chicagotribune--2020-11-26--Coronavirus in Illinois updates: Officials plead with residents to skip Thanksgiving gatherings as 1

Coronavirus in Illinois updates: Officials plead with residents to skip Thanksgiving gatherings as 11,378 new cases and 155 more deaths reported Wednesday

Lightfoot also reiterated that the city is working on how it will distribute COVID-19 vaccines when they become available .
@ @ @ @ @ and the order thereafter will be determined by federal rules , she said , but @ @ @ @ @ robust system for distributing vaccines .
Initially it ’ ll be healthcare workers getting the @ @ @ @ @ later be followed by high-risk individuals , but all adults should be able to get @ @ @ @ @ she said .

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CTU workers direct vehicles lined up for COVID-19 testing outside of the Chicago Teachers Union on Dec. 30, 2021, in Chicago. CPS starts back to school on Monday following their holiday break. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)
For the latest updates, click here for the Thanksgiving weekend live blog.
A day before Thanksgiving, Illinois and Chicago officials painted a dire picture of what could happen if residents don’t skip the holiday’s traditional gatherings.
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”Let me put this as bluntly as we can. We are extremely concerned about Thanksgiving weekend becoming a superspreader event,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Wednesday.
Public health commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said the Canadian Thanksgiving last month led to a dramatic spike in cases, upping Chicago officials’ concern.
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Illinois health officials on Wednesday announced 11,378 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 and 155 additional fatalities, bringing the total number of known infections in Illinois to 685,467 and the statewide confirmed death toll to 11,832 since the start of the pandemic.
Here’s what’s happening Wednesday with COVID-19 in the Chicago area and Illinois:
6 p.m.: McHenry County state’s attorney says he won’t enforce Illinois’ ban on indoor dining in restaurants
McHenry County’s top prosecutor announced Wednesday that his office will not enforce Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s order to ban indoor dining at restaurants.
State’s Attorney Patrick Kenneally issued a statement that the Illinois Emergency Management Act, which gives the governor authority to issue executive orders, does not require or empower the state’s attorney to enforce the orders.
Kenneally also wrote that there is “the legitimate question” being litigated in court over whether the governor’s repeated orders are authorized by law. So far, while two trial courts have ruled that the orders were not lawful, two McHenry County judges, as well as appellate and federal courts, have upheld the orders on at least a preliminary basis.
Kenneally said he would continue to enforce legitimate mask and distancing orders, but chided lawmakers for failing to clarify the law on “one of the most important issues this State has ever faced.”
“Rather, the Governor has taken it upon himself to unilaterally make ‘laws’ by executive order ― without any identifiable criteria or process ― that drastically impact the day-to-day lives and constitutional rights of every Illinois resident and then execute those laws,” Kenneally wrote. “This is a dangerous combination in a constitutional republic.”
Pritzker has said the law clearly gives him authority to issue the closure orders and that they are needed to prevent further illness and deaths. Nearly 12,000 people with COVID-19 have died in Illinois, and about 6,000 patients are in hospitals. Pritzker has called lawyers who argue he doesn’t have the authority to issue the orders “snake oil salesmen.”
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Read more here. —Robert McCoppin
5:45 p.m.: Pritzker tells feds Illinois plans to borrow another $2 billion from coronavirus lending program
Gov. J.B. Pritzker notified the Federal Reserve on Wednesday that Illinois plans to borrow an additional $2 billion from a special lending program established earlier this year to aid state and local governments ailing because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The state is facing a nearly $4 billion hole in the budget year that ends June 30 due in part to voters’ earlier rejection of Pritzker’s proposed graduate-rate income tax plan in the Nov. 3 election.
The spending plan approved by the Democratic-controlled General Assembly and signed into law by Pritzker also relied heavily on uncertain aid from Washington, which has been blocked by Republicans in the U.S. Senate.
The plan authorizes the state to borrow up to $5 billion from the Fed program, but Pritzker said he doesn’t want to saddle the state with that much short-term debt.
Illinois’ budget calls for spending $43.1 billion from the state’s general funds, but the state currently only anticipates bringing in $39.2 billion in revenue, creating a shortfall of $3.9 billion, or about 9%.
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While the governor said he’s optimistic that President-elect Joe Biden and Congress will reach a deal on an aid package to help offset the revenue states have lost due to the pandemic, the state is going ahead with more borrowing.
Read more here. —Dan Petrella
4:50 p.m.: State and city officials make one last plea: Skip the traditional Thanksgiving
A day before Thanksgiving, state and city officials painted a dire picture of what could happen if residents don’t skip the holiday’s traditional gatherings amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
“We don’t want anybody’s Thanksgiving dinner to turn into a COVID-19 superspreader event,” Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike said during the state’s daily coronavirus briefing. “Our goal is to protect and not infect those that we love and care for.”
Ezike said the first sign of a post-Thanksgiving wave of coronavirus infections would arise in cases within the next week or two. That could be followed by a new surge in hospitalizations and, ultimately, deaths, she said.
“The safest thing we can do for one another is stay within our own households,” Gov. J.B. Pritzker said. “But if you are hellbent on gathering with others outside your own home, please do it with just a few people. And, importantly, this is not the year to have everybody over at grandma’s house.”
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State officials are encouraging those who do ignore the warnings against mixed household gatherings to get tested for the coronavirus a week later, or sooner if symptoms develop.
The holiday comes at a precarious time for Chicago and Illinois in the battle against the virus, although increases in both new cases and positivity rates have leveled off in recent days after rapid gains throughout October and early November.
Read more here. —Gregory Pratt and Dan Petrella
12:08 p.m.: 11,378 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 and 155 additional deaths reported Wednesday
Illinois health officials on Wednesday announced 11,378 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 and 155 additional fatalities, bringing the total number of known infections in Illinois to 685,467 and the statewide confirmed death toll to 11,832 since the start of the pandemic.
There were 114,233 tests reported in the previous 24 hours. The statewide positivity for the previous seven days is 12.2% and the rate for cases as a percent of total test in that timeframe is 10.6%
—Chicago Tribune staff
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11:15 a.m.: Lightfoot and Arwady say it again: Skip Thanksgiving gatherings this year
A day before Thanksgiving, Chicago city officials painted a dire picture of what could happen if residents don’t skip the holiday’s traditional gatherings.
”Let me put this as bluntly as we can. We are extremely concerned about Thanksgiving weekend becoming a superspreader event,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot said.
Public health commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said the Canadian Thanksgiving last month led to a dramatic spike in cases, upping Chicago officials’ concern. Arwady cited an Internet meme to encourage people to stay home with just members of their household: “It’s better to have a Zoom Thanksgiving than an ICU Christmas.”
About 50 million Americans are expected to travel so people need to double down on precautions to avoid spikes in cases, hospitalizations, and deaths, Lightfoot said.
If cases continue to go up, Lightfoot said it could lead to limited hospital beds, staff, and supplies. Many have experienced continued trouble breathing, fatigue, migraines, dizziness and memory loss, as well as loss of smell and taste, she said.
“COVID-19 is being spread by people being close together in enclosed spaces,” Lighfoot said.
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Lightfoot also reiterated that the city is working on how it will distribute COVID-19 vaccines when they become available. Who gets the vaccine first and the order thereafter will be determined by federal rules, she said, but the city already has a robust system for distributing vaccines. Initially it’ll be healthcare workers getting the vaccine. It’ll later be followed by high-risk individuals, but all adults should be able to get vaccines sometime in 2021, she said.
Asked whether the city regrets not closing indoor bars and restaurants sooner since cases have started going down after Gov. J.B. Pritzker closed them, Lightfoot reiterated her argument that it wasn’t bars and restaurants leading to spikes in cases.
”We should not be blaming restaurants. That’s not appropriate. That’s not right,” she said.
—Gregory Pratt
8 a.m.: US unemployment claims rise to 778,000 as COVID-19 pandemic worsens
The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits rose last week to 778,000, evidence that the U.S. economy and job market remain under strain as coronavirus cases surge and colder weather heighten the risks.
The Labor Department’s report Wednesday said jobless claims climbed from 748,000 the week before. Before the virus struck hard in mid-March, weekly claims typically amounted to roughly 225,000. They shot up to 6.9 million during one week in March before dropping yet remain historically high more than eight months later, with many businesses unable to fully reopen.
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The number of people who are continuing to receive traditional unemployment benefits is now 6.1 million, up from fewer than 1.7 million a year ago. Still, that figure had been declining for months. It shows that more Americans are finding jobs and no longer receiving unemployment aid. But it also indicates that many jobless people have used up their state unemployment aid — which typically expires after six months — and have transitioned to a federal extended benefits program that lasts 13 more weeks.
Read more here. —Associated Press
6 a.m.: Contact tracing in Illinois may not slow the coronavirus much. But the data is helping guide state decisions.
Contact tracing for COVID-19 has gotten off to a slow start in Illinois, with the state still short of its initial goal of 3,800 people doing that work. And now, with infections soaring, caseloads are overwhelming tracers’ ability to slow the spread of the virus by tracking down contacts and getting them to quarantine.
But the information gleaned by contact tracers is proving useful in another way: It is feeding a growing database that Gov. J.B. Pritzker has cited as a guide in making decisions about pandemic restrictions. The governor singled out the data, along with scholarly studies, when defending his late October decision to shut down indoor dining.
Experts on contact tracing say that using contact tracing data in this way is valid and part of the reason contact tracing is done in the first place, particularly when cases are surging.
When case levels are higher, “understanding where people have gotten infected is going to help us understand what are the risky places or risky activities that can inform what kind of response we want to do,” said Jaline Gerardin, assistant professor of preventive medicine at McCormick School of Engineering at Northwestern University.
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Read more here. —Hal Dardick
6 a.m.: Peck Elementary teacher Sandra Ramirez has given out thousands of boxes of food to students’ families. ‘Her heart is so enormous.’
As the COVID-19 pandemic tightened its grip on Chicago in March, Peck Elementary teacher Sandra Ramirez learned that some students weren’t logging in for remote classes.
Ramirez called their homes and found out that parents were losing their jobs. Household internet connections weren’t working or were strained by multiple children doing remote learning. Adult relatives — many of them essential workers — were getting the coronavirus, and some were dying.
“I was hearing some very tragic stories,” Ramirez said.
So when the Christian charity World Vision, which works with Peck on other projects, called Ramirez to ask if she wanted to help start weekly food distributions at the Southwest Side elementary school, she didn’t hesitate.
“Let me know what I need to do,” she said.
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Since then, Ramirez has gone above and beyond as the Peck food distribution program’s on-site organizer, according to World Vision Chicago site manager Jonathan Smith. She has hauled milk in her own SUV, coordinated a team of two dozen volunteers and personally handed out hundreds of boxes of food.
At last count, Ramirez and her fellow Peck volunteers have given away 3,000 gallons of milk, 600 boxes of fresh food and 4,200 boxes of food and essential supplies.
“I have to tell Sandra, all the time, to take a day off,” Smith said with a chuckle.
“Her heart is so enormous. She’s the type of person who just gives her all to be sure that someone has the same things that she has.”
Read more here. —Nara Schoenberg
6 a.m.: Have a question about COVID-19? University of Chicago’s Dr. Emily Landon will answer readers’ questions Dec. 2 on Facebook Live.
The number of COVID-19 cases is rising, along with worries and concerns: Am I doing all that I can to stay safe from the coronavirus? Why did I test positive if I wore a mask and isolated? I haven’t been infected though I’m not taking any precautions, so is this even real? It can be hard to keep up with the news with so many new developments.
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That’s why the Chicago Tribune is partnering with the University of Chicago to answer readers’ questions with a Facebook Live event Dec. 2. I’ll be asking readers’ questions to University of Chicago Medicine infectious diseases expert Dr. Emily Landon in hopes of quelling some of those concerns. If you have a question you haven’t been able to find an answer to, now is your chance to be heard.
The link to the Facebook Live stream will go live on our Facebook page Dec. 2. Also, our written Q&A is continuously updated, so if you have a question that we haven’t answered yet there, send it to the Tribune here.
Read more here. —Darcel Rockett
Breaking coronavirus news Stay up to date with the latest information on coronavirus with our breaking news alerts.
In case you missed it
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chicagotribune--2020-11-26--Inflatable turkeys of Thanksgiving

