chicagotribune--2020-09-02--17-year-old activist Caleb Reed was shot to death by a friend who was aiming at a passing car in Wes

17-year-old activist Caleb Reed was shot to death by a friend who was aiming at a passing car in West Rogers Park, prosecutors now say

He was killed on the last day of the most violent month in Chicago in 28 years .
At least @ @ @ @ @ July , more than double the same month last year , according to data kept @ @ @ @ @ ’ s the most homicides the city has seen in a single month since September @ @ @ @ @ recorded .

Jasmine Bradley, left, comforts her brother, Jermaine Pleasant, during a gathering outside Mather High School in Chicago, Aug. 4, 2020, to remember their brother, slain teen activist Caleb Reed. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)
The initial story of Caleb Reed’s death was tragic enough: A 17-year-old activist with a bright future killed on a West Rogers Park sidewalk when someone shot from a passing car.
But a month later, as prosecutors brought charges in the case, a more devastating narrative emerged: Reed was killed by his own friend shooting blindly at a car down the street.
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Video shows Genove Martin, 18, “kind of fired over his shoulder” at a Chevy Malibu about three houses down, but Reed was right behind him and the bullet hit him in the forehead, Assistant State’s Attorney James Murphy said in court Tuesday.
Video also shows that no one in the Malibu shot back until Reed began collapsing to the ground.
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Judge John Lyke Jr. called the shooting a “tragedy with a capital T” but denied prosecutors’ request to hold Martin without bail on a first-degree murder charge. Instead, Lyke ordered him held on $300,000 bond.
Martin was college-bound, involved in mentoring and community service, and had himself been shot just last year, according to his attorney. He was arrested Sunday morning on the westbound ramp of I-94 near 70th and State streets, according to Chicago police.
Genove Martin (Chicago Police Department)
Murder charges are commonly brought in fatal shootings when a gunman kills an unintended target. Prosecutors do not have to prove Martin shot his friend on purpose — only that he meant to kill someone else, or knew that he likely could have killed someone by firing his gun.
Reed, 17, was a leader with Voices of Youth in Chicago Education, a coalition of community organizations advocating for racial justice in the education system. Members said they saw Reed as an activist full of potential, always pushing himself and others to work harder.
He was walking with Martin and two other friends in the 1900 block of West Granville Avenue on the afternoon of July 31 when a gray Chevy Malibu passed them from the opposite direction, Murphy said in court.
Reed was at the back of their group as Martin looked over his shoulder to eye the Malibu as it drove off, Murphy said.
When the Malibu stopped, Martin reached into his pocket, pulled a gun and shot toward the car, then kept firing as his friends ran toward him, Murphy said. As Martin took off running, he fired one last time over his shoulder, the shot that struck his friend in the head.
Caleb Reed talks to reporters outside of City Hall about removing police from Chicago Public Schools on June 16, 2020. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)
Only then did someone in the Malibu return fire, Murphy said. Reed was taken to St. Francis Hospital in Evanston and pronounced dead two days later.
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After Martin’s arrest Sunday, he identified himself in a still from the surveillance video of the shooting, but denied having a gun and said he did not fire any shots, Murphy said.
When police showed him the video where he can be seen firing, Martin had no response.
Martin did tell police he had seen the Malibu shortly before the shooting, according to a source with knowledge of the case. Martin said someone in the car yelled out at their group and ordered them to flash gang signs, then the driver reversed and someone inside showed a gun, according to the source.
That part of the story, if it occurred, was not captured on video, the source said.
Martin told police their group kept walking, but the car circled back and found them a few minutes later, at which point the shooting happened, according to the source.
Judge Lyke Jr. called the case “a tragedy on many levels,” noting that Martin himself had been a victim of gun violence last year.
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“He’s so concerned ... he shoots his own friend (while) trying to shoot at the other car,” the judge said. “His lawyer tells me he’s on his way to college. Had he made it, that could have changed his life. … I typically don’t get this kind of young man charged with this kind of offense in front of me. I’m just stunned.”
Both Reed and Martin participated in Becoming A Man, an academic and character development program offered at schools across the city. The program was launched nearly two decades ago at Roberto Clemente High School and served as a safe space for young men to develop social and emotional skills, according to their website.
Reed’s BAM counselor Dan Clucas also worked with Martin, according to the assistant public defender in court Tuesday.
During a news conference in early August, Clucas reflected on Reed’s time in the BAM program, adding it would not be the same without him.
“One of the unique abilities that Caleb had was the ability to connect emotionally, the ability to get vulnerable and to have ruthless self-examination where he looked inside himself and challenged himself to get better on a daily basis.”
Clucas was not available for comment Tuesday.
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Voices for Youth in Chicago Education, where Reed was a youth leader, released a statement Tuesday saying he had advocated not just to end violence but “to get help for young people who need to heal from the trauma they experience as a result of that violence.”
“What happened to Caleb is not a unique situation,” the statement read. “The tragic action that led to Caleb’s death is undeniably a call to invest in Black Lives.”
Laqueanda Reneau, an organizer with the group, said members were taken aback when they first learned of the charges.
“You want to understand what was going through that young person’s mind,” Renaeu said Tuesday. “You want to understand what could have happened to prevent that.”
As a 27-year-old mother of two sons, Renaeu said she thinks a lot about the way Chicago treats young Black men. She believes the key to stopping any future harm is to ensure Black children are given opportunities.
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“What we’re asking for is just the love and the investments for our babies and our young people, to help prevent things that lead to tragedies.” Reneau said. “Our young people need to know that people love them.”
And Reed felt the same way, according to Reneau.
“One of the things he said was, we need to show love to each other, and that’s something I truly believe Caleb was aiming to do.”
Reed was the second youngest of eight siblings, born and raised on the West Side of Chicago. He would have been a senior this year at Mather High School.
He was killed on the last day of the most violent month in Chicago in 28 years. At least 107 people were killed in July, more than double the same month last year, according to data kept by the Tribune. That’s the most homicides the city has seen in a single month since September 1992, when 109 were recorded.
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mcrepeau@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-09-01--Live updates: Trump defends police during Kenosha visit; Jacob Blake’s family says they refuse to le

Live updates: Trump defends police during Kenosha visit; Jacob Blake’s family says they refuse to let president use shooting as ‘political prop’

” You should not be able to be a vigilante walking down the street with a long arm ( rifle @ @ @ @ @ .
He shot someone and did not get stopped , ” Pocan said of 17-year-old @ @ @ @ @ who has been charged with killing two protesters and wounding a third during unrest in @ @ @ @ @ That ’ s why we have a problem with policing in this country .
It @ @ @ @ @ that armed young white person walked down the street with impunity and someone just days @ @ @ @ @ was shot seven times in the back .
That ’ s the problem that we @ @ @ @ @ and it ’ s only been exacerbated in the last three and a half years @ @ @ @ @ presidency .
”

