chicagotribune--2020-12-10--Prosecutors say Elgin pair carried out scheme to impersonate a police officer and steal victims’ wal

Prosecutors say Elgin pair carried out scheme to impersonate a police officer and steal victims’ wallets

Juan J. Rodriguez , 38 , of the 200 block of Kimball Street , and Nicole C. Carnes , 34 @ @ @ @ @ into custody Nov. 27 after an Elgin police “ came across the pair as they @ @ @ @ @ scheme , ” a state ’ s attorney office news release said .

Juan Rodriguez, of Elgin, has been charged in connection with incidents in which he allegedly impersonated a police officer in order to rob people, according to the Kane County State's Attorney's Office. (Kane County / HANDOUT)
An Elgin man and his accomplice are accused of carrying out a ploy in which he impersonated a police officer so they could rob people sitting in cars, the Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office said.
Juan J. Rodriguez, 38, of the 200 block of Kimball Street, and Nicole C. Carnes, 34, homeless, were taken into custody Nov. 27 after an Elgin police “came across the pair as they allegedly were engaged in their scheme,” a state’s attorney office news release said.
Advertisement
Police allege Rodriguez approached people sitting in their car, identified himself as a police officer, asked questions and shined a flashlight into the vehicle before asking the person to step outside and give him their driver’s license, the release said.
Nicole Carnes, a homeless woman from Elgin, has been charged in connection with several incidents in which her accomplice allegedly impersonated a police officer in order to rob people, according to the Kane County State's Attorney's Office. (Kane County / HANDOUT)
When the victim would take out their wallet, Rodriguez would allegedly grab it and flee, the release said. Carnes would wait in the car for him, prosecutors said.
Advertisement
The incidents happened four times on three days: Nov. 19, 24 and 27. A total of about $500 was taken from three victims, the release said.
Rodriguez has been charged with four counts of false personation of a peace officer/felony and false personation of a peace officer, one count of false personation of a peace officer/forcible felony, and three counts each of robbery, theft and burglary.
Mosser faces two counts each of false personation of a peace officer/felony, robbery and theft.
All of the charges are felonies.
Rodriguez is being held in the Kane County jail on $150,000 bail. His next scheduled court appearance is Jan. 12.
Carnes posted $750 bond and is next due in court on Jan. 28.
Anyone with additional information about the cases is asked to call the Elgin Police Department at 847-289-2600.


chicagotribune--2020-12-10--Man killed, Lake County officer wounded in shootout in Gary

Sheriff ’ s department spokeswoman Pam Jones said in a release that the lieutenant , who is assigned to the @ @ @ @ @ a court-ordered property seizure around noon Thursday at a home in the 600 block of @ @ @ @ @ on the door and identified himself , Jones said , but initially , there was @ @ @

A Lake County Sheriff’s lieutenant was wounded and a Gary man was killed in a shootout Thursday afternoon, the Sheriff’s office said.
Sheriff’s department spokeswoman Pam Jones said in a release that the lieutenant, who is assigned to the Civil Division, was executing a court-ordered property seizure around noon Thursday at a home in the 600 block of Hanley Street. He knocked on the door and identified himself, Jones said, but initially, there was no answer.
Advertisement
As the lieutenant executed the court order, a man in the house opened fire and wounded him, Jones said. The officer returned fire, Jones said, and shot the suspect at least once.
The suspect then attempted to flee from the house but collapsed a short distance away, Jones said.
Advertisement
Lake County Sheriff Oscar Martinez Jr. has requested the Indiana State Police investigate the officer-involved shooting.
Both men were taken to Methodist Hospitals’ Northlake campus in Gary, Jones said in the release. Whitney J. Crawley, 23, who resided in the 600 block of Hanley Street, was pronounced dead at 12:41 p.m. at Methodist Hospitals Northlake, according to a release from the Lake County Coroner’s Office.
Jones said the lieutenant was conscious, recovering and talking on his way to the hospital, and the Indiana State Police said the officer suffered non life-threatening injuries.
Michelle L. Quinn is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.


chicagotribune--2020-12-10--Column: From the Great Fire to modernist houses to Jeanne Gang, a rich array of design books for the

Column: From the Great Fire to modernist houses to Jeanne Gang, a rich array of design books for the holidays

As Smith recounts , It was unusually hot and dry before the Oct. 8-10 disaster .
The city ’ s @ @ @ @ @ underequipped and exhausted from earlier blazes .
While the fire began at the O ’ @ @ @ @ @ Southwest Side , shoddy wood construction fueled its terrifying spread .
The nation and much @ @ @ @ @ as a new telegraph network made the fire “ the first instantaneously reported international news @ @ @

Chicago isn’t just an architectural capital because of its great buildings. It’s a vital forum of ideas about what makes architecture great.
A case in point: this year’s crop of recommended design books. They’re all related to the city and its suburbs, but have much broader appeal.
“Chicago’s Great Fire: The Destruction and Resurrection of an Iconic American City” by Carl Smith
“Chicago’s Great Fire: The Destruction and Resurrection of an Iconic American City” by Carl Smith (Atlantic Monthly Press)
The grim toll of the Great Chicago Fire still boggles the mind — more than 2,000 acres and 18,000 buildings burned, about 90,000 people left homeless, 122 miles of sidewalks and 2,162 street lamps destroyed. Yet Chicago’s post-Fire recovery was just as startling. Just 22 years later, it put on a spectacular world’s fair.
With the 150th anniversary of the 1871 conflagration approaching, Northwestern University’s Carl Smith has written a scholarly yet highly readable book that captures the immediacy of the calamity and puts it in an illuminating historical context.
As Smith recounts, It was unusually hot and dry before the Oct. 8-10 disaster. The city’s fire department was small, underequipped and exhausted from earlier blazes. While the fire began at the O’Leary barn on the Near Southwest Side, shoddy wood construction fueled its terrifying spread. The nation and much of Europe reacted in horror as a new telegraph network made the fire “the first instantaneously reported international news event.”
But much of the city — including West Side factories and the South Side’s Union Stockyards — was spared, setting the stage for recovery. The revival was psychic as well as physical. Smith perceptively observes that the city’s boosters transformed the disaster into a badge of honor, viewing “the legendary conflagration as merely the prelude to Chicago’s triumphant recovery out of the ashes, a mythic second creation.”
Get this one for the history buff you love. (Atlantic Monthly Press, 400 pages, $28)
“Broken Glass: Mies van der Rohe, Edith Farnsworth, and the Fight Over a Modernist Masterpiece” by Alex Beam
“Broken Glass: Mies van der Rohe, Edith Farnsworth, and the Fight Over a Modernist Masterpiece” by Alex Beam (Random House)
In this deeply researched, well-written account, Beam charts the evolution of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe’s celebrated steel-and-glass house in far southwest suburban Plano and the devolution of the relationship between its architect and client — at first warm, then (maybe) romantic, ultimately litigious.
As Julia M. Klein wrote in a Tribune review last March, Beam takes an evenhanded view of the house’s ever-escalating costs and myriad functional problems, including the ongoing threat of flooding, but his sympathies clearly lie with Farnsworth, a distinguished kidney doctor and poetry translator. Mies comes off as an aesthetic dictator as well as a philosopher-king. He “adhered to the less-client-interaction-is-more school of thought,” Beam writes.
The author, a former Boston Globe columnist, deftly weaves irony into his tapestry. Farnsworth built the house, completed in 1951, as a weekend retreat but wound up imprisoned by its celebrity as architecture buffs sneaked onto her property and gazed into its huge, plate-glass windows. In Beam’s skilled hands, she becomes a compelling figure, not just the client who wrote the checks. (Random House, 352 pages, $28)
“Modern in the Middle: Chicago Houses 1929-1975″ by Susan S. Benjamin and Michelangelo Sabatino
“Modern in the Middle: Chicago Houses 1929-1975″ by Susan S. Benjamin and Michelangelo Sabatino (The Monaelli Press)
The authors — Benjamin, a historic preservation consultant, and Sabatino, a professor at the Illinois Institute of Technology — persuasively argue that there’s much more to the story of modern houses in metropolitan Chicago than such icons as the Fansworth House and Frank Lloyd Wright’s Robie House. Their lucid text, accompanied by handsome historic photographs, fills a significant gap in our understanding of mid-20th-century modernism.
The “Middle” in the title refers to many things: when the houses were built, their Midwest location and the middle- to upper-middle income status of most of their clients. Some of the homes, like architect Paul Schweikher’s powerfully low-slung house in northwest suburban Schaumburg, occupy an aesthetic middle, straddling Mies’s industrial-age, structurally expressive modernism and Wright’s organic modernism, which stressed natural materials and a harmonious relationship between building and site.
In addition to broad introductory essays, the authors provide tightly focused studies of more than 50 houses. Among them: the Cahn House in north suburban Lake Forest, an extraordinary, crescent-shaped passive solar home by George Fred Keck. It’s one of many delightful finds in these pages. (The Monaelli Press, 344 pages, $60)
“Studio Gang: Architecture” by Studio Gang
“Studio Gang: Architecture” by Studio Gang (Phaidon)
Architecture monographs tend to be marketing tools, meant to inflate reputations and impress potential clients. This one largely transcends the self-promoting nature of the genre, offering fresh insights into 20 years of work by Chicago-based Studio Gang and its leader Jeanne Gang.
Amply illustrated with color photographs and numerous architectural drawings, the book covers 25 projects and is organized into six thematic chapters. In addition to familiar Chicago-area work, like the wavy Aqua Tower and the serene Nature Boardwalk at Lincoln Park Zoo, the book offers a glimpse of out-of-town designs, like the twisty new MIRA tower in San Francisco.
Gang’s short introductions to each chapter explain the conceptual foundations of her designs. We learn, for example, how her Writers Theatre in Glencoe, with its up-in-the-trees, wood-framed gallery walk, reflects her idea of “inhabiting the canopy” — the tree copy, a thriving zone of biodiversity that forms a transition between the ground and the atmosphere.
Similarly, the multicolored, custom-made exterior glass of her new St. Regis Chicago (previously Vista Tower) reveals her desire to see glass in a new way — not just as a transparent material, but one that saves energy and limits the ravages of climate change, thus fostering what she calls “a culture of care” for others.
Cynics may put down such aspirations as dreamy idealism, but Gang has long been a successful proponent of what she calls “actionable idealism.” As former Harvard design school dean Mohsen Mostafavi writes in a perceptive introduction, “without experimentation there is no discovery.” (Phaidon, 272 pages, $79.95)
“Evanston’s Design Heritage: Architects, Designers & Planners” by Design Evanston
“Evanston’s Design Heritage: Architects, Designers & Planners” by Design Evanston (Design Evanston)
An astonishing array of renowned designers have lived and worked in north suburban Evanston, from architectural giants Daniel Burnham, Dwight Perkins and William Holabird to Art Paul, designer of the Playboy bunny logo, and Charles Pajeau, creator of Tinkertoys.
Many were attracted by leafy streets and large homes that offered a refuge from urban tensions and squalor. “I can no longer bear to have my children in the streets of Chicago,” Burnham wrote before moving to Evanston in 1886.
To mark its 40th anniversary, Design Evanston, a nonprofit that advocates for good design, published this book, which provides short profiles of more than 125 designers — architects, designers, landscape architects and urban planners. While the book delivers more information than insight, it is still a useful resource and suggests how other suburbs can build a constituency for good design. (Design Evanston, 212 pages, $25)
Blair Kamin is a Tribune critic.
bkamin@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @BlairKamin