Inflatable turkeys of Thanksgiving

Inflatable turkeys decorate the front lawns of homes on the North Side of Chicago on Thanksgiving Day , Nov. 26 @ @ @ @ @ .

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chicagotribune--2020-11-26--Thanksgiving Day in Chicago in 2020

Thanksgiving Day in Chicago in 2020

Construction for Vista Tower topped out April 26 , 2019 , as concrete for the 101st floor was poured .
@ @ @ @ @ what is soon to be the city 's third-highest skyscraper .
Sales of its condo @ @ @ @ @ 1 million to $ 17 million .

Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 11 Tony Kozlowski prepares to hike the ball to his wife, Amy, as their daughter, Maxine, 8, plays defense during a game of touch football outside their home in the 2100 block of West Grace Street on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 26, 2020, in Chicago. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)
Thanksgiving Day looked different throughout Chicago with many families in quarantine and the cancelation of festivities, including the annual parade, Nov. 26, 2020,


chicagotribune--2020-11-26--On Thanksgiving: ‘Just because of the pandemic, it doesn’t mean that volunteer work will stop’

As they have done on holidays since 1992 , more than a dozen members of the Sikh Religious Society showed @ @ @ @ @ Singh , 36 , said he went last Christmas , but this was his first @ @ @ @ @ for a pharmaceutical company , he said he enjoys volunteering and giving to others .

Warren Peeler, of the Salvation Army, distributes Thanksgiving meals to people at Madison Street and Albany Avenue in Chicago on Thursday, Nov. 26, 2020. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)
Traditionally for Thanksgiving, Mitzi Alday’s mom makes tamales and her aunt prepares a turkey. This year, it will just be Alday’s immediate family, and the turkey is from Salvation Army.
On furlough since March from her job at a downtown hotel, Alday, 24, picked up a Thanksgiving feast Thursday from the Salvation Army’s Humboldt Park location. She took her 1-year-old daughter and waited for a half-hour until her name was called. Though everyone was wearing masks and keeping their distance, it was a nice experience, she said.
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“It’s been a little rough,” she said. “That was why I went this year.”
While Illinois and Chicago officials have pleaded with residents to avoid the usual celebrations, fearing a post-Thanksgiving wave of coronavirus infections, the same pandemic has prompted many to seek help with the holiday meal this year.
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[ How Chicagoans are keeping the holiday spirit alive during the pandemic ]
Alday had recently started a new job at a downtown Marriott, working the front desk for a month before the pandemic forced furloughs, she said. She’s been told she may be able to resume working early next year, “but I know cases are getting worse.”
Mitzi Alday, left, talks to Salvation Army Capt. Jennifer Clanton at the Salvation Army Freedom Center in Chicago on Thursday, Nov. 26, 2020, as Alday and other people wait to pick up Thanksgiving meals. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)
For more than two hours Thursday, Salvation Army volunteers handed out ready-to-go meals in the parking lot of its Freedom Center on Christiana Avenue. Throughout the day, a mobile unit also distributed meals to people experiencing homelessness.
In prior years, the Levy Restaurants group has prepared the meals from scratch, to be served tableside inside the Freedom Center.
This year, Levy donated 2,000 meals to the effort, and Salvation Army chefs did the cooking. They went through about 700 pounds of turkey, 300 pounds of potatoes, 250 pounds each of sweet potatoes and green beans, 130 pounds of bread and 125 pounds of cranberries.
More than 30 volunteers helped with this year’s operation, said Maj. Nancy Powers, executive director of the Salvation Army Harbor Light Center. The three cooks arrived around 11 p.m. Wednesday and pulled an all-nighter, aided by five kitchen helpers and a kitchen manager, she said.
Amanda Hejna volunteered on the food running team, bringing stuffed bags to families outside. Distribution was scheduled for 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. but a steady stream of people had them starting early and ending late, she said.
Volunteer Amanda Hejna, center, helps distribute Thanksgiving meals at the Salvation Army Freedom Center in Chicago on Thursday, Nov. 26, 2020. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)
Rather than the usual festivities with her big extended family, she will be spending the rest of the day with her siblings and parents. Hejna, 26, said she’s lucky to be able to perform her government consulting work remotely.
“I think, especially this year, everyone needs a little bit of extra support and extra love,” Hejna said. “It’s been a tough year for a lot of people, and you can really feel the gratitude.”
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As they have done on holidays since 1992, more than a dozen members of the Sikh Religious Society showed up to help. Harman Singh, 36, said he went last Christmas, but this was his first Thanksgiving. A validation engineer for a pharmaceutical company, he said he enjoys volunteering and giving to others.
“Just because of the pandemic, it doesn’t mean that volunteer work will stop,” he said.
Singh said there was plenty of food, and all went smoothly. With restrictions on gatherings including religious services, it was good to see people from his temple.
Harman J. Singh, center, and other volunteers from the Sikh Religious Society of Chicago put together Thanksgiving meals at the Salvation Army Freedom Center in Chicago on Thursday, Nov. 26, 2020. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)
Though the mobile unit wouldn’t be done until later in the evening, Powers said altogether they were on track to reach 2,000 people and food was running low at the Freedom Center by the time it closed.
Powers estimated the group served about 300 more families than is typical for Thanksgiving and that many said they had lost jobs or been given reduced hours as a result of COVID-19.
“Holidays, while joyful to most, are extremely difficult for people who are alone, depressed, homeless, or have no means to have a Thanksgiving meal,” Powers said. “... We want the holiday to bring joy to everyone. Sharing Thanksgiving is our way of sharing love.”
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Everyone deserves the joy of a warm meal on Thanksgiving, said Andy Lansing, president and CEO of Levy.
“I’m incredibly proud that we’re able to keep the tradition alive, even in the toughest of times,” Levy said in a news release. “This year we’ll do all we can to create Thanksgiving memories in a safe and responsible way, even while we can’t be there in person.”
Tribune photographer Terrence Antonio James contributed.
hleone@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-11-26--Four baby goats perish in barn fire after neighbor alerts family: ‘We would have lost everything if

Four baby goats perish in barn fire after neighbor alerts family: ‘We would have lost everything if it wasn’t for him.’

As of noontime Thursday , the barn was still smoldering , and her husband , Damon , estimated the damage @ @ @ @ @ thousands of dollars .
Because such historical structures like their barn are hard to insure @ @ @ @ @ to fund the repairs , they said .