A Trump supporter and Chicago activist Ja'Mal Green face off as they wait for President Donald Trump's motorcade outside Bradford High School in Kenosha, Wisconsin, on Sept. 1, 2020. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)
President Donald Trump visited Kenosha today over the objections of the city’s mayor and Wisconsin’s governor, nine days after the police shooting of Jacob Blake spurred protests, violent clashes with law enforcement, the destruction of dozens of businesses and the death of two protesters.
Trump toured the city after declining to condemn one of his supporters, 17-year-old Antioch native Kyle Rittenhouse, who is charged with murder after prosecutors said he shot three protesters during demonstrations last week.
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Here’s are the latest updates from Kenosha:
6:45 p.m.: Protesters march in Kenosha after Trump visit
Demonstrators marched through Kenosha after President Donald Trump wrapped up his visit to the area.
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More than 100 people followed a man with a megaphone, shouting, “Arrest the police” and other chants, before the protest Tuesday afternoon petered out.
The city saw protests and some violence after the Aug. 23 police shooting of Jacob Blake. The 29-year-old Black man was shot seven times in the back. His family says he is paralyzed.
At one point Tuesday, protesters surrounded a man who they said was a member of a white nationalist group. Police officers moved in quickly and pulled him away. One officer pepper sprayed a woman.
Later, a man wearing a Trump hat and carrying a Trump banner was surrounded by protesters. He walked back in retreat then struck out at a protester. The two fell to the ground, struggling, then the man got up and walked away, heckled by protesters.
Earlier, a few hundred supporters and detractors of Trump gathered at an intersection, engaging each other in shouting matches. There were no reports of violence.
—Associated Press
5:55 p.m.: Providing comfort or promoting racism: Lake County politicians predictably split along party lines about motives for Trump’s visit to nearby Kenosha
The controversy over President Donald Trump’s decision to visit Kenosha, Wisconsin Tuesday in the wake of the Aug. 23 shooting and wounding of Jacob Blake by police spilled across the state line into Lake County as local political leaders saw varying motivations behind the trip.
A number of Lake County Republicans thought Trump’s trip was the right move for the nation’s leader, while some local Democrats questioned the reasons for the visit.
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All agreed lawlessness has no place in the ongoing discourse.
Demetra DeMonte, a Lake Forest resident and Illinois Republican national committeewoman, said when the president visits a city going through a difficult time, as Kenosha has for the last 10 days since Blake’s shooting, he is doing the right thing.
“It’s the president’s job to reassure Americans during a time of difficulty,” DeMonte said. “When people are going through a hard time, they want to hear from their president. He seemed very well-received.”
State Sen. Julie Morrison, D-Lake Forest, criticized Trump for making the visit after Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers, a Democrat, and Kenosha Mayor John Antaramian asked the president to stay away.
“That says everything you need to know about what Donald Trump stands for,” Morrison said. “He (went) to Kenosha for one reason -- to give a political rally cry that will ignite more racist and violent attacks.”
Read more here. —Steve Sadin
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4:05 p.m.: Jacob Blake family: We refuse to let Trump use shooting as a ‘political prop’
As President Donald Trump spoke with Kenosha business owners and law enforcement at a local high school, a little more than a mile away Jacob Blake’s family threw a block party to help the community come together.
“The president just seems to have an agenda, but we have one, too – justice for Jacob Blake who was shot in the back seven times and helping Kenosha with the injustice and racism they deal with on a regular basis,” Justin Blake, Jacob Blake’s uncle, said in an interview as 2Pac’s “Changes” blared from a set of speakers hooked up to a turntable. “Do you see Trump here? This is where you heal the community. He’s not present, is he?”
Blake said the family refuses to let Trump use Jacob’s shooting as a “political prop,” and reported that his nephew’s spirits have improved over the last day or so, though he remains paralyzed from the waist down.
“Jake’s able to talk and communicate with his mother and father, and his spirit is coming back,” his uncle reported. “That’s what leads to a good recovery.”
The party took place on a block dotted with small two-story apartment buildings and modest ranch homes. Barbecue smoke hung in the air, as volunteers served food, set up bouncy house for children, offered free haircuts and registered voters. At a crafts station, children colored signs to be put up in Jacob Blake’s hospital room, because as his uncle told the crowd, “that’s better than any medicine they’ve got in that hospital for little Jake.”
Blake said the family held the event because “building and making our community better has always been in our DNA.” Jacob Blake’s grandfather, also named Jacob Blake, served as pastor of Ebenezer AME Church in Evanston and was a local leader in the civil rights movement, according to Chicago Tribune archives.
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A number of the activists with the newly-formed Black Lives Activists of Kenosha, or BLAK, attended the block party, and said they would spend no time addressing Trump’s trip to the city.
Parl Green, 32, said he was more focused on having a good time with his community and helping people unwind from the stress of the last 10 days.
“It’s a great way to bring the community together, which has been stressed this last week from everything Jake has been through, the rioting, the burning of Uptown. This a great way to just let everyone joy a little bit of normalcy,” said Green, who is originally from Chicago’s Roseland neighborhood but moved to Kenosha. “It’s just great to have everyone come out and enjoy themselves just a little bit.”
—Bill Ruthhart
2:55 p.m.: Trump defends police during Kenosha stop, acknowledges there are ‘some bad apples’ in policing
During his trip to Kenosha on Tuesday, President Donald Trump said there are some bad apples in policing, and then there are those in law enforcement who choke under pressure.
Speaking at a roundtable with local law enforcement, political and business leaders, Trump issued a staunch defense of police in riot-torn Kenosha, and vowed to help the city rebuild in the aftermath of the police shooting of Jacob Blake, a 29-year-old Black man, on Aug. 23.
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“We have to condemn the dangerous anti-police rhetoric. It’s getting more and more — it’s very unfair. You have some bad apples. We all know that and those will be taken care of through the system and nobody’s going to be easy on them either,” Trump said at a local high school being used as a center for law enforcement coordination.
“Then you have people who choke,” he said. “They’re under tremendous pressure and they may be there for 15 years and have a spotless record and all of a sudden they’re faced with a decision. They have a quarter of a second, quarter of a second to make a decision. And if they make a wrong decision, one way or the other, they’re either dead or in big trouble.”
Trump said “people have to understand that — they choke sometimes and it’s a very tough situation, right? Then people call them bad and horrible and they made a bad decision but if you think of it, when they have and I know you practice this all the time, where you give people literally a quarter of a second to make a decision and a lot of them can’t make that right decision. It’s a very tough thing to do.”
Trump’s remarks echoed ones he made at a Monday afternoon White House news conference. The president has sought to portray himself as the law-and-order president while suggesting Democratic challenge Joe Biden is weak on the issue of protests and violence.
Just as he did in accepting the nomination of the Republican Party last week, Trump praised the law enforcement community, saying “the vast and overwhelming majority of police officers are honorable, courageous and devoted public servants. They’re incredible. Yet many politicians ignore their sacrifice and ignore the African American and Hispanic victims.”
The president said police aren’t given enough credit for the jobs they do when the focus is on incidents of shooting or other questionable tactics used by law enforcement.
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“The sad thing is you can do 10,000 great jobs as a policeman or police woman. You can do an incredible job for years and then you have one bad apple, or something happens that’s bad, and that’s the nightly news for three weeks. That’s all they talk about. They don’t talk about the thousands and thousands of good jobs, the lives that they save,” he said.
“We have to have our law enforcement. We cherish our law enforcement. We wouldn’t be here without our law enforcement,” Trump said.
—Rick Pearson
2:40 p.m.: Trump meets with law enforcement in Kenosha
President Donald Trump is meeting with law enforcement officers at a local high school as part of his visit to Kenosha, Wisconsin.
The city saw unrest after a police officer shot Jacob Blake on Aug. 23. A 17-year-old has been charged with killing two demonstrators on Aug. 25. Trump has suggested he was acting in self-defense.
Trump is trying to portray himself as a friend of police and to place Democrats on the defensive. He says he came to thank law enforcement and decried property destruction during last week’s protests, saying, “You don’t have a democracy when then happens.”
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—Associated Press
1:30 p.m.: Trump visits burned out buildings in Kenosha
President Donald Trump tours an area, Sept. 1, 2020, damaged during demonstrations after a police officer shot Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin. At left is Attorney General William Barr and acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf. (Evan Vucci/AP)
President Trump’s first stop in Kenosha was outside the damaged property that once held Rode’s Camera Shop.
Trump, along with Attorney General Bill Barr and Acting Homeland Secretary Chad Wolf, met with members of the Rode family. The camera shop has been in the family since 1911 and was heavily damaged in the aftermath of the Jacob Blake shooting by police.
—Chicago Tribune staff
1:20 p.m.: Trump arrives in Kenosha
The motorcade of President Donald Trump arrives in downtown Kenosha, Wisconsin, Sept. 1, 2020. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)
President Donald Trump has arrived in Kenosha, Wisconsin, as he prepares to tour damage from protests and violence that followed the Aug. 23 police shooting of Jacob Blake.
Along the motorcade route, a mix of people waved Black Lives Matter signs and many Trump supporters waved Trump 2020 signs.
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—Associated Press
1:10 p.m.: Trump: ‘Plenty to talk about’ in Kenosha
After landing at Waukegan National Airport, President Trump made brief remarks, saying he would make a couple of stops in Kenosha and adding, “we’ll have plenty to talk about.”
Trump got off the smaller Boeing 757 version of Air Force One at 12:25 p.m. and the presidential entourage was motorcading to Kenosha, a trip of about a half an hour.
“The violence stopped from the time the National Guard came,” Trump told reporters, echoing his theme of using the guard and federal law enforcement assets to quell violence.
Trump was greeted in Waukegan by Sen. Ron Johnson, a Wisconsin Republican. Johnson was wearing a mask.
Also on board the trip was Attorney General Bill Barr; Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf; Ja’Ron Smith, a deputy assistant to Trump and one of the president’s few Black advisers; presidential assistant Dan Scavino; and former Trump chief of staff Reince Priebus, also a former Republican National Committee chairman who is from Kenosha.
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—Rick Pearson
1:05 p.m.: Black Lives Matter protesters, Trump supporters await president’s arrival in Kenosha
Black Lives Matter protesters have made their way toward where Trump supporters are awaiting the president’s motorcade in Kenosha. Trump supporters chant, “USA!” pic.twitter.com/IL6Fli200A — Bill Ruthhart (@BillRuthhart) September 1, 2020
12:45 p.m.: On way to protest-scarred Kenosha, Trump repeats story about airplane full of black-clad ‘looters’ and ‘rioters’ — without evidence
President Donald Trump said Monday in an interview that a plane loaded with “thugs” was headed for the Republican National Convention last week “to do big damage.”
He provided few additional details and no evidence.
Trump made the claim about the plane in an interview with Fox News host Laura Ingraham, who asked him who he thought was controlling Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden.
“People you’ve never heard of. People that are in the dark shadows,” Trump responded.