chicagotribune--2020-12-10--St. Charles pedestrian dies after being struck by car in Geneva

The driver , who was not injured and is cooperating with the investigation , told police he did not see @ @ @ @ @ due to early morning sunlight .
No charges have been filed against the driver at @ @ @ @ @ .

A 71-year-old St. Charles man died Thursday morning after he was struck by a car in Geneva, police said.
The man was attempting to walk across West State Street just east of the crosswalk near Bricher Road when he was struck by a car at 7:46 a.m., multiple witnesses at the scene told police.
Advertisement
A 63-year-old DeKalb man was driving the car - a silver 2009 Toyota Yaris eastbound on State Street with a solid green traffic signal, police said in a news release.
The driver, who was not injured and is cooperating with the investigation, told police he did not see the pedestrian crossing the roadway due to early morning sunlight. No charges have been filed against the driver at this time, police said.
Advertisement
The St. Charles man was taken to Northwestern Medicine Delnor Hospital in Geneva, where he later died, police said. Officials have not released the man’s name, pending notification of next of kin.
mejones@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-12-10--Gerri Oliver, who made the Palm Tavern a nexus of Black culture in Chicago, dies at 101

Said Polk , her son , “ My mother wanted to be cremated .
I will have a memorial service @ @ @ @ @ .
Then I ’ m going to take her ashes — when COVID-19 lifts — @ @ @ @ @ right next to her mother and father .
”

Palm Tavern owner Gerri Oliver with scrapbooks from the venue's glory days. It closed in 2001. (BOB FILA)
Louis Armstrong relaxed there between shows.
Advertisement
So did Duke Ellington and Lena Horne, Muddy Waters and Count Basie, Quincy Jones and Nat King Cole, James Brown and Dinah Washington, and uncounted other luminaries who played the Regal Theater across the street.
They came because Gerri Oliver, who owned Gerri’s Palm Tavern at 446 E. 47th St., made the place a nexus for Black culture in Chicago, her famous red beans and rice often ordered in advance by the stars who soon would be devouring it.
Advertisement
Oliver died Dec. 7 in Palo Verde, California, at age 101, said her son, James Phillip Polk.
“She was an iconic figure of the Black community,” said Chicago blues harmonica master Billy Branch, a close friend of Oliver’s.
“What was so important was that she maintained a historical establishment through the years. Even when it had long passed its heyday, it was still a gathering place for members of the Black community.
“But not just Black. People of all ethnicities would come by. It was a gathering place for people to feel comfortable and have uplifting conversations about politics, current events, because she was just such a welcome host.”
This was the spot where some of the country’s greatest musical artists exchanged ideas, developed tunes and forged partnerships.
Gerri Oliver, former owner of the Palm Tavern (446 E. 47th St.), which closed in 2001. Oliver died Dec. 7 in California at age 101. (CANDICE CUSIC)
“Mama Gerri was a leader,” said Chicago blues guitarist-educator Fernando Jones, whose musical drama “I Was There When the Blues Was Red Hot” played more than 245 performances at the Palm Tavern from 1998 to 2001.
“She would always tell us about how people were trying to get (control of) the Palm Tavern. How gangsters would come by with shopping bags of money, and she turned them down.
“I asked Mama Gerri: How did you last out so long? And this is exactly what she said: I got my bluff in first.
Advertisement
“Which means that even though she was small in stature, she established her tone being a (strong) woman in a man’s world, being a Black woman.”
Born May 31, 1919, in Jackson, Mississippi, Oliver “left to come to Chicago during the Great Migration” in 1941 or ’42, said Polk, her son.
“She wanted to be a phlebotomist. She wanted to study blood diseases. She was going to Roosevelt University.
“But at that time Blacks were not accepted in the medical world. So she left there.”
Oliver began working at a South Side laundry, then as a currency exchange cashier and finally as a manicurist, which led her to meet Bronzeville businessman James “Genial Jim” Knight, who had opened the Palm Tavern in 1933.
“Jim Knight told my mother: I’m tired of seeing you do people’s nails,” recalled Polk.
Advertisement
So in 1956 Knight sold Oliver the Palm Tavern for “something like $15,000 to $20,000,” Polk said. She scraped together the money by borrowing from relatives back home in Jackson.
“I was a good Catholic girl,” said Oliver, who later became a Buddhist, in a 2001 Tribune interview. “I hadn’t planned on buying no place like this. I had never stepped foot in here until I owned it. But I thought it was a challenge, so I did it.”
Originally, Oliver had hoped to buy the whole building.
“When I tried to buy (it), they refused to let me have it, because I was a Black woman,” Oliver told the Tribune in 1999, referring to Chicago banks that wouldn’t give her a loan.
The Regal Theater across the street spotlighted the country’s greatest entertainers, who naturally gravitated to Oliver’s place.
“They came here because they were tired of eating out of brown paper bags, (while sitting) in the back of buses,” Oliver told the Tribune in 2001. “You could be the biggest star onstage, but once you stepped off, you were still just another” Black person.
Advertisement
Oliver believed that she succeeded in running the Palm Tavern because she took grief from no one.
“They gave me my due, because I wasn’t afraid to speak my mind, and I spoke it loudly,” she told the Tribune.
The combination of Oliver’s charismatic personality and the tavern’s enviable location made it a South Side magnet.
“The Palm Tavern was where all the big athletes and artists hung out,” singer Lou Rawls told the Tribune in 1999. “As kids, we would just stand outside on the sidewalk and watch them go in and out.”
But the demolition of the Regal Theater in 1973 ended the Palm Tavern’s glory days.
“Why did they tear down the Regal?” Oliver said in a 1998 Tribune interview, before providing an answer. “If I want to kill your identity, what do I do? I tear down something that is you.”
Advertisement
Oliver wouldn’t give up on the Palm Tavern, which remained a neighborhood jewel. During Harold Washington’s mayoral campaign in 1983, it was a get-out-the-vote political hub.
“We solicited votes from everywhere,” Oliver told the Tribune in 2001. “We even had children going door to door.”
When Washington won, “everybody loved everybody that night,” Oliver said. “It was like when Joe Louis won the (heavyweight) championship of the world. Sins were forgiven, if only for that one night.”
Chicago bluesman Jones brought new attention to the venue when he staged his “Red Hot” show there starting in 1998, but gradually the place fell into disrepair.
After Oliver lost a nearby apartment to “swindlers a few years back,” she told the Tribune in 2001, she began living in the crumbling Palm Tavern.
The city used eminent domain powers to acquire the building in 2001 and Oliver moved out, eventually relocating back to Jackson and then to California, near her son.
Advertisement
Bluesman Branch famously wrote and recorded the song “Going to See Miss Gerri One More Time” for his 2014 album “Blues Shock.”
“The song that I wrote was in tribute, because I felt that it was just a travesty that her exit was without any fanfare, any celebration,” said Branch. “I just felt so bad about that.
“She represented the best of the Black community here in Chicago.”
Said Polk, her son, “My mother wanted to be cremated. I will have a memorial service after I receive her ashes. Then I’m going to take her ashes — when COVID-19 lifts — to Mississippi and bury them right next to her mother and father.”
Oliver is also survived by three grandchildren, eight great-grandchildren and four great-great grandchildren.
Howard Reich is a Tribune critic.
Advertisement
hreich@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-12-10--Illinois college enrollment down as COVID-19 pandemic disrupts higher education plans for scores of