Damon Carlson walks with his sons, Zander, 10, center, and Joshua, 7, right, on Thursday, Nov. 26, 2020, in front of their 100-year-old barn in Union, which caught fire the night before. Four baby goats, named Oreo, Roo, Hershey and S'mores, died in the fire but more than two dozen animals were rescued. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)
The Carlson family had just gone to bed at their home in Union when they heard pounding at the door and their dogs barking. So they looked out a window and saw their more-than-100-year-old barn ablaze.
Because of the quick decision of their neighbor to stop on his way to work at the McHenry County Jail, they were able to save themselves and the majority of their animals, except four baby goats, Vicky Carlson said.
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On Thanksgiving morning, Carlson said, “I am so thankful, it could have been much worse.”
But the time the Carlson family realized what was going on, their neighbor, McHenry County Jail staffer Pete Valenti, had already alerted firefighters to the scene, she said.
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At first, Valenti thought the glow from the barn was Christmas lights, but he heard crackling from the wood burning. “I grabbed the keys to the vehicles and moved them while the owners rounded up their animals,” Valenti said.
Two calves, three goats, a turkey, chickens and a flock of ducks were saved, but four baby goats named Oreo, S’mores, Hersey and Little Rou died.
Union Assistant Fire Chief Tim Camp hauls a saw up to his son, firefighter Brandon Camp, on Nov. 26, 2020, outside of a 100-year-old barn in Union that caught fire the previous night. The Camps are both volunteer firefighters. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)
The Carlson children — Zoey, 13, Eli, 12, Zander, 10, and Josh, 7 — were upset after losing the baby goats they had become fond of, so friends from Indiana their brought them four kittens to cheer them up, their mother said.
The Carlson family moved into their house about four years ago after being captivated by the more than 100-year-old barn, she said.
“Our plans were to renovate the house and the huge dairy barn. We fixed the barn up enough to have animals, and began renovating the house,” Carlson said.
As of noontime Thursday, the barn was still smoldering, and her husband, Damon, estimated the damage would probably be tens of thousands of dollars. Because such historical structures like their barn are hard to insure, the Carlsons will have to fund the repairs, they said.
When the Carlson family purchased their property it was abandoned, so they made plans to restore it. Recently, they wanted to replace the roof of the barn but COVID-19 struck. However, they were able to winterize the barn for the animals.
Tonight, they will have to figure out where to house their calves.
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A rescued calf named Thunder chews on a tree stump on Thursday, Nov. 26, 2020, outside the barn that caught fire the previous night in Union, Illinois. The Carlson family, which owns Dauntless Farms, lost four baby goats in the fire but rescued more than two dozen animals. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)
It hasn’t been officially determined yet, but the couple believes the fire started with a heating lamp that was knocked over, possibly by one of the animals.
Friends and relatives have brought over food and neighbors have offered to help clean up.
“I won’t be cooking today, but I am glad we were able to salvage some of our belongings and animals,” Carlson said. “So many people are suffering with things much worse than a barn fire.”
While Carlson was on the phone sharing her family’s ordeal, Vicky Carlson’s husband, Damon, was online trying to set up a GoFundMe account under The Dauntless Farm Rebuild to help cover some of the costs.
Wednesday night was the first time the Carlsons ever met their neighbor, Valenti. “He helped us tremendously. It was nice of him to stop on his way to work. We would have lost everything if it wasn’t for him.”
dawilliams@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-11-26--Coronavirus in Illinois updates: Health officials on Thanksgiving report 12,022 new confirmed and pr

Coronavirus in Illinois updates: Health officials on Thanksgiving report 12,022 new confirmed and probable cases and 131 more deaths Thursday

The number of COVID-19 cases is rising , along with worries and concerns : Am I doing all that I @ @ @ @ @ the coronavirus ?
Why did I test positive if I wore a mask and isolated @ @ @ @ @ been infected though I ’ m not taking any precautions , so is this even @ @ @ @ @ hard to keep up with the news with so many new developments .