“No, people you haven’t heard of,” Trump continued. “We had somebody get on a plane from a certain city this weekend, and in the plane it was almost completely loaded with thugs wearing these dark uniforms, black uniforms with gear and this and that. They’re on a plane.”
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On Tuesday, on his way to survey damage from violent protests that have rocked Kenosha, Wisconsin, Trump again told the plane story.
“A person was on a plane, said that there were about six people like that person, more or less. And what happened is the entire plane filled up with the looters, the anarchists, rioters, people that obviously were looking for trouble, “Trump said. “The person felt very uncomfortable on the plane.
Trump said he would ask the nameless person who witnessed the planeload of apparent rioters if he would share his story with the media. Trump said the person would be known to the Washington press corps: “This would be a person you know.”
TRUMP: "A person was on a plane, said there were about 6 people like that person, more or less, and what happened is the entire plane filled up with the looters, the anarchists, rioters, people looking for trouble. The person felt very uncomfortable on the plane." pic.twitter.com/VP0idEzLNi — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) September 1, 2020
Trump said the plane was going “from Washington to wherever” on Tuesday. Again, he provided no additional evidence.
The details of the story mirror a viral Facebook post from earlier this summer, NBC News reported.
Read more here. —Bloomberg News
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12:35 p.m.: Trump talks ‘law and order,’ arrives in Waukegan
Before departing from Joint Base Andrews in Maryland en route to Waukegan National Airport, President Trump said his rhetoric was helping heal racial tensions because of his focus on law and order, and he described his trip to Kenosha as a thank-you visit to law enforcement.
“I think it’s helping because I’m about law and order and if you look at the black community, they want the police to help them stop crime. The Hispicanic community, they want police,” Trump told reporters on the airport tarmac. “They don’t want crime. They don’t want to be mugged. They don’t want to have any problems. And it’s just a shame.”
President Donald Trump speaks to the media before boarding Air Force One for a trip to Kenosha, Wisconsin, Sept. 1, 2020, at Andrews Air Force Base, Md. (Evan Vucci/AP)
Democrats have criticized Trump, contending his words were fueling racial tensions in the country, including in Kenosha as well as in other cities including Portland, Oregon and Chicago. But Trump contended it was the media’s coverage of the events that was creating divisions.
“The press should be ashamed of themselves. I think the press is actually, the media, is what’s fueling this, more so than even Biden. Because Biden doesn’t even know he’s alive. The press has really fueled this and they’re fueling it horribly and you’re doing a great disservice to your country,” Trump said.
Trump once again sought to claim credit for the use the of Wisconsin National Guard in Kenosha, though Gov. Tony Evers had called them in after rioting broke out over the death of Jacob Blake.
“Today I’m there for law enforcement and for the National Guard because they’ve done a great job in Kenosha,” Trump said. “They put out the flame immediately. As soon as they came in, boom, the flame was gone. Now maybe it will start up again in which case they’ll put it out very powerfully.”
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—Rick Pearson
12:30 p.m.: Protesters gather at Kenosha’s Civic Center Park
A few hundred protesters are squaring off near Kenosha’s Civic Center Park. “Black Lives matter!” chants are answered by “All Lives Matter!” and “Four More Years!” from Trump supporters. pic.twitter.com/LcP8eQPQAr — Bill Ruthhart (@BillRuthhart) September 1, 2020
Quite a few children out here demonstrating with their parents in Kenosha. Protesters from both sides admonishing parents from the other for exposing children to their views. pic.twitter.com/M1cwZmbPsB — Bill Ruthhart (@BillRuthhart) September 1, 2020
11:40 a.m.: Kenosha divided ahead of Trump visit
Much of downtown Kenosha was relatively quiet in the hours leading up to Trump’s visit. A few business had opened, although painted plywood continued to cover doors and windows. An airplane flew overhead for much of the morning with a banner that read, “Reject Trump’s violence. Vote November.”
Outside the old Orpheum Theatre, Holly Tuttle-Barthuly and Paulette Hackbarth were taking inventory of donations to Journey Disaster Relief. The idea is to help local businesses rebuild following the destruction of dozens of buildings that were burned and looted last week. Both women wore red Trump “Keep America Great” T-shirts and criticized Democratic Gov. Tony Evers and Mayor John Antaramian for objecting to the president’s visit.
Supporters of President Donald Trump rally in the Uptown neighborhood of Kenosha, Wisconsin before his arrival to the city on Sept. 1, 2020. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)
”This has been awful, horrible. They have attacked our community, attacked our livelihoods,” said Tuttle-Barthuly, 56, a lifelong resident of Kenosha said of all the damage. “Someone asked me the other day, ‘Do you really want Trump to come? Isn’t it going to create more division?’ Hello, look around. How much more divisive could it be?”
”Shame on them for not wanting the president of the United States to come to our town,” said Hackbarth, 72, who wore a red “Trump 2020” hat. “Shame on them. Shame on them for calling for help too late.”
Both said Evers should not have rejected Trump’s initial offer to send Homeland Security officers into the city and said the governor waited too long to increase the number of National Guard troops called to Kenosha. They wanted to catch a glimpse of Trump while he tours the city, but hoped for more.
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”I’m hoping to hug him and thank him for not being bullied to stay away,” Tuttle-Barthuly said. “He’s going to see what we’re going through, the hell we’re living through. He has our backs.”
The family of Jacob Blake, including Justin Blake, right, gather for a press conference on Sept. 1, 2020 near the site where Jacob Blake was shot in the back by police in Kenosha, Wisconsin. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)
A block away, David Swartz walked down the street carrying a cardboard “Dump Trump” picket sign. Wearing a black-and-gold International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Kenosha Local 127 jacket, Swartz said Trump’s visit was inappropriate and he should have heeded the calls of the governor, mayor and other local leaders to stay away.
”It doesn’t seem to me like he’s coming for healing,” said Swartz, 56. “This is a campaign stop.”
Swartz, a 25-year electrical worker, criticized Trump’s efforts to delay payroll tax collections and said he should be focused on police reform and allocating more resources to mental health services so “the police wouldn’t have to handle all of these problems.”
—Bill Ruthhart
11:15 a.m.: Kenosha Democrats denounce Trump’s visit, saying he ‘promotes racial division’
Local Democrats held a news conference in a downtown Kenosha park Tuesday morning to reject President Trump’s visit to the city in the wake of the police shooting of Jacob Blake, a Black man who remains paralyzed after being shot in the back.
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U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan, a Kenosha native who represents the neighboring congressional district that includes Madison, said Trump only “promotes racial division” and criticized the president for not “taking a stand against the attitude of militia of vigilantes” coming into Kenosha. Pocan said one of the protesters shot dead last week, Anthony Huber, was the grandson of his mother’s best friend.
”You should not be able to be a vigilante walking down the street with a long arm (rifle) and not be stopped. He shot someone and did not get stopped,” Pocan said of 17-year-old Trump supporter Kyle Rittenhouse, who has been charged with killing two protesters and wounding a third during unrest in Kenosha last week. “That’s why we have a problem with policing in this country. It shouldn’t be that that armed young white person walked down the street with impunity and someone just days earlier who’s Black was shot seven times in the back. That’s the problem that we have in this country, and it’s only been exacerbated in the last three and a half years under Donald Trump’s presidency.”
Felesia Martin, the vice chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, said Trump needs to start showing strong, empathetic leadership and denounce the systemic racism that has led to police brutality and subsequent unrest and clashes between protesters on the streets of Kenosha and Portland.
”There is a void right now in America. What has happened here in Kenosha leads directly to Donald Trump’s door, and he will own this,” Martin said. “He must take responsibility for these actions that we are seeing across our television screens, across our devices every single day. The racism is ramping up, therefore the violence is ramping up across America. We must stand together and say, ‘No more.’”
—Bill Ruthhart
10:45 a.m.: Burned trucks, damaged street lights: Kenosha unrest has caused $2 million in damage to public-owned property, city says
Damage to city-owned property from violence that erupted over the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha is estimated at nearly $2 million so far, a city official said.
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The city’s public works director, Shelly Billingsley, provided the estimate to local leaders Monday night on what it would cost to replace garbage trucks, street lights and traffic signals, among other things that were destroyed or damaged in the unrest over the last week.
Mayor John Antaramian has said the city will request $30 million in aid from the state to help rebuild in the aftermath of the unrest. Some of the city’s garbage trucks, which were parked downtown to provide security and limit movement by protesters, were set on fire during the demonstrations.
Billingsley said they were insured and that city staff is working with the insurance company to log damage information, the Kenosha News reported. Some of the trucks, which had functioned as snow-plow vehicles in the winter, were also destroyed.
Billingsley said she hoped that the setback would not affect snow plow operations this winter.
Read more here. —Associated Press
10:30 a.m.: Fact check: Trump keeps taking credit for dispatching the National Guard to unrest. He doesn’t command them.
It’s become a pattern when unrest flares in a city: President Donald Trump suggests he has National Guard troops ready to send to the scene and takes credit for dispatching them and restoring calm while he accuses Democrats of being squishy on law and order.
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That’s a distortion. Trump omits the fact that he is largely a bystander in National Guard deployments. While presidents can tap rarely used powers to use federal officers for local law enforcement, there is no National Guard with national reach for Trump to send around the country.
And when violence broke out in Kenosha, Wisconsin, a week ago, Trump’s demand that National Guard troops be used came a day after the Democratic governor had already activated them.
National Guard units in each state answer to the governor and sometimes state legislatures, not to the president. When National Guard forces from outside Wisconsin came in to help, it was because the governor has asked for that help from fellow governors, not the White House.
Read more here. —Associated Press
10:30 a.m.: Black editor resigns in protest from the Kenosha News over rally coverage headline
A journalist resigned Saturday from his job at the Kenosha News in Wisconsin after objecting to the headline of an article that chronicled a rally in support of Jacob Blake, a Black man who was shot seven times in the back by a white Kenosha police officer.
The journalist, Daniel J. Thompson, a digital editor who said he was the only full-time Black staff member at the paper, which covers southeastern Wisconsin, said the headline did not accurately sum up the article and gave a false impression of the rally itself, which he attended. The rally for Blake, who was left paralyzed by the shooting Aug. 23, included calls for unity from his father, Jacob Blake Sr., and Wisconsin’s lieutenant governor, Mandela Barnes, the article said.
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The headline, which appeared on the Kenosha News website Saturday, highlighted a remark from one rally participant: “Kenosha speaker: ‘If you kill one of us, it’s time for us to kill one of yours.’” The online version of the article included a 59-second video showing the person who spoke those words, a Black man who was not identified by name.
Thompson, who joined the paper’s newsroom three years ago, said he found the headline off-base. “The story is about the entire reaction of all the speakers and people in attendance, and that quote is one outlier falling within a flood of positive ones,” he said in an interview.
Read more here. —The New York Times


