chicagotribune--2020-10-08--Daily Illinois coronavirus graphs: 32 new deaths, 3,059 new confirmed cases and 72,491 new test resu

Daily Illinois coronavirus graphs: 32 new deaths, 3,059 new confirmed cases and 72,491 new test results

Illinois announced 3,059 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 Thursday for a total of 310,700 .
The state also announced 32 @ @ @ @ @ of 8,910 and 72,491 new test results for a total of 6.1 million .

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--2020-10-08--Planning to vote in person this year? What Illinois voters should know before heading to the polls.

Your election judge may issue you a provisional ballot for a number of reasons , including if your name does @ @ @ @ @ in Illinois ; your voting status has been challenged ; you didn ’ t provide @ @ @ @ @ and don ’ t have your ID with you at the voting site ; you @ @ @ @ @ having voted early ; a court order extends voting time at your precinct and you @ @ @ @ @ ; or you admit to receiving a mail-in ballot but you didn ’ t bring @ @ @ @ @ to an election judge .

Early voting in Illinois is underway.
While a record-setting number of people have applied for a mail-in ballot in Illinois, scores of voters across the state have ventured out of their homes to cast an in-person ballot for the Nov. 3 general election.
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From Cairo to Galena, as of Friday more than 147,000 voters across Illinois had cast an in-person ballot at early-voting sites and nearly 379,000 of more than 2 million applicants had returned ballots by mail. Many more early-voting sites are set to become available in the coming weeks: In Chicago, locations in each of the city’s 50 wards open Oct. 14; and suburban Cook County, which opened a handful of early-voting sites Wednesday, will expand voting to more than 50 sites Oct. 19.
[ ¿Planea votar en persona este año? Lo que los votantes de Illinois deben saber antes de ir a las urnas ]
Whether you’re a longtime voter or new to the process, voting can be confusing. Here’s what you need to know when casting your vote this year.
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Early voters line up and down north Clark Street to vote at the Loop Super Site on Oct. 1, 2020. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
Do I have to show my ID?
If you’re already registered to vote in Illinois, you should not need a form of identification at your polling site, but election officials encourage bringing one just in case.
Election judges may ask for identification if they challenge your right to vote, you did not provide proof of ID when registering by mail or online or you are not listed as registered to vote in the state.
“If the judges have doubts about your identity because your signature doesn’t match the one on record they could ask for ID,” said Matt Dietrich, an Illinois State Board of Elections spokesman. “But it takes judges of both parties to do that.”
If an election judge asks for your ID, you are not required to show one to vote in person. You may cast a provisional ballot without showing your ID. The poll worker should then tell you how you can separately submit proof of registration to your election authority.
If election judges tell you that you’re not listed as registered, and you’re sure you did register, make sure they spelled your name correctly. You can give them your address to make sure you’re at the right polling place. You can also ask them to call your county elections office.
If you’re not yet registered but hope to vote through a standard ballot, you’ll need to bring an election judge two forms of identification, one of which must include your current address. You can then register — and vote — at your polling place.
What is a provisional ballot?
Provisional ballots allow residents to cast a vote even if their right to vote has been questioned. They’re investigated and processed in the two weeks after Election Day and kept separate from standard ballots.
Your election judge may issue you a provisional ballot for a number of reasons, including if your name does not show up as registered in Illinois; your voting status has been challenged; you didn’t provide identification when registering by mail and don’t have your ID with you at the voting site; you’re listed as already having voted early; a court order extends voting time at your precinct and you vote during that extended period; or you admit to receiving a mail-in ballot but you didn’t bring it with you to surrender to an election judge.
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You should be informed about provisional ballots if election judges challenge your right to vote. You also reserve the right to know if your ballot was counted. If it was not, you’re entitled to know why.
Some local election boards have a lookup tool on their website, which voters can use to check the status of their provisional ballot.
An election official keeps watch during the first day of early voting at the Loop Super Site on Oct. 1, 2020. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
What can I bring to my polling place?
You’re allowed to bring any written or printed materials into the voting booth to assist you.
You also can bring children younger than 18 into the voting booth with you, so long as they don’t interfere with the voting process and election officers approve of it. All you’ll need to do is tell the election judge before entering the voting booth.
Keep in mind voters are prohibited from wearing campaign items at voting sites because polling places are campaign-free zones. Election judges may ask you to cover any campaign clothing, buttons or stickers.
What if I show up at the wrong polling place?
During the early-voting period, you can cast your ballot at your local election authority’s office or at a designated early-voting site in your area. Be sure to check your local election authority’s website to determine which polling places are available for you to vote.
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On Election Day, you can only vote at your assigned polling site. State officials have a polling place lookup website and an online database for all Illinois election boards, which voters can use to check their polling places. You can still cast your ballot after the polls close so long as you were in line when they closed.
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If you show up at the wrong polling place, you can give the election judge your address and they’ll help you find the right location. If you’re in the wrong election jurisdiction or your address isn’t found, you or the poll worker can call a local election authority for more information.
This year, election workers also could direct voters to a polling place where all voters can vote, which all jurisdictions are required to have under the special election law in place this year, Dietrich said.
Be sure to check your local election authority’s website to confirm your polling site before going to vote. Polling places are subject to change because of concerns with COVID-19.
What happens if I just moved?
You must live in your election precinct at least 30 days before Election Day to register there.
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If you moved before Oct. 5 to your current Illinois address, vote at the precinct polling place for your new, current address.
You can register for the first time or update your registration online until Oct. 18 or at your new local polling place through Election Day.
If you moved on or after Oct. 5, vote at your old jurisdiction. Then, after Election Day, update your registration ahead of the next election.
Local election officials encourage voters to cancel their old registration by sending a signed letter to the election officials in their previous jurisdiction.
What if I make a mistake on my ballot?
If you make a mistake on your ballot and have not yet cast it, you’re entitled to a replacement ballot.
If you want to replace your paper ballot, you can ask an election judge at the voting site to spoil that ballot and you’ll receive a new one. If you make a mistake on a mail-in ballot, you can take the ballot to your local polling site and surrender it to an election judge. You’ll then be able to vote through a standard ballot.
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If you’ve already cast your ballot, there are no take-backs, and it’s illegal to vote again. Voting more than once in an election in Illinois is a felony, punishable by two to five years in prison.
Can people talk to me at polling places?
No one is allowed to try to influence a voter inside or within 100 feet of a polling place. Outside of that zone, campaigning is legal, unless a church or private building designated its entire property a campaign-free zone.
Exit pollsters, who try to poll voters as they leave their voting site, must also be outside the campaign-free zone, according to Dietrich.
“Not sure if voters should expect them, but it’s possible they could encounter them,” he said.
If you feel intimidated, election officials encourage you to tell a poll worker and report it to your local or state election board, the U.S. attorney’s office or Illinois attorney general’s office. Knowingly preventing another person from registering or voting by methods including intimidation or threats is a felony in Illinois.
What if I want to vote in person but already have a mail-in ballot?
If you applied and were approved for a mail-in ballot but decide to vote in person instead, you must bring your mail-in ballot with you to your polling place and surrender it to an election official. You’ll then be given a standard ballot that you can use to vote in person.
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If you’ve opened your mail-in ballot, or it was torn or mutilated, you can still surrender it to an election judge for cancellation.
If you lost your mail-in ballot and therefore can’t surrender it to an election judge, you can still cast a provisional ballot. Election authorities will process it in the two weeks after Election Day after verifying you didn’t vote by mail.
If the poll books show you received a mail-in ballot but you never did, tell an election judge. You’ll then be able to vote after signing an affidavit under penalty of perjury.
If voters cast a ballot in person after signing an affidavit, and later receive a mail-in ballot, they should discard it.
If you voted by mail and the ballot was rejected, you must be informed within 48 hours and given a chance to resolve the issue, if possible. Ballots that arrive unsealed are automatically rejected, according to Dietrich.
How can I track my mail-in ballot?
Election boards provide various ways for voters to track their mail-in ballot.
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Chicago: Voters should receive emails updating them on their mail-in ballot’s status. They should receive one when their vote-by-mail application has been received and processed. If the application is approved, voters will be notified via email again and sent a unique link allowing them to track their mail-in ballot through the U.S. Postal Service. Once they’ve filled out and sent the ballot, voters will receive another email once the ballot has been received by the election board, and another once it’s been approved for counting or if there are any questions.
Suburban Cook County: Voters can check on the status of their mail-in ballot by filling out the online “What Is My Mail Ballot Status” form on the county clerk’s office website.
DuPage County: Voters can check on the status of their mail-in ballot by signing up for the county’s Ballot Trax database, which can be accessed through the county clerk’s website.
Kane County: Voters can check the status of their mail-in ballot by signing up for the county’s Ballot Trax database, which can be accessed through the county clerk’s website.
Kendall County: The clerk’s office has a list of voters who voted by mail on the county’s website.
Lake County: Voters can track receipt of their application and mail-in ballot through the county’s online Voter Power database, which can be found on the clerk office’s website.
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McHenry County: Voters can check the status of their mail-in ballot by signing up on the county’s Ballot Trax database, which can be accessed through the clerk’s website.
Will County: Voters can check on the status of their mail-in ballot by filling out the online “Track My Vote By Mail Ballot” form on the county clerk’s office website.
kelsmith@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @KelliSmithNews


chicagotribune--2020-10-08--Willie Wilson, who’s running as an independent against U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, says he has tested pos

Willie Wilson, who’s running as an independent against U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, says he has tested positive for coronavirus

“ The governor and mayor continue to trample on our constitutional rights while hiding behind a stay-at-home order that treats @ @ @ @ @ ” Wilson said in May .
He offered to pay for any fines that churches @ @ @ @ @ violation of those orders .
Such restrictions were later eased .

