salads. (FDA)
Those garden salads, which contain iceberg lettuce, carrots and red cabbage, may be linked to an outbreak of intestinal infections caused by the Cyclospora parasite. Seventy-six people in six Midwestern states, including 23 people in Illinois, fell ill between mid-May and mid-June. Sixteen people were hospitalized.
People become infected with Cyclospora by consuming food or water contaminated with human feces that contain the parasite, with frequent bouts of watery diarrhea the most common symptom, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health, which is investigating alongside the FDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Symptoms, which usually begin a week after exposure, can also include loss of appetite, weight loss, cramping, nausea, fatigue and low-grade fever.
Advertisement
The infection can be treated with antibiotics.
“Although a link has been made to Cyclospora in some Illinois cases, public health officials continue to investigate other sources,” Dr. Ngozi Ezike, director of the state’s health department, said in a news release. “If you consumed store brand packaged garden salads since May and then developed watery diarrhea, please contact a health care provider about testing and treatment.”
In the past, cases of cyclosporiasis have been linked to various types of imported fresh produce including raspberries, basil, snow peas, and lettuce, the state agency said. In 2018 a Cyclospora outbreak that sickened 511 people was linked to romaine in McDonald’s salads supplied by Fresh Express, which subsequently convened a panel to explore how to guard against future outbreaks.
Fresh Express could not immediately be reached for comment.
The Jewel-Osco Signature Farms Brand Garden Salads were sold in Illinois, Indiana and Iowa. Aldi’s salads were sold in Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, and Missouri.The recalled Hy-Vee salads were sold in stores in Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, Minnesota, and Wisconsin.


chicagotribune--2020-06-23--Sahara dust blankets Caribbean, heads to U.S.

Treja Kelley had been hesitant to come forward after witnessing the murder of her 17-year-old cousin .
But she found @ @ @ @ @ stand last year and helped secure a guilty verdict .
Her testimony , though , @ @ @ @ @ head , prosecutors said .
Just a few months after testifying , Kelley was shot @ @ @ @ @ not far from where her cousin had been slain .
She was 18 and pregnant @

Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 12 A man and his son are silhouetted against the sky as they watch the sunset from a park in Kansas City, Missouri, June 26, 2020. Sunsets and sunrises are more vibrant than usual lately due to dust in the atmosphere from the Saharan dust cloud. (Charlie Riedel/AP)
A vast cloud of Saharan dust is blanketing the Caribbean as it heads to the U.S. with a size and concentration that experts say hasn’t been seen in half a century.


chicagotribune--2020-06-23--Column: Jeanne Gang-designed, soon to open Vista Tower adds to Chicago’s impressive gallery of ‘down

Column: Jeanne Gang-designed, soon to open Vista Tower adds to Chicago’s impressive gallery of ‘down-the-alley’ views

The tower ’ s carefully modulated setbacks , emphatic verticality and sculptural adornments — including its crowning statue of Ceres @ @ @ @ @ grain — would make it a powerful presence on any block .
But its placement @ @ @ @ @ , which the Board of Trade secured in the 1880s when it won permission to @ @ @ @ @ street for its first building on the site , amplifies the visual impact of all @ @ @