chicagotribune--2020-09-01--Family demands answers after Chicago police fatally shoot man when shots are fired at officers in Pi

Family demands answers after Chicago police fatally shoot man when shots are fired at officers in Pilsen

Vega , the father of two , had no record of gun charges .
He was the oldest of four @ @ @ @ @ in Calumet City , though he grew up in the Pilsen area on the same @ @ @ @ @ , his family said .

Laura Rodríguez Presa, Katherine Rosenberg-Douglas

The family of Miguel Vega — father Miguel Vega Sr., from left, mother Maria Vega and brother Erik Vega — speak with members of the news media near the intersection of 18th Street and Blue Island Avenue on Oct. 1, 2020, in Chicago. Miguel Vega was fatally shot by police on Aug. 31 on the 1300 block of West 19th Street. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)
First thing Tuesday morning, the family of Miguel Vega walked up and down the block in Pilsen where hours earlier he had been shot and killed by Chicago police after shots were fired at their unmarked car.
They searched for witnesses, asked about surveillance video that would show the confrontation in the 1300 block of West 19th Street. By late morning, they were still looking.
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“I want answers from the police and justice for my son,” Maria Vega said. “If my son was at fault, I’ll accept it, but it doesn’t make sense right now.”
Chicago police say Vega was shot after officers were fired upon as they got out of their car about 10:45 p.m. The officers had been responding to a call of a suspicious person when they noticed a group standing on the sidewalk, police said.
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“Officers were driving down the street, observed five individuals, attempted to exit their vehicle and were immediately fired upon,” Chicago police Deputy Chief Daniel O’Shea told reporters.
Officers returned fire and hit Vega, according to the statement. He was taken to Stroger Hospital, where he died hours later, his family said. Two people were arrested and two others remained at large. A gun was recovered from the scene, police said.
The department’s preliminary statement does not include many details, including whether Vega was seen firing a gun or whether anyone else in the group was armed. No charges have been announced against those taken into custody.
Vega, the father of two, had no record of gun charges. He was the oldest of four and lived with his parents in Calumet City, though he grew up in the Pilsen area on the same block where he was killed, his family said.
He had many friends in the area and his family said he was not involved with any gang activity. They believe he was simply with the wrong people at the wrong time.
“It doesn’t matter how the altercation developed, police shouldn’t have shot my son on the back to his head,” Maria Vega cried. “Police say he was shooting, but how was he going to be shooting at them if they shot him to the back of his head?”
The family learned Vega had been shot and “was laying in a pool of blood” after someone ran to their home not far away, according to an uncle, Oscar Vega.
In the morning, Vega’s parents and an aunt said they went to the Near West District police station for information. Vega’s parents do not speak English, and Griselda Vega said she translated for them.
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“Police aren’t giving us clear answers,” Griselda Vega said.
Maria Vega demanded that authorities release video from body cameras worn by the officers. “I want to see those videos.”
Any videos of the shooting will be released through the Civilian Office of Police Accountability, which is investigating the shooting. The city has 60 days, generally, to make the videos publicly available.
“COPA is currently investigating the actions of the officer to determine if the use of deadly force is in accordance with department policy,” the agency said in a statement.
The shooting happened a day after police Superintendent David Brown said people seemed to be targeting police officers in Chicago. He noted that more than 50 officers have been fired upon so far this year, and 10 of them were hit.
Two officers were shot early Sunday in an exchange of gunfire that also wounded the suspect, Jeffon Williams, 19. He was charged with attempted first-degree murder and appeared in bond court Monday, where Circuit Judge John Lyke Jr. ordered him held in lieu of a $10 million cash bail.
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“Violent offenders have acted with impunity much more than we’ve seen in the past so far this year,” Brown said Monday.
kdouglas@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @312BreakingNews


chicagotribune--2020-09-01--Saying their white colleagues are ’now uncomfortable,’ Illinois Legislative Black Caucus call hearin

Saying their white colleagues are ’now uncomfortable,’ Illinois Legislative Black Caucus call hearings on criminal justice, education and economic reform

“ I ’ m not exactly sure how we change the way our police departments are run .
We ’ @ @ @ @ @ that we deplore .
So the issue is behavior , not legislation , ” she @ @ @ @ @ to change , somehow , the hearts of these police departments .
Maybe that ’ @ @ @ @ @ and balances , maybe that ’ s with some more civilian oversight , I ’ @ @ @ @ @ but it ’ s by no means clear that more legislation or more training is @ @ @ @ @ .
”

State Rep. La Shawn Ford and others raise fists after he speaks at a protest outside Chicago City Hall for equal funding for early child care education on June 16, 2020. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)
Amid a nationwide reckoning on race, the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus on Tuesday floated an expansive agenda for legislative action on police accountability, economic access and health care.
Black caucus members are planning a series of legislative committee hearings over the next two-and-a-half months leading up to the Illinois General Assembly’s scheduled fall veto session to take up four policy areas: criminal justice reform, violence reduction and police accountability; education and workforce development; economic access and equity; and health care and human services.
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“For years, the cries and the fight have been unheard. And we are now at a moment where our white colleagues, that have been raised in white communities that just didn’t understand what we were talking about, are now uncomfortable,” Chicago Democratic Rep. La Shawn Ford said at a Tuesday morning news conference.
“They’re so uncomfortable now that they are hearing all of the asks that we had before that they couldn’t hear before. Now the question is, are they ready to act on what they are hearing?” Ford said. ”Are they ready to join in the effort to make Illinois healthy?”
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Following the police killing in Minneapolis of George Floyd, a Black man, in May, and subsequent protests and civil unrest in Chicago and across the country, some Democratic Illinois lawmakers called for a special session to take up systemic issues in government and law enforcement, calling it a “state of emergency” that required immediate action. But legislative leaders did not call a special session on policing this summer.
The hearings called by the Black caucus began Tuesday afternoon with a three-hour legislative committee hearing on law enforcement training and use of force. Caucus members want a package of legislation to come out of the hearings that addresses systemic racism and oppression of Black people in Illinois, lawmakers said during the earlier news conference in Chicago.
“At the culmination of the next two-and-a-half months, we’re going to enter veto session and we’re going to ask you to support the Black agenda,” said Rep. Emanuel “Chris” Welch, a Democrat from west suburban Hillside.
The six-day fall veto session is scheduled to convene in November. How the session will be conducted remains a question in light of the coronavirus pandemic and public health guidance that considers large gatherings of people a significant risk for coronavirus transmission.
The pandemic cut the spring legislative session drastically short. Lawmakers gathered for four days in May and largely dealt with the state budget in advance of the looming deadline, along with pandemic-related issues.
Another difficulty facing lawmakers is how to address the range and depth of issues they’re seeking to remedy, Republican state Rep. Margo McDermed said during Tuesday’s committee hearing.
“I’m not exactly sure how we change the way our police departments are run. We’ve already prohibited the things that we deplore. So the issue is behavior, not legislation,” she said. “We need to change, somehow, the hearts of these police departments. Maybe that’s with some more checks and balances, maybe that’s with some more civilian oversight, I’m not exactly sure, but it’s by no means clear that more legislation or more training is going to solve the problem.”
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Despite those challenges, state Rep. Carol Ammons, a Champaign Democrat, said at Tuesday’s news conference that “the level of discontent will not go away. It is our job to make sure that we address the harms that have been done.”
The leaders of both chambers expressed support for the Black caucus’ objectives in statements issued Tuesday.
House Speaker Michael Madigan said in a statement Tuesday that “we are at a turning point” and “we must evaluate all of our institutions to finally bring about the change that will make a difference,” including health care access, policing and education.
Illinois Senate President Don Harmon issued a statement Tuesday that said the “Black Caucus is showing us the path to a better Illinois. I look forward to being an ally and helping win approval of needed reforms.”
jmunks@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-09-01--2020 becomes Chicago’s hottest summer on record, despite few record-setting days

Despite some punishing storms , including Aug. 10′s derecho system that spawned 15 tornadoes , injured at least seven people @ @ @ @ @ without power , the summer saw well-below average rainfall , according to the weather service @ @ @ @ @ rainfall was set June 26 , when 1.55 inches of rain fell at O ’ @ @ @ @

Laura Nieto, of Oak Park, and her boyfriend, Matthew Williams, of Long Island, New York, keep cool by standing along the lakefront near Monroe Harbor in Chicago on a hot and humid Aug. 25, 2020. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)
Chicago’s meteorological summer didn’t set too many records as it happened, but higher-than-normal temperatures each month stacked up to make for the hottest summer on record, according to the National Weather Service.
The average temperature for the months of June, July and August was 76.7 degrees, besting the average temperature of 76.4 degrees set in 1955, according to Jake Petr, a meteorologist with the weather service’s Chicago-area office.
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The average high temperature for the season was 86.2 degrees, 4.3 degrees above the 1981 to 2010 average high temperature, according to the weather service.
As for record daily highs, “there weren’t really very many,” Petr said.
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June 2 was the only individual day this summer that set a record high for the day, 94 degrees, besting a high of 92 degrees set in 1944, although Aug. 27 and 28 both saw record high minimum temperatures, according to the weather service.
But June tied for the sixth warmest June on record in the city, July was the fourth warmest July and August tied for the sixth warmest August, Petr said.
“It was more just a continued warmth” and a “stacking of the months that allowed for the whole season” to set a record, he said.
Despite some punishing storms, including Aug. 10′s derecho system that spawned 15 tornadoes, injured at least seven people and left hundreds of thousands without power, the summer saw well-below average rainfall, according to the weather service. The only record for rainfall was set June 26, when 1.55 inches of rain fell at O’Hare International Airport.
Overall, only 7.75 inches of precipitation was recorded this summer, 4.3 inches below normal, according to the weather service.
The summer in other parts of northern Illinois also was punishing, but not quite as record-setting as in Chicago. Rockford saw its sixth warmest summer on record, with an average temperature of 74.7 degrees, 2.9 degrees above normal.


chicagotribune--2020-09-01--R. Kelly timeline: Chicago upbringing, rapid rise to stardom and years of sexual abuse charges, suit

R. Kelly timeline: Chicago upbringing, rapid rise to stardom and years of sexual abuse charges, suits and rumors

The R & B superstar is also charged in a federal indictment in Chicago with conspiring with two former employees @ @ @ @ @ and Milton “ June ” Brown — to rig his 2008 child pornography trial in @ @ @ @ @ witnesses and victims to change their stories .
The indictment also alleges Kelly and his @ @ @ @ @ of dollars to recover child sex tapes before they fell into the hands of prosecutors @