Willie Wilson, the entrepreneur and frequent candidate for political office, greets early voters at the Loop Super Site on Oct. 1, 2020. Wilson announced Oct. 8 that he has tested positive for COVID-19 and will begin a 10-day quarantine. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
Willie Wilson, the entrepreneur and frequent candidate for political office who is mounting an independent challenge to Democratic U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, announced Thursday he has tested positive for COVID-19 and will begin a 10-day quarantine.
“I am experiencing mild symptoms at this time. However, I am confident that we will beat COVID-19,” said Wilson, 72, a food and medical service glove distributor who also has his own gospel orchestra and record distribution company.
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“While we have taken precautions by wearing face masks and social distancing, this disease is highly contagious. I join the ranks of seven million people in America that have tested positive for coronavirus,” he said.
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Wilson, who made unsuccessful bids for Chicago mayor and a short quixotic effort for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2016, has been using his personal wealth to distribute gift cards at Chicago public senior housing to help promote his Senate campaign under the Willie Wilson Party.
Wilson in the past has provided money for people seeking bail or help with their property taxes.
“Like so many of my fellow Americans, I am not immune from COVID-19. This is a disease that does not discriminate,” Wilson said in a statement. “Since the beginning of the pandemic, I have distributed more than 40 million face masks to first responders, senior citizens, churches and individuals.”
Wilson’s assistance led to the Chicago Fraternal Order of Police endorsing his bid against Durbin, who is seeking a fifth term. Durbin is the No. 2 ranking Democrat in Senate leadership.
Wilson was at Chicago’s early voting site as it opened to voters on Oct. 1, strolling the line of voters and offering fist bumps.
He has aligned himself with Republican-leaning causes and has been a vocal critic of pandemic-related orders issued by Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Mayor Lori Lightfoot aimed at reducing gatherings, including church services.
“The governor and mayor continue to trample on our constitutional rights while hiding behind a stay-at-home order that treats the church as non-essential,” Wilson said in May. He offered to pay for any fines that churches received for holding services in violation of those orders. Such restrictions were later eased.
Also challenging Durbin on the Nov. 3 ballot are Republican Mark Curran, former Lake County sheriff; Green Party candidate Danny Black; and Libertarian Danny Malouf.
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rap30@aol.com


chicagotribune--2020-10-08--Players’ parents not allowed at the Wisconsin Badgers home opener on Oct. 24 because of COVID-19 sur

Players’ parents not allowed at the Wisconsin Badgers home opener on Oct. 24 because of COVID-19 surge

“ It ’ s unfortunate that circumstances will no longer allow us to invite families to attend , but we @ @ @ @ @ that the safety of our students , staff and community has to be our top @ @ @ @ @ director Barry Alvarez said in the statement .
“ We know Badger games are usually @ @ @ @ @ come together , but right now we are urging everyone to watch our games safely @ @ @ @

Colten Bartholomew, The Wisconsin State Journal

Players' parents will no longer be allowed at the University of Wisconsin football team’s opener the weekend of Oct. 24.
In a release Wednesday night, the university announced it could not host the estimated 1,500 people it expect at the Badgers' season debut against Illinois due to the increase of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations around the state.
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Only essential personnel — players and coaches from both teams, public safety officers, stadium operations personnel and a limited number of media — will be allowed into the stadium. UW faces Illinois either Oct. 23 or 24, with the game’s date and start time yet to be determined.
“Given the high rates of infection in the state of Wisconsin, we don’t want anyone in the stadium who doesn’t need to be there. I’ve said that our fans should think about all of our football games as away games this year,” UW Chancellor Rebecca Blank said in the statement.
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“We’re asking fans in Madison to follow public health guidelines and avoid gatherings with anyone outside their household. We’re asking our fans around the state to watch the games at home.”
The Big Ten Conference isn’t allowing the public sale of tickets this season. But last week during a Joint Campus Area Committee meeting, senior associate athletic director Jason King said the athletic department was preparing for about 900 parents between both teams.
“It’s unfortunate that circumstances will no longer allow us to invite families to attend, but we support this decision and know that the safety of our students, staff and community has to be our top priority,” UW athletic director Barry Alvarez said in the statement. “We know Badger games are usually a time when we can come together, but right now we are urging everyone to watch our games safely and responsibly.”
[ Wisconsin activates field hospital as surge in COVID-19 cases threatens to overwhelm hospitals ]
During the Joint Campus Area Committee meeting, concerns of gatherings around the stadium and in the city were voiced, as those gatherings could continue to spread COVID-19.
U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) applauded the university’s decision in a release.
“As Wisconsin emerges as a COVID hotspot in the country, adding over 16,000 new cases in the last week alone with a 7-day positivity rate of 17%, the University is taking the right step to protect the health of all Wisconsinites,” Pocan said.
“We applaud their renewed dedication to the health and safety of UW students, surrounding communities and the people of Wisconsin as our local government works to contain this pandemic. We all have a duty to work together during this time to ensure that our actions don’t harm others. We must continue practicing social distancing, limiting indoor gatherings and most importantly wearing a mask. Together, Wisconsin can beat this pandemic—go Badgers.”
[ ‘Wisconsin is what happens when you politicize public health,’ Mayor Lori Lightfoot says ]


chicagotribune--2020-10-08--Chicago’s outdoor dining design competition winners announced: A cozy cabin, block modules and heate

Chicago’s outdoor dining design competition winners announced: A cozy cabin, block modules and heated tables.

These small , modular and adjoining cabins outfitted with radiant floor heating fit in a standard street parking space .
@ @ @ @ @ Amy Young ’ s team at the firm ASD | SKY , based out of @ @ @ @ @ was inspired by ice-fishing huts .
The structures feature transparent windows to make “ diners @ @ @ @ @ while safely social distancing from other diners.
” Each cabin also has a vent near @ @ @ @ @ , and is constructed with simple materials , with furniture , walls and floors that @ @ @ @ @ .
The cabins are meant to be low cost , ADA-accessible and easily replicated to @ @ @ @ @ city .

Submissions were called, ideas were proposed, finalists were selected, and now, winners for Chicago’s Winter Design Challenge have been announced.
The competition aims to solve the problem of how to continue outdoor dining come colder weather, and netted more than 600 entries both serious and comical. (I’m still not over “Leaf-blowers = win.”) After two preliminary rounds of judging by the design firm IDEO and the city of Chicago, 26 finalistswere chosen and presented to a panel of judges made up of architects, designers, chefs, restaurateurs and servers, who picked the final three feasible and safe proposals. Each of them will take home a $5,000 cash prize.
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The winners are:
Amy Young’s Cozy Cabins
Amy Young’s Cozy Cabins are inspired by ice-fishing huts. (Amy Young / HANDOUT)
These small, modular and adjoining cabins outfitted with radiant floor heating fit in a standard street parking space. The idea, proposed by Amy Young’s team at the firm ASD | SKY, based out of Atlanta and San Francisco, was inspired by ice-fishing huts. The structures feature transparent windows to make “diners feel part of the community while safely social distancing from other diners.” Each cabin also has a vent near the ceiling for air circulation, and is constructed with simple materials, with furniture, walls and floors that can be cleaned between guests. The cabins are meant to be low cost, ADA-accessible and easily replicated to suit parking spaces throughout the city.
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Neil Reindel’s Block Party
Neil Reindel’s Block Party takes a parking lane and converts it into outdoor seating block modules. (Neil Reindel / HANDOUT)
This takes a parking lane and converts it into outdoor seating block modules. Blocks can be arranged according to preference and even combined together — a single block module holds two people, with sizes increasing by two with each additional block. The blocks can also be painted and customized. A thermal mesh system heats the space and recessed can lights illuminate from the top of each block. Modules are not fully enclosed, but can be equipped with curtains. Neil Reindel is an urban designer and planner and also an adjunct professor at Northwestern University.
“Chicago has always been a resilient city when faced with difficult times,” Reindel said in a news release. “With Block Party we wanted to provide a warm place for people to reconnect as we move forward through the winter and into 2021.”
Ellie Henderson’s Heated Tables
Ellie Henderson’s heated tables are a modification of the Japanese kotatsu, with a low table covered by a blanket that also has a small electric heater on its underside. An additional table top is placed on top of the blanket. (Ellie Henderson / HANDOUT)
A modification of the Japanese kotatsu, this is a low table covered by a blanket that also has a small electric heater on its underside. An additional table top is placed on top of the blanket. This proposal was inspired by Ellie Henderson’s experiences in Japan. She is a Chicago-based graphics designer who specializes in designing three-dimensional spaces, mostly for trade shows and environmental branding, and is a self-described foodie.
“The solution of having heated tables allows patrons to be safe and stay comfortably warm while still patronizing their favorite restaurants,” the proposal says, emphasizing that outdoor decks, rooftops, patios and parking spaces could be converted to use the heated tables.
IDEO, the design and consulting firm that hosted the entries on its website and partnered with the city for the competition, will work with the Illinois Restaurant Association (IRA) to pick construction firms for “design development and technical refinement” on the winners before creating prototypes that can be tested. Pilot restaurants that will participate in the testing of these solutions will be chosen by the Illinois Restaurant Association and construction will be paid by BMO Harris.
On top of revealing the winners of the Winter Design Challenge, the city also announced a $500,000 grant program in partnership with Door Dash and IRA, aimed at helping restaurants prepare for winter. Restaurants located in Chicago with three locations or fewer, 50 employees or fewer and $3 million in 2019 annual revenue or less, are eligible for a $5,000 grant. Applications open Oct. 16.
Whether restaurants decide to take up the winning solutions or not, they are still expected to abide by city guidelines. The city also is allowing temporary tents for the first time and extending tent permits from 60 days to 180 days. Restaurants do not need to apply for new sidewalk cafe or expanded outdoor dining permits to operate in the winter, but permits should be updated with heating and structural elements.
gwong@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-10-08--13-year-old boy tells Chicago police his 9-year-old brother was accidentally shot and killed by thei

13-year-old boy tells Chicago police his 9-year-old brother was accidentally shot and killed by their 5-year-old sibling

The 13-year-old told them Ashton was shot in the back of the head by the 5-year-old and directed them to @ @ @ @ @ found three guns , police said .
One of them , a revolver , had @ @ @ @ @ the cylinder .