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CTU workers direct vehicles lined up for COVID-19 testing outside of the Chicago Teachers Union on Dec. 30, 2021, in Chicago. CPS starts back to school on Monday following their holiday break. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)
For the latest updates, click here for Monday’s live blog.
Illinois health officials on Sunday announced 7,178 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 and 57 additional fatalities, bringing the total number of known infections in Illinois to 720,114 and the statewide confirmed death toll to 12,193 since the start of the pandemic.
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Meanwhile, the state of Illinois’ plan for distributing a COVID-19 vaccine when one becomes available puts front-line health care workers first in line to be inoculated, but shifting projections on how many initial doses the state is likely to receive and other factors make it uncertain exactly how that plan will roll out.
Dr. Anthony Fauci on Sunday said that the U.S. may see “surge upon a surge” of the coronavirus in the weeks after Thanksgiving, and he does not expect current recommendations around social distancing to be relaxed before Christmas. Fauci also said that it’s “not too late” for people traveling back home after Thanksgiving to help stop the spread of the virus by wearing masks, staying distant from others and avoiding large groups of people.
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Here’s what’s happening on Thanksgiving weekend with COVID-19 in the Chicago area and Illinois:
Sunday
7,178 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19, 57 deaths reported
Illinois health officials on Sunday announced 7,178 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 and 57 additional fatalities, bringing the total number of known infections in Illinois to 720,114 and the statewide confirmed death toll to 12,193 since the start of the pandemic.
There were 62,740 tests reported. The seven-day statewide positivity rate is 12.1%.
Illinois teachers say COVID-19 struggles are mounting and they’re ‘acutely worried about the safety and well-being’ of students
The escalating COVID-19 crisis is placing enormous burdens on Illinois teachers that could worsen an already critical teacher shortage in Illinois, public policy experts say.
The warning was based on a recent report from a researcher with the University of Illinois Institute of Government and Public Affairs, who found that teachers and administrators across the state are struggling on the job and at home because of COVID-19 stressors, which officials say could hurt teacher retention.
“The work of teachers and schools was significantly altered by the pandemic,” Meghan Kessler, an assistant professor of teacher education at the University of Illinois at Springfield and the author of the report, said in a Tuesday statement.
“Many of those changes, and the uncertainty that comes with them, will persist for the foreseeable future,” Kessler said. “In addition to intense professional challenges, teachers are coping with the stress that all families face during this pandemic around access to child care, maintaining their health and finding time for their loved ones. As the state faces significant budget shortfalls, teachers also fear that the resources they need to do their jobs will be reduced.”
Read more here. —Karen Ann Cullotta
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From food pantries to parking lot Wi-Fi, public libraries evolve during COVID-19 pandemic
When Illinois’ latest COVID-19 mitigation rules went into effect recently, public venues from casinos to museums were ordered to shut down as the virus continues its ruthless spread. One notable exception, though, was public libraries.
The decision on whether to stay open remained with them, and while many have concluded that the risk is too high, others say they’re going to stick it out, and not just for the book lending.
“It’s not enough to offer self-service,” said Megan Millen, executive director of the Joliet Public Library, which has curbed some services but is staying open. “In our community, a lot of people need our close-up assistance on how to fill out a job application or an unemployment application.”
Libraries, especially during times of crisis, have long been far more than just places where people can check out books and DVDs. With their high-speed internet connections, meeting rooms and massive depositories of information, print and otherwise, they are a beacon to those needing assistance or companionship.
That has changed during the pandemic. Libraries across the state closed for months after Gov. J.B. Pritzker issued his stay-at-home order in March, and though many reopened during the summer, some services remain diminished or unavailable for fear of transmitting the virus.
But libraries have made creative adjustments in these strange times, boosting their Wi-Fi signals so patrons can use the internet in their cars, expanding their curbside pickup services and offering all manner of virtual programming.
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Read more here. —John Keilman
Chicago nurse treating COVID-19 patients gets Thanksgiving phone call from Vice President-elect Kamala Harris: ‘I know that it’s personal for you’
University of Chicago Medical Center nurse Talisa Hardin held her phone in front of a cozy fireplace as she stared at the familiar but perhaps unexpected face on the screen: Vice President-elect Kamala Harris.
During the video call on Thursday, Harris thanked Hardin for tirelessly treating COVID-19 patients — for “everything you do every day,” according to a video posted on Harris’ Instagram account.
“I wanted to see you to say, ‘Happy Thanksgiving,’ " Harris says in the video as a loose ear bud dangles against her turtleneck. “I’ve been reading about you and just all that you do in service of so many people.”
Harris wrote that she and her husband called Hardin and other front-line workers “to thank them for everything they have done in the fight against COVID-19. We won’t be able to get through this without them.”
She also told Hardin, “I know it’s personal for you and I know ... it requires mental and emotional and physical and spiritual energy and power that you give to it, so thank you.”
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Read more here. —Elyssa Cherney
Saturday
With no action by Washington, governors and state lawmakers race to offer COVID-19 aid as daily count of new US cases tops 200,000 for first time
Faulting inaction in Washington, governors and state lawmakers are racing to get pandemic relief to small-business owners, the unemployed, renters and others whose livelihoods have been upended by the widening coronavirus outbreak.
In some cases, elected officials are spending the last of a federal relief package passed in the spring as an end-of-year deadline approaches and the fall COVID-19 surge threatens their economies anew. Democrats have been the most vocal in criticizing President Donald Trump and the GOP-controlled Senate for failing to act, but many Republican lawmakers are also sounding the alarm.
Underscoring the need for urgency, the number of new COVID-19 cases reported in the United States reached 205,557 on Friday, according to data from Johns Hopkins University – the first time its daily figure topped the 200,000 mark. Its previous daily high was 196,000 on Nov. 20.
The total number of cases reported in the U.S., since the first one in January, has topped 13 million.
Read more here. —Associated Press/Report for America
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Cook County sheriff has coronavirus, according to his office
Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart has tested positive for COVID-19, according to a press release from his office.
Dart, who has served as sheriff since 2006, received the results on Friday after being tested on Tuesday, the release said. He is experiencing symptoms of the virus as he recovers at home.
He last reported to work on Nov. 19, and began feeling symptoms the following day, according to the release. Dart then “immediately self-quarantined,” the release said.
Read more here. —Madeline Buckley
7,873 new confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases and 108 additional deaths reported
Illinois health officials on Saturday announced 7,873 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 and 108 additional fatalities, bringing the total number of known infections in Illinois to 712,936 and the statewide death toll to 12,137 since the start of the pandemic. Officials also reported 79,055 new tests in the last 24 hours.
The seven-day statewide rolling positivity rate for cases as a share of total tests was 10.1% for the period ending Friday.
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—Chicago Tribune staff
Friday
Coronavirus numbers could fluctuate after Thanksgiving, but don’t be fooled, health experts say
The coronavirus testing numbers that have guided much of the nation’s response to the pandemic are likely to be erratic over the next week or so, experts said Friday, as fewer people get tested during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend and testing sites observe shorter hours.
The result could be potential dips in reported infections that offer the illusion that the spread of the virus is easing when, in fact, the numbers say little about where the nation stands in fighting COVID-19.
“I just hope that people don’t misinterpret the numbers and think that there wasn’t a major surge as a result of Thanksgiving, and then end up making Christmas and Hanukkah and other travel plans,” said Dr. Leana Wen, a professor at George Washington University and an emergency physician.
Read more here. —Associated Press
Coronavirus is striking American mink farms, but Illinois’ shrinking fur industry has so far escaped the virus
Outbreaks of coronavirus have struck mink farms in Wisconsin and Michigan, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said. For now, though, no Illinois producers have reported finding the virus in their animals.
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Mink raised on farms to become fur coats or hats have become a recent source of coronavirus worries. A mutated form of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes COVID-19, was found in some animals in Denmark and prompted the government to order the deaths of the nation’s entire population of 17 million mink out of concern the disease could jump to humans and be resistant to vaccines.
Read more here. —John Keilman
7,574 new confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases, 66 deaths reported
Illinois health officials on Friday announced 7,574 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 and 66 additional fatalities, bringing the total number of known infections in Illinois to 705,063 and the statewide confirmed death toll to 12,029 since the start of the pandemic.
There were 77,130 tests reported in the previous 24 hours. The seven-day statewide positivity rate is 12.2%.
It was the first day since Nov. 4 that fewer than 8,000 cases were reported, though it was likely due to the Thanksgiving holiday.
Black Friday online sales could top $9 billion as shoppers in Chicago area and elsewhere stay home to buy gifts amid pandemic
Albert Edillor, 39, of Skokie, remembers years when lines for Black Friday deals stretched around store parking lots.
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Instead, there were a few dozen shoppers waiting outside a Walmart in Niles when the store opened this morning, with employees reminding them to keep a shopping cart between each group.
Black Friday long has been considered the unofficial kickoff of the holiday shopping season but in recent years, merchants have welcomed smaller crowds as they put more deals online and began offering discounts earlier in the week of Thanksgiving.
This year, with the coronavirus pandemic leaving both stores and shoppers wary of crowds, discounts were advertised even earlier in the week and retailers skipped the Thanksgiving and Black Friday “doorbuster” deals of years past.
Despite less foot traffic, sales are expected to increase between 3.6% and 5.2% this year, totaling at least $755.3 billion, according to The National Retail Federation, a trade group.
Read more here. —Lauren Zumbach and Abdel Jimenez
Illinois’ plan for COVID-19 vaccine distribution puts front-line health care workers first, but many details still up in air
The state of Illinois’ plan for distributing a COVID-19 vaccine when one becomes available puts front-line health care workers first in line to be inoculated, but shifting projections on how many initial doses the state is likely to receive, the various temperature storage requirements for different vaccines and changing federal recommendations make it uncertain exactly how that plan will roll out.
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Gov. J.B. Pritzker said this week the state will “be ready to go, we believe, as soon as those vaccines hit the ground,” as promising developments about coronavirus vaccine effectiveness continue to trickle out from studies by drugmakers. But he made clear the many challenges of distributing a long-awaited vaccine that could put an end to restrictions that have upended life and commerce in the state.
“We’re coordinating with the (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), which has been changing its recommendations along the way, which is fine, we want to make sure we get their expertise. There’s also a level of complexity because the vaccines aren’t all going to be the same. Some are going to require this -94 degrees to be stored. Some will not require that but will have different temperature requirements,” Pritzker said during one of his daily coronavirus briefings. “And so all of that should be taken into account in terms of the timing, the amount of preparation.”
Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Wednesday that the initial doses of a vaccine could be available as soon as next month, although it will be next year before shots are available for the general public.
The state in October laid out the framework for how it intends to distribute a COVID-19 vaccine with top priority going to the “critical workforce” that provides health care, staff and residents in long-term care and assisted living facilities, and essential workers outside the health care industry.
Projections of the number of doses the state will receive are “constantly in flux,” said Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike, who in one week gave dramatically different estimates.
Read more here. —Jamie Munks
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Before COVID-19, low-income college students often struggled to stay in school. The pandemic has only made it harder
Low-income college students face myriad challenges as they try to continue their education despite pandemic-related setbacks.
Some students have withdrawn from school because of changing economic circumstances, problems with online learning or difficulty connecting to virtual student services.
According to U.S. census data from August, nearly 7 million people said they canceled college plans for the fall because their income had changed during the pandemic and they could no longer pay.
Overall undergraduate enrollment at U.S. colleges is down about 4.4%, with the greatest declines seen in community colleges and among first-year students, according to the latest data from the National Student Clearinghouse. While the NSC does not break the numbers down by socioeconomic status, nontraditional and low-income students typically favor community colleges.
In Illinois, fewer students have applied for federal and state financial aid since schools closed down in March compared with the same time last year, according to the Illinois Student Assistance Commission, which administers need-based grants to college students. That’s a sign low-income students might be abandoning college plans altogether instead of seeking help with tuition.
Read more here. —Elyssa Cherney
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Here’s how to get through seasonal affective disorder during a pandemic
With our days growing shorter and the temperatures dropping, the time for seasonal affective disorder is here.
Sometimes referred to as the winter blues, seasonal affective disorder is a form of depression that occurs during the winter months.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, many Americans have reported an increase in anxiety and depression. With added levels of stress, more people may experience SAD this year.
Experts say daily exercise and reaching to people every day can help. Find out more about dealing with the disorder here. —Hannah Herrera Greenspan
Thursday
Health officials report 12,022 new confirmed and probable cases and 131 more deaths
Illinois health officials on Thanksgiving announced 12,022 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 and 131 additional fatalities, bringing the total number of known infections in Illinois to 697,489 and the statewide confirmed death toll to 11,963 since the start of the pandemic.
Americans risk traveling over Thanksgiving despite warnings
Millions of Americans took to the skies and the highways ahead of Thanksgiving at the risk of pouring gasoline on the coronavirus fire, disregarding increasingly dire warnings that they stay home and limit their holiday gatherings to members of their own household.
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Those who are flying witnessed a distinctly 2020 landscape at the nation’s airports: plexiglass barriers in front of the ID stations, rapid virus testing sites inside terminals, masks in check-in areas and on board planes, and paperwork asking passengers to quarantine on arrival at their destination.
While the number of Americans traveling by air over the past several days was down dramatically from the same time last year, many pressed ahead with their holiday plans amid skyrocketing deaths, hospitalizations and confirmed infections across the U.S.
Some were tired of more than eight months of social distancing and determined to spend time with loved ones.
“I think with the holidays and everything, it’s so important right now, especially because people are so bummed out because of the whole pandemic,” said 25-year-old Cassidy Zerkle of Phoenix, who flew to Kansas City, Missouri, to visit family during what is traditionally one of the busiest travel periods of the year.
Read more here. —Associated Press
Dead mink infected with a possible mutated form of COVID-19 resurface from graves after burial in Denmark
Some of the thousands of mink culled to minimize the risk of them re-transmitting the new coronavirus to humans have risen from their shallow graves in western Denmark after gases built up inside the bodies, Danish authorities said Thursday.
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“The gases cause the animals to expand and in the worst cases, the mink get pushed out of the ground,” Jannike Elmegaard of the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration said. He said it affected “a few hundred” animals.
Read more here. —Associated Press
Virus surge, once in the nation’s middle, gains steam all around
What started as a Midwestern surge has grown into coast-to-coast disaster.
Over the last two months, rural counties and midsize cities in the Great Plains and Upper Midwest have been the main drivers of the dizzying growth in U.S. coronavirus cases.
But the virus appears to have entered a new phase in recent days: The reason the country is continuing to break case records has less to do with North Dakota and Wisconsin than it does with swift resurgences of the virus in cities like Baltimore, Los Angeles, Miami and Phoenix and with first-time spikes in smaller cities away from the nation’s middle, like Cumberland, Maryland.
“Our people are tired,” said Maggie Hansen, chief nursing executive at Memorial Healthcare System in south Florida. “They’re tired, and they don’t see an end in sight.”
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Read more here. —The New York Times
Their teeth fell out. Was it another COVID-19 consequence?
Earlier this month, Farah Khemili popped a wintergreen breath mint in her mouth and noticed a strange sensation: a bottom tooth wiggling against her tongue.
Khemili, 43, of Voorheesville, New York, had never lost an adult tooth. She touched the tooth to confirm it was loose, initially thinking the problem might be the mint. The next day, the tooth flew out of her mouth and into her hand. There was neither blood nor pain.
Khemili survived a bout with COVID-19 this spring, and has joined an online support group as she has endured a slew of symptoms experienced by many other “long haulers”: brain fog, muscle aches and nerve pain.
There’s no rigorous evidence yet that the infection can lead to tooth loss or related problems. But among members of her support group, she found others who also described teeth falling out, as well as sensitive gums and teeth turning gray or chipping.
Read more here. —The New York Times
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No Thanksgiving reunion for couple after man barred from U.S. visit by Customs officers at O’Hare
They were a long-distance couple hoping to reunite for the holiday season.
An African man and an American woman who fell in love during a religious mission trip.
Nkosinathi Gama is a 29-year-old man from Eswatini, a country in southern Africa that was formerly known as Swaziland. Rachel Perkins is a 24-year-old seminarian student at the Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago.
They thought everything would go smoothly. Why wouldn’t they?
Gama had his visa, a return ticket and a negative COVID-19 test. Plus, Gama had visited the U.S. last year without a problem.
Read more here. —Javonte Anderson
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COVID-19 outbreak at Chicago homeless shelter points to coronavirus surge dangers, advocates say
A homeless shelter on Chicago’s West Side is grappling with an outbreak of COVID-19 cases, prompting concerns from advocates and organizations as the coronavirus surges nationwide.
The Franciscan Outreach shelter, 2715 W. Harrison St. in Lawndale, had 55 of its 140 guests test positive for the virus last week, according to Richard Ducatenzeiler, executive director of Franciscan Outreach.
A majority of those who tested positive are asymptomatic, and about 20 of the most vulnerable people were transferred to an isolation wing set up by A Safe Haven, Ducatenzeiler said. The rest were isolated in the shelter’s southern dormitory.
“We’re not designed to serve as an isolation center, so it’s definitely not a perfect setup,” Ducatenzeiler said. “They’re still having to walk through common spaces in order to go to the restroom or take a shower, and trying to control that at all times becomes difficult.”
Read more here. —Kelli Smith
Chicago State’s Lance Irvin, a 2-time cancer survivor, isn’t coaching in person this season because of the health risks COVID-19 presents
Chicago State basketball coach Lance Irvin was supposed to be in Champaign on Wednesday for the season opener.
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Instead he was home in Chicago, watching the Cougars take on Ohio on television and taking notes.
As a two-time cancer survivor, Irvin decided to step back this season, understanding that coaching during the COVID-19 pandemic raises health risks he isn’t comfortable taking.
“I’ve been through a lot,” Irvin said. “I’m trying to be smart. What I’m doing is for the health and well-being of myself and my family. I’m going with the advice of my doctor. I’m in such good shape, but we don’t want to see, if I get a serious virus, how my body will deal with it.
“It wouldn’t be smart. I was in the room when they said, ‘He’s got a 50% chance of making it.’ “
Read more here. — Shannon Ryan
Splitting 5 to 4, Supreme Court blocks New York coronavirus restrictions on houses of worship
As coronavirus cases surge again nationwide the Supreme Court late Wednesday barred New York from enforcing certain limits on attendance at churches and synagogues in areas designated as hard hit by the virus.
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The justices split 5-4 with new Justice Amy Coney Barrett in the majority. It was the conservative’s first publicly discernible vote as a justice. The court’s three liberal justices and Chief Justice John Roberts dissented.
Read more here. —Associated Press
Have a question about COVID-19? University of Chicago’s Dr. Emily Landon will answer readers’ questions Dec. 2 on Facebook Live.
The number of COVID-19 cases is rising, along with worries and concerns: Am I doing all that I can to stay safe from the coronavirus? Why did I test positive if I wore a mask and isolated? I haven’t been infected though I’m not taking any precautions, so is this even real? It can be hard to keep up with the news with so many new developments.
That’s why the Chicago Tribune is partnering with the University of Chicago to answer readers’ questions with a Facebook Live event Dec. 2. I’ll be asking readers’ questions to University of Chicago Medicine infectious diseases expert Dr. Emily Landon in hopes of quelling some of those concerns. If you have a question you haven’t been able to find an answer to, now is your chance to be heard.
The link to the Facebook Live stream will go live on our Facebook page Dec. 2. Also, our written Q&A is continuously updated, so if you have a question that we haven’t answered yet there, send it to the Tribune here.
Read more here. —Darcel Rockett