A courtroom sketch shows defense attorneys Ashley Cohen, from left, and Jennifer Bonjean with singer R. Kelly at the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse in Chicago on Sept. 14, 2022. (Cheryl Cook / Chicago Tribune)
After about 11 hours of deliberation, a federal jury in Chicago convicted R&B singer R. Kelly on child pornography charges for making videotapes of himself sexually abusing his then-14-year-old goddaughter decades ago.
[ R. Kelly convicted on child pornography charges at federal trial in Chicago; acquitted of obstructing justice ]
In September 2021, Kelly was convicted by a federal jury in New York of racketeering conspiracy alleging he headed a criminal enterprise that employed agents, runners, bodyguards and others to lure and trap girls and young women to satisfy his sexually predatory desires. The jury, which heard from 50 witnesses over the six-week trial, reached its verdict after deliberating for about nine hours over two days.
Here is a brief history of the singer’s rise and troubles:
Jan. 8, 1967
Born in Chicago on the South Side, Robert Sylvester Kelly is one of five children who grew up in the Ida B. Wells housing complex.
1981
He attends Kenwood Academy in Hyde Park for a time and sings in a Baptist church choir but never graduates. As a teen he brings a portable keyboard to CTA train stops and sings for tips.
1990
Signs a contract with Jive Records and releases “Born into the 90′s.”
1993
Releases album “12 Play” along with No. 1 single “Bump N’ Grind.” The album sells 8 million copies.
1994
Kelly helps launch the career of teen R&B singer Aaliyah, who releases the album “Age Ain’t Nothing But a Number.” The pair secretly marry though the marriage certificate falsely claims that Aaliyah is 18. Kelly is 27. Reports say the marriage is annulled within a few years.
1996
Kelly marries dancer Andrea Lee. The couple has three children. He also releases his third album, “R. Kelly” and incorporates Rockland Records. His song “I Believe I Can Fly,” from the “Space Jam” soundtrack, peaks at No. 2 on the Billboard pop chart.
December 1996
Tiffany Hawkins sues R. Kelly in civil court. She says she met the singer in 1991 when she was a Chicago high school sophomore and he was 24 years old. She said their sexual relationship began several months later.
March 1997
Kelly seems to address his turmoil on stage during another artist’s UIC Pavilion concert: “It amazes me when I look back eight months ago — cars, women, money, the media. I had everyone’s attention. Some may think it’s a gimmick, but I tell you, here stands a broken man. Every day I seem to be falling in love with the Lord. I’ve come to find out that whatever it is you want, it’s in the Lord. I used to be flying in sin — now I’m flying in Jesus.”
Singer R. Kelly performs his hit song "I Believe I Can Fly" on Feb. 25, 1998. Kelly won three Grammys for the song, including best R&B song and best male R&B performance. (Mark Lennihan/AP)
1998
Wins three Grammy awards. “I Believe I Can Fly” appears on “Space Jam” soundtrack and Kelly gains a huge mainstream audience.
Also, in 1998 according to later reports, Kelly settles a lawsuit with Hawkins, who accused him of engaging in a sexual relationship with a minor.
April 6, 1998
Kelly is cited for playing his car stereo too loud on Clark Street downtown. The charges are later dropped.
November 1998
His album “R.” hits stores. It has since sold 6 million copies.
2000
Kelly, releases “TP-2.Com,” which goes triple-platinum.
August 2001
Tracy Sampson files a lawsuit against Kelly, alleging their sex was illegal under Illinois law because he was in “a position of authority” over her. The case was reportedly settled out of court for an undisclosed amount.
R. Kelly sings during the pre-show activities before the opening ceremonies of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City on Feb. 8, 2002. (Amy Sancetta/AP)
Feb. 8, 2002
The Chicago Sun-Times receives a videotape, sent anonymously, that allegedly shows Kelly having sex with a minor.
The same day the news breaks, Kelly performs at the opening ceremonies for the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.
March 2002
Kelly’s album with Jay-Z, “The Best of Both Worlds,” is released. It sells only 1 million copies by June, a low number for Kelly.
April 2002
Kelly settles out of court with a former Epic Records intern Tracy Sampson, who alleges Kelly induced her into a sexual relationship while she was a minor. In another April 2002 suit, a woman claims she was coerced by Kelly into having an abortion.
R. Kelly is escorted by a Polk County (Fla.) Sheriff deputy after being indicted on 21 counts of child pornography on June 5, 2002. (Michael Wilson/AP)
June 2002
Kelly is charged with 21 counts of child pornography connected with the videotape received by the Sun-Times. He is released on $750,000 bail.
October 2002
“Ignition,” Kelly’s sexually explicit first single from “Chocolate Factory,” spends many weeks on various Billboard singles charts.
January 2003
During a court-approved visit to Miami to shoot a music video, Kelly is arrested and charged with 12 additional counts of child pornography. He is released the same day on $12,000 bail.
February 2003
Kelly’s sixth album, “Chocolate Factory,” debuts at No. 1 on the Billboard album chart, selling more than 532,000 copies in its first week. It eventually goes double-platinum.
March 2003
A Florida judge throws out photographs that were the basis of the child pornography charges, saying they were illegally seized from Kelly’s home. Florida prosecutors drop all charges.
R. Kelly, receiving the Best Male R&B Artist award at the 2003 BET Awards. (Kevork Djansezian/AP)
June 2003
Kelly wins the BET award for best male R&B artist.
December 2003
Kelly takes home four top prizes at the Billboard Awards, including Hot 100 producer, R&B producer, Hot 100 songwriter and R&B songwriter.
January 2004
Kelly nominated for an NAACP Image Award, sparking criticism considering the charges against him.
February 2004
Cook County prosecutors drop seven of 21 child pornography charges.
R. Kelly, right, and Jay-Z perform in Rosemont at the first stop in their Best of Both Worlds Tour, on Sept. 30, 2004. (Brian Kersey/AP)
June 2004
Kelly allowed by judge to go on two-month tour while he awaits trial.
July 2005
Kelly’s seventh solo album, “TP.3 Reloaded,” hits No. 1 spot on the Billboard chart.
July 2006
The case is delayed after judge Vincent Gaughan falls off a ladder and breaks bones in his back.
February 2007
Trial is delayed again as Kelly undergoes emergency surgery for a burst appendix.
May 29, 2007
Kelly releases his album “Double Up,” which peaks at No. 1 on the Billboard albums chart.
R. Kelly arrives with an attorney for a court appearance on his child pornography charges, Sept. 10, 2007, in Chicago. (Charles Rex Arbogast/AP)
September 2007
The trial is postponed yet again after the prosecutor gives birth.
May 2008
Jury selection begins, with the trial starting on May 20. In opening statements, prosecutors show the controversial videotape.
June 12, 2008
The trial comes to a close with the prosecution again showing the videotape.
R. Kelly leaves the Cook County Criminal Court Building on June 13, 2008, in Chicago after a jury found him not guilty on all counts in his child pornography trial. (Nam Y. Huh/AP)
June 13, 2008
After 7 1/2 hours of deliberating, the jury acquits Kelly. He bows his head and weeps, “Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Jesus,” Kelly said softly as the clerk read off each not guilty.
Jan. 8, 2009
Kelly and his former wife, Andrea, confirm they divorced after 11 years of marriage.
July 2011
The singer has emergency throat surgery for an abscess on one of his tonsils.
June 2012
Tax liens filed in Cook County say Kelly owes the Internal Revenue Service nearly $5 million in unpaid taxes dating as far back as 2005.
March 18, 2013
Kelly’s mansion, once valued at more than $5 million, sells for $950,000 in a foreclosure auction.
R. Kelly performs at the Pitchfork Music Festival on July 21, 2013. (Nuccio DiNuzzo/Chicago Tribune)
July 2013
Kelly headlines the final night of the Pitchfork Music Festival in Union Park and encores with “I Believe I Can Fly,” while white-dove balloons fill the sky.
January 2017
Kelly says he won’t perform at President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration. “Despite the rumors circulating online, R. Kelly will not be performing at this year’s inauguration ceremony. Any reports stating otherwise are simply untrue,” Kelly said in a Twitter post.
July 2017
Three sets of parents claim Kelly is holding their daughters in an abusive “cult,” according to a BuzzFeed News report. Parents claim Kelly “brainwashed” their daughters and some were living with him at his Chicago recording studio.
Feb. 13, 2018
Kelly is evicted from two Atlanta-area homes over more than $31,000 owed in unpaid rent.
April 2018
Following protests, Kelly is removed from the lineup of a concert at the University of Illinois at Chicago. After the concert is officially canceled, the singer invited Chicago fans to party with him at the Ocean Gentlemen’s Club, a strip club in Bedford Park.
May 10, 2018
Spotify removes R. Kelly’s music from its playlists, citing its new policy on hate content and hateful conduct. Shortly after, Apple and Pandora also stop promoting his music.
May 12, 2018
Angelo Clary flies to Chicago with his wife from Florida after receiving a report that their daughter was at Kelly’s Near West Side studio, the Chicago location at the center the BuzzFeed report. Clary told the Tribune police near the studio threatened to arrest them and appeared to be friendly with the bodyguards.
The Chicago Police Department said there was no record of reports or in-car camera footage of the incident and denied a Tribune request for body camera video.
May 15, 2018
After not showing in court, Kelly loses a federal lawsuit against Comcast Spectacor, which runs the Macon Coliseum in Georgia, alleging the venue failed to pay him $100,000 for his concert there.
May 18, 2018
Pitchfork announces it “was wrong to book R. Kelly to perform at our festival in 2013 and we regret doing so,” and says it is partnering with the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network to “to raise awareness and funds to support the fight against sexual violence.”
May 22, 2018
Faith Rodgers files a lawsuit in New York against Kelly, accusing the singer of sexual battery, knowingly infecting her with herpes and locking her in rooms for punishment.
July 23, 2018
Kelly releases a 19-minute song called “I Admit,” addressing accusations of sexual misconduct against him.
“How they gon’ say I don’t respect these women, when all I’ve done is represent (30 years)/ Take my career and turn it upside down, ‘cause you mad I’ve got some girlfriends (girlfriends),” he sings. He also addressed accusations that he held women in a “sex cult.”
“Said I’m abusing these women, what the f--- that’s some absurd sh--/ They’re brainwashed, really?/ Kidnapped, really?/ Can’t eat, really?/ Real talk, that sh- sound silly.” And he had some words for Chicago journalist Jim DeRogatis, who has reported on Kelly’s alleged misconduct for years.
“To Jim DeRogatis, whatever your name is (whatever your name is)/ You been tryna destroy me for 25 whole years/ Writin’ the same stories over and over against/ Off my name, you done went and made yourself a career/ But guess what? I pray for you and family, and all my other enemies/ I’m not gonna let y’all steal my joy, I’m just gonna keep on doing me.”
Dec. 4, 2018
A screening of Lifetime’s “Surviving R. Kelly” evacuated in New York City over a gun threat. A number of accusers were in attendance, along with families who had accused Kelly of holding their daughters.
Jan. 3, 2019
Lifetime debuts six-hour series “Surviving R. Kelly.” The documentary traces Kelly’s rise as the “Pied Piper of R&B” and the accusations of sexual abuse that have dogged Kelly for years.
Stephanie “Sparkle” Edwards, who identified a female relative and Kelly as the teenage girl and man engaging in sex acts on a videotape at the center of Kelly’s Chicago child pornography trial, told the Tribune she believes she did the right thing by testifying against the R&B superstar.
Jan. 5, 2019
Chance the Rapper, who didn’t participate in the documentary but was quoted, tweets an apology for working with Kelly: “The quote was taken out of context, but the truth is any of us who ever ignored the R. Kelly stories, or ever believed he was being setup/attacked by the system (as black men often are) were doing so at the detriment of black women and girls.”
Jan. 8, 2019
State’s Attorney Kim Foxx, citing “deeply, deeply disturbing” allegations in the Lifetime documentary calls on any accusers to come forward. Foxx said her office cannot launch an effective prosecution without the cooperation of victims and witnesses.
Demonstrators rally in response to the R. Kelly allegations, Jan. 9, 2019, outside his recording studio in the West Loop. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
Jan. 9, 2019
Chicago Department of Buildings inspectors try to gain access to Kelly’s Near West Side recording studio because the city had received a 311 complaint about people living at the property, which is zoned commercial, a city spokesman said.
The same day, protesters gather outside the studio.