Police investigate the scene of an accidental shooting Oct. 7, 2020, in the 1500 block of North Lorel Avenue in the North Austin neighborhood. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)
A 13-year-old boy has told Chicago police that his 9-year-old brother was accidentally shot and killed by a younger sibling, 5, who found the gun in the bedroom of their North Austin home.
Officers found Ashton Lipscomb lying motionless and bleeding from the head around 1:45 p.m. in an apartment in the 1500 block of North Lorel Avenue, according to police.
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The 13-year-old told them Ashton was shot in the back of the head by the 5-year-old and directed them to a second-floor bedroom where police found three guns, police said. One of them, a revolver, had a spent shell casing in the cylinder.
The father told police he was picking up his wife from a hospital when the shooting occurred. Police said it was unclear if any adult was watching the children at the time.
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The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services was notified of the death and confirmed an allegation of abuse within the same family back in March of 2016, according to spokesman Bill McCaffrey.
The case was closed a month later, according to McCaffrey, who had no further details.
rsobol@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-10-08--Newly released footage shows Chicago cops, videographer ducking for cover when shots ring out during

Newly released footage shows Chicago cops, videographer ducking for cover when shots ring out during August looting

None of the videos captured visible images of the shooters or make it clear where the shots were coming from @ @ @ @ @ reactions of police officers and civilians as the shooting unfolded .

Newly released video shows shots fired at about 4:30 a.m. on Aug. 10, 2020, during a night of looting incidents in downtown Chicago. (Chicago Tribune Handout)
On a night when looters were tearing through downtown and Chicago police were scrambling to clear the streets, nearly a dozen gunshots rang out in the Loop and for a few frantic moments everyone ran for cover.
Or nearly everyone. Newly released video shows a man with a camera dropping the leg of his monopod and recording the scene after the first round of shots were fired about 4:30 a.m. Aug. 10.
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After a half dozen more shots, he took shelter behind a standing sidewalk sign, maintaining a view of the scene. Neither he nor anyone else was hit by the gunfire.
The videos were released Wednesday by the independent watchdog that investigates police shootings. The 11 videos from police and surveillance cameras offer another view of the bedlam that unfolded when widespread looting erupted downtown and moved to adjacent neighborhoods.
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The vandalism is believed to have cost millions of dollars in damage, stolen merchandise and police overtime.
None of the videos captured visible images of the shooters or make it clear where the shots were coming from, though it shows the reactions of police officers and civilians as the shooting unfolded.
Police said they were fired on as they responded to calls of looting.
Two videos posted showed a man standing near officers around 55 E. Lake St. when the sound of nearly a dozen gunshots echoed through downtown. The unidentified man continues to record throughout the shooting, taking shelter behind the sign.
A soundless video from a different angle outside a 7-Eleven shows two officers ducking behind their squad car, while a man takes cover behind one of the store’s support columns.
The videos also captured looters fleeing the convenience store as officers arrived. So far, there have been 76 felony arrests, 26 vehicles seized and 48 undercover purchases of stolen merchandise from that night, according to authorities.
wlee@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @MidNoirCowboy


chicagotribune--2020-10-08--Column: The fly on Mike Pence’s head during the vice presidential debate: A transcript

This is … this just seems rude .
It ’ s almost like this man whose head I ’ m @ @ @ @ @ have much respect for women .
He ’ s just doing whatever he pleases .
@ @ @ @ @ he ’ s not even answering the question , just going on and on about @ @ @ @ @ and that dude Trump have done on the coronavirus and …

A fly rests on the head of Vice President Mike Pence on Oct. 7, 2020, as he takes notes during the vice presidential debate against vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris in Salt Lake City. (ERIC BARADAT / AFP via Getty Images)
For about two minutes during Wednesday night’s vice presidential debate, a large, black fly planted itself on Vice President Mike Pence’s white hair.
It may have been the most compelling live television of 2020. A nation in dire need of something good to cling to sat fascinated, wondering if the fly might remain atop Pence’s noggin for the entirety of the debate. Social media lit up with fly jokes. Entomologists, I assume, rejoiced.
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I doubt many Americans could understand what that fly was saying during the debate. Our educational system has never prioritized Diptera-as-a-second-language classes. Fortunately, I am fluent in fly, and the winged insect’s comments were picked up clearly on Pence’s microphone.
As a service to my fellow Americans, those rooting for Pence as well as supporters of Democratic Sen. Kamala Harris, I am happy to provide the following transcript:
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Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
Oh man, what is this stuff I’m on, snow? Nah, it’s not cold. Kinda sticky, though.
Whoa, I’m on some dude’s hair! Oh, bug, I must be standing out like a sore leg segment. Hope there aren’t any frogs around.
This dude better not try to swat me. I’ve still got a good 15 days left. Last thing I need is to get squashed on some human’s helmet head.
What’s with all the lights? Are those cameras? COOL! Hey, look at me, focus on me! Hey, I’m a fly, check out these wings.
Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz! Man, that’s fun to say. I never get sick of that.
Wow, this guy sure talks a lot. Let me listen.
Hold up, hold up. Is this the vice president? Did I land on the head of the (expletive) vice president?!? Oh, man. HEY DAN, YOU WATCHIN’ THIS? I’M GONNA SPIT ON THE VICE PRESIDENT’S HEAD!
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Boy, I hope my brother Dan’s watching. He’ll be so freakin’ jealous.
Man, does this guy ever shut up? That lady over there who’s asking the questions seems to want him to stop talking but he just keeps going.
C’mon, dude. Shut up! She’s asking you nicely, man.
I hear her, she keeps saying, “Thank you, Vice President Pence. Thank you, Vice President Pence. Thank you, Vice President Pence.”
And you’re still talking! That’s just rude. Take a hint, buddy.
Oh, now the other lady is talking, the one behind that clear barrier thingy I almost flew into.
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All right, she’s kind of making some sense here. I want to hear … WHOA, WHITE HAIR, YOU JUST CUT HER OFF! SHE WAS STILL TALKING AND YOU JUST …
Hey, why isn’t the question-asking lady doing anything? Dude just cut off the other lady and now he’s talking a mile a minute.
This is … this just seems rude. It’s almost like this man whose head I’m sitting on doesn’t have much respect for women. He’s just doing whatever he pleases. Heck, half the time he’s not even answering the question, just going on and on about what a great job him and that dude Trump have done on the coronavirus and …
Wait a minute. Great job on the coronavirus? HAHHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAAAAAAAA!
Listen here, dude whose head I’m on. I’m a common house fly. I darn near killed myself a couple of minutes ago because I don’t understand what Plexiglas is. I have a brain the size of a poppy seed, and even I know you and your boss screwed up this coronavirus thing.
You, sir, are lying! I can’t believe … OH MY GOD, HE’S TALKING OVER THE QUESTION-ASKING LADY AGAIN!
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Are there any brains under this pomade-heavy hunk of white hair? You’re disrespecting the lady behind the Plexiglas, and you’re straight-up ignoring the one asking questions. Does the word “misogynist” mean anything to you?
C’mon, dude. I find this offensive, and I like sitting on poop! How do you think this is playing in the suburbs, my dude?
Lord, I can’t take this anymore. I came along looking for a place to rest, maybe lay a few hundreds eggs. And I have to bear witness to this 1950s throwback trying to … OH NO, NOW HE’S TRYING TO SAY THERE’S NO SYSTEMIC RACISM?
Well, at least he didn’t ... OH MAN NOW HE BROUGHT UP HIS BOSS HAVING JEWISH GRANDCHILDREN AS A DEFENSE?!?
That’s it. I’m gettin’ out of here before I tarnish the good name of flies everywhere. I’ll find a more wholesome place to lay my eggs.
Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
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rhuppke@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-10-08--Coronavirus in Illinois updates: Here’s what happened Oct. 7 with COVID-19 in the Chicago area