Illinois college enrollment down as COVID-19 pandemic disrupts higher education plans for scores of would-be students

“ Within Illinois , we actually experienced a slightly larger enrollment decline than what was being reported nationally at the @ @ @ @ @ Eric Lichtenberger , the board ’ s deputy director for information management and research .
@ @ @ @ @ graduate and professional enrollments was actually somewhat more muted .
”

Overall enrollment at colleges and universities in Illinois is down compared with last fall following coronavirus-related disruptions. Only a few students are seen on the University of Illinois at Chicago campus in October 2020. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)
Total undergraduate enrollment at Illinois colleges and universities is down by 7.2% this fall compared with last year, worse than the national decrease of 4.4% recorded as students returned to school during the coronavirus pandemic, according to state data presented this week.
While graduate enrollment climbed by 1.5% at both public and private institutions, it wasn’t enough to offset undergraduate losses. Overall postsecondary enrollment in Illinois dropped by 5.4% this year, data from the Illinois Board of Higher Education shows.
Advertisement
Total enrollment at Illinois’ 12 public universities was down at all but four schools.
“Within Illinois, we actually experienced a slightly larger enrollment decline than what was being reported nationally at the undergraduate level,” said Eric Lichtenberger, the board’s deputy director for information management and research. “And our growth in graduate and professional enrollments was actually somewhat more muted.”
Advertisement
Community colleges suffered the most, with a 13.7% reduction in students, and new freshman and transfer student populations dropped significantly. The state’s public universities fared better, with a cumulative decline of 1%.
Lichtenberger told board members at a meeting Tuesday that the figures aren’t as dire as some projected at the outset of the pandemic, which has forced hundreds of colleges to utilize remote learning.
“This is somewhat positive,” Lichtenberger said. “In a lot of the literature and press this summer, people were predicting enrollment declines ranging anywhere from 10% to 20%.”
Countrywide, overall postsecondary enrollment dropped by 3.3% compared with the same time last year, according to the National Student Clearinghouse.
As part of the report, the board also collected demographic information from public universities to assess the data through an equity lens for the first time, Lichtenberger said. The state beat national trends for enrolling minority students, he said.
The board put $30 million in federal funds and private donations toward supporting vulnerable students, which included providing emergency grants, Executive Director Ginger Ostro said in a statement.
The research showed that slightly more Black students, or 0.6%, enrolled in graduate and undergraduate programs at public universities compared with last year and that Black freshmen enrollment jumped by 3.2%.
Illinois public universities also saw growth in undergraduate and graduate enrollment for Latino students at 4.5% and 14.6%, respectively.


chicagotribune--2020-12-10--50 degrees in December? Winter temps are rising across the country, and some of the biggest jumps ar

50 degrees in December? Winter temps are rising across the country, and some of the biggest jumps are around the Great Lakes

“ It sounds like a lot but that 10 inches of snow is going to fall , and generally speaking @ @ @ @ @ melt very slowly or stick around for a long period of time and slowly infiltrate @ @ @ @ @ slowly melt and run off and not cause the flooding issues that we would see @ @ @ @ @ an inch or 2 inches of rain over a short period of time , ” @ @ @ @ @ that does create some issues .
”

Eckertson Lewis, 60, practices his hockey skills on inline skates at 38th Street and King Drive in Chicago's Bronzeville neighborhood on Dec. 9, 2020. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune)
Under blue skies and the first signs of sun Chicago had seen in days, a shirtless man darted around a North Side track. A little boy pulled off his gloves and ran ahead of his family on the sidewalk. Near the beach, a man and his dog laid back on a quiet hill like it was a cool summer day.
It’s December.
Advertisement
Winter temperatures are rising across the country, with some of the most pronounced increases occurring near the Great Lakes.
In Illinois, average daily temperatures in the winter season in the last 30 years have increased 2.5 degrees, relative to about a century earlier, according to an analysis included in a forthcoming report on the effects of climate change in Illinois from The Nature Conservancy.
Advertisement
The temperature hit 52 degrees Wednesday at O’Hare International Airport and was forecast to do the same Thursday before dropping over the weekend.
“If you’re a lifelong resident of Illinois, it is noticeable,” said Jim Angel, the state’s former climatologist. “I kind of marvel at some of those winters back in the ’70s, and back even to the turn of the 20th century there, that were much, much colder and much longer. Those winters were no fun, let’s put it that way.”
Future winters may be no fun in a different way. Warming temperatures can increase flooding and set off a series of harmful effects on the natural world, human health and economic interests.
The balmy lead in to the holiday season is emblematic of human-fueled climate change resulting in creeping temperatures around the globe. Last year was the second warmest on record; the five warmest were clocked in the last five years, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Since 1981, temperature records that used to be broken about every 13 years started to last only a few years.
A skater rolls by on a board at Wilson Avenue and Lake Shore Drive in Chicago on Dec. 2, 2020. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune)
A number of complex factors are at play in warming winters. With Illinois straddling warmer climates in the south and cooler ones to the north, the air mass above the state shifts regularly, said Trent Ford, the state’s climatologist. Circulation patterns in the winter are more conducive for warmer weather; there has been an expansion of warmer climates north, and more warm air coming up from the south.
“Because of that variability, there’s a lot more potential to change,” Ford said.
Scientists are studying why the shift is occurring. “The measurement is a lot easier than figuring out what’s causing it,” Ford said.
The starkest winter increase is in the average overnight minimum temperature across the state —3 degrees.
Advertisement
Burning fossil fuels increases carbon — one of the largest sources of greenhouse gases — but it also creates some aerosols that help reflect sunlight during the day and have a cooling effect, said Don Wuebbles, a professor of atmospheric sciences at the University of Illinois. At night, that masking decreases, reducing the cooling effect.
In addition, increases in humidity and cloud cover trap more energy, contributing to warmer nighttimes.
Overall, winter warming is consistent in Illinois, trending up across 10-year periods. That’s not the case for summer, which has warmed the least. Or fall, which has started to accelerate in warming in the last 30 years.
An unprecedented week of hot days for early November broke records. Chicago, on average, sees one day in the 70s in the late fall month. In what the National Weather Service called a “remarkable stretch of warmth,” a full week of highs hit the 70s with two consecutive days hitting 76 degrees. A string of at least four days in the 70s in November has only been recorded four times. Seven consecutive days? Never.
November ended up as the fourth warmest recorded in Chicago. The average temperature was 47.4 degrees, a more than 7-degree increase from the 40.3 average. Globally, it was the hottest November on record.
As for summer, because of an increase in precipitation in the Midwest, higher soil moisture has helped keep temperatures a little cooler in the summer, Wuebbles said. But in coming decades, summers are expected to become drier, like 2020 — Chicago’s warmest summer on record.
Advertisement
In the winters ahead, although there may be fewer teeth-chattering cold days overall, chilly days aren’t disappearing. Also, you shouldn’t throw out your snow shovel.
“First of all, changes in climate do not mean that you’re not going to have cold events,” Wuebbles said. There’s always changes in weather patterns, and stronger “waviness” in the jet stream, which can send cold Arctic air over the Midwest.
Ford noted the record low temperatures for Chicago recorded in January 2019. “It’s just that overall the trend is that we’re getting more and more of the warmer years, and fewer and fewer of the colder years.”
Snowfall trends in northern and central Illinois have held steady in the last century. But there has been an increase in precipitation, mostly in winter rain.
As the warmer atmosphere holds more water vapor, more large precipitation events can be expected. “That means higher potential for flooding here in the Midwest, " Wuebbles said. “That’s a major problem.”
“It sounds like a lot but that 10 inches of snow is going to fall, and generally speaking it’s going to melt very slowly or stick around for a long period of time and slowly infiltrate into the soil, or slowly melt and run off and not cause the flooding issues that we would see if we were to get an inch or 2 inches of rain over a short period of time,” Ford said. “So that does create some issues.”
Advertisement
A person jumps in the air while exercising near the lakefront at Montrose Avenue in Chicago on Dec. 2, 2020. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune)
Wuebbles outlined three choices in dealing with climate change: mitigate, adapt or suffer. “And right now we’re doing some of all three. And what we need to do in order to avoid suffering is to do a lot of mitigation and a lot of adapting.”
Warmer temperatures can cause plants to come out of dormancy earlier, throwing off natural cycles, or increase the risk of buds being killed off in a late spring freeze. There’s also the impact on human health. Vector-borne diseases, like those transmitted by ticks or mosquitoes, are believed to be connected to winter warming; critters’ overwintering more successfully can boost reproductive success.
Reduced ice cover on the Great Lakes and a warming basin present their own challenges. Shorelines have less protection against severe winter storms, like the one in January that caused millions of dollars in damage. And warming waters may shift the basin’s ecology, leaving some cold-water species struggling to compete.
Future changes in temperature are dependent on models estimating a range of carbon emissions in the coming decades.
“We can say with high confidence that a decrease in carbon dioxide emissions now into the near future, there’s high confidence that that will result in a decrease in the overall warming from now until the end of the century,” Ford said. “For the winter as well.”
mgreene@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-12-10--Illinois House Black Caucus backs Michael Madigan’s reelection as speaker, says he’s best bet to ‘de