Hours after the rally, Kelly was spotted at a South Side club, crooning “Bump N’ Grind.”
Jan. 10, 2019
Organizers of the Spring Break Jam concert, set to take place in April at the Illinois State Fairgrounds with Kelly as “host,” have their application denied because of security concerns, according to officials.
The same day, Chicago-based radio station 95.1 FM announces a ban of Kelly’s music. CEO Lamont Watts said: “As a leader of a team where women contribute unselfishly, in a business where the majority of our audience is women; as a son, a brother and a husband of a devoted family; and to hear and see the pain and suffering that is real for so many, effective immediately, we will no longer play the music of R. Kelly.”
A bedroom in R. Kelly’s studio taken in January 2019. (Chicago Department of Buildings)
Jan. 11, 2019
Lady Gaga apologizes for working with R. Kelly on the 2013 song “Do What U Want.” “I’m sorry, both for my poor judgment when I was young, and for not speaking out sooner,” she wrote on Twitter.
Kelly’s estranged daughter, Joann Kelly, who goes by Buku Abi, posted a long statement on her Instagram story on Thursday: “I do apologize if my silence to all that is happening comes off as careless. That is my last intention. I pray for all the families & women who have been affected by my father’s actions. Trust, I have been deeply affected by all of this. However, it has been very difficult to process it all. Let alone gather all the right words to express everything I feel.”
Separately, on Jan. 11, a Cook County Circuit Court judge allows the city to access his Near West Side recording studio after reports that people were living there, in violation of city codes.
Attorney Gloria Allred, left escorts Faith Rodgers after a news conference in New York on Jan. 14, 2019. (Richard Drew/AP)
Jan. 14, 2019
Faith Rodgers, one of the women who accused Kelly of sexual misconduct in “Surviving R. Kelly” said at a news conference that she received threats and retaliation from the singer.
Jan. 18, 2019
Kelly is dropped by Sony music. “No external announcement of the move is planned in the immediate future, says a source, who added that the company took its time to wade through the issues ‘responsibly’ and avoid legal ramifications,” according to Variety.
On the same day, Variety reports that Kelly’s former manager Henry James Mason turned himself in to Georgia authorities on a charge of threatening a man who alleges that Kelly has indoctrinated his daughter into a sex cult.
Jan. 19, 2019
A few songs into her show at the Aragon Ballroom in the Uptown neighborhood, Erykah Badu says she is praying for Kelly. Like millions of other people, concertgoer Venessa Gonzalez, 35, said she watched “Surviving R. Kelly” and was surprised Badu would talk about Kelly in Chicago. “Midshow, she decided to bring up R. Kelly and how Chicago feels about R. Kelly and everybody started booing.”
Jan. 22, 2019
Judge orders Kelly to only use his Near West Side studio during business hours and ordered the second-floor living quarters to be shut down until further notice as city inspectors allege a laundry list of building code violations, including fire hazards, dangerous staircases, an illegal steam room and sauna as well as evidence that people were living in the warehouse space despite it being zoned for commercial use.
Feb. 14, 2019
Attorney Michael Avenatti says he gave Chicago prosecutors new video evidence of Kelly having sex with an underage girl, and that it is not the same evidence used in Kelly’s 2008 trial.
R. Kelly turns himself in at 1st District police headquarters in Chicago on Feb. 22, 2019. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune)
Feb. 22, 2019
Kelly is indicted on 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse, court records show. A county judge issued a warrant for Kelly’s arrest Friday morning, according to the records. Kelly surrendered to Chicago police shortly after 8 p.m. and spent the night in lockup. The following day he is ordered held on $1 million bail.
Feb. 25, 2019
Kelly pleads not guilty on the 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse, charges he sexually abused four victims, three of them underage, over a span of a dozen years.
"CBS This Morning" co-host Gayle King remains seated during her interview with R&B superstar R. Kelly in Chicago on March 5, 2019. (Lazarus Jean-Baptiste/CBS)
March 5, 2019
In his first TV interview since being charged with sexual abuse, Kelly denies having sex with underage girls and holding women against their will.
“I didn’t do this stuff! This is not me! I’m fighting for my (expletive) life!” Kelly told Gayle King during the interview.
R. Kelly addresses the media, after walking out of the Cook County Jail at 26th and California after posting bondon March 9, 2019. (Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune)
March 9, 2019
Kelly walks out of Cook County Jail for the second time in two weeks — this time after coming up with more than $160,000 in overdue child support.
R. Kelly arrives at the Daley Center in Chicago to attend a closed-door hearing in a court fight with his ex-wife over child support on March 13, 2019. (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune)
March 13, 2019
Kelly attends a closed-door hearing at the Daley Center with his ex-wife over child support.
March 15, 2019
Cook County Judge Lawrence Flood rules cameras will be allowed in a courtroom for hearings in the sex abuse charges facing Kelly.
April 7, 2019
Kelly gives a 28-second performance at a club in Springfield.
April 23, 2019
After failing to show up in Cook County Circuit Court to answer allegations he sexually abused an underage girl in the late 1990s, Kelly loses a civil lawsuit by default. The next week, Kelly says he wants the decision reversed, saying he was never properly notified of the lawsuit’s existence.
May 30, 2019
Kelly is charged with 11 new counts of sexual assault and sexual abuse, Cook County court records show. Four of the new counts charge Kelly with aggravated criminal sexual assault — a Class X felony that carries six to 30 years in prison on conviction.
R. Kelly pleaded not guilty to a new indictment before Judge Lawrence Flood at Leighton Criminal Court Building in Chicago, on June 6, 2019. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)
June 6, 2019
Kelly pleads not guilty to a slew of new charges alleging he sexually assaulted a teenage fan who met him at his child pornography trial a decade earlier. The 11-count indictment, unveiled the previous week, replaced charges filed in February centering on an alleged victim identified as J.P. “Surviving R. Kelly” participant Jerhonda Pace, who said she began a sexual relationship with Kelly when she was a minor, says the new charges are related to her claims.
July 11, 2019
Kelly is arrested in Chicago on new federal charges alleging child pornography and obstruction of justice, including bombshell allegations that he paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to recover child-sex tapes and pressured witnesses to change their stories before his pornography trial that ended in acquittal a decade ago.
July 16, 2019
A federal judge orders Kelly held in jail without bond after a prosecutor warned he would pose an extreme danger to young girls if set free.
Aug. 2, 2019
Kelly pleads not guilty to federal charges accusing him of sexually abusing women and girls who attended his concerts, as his lawyers continue to label the alleged victims disgruntled “groupies.”
Aug. 5, 2019
Minnesota authorities charge Kelly with two counts of prostitution and solicitation involving a girl under the age of 18 over an alleged 2001 incident.
Sept. 4, 2019
A federal judge in Chicago sets an April 27, 2020, trial date for Kelly, who is accused of sexually abusing minors and conspiring with two associates to pay off and intimidate witnesses against him.
Oct. 2, 2019
A federal judge in New York sets a trial date of May 18, 2020, for Kelly, who is charged with racketeering, kidnapping and sexual exploitation of a child.
Dec. 4, 2019
A Cook County judge orders Kelly to stand trial on Sept. 14, 2020, on criminal sexual abuse charges.
Dec. 5, 2019
Kelly is charged by federal prosecutors with paying a bribe in exchange for a “fraudulent identification document” for an unidentified female a day before he married R&B singer Aaliyah. He later pleads not guilty.
This combination photo shows singer R. Kelly after the first day of jury selection in his child pornography trial at the Cook County Criminal Courthouse in Chicago on May 9, 2008, left, the late R&B singer and actress Aaliyah during a photo shoot in New York on May 9, 2001. Kelly served as the lead songwriter and producer for Aaliyah's 1994 debut album, "Age Ain't Nothing but a Number." (AP)
Dec. 18, 2019
Kelly pleads not guilty in a Chicago federal courtroom to a new indictment brought in New York alleging he bribed an Illinois official to get a fake ID for 15-year-old singer Aaliyah Haughton a day before he married her in 1994.
Jan. 2, 2020
“Surviving R. Kelly Part II: The Reckoning” premieres on the Lifetime network with more women accusing Kelly of abuse.
Feb. 14, 2020
A superseding indictment alleges Kelly sexually abused a girl identified in new federal charges only as “Minor 6.”
March 5, 2020
Kelly’s trial in Chicago’s federal court is postponed until October after prosecutors reveal that investigators “very recently” executed a search warrant in the case and seized at least 100 electronic devices.
April 7, 2020
A New York federal judge rules the threat of COVID-19 behind bars is not enough to release Kelly from federal custody to await trial.
April 30, 2020
Kelly pleads not guilty to a superseding indictment brought in New York, marking the seventh time the embattled singer has been arraigned on sexual abuse-related charges in a little more than a year.
May 15, 2020
A federal judge in New York once again rejects Kelly’s request for release pending trial, stating that his diagnosis of prediabetes is not enough to put him at high rigk of contracting COVID-19 behind bars.
Aug. 12, 2020
Three men are charged in federal court in New York with attempting to “intimidate, threaten or corruptly influence” alleged victims in the racketeering case against Kelly.
Aug. 14, 2020
Kelly’s manager is arrested in California on charges that he threatened a shooting at a Manhattan theater two years ago, forcing an evacuation and the cancellation of the screening of a documentary addressing allegations that the singer had sexually abused women and girls.
Aug. 18, 2020
A federal trial for Kelly, who had been scheduled to face a jury in U.S. District Court in Chicago in October on charges related to the alleged sexual abuse of underage girls, is postponed due to the coronavirus.
This booking photo provided by the Lake County Sheriff's Department shows Jeremiah Farmer. The Latin Kings gang member says he beat up the jailed R&B singer in a Chicago cell. (Lake County Sheriff's Department/AP)
Aug. 31, 2020
A federal detainee with “f--- the feds” tattooed on his face gets into Kelly’s cell while the singer is sleeping and stomps on his head repeatedly, according to a court filing from Kelly’s attorneys that once again argues for his release.
June 2021
Kelly’s legal team undergoes an abrupt shake up just weeks before the trial in New York is set to begin when the singer stops communicating with Chicago attorneys Steven Greenberg and Michael Leonard. They later withdraw from the case.
July 24, 2021
Federal prosecutors in New York reveal for the first time that an alleged male victim was expected to testify that Kelly sexually abused him after they met at a Chicago McDonald’s in 2006.
Reporters and spectators wait in line outside the federal courthouse in Brooklyn for opening statements on Aug. 18, 2021, in R&B star R. Kelly's long-anticipated federal trial in New York arising from years of allegations that he sexually abused women and girls. (Mary Altaffer/AP)
Aug. 18, 2021
Kelly’s racketeering trial begins in U.S. District Court in New York. The first witness confronts the singer and testifies she had sex with him at 16 after they met at a Cook County courthouse.
Sept. 27, 2021
Kelly is convicted by a federal jury in New York of racketeering conspiracy alleging he headed a criminal enterprise that employed agents, runners, bodyguards and others to lure and trap girls and young women to satisfy his sexually predatory desires. The jury, which heard from 50 witnesses over the six-week trial, reached its verdict after deliberating for about nine hours over two days.
Oct. 20, 2021
Judge sets an Aug. 1 jury trial for Kelly and his two co-defendants, longtime associates Derrel McDavid and Milton “June” Brown. The trial at the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse is expected to last three or four weeks.
Sept. 14, 2022
A jury finds Kelly guilty of three of the first four counts of the indictment, which charged the singer with the sexual exploitation of “Jane” for the purpose of producing child pornography. He was acquitted on a fourth count.
Each child pornography count carries a mandatory-minimum 10-year prison sentence, with the possibility that they would have to be served consecutively.
Sources: Chicago Tribune archives, AP, Biography.com, Brittanica.com, IMBD.com news reports and court documents