The daily number of new known coronavirus cases announced by Illinois officials on Thursday was the highest in nearly five months , except for a day in early September when the state caught up on a testing backlog .
The 3,059 new known cases represents the first time the daily count has topped 3,000 since May 14 , when the Illinois Department of Public Health reported 3,239 cases .
The department reported 5,368 new cases on Sept. 4 , but that was due to a backlog in processing test results .
In addition to the newly confirmed cases , which @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 310,700 statewide since the pandemic began , officials on Thursday reported 32 more fatalities .
That brings the death toll to 8,910 .
Officials also reported 72,491 new tests in the last 24 hours .
The seven-day statewide positivity rate is 3.7 % .
The new numbers come as Gov .
J.B. Pritzker said Wednesday that the gains that most regions in Illinois had been making in bringing down COVID-19 positivity rates in recent weeks have “ cooled off a bit.
” The governor noted specifically that the northeastern region that includes Lake @ @ @ @ @ @ @ after a period of decline .
6:20 p.m. : IHSA doctor says high school basketball could happen in Illinois if players wear masks The senior member of the Illinois High School Association ’ s sports medicine advisory committee said Thursday that high school basketball might be possible this year if all players wear masks .
Dr. Preston Wolin said that idea is being considered by the Illinois Department of Public Health , whose COVID-19 guidelines place restrictions on high school and youth sports .
As of now , basketball is considered a medium @ @ @ @ @ @ @ can scrimmage but not compete against other schools .
Wolin said recent communication between the IHSA and the state has included “ a draft considering allowing a basketball season to proceed with everybody being masked .
As to whether there is actually an IDPH policy that has been promulgated describing this , that I don ’ t think I can answer.
” Asked for comment , an IDPH spokeswoman responded : “ There are no updates to the guidance planned at this time.
” 5:05 p.m. : Winnetka businessman charged with price gouging @ @ @ @ @ @ @ A North Shore businessman was charged in federal court in Chicago on Thursday with illegally price gouging customers seeking to purchase protective masks amid the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic .
Krikor Topouzian , 60 , of Winnetka , was charged in a criminal information with violating anti-price gouging laws .
The charge carries a maximum of one year in prison .
According to the charge , Topouzian , who owns a medical supply company based in Skokie , accumulated in March and April a stockpile of nearly 80,000 respirator masks , including @ @ @ @ @ @ @ $ 5 per mask .
Topouzian later sold nearly 40,000 of the masks to customers for prices as high as $ 19.95 per mask — a markup of up to 367 % , the information alleged .
Topouzian kept selling the masks at inflated prices despite being repeatedly warned by law enforcement and others that it was illegal .
4:45 p.m. : Outdoor dining winterization money comes as some push for tougher Chicago requirements on third-party delivery apps Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Thursday touted $ 500,000 the city ’ s getting from restaurant @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , while proposals by aldermen to further crack down on such apps during the coronavirus pandemic languish in City Council committees .
In announcing the grant from the delivery company to help restaurants prepare for winter , Lightfoot thanked DoorDash “ for investing in Chicago and its restaurants to assist them in continuing to serve Chicagoans this winter.
” Third-party apps such as DoorDash , Grubhub and Uber Eats that charge additional fees to restaurants to deliver meals have drawn increasing scrutiny from elected officials since the virus outbreak began , as diners @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ordering more to-go meals , fueling a boom for the companies .
4:35 p.m. : Wisconsin surpasses 3,000 new COVID-19 cases for first time as Upper Midwest and Plains emerge as troubling hot spots A surge of coronavirus cases in Wisconsin and the Dakotas is forcing a scramble for hospital beds and raising political tensions , as the Upper Midwest and Plains emerge as one of the nation ’ s most troubling hot spots .
The three states now lead all others in new cases per capita , after months in which many @ @ @ @ @ @ @ downplaying the risks of the disease that has now killed over 210,000 Americans .
“ It ’ s an emotional roller coaster , ” said Melissa Resch , a nurse at Wisconsin ’ s Aspirus Wausau Hospital , which is working to add beds and reassign staff to keep up with a rising caseload of virus patients , many gravely ill. “ Just yesterday I had a patient say , ‘ It ’ s OK , you guys took good care of me , but it ’ s OK to let me go @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I ’ ve cried with the respiratory unit , I ’ ve cried with managers .
I cry at home .
I ’ ve seen nurses crying openly in the hallway.
” Wisconsin surpassed 3,000 new virus cases for the first time on Thursday , more than 200 above its previous daily record , set earlier this month .
Orland Park has dropped a federal lawsuit against Gov .
J.B. Pritzker challenging restrictions put in place in response to the COVID-19 pandemic , according to court filings .
The village and other plaintiffs @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in mid-June , and last month told the judge overseeing the case it planned to file an amended lawsuit by this Thursday .
The short document filed Tuesday did not give an explanation why the village decided to voluntarily dismiss the lawsuit .
Mayor Keith Pekau said Thursday that the Village Board decided in a closed session following Monday ’ s meeting to drop the case , but defended the village ’ s use of taxpayer money to pursue the litigation .
2:18 p.m. : Cook County launches suburban $ 20 million mortgage @ @ @ @ @ @ @ relief runs thin : ‘ More is going to be needed ’ Homeowners in suburban Cook County can apply for mortgage assistance starting Friday as part of another coronavirus recovery program funded by CARES Act money , but uncertainty remains on when more federal relief is coming .
The $ 20 million program will dole out payments of up to $ 10,000 directly to mortgage collectors , giving homeowners reprieve for one to three months on overdue or future payments , Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle announced at a Thursday news conference @ @ @ @ @ @ @ between 2,500 and 3,000 homeowners , with an average of about $ 7,800 per individual .
1:56 p.m. : Second stimulus check updates : Nancy Pelosi says she ’ s ‘ at the table ’ even after Trump scrapped COVID-19 relief talks House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday she ’ s “ at the table ” and ready to negotiate a coronavirus aid package even after President Donald Trump halted talks abruptly .
His decision earlier this week sent the jittery economy reeling and left his GOP allies scrambling as millions of Americans @ @ @ @ @ @ @ support or expanded testing protocols weeks before Election Day .
Pelosi said she told Trump ’ s chief negotiator , Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin , she is willing to consider a measure to prop up the airline industry , which is facing widespread layoffs .
But that aid , she said , must go alongside broader legislation that includes the kind of COVID testing , tracing and health practices that Democrats say are needed as part of a national strategy to “ crush the virus.
” In a stunning admission , Senate Majority @ @ @ @ @ @ @ had stopped going to the White House two months ago because he disagreed with its coronavirus protocols .
His last visit was Aug. 6 .
Orland Park has dropped a federal lawsuit against Gov .
J.B. Pritzker challenging restrictions put in place in response to the COVID-19 pandemic , according to court filings .
The village and other plaintiffs in the case had initially filed the complaint in mid-June , and last month told the judge overseeing the case it planned to file an amended lawsuit by this Thursday .
The short document @ @ @ @ @ @ @ why the village decided to voluntarily dismiss the lawsuit .
The daily number of new known coronavirus cases announced by Illinois officials on Thursday was the highest in nearly five months , except for a day in early September when the state caught up on a testing backlog .
The 3,059 new known cases represents the first time the daily count has topped 3,000 since May 14 , when the Illinois Department of Public Health reported 3,239 cases .
The department reported 5,368 new cases on Sept. 4 , but that was due @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
In addition to the newly confirmed cases , which bring the total number known infections to 310,700 statewide since the pandemic began , officials on Thursday also reported 32 more fatalities .
That brings the death toll to 8,910 .
The state received results from a near-record number of coronavirus tests in the previous 24 hours , with 72,491 screenings reported for a single-day positivity rate of 4.2 % .
The highest number of tests reported in a single day was 74,286 on Sept. 19 , but there were only 2,529 new @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rate of 3.4 % .
For comparison , the one-day positivity rate on May 14 was 14.2 % because the 3,239 positive results came from just 22,678 tests .
10:35 a.m. : Willie Wilson , who ’ s running as an independent against U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin , says he has tested positive for coronavirus Willie Wilson , the entrepreneur and frequent candidate for political office who is mounting an independent challenge to Democratic U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin , announced Thursday he has tested positive for COVID-19 and will begin a 10-day quarantine @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at this time .
However , I am confident that we will beat COVID-19 , ” said Wilson , 72 , a food and medical service glove distributor who also has his own gospel orchestra and record distribution company .
10:34 a.m. : Logan Square ’ s City Lit Books to close Dec. 1 , a casualty of the pandemic The pandemic has claimed City Lit , a vibrant independent bookstore and a fixture of the Logan Square neighborhood .
Citing a 50 % drop in revenue , owner Teresa Kirschbraun said the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 1 .
City Lit has maintained its staff of four through the pandemic with the help of a loan from the federal Paycheck Protection Program , Kirschbraun said .
But between rent , staffing and book costs , the store , which has remain shuttered during the pandemic , has been operating at a significant loss .
City Lit has offered online ordering and curbside pickup , but Kirschbraun said the safety protocols required to reopen the store didn ’ t lend themselves to a quality shopping experience .
“ The point was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of being with the people who came in all the time who loved books , ” Kirschbraun said .
Also , it wasn ’ t clear that people would come into browse if City Lit had opened its doors to the public .
Neighborhood foot traffic has changed dramatically , she said .
City Lit is accepting orders for curbside pick-up through Oct. 15 .
Nov. 30 is the last day for online orders .
9:25 a.m. : Regeneron asks FDA for emergency approval for experimental antibody cocktail that Trump , without evidence @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said on Wednesday evening that it had submitted an application to the Food and Drug Administration for emergency approval of the experimental antibody cocktail that President Donald Trump had praised just hours earlier without evidence as a “ cure ” for the coronavirus .
The company said that at first , access to the treatment would be extremely limited , with only enough doses for 50,000 patients , a far cry from the “ hundreds of thousands ” of doses that Trump said in a video released Wednesday he would soon be making @ @ @ @ @ @ @ There is no evidence that the treatment is the reason he was feeling better , and his doctors have said he has taken other drugs as well .
8:53 a.m. : Trump refuses to do a virtual debate with Biden after contracting COVID-19 : ‘ They cut you off whenever they want ’ President Donald Trump vowed Thursday not to participate in next week ’ s debate with Democratic nominee Joe Biden after organizers announced it will take place virtually because of the president ’ s diagnosis of COVID-19 .
“ I ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ debate , ” Trump told Fox Business News , moments after the nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates announced the changes .
“ That ’ s not acceptable to us .
I beat him easily in the first debate , ” the president said .
“ I ’ m not going to waste my time on a virtual debate .
That ’ s not what debating is all about ... they cut you off whenever they want.
” Trump told Fox anchor Mario Bartiromo he had been cured by Regeneron , one of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Walter Reed military hospital , and said he didn ’ t think he could spread the coronavirus .
8:49 a.m. : Players ' parents not allowed at the Wisconsin Badgers home opener on Oct. 24 because of COVID-19 surge In a release Wednesday night , the university announced it could not host the estimated 1,500 people it expect at the Badgers ' season debut against Illinois due to the increase of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations around the state .
Only essential personnel — players and coaches from both teams , public safety officers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ number of media — will be allowed into the stadium .
UW faces Illinois either Oct. 23 or 24 , with the game ’ s date and start time yet to be determined .
Submissions were called , ideas were proposed , finalists were selected and now , winners for Chicago ’ s Winter Design Challenge have been announced.The competition aims to solve the problem of how to continue outdoor dining come colder weather , and netted more than 600 entries both serious and comical .
( I ’ m still not over @ @ @ @ @ @ @ preliminary rounds of judging by the design firm IDEO and the city of Chicago , 26 finalistswere chosen and presented to a panel of judges made up of architects , designers , chefs , restaurateurs and servers , who picked the final three feasible and safe proposals .
Each of them will take home a $ 5,000 cash prize .
Ellie Henderson ’ s Heated Tables : A modification of the Japanese kotatsu , a low table covered by a blanket that also has a small electric heater on its underside .
An @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the blanket .
This proposal was inspired by Henderson ’ s experiences in Japan .
6:51 a.m. Wilmette ’ s last American Legion post , named after soldier who died during pandemic of 1918 , is disbanding : ‘ COVID was the final straw ’ More than a century has passed since a 22-year-old U.S. Army soldier from the North Shore died during the influenza pandemic of 1918 while aboard a ship headed to Europe .
Peter J. Huerter , who had hoped to serve in World War I , was buried @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in what is now Wilmette , his grief-stricken family and friends paid homage to the young man by naming one of the area ’ s two new American Legion posts in his honor .
But this month , amid the ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic , the last remaining American Legion post in Wilmette will cease operations , and its abandoned century-old headquarters are slated for demolition and a farewell 21-gun salute later this year .
“ We just don ’ t have the horsepower to continue , and COVID was the final @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 74 , of Wilmette , a U.S. Army veteran and the former commander of Post 46 .
5 a.m. : Illinois confirms COVID-19 outbreaks in 44 schools this school year but won ’ t say where they occurred Nearly two months into the school year , Illinois public health officials said they have verified COVID-19 outbreaks in at least 44 school buildings across the state , but they declined to say where those cases occurred and acknowledged they may not know the full scope of the virus ’ s spread in schools .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ t publish the number of cases linked to schools or which schools have been affected — even as parents and educators try to assess whether in-person learning is safe .
State health officials released overall numbers at the request of the Tribune and ProPublica Illinois .
With more than 1,800 public schools operating in person at least part time , along with an unknown number of private schools , the outbreaks represent a tiny fraction of Illinois schools in session , according to an analysis of state education data .
Most outbreaks @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cases at each school — but at least 105 students and 73 employees at public and private schools have been affected .
State health officials said many COVID-19 cases seen among children are tied to gatherings outside school and other community events , while acknowledging that local contact tracing efforts likely have missed some school-related cases .
This story is a collaboration between the Tribune and ProPublica Illinois .
Read more here .
—Jodi S. Cohen and Jennifer Smith Richards Here are five things that happened Wednesday related to COVID-19 :