Illinois House Black Caucus backs Michael Madigan’s reelection as speaker, says he’s best bet to ‘deliver on our priorities’

The Black Caucus has been one of the most loyal constituencies for Madigan , the nation ’ s longest serving @ @ @ @ @ finds his tenure in jeopardy .
Madigan has been implicated in a federal bribery investigation @ @ @ @ @ to pay a $ 200 million fine and agreed to cooperate after acknowledging its role @ @ @ @ @ curry favor with the speaker by offering jobs and contracts to his allies .

Then-Speaker Michael Madigan works the floor as the Illinois House convenes at the Bank of Springfield Center on Jan. 8, 2021. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)
The Black Caucus of the Illinois House has endorsed embattled House Speaker Michael Madigan’s bid for reelection to the post, saying its members believe they are “in a more advantageous position” to deliver their priorities under his leadership.
The move by the caucus was expected and came after Madigan appeared virtually before the group along with his only public challenger for speaker, state Rep. Stephanie Kifowit of Oswego, at a “candidate’s forum” on Saturday.
Advertisement
“While the Black Caucus at this moment chose not to endorse me, I appreciate the substantive dialogue and respect their decision,” Kifowit said in a statement.
“The members who have chosen to move the chamber forward, and have publicly stated their desire to do this without Madigan, remain steadfast in not voting for him and committed to substantial change which does not include the current speaker of the Illinois House,” she said.
Advertisement
While no fellow House Democrats have endorsed her, Kifowit also said she’s encouraged by conversations she’s had with colleagues who haven’t made their positions on Madigan’s future known publicly.
The Black Caucus has been one of the most loyal constituencies for Madigan, the nation’s longest serving House speaker, who now finds his tenure in jeopardy. Madigan has been implicated in a federal bribery investigation in which Commonwealth Edison agreed to pay a $200 million fine and agreed to cooperate after acknowledging its role in a near-decadelong effort to curry favor with the speaker by offering jobs and contracts to his allies.
Madigan has not been charged with any wrongdoing and has denied any knowledge of the bribery and influence scheme.
So far, 19 House Democrats of an expected 73-member majority in the next General Assembly have said they will not support Madigan for reelection to the post he has held since 1983, with the exception of two years when Republicans controlled the chamber in the mid-1990s.
Madigan needs 60 votes to retain the gavel, but if those who have declared their dissent follow through it would leave him six votes shy when lawmakers are inaugurated and convene on Jan. 13.
Sign up for The Spin to get the top stories in politics delivered to your inbox weekday afternoons.
The Black Caucus represents about one-third of the 60 members needed for election as speaker. Of its 22 members, only one, state Rep. Maurice West of Rockford, has said he will not support Madigan’s reelection to the speaker’s chair.
Advertisement
“We need a speaker that will provide strong, consistent leadership and support for the challenges ahead,” the Black Caucus said in a statement. “After analysis, we believe our caucus is in a more advantageous position under the leadership of Speaker Madigan to deliver on our priorities.”
The caucus cited the need for efforts to end long-standing systemic disinvestment in Black communities, challenges due to COVID-19, and a policy agenda involving criminal justice and policing issues, education and workforce development and access to health care and investment money for small business and entrepreneurs.
Last Saturday’s “candidate forum” was widely viewed as a way for Madigan to bolster support among the Black Caucus as well as to show substantial support from a powerful group within the House Democratic membership.
While Madigan may not have the votes for reelection, a largely unified Black Caucus puts the group in a powerful brokering position in determining a new speaker.
Top Democrats have contended Madigan’s ties to the ComEd investigation have become a distraction in trying to advance their agenda with voters.
Last week, Madigan’s top confidant, former lawmaker and lobbyist Michael McClain of Quincy, along with former ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore, ex-ComEd executive John Hooker and lobbyist Jay Doherty, pleaded not guilty to charges in the case.
Advertisement
rap30@aol.com


chicagotribune--2020-12-10--Demolition begins on the final Cabrini-Green high-rise

Demolition begins on the final Cabrini-Green high-rise on Wednesday , March 30 , 2011 .

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


chicagotribune--2020-12-10--Police: Blood stained suspect wearing ‘bloody clothing’ turns himself in following stabbing death of

Police: Blood stained suspect wearing ‘bloody clothing’ turns himself in following stabbing death of Chatham man, 61, inside his home

A relative discovered the 61-year-old victim dead inside his apartment in the 8200 block of South Indiana Avenue around 10:45 @ @ @ @ @ , citing early reports .
The victim suffered numerous stab wounds to the body , @ @ @ @ @ no forced entry into the home , police said .

Chicago police were questioning a person of interest who turned himself in Wednesday afternoon in connection to the death of a man found fatally stabbed inside his Chatham neighborhood apartment earlier in the day, .
A relative discovered the 61-year-old victim dead inside his apartment in the 8200 block of South Indiana Avenue around 10:45 a.m., Wednesday police said, citing early reports. The victim suffered numerous stab wounds to the body, but there appeared to be no forced entry into the home, police said.
Advertisement
The victim was identified as Kevin L. Sudduth Sr., according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office. An autopsy is scheduled for Thursday.
The 60-year-old male suspect turned himself in to the front desk at the Grand Crossing police station on South Cottage later in the day wearing bloody clothing and with blood on his hands, police said.
Advertisement
No criminal charges had been filed.
wlee@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-12-10--Stimulus update: Federal pandemic relief set to expire, but there’s still COVID-19 aid available in

Stimulus update: Federal pandemic relief set to expire, but there’s still COVID-19 aid available in Illinois. Here’s how to get help.

A federal mandate that employers give workers paid leave for COVID-19-related needs is set to expire Dec. 31 .
The @ @ @ @ @ March relief bill , gives employees 14 days of paid sick time if they get @ @ @ @ @ to quarantine , plus 10 weeks at two-thirds their pay rate to care for a @ @ @ @ @ care is closed because of COVID-19 .
The law applies to employers with fewer than @ @ @ @ @ payroll tax credits to offset the cost .

Robert Channick, Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz, Abdel Jimenez, Ryan Ori, Lauren Zumbach