chicagotribune--2020-11-26--Daily Illinois coronavirus graphs: 131 new deaths, 12,022 new confirmed and probable cases and 107,5

Daily Illinois coronavirus graphs: 131 new deaths, 12,022 new confirmed and probable cases and 107,556 new test results

Illinois announced 12,022 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 Thursday for a total of 697,489 .
The state also @ @ @ @ @ a total of 11,963 and 107,556 new test results for a total of 10.2 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--2020-11-26--$10,000 offered for information on shooting of ‘innocent little boy’ in his Roseland home

Clareon Williams , 5 , who was shot in the head Nov. 16 , 2020 , while in his home @ @ @ @ @ West 115th Street , is shown with his father , Clarence Williams , who said @ @ @ @ @ Thanksgiving , and is in for a long recovery , but Williams is hopeful that @ @ @ @ @

Chicago police huddled with community leaders and pleaded with the public to help detectives solve the case of a little boy who is fighting for his life after being shot in the head while playing inside his own home earlier this month.
“Today he is still in extremely critical condition,” Chief of Detectives Brendan Deenihan said Wednesday, during a news conference at police headquarters, 3510 S. Michigan Ave., where the Office of Community Policing’s Glen Brooks and Early Walker, of the group I’m Telling, Don’t Shoot, also spoke.
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On Thanksgiving, the boy’s father, Clarence Williams, said his 5-year-old son, Clareon, is hospitalized at Comer Children’s Hospital and is unable to talk but can squeeze his father’s hand to lshow that “he hears us.” His eyes have been open. “He is stable,” Williams said.
Clareon is breathing on his own and moves around sometimes and tries to take the bandages off his head.
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“It’s not going to be a speedy recovery,” Williams said. “He’s going to pull through this.”
A graphic video that was circulated shortly after the 7:30 p.m. Nov. 16 attack in the 200 block of West 115th Street in the Far South Side’s Roseland neighborhood will be rereleased, Deenihan said, but police need more.
Detectives “really need the community’s help to solve this case,” Deenihan said.
A gunman opened fire from an SUV driving by the yellow brick four-flat where the boy and his family have been living for about five years.
Video released by police showed the SUV circling the block several times before a gunman in dark clothes crawls out of the front passenger window and opens fire across the roof.
The gunman starts to get back in, but leans out again and fires some more, according to the video.
“The video is out there, but we are asking for the public’s help,” Deenihan said.
Though the assailant or assailants shot at the building housing the little boy, the bullets were not meant for him or his family, according to police .
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“There are four separate apartment units. We do not believe that the offenders were shooting at this child’s apartment,” Deenihan told a reporter. “They were targeting somebody else.”
Two days after the attack, Williams, 40, was reached at the hospital, where he was at Clareon’s bedside. “They want his brain to rest,” said Williams. “Once the swelling goes down, there’s a little hope. … He’s doing better. He’s hanging on.”
Clareon was going to begin kindergarten this year but had to pause because of the pandemic.
The night of the shooting, he was sitting next to his father, playing a game with his father on an iPad, police and his father said.
Clareon Williams, 5, who was shot in the head Nov. 16, 2020, while in his home in the 200 block of West 115th Street, is shown with his father, Clarence Williams, who said Clareon remains hospitalized as of Thanksgiving, and is in for a long recovery, but Williams is hopeful that he will pull through. (Clarence Williams / HANDOUT)
“We were sitting on the couch. I was on my iPad. He loves iPads too. Someone fired through the window,” Williams said.
Business owner Early Walker, of the group I’m Telling, Don’t Shoot, announced a $10,000 reward and begged the public to call authorities if they have any information.
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“There’s someone who knows who that shooter is,” Walker said.
“Here it is, on the brink of Thanksgiving. … There’s one less family member at the table this year. He’s 5 years old,” Walker said. “That makes no sense.’'
Walker said the boy is fighting for his life.
“It’s the day before Thanksgiving, and his family is praying and hoping the child survives the night,” Walker said.
“If you are the shooter and you’re watching this: Do the right thing and turn yourself in.”
rsobol@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-11-26--3 men wounded during predawn violence in Loop, West Side

A 32-year-old man was shot and seriously wounded shortly before 4 a.m. in the Lawndale neighborhood .
He was on @ @ @ @ @ block of South Avers Avenue when the assailant walked up to him and shot him @ @ @ @ @ police said .

Two men were shot and a third stabbed during separate attacks before dawn on the city’s West Side and in the Loop.
A 32-year-old man was shot and seriously wounded shortly before 4 a.m. in the Lawndale neighborhood. He was on a sidewalk in the 1400 block of South Avers Avenue when the assailant walked up to him and shot him in the back, Chicago police said.
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He was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was listed in serious condition.
About an hour earlier, at 2:45 a.m., a drug-related attack on CTA subway property in the Loop left a man stabbed in the chest.
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An argument erupted between two men who were with a larger group standing on the Red Line platform in the 100 block of North State Street, said Officer Jessica Rocco, a police spokeswoman.
One of the men brandished a knife and plunged it into the chest of the other man. The victim was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where he was listed in fair condition.
The attacker was taken into custody but police have not announced charges.
At 7:50 p.m., two gunmen shot a 28-year-old man in a vehicle in the 2300 block of West Madison Street. He was wounded in the head and arm and was taken to Stroger Hospital, where he was in serious condition, police said.
rsobol@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-11-26--Beltrán family mourns during pandemic

Beltrán family mourns during pandemic


chicagotribune--2020-11-26--Lincoln Park North Pond

Lincoln Park North Pond

An aerial view of the North Pond in Lincoln Park in Chicago on Aug. 14, 2020. The North Pond, a natural area located within Lincoln Park, needs to be rehabilitated because it is drying up and eroding at the banks. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune)


chicagotribune--2020-11-27--Daywatch: How to shop on an unusual Black Friday

This year has taken many things from us — birthday celebrations , live concerts and simply hugging the people we @ @ @ @ @ not take our holiday season .
The Tribune staff has gathered lists of the best @ @ @ @ @ list , even if you will be hosting your holiday parties over Zoom .

Good morning, Chicago. Black Friday, the traditional kickoff to the holiday shopping season, used to draw swarms of deal-hunting shoppers to stores. This year is going to look different.
With COVID-19 cases surging, Chicago and Cook County have issued stay-at-home advisories, and the CDC has recommended shopping online for Black Friday deals and using curbside pickup.
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Here’s what you need to know about an unusual Black Friday.
Subscription sale: $1 for 6 months | For your smart speaker | Holiday gift guide | More newsletters | Puzzles & Games
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ames Cavicchia, right, with his son Joseph, 12, checks out Christmas gifts he bought at Toys et Cetera store in Hyde Park in Chicago on Nov. 18, 2020. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune)
Retailers were starting to see shoppers return to stores this fall. Now a surge in COVID-19 cases has brought new restrictions, just as Chicago-area stores were gearing up for the busiest shopping season of the year.
COVID-19 is forcing small stores across Chicago to try online retail, but “we’re not Amazon.”
(Chicago Tribune)
This year has taken many things from us — birthday celebrations, live concerts and simply hugging the people we love. But COVID-19 cannot take our holiday season. The Tribune staff has gathered lists of the best gifts for everyone on your list, even if you will be hosting your holiday parties over Zoom.
Momentum Coffee and Coworking owners Nikki Bravo and Tracy Powell are seen Nov. 17, 2020, at their business in Chicago's South Loop. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)
The city is encouraging Chicagoans to support Black-owned businesses on Black Friday, the traditional kickoff to the holiday shopping season, with a website promoting more than 500 local businesses.
The initiative, called “Black Shop Friday,” includes a directory of Black-owned businesses by the type of products sold and neighborhood. The website, www.BlackShopFriday.com, launched Tuesday.
A vintage sign with a prior address for the legendary Jazz Showcase is displayed inside at the club, now in Chicago's South Loop; $25-$100 at www.jazzshowcase.com (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune)
If you’re a Chicago arts lover, you can give twice this holiday season by choosing a gift that’s fun to give and receive and also that helps support Chicago’s artists, performers, musicians and venues, most of whom are in need of some extra holiday funds this year.
The writers and critics of the Tribune’s A+E section suggest these 12 items for your list.
Edward Hazboun shops for holiday presents at Timeless Toys in Chicago's Lincoln Square neighborhood on Nov. 23, 2020. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)
If you’re scratching your head trying to come up with good affordable gift ideas, look no further. BestReviews has compiled a list to help point you in the right direction of gifts that are thoughtful, but not too expensive.