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Paca Kujtim of Arlington Heights self-administers a COVID-19 test in his car at the Arlington International Racecourse on March 31, 2021 in Arlington Heights. Kujtim was getting testing as a precaution for upcoming travel. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)
Illinois health officials Wednesday announced 2,630 new known cases of COVID-19 and 42 additional confirmed fatalities, bringing the total number of known infections in Illinois to 307,641 and the statewide death toll to 8,878 since the start of the pandemic.
Officials reported 58,820 new tests in the last 24 hours, as the state surpasses 6 million total COVID-19 tests. The seven-day statewide positivity rate is 3.5%.
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The new statewide numbers come as Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Wednesday that the gains that most regions in Illinois had been making in bringing down COVID-19 positivity rates in recent weeks have “cooled off a bit.” The governor noted specifically that the northeastern region that includes Lake and McHenry counties has seen a reversal after a period of decline.
“That progress has cooled off a bit, across Illinois,” Pritzker said. “We are seeing changes in positivity averages around the state level off, with three regions that were decreasing last week now sitting at a stable level.”
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Here’s what’s happening Wednesday with COVID-19 in the Chicago area and Illinois:
7:15 p.m.: CPS says clerks must report to work in person, despite labor ruling that questions COVID-19 protections in schools. CTU says the action ‘threatens jobs.’
Despite an arbitrator’s ruling that certain Chicago Public Schools employees should be allowed to work from home when feasible during remote learning, the district is continuing to require them to work in person.
An email from Chief Talent Officer Matt Lyons sent late Tuesday told clerks, clerk assistants and technology coordinators that the expectations have not changed.
“As critical members of our school community, you are integral in our collective work communicating and supporting families, staff, and students,” the email states. "This means you will continue to be expected to report to work in person, unless you have an approved or pending request for a leave of absence or accommodation.
“You may have received conflicting information recently on this reporting requirement,” the email continued, “but we are writing today to confirm CPS' expectation and directive to report to work onsite.”
Without a leave of absence or accommodation request approved or pending, employees are not allowed to work from home, according to the email, which states that if employees don’t show up in person, “CPS will consider your absence unauthorized and proceed accordingly.”
The Chicago Teachers Union is interpreting the email as a threat of discipline and an attempt “to strongarm workers into schools in defiance of the ruling.” The union also claims CPS is stalling on bargaining over remedies.
Read more here. —Hannah Leone
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6:55 p.m.: The Purple Pig employees hold protest over concerns of coronavirus safety negligence
After spending much of Tuesday night calling colleagues at The Purple Pig, Ryan Love felt upbeat about the five people who committed to picketing the Chicago restaurant Wednesday morning.
The protest, which ended up being four people greeting passersby with signs saying, “211K Americans dead. Tapas anyone?” and “No transparency, no accountability,” was inspired by frustration over the perceived actions of restaurant chef and owner Jimmy Bannos Jr. and other members of management. Love contends they did not take appropriate steps to keep employees and guests safe after a staff member tested positive for COVID-19 on Sept. 24.
Love, a lead server and bartender, said a full week had passed before the restaurant was deep-cleaned and staff was notified about the employee who tested positive. And management didn’t act until pushed, he said. He heard the news that a staff member had tested positive from other colleagues during his shift Sept. 26 and emailed management Sept. 28. There was no all-staff announcement before Love sent his email, he said.
“That was basically the confirmation that they’re not taking this seriously and it is a serious situation,” Love said. “I was really, really mad that they would be so careless.”
Read more here. —Grace Wong
6:35 p.m.: Notre Dame’s president faces an angry campus after getting the coronavirus
As college leaders deliberated whether to bring students back to campus, none led the charge for reopening more forcefully than the president of the University of Notre Dame.
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The Rev. John I. Jenkins, the university’s president and a 66-year-old Catholic priest with degrees in philosophy and divinity, was among the first to invite students back for dorm life, intercollegiate sports and face-to-face classes, arguing in a New York Times op-ed in May that the college had a moral obligation to not be crippled by fear. He also seemed humble about the challenge: When he forgot social distancing rules as he posed for pictures with students returning to campus in August, he issued a public apology.
But all the humility in the world might not have spared Jenkins from the storm of protest he now faces over the latest news from South Bend: that he not only violated his own health rules — appearing without a mask at a White House reception last month for Judge Amy Coney Barrett, a Supreme Court nominee and former Notre Dame Law School professor — but also is infected with the coronavirus himself.
Students have petitioned for his resignation, angry over what they consider his hypocrisy as well as the rising tide of infections on campus. Others have reported him to a coronavirus hotline for violating his own mask mandate. The student newspaper called the affair “embarrassing” in an editorial. And the faculty senate stopped one vote short Tuesday night of considering a vote of no confidence in his leadership.
“I haven’t seen people this outraged in my whole career and I’ve been here since 2001,” Eileen Hunt Botting, a political science professor, said.
Neither Jenkins nor the school spokesman, Paul Browne, responded to requests for comment.
Read more here. —The New York Times
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5:10 p.m.: ‘Wisconsin is what happens when you politicize public health,’ Mayor Lori Lightfoot says
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot blamed Wisconsin Republicans for that state’s recent spike in coronavirus cases, saying “Wisconsin is what happens when you politicize public health.”
Lightfoot made her comments after Wisconsin health officials announced Wednesday that a field hospital will open next week at the state fairgrounds near Milwaukee as a surge in COVID-19 cases threatens to overwhelm hospitals.
Wisconsin Democratic Gov. Tony Evers has repeatedly clashed with Republicans in that state over measures to curb the coronavirus.
Conservative justices on the Wisconsin Supreme Court struck down Democratic Gov. Tony Evers' monthslong stay-at-home order in May.
Referring to the field hospital, Lightfoot said, “The fact that, in October, a state is having to open up a field hospital because of the stress on the healthcare system, because of the explosion in cases requiring hospitalizations, is a disgrace.”
And alluding to the clashes between Evers and Republicans, Lightfoot said, “Public health should never be politicized.”
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Only 16% of the state’s 11,452 hospital beds were available as of Tuesday afternoon, according to the DHS. The number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients had grown to 853, its highest during the pandemic according to the COVID Tracking Project, with 216 in intensive care.
Read more here. —Gregory Pratt; The Associated Press contributed
4:40 p.m.: Pritzker says state’s recent progress on COVID-19 has ‘cooled off a bit’
The gains that most regions in Illinois had been making in bringing down COVID-19 positivity rates in recent weeks have “cooled off a bit,” Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Wednesday, noting specifically that the northeastern region that includes Lake and McHenry counties has seen a reversal after a period of decline.
Pritzker said last week that there were “promising declines in nearly every region of the state,” with the exception of the northwest region, where the state imposed more strict rules over the weekend due to the positivity rate there surpassing a threshold that triggers a scaled-back reopening.
“That progress has cooled off a bit, across Illinois,” Pritzker said Wednesday during a virtual news conference, as he continued to quarantine after one of his staff members tested positive for COVID-19. “We are seeing changes in positivity averages around the state level off, with three regions that were decreasing last week now sitting at a stable level.”
Read more here. —Jamie Munks
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3:24 p.m.: Wisconsin activates field hospital as surge in COVID-19 cases threatens to overwhelm hospitals
Wisconsin health officials announced Wednesday that they’ve opened a field hospital at the state fairgrounds near Milwaukee as a surge in COVID-19 cases threatens to overwhelm hospitals.
Wisconsin has become a hot spot for the disease over the last month, ranking third nationwide this week in daily new cases per capita. Health experts have attributed the spike to the reopening of colleges and K-12 schools as well as general fatigue over wearing masks and socially distancing.
“We hoped this day wouldn’t come, but unfortunately, Wisconsin is in a much different, more dire place today and our healthcare systems are beginning to become overwhelmed by the surge of COVID-19 cases,” said Democratic Gov. Tony Evers. “This alternative care facility will take some of the pressure off our healthcare facilities while expanding the continuum of care for folks who have COVID-19.”
Read more here. —Associated Press
1:08 p.m.: Eli Lilly asks for emergency approval of COVID-19 antibody drug
Eli Lilly is asking the federal government for emergency approval of an antibody drug it says has shown success in early trials stopping some COVID-19 patients with mild symptoms from later needing hospitalization.
The Indianapolis-based pharmaceutical giant said Wednesday it would petition the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for emergency use authorization, which could make the treatment more widely available to patients at high-risk for serious COVID-19 complications.
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Its drug is similar to one that President Donald Trump received on Friday from Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. These medicines supply concentrated versions of specific antibodies to help the immune system clear the coronavirus that causes COVID-19. They’re given as a one-time treatment through an IV.
Read more here. —Meredith Colias-Pete
12:10 p.m.: 6 million total COVID-19 tests conducted; 2,630 new known COVID-19 cases and 42 additional deaths reported
Illinois has now conducted more than 6 million COVID-19 tests since the pandemic began earlier this year, Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced on Wednesday.
The state passed the 6 million mark after recording 58,820 tests during the latest 24-hour period, which resulted in 2,630 newly confirmed cases of COVID-19. The state also reported 42 additional deaths of people with COVID-19.
The testing total is now 6,033,289. Illinois has seen a total of 307,641 known cases of coronavirus to date, and the state is reporting 8,878 deaths of people with COVID-19.
The state’s seven-day positivity rate is currently 3.5%. The rate was 4.2% a month earlier.
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As of Tuesday night, 1,679 people with COVID-19 were hospitalized in Illinois. Of those patients, 372 patients were in an intensive care unit, and 165 were on ventilators.
—Jamie Munks
12 p.m.: 900 children in suburban Cook County public housing to get free laptops as remote learning continues to present digital barriers
Hundreds of school-age children in suburban Cook County public housing will get free laptops paid for by federal coronavirus stimulus money starting Wednesday, as part of an ongoing effort to ensure digital access after the COVID-19 pandemic upended in-person learning.
About $270,000 of CARES Act money allocated to the Housing Authority of Cook County will be used to purchase laptops for 900 students who live in the public housing complexes to keep and otherwise would struggle to complete remote learning. The giveaway is part of Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle’s efforts to address long-standing racial inequities that have intensified under the grip of the coronavirus.
Read more here. —Alice Yin
11:25 a.m.: Trump has COVID, but many supporters still eschew masks: ‘The far-left liberals are causing this’
On the day that President Donald Trump defiantly left the hospital where he was being treated for a coronavirus infection and returned to a White House that appears to be one of Washington’s most contagious hot spots, backers of the president in rural Pennsylvania showed no signs of questioning their own defiance of experts' advice on how to limit the virus’s spread.
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In the Lebanon Valley east of Harrisburg, where support for Trump remains particularly strong, the president’s failure to protect his family and inner circle from the virus was not seen as a reflection on his inability to protect Americans, as the death toll passed 210,000.
On the contrary, Trump loyalists echoed misinformation that the president has spread for much of the year, as he has sought to minimize the threat of the virus to aid his reelection.
Read more here. —The New York Times
11:01 a.m.: How much would Trump’s coronavirus treatment cost most Americans?
President Donald Trump spent three days in the hospital. He arrived and left by helicopter. And he received multiple coronavirus tests, oxygen, steroids and an experimental antibody treatment.
For someone who isn’t president, that would cost more than $100,000 in the American health system. Patients could face significant surprise bills and medical debt even after health insurance paid its share.
Across the country, patients have struggled with both the long-term health and financial effects of contracting coronavirus. Nearly half a million have been hospitalized. Routine tests can result in thousands of dollars in uncovered charges; hospitalized patients have received bills upward of $400,000.
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Trump did not have to worry about the costs of his care, which are covered by the federal government. Most Americans, including many who carry health coverage, do worry about receiving medical care they cannot afford.
Read more here. —The New York Times
10:37 a.m.: Second stimulus check updates: After calling off negotiations in a tweet, Trump tries to pick and choose parts of COVID-19 relief
The White House on Wednesday tried to salvage its favorite items lost in the rubble of COVID-19 relief talks that President Donald Trump blew up, with his administration pressing for $1,200 stimulus checks and a new wave of aid for airlines and other businesses hard hit by the pandemic.
As part of a barrage of tweets and retweets, Trump pressed for passage of these chunks of assistance, an about-face from his abrupt and puzzling move on Tuesday afternoon to abandon talks with a longtime rival, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. The California Democrat has rejected such piecemeal entreaties all along.
Trump’s tweets amounted to him demanding his way in negotiations that he himself had ended.
He called on Congress to send him a “Stand Alone Bill for Stimulus Checks ($1,200)” — a reference to a preelection batch of direct payments to most Americans that had been a central piece of negotiations between Pelosi and the White House.
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Read more here. —Associated Press
10:34 a.m.: Illinois gambling tax revenues fell 13.4% due to pandemic shutdown
When Illinois passed sweeping legislation last year to expand gambling in the state, it was envisioned as a way to generate increased tax revenue.
But the COVID-19 pandemic has led to a much different result, with gambling tax revenue down by 13.4% for the first full year under the new law.
The state’s gambling tax revenue fell by nearly $200 million to $1.2 billion for fiscal year 2020, which ended June 30. Everything from horse racing to bingo took a hit, according to an annual wagering report by the state.
Illinois was on pace for a modest annual increase in tax revenues until gambling operators were shut down in mid-March, said Eric Noggle, a senior analyst with the state’s Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability who co-authored the study.
Read more here. —Robert Channick
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7:20 a.m.: County officials to announce program to distribute laptops for children still in need of online learning help
Cook County officials were scheduled Wednesday morning to announce a program to give laptops to school-age children who still need devices for online learning.
County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and the Housing Authority of Cook County were to distribute laptops Wednesday morning at the Richard Flowers Apartments in Robbins as part of Digital Inclusion Week, according to a release from Preckwinkle’s office.
Digital Inclusion Week seeks to increase online literacy, widen internet access to people with lower incomes and increase media literacy.
—Chicago Tribune staff
5 a.m.: Coronavirus outbreak flares again at Jacksonville prison
A COVID-19 outbreak at Jacksonville Correctional Center that had remained stable for weeks is growing again.
Eight prisoners at the facility tested positive between Saturday and Monday, taking the total prisoner infections to 225. Fourteen staff members at the prison also have tested positive since the outbreak began.
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A reinfection also was noted in a resident of Aperion Care in Jacksonville, where another resident also tested positive, according to a daily briefing by the Morgan County Department of Public Health, Jacksonville/Morgan County Emergency Management, Memorial Health System, county commissioners and the city of Jacksonville.
There have been 305,011 known coronavirus cases and 8,836 confirmed deaths in Illinois since the start of the pandemic.
Marco Cartolano, Jacksonville Journal-Courier, via Tribune Content Agency
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In case you missed it
Here are five things that happened Tuesday related to COVID-19:


chicagotribune--2020-10-09--Daywatch: 1 in 5 Chicagoans have antibodies in study,  the Bears take down Tom Brady and how to buil

Daywatch: 1 in 5 Chicagoans have antibodies in study,  the Bears take down Tom Brady and how to build a candy chute for trick-or-treaters

Meanwhile , have you been wondering what ’ s going to happen to outdoor dining when winter hits ?
If @ @ @ @ @ not alone — in fact , there was a whole competition to determine the best @ @ @ @ @ winners for Chicago ’ s Winter Design Challenge were announced on Thursday — here ’ @ @ @ @ @ with .

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Good morning, Chicago. On Thursday, Illinois health officials reported 3,059 new known cases of COVID-19 as well as 32 more deaths. This is the first time cases topped 3,000 in almost five months, except for a day in early September when the state caught up on a testing backlog. The recent spike in cases has also led the seven-day positivity rate to increase to 3.7%.
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Meanwhile, have you been wondering what’s going to happen to outdoor dining when winter hits? If so, you’re not alone — in fact, there was a whole competition to determine the best plan for it. The winners for Chicago’s Winter Design Challenge were announced on Thursday — here’s what they came up with.
Here’s more coronavirus news and other top stories you need to know to start your day.
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Thomas McDade, a biological anthropology professor at Northwestern University, shows blood samples in June from research participants in a study for coronavirus antibodies. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)
Nearly 1 in 5 Chicago residents who sent blood-spot samples to Northwestern University researchers tested positive for antibodies to the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, according to preliminary results of an ongoing study.
That 20% infection rate is higher than the scientists anticipated based on earlier research, said Dr. Elizabeth McNally, director of the Center for Genetic Medicine at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. One study by other Northwestern researchers tested hospital workers from across the Chicago region and found antibodies in less than 5%.
In this photo Sept. 16, 2020, file photo, provided by the Michigan Office of the Governor, Gov. Whitmer addresses the state during a speech in Lansing, Michigan. According to a criminal complaint unsealed Thursday, Oct. 8, six people plotted to try to kidnap Whitmer at her vacation home. (AP)
Republican President Donald Trump and his rhetoric bear a “measure of responsibility” for a stunning plot the FBI alleges was aimed at kidnapping Michigan Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Thursday.
Kathie Walker, second from left, leads an effort Sept. 26, 2020, to encourage people to vote in the 53218 ZIP code in Milwaukee. (Mark Hertzberg/for The Chicago Tribune)
When they lost to Donald Trump four years ago, Democrats' largest drops in votes centered on Detroit, Milwaukee and Cleveland – a trio of Midwestern cities with large Black populations. Joe Biden’s campaign is confident it will get a strong rebound in Black voter turnout this time, but visits to the three cities in key battleground states reveal a shakier situation and a lingering lack of enthusiasm for the former vice president.
Bears running back David Montgomery stretches for a touchdown in the second quarter. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)
The Chicago Bears finally took down Tom Brady on Thursday night at Soldier Field. Kicker Cairo Santos made a 38-yard field goal with 1 minute, 13 seconds to play to lift the Bears to a 20-19 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on national TV. Here’s what Tribune football scribe Brad Biggs has to say about it.
Liam Ford, a Chicago Tribune editor, and his daughter, Ruth, 11, decorate their porch and Halloween candy chute. (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune)
If one thing deserves to go on during this freak show of a year, it’s Halloween. So if you’re wondering how to how to carry out the holiday’s festivities safely, one Tribune editor takes you through how he built his invention for greeting trick-or-treaters: the candy chute.