The Vista Tower gives and impressive view for northbound drivers on Lake Shore Drive. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
In Chicago, a certain view of buildings — long, head-on and thrillingly dramatic — is as rare as a warm day in February.
This is not Washington, D.C., where the diagonal avenues of Pierre L’Enfant frame stunning views like the one of the Capitol down Pennsylvania Avenue.
Advertisement
Instead, our buildings are boxed in by the street grid, hard-pressed to call attention to themselves unless they face the Chicago River, Lake Shore Drive or central Michigan Avenue — or, like Willis Tower, they break free of the grid by soaring into the sky.
Every so often, though, architects get extraordinary opportunities to liberate their buildings from the relentless regularity of the grid and fashion images that resonate in our collective mindset.
Advertisement
The latest (and by far the tallest) example of this phenomenon — the soon to open 101-story, 1,191-foot-tall Vista Tower, by Chicago architect Jeanne Gang of Studio Gang — is giving northbound drivers on Lake Shore Drive a high-octane visual jolt.
Where they used to see nothing but sky, drivers now glimpse a distinctive hotel and condominium skyscraper at 345 E. Wacker Drive that brings a dose of geometric fluidity to the city’s strait-laced skyline.
Not only do Vista’s interconnected high-rises (or “stems,” as Gang calls them), step exultantly up to the tallest, ultrathin member of the trio.
The three stems appear to curve inward and outward as they rise, evoking the infinite verticality of sculptor Constantin Brancusi’s Endless Column. (Gang admires the sculpture but told me that her skyscraper consists of three parts that play off against each other, not a lone spire.)
While a full-fledged assessment of Vista Tower must wait until the skyscraper welcomes its first occupants sometime this summer, it already can be said that the long vistas of such buildings — what I call the “down-the-alley” views — form an important, but overlooked, part of Chicago’s architectural glory.
Without them, the city would be a lesser, visually duller place. There are no eyesores in this bunch, as the following examples show:
Chicago Board of Trade Building, 141 W. Jackson Boulevard, Holabird & Root, 1930
This is Chicago’s ultimate down-the-alley building, fully exploiting an unusual site that makes the Art Deco skyscraper the indisputable focal point of the LaSalle Street financial district.
Advertisement
The tower’s carefully modulated setbacks, emphatic verticality and sculptural adornments — including its crowning statue of Ceres, the Roman goddess of grain — would make it a powerful presence on any block. But its placement at the foot of LaSalle, which the Board of Trade secured in the 1880s when it won permission to close a portion of the street for its first building on the site, amplifies the visual impact of all those elements.
Such is the building’s prominence that it suggests that the real power in Chicago lies with moneyed traders, bankers and corporate titans, not the grubby politicians who toil away in the lower and less prominent City Hall a few blocks to the north on LaSalle.
The Board of Trade along LaSalle Street on June 18, 2020. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)
Wrigley Building, 400 and 410 N. Michigan Ave., Graham, Anderson, Probst & White, 1919-24; and 333 N. Michigan Avenue, Holabird & Root, 1928
When the street grid shifts, the door opens for buildings to stand out. So it is with these two landmark office buildings. Their architects took advantage of Michigan Avenue’s diagonal path over the Chicago River and created the illusion that the skyscrapers rise in the middle of the street.
Think about it: If the street grid continued uninterrupted over the river, you’d look ahead to ... nothing but air.
Instead, northbound travelers on Michigan Avenue are lured forward by the sight of the Wrigley Building’s iconic, Spanish Revival clock tower. Those heading southbound are treated to the elegant, Art Deco sliver of 333 N. Michigan. Without the diagonal jog of the DuSable (originally Michigan Avenue) Bridge, those visual theatrics would be impossible.
Advertisement
The Wrigley Building along Michigan Avenue on June 18, 2020. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)
Trump International Hotel & Tower, 401 N. Wabash Ave., Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, 2009
A bend in the Chicago River and a curve in North Wabash Avenue gave then-real estate developer Donald Trump something he seemingly can’t live without: A chance to be the center of attention. In this case, the result was an exception of Trump’s usual brand of glitz.
The architects dealt cleverly with an unusual, trapezoid-shaped site that allows for a head-on view of the hotel-condominium skyscraper when it’s seen from Wabash Avenue. By curving the glassy tower’s flanks, they significantly reduced its bulk, making it appear like a modern version of an old flatiron building.
If you can ignore the hideous, oversized TRUMP sign (no easy task), the result is one of the city’s most striking down-the-alley views.
The Trump International Hotel & Tower, along Wabash Avenue, on June 18, 2020. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)
Art Institute, 111 S. Michigan Ave., Shepley, Rutan & Coolidge, 1893; Jay Pritzker Pavilion, Columbus Drive and Randolph Street, Frank O. Gehry & Associates, 2004
Two eras and two very different architectural styles produce same urban design result: Both the original Art Institute building at Michigan and Adams Street and the Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park remind us that cultural structures, not only commercial ones, call attention to themselves via the long vista.
Advertisement
The classical pediment and austere, multiarched facade of the Art Institute’s Allerton Building arrest the eye as you look eastward from the Loop on Adams.
The exuberant, stainless steel “headdress” of the Pritzker Pavilion performs the same visual trick as you gaze eastward on Washington Street. Both say “come hither,” though in utterly divergent ways.
The Art Institute along Adams Street on June 18, 2020. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)
Chicago Tribune Opinion Weekdays Read the latest editorials and commentary curated by the Tribune Opinion team. By submitting your email to receive this newsletter, you agree to our Subscriber Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy >
Field Museum,1400 S. Lake Shore Drive, Graham, Anderson, Probst & White, 1920; Shedd Aquarium, 1200 S. Lake Shore Drive, Graham, Anderson, Probst & White, 1929; Adler Planetarium and Astronomy Museum, 1300 S. Lake Shore Drive, Ernest A. Grunsfeld Jr., 1930
The three institutions of Chicago’s Museum Campus share something more than a spectacular lakefront site east of Lake Shore Drive.
Each uses a long view to accentuate its presence. The marine-themed classicism of the Shedd Aquarium is designed to catch the eye of the traveler heading eastward on Roosevelt Road. The Art Deco Adler Planetarium lures you forward from its spot in the middle of Solidarity Drive.
The Field Museum’s imposing classical temple front looms directly ahead of drivers heading southbound on Lake Shore Drive. It’s a precursor by 100 years to the visual theatrics of Vista Tower — and a reminder that down-the-alley vistas happen by design, not by accident.
Advertisement
The Field Museum seen from southbound Lake Shore Drive on June 18, 2020. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)
Blair Kamin is a Tribune critic.
bkamin@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @BlairKamin