As Congress negotiates a fresh round of coronavirus relief, the clock is ticking on several forms of federal aid, but there is still help available in Illinois.
The $2.2 trillion pandemic relief package passed in March introduced a host of financial assistance programs, including an extra $600 a week in unemployment benefits and direct cash payments of up to $1,200 to most Americans.
Advertisement
While several federal programs tied to the March package are set to expire later this month, other forms of pandemic relief have been extended in Illinois.
Here’s the help that’s still available.
Advertisement
Rep. Tom Reed, R-N.Y., speaking, and a bipartisan group of lawmakers hold a news conference on virus relief on Dec. 2, 2020, in Washington. Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J, is at right. Reed and Gottheimer are co-chairs of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty)
Cash payments
The IRS made more than 6 million payments of up to $1,200 per adult and $500 per child in Illinois as part of the March pandemic relief bill.
Nearly 310,000 people in Illinois did not automatically receive the payments because they had not filed federal income taxes.
Those who missed the Nov. 21 deadline to register online can obtain the money by claiming the Recovery Rebate Credit on next year’s taxes, according to Jody Chong, associate director of research and policy at the Heartland Alliance in Chicago.
More information is available at www.GetMyPaymentIL.org.
Unemployment benefits
Roughly 447,500 Illinoisans are at risk of losing unemployment benefits when federal coronavirus relief programs expire Dec. 26, according to the state’s Department of Employment Security. An additional 40,000 people who receive regular state unemployment insurance may exhaust their benefits before the end of January if the federal programs are not extended, said agency spokeswoman Rebecca Cisco.
People who exhaust their initial 26 weeks of regular state benefits are eligible for an additional 13 weeks through the March coronavirus relief bill, and up to 20 weeks of extended state benefits after that. More people have received benefits on these two programs in recent weeks than at any point during the pandemic, Cisco said.
Advertisement
The 13-week federal extension expires Dec. 26, and the amount of extended state benefits drops from 20 to 13 weeks. Also expiring Dec. 26 is a federal measure giving 39 weeks of benefits to self-employed workers.
Cisco said Congress needs to continue the existing federal programs, because implementing new programs will slow down the agency’s ability to pay out benefits.
“Any change in program-type that requires the Department to create or make technical changes internally can be problematic and time-consuming,” Cisco said in an email.
Consumer debt relief
Relief for people with federal student loans, previously set to expire Dec. 31, has been extended through Jan. 31. The measures temporarily pausing loan payments, collections and interest accrual apply only to loans held by the U.S. Department of Education.
Several credit card companies offered temporary assistance for cardholders struggling to make payments early in the pandemic. Some of those measures are no longer available.
American Express has programs that can reduce monthly payments or interest rates and now lets people on short-term payment plans continue making purchases on their credit cards, with a lower credit limit.
Advertisement
Discover ended a formal pandemic assistance program in October but is providing assistance for customers who request help, said spokesman Derek Cuculich. Options will vary but may still include the ability to skip a payment.
Fifth Third Bank is offering some borrowers reduced payments or interest rates for up to six months on personal loans. The bank is developing longer-term programs and encourages people to reach out to learn their options, spokesman Larry Magnesen said.
Illinois also has measures protecting wages and cash in bank accounts from debt collectors as part of Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s coronavirus-related executive orders, which were extended Friday through Jan. 9..
However, a provision of a separate executive order suspending vehicle repossessions was rescinded in August.
Utility assistance
ComEd, Nicor Gas, North Shore Gas and Peoples Gas are among utilities that have voluntarily stopped disconnections for all residential customers through March 31, according to the Illinois Commerce Commission.
The utilities also agreed to deferred payment arrangements and bill payment assistance programs, ICC spokeswoman Victoria Crawford said.
Advertisement
A ComEd program that offered a one-time grant of up to $300 for eligible customers to pay past due bills has nearly exhausted its $1.8 million in funding since launching last month, spokesman Tom Dominguez said.
A separate $18 million program offering up to $500 to limited-income customers to pay past due invoices still has ample funds available, he said.
Less assistance may be available from broadband providers during the second wave of COVID-19 than in the spring.
Comcast suspended service disconnections and late fees for internet customers who couldn’t pay their bills at the onset of the pandemic, but has since resumed both, spokesman Jack Segal said.
Comcast is offering free internet for 60 days through the Internet Essentials service for low-income families, and free access to more than 1.5 million public Xfinity Wi-Fi hot spots through June 30.
Last month, AT&T announced a $10 million commitment to provide at-risk students in underserved communities with free internet service during the pandemic. Like Comcast, AT&T has resumed service disconnections and late fees.
Advertisement
Housing protections
Pritzker extended an eviction moratorium for renters Friday, along with his other coronavirus-related executive orders, through Jan. 9.
Renters with higher incomes — $99,000 for individuals and $198,000 for couples who file joint tax returns — are prohibited from seeking relief. Other exceptions include residents who pose a risk to the health and safety of other building residents.
Renters who avoid eviction still will owe back rent.
The proposed federal relief package calls for $25 billion to go to renters who have fallen behind on payments, as well as a potential extension of a nationwide eviction moratorium. The funding could be used for overdue rent and utilities, as well as ongoing rent payments.
The Federal Housing Finance Authority recently announced Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which back most home mortgages, would extend their moratorium on foreclosures until at least Jan. 31. The moratorium had been set to expire at the end of the year.
Advertisement
Homeowners with federally backed loans have applied for mortgage relief during the pandemic, with some borrowers allowed to suspend monthly payments without late fees or foreclosure.
Paid leave
A federal mandate that employers give workers paid leave for COVID-19-related needs is set to expire Dec. 31. The requirement, part of the March relief bill, gives employees 14 days of paid sick time if they get sick with COVID-19 or have to quarantine, plus 10 weeks at two-thirds their pay rate to care for a child whose school or day care is closed because of COVID-19. The law applies to employers with fewer than 500 employees. Companies receive payroll tax credits to offset the cost.
The relief bill being negotiated in Congress does not include an extension of COVID-19-related leave. Advocates are concerned that people will work sick if they don’t have paid leave or will suffer economic instability if they have to take time off without pay.
Food aid
A federal program that helped ensure food pantries had a steady supply of fresh meat, produce and dairy is set to end Dec. 31, putting a huge dent in charity food supplies even as the need grows.
The $4.5 billion Farmers to Families Food Box Program, which began in May and is funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, pays distributors to buy food from farmers and package it into boxes to give to charities. It has funded 126 million boxes.
The Northern Illinois Food Bank, which expects to receive its last boxes Dec. 18, is concerned about its food supply as the program ends. A third of the meals distributed in its 13-county service area from May through November came from the program, and already it has spent twice as much money as last year to purchase food, said Julia Lemp, marketing communications specialist at the Geneva-based organization. The charity continues to see a 60% increase in need because of the pandemic, with up to half of customers accessing food charities for the first time, she said.
Advertisement
The food boxes have been the largest source of food distributed through the Greater Chicago Food Depository since its fiscal year started in July. Without them, the charity, which serves Cook County, will need community support to meet the need, said Sheila Creghin, vice president of operations.
“We expect to spend at least three times more on food purchasing than last fiscal year,” Creghin said.
About 23% of households, and 30% of those with children, reported being food insecure in a recent U.S. Census pulse survey, compared with about 10% during normal times.
Other pandemic-fueled efforts to expand food access will continue. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program will continue to give qualifying families the maximum allotment regardless of income for as long as there is a declared federal or state public health emergency.
An emergency program through SNAP that offered extra food benefits to families that depended on schools to provide free or reduced-price meals for their kids has been extended through next September.


chicagotribune--2020-12-10--COVID-19 in Illinois by the numbers: Here’s a daily update on cases, positivity rate and hospital da

COVID-19 in Illinois by the numbers: Here’s a daily update on cases, positivity rate and hospital data in your area

Among the metrics ( see below ) tracked under guidelines set by Gov .
J.B. Pritzker are the percentage of @ @ @ @ @ , the number of people hospitalized for COVID-19-like illnesses , and the capacity of hospitals @ @ @ @ @ state will decide how much or how little to restrict activities based on these metrics @

Note: With Chicago and Illinois moving into phase 5, the Tribune is no longer updating this data. If the state moves back into bridge phase, the Tribune we reassess. Daily metrics on COVID-19, like cases, deaths and hospitalizations, can be found here. And Daily metrics on the vaccination effort can be found here. More on where the coronavirus stands nationally and around the world can be found here.
To assess how different parts of Illinois are handling the COVID-19 pandemic, officials look at the state through the 11 regions of Emergency Medical Services. The city of Chicago is one region, for example, and the rest of Cook County is another.
Among the metrics (see below) tracked under guidelines set by Gov. J.B. Pritzker are the percentage of coronavirus tests that return positive, the number of people hospitalized for COVID-19-like illnesses, and the capacity of hospitals to take in new patients.The state will decide how much or how little to restrict activities based on these metrics. (Cases, deaths and tests data is as of Dec. 31).
• Check out the Tribune’s coronavirus coverage.
• Remembering the lives of those in Illinois who died from coronavirus.
• Other Chicago, suburbs and Illinois COVID-19 metrics.
• See how the governor’s plan to manage the regions works.
Source: Illinois Department of Public Health
Created by the Chicago Tribune dataviz team. On Twitter @chitribgraphics


chicagotribune--2020-12-10--COVID-19 cases in Illinois by ZIP code: Search for your neighborhood

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

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


chicagotribune--2020-12-10--Daily Illinois coronavirus graphs: 196 new deaths, 11,101 new confirmed and probable cases and 114,5

Daily Illinois coronavirus graphs: 196 new deaths, 11,101 new confirmed and probable cases and 114,503 new test results

Illinois announced 11,101 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 Thursday for a total of 823,531 .
The state also @ @ @ @ @ a total of 13,861 and 114,503 new test results for a total of 11.5 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--2020-12-10--Extra-alarm fire hits West Side auto supply business, sending 250 firefighters to scene

The fire in the building at 4425 W. 16th St. began about 8:45 a.m. and was quickly raised to an @ @ @ @ @ a hazardous materials response , according to the Fire Department .
Someone who said they @ @ @ @ @ officials that the roof was on fire , Fire Department spokesman Larry Merritt said .