chicagotribune--2020-10-09--No parade on Columbus Day amid pandemic concerns and controversy over explorer’s legacy

“ We took this step in response to demonstrations that became unsafe for both protesters and police , and to @ @ @ @ @ pull the Grant Park statue down in an extremely dangerous manner , ” Lightfoot said @ @ @ @ @ This step is an effort to protect public safety and to preserve a safe space @ @ @ @ @ public dialogue about our city ’ s symbols .
It also will allow us to @ @ @ @ @ they are most needed — particularly in our South and West Side communities .
”

The Christopher Columbus statue is transported after being removed in Grant Park in the early hours of July 24, 2020. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)
There will be a lot less fanfare on Columbus Day in Chicago this year.
As criticism of Christopher Columbus' place in history has grown, clashes erupted over the removal of statues in his honor this summer and Chicago schools officially dropped his name from the holiday.
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Traditionally, Monday would be marked with a parade that celebrates Columbus' voyage to America and Italian American culture. But this year, for the first time in decades, the parade has been canceled because the city isn’t issuing permits for such large-scale gatherings amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Joint Civic Committee of Italian Americans, the parade organizers, instead plan a rally and car procession at Arrigo Park, the site of one of the now-removed statues. A small contingent of the group also held the traditional Italian flag-raising at Daley Plaza on Friday.
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“It will certainly be a different kind of year, and we’ll be having a toned down celebration,” said Pasquale Gianni, a member of the group’s executive board. He added that “we fully intend to have the parade next year” and blamed this year’s cancellation “solely” on the pandemic.
Mary May, a spokesperson with the Office of Emergency Management and Communications, issued a statement: “While there are no events organized by the City this weekend, the Office of Emergency Management and Communications (OEMC) will be monitoring weather conditions and any event or activity that should arise in relation to the holiday weekend. As always, OEMC and the Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH) encourage everyone to wear masks and for all activity organized by residents to follow the City’s COVID-19 precautions and rules.”
The site in Chicago's Arrigo Park where a Christopher Columbus statue once stood is now fenced off. The Italian American group that typically hosts the Columbus Day parade will now have a small rally and car procession at Arrigo Park on Monday instead. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)
A number of large cities have made the switch from Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples Day in an effort to reframe the day in honor of Native American history and culture.
Some Italian Americans say celebrating Columbus is a celebration of their heritage. But activists around the country have condemned the explorer, pointing to his mistreatment of Indigenous people after he landed in the Americas in 1492.
For the first time, the second Monday in October will be marked solely as “Indigenous People’s Day” on Chicago Public Schools' calendar.
The Chicago Board of Education’s vote in February to stop observing Columbus Day drew praise from some educators and activists. But Sergio Giangrande, president of the Joint Civic Committee of Italian Americans, in February called it “a slap in the face of the more than 500,000 Italian Americans in Chicago, and the 135 million Italian Americans worldwide.”
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In dropping Columbus' name, the board held that the district would continue celebrating Indigenous Peoples Day. CPS previously used both names on its calendar, and board member Elizabeth Todd-Breland said it was their responsibility to lead on the issue.
Gianni, whose grandfather Dominic DiFrisco emceed the parade for years, said organizers have made a point to make it inclusive to all ethnicities and long ago stopped referring to Columbus as the discoverer of America. Gianni called Columbus “foundational to the American origin story,” and said the depiction of him as a villain and murderer is historical “revisionism.”
Long before CPS, South Dakota changed Columbus Day to Native American Day in 1990. The city of Berkeley, California, moved to Indigenous Peoples Day in 1992, and in the ensuing years many communities have made similar substitutions, including Evanston.
Earlier this summer, Mayor Lori Lightfoot ordered the statues of Christopher Columbus removed from Chicago’s Grant and Arrigo parks overnight, sparking continued debates among Italian American leaders and politicians about Columbus' legacy and how the city should proceed.
Lightfoot said in a series of tweets this summer that the statues were removed “until further notice.”
“We took this step in response to demonstrations that became unsafe for both protesters and police, and to efforts by individuals to independently pull the Grant Park statue down in an extremely dangerous manner,” Lightfoot said in the tweets. “This step is an effort to protect public safety and to preserve a safe space for an inclusive and democratic public dialogue about our city’s symbols. It also will allow us to focus public safety resources where they are most needed — particularly in our South and West Side communities.”
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Lightfoot has said she has no plans to eliminate Columbus Day at the city level, and that she thought it made sense when CPS “essentially celebrated both, Columbus Day and Indigenous Peoples Day.”
Ald. Daniel La Spata, 1st, said he hopes the city will recognize only Indigenous Peoples Day in 2021 and celebrate Italian American heritage — separate from Christopher Columbus.
“As we’re becoming more honest about who he was and more honest about where Italian Americans are now, I don’t feel like his legacy has a usefulness for Italian Americans,” La Spata said. “It would make me so proud to be able to march in a parade dedicated to Italian heritage, but I can’t march in a parade that has Columbus' name on the banner.”


chicagotribune--2020-10-09--Researchers surprised: 20% of Chicagoans in blood-test study came up positive for coronavirus antibo

Researchers surprised: 20% of Chicagoans in blood-test study came up positive for coronavirus antibodies

Another study by researchers on the SCAN team looked at infection rates among workers at the university ’ s Feinberg @ @ @ @ @ live in many Chicago and suburban locales .
That study , which included workers who @ @ @ @ @ patients , also found rates of about 20 % , which McNally said appears to @ @ @ @ @ percentage of people affected is similar throughout the Chicago region .

Nearly 1 in 5 Chicago residents who sent blood-spot samples to Northwestern University researchers tested positive for antibodies to the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, according to preliminary results of an ongoing study.
That 20% infection rate is higher than the scientists anticipated based on earlier research, said Dr. Elizabeth McNally, director of the Center for Genetic Medicine at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. One study by other Northwestern researchers tested hospital workers from across the Chicago region and found antibodies in less than 5%.
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The latest project, called Screening for Coronavirus Antibodies in Neighborhoods, or SCAN, is examining infection rates in five pairs of adjoining Chicago ZIP codes where rates of previously reported COVID-19 cases differed widely. Though the research is continuing, McNally said enough testing has been done to draw some initial conclusions.
“It’s telling us that exposure was higher than we thought, that it was higher than we thought throughout Chicago,” McNally said.
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The researchers noted that the SCAN team is using a particularly sensitive test for COVID-19 antibodies and therefore is likely identifying more exposures than others have found. The Northwestern researchers who tested hospital workers, for example, used a different antibody test.
“Those commercial tests are missing maybe 25% of people ... whereas ours don’t,” McNally said.
Thomas McDade, a biological anthropology professor at Northwestern University, shows blood samples in June from research participants in a study for coronavirus antibodies. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)
Thomas McDade, a biological anthropology professor at Northwestern University, holds blood samples in June from research participants in a study for coronavirus antibodies. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)
In the ongoing study, participants mail in a drop of dried blood to the researchers, who then test it for the COVID-19 antibodies. It’s an inexpensive option that doesn’t require visiting a medical facility.
The SCAN study, launched in late June, set out to test about 3,000 people in 10 Chicago ZIP codes, and so far more than 1,000 tests have been analyzed, McNally said. Researchers are finding some differences in exposure rates among the ZIP codes but said they need to gather more test results before reaching any conclusions.
In the city as a whole, 83,074 confirmed cases of COVID-19 had been reported as of Thursday, or about 3% of the city’s 2.7 million people. The true number of people infected, however, is certainly far larger.
A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association that was based on antibody testing concluded that actual COVID-19 infection rates were at least 10 times higher than the official reported case count in most locations around the country.
Official counts are based on tests that detect SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. That type of testing can’t identify people whose infections have cleared. In addition, many infected people never get tested because they had no symptoms, had less severe symptoms or couldn’t access a test.
The National Institutes of Health has stated that a positive antibody test result "indicates previous infection.”
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The antibody tests detect disease-fighting proteins that the body develops specifically to attack SARS-CoV-2. Those antibodies tend to persist for months or perhaps years in people who had a prior infection, although it’s not known exactly how long.
Another study by researchers on the SCAN team looked at infection rates among workers at the university’s Feinberg School of Medicine, who live in many Chicago and suburban locales. That study, which included workers who do not interact directly with patients, also found rates of about 20%, which McNally said appears to support the idea that the percentage of people affected is similar throughout the Chicago region.
Using the same sensitive antibody test, the researchers also conducted an earlier study of 232 people, most of whom lived with a health care worker. Of those, 30 lived with someone who was previously diagnosed with COVID-19.
That study, which has already been peer reviewed and published, found that, of the 202 people who had no previous diagnosis of COVID-19 and did not live in a home with a previously identified case, 36% had antibodies to the disease. That higher rate was not unexpected, given that so many health care workers were involved in the study.
They also found the infection rate climbed dramatically when people in the study were living in a home with someone who had been diagnosed with COVID-19. Among the 30 who had no prior diagnosis but were living with someone who did, 80% had antibodies, according to that study.
In addition to completing the testing on the 10 Chicago ZIP codes, the SCAN study is now being expanded to other parts of Chicago and suburban Cook County, McNally said. Researchers are still looking for participants.
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There also are further questions to explore as the study continues to follow and research the people it has already tested.
“The $64 million question here is really, ‘Why do some people get so sick when exposed to this?'” McNally said, noting that genetics, diet, sleep habits, stress and other illnesses could play a role. “That’s what we have to answer.”
Researchers plan to ask study participants who had the antibodies to be tested repeatedly in the coming months to see how long those antibodies last and how well the antibodies protect people from subsequent infection.
It is thought that antibodies likely offer protection against reinfection, but many questions remain unanswered. Those include what level of antibodies are necessary and how long they last in people’s bodies.
“The most concerning thing” discovered so far, McNally said, is the number of folks tested who turned out to have had a prior infection but were unaware of that fact.
“They could be spreading it and not know they have it,” she said. “It shows how clever the virus is. And yet the solution that helps a whole lot is really quite easy: It’s called wearing a mask.”
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hdardick@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-10-09--IHSA doctor says high school basketball could happen in Illinois if players wear masks