chicagotribune--2020-09-01--Providing comfort or promoting racism: Lake County politicians predictably split along party lines a

Providing comfort or promoting racism: Lake County politicians predictably split along party lines about motives for Trump’s visit to nearby Kenosha

U.S. Rep Brad Schneider , D-Deerfield , did not criticize Trump for making the trip , but was critical of @ @ @ @ @ before and since the shooting .
He wants to see a unifier in the White @ @ @ @ @ is a divider .

A Trump supporter and Chicago activist Ja'Mal Green face off as they wait for President Donald Trump's motorcade outside Bradford High School in Kenosha, Wisconsin, on Sept. 1, 2020. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)
The controversy over President Donald Trump’s decision to visit Kenosha, Wisconsin Tuesday in the wake of the Aug. 23 shooting and wounding of Jacob Blake by police spilled across the state line into Lake County as local political leaders saw varying motivations behind the trip.
A number of Lake County Republicans thought Trump’s trip was the right move for the nation’s leader, while some local Democrats questioned the reasons for the visit.
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All agreed lawlessness has no place in the ongoing discourse.
Demetra DeMonte, a Lake Forest resident and Illinois Republican national committeewoman, said when the president visits a city going through a difficult time, as Kenosha has for the last 10 days since Blake’s shooting, he is doing the right thing.
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“It’s the president’s job to reassure Americans during a time of difficulty,” DeMonte said. “When people are going through a hard time, they want to hear from their president. He seemed very well-received.”
State Sen. Julie Morrison, D-Lake Forest, criticized Trump for making the visit after Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers, a Democrat, and Kenosha Mayor John Antaramian asked the president to stay away.
“That says everything you need to know about what Donald Trump stands for,” Morrison said. “He (went) to Kenosha for one reason -- to give a political rally cry that will ignite more racist and violent attacks.”
U.S. Rep Brad Schneider, D-Deerfield, did not criticize Trump for making the trip, but was critical of the leadership he has demonstrated before and since the shooting. He wants to see a unifier in the White House, but said Trump is a divider.
“As President (George W.) Bush did after 9/11, and President (Barack) Obama did after Charleston, I wish President Trump would rise to the moment to unite the country, rather than dividing it,” Schneider said.
Mark Shaw, the Lake County Republican chairman and a Lake Forest resident, also talked about times other presidents like Bush and Bill Clinton made trips to comfort Americans after difficult times. He felt Trump was doing the same thing.
“Typically, a president comforts people during troubled times to provide support to others,” Shaw said.
Valerie Ramirez Mukherjee of Northbrook, Schneider’s Republican opponent in the Nov. 3 election, said politics should not play a role when the president is trying to sooth people who have experienced destruction in their community.
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“We have to leave our party and ego at the door when an elected official is offering comfort,” Ramirez Mukherjee said.
During a roundtable discussion in Kenosha, Trump said he authorized $1 million for Kenosha law enforcement, $4 million to help small businesses and $42 million to be used statewide in Wisconsin to prosecute perpetrators of looting and burning during civil unrest.
Shaw, Gash, Morrison, Ramirez Mukhergee and DeMonte all said politics should play no role when it comes to charging people for destroying property.
“We’re a nation of laws,” DeMonte said “If someone is burning or looting they should be held accountable. Aren’t we a country of law and order?”
In the last few days there has been talk of former Vice President Joe Biden, Trump’s Democratic opponent in November, going to Kenosha.
“If he can offer comfort, it’s up to him,” Shaw said.
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“He’s made his view on this very clear,” Gash added. “Grandstanding is not his style.”
Trump’s visit began in Waukegan.
After landing at Waukegan National Airport at 12:25 p.m., Trump made brief remarks, saying he would make a couple of stops in Kenosha and adding, “We’ll have plenty to talk about.”
Trump got off the smaller Boeing 757 version of Air Force One and the presidential entourage traveled to Kenosha by motorcade, a trip of about a half-hour.
“The violence stopped from the time the National Guard came,” Trump told reporters, echoing his theme of using the guard and federal law enforcement assets to quell violence.
Trump was greeted in Waukegan by Sen. Ron Johnson, a Wisconsin Republican. Johnson was wearing a mask.
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Also along on the trip were Attorney General Bill Barr; Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf; Ja’Ron Smith, a deputy assistant to Trump and one of the president’s few Black advisers; presidential assistant Dan Scavino and former Trump chief of staff Reince Priebus, also a former Republican National Committee chairman who is from Kenosha.
The Chicago Tribune contributed to this story.


chicagotribune--2020-09-01--Two women kidnapped and driven to ATMs in Hyde Park to withdraw cash, police say

He told the women he had a weapon , according to police .
Though the women never saw it , @ @ @ @ @ he had a gun .
Police said the intruder became angry at one point and @ @ @ @ @ forcing them into his car .

An intruder entered the apartment of two women in Hyde Park and forced them to drive to ATMs to withdraw cash, according to Chicago police.
The man entered the home of the women, 22 and 25, in the 1300 block of East 52nd Street about 4 a.m. Monday. He woke up the women, demanded money and began grabbing their belongings, police said.
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He told the women he had a weapon, according to police. Though the women never saw it, they said they were convinced he had a gun. Police said the intruder became angry at one point and hit both of them before forcing them into his car.
He drove the women to several ATMs and forced them to withdraw cash. One woman was able to get money, but the other woman was unable to withdraw funds, police said. She began contacting family members in hopes that they could wire her money.
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The man then drove them to a business that could complete the transaction, but the wiring service was not available that early in the morning, police said
Eventually, the women were able to escape from the car and contact the police. No arrest has been reported.
ssherry@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-09-01--In Chicago visit, Dr. Birx raises alarm over growing COVID-19 positivity rates in parts of Illinois

Pritzker and many state health officials have credited the March 21 stay-at-home order with slowing the growth of COVID-19 in @ @ @ @ @ and have said it helped prevent most area hospitals from becoming overwhelmed at the height @ @ @ @ @ Pritzker had decried the lack of a national stay-at-home order early in the pandemic .