Smoke billows from an auto parts warehouse as firefighters battle an extra-alarm fire on Chicago's West 16th Street on Dec. 10, 2020. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
About 250 Chicago firefighters battled an extra-alarm fire in a commercial building in the Lawndale neighborhood for about three hours Thursday morning, according to the Fire Department.
The fire in the building at 4425 W. 16th St. began about 8:45 a.m. and was quickly raised to an extra-alarm response, along with a hazardous materials response, according to the Fire Department. Someone who said they were inside the building alerted officials that the roof was on fire, Fire Department spokesman Larry Merritt said.
Advertisement
The fire was declared under control about noon, according to the Fire Department.
The severity of the fire quickly escalated, and about 250 firefighters and 90 pieces of equipment were on the scene by about 10:45 a.m., Merritt said.
Advertisement
One person was taken from the scene to an area hospital for treatment, but that person’s injuries were not directly related to the fire, according to a tweet from the Fire Department.
The building houses an auto supply company, according to online business directories.
Firefighters battle an extra-alarm fire Dec. 10, 2020, at a commercial building at 4425 W. 16th St. in Chicago. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
By about 10:20 a.m., the fire had been elevated to a 4-11 alarm, which brings at least 16 fire engines, four firetrucks, a tower ladder truck and the fire commissioner to the scene.
Video from the scene showed billowing gray and black smoke coming from a one-story brick building as firefighters directed streams of water on the fire from the ground and from snorkel trucks onto the one-story building and a taller building next door.
Check back for updates.


chicagotribune--2020-12-10--Watch live: Gov. J.B. Pritzker gives a COVID-19 update

Gov .
J.B. Pritzker will give an update on the state ’ s response to the coronavirus in a briefing @ @ @ @ @ the latest updates on COVID-19 in Illinois here .


chicagotribune--2020-12-10--AP source says Rahm Emanuel’s prospects for spot in Biden Cabinet are not looking good

Whether Emanuel is ultimately picked could also be affected by other factors as Biden has placed a premium on building @ @ @ @ @ of senior advisers from a diverse set of backgrounds , according to people familiar with @ @ @ @ @ .
The dynamic , perhaps more than progressives ’ opposition to him , is an @ @ @ @ @ eventually asks him to join the administration in a Cabinet role , according to two @ @ @ @ @ spoke on the condition of anonymity .

WASHINGTON — Rahm Emanuel’s chances of landing a top Cabinet post in Joe Biden’s administration appear increasingly unlikely after the former Chicago mayor emerged as a source of controversy for the president-elect, who had been considering Emanuel for transportation secretary, a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press.
Emanuel, among multiple candidates in the running for the Cabinet position, appeared to slip down the list in the last two weeks after progressive leaders, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, criticized the prospect of nominating him for the post, the person said Thursday. That concern has grown deeper in recent days, particularly after the Rev. Al Sharpton raised similar concerns during a meeting with Biden and other civil rights leaders, the person said.
Advertisement
The person was not authorized to publicly discuss private deliberations and spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity.
A decision hasn’t been finalized, and the dynamics could shift as Biden builds out his Cabinet with an eye to ensuring diverse leadership in the top ranks of his administration.
Advertisement
Whether Emanuel is ultimately picked could also be affected by other factors as Biden has placed a premium on building out a Cabinet and team of senior advisers from a diverse set of backgrounds, according to people familiar with the transition’s deliberations. The dynamic, perhaps more than progressives’ opposition to him, is an important factor in whether Biden eventually asks him to join the administration in a Cabinet role, according to two people familiar with deliberations who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
An announcement on transportation secretary is not believed to be imminent.
Representatives for the Biden transition and for Emanuel declined to comment.
Rahm Emanuel appears with Sara Fagen on ABC News on election night, Nov. 3, 2020. (Lorenzo Bevilaqua/ABC)
Emanuel, a former congressman who also served as former President Barack Obama’s first White House chief of staff, has been a significant force in Democratic Party politics for much of the last three decades. But progressives and civil rights leaders have been critical of his handling of the high-profile police shooting death of Laquan McDonald, a Black teenager killed by a white officer, during his time as Chicago’s mayor.
Emanuel’s allies have pointed to his extensive work making transportation issues top priorities as Chicago’s mayor, including reviving the city’s public transportation system and overhauling the city’s two worn airports. Emanuel also is credited with making Chicago one of the most bicycle-friendly cities in the country during his time in office.
The allies also have argued that Emanuel’s breadth of experience and knowledge of Congress would make him uniquely positioned to lead the department, which includes the Federal Aviation Administration, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the Federal Railroad Administration and others.
The new secretary would inherit an agency at a time the airline industry has been decimated by the coronavirus pandemic, with many airlines turning to massive job cuts.
The pick would also be responsible for ensuring that priorities that have been pushed for years are carried out, including ensuring railroads across the U.S. implement critical speed control technology, known as positive train control, that federal safety investigators have been pushing for close to five decades. The Associated Press reported in 2017 that crashes that federal officials believed could have been prevented by positive train control led to nearly 300 deaths and thousands of injuries and almost $400 million in property damage.
Advertisement
Emanuel was among a number of candidates being considered for America’s top transportation post, including New York City transit chief and former Federal Railroad Administrator Sarah Feinberg — a major proponent of positive train control in the Obama administration — and ex-New York City transportation commissioner Polly Trottenberg, the person said.
Two other high profile Obama-era alumni were announced Thursday as joining the Biden administration — Denis McDonough as veterans’ affairs secretary and Susan Rice to head the Domestic Policy Council.
Associated Press writer Michael R. Sisak in New York contributed to this report
Sign up for The Spin to get the top stories in politics delivered to your inbox weekday afternoons.


chicagotribune--2020-12-10--Extra-alarm fire rips through West Side building

A look at the Bears ' quarterbacks through the years , from 1934 to present day .
Not pictured : @ @ @ @ @ ; 1987 ) , Greg Landry ( 1 game ; 1984 ) , John Huarte @ @ @ @ @ ) , Kent Nix ( 9 games ; 1970-71 ) , Tommy O ’ Connell @ @ @ @ @ ) , Tom Farris ( 20 games ; 1946-47 ) , Johnny Long ( 12 @ @ @ @ @ Bill Glenn ( 2 games ; 1944 ) , Charlie O ’ Rourke ( 11 @ @ @ @ @ Young Bussey ( 10 games ; 1941 ) , Solly Sherman ( 14 games ; @ @ @ @ @ ( 72 games ; 1934-40 ) .
| source : pro-football-reference.com


chicagotribune--2020-12-10--Six Flags Great America adds drive-thru to Holiday in the Park

When you are driving through Holiday in the Park Lights as opposed to walking , “ you get a whole @ @ @ @ @ million lights in the park , ” Kepple said .
“ You ’ ll also @ @ @ @ @ might see Rudolph out there , or some elves .
Until Dec. 23 , you @ @ @ @ @ Claus .
After that , they are headed back to the North Pole .
”

Six Flags Great America has created its first ever drive-thru experience during the holidays, open on select dates in December and January. (Six Flags Great America / HANDOUT)
Consider it a holiday gift to members, season ticket holders and theme park enthusiasts. Six Flags Great America has just created a new way to experience its third annual Holiday in the Park Lights.
Starting Wednesday and on select days through Jan. 18, Great America will allow patrons to have, “an extremely rare opportunity to drive around inside the park,” said the park’s president Hank Salemi.
Advertisement
It’s called Holiday in the Park Drive-Thru, and it will not overlap with the Holiday in the Park Lights walk-through experience, which opened Nov. 27 and runs on select days through Dec. 30.
“We are able to extend the season with the drive-through,” said Caitlin Kepple, the park’s communications manager. “We are always looking to innovate, and we’re taking a cue from a few of our other parks,” which have created similar drive-through experiences.
Advertisement
Vehicles are allowed to drive through the park up to 3 mph following a designated route.
[ Sit in your car in a tunnel of lights! It’s the way we’re celebrating the 2020 holidays, with drive-thru displays. (The best are the old-school neighborhoods.) ]
When you are driving through Holiday in the Park Lights as opposed to walking, “you get a whole different viewpoint of the 3 million lights in the park,” Kepple said. “You’ll also see costumed characters. You might see Rudolph out there, or some elves. Until Dec. 23, you will see Santa and Mrs. Claus. After that, they are headed back to the North Pole.”
The new drive-through experience also includes a special section, “Toyland,” that cannot be seen when walking Holiday in the Park.
“Toyland will bring to life toy soldiers and teddy bears, which I’m sure will delight all ages,” Kepple said.
Holiday in the Park Lights, in its third season, was modified to comply with Illinois guidelines for COVID safety, Kepple said. Guests and staff are required to wear face masks at all times as they walk through the park viewing lights. Indoor entertainment from last year’s event has been brought outdoors with COVID-compliant outdoor seating, Kepple said. None of the park rides are open.
“Each evening, we have capacity limitations,” Kepple added. None of the dates for Holiday in the Park Lights were sold out as of press time.
She said the drive-through of Holiday in the Park Lights was added to give patrons an opportunity to be in the comfort and warmth of their cars as they experience the lights even in January, when it can be quite cold outdoors.
”It’s also a chance to have a little togetherness with the family,” Kepple said.
Advertisement
Drivers will be directed past 11 different themed areas also seen during the walking tours. Features include the Columbia Carousel and Reflection Pond glistening in gold as holiday music is played. Kalightoscope, the grand finale of the drive-through experience, features dancing lights on a 200-foot tree set to holiday music.
“After being closed all spring and summer due to COVID-19, we’re so excited to be open again,” Kepple said.
Due to the limited size of certain areas and terrain within the theme park, only cars, SUVs, vans and pick-up trucks are permitted at Holiday in the Park Drive-Thru. No buses, RVs, commercial vehicles, dually pick-up trucks, trailers or motorcycles will be allowed.
Drivers must maintain a safe distance between cars and drive 3 mph or less. The drive-through is free for members and season ticket holders, and $14.99 per person for others.
Holiday in the Park Lights walk-through is free for members and season ticket holders, and $19.99 per person for others.
Everyone must register on line in advance at sixflags.com/reserve. No tickets will be sold or handed out at the gates.


chicagotribune--2020-12-10--How COVID-19 is devastating household finances in the Chicago area and Illinois, in 5 charts

Most tenants and homeowners say they are confident they ’ ll be able to pay their rents and mortgages next @ @ @ @ @ of that confidence varies .
More than a quarter of renters who were only slightly @ @ @ @ @ friends or family in the previous seven days to meet their spending needs .
Among @ @ @ @ @ majority of them relied on regular income sources like those used before the pandemic .