“ We have yet to see an outbreak , if you will , from football , ” he said .
@ @ @ @ @ , I believe , the contact is going to be as close as it is @ @ @ @ @ the absence of any evidence to the contrary , I believe the decision in most @ @ @ @ @ these young athletes playing .
”

The senior member of the Illinois High School Association’s sports medicine advisory committee said Thursday that high school basketball might be possible this year if all players wear masks.
Dr. Preston Wolin said that idea is being considered by the Illinois Department of Public Health, whose COVID-19 guidelines place restrictions on high school and youth sports. As of now, basketball is considered a medium risk for virus transmission, meaning athletes can scrimmage but not compete against other schools.
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The high school basketball season is supposed to start Nov. 16.
Wolin said recent communication between the IHSA and the state has included "a draft considering allowing a basketball season to proceed with everybody being masked. As to whether there is actually an IDPH policy that has been promulgated describing this, that I don’t think I can answer.”
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Asked for comment, an IDPH spokeswoman responded: “There are no updates to the guidance planned at this time."
IHSA Executive Director Craig Anderson said the organization would prefer to make masks optional for players, but might seek permission to play basketball with mandatory masks if the advisory committee supports that.
The statements marked yet another nebulous development in the effort to ease restrictions on sports participation during the pandemic. Illinois has been stricter than most other states, where football, hockey, soccer and volleyball — sports that IDPH considers high to medium risk — are still being played.
In Illinois, only the ostensibly low-risk sports of cross-country, swimming, tennis and golf have been allowed this fall, with higher-risk sports pushed to the spring. Parents sued the IHSA, trying to force it back to the original competitive calendar, but a DuPage County judge last week turned back the attempt.
Now attention has turned to basketball, one of the state’s most popular high school sports. Nearly 40,000 boys and girls participated during the 2018-19 season, the last available tally.
Wolin, an orthopedic surgeon who has served as team doctor for numerous Chicago-area college and professional teams, said the evidence that has amassed since school began suggests basketball would be relatively safe.
“We have yet to see an outbreak, if you will, from football,” he said. “(In) basketball, I believe, the contact is going to be as close as it is in football. So in the absence of any evidence to the contrary, I believe the decision in most cases is in favor of these young athletes playing.”
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Dr. Stephen Simons, a sports medicine specialist in northern Indiana, said that region hasn’t had any notable COVID-19 outbreaks among young athletes despite allowing all sports, including football, to be played. The cases that have been detected appear to have originated mostly from family members, not teammates, he said.
But he sounded a note of caution as winter approaches.
“So far things have been very optimistic,” he said. “Whether that will change as we get into the cold weather and are confined to indoor activities, going into restaurants and bars, leading to family members becoming exposed and then exposing their adolescent athletes ... that all remains to be seen.”
jkeilman@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @JohnKeilman


chicagotribune--2020-10-09--Kyle Rittenhouse’s lawyers argue he shouldn’t be sent back to Wisconsin because he’d face danger in

Kyle Rittenhouse’s lawyers argue he shouldn’t be sent back to Wisconsin because he’d face danger in adult jail

The filing also argues that sending Rittenhouse to Wisconsin would violate his 14th Amendment due process rights because he would @ @ @ @ @ hazards ” if put in adult jail .
As one piece of evidence for that @ @ @ @ @ Twitter account that describes itself as speaking for an “ imprisoned group of prisoner human @ @ @ @ @ filing cites a tweet reading , “ If he goes to a cell and anyone @ @ @ @ @ location -- email it to us .
”

Kyle Rittenhouse, center, walks into the courtroom with attorney Corey Chirafisi for a motion hearing in Kenosha, Wisconsin on Sept. 17, 2021. (Sean Krajacic/The Kenosha News )
A Lake County judge plans to hear arguments at the end of the month as he weighs whether he’ll order Kyle Rittenhouse returned to Wisconsin to face a murder charge and other counts stemming from the fatal shooting of two men and the wounding of a third during protests in Kenosha in August.
Judge Paul Novak said at a brief online hearing Friday morning he’d hear from defense lawyers, prosecutors and any witnesses Oct. 30. Novak did not say when he plans to rule on the Antioch 17-year-old’s potential extradition to Kenosha County.
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Authorities on both sides of the border are seeking to send the teen back to Wisconsin, while his lawyers — who contend he shot the men in self-defense — laid out their objections in a court filing Thursday afternoon. The petition argues, in part, that sending the teen to adult jail in Kenosha County would endanger him.
Kyle Rittenhouse carries a weapon as he walks along Sheridan Road in Kenosha on Aug. 25, 2020, during a night of unrest following the weekend police shooting of Jacob Blake. (ADAM ROGAN/AP)
Rittenhouse is being held without bail in Lake County’s juvenile detention facility. Kenosha County prosecutors charged him with shooting three men with an AR-15-style rifle Aug. 25 during violent protests over white police Officer Rusten Sheskey’s shooting of 29-year-old Black man Jacob Blake a couple of days earlier. Blake was recently discharged from a Wisconsin hospital and is being treated at an Illinois rehabilitation clinic, his uncle told The Associated Press.
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At the video hearing Friday, Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Stephen Scheller pressed for a quick resolution to the extradition question, saying, “The law is pretty clear cut on this.” Rittenhouse defense attorney John M. Pierce argued “there is no reason to rush” and said he wanted the teen to have due process.
The judge called for prosecutors' written position by Oct. 15 and lists of potential witnesses from both sides by Oct. 22. The judge said the hearing Oct. 30 would be held in-person, unlike prior ones that have been held via video because of the ongoing pandemic.
Rittenhouse appeared on video Friday morning in dark jail clothes and a face mask. He said nothing during the discussion of his potential extradition.
The teen’s lawyers have been promoting fundraising efforts for his defense as they argue against his return to Wisconsin.
His attorneys argued in a petition filed late Thursday afternoon that extradition would violate his Fourth Amendment right against unreasonable search or seizure, contending that the video shows “without a shadow of a doubt” he shot in self-defense. Kenosha County prosecutors used video from the scene as the basis of their charges, which accuse the teen of showing “utter disregard for human life.”
The filing also argues that sending Rittenhouse to Wisconsin would violate his 14th Amendment due process rights because he would face a “legion of hazards” if put in adult jail. As one piece of evidence for that, the petition cites a Twitter account that describes itself as speaking for an “imprisoned group of prisoner human rights advocates." The filing cites a tweet reading, “If he goes to a cell and anyone gets a lock on his location — email it to us.”
“To extradite Rittenhouse would be to turn him over to the mob,” the filing states.
The petition also contends there are technical problems with the arrest and charging documents, alleging a missing signature and that the Kenosha County district attorney’s office didn’t show that a prosecutor swore to the facts before a magistrate.
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Lake County State’s Attorney Mike Nerheim said at a news conference outside court Friday morning that he believed the paperwork was in order. He acknowledged there had been threats against Rittenhouse but did not go into detail. Still, he said, “I don’t know that he’s in any more or less danger here than he would be (in Wisconsin).”
Kenosha County prosecutors could not be reached for comment.
Lawyers with experience in extradition cases have told the Tribune that Rittenhouse faces an uphill climb against a process that typically focuses on questions such as whether the person jailed is actually the person charged with the crime.
Chicago attorney Stephen Komie, who has handled numerous extradition cases, said that even if the judge were to find problems with the paperwork, it likely wouldn’t end Rittenhouse’s prosecution. He said that Wisconsin authorities could correct the paperwork and continue to prosecute the teen. Komie said the constitutional arguments “do not make any sense to me” and voiced skepticism they’d succeed.
If convicted of murder as an adult, Rittenhouse could face a life sentence.
Videos show that Rittenhouse — an ardent supporter of police who participated in groups for aspiring officers — was among numerous civilians armed with rifles who interjected themselves into the protests, property destruction and looting that followed Blake’s shooting.
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Kenosha County prosecutors wrote that video showed the teen running across a parking lot, trailed by Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, of Kenosha. Video showed Rosenbaum appearing to throw a plastic bag at Rittenhouse and missing him, prosecutors wrote. A witness told police that Rosenbaum, who appeared on video to be unarmed, had tried to grab the gun before he was fatally shot, prosecutors wrote.
The petition the teen’s lawyers filed Thursday alleges that someone other than Rosenbaum had fired a gun in Rittenhouse’s direction just before the confrontation that killed Rosenbaum. The filing alleges Rosenbaum had threatened Rittenhouse before chasing the teen and lunging for his rifle. The teen fired “under grave risk of immediate harm,” the petition states.
Rittenhouse then ran before someone knocked off his hat, and he tripped and fell, prosecutors wrote. Then, Anthony Huber, 26, of Silver Lake, Wisconsin, approached Rittenhouse with a skateboard as the teen was still on his back, prosecutors wrote. Huber tried to grab the gun as the skateboard “(made) contact” with Rittenhouse’s shoulder before the gunman fired one shot, and Huber collapsed and died, prosecutors alleged.
Rittenhouse’s lawyers argued in their filing that the skateboard hit Rittenhouse’s head and he shot Huber as they wrestled for control of the rifle.
Prosecutors wrote that Rittenhouse then shot a man who had approached him, Gaige Grosskreutz, of West Allis, Wisconsin. Grosskreutz appeared to be holding a handgun when he was wounded in the arm, prosecutors wrote.
The filing the teen’s lawyers made alleges Grosskreutz “lowered his handgun in Rittenhouse’s direction."
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dhinkel@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-10-10--St. Malachy Holy Cross partnership

St. Malachy Holy Cross partnership

The listing agent for a glass house in Northfield , Illinois , which is on the market for $ 2.5 @ @ @ @ @ is likely to surprise you .
Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com® .

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