Dr. Deborah Birx, White House coronavirus task force coordinator, takes questions from the local press at a news conference outside Rush University Medical Center after meeting with Chicago-area health officials on Sept. 1, 2020. (Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune)
White House coronavirus response coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx expressed concern during a visit to Chicago Tuesday about the growing number of counties in Illinois where 5% to 10% of COVID-19 tests are coming back positive.
“Over the last four weeks we’ve seen a steady increase in the number of counties that are over 10% and over 5% test positivity,” Birx said at a press conference following a private meeting with state and local officials at Rush University Medical Center.
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Illinois now has more than 60 counties where 5% or more of tests are coming back positive, and more than a dozen of those counties have test positivity rates of 10% or higher, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health.
She said “intensifying communication” with rural areas could help turn those numbers around, citing Ohio as an example.
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“When we see those rural counties move into the 5% range and continue to increase, it’s really an alert to every rural community that you need to take the same precautions as the urban communities are taking,” Birx said.
“Ohio has been able to reverse community spread in rural areas by using mask mandates, increasing awareness of social distancing and really making sure people understand that even in a family gathering, you have to still do these social distancing elements to protect one another,” she said.
When asked whether Illinois did the right thing by instituting a stay-at-home order early on and conducting a phased re-opening, Birx said Southern states have proved that the illness can be curbed with other types of mitigation measures, such as limiting activity in bars, reducing indoor dining and wearing masks.
Pritzker and many state health officials have credited the March 21 stay-at-home order with slowing the growth of COVID-19 in Illinois earlier this year, and have said it helped prevent most area hospitals from becoming overwhelmed at the height of the illness here. Pritzker had decried the lack of a national stay-at-home order early in the pandemic.
“The model we have followed here in Illinois is one in which science and public health guide our decisions, and that has led us to Illinois having the lowest positivity rate compared to our neighboring states and saved thousands of lives,” said Jordan Abudayyeh, a spokeswoman for Pritzker, in a statement Tuesday responding to Birx’s comments.
The U.S. has had more cases of the illness than any other country, according to the World Health Organization. As of Tuesday, 8,064 people had died of the illness in Illinois.
Birx visited Illinois Tuesday as part of a states tour in which she’s been emphasizing the importance of wearing masks and social distancing even from family members. She said it’s an especially important message with Labor Day approaching.
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“We’re seeing that the majority of community spread now is happening at the neighborhood and family gathering level,” she said.
She was scheduled to meet with Gov. J.B. Pritzker Tuesday.
Birx addressed recent controversial comments made by Food and Drug Administration Stephen Hahn over when the FDA might approve a potential vaccine. The Financial Times reported Sunday that Hahn said the FDA was prepared to authorize a vaccine before phase three clinical trials were complete, if the benefits outweighed the risks. He said he would not rush a vaccine to please the president.
Health experts have expressed concerns about rushing out a vaccine before it’s fully tested.
Birx said Tuesday she believes the commissioner was trying to say a vaccine could gain emergency use authorization before phase three trials are complete if it proves effective and helps people develop protective immune responses.
“There’s a lot that goes into that, and I think that’s what he was trying to communicate, but it’s very clear that the FDA is not going to authorize use without definitive efficacy,” Birx said.


chicagotribune--2020-09-01--Column: Emmett Till house poised to take first step toward official landmark status

Built in 1895 in the West Woodlawn neighborhood , Till ’ s home “ is an important reminder of Chicago @ @ @ @ @ South and the Civil Rights movement that continues today to seek justice for the Emmett @ @ @ @ @ The memory of Emmett Till , and the contributions of his mother Mamie Till-Mobley since @ @ @ @ @ to telling the story of equity and justice in America , ” says the final @ @ @ @ @ to the commission .

Clergy watch the unveiling of of temporary signage for the Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument site at Roberts Temple Church of God in Christ at 4021 S. State St., Aug. 1, 2023, in Chicago. It was the location of the 1955 funeral of 14-year-old Emmett Till. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)
The Chicago house of Emmett Till, whose brutal murder in Mississippi helped spark the civil rights movement, is expected to take the first step toward official city landmark status Thursday.
The Commission on Chicago Landmarks will consider a recommendation for the house, at 6427 S. St. Lawrence Ave., beginning a multistep process that would protect it from significant changes or demolition.
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The expected vote will take place days after the 65th anniversary of Till’s murder on Aug. 28, 1955 and against the backdrop of nationwide unrest sparked by the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis and the shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha.
The former home of Emmett Till at 6427 S. St. Lawrence Ave., in Chicago, seen on Nov. 9, 2017. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)
The red brick two-flat was the home of Till and his mother, Mamie Till-Mobley, before he traveled to Mississippi in the summer of 1955 to visit relatives. The 14-year-old was tortured and murdered for allegedly whistling at a white woman at a convenience store.
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Till’s mother chose an open-casket funeral to show mourners, and the world, the horror and violence her son endured.
[ Remembering slain teen Emmett Till in his hometown of Chicago via civil rights tourism and a mobile app ]
Built in 1895 in the West Woodlawn neighborhood, Till’s home “is an important reminder of Chicago’s connection to the South and the Civil Rights movement that continues today to seek justice for the Emmett Tills of this nation. The memory of Emmett Till, and the contributions of his mother Mamie Till-Mobley since his death, are essential to telling the story of equity and justice in America,” says the final draft of a staff report to the commission.
Till and his mother lived in a three-bedroom apartment on the house’s second floor, according to the report.
The nonprofit advocacy group Preservation Chicago backed an unsuccessful 2017 effort to recognize the house as a city landmark.
“This is more important than ever, realizing the social injustice and social unrest that we’re seeing in our city and across the nation,” Ward Miller, the group’s executive director, said Tuesday. “We keep hearing Emmett Till’s name tied to all of these issues that we’re seeing in these protests. It’s amazing that 65 years later, Emmett Till is still part of the conversation.”
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The City Council has the final say on whether a building is granted protected status.
Cook County property records show that the house sold in 2019 for $107,000 to BMW Properties. Attempts to reach the owner Tuesday were unsuccessful.
The owner has told the commission’s staff that he intends to consent the proposed landmark designation, Peter Strazzabosco, a spokesman for the city’s Department of Planning and Development, said in an email Tuesday.
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According to city building permit and inspection records, the property has undergone a series of recent renovations. In the past, it has been cited for numerous code violations, including a mouse infestation and a lack of carbon monoxide detectors in 2018.
Blair Kamin is a Tribune critic.
bkamin@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @BlairKamin


chicagotribune--2020-09-01--Chicago-area counties boost election judges’ pay, ramp up recruitment efforts as nation faces ‘criti

Chicago-area counties boost election judges’ pay, ramp up recruitment efforts as nation faces ‘critical shortage’ of election workers

“ I don ’ t think anybody wants to appear in any way , shape or form boastful about this @ @ @ @ @ can turn on the drop of a dime , ” Pelkie said .
“ We @ @ @ @ @ be cancellations , there are always cancellations , and if the pandemic worsens we could @ @ @ @ @ .
”

Ray Wojtkowski, 90, right, working as an election judge at a polling place at Byrne School in the 23rd Ward of Chicago on March 17, 2020, watches as voter uses hand sanitizer. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune)
Some Illinois counties are facing dire shortages of election workers ahead of early voting, prompting increased pay for poll workers and ramped-up recruitment of volunteers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
With early voting beginning Oct. 19, election officials anticipate many poll workers dropping out if there’s a coronavirus resurgence in the fall. In addition to implementing higher wages and new virtual outreach methods, city and suburban authorities have shifted from enrolling older voters as judges to trying to recruit younger populations who are less vulnerable to the virus.
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But even with new initiatives, success has varied from county to county.
“Response has been a little weak, frankly, and that seems to be consistent among my peers as well,” said Joseph Tirio, the McHenry County clerk. “Even if you’re not part of the most susceptible group (for COVID-19), people are still concerned.”
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The concern has been felt on a national level as well. On Tuesday, the DuPage County clerk’s office doubled election judge pay in light of “a critical shortage” in the United States because of COVID-19, according to a county news release. Now, DuPage poll workers should receive $260 on Election Day and $20 an hour during early voting. The extra pay will come from funds from the federal government’s coronavirus relief package.
Chicago and Cook County also have increased poll worker wages this year. Chicago increased its Election Day flat rate from $170 to $230, and the county plans to pay election judges $200 for Election Day and $150 a day during the early voting period.
Cook County has done more than normal to recruit election workers and it’s paying off, said John Mirkovic, a clerk’s office spokesperson. The county has more than 5,000 workers signed up toward its 8,000 goal and has been getting “a lot of interest” from high schoolers who don’t have school on Election Day.
Last-minute dropouts remain a prevalent concern, especially during the pandemic.
During the state primary in March, city and suburban election officials had to scramble to find new poll workers after COVID-19 began spreading in the area. The primary has served as a cautionary tale for officials leading up to Election Day.
“We had a lot of judges drop off in the weeks before the primary,” said Adam Johnson, chief deputy of the DuPage County clerk’s office. “We had to make a last-minute increase to judge pay just to stop the bleeding. We anticipate that it’s going to be a challenge, especially if the virus does flare back up going into the fall.”
Many counties are aiming to have reserve poll workers in place to prevent last-minute disarray.
After “aggressive recruitment,” Will County has already filled its election judge slots and doesn’t have plans in place to increase pay, according to Charles Pelkie, chief of staff for the county clerk’s office. But despite the county’s recent success, officials remain wary heading into the fall and plan to keep recruiting.
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“I don’t think anybody wants to appear in any way, shape or form boastful about this because we recognize that things can turn on the drop of a dime,” Pelkie said. “We recognize there are going to be cancellations, there are always cancellations, and if the pandemic worsens we could be in a different situation.”
Lake County officials also deemed the retention of workers their main concern. The county, like others in the Chicago area, implemented virtual classes to prevent contact during election training, though volunteers are still required to come in to certain locations to learn about the equipment in person.
“That is really the only concern right now is making sure that we do have enough judges to staff all of the Election Day voting sites,” said Todd Govain, chief deputy for the Lake County clerk’s office. “Most of them are seniors and they are in that bracket considered most vulnerable (to COVID-19).”
City and suburban election officials said they’re buying personal protective equipment and other safety supplies to keep polling places clean and staffers healthy. Counties have also encouraged mail-in voting, which is expected to reach record highs, to prevent long lines or confusion on Election Day.
County officials are urging voters to contact their local election authority to volunteer as election judges. Mirkovic said Cook County is optimistic and the community might see a “surge of people” who recognize the need for more workers in the weeks to come.
“The ones that were in place in March were real stalwarts,” added Tirio, of McHenry County. “I mean, they see this as a need for their community and a responsibility for their community, almost a religious crusade. But my fear is that when the day comes, there’s going to be too few of them.”
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kelsmith@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @KelliSmithNews