The coronavirus pandemic has forced employers of all sizes to shrink their operations or shut down, temporarily or for good. Laid-off workers in turn have less money to spend at other businesses. The health crisis has sunk the nation’s economy into a recession, and despite promising news about vaccines, much remains uncertain.
Since mid-April, the U.S. Census Bureau has routinely surveyed adults to see how households have been affected by the pandemic, both economically and socially.
The latest survey on the state of household finances shows continued worries about job security and illustrates who is bearing the brunt of the recession locally.
Many have lost or expect to lose income
Between mid-March and late November, more than 3.2 million adults in the Chicago area said either they or someone in their household took a pay cut or lost their job.
Equally troubling is that 2.3 million people said they expected to lose income during the next four weeks, with most of them between the ages of 25 and 54. More than 40% of area Hispanics and African Americans who took the survey said they expected to lose income.
Those who earn less, have less education are hit harder
More than 2 in 10 people surveyed had applied for unemployment insurance benefits between mid-March and November. Of the more than 1.2 million people who received benefits, almost half lived in households with children. About 153,000 people who received benefits — and 100,000 who did not — had used food stamps in the past seven days.
Trouble paying bills is on the rise
After trending downward in October, the percentage of Chicago-area residents having trouble paying their usual bills is ticking up, and more than 1 million survey respondents called it “very difficult.” Almost half of those who had the most trouble in the previous seven-day period used a credit card or loans to meet their spending needs. More than 300,000 relied on stimulus payments.
15% in Illinois say they sometimes don’t have enough to eat
The majority of people who said they didn’t have enough food to eat in a previous seven-day period said they couldn’t afford more food or they couldn’t get out to buy it. Of those who said they sometimes or often didn’t have enough to eat, more than 113,000 had visited a food pantry or food bank with the seven-day period.
Most in state say they can pay rent or mortgage
Most tenants and homeowners say they are confident they’ll be able to pay their rents and mortgages next month, but the level of that confidence varies. More than a quarter of renters who were only slightly confident had borrowed money from friends or family in the previous seven days to meet their spending needs. Among highly confident homeowners, the majority of them relied on regular income sources like those used before the pandemic.


chicagotribune--2020-12-10--Amazon Fresh store that lets customers skip the grocery checkout line now open in Naperville

“ I get the full experience now ( of the Dash Cart ) , ” Hosper said .
“ You @ @ @ @ @ up , it pops up on your cart , you can see where everything is @ @ @ @ @ what aisle it ’ s in and everything .
I can then check ( items @ @ @ @ @ them in my cart .
”

Naperville resident Luke Diefenderfer, left, and his sister, Claire, place items inside their Dash Cart while shopping Thursday at the newly opened Amazon Fresh grocery store in Naperville. (Rafael Guerrero / Naperville Sun)
Illinois’ first Amazon Fresh store opened Thursday in Naperville, a new concept grocery store chain that allows customers to skip the checkout line.
The store opened at 8 a.m., and curious customers were there to take a look at the city’s latest grocery store addition and to test the “Dash Carts” that link to Amazon accounts, allow grocery lists to be set up ahead of time and tally up purchases that are charged electronically.
Advertisement
Although having an electronic grocery list uploaded before shopping is not mandatory, Sam Hosper, of Naperville, decided to try it out and purchased chicken, bread, produce and other items he’d selected in advance.
Amazon Fresh store Dash Carts allow customers to use their smartphones to make purchases that are registered and paid for electronically so they don't have to wait in a checkout line. (Rafael Guerrero / Naperville Sun)
“I get the full experience now (of the Dash Cart),” Hosper said. “You set (the list) up, it pops up on your cart, you can see where everything is at, it tells you what aisle it’s in and everything. I can then check (items) off as I put them in my cart.”
Advertisement
The 35,000-square-foot store at 3116 S. Route 59 is the fifth Amazon Fresh store nationwide and the first outside of California. Three others in Illinois are to open in Schaumburg, Bloomingdale and Oak Lawn.
Amazon employees were on hand to assist those wanting to try a Dash Cart while other shoppers opted for traditional carts.
To use a Dash Cart, a customer uses the Amazon app on their smartphone to scan a QR code that links their cart to their Amazon account. If they’ve created a shopping list, it can be uploaded to the cart from their phone or through their Amazon account.
Jim Hoban, who made the trek from Chicago to check out the store, said he was impressed by how the cart immediately registered an item when he put it into the basket and eliminated items he removed.
“I’m an older kind of guy and it’s hard for me to work with the app,” he said. “I did not have the app (on my phone) so they helped me download it. I use Amazon all the time but I’ve never actually used the app.”
A 35,000-square-foot Amazon Fresh grocery store opened in Naperville Thursday, boasting a wide range of national, local, Whole Foods and Amazon-exclusive items. (Rafael Guerrero / Naperville Sun)
Hoban came with no specific grocery purchases in mind, he said. He wanted to see what the store had to offer before deciding what to buy, he said.
“It’s just starting here so I wanted to check out their selection, look at their quality of meats and seafood, that’s important to me,” Hoban said. “So far I’m seeing the brands I’m familiar with and I like it here.”
The company has been using its Naperville space to fill online grocery orders since the summer, but it’s move into bricks-and-mortar locations is still relatively new.
Advertisement
Amazon signaled its entry into the grocery market business in 2017 when it purchased Whole Foods. Convenience stores Amazon Go and Amazon Go Groceries stores launched before Amazon Fresh, and the company also has Amazon Books, Amazon 4-Star and Amazon pop-up stores.
In its opening announcement for Naperville’s Amazon Fresh, the company touted the range of items it would be selling, including fresh-baked bread, made-to-order pizzas, rotisserie chickens, hot sandwiches, and national, local and Amazon- and Whole Foods-exclusive brands.
Thursday was the opening day for the new Amazon Fresh store on Route 59 in Naperville. (Rafael Guerrero / Naperville Sun)
Opening-day prices included 15-cent bananas, 89-cent loaves of freshly baked French bread, $1.79 pizza slices and $4.97 rotisserie chickens.
The store’s Alexa terminals direct customers to where specific items can be found, offer recipe suggestions and even play music. They can be adjusted for languages other than English.
[ I just shopped at Amazon Fresh in Naperville. Here’s how it works. ]
“I think it’s just like any other store. You kind of have to see what’s on sale and what’s not on sale,” Hosper said. “I’ve seen some stuff that seems to be more expensive but I’ve seen some pretty good prices on other stuff. It kind of varies.”
Luke Diefenderfer, of Naperville, joined his mother and sister for an opening-day grocery trip.
Advertisement
“It’s pretty cheap,” Diefenderfer said of the prices he was seeing. “I was surprised by the chicken being only five bucks.”
His sister, Claire, said she like how attentive employees were to the customers.
Amazon Fresh customers shopping with Dash Carts use a special lane to bypass the checkout line and return carts at the Naperville Amazon Fresh store, which opened Thursday on Route 59. (Rafael Guerrero / Naperville Sun)
“There’s lots of workers around,” she said. “A few of them have already approached us to help us and make sure everything is fine.”
Amazon Fresh employees were also filling orders for online shoppers who would pick up their purchases curbside or have them delivered.
In addition to standard grocery items, a number of electronics goods like Amazon Fire tablets, Kindle e-readers, Echo smart speakers and small kitchen appliances were being sold.
The store is open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily, with the first hour reserved for seniors, those with disabilities and customers considered high-risk for the coronavirus. Because of the pandemic, store capacity is limited to 50% and face mask usage is mandatory.
Advertisement
raguerrero@tribpub.com


chicagotribune--2020-12-10--Suburban Blue Nose Brewery closing ‘when the beer runs out’ due to coronavirus pandemic economic tol

Suburban Blue Nose Brewery closing ‘when the beer runs out’ due to coronavirus pandemic economic toll

Blue Nose co-founder Jordan Isenberg said in an interview that he made the decision in late October , after the @ @ @ @ @ bars and restaurants to close for indoor business for a second time to stem the @ @ @ @ @ kept the decision largely to himself while winding down the business , he said .