chicagotribune--2020-11-27--Illinois’ plan for COVID-19 vaccine distribution puts front-line health care workers first, but many

Illinois’ plan for COVID-19 vaccine distribution puts front-line health care workers first, but many details still up in air

“ We ’ ve been working since the beginning on this in terms of securing — we have freezer trucks @ @ @ @ @ able to carry the vaccine that we know have to be held at that especially @ @ @ @ @ said .
“ We ’ ve been working with our local health departments that put @ @ @ @ @ how we will get this vaccine disseminated , we have our ground game giving virtual @ @ @ @ @ different groups to prepare them , to have them ask questions about the vaccine so @ @ @ @ @ the information they need to make the most informed decision .
”

CTU workers direct vehicles lined up for COVID-19 testing outside of the Chicago Teachers Union on Dec. 30, 2021, in Chicago. CPS starts back to school on Monday following their holiday break. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)
The state of Illinois’ plan for distributing a COVID-19 vaccine when one becomes available puts front-line health care workers first in line to be inoculated, but shifting projections on how many initial doses the state is likely to receive, the various temperature storage requirements for different vaccines and changing federal recommendations make it uncertain exactly how that plan will roll out.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker said this week the state will “be ready to go, we believe, as soon as those vaccines hit the ground,“ as promising developments about coronavirus vaccine effectiveness continue to trickle out from studies by drugmakers. But he made clear the many challenges of distributing a long-awaited vaccine that could put an end to restrictions that have upended life and commerce in the state.
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“We’re coordinating with the (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), which has been changing its recommendations along the way, which is fine, we want to make sure we get their expertise. There’s also a level of complexity because the vaccines aren’t all going to be the same. Some are going to require this -94 degrees to be stored. Some will not require that but will have different temperature requirements,” Pritzker said during one of his daily coronavirus briefings. “And so all of that should be taken into account in terms of the timing, the amount of preparation.”
Gov. J.B. Pritzker speaks during his daily coronavirus news conference on Nov. 4, 2020, at the Thompson Center in Chicago. (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune)
Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Wednesday that the initial doses of a vaccine could be available as soon as next month, although it will be next year before shots are available for the general public.
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The state in October laid out the framework for how it intends to distribute a COVID-19 vaccine with top priority going to the “critical workforce” that provides health care, staff and residents in long-term care and assisted living facilities, and essential workers outside the health care industry.
Projections of the number of doses the state will receive are “constantly in flux,” said Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike, who in one week gave dramatically different estimates.
Ezike said last week that officials were initially told Illinois would at first get about 400,000 doses. As of Tuesday, she said that estimate had been reduced to “something like 80,000” initial doses.
“We know that even if everything goes smoothly in the next couple of weeks and the vaccine is shipped, we know there won’t be many doses,” Ezike said Tuesday.
“We are staying very nimble to be able to adjust. As the feds give us more information, we adjust and tweak our plan. The CDC and the feds have seen our plan, and they’ve told us that we look good with what we’re planning. We have hospitals that have signed up to be COVID vaccine providers, and so we know that first tranche of vaccines will go to the hospital workers, individuals who are on the front lines in terms of working directly with COVID patients, who are in the face of COVID every day, as well as our first responders, which will also include our National Guard,” she said.
People exit a Walgreens on Nov. 23, 2020 in Burbank, California, where a sign is posted alerting customers the COVID-19 vaccine isn't available yet. (Robyn Beck/Getty-AFP)
The plan the state made public in October prioritizes health care workers over first responders. From there, other “essential workers” outside the health care industry and people at high risk of experiencing a severe illness if they contract COVID-19, including residents of long-term care facilities, others with high-risk medical conditions, and those aged 65 and over, would take priority.
As more doses of the vaccine becomes available, and the most critical groups, as identified by the plan, have had the opportunity to be inoculated, the vaccines would start becoming available to the general population.
The timeline for how long it will take to reach the general population stage in distribution after the vaccine first becomes ready isn’t clear at this point, but public health officials have predicted it will take months for the vaccine to become that widely accessible.
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This week, the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca reported that the vaccine it’s developing with Oxford University was up to 90% effective. Earlier this month, Moderna and Pfizer reported results from studies that showed their respective vaccines were nearly 95% effective.
AstraZeneca’s vaccine does not need to be stored at ultracold temperatures like Pfizer’s does, which would likely make it easier to distribute.
The ultimate mission of the state’s vaccination plan is to administer potentially two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine to 80% of Illinois residents, in line with CDC guidelines. That’s the percentage of the population that’s considered necessary to be immune to the virus in order to achieve herd immunity, according to the plan.
The state’s vaccine framework calls for local public health agencies to create their own complementary plan to the state’s, and to gauge the capacity of hospitals, long-term care and assisted-living facilities, and other potential vaccine providers for ordering, receiving and administering vaccines to the public.
The state public health department will estimate allocations of the vaccine from there based on population, the level of illness in the area and vaccine availability, with a goal of administering the vaccine equitably through the state.
Based on population alone, if the state received a shipment of 200,000 doses, for example, suburban Cook County would get 56,000 of them. Downstate Calhoun County, the state’s smallest public health jurisdiction, would receive 100 doses.
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Those proportions will be adjusted to account for virus hot spots, which could cause certain areas to receive a larger share, as well as to ensure an equitable distribution across the state.
Chicago would get its own distribution of the vaccine directly from the CDC under the plan.
Lightfoot this week reiterated that the city is still working on how it will distribute vaccines when they become available. Who gets the vaccine first and the order from there will be determined by federal guidelines, but she said the city already has a robust system for distributing vaccines. Initial doses will go to health care workers, followed by high-risk individuals. But all adults should be able to get vaccines sometime in 2021, Lightfoot said.
Tracking vaccine administration across the state is another key part of the state’s plan, and once a vaccine is available, the state will build off its existing vaccine registry system that tracks immunizations for children to log the geographic distribution of the virus. As more doses become available, the state’s plan will prioritize harder-hit areas and places where a smaller share of the population has been immunized.
If the vaccine requires two doses separated by a few weeks, the tracking system can trigger reminders for timing on additional doses. Tracking is also needed for reporting adverse effects or reactions after the vaccine is administered.
The state’s plan calls for vaccine providers to include in their reporting procedures “clinically important adverse events,” including identifying a safety coordinator and a point of contact who would be available 24/7. Adverse effects of vaccines are reported on a national scale using the existing Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System that is co-run by the CDC and the federal Food and Drug Administration.
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Vaccine providers are required to report daily vaccine administration and inventory to the state Department of Public Health.
The plan also calls for a wide range of guidance and training to vaccine providers once a vaccine is available, including ordering, storage and handling, administering the vaccine to the public and documenting that, as well as a statewide media campaign with information about the vaccine and to encourage people to seek it out.
The state’s plan draws on lessons learned from the H1N1 mass vaccine administration, including a need for better coordination with local public health agencies on identifying and approving providers to administer the vaccine; more efficient systems for ordering doses, and tracking inventory and administered vaccines; and “developing fair and equitable vaccine allocation practices.”
Ezike this week ticked through an array of things the state’s public health agency is doing in order to get ready for the initial vaccine shipments.
“We’ve been working since the beginning on this in terms of securing — we have freezer trucks that are going to be able to carry the vaccine that we know have to be held at that especially low temperature,” Ezike said. “We’ve been working with our local health departments that put their plans in place for how we will get this vaccine disseminated, we have our ground game giving virtual town halls and talks to different groups to prepare them, to have them ask questions about the vaccine so that they can have all the information they need to make the most informed decision.”
jmunks@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-11-27--Before COVID-19, low-income college students often struggled to stay in school. The pandemic has onl

Before COVID-19, low-income college students often struggled to stay in school. The pandemic has only made it harder: ‘Either my work suffers or my school suffers.’

“ I don ’ t feel comfortable going to a cafe or anything currently , ” said Castillo , 20 @ @ @ @ @ expose her relatives to COVID-19 .
The laundry room is “ not the best , @ @ @ @ @ I would prefer to be outside with my dogs because I like sitting in nature @ @ @ @ @ way too cold for that right now .
”