Small southwest suburban Blue Nose Brewery is closing due to the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic, its co-founder said this week.
Blue Nose co-founder Jordan Isenberg said in an interview that he made the decision in late October, after the state ordered suburban Cook County bars and restaurants to close for indoor business for a second time to stem the spread of COVID-19. He kept the decision largely to himself while winding down the business, he said.
Advertisement
He finally announced the decision to close early next year (”or when the beer runs out”) on Facebook on Wednesday afternoon, along with a photo of Blue Nose’s first business license when launching in Justice in 2012. The brewery moved to its current home in Hodgkins in 2015.
-----WE ARE CLOSING---- It's been a great run! 9 years! Unfortunately, Blue Nose Brewery will be closing up shop for... Posted by Blue Nose Brewery on Wednesday, December 9, 2020
”We can’t have a couple thousand square foot tasting room with no one in it and keep up,” Isenberg said.
Advertisement
Blue Nose was a small, though healthy business coming into 2020, Isenberg said, making about 1,000 barrels of beer per year that was sold mostly from its taproom and distributed on draft to bars and restaurants across Chicagoland.
The brewery made a broad array of beers, ranging from traditional styles such as pilsner and golden ale to experiments such as milkshake India pale ale and a raspberry sour ale infused with gummy bears.
Despite a landlord willing to work with the brewery while navigating the pandemic, Isenberg said, recent economic fallout took a toll.
Blue Nose Brewery, based in Hodgkins, southwest of Chicago, will close in early 2021, said co-founder Jordan Isenberg. (Blue Nose Brewery)
After its taproom was shut along with every other bar and restaurant in the state during the early days of the pandemic, Blue Nose had a promising summer, Isenberg said. However, the second closure was crippling.
“Right as we were back on our feet, we were shut down again, unfortunately,” he said. “We were hoping we could keep pushing, but we’re also trying to be reasonable.”
Blue Nose tried to sustain outdoor business during fall and winter by investing in propane heaters and three individual dining domes at a cost of about $800 each. A windstorm destroyed one of the domes, which told Isenberg a long winter was ahead.
Once the second shutdown to indoor business was announced, Isenberg said, he decided to stop brewing to save money.
“When you’re holding onto money to make sure you’re not getting behind on accounts and insurance and then you stop brewing, that’s just about it,” he said.
Advertisement
Despite dire projections of breweries put out of business by shutdowns related to the pandemic, Blue Nose is one of few in Illinois to close. Argus Brewery, on Chicago’s South Side, shut down in early April, though its founder acknowledged that the business had already been struggling.
Isenberg said he understands why the government shut down indoor eating and drinking, even though it spelled catastrophe for his business. Illinois has had more than 812,000 cases of COVID-19 and more than 13,000 people have died, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health.
”Disappointment with understanding is a good way to put it,” he said. “I just hope it’s all been in people’s best interest for staying healthy.”
Isenberg said he plans to keep Blue Nose’s brewing equipment to start a new, smaller brewery in a different location “as soon as possible” to support his family, which includes two young daughters.
“This is what I do and my livelihood so I’ll be working on the next project going forward,” he said. “I’ll be working on it tomorrow.”
jbnoel@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-12-10--Defund the police: Minneapolis approves $8 million in cuts, shifting cash to violence prevention and

Defund the police: Minneapolis approves $8 million in cuts, shifting cash to violence prevention and mental health

Due to austerity forced by the coronavirus pandemic , the mayor ’ s proposal already includes a $ 14 million @ @ @ @ @ with its original 2020 budget , mostly through attrition .
Frey aims to hold the @ @ @ @ @ 770 through 2021 with hopes of eventually increasing the force to its current authorized cap @ @ @ @ @ is already down by about 120 — partly due to officers claiming post-traumatic stress disorder @ @ @ @ @ — with more preparing to leave amid retirements and poor morale .

MINNEAPOLIS — The Minneapolis City Council unanimously approved a budget early Thursday that will shift about $8 million from the police department toward violence prevention and other programs — but will keep the mayor’s targeted staffing levels for sworn officers intact, averting a possible veto.
Mayor Jacob Frey, who had threatened to veto the entire budget if the council went ahead with its plan to cap police staffing, said the vote was a defining moment for the city, which has experienced soaring crime rates amid calls to defund the police since the May 25 death of George Floyd.
Advertisement
“We all share a deep and abiding reverence for the role our local government plays in service of the people of our city,” Frey said. “And today, there are good reasons to be optimistic about the future in Minneapolis.”
The City Council had initially approved a proposal to cut the city’s authorized police force to 750 officers, down from the current 888, beginning in 2022. But they changed course late Wednesday after the mayor called the move “irresponsible.” The council voted 7-6 on Wednesday to keep the cap at 888.
Advertisement
“Tonight the City Council passed a budget that represents a compromise, and also a big step forward into a more compassionate and effective public safety future,” said City Council member Steve Fletcher, co-author of the proposal to lower the cap on staffing. He said the City Council has more work to do and “we cannot afford to remain stuck in the past any longer.”
Supporters call the City Council’s plan “Safety for All,” the latest version of the “defund the police” movement that Minneapolis and other cities have considered since Floyd’s death ignited mass demonstrations against police brutality and a nationwide reckoning with racism.
The plan cuts nearly $8 million from Frey’s $179 million policing budget and redirects it to mental health teams, violence prevention programs and other initiatives.
A Minneapolis Police Department officer stands in a line to control demonstrators on Nov. 4, 2020. (Kerem Yucel/AFP via Getty Images)
More than 300 Minneapolis residents signed up to speak about the proposal Wednesday, with some pleading for City Council members to deliver the reforms they promised after Floyd’s death, and others warning it would be irresponsible to cut officers.
Some in favor of the plan called police officers cowards, gang members, white supremacists or terrorists. They spoke about violence that African Americans and other minorities have experienced at the hands of police. Those against the plan said the City Council was acting irresponsibly and has bungled its attempts to bring change. They cited increasing violence, saying they don’t feel safe.
“The place I grew up this summer burned,” said Will Roberts, who grew up in the Longfellow neighborhood. “And it burned because of police misconduct.”
Loraine Teel, of south Minneapolis, said she supported the mayor’s position, telling council members: “You cannot achieve reform without a plan that includes the cooperation of those being reformed ... You have failed miserably.”
Cities around the U.S., including Los Angeles, New York City and Portland, Oregon, are shifting funds from police departments to social services programs in an effort to provide new solutions for problems traditionally handled by police. Such cuts have led some departments to lay off officers, cancel recruiting classes or retreat from hiring goals.
Advertisement
In Minneapolis, violent crime rates have surged since the death of Floyd, a Black man who was handcuffed and pleading for air for several minutes while Derek Chauvin, a white former officer, pressed his knee against his neck. Chauvin and three others were charged in Floyd’s death and are expected to stand trial in March.
Police have recorded 532 gunshot victims this year as of last Thursday, more than double the same period a year ago. Carjackings have also spiked to 375 so far this year, up 331% from the same period last year. Violent crimes have topped 5,100, compared with just over 4,000 for the same period in 2019.
“This summer happened because George Floyd was murdered by the Minneapolis Police Department and it wasn’t an accident, it’s because the system of policing we know now is not just racist, but it doesn’t create safety for all,” said Oluchi Omeoga, a cofounder of Black Visions, which supports “Safety for All” as a step toward more transformational change.
Due to austerity forced by the coronavirus pandemic, the mayor’s proposal already includes a $14 million cut to the department compared with its original 2020 budget, mostly through attrition. Frey aims to hold the number of sworn officers around 770 through 2021 with hopes of eventually increasing the force to its current authorized cap of 888. The department is already down by about 120 — partly due to officers claiming post-traumatic stress disorder from a summer of unrest — with more preparing to leave amid retirements and poor morale.
A proposal over the summer to dismantle the department and replace it with a “Department of Community Safety and Violence Prevention” initially had support from a majority of the council but faltered when a separate city commission voted against putting it on the November ballot. The city was paying $4,500 a day at one point for private security for three council members who reported getting threats after supporting defunding.


chicagotribune--2020-12-10--Chicago police officer recovering after squad car struck in Chatham car crash

One of the officers was taken to an area hospital for treatment of his injuries and he last was listed @ @ @ @ @ said .
The second male officer declined emergency medical treatment at the scene , police @ @

A Chicago police officer was injured late Wednesday when his squad car was struck by a passing motorist on the South Side, officials said.
Two male officers were traveling east in the 700 block of East 87th Street in Chatham about 11:35 p.m. when the crash happened, according to Sally Bown, a police spokeswoman. A white Hyundai Elantra driven by a 27-year-old woman hit the squad car as it was turning.
Advertisement
The woman was taken to St. Bernard Hospital in Englewood, where she initially was in good condition.
One of the officers was taken to an area hospital for treatment of his injuries and he last was listed in good condition, police said. The second male officer declined emergency medical treatment at the scene, police said.
Advertisement
Bown said details about the types of injuries the woman and the officer suffered were not listed in the report.
She said the accident report did not indicate that any citations had been issued.
kdouglas@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @312BreakingNews