When Ximena Castillo needs to focus on her college coursework, she walks down the hall from her basement apartment in Chicago’s Gage Park neighborhood and settles into her new study spot: the laundry room.
No one bothers her there. It’s quiet and the temperature is comfortable — until, that is, one of her neighbors needs to wash or dry a load.
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But Castillo, a junior at Dominican University in River Forest, still prefers working there than in the small unit she shares with her parents, which is full of distractions. She used to live on campus, but she moved home after the coronavirus pandemic erupted and doesn’t have her own bedroom anymore.
Sophomore Ximena Castillo, a graphic design and marketing major, does homework at Dominican University on Nov. 24, 2020, in River Forest, Illinois. (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune)
“I don’t feel comfortable going to a cafe or anything currently,” said Castillo, 20, who worries she could expose her relatives to COVID-19. The laundry room is “not the best, but not the worst. I would prefer to be outside with my dogs because I like sitting in nature, but it’s way too cold for that right now.”
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Finding a setting conducive to schoolwork is just one of the myriad challenges low-income college students face as they try to continue their education despite pandemic-related setbacks.
Some students have withdrawn from school because of changing economic circumstances, problems with online learning or difficulty connecting to virtual student services.
According to U.S. census data from August, nearly 7 million people said they canceled college plans for the fall because their income had changed during the pandemic and they could no longer pay.
Overall undergraduate enrollment at U.S. colleges is down about 4.4%, with the greatest declines seen in community colleges and among first-year students, according to the latest data from the National Student Clearinghouse. While the NSC does not break the numbers down by socioeconomic status, nontraditional and low-income students typically favor community colleges.
In Illinois, fewer students have applied for federal and state financial aid since schools closed down in March compared with the same time last year, according to the Illinois Student Assistance Commission, which administers need-based grants to college students. That’s a sign low-income students might be abandoning college plans altogether instead of seeking help with tuition.
“For our low-income students, they are obviously struggling with their education and helping out with their families,” said Jacqueline Moreno, an executive staff member at ISAC. “It’s not entirely different from what low-income students face when they are first-generation college students in any year — it’s just exacerbated right now, and people are paying more attention.”
Unlike in families where going to university is expected, Moreno said, low-income and first-generation college students often feel guilt for pursuing higher education and not immediately entering the workforce to help with household bills.
Castillo, a graphic design major, is trying her best to stay on track. She’s refinanced her student loans, received help from her school’s COVID-19 relief fund and taken on extra jobs to put toward her tuition.
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Her mom, who works at a Little Caesars, and her father, a construction worker on medical leave prior to the pandemic, don’t make enough to cover the cost but have always encouraged her to pursue higher education, though they didn’t go to college.
But between picking up shifts as a hostess at a University Village restaurant and trying to complete her coursework, Castillo is often exhausted. She’s still more than $2,000 behind on school payments and can’t register for spring classes until she puts forward more money, she said.
Ximena Castillo checks orders on a register during her shift as a hostess and busser at a restaurant in the University Village neighborhood on Nov. 25, 2020, in Chicago. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)
At the same time, her shifts at the restaurant have dried up as business slows due to the pandemic and the ban on indoor dining. Castillo used to work up to five days a week at Bar Louie but is now lucky if she gets scheduled for one.
“It’s a lot on my plate,” said Castillo, who went to George Westinghouse College Prep in East Garfield Park, part of Chicago Public Schools. “I feel like either my work suffers or my school suffers, and it’s so hard.
“For a while I was juggling two jobs on top of school, and I felt like I was drowning. No sleep. Constantly on energy drinks and coffee just to get by. And it was so unsatisfying because I would do my best at everything and get half done.”
‘It went downhill this semester’
Taking time off from college was not part of Jony Estrada’s plan. Though he was nervous about starting classes this fall at the University of Illinois at Chicago, Estrada had been eager to study economics and wanted to minor in finance.
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The 21-year-old, however, began to feel overwhelmed with virtual learning and the amount of coursework. The large class sizes didn’t help — Estrada said he grew anxious waiting for professors to reply to emailed questions — and he struggled to connect with UIC tutors when he tried to reach them by phone.
“I never considered taking a gap year until this year, when this whole pandemic started,” said Estrada, who lives in the West Elsdon neighborhood, near Midway Airport, with his parents. “It went downhill this semester. I don’t know if it’s because I’m a new student and I’m not familiar with how things work around here or just because of the work.”
Estrada earned his associate degree from Loyola University Chicago over the summer and participates in a program through the nonprofit Bottom Line, which helps low-income and first-generation students reach college and obtain a degree.
While Estrada hoped to continue making progress this semester, he felt staying in school would negatively affect his mental health, so he dropped his four classes just before midterms.
Chris Broughton, executive director of Bottom Line’s Chicago operations, said most of the 1,500 students in his programs are sticking with school even though they don’t like online classes.
“About 85% or more of our students are staying enrolled in college and trying to persist and navigate this new remote learning environment, even though it’s been a challenge,” he said. “Students are generally feeling dissatisfied and not enjoying that experience in the way they envisioned.”
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For now, Estrada hopes to get an internship in a business-related field as he decides whether to return to UIC in the spring. He’s not sure if he should wait until next year, when there might be a better chance for in-person learning to resume.
“I will graduate because that’s my goal also ― to get a diploma, to get a bachelor’s degree ― but I think right now I need a little break,” he said. “I just don’t think I’m ready for this semester.”
Deepening inequities
While anecdotes of students delaying college abound, the Illinois Board of Higher Education is trying to prevent students from pausing their studies.
As part of a new campaign called “Stay the Course,” IBHE is publicizing data that shows “a significant percentage” of students who take gap years never complete college. The trend is especially prevalent for low-income students, rural students and students of color, the campaign says.
“Almost all of the new jobs created since the 2008 recession require some kind of credential beyond high school,” the IBHE campaign says in social media posts and online messages.
According to one NSC study, only 10.5% of roughly the 1.6 million students who had dropped out of Illinois colleges returned to school between 2013 and 2018. Across all states, only 13% returned, and fewer graduated.
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But today, as the pandemic enters its ninth month and a new wave of infections triggers statewide restrictions, some of the obstacles can seem insurmountable.
Jermaine Lash, who attended City Colleges of Chicago, is also taking this semester off because of problems with his financial aid.
Lash, 21, of Englewood, said he is seven credits away from earning an associate degree in business administration from Richard J. Daley College, one of the community college network’s campuses. But complications with his Federal Pell Grant, assistance that goes to undergraduates with exceptional financial need, have prevented him from enrolling in fall classes.
Lash’s advisers at One Million Degrees, an organization that helps Illinois community college students, said his predicament is especially difficult because he must deal with virtual student services at CCC during the arduous process of verifying his financial records.
Part of the holdup: Lash’s mother recently died from health issues unrelated to the pandemic, and he can’t access her tax documents, Lash said.
“I feel like it would be 10 times better if I could just talk to them in person,” Lash said. “Then they’ll get a better understanding and help guide me to the right path on figuring out a solution.”
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Until then, Lash is working in the deli at a Jewel-Osco close to downtown. He hopes the paperwork will be sorted out in time for spring classes but worries he might need to skip next semester too.
“I just want to finish this. I like college,” he said. “I went ever since I got out of high school. ... Ever since then, I’ve never taken a break or anything. So now this is something new to me. ... It doesn’t really feel right.”
As a whole, Illinois community colleges are enduring a major hit from the pandemic, with enrollment plunging nearly 14% this fall, according to data from the Illinois Community College Board.
While IBHE hasn’t released fall enrollment figures for the state’s public universities, the NSC estimates overall college enrollment in Illinois dropped by 6.4%.
The gap indicates how the pandemic is disproportionately affecting low-income communities of color, said Lisa Castillo Richmond, managing director of the Partnership for College Completion, a Chicago nonprofit. She’s concerned the pandemic will further deepen inequities in higher education.
“Our community colleges serve our most vulnerable students,” she said. “They serve much greater proportions of low-income students, first-generation students, African American students and Latinx students.”
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The number of students seeking financial aid through state and federal grants has also dropped off since the pandemic closed schools in March, a sign that college may seem out of reach for some.
As of mid-November, the state’s need-based Monetary Award Program had received 8% fewer applications from eligible students compared with the same point last year, according to ISAC.
For the 2021-22 school year, applications from MAP-eligible students have dropped by 9%, though it’s still early in the cycle. Submissions only opened Oct. 1.
‘Students will work their tails off’
During the pandemic, Dominican University has seen a “dramatic increase” in financial aid appeals, which students can file when there’s a change in their economic situation.
For many, that’s due to a family member losing a job, health care costs and other unforeseen expenses, said Victoria Spivak, assistant vice president of student enrollment services and director of financial aid.
“Dominican serves a very high-needs population,” she said. “We are over 50% Pell eligible. ... We also serve a significant number of undocumented students.”
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In response to financial aid appeals, Dominican provided additional institutional aid and also distributed money made available to students through the federal coronavirus relief program. Students can use those grants to pay for pandemic-related expenses including food, housing and technology. So far, Dominican had awarded nearly $1.5 million in such grants, a spokeswoman said.
Broughton, of Bottom Line, said his organization also doled out more than $160,000 to help students with groceries and other emergency expenses over the last 10 months through a new fund.
But for students like Castillo, the struggle continues. Her mom lost two weeks of wages, she said, after someone at Little Caesars contracted COVID-19 and she had to quarantine due to the exposure.
Ximena Castillo wipes down glass doors and handles during her shift as a hostess at a restaurant in the University Village neighborhood on Nov. 25, 2020, in Chicago. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)
Castillo has more time to study since her shifts at Bar Louie have been reduced, but she’s anxious she won’t have enough money to pay down her balance in time for spring classes.
Students can’t register for courses if they owe $1,000 or more in unpaid fees, said Mark Carbonara, Dominican’s director of academic advising and first-year experience, who’s been helping Castillo look for more scholarships.
“Our students will work their tails off — second and third shift ― in order to pay for college,” but those jobs are disappearing because of COVID-19, he said.
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While it’s nerve-wracking to wait, Castillo said she remains hopeful she’ll come up with money to attend next semester. She said the adversity will make her a stronger person in the end.
“I just remind myself how lucky I am to even have the opportunity to go to school,” she said. “I know a lot of people in my neighborhood who didn’t have the same opportunities as I did.”
echerney@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-11-27--Local bar hosts Christkindlmarket-themed pop-up event, as the popular holiday market goes virtual

DMen Tap co-owner Shawn Podgurski said he ’ s been a vendor at Christkindlmarket for the past six years , @ @ @ @ @ the in-person festivities , which were canceled because of rising COVID-19 cases .
The event @ @ @ @ @ first time since Christkindlmarket began downtown in 1996 , organized by German American Events LLC @ @ @ @ @ holiday-themed open market has expanded to sites in the Wrigleyville neighborhood and Milwaukee .
A @ @ @ @ @ west suburban Naperville for several years as well .

A Chicago bar is hosting a Christkindlmarket-inspired pop-up event, offering an in-person taste of the popular German-themed holiday festival and open market, which has shifted to a virtual format this season.
Patrons can buy hot cider or cocoa in commemorative Christkindlmarket mugs at the Christmas Market Pop Up at DMen Tap in the Avondale neighborhood. The event will be held at the bar’s food truck, which is parked out front, from Nov. 27 through Christmas Eve.
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To help relive the Christkindlmarket experience, visitors can take pictures in front of a photo backdrop of a previous Christkindlmarket at Daley Plaza.
“Through the years we have seen how important of a tradition market visits for food and drink were to the people of Chicago,” DMen Tap said in a news release. “From couples who had their first date at the market, to kids looking forward to their annual hot cocoa, the absence of its food element will be felt.”
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Chris and Jill Failla in front of a pop-up Christkindlmarket event at DMen Tap in the Avondale neighborhood on Nov. 27, 2020. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)
The food truck is also selling take-home spiced wine kits and food items such as schnitzel, German sausage and a Raclette sandwich, where the semihard cheese is melted to-order from a giant wheel on site.
DMen Tap co-owner Shawn Podgurski said he’s been a vendor at Christkindlmarket for the past six years, and he’ll miss the in-person festivities, which were canceled because of rising COVID-19 cases. The event has gone virtual for the first time since Christkindlmarket began downtown in 1996, organized by German American Events LLC. Since then, the holiday-themed open market has expanded to sites in the Wrigleyville neighborhood and Milwaukee. A similar event was held in west suburban Naperville for several years as well.
“Although the beloved holiday event cannot take place in-person this year, visitors will be able to enjoy the tradition from the comfort and safety of their homes,” the event website states, adding that the online market and various activities will be available through Dec. 31.
Like most restaurants and bars, Podgurski said DMen Tap has struggled during the pandemic. The business began with the DonerMen Food Truck in 2013, and expanded into the bricks-and-mortar venue in 2017, which makes much of its profit from large events, he said.
“Our business model has been completely shattered,” he said. “It’s been bad, it’s been rough. We feel kind of abandoned here.”
Podgurski added that the pop-up event will be outdoors and take social distancing precautions.
“Just so you can have something to keep tradition alive this year — a safe fun, experience,” he said. “It’s going to be a quick experience, but at least it’s something.”
eleventis@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-11-27--Prosecutors agree to drop murder cases against pair, but judges aren’t on board

Prosecutors do not have the power to throw out a guilty verdict .
If they decide they can not stand @ @ @ @ @ must ask a judge to vacate the conviction , or at least say they do @ @ @ @ @ .
After that , prosecutors can dismiss the charges , indicating they do not intend @ @ @ @ @ on a new trial .

This fall, Cook County prosecutors reversed course on two men accused in a decades-old double murder.
The cases against Wayne Antusas and Nicholas Morfin were on shaky ground, they said. The judges should throw out their convictions, and in turn prosecutors would drop the charges and the men would be freed.
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Wayne Antusas, left, and Nicholas Morfin. (Illinois Department of Correctio / Chicago Tribune handout)
It is a common enough story for a state’s attorney’s office that boasts a progressive record reversing wrongful convictions. It usually ends with the inmate’s joyful release from custody, and later, a lucrative lawsuit.
But instead, the judges presiding over Antusas’ and Morfin’s cases made an almost unheard-of move. They disagreed with the reversal plan.
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It is ultimately judges’ responsibility — not prosecutors’ — to decide if convictions should stand, they said.
“I do not think it is good practice for a judge to rubber-stamp an agreement the parties have entered into on something the court, not the parties, have province over,” Judge Timothy Joyce said in court.
Joyce indicated he had significant doubts about Antusas’ claims of innocence, and threw out his petition for a new trial.
Judge Arthur Hill declined to toss out Morfin’s conviction, and ordered an evidentiary hearing where Morfin will have to prove that he was wrongfully convicted.
If more judges at the Leighton Criminal Court Building follow suit and decline to throw out convictions after prosecutors have agreed to drop the cases, that could mark a sea change in the way alleged wrongful convictions are handled in Cook County, once known as the wrongful conviction capital of the country.
Two girls slain
Morfin and Antusas were convicted of murder in the 1995 killing of two 13-year-old girls, Carrie Hovel and Helena Martin.
The teenage gunman, Eric Anderson, the son of a Chicago cop, opened fire trying to hit a gang rival. Instead, he shot Carrie and Helena, who were sitting in a van near an elementary school.
Prosecutors at the time said Anderson acted as part of a plot with fellow gang members, and they cast a wide net, charging several other Almighty Popes.
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Among them were Matthew Sopron, the gang’s leader, who allegedly gave the order; Antusas, his second-in-command; and Morfin, who allegedly helped plan the attack. If they worked in concert, they all could be guilty of murder, even though Anderson was the only one who fired shots.
Also charged was William Bigeck, who flipped on the others in exchange for a plea deal. He was a crucial witness — and when he and others recanted, the case got significantly messier.
Sopron launched a bid for a new trial. And midway through a 2018 hearing on his innocence claims, prosecutors told Joyce they had reconsidered and asked him to toss out Sopron’s conviction.
An uncertain judge
Prosecutors do not have the power to throw out a guilty verdict. If they decide they cannot stand by a case, they must ask a judge to vacate the conviction, or at least say they do not object to doing so. After that, prosecutors can dismiss the charges, indicating they do not intend to bring the defendant up on a new trial.
In the face of an unopposed request to toss out a case, judges generally do so. That’s what happened in Sopron’s case: Joyce vacated the conviction, after which prosecutors dropped charges. Sopron and his family rejoiced.
But ever since, Joyce has doubted whether he made the right call, he said in court this month after prosecutors asked him to throw out Antusas’ conviction too.
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He didn’t think he had a choice but to throw out Sopron’s case. But in the nearly two years since, he had researched the law and come to a different conclusion. Antusas’ conviction would stand.
“I believe it would be yet another error ... to grant the petition simply because the parties agreed that it ought to be granted,” he said Nov. 18.
Antusas’ argument for exoneration largely tracked Sopron’s. Eric Anderson, the shooter, along with Morfin both testified at Sopron’s 2018 hearing that there was no plan to shoot at the van. And Antusas’ attorneys said Bigeck was pressured into lying by an unscrupulous prosecutor, who gave him special privileges in exchange for flipping on his co-defendants — like letting him visit the state’s attorney’s office to watch pornography and order takeout.
Prosecutors did not concede that the state’s attorney acted unethically. But they did say they could no longer consider Bigeck a credible witness.
“Because Bigeck has changed his story so often, the People cannot ascertain the truth at this point,” prosecutors wrote in a filing. “A conviction based on perjury cannot stand.”
Joyce didn’t buy it. Case law warns that recantations should be considered with skepticism, and while Bigeck has certainly perjured himself, “that doesn’t end the game,” he said. Witnesses frequently take the stand and deny having made statements to police or a grand jury, and that doesn’t mean entire convictions are thrown out, he said.
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Joyce did not find Anderson credible, either — indicating that he likely tried to clear his co-defendants’ names out of guilt.
“It’s from (his) criminal act that so many lives are ruined, beginning with Carrie Hovel and Helena Martin,” the judge said. “And these defendants, gangbanger wannabe knuckleheads ... most go down for natural life sentences. Their lives are ruined, their families’ lives are ruined. All because of Eric Anderson. What a weight that must be on his soul.”
And while Joyce was not tasked with determining Antusas’ guilt, the judge indicated strongly that the defendant had not made a good argument for innocence.
So rather than throw out the conviction — which both prosecutors and defense attorneys wanted — or move the case to an evidentiary hearing, he denied Antusas’ petition altogether.
Antusas’ attorneys said in court they intend to appeal.
A few days later, Judge Hill took a different tactic in Morfin’s case, staying away from the facts of the matter and the underlying allegations. He ruled only that there needs to be a hearing on Morfin’s claims.
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Cook County prosecutors now must decide how to participate in a hearing about a case they have already said they don’t support. The office declined to comment because the matter is pending.
‘I wish it would just get over with’
When prosecutors called Tom Hovel — Carrie’s father — to say they intended to drop the Antusas and Morfin cases, Hovel was “livid,” he told the Tribune.
“So emotional, I couldn’t even focus on anything,” he said. “I hadn’t felt like that in years ... it went right to the heart.”
Nicole Loye, Antusas’ sister, greeted the news with joy. She heard about prosecutors’ decision just an hour after she buried her uncle, who died of COVID-19, she told the Tribune in an email.
“Finally some good news,” she said. “Even his prison was getting the paperwork ready. I didn’t know the judge had to sign the order, I just knew the state conceded and didn’t want to prosecute any further.”
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For Joyce to have denied her brother’s petition without a full hearing is a “miscarriage of justice,” she wrote. Coronavirus is raging behind bars, and Loye said her parents are in poor health.
“The judge was supposed to look at the new evidence when we had our hearing and he didn’t care to,” she said. “He made all inferences/assumptions.”
Hovel was surprised and happy to hear the judges had not thrown out Antusas and Morfin’s convictions, as had been expected.
Both Morfin and Antusas are close to the end of their sentences as it is. Even if they lose their bids for exoneration, Morfin is slated for release in July and Antusas is scheduled to be paroled in 2024.
So after a quarter-century of trials, appeals, resentencings, post-conviction petitions and general uncertainty, Hovel knows that one way or another, closure is at hand.
“I was very happy with it, but I wish it would just get over with already,” he said. “It’s been going on since 1995. It’s 2020 now. I mean … no one family or one victim — they shouldn’t have to go through this.”
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Nicole Loye is the sister of Wayne Antusas. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)
mcrepeau@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-11-27--Coronavirus in Illinois updates: 7,574 new confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases, 66 deaths reported

Coronavirus in Illinois updates: 7,574 new confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases, 66 deaths reported Friday as state tops 12,000 fatalities

“ We ’ re coordinating with the ( Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ) , which has been changing @ @ @ @ @ , which is fine , we want to make sure we get their expertise .
@ @ @ @ @ level of complexity because the vaccines aren ’ t all going to be the same @ @ @ @ @ require this -94 degrees to be stored .
Some will not require that but will @ @ @ @ @ ” Pritzker said during one of his daily coronavirus briefings .
“ And so all @ @ @ @ @ into account in terms of the timing , the amount of preparation .
”