chicagotribune--2020-08-21--A suburban Catholic school teacher was fired after refusing to return to class due to COVID-19. Othe

A suburban Catholic school teacher was fired after refusing to return to class due to COVID-19. Others teachers are demanding Catholic schools go remote.

In Sage ’ s case , the principal and operations director indicated she was not eligible for a leave of @ @ @ @ @ her to check for other openings in the archdiocese and added : “ Of course @ @ @ @ @ that we would also welcome you back to teach at our school if there is @ @ @ @ @ safe returning to in-person instruction , or our school ’ s needs have changed such @ @ @ @ @ available .
”

Elaine Sage was let go as a teacher at St. Francis Xavier Catholic school in Wilmette after declining to rerturn to work amid concerns about COVID-19. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)
When teachers reported to St. Francis Xavier School in Wilmette on Monday to start the new school year, Elaine Sage was not among them.
At age 63 and married to a cancer survivor, the longtime teacher said she didn’t feel comfortable with the Chicago Archdiocese’s plans to reopen schools full time this fall while COVID-19 is still far from contained.
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“This is life and death for me,” Sage said.
Sage said she asked to be allowed to teach remotely to students who’ve opted out of in-person classes. She did not want to resign, but she did not show up for work when her school reopened to teachers on Monday. Students are due back on Aug. 31.
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Sage learned late Wednesday that the archdiocese was releasing her from her contract, effective immediately.
In a letter informing Sage of the decision, St. Francis Xavier’s principal and the archdiocese’s operations director wrote that they understood Sage’s concerns and her “personal disagreement with our decision to re-open with in-person instruction.”
But they said they did not have a remote teaching position for her because of the small number of students at the school who opted out of in-person classes.
Later Thursday, following a press conference by other teachers and advocates calling for Catholic schools to begin the year with remote learning, the archdiocese released a statement saying its reopening plan “places the health and safety of our students, teacher and employees above all else” and meets public health guidelines.
“As the school year progresses, we will continue to follow the guidance of authorities, monitor compliance with the plan and make adjustments accordingly,” the statement said.
“The Office of Catholic Schools employs more than 5,000 in administrative, teaching and staff positions. They have worked together to respond to this extraordinary challenge and continue our education mission. The opening of more than 70 schools this week has been greeted with enthusiasm by our families, students and teachers. The mixture of in-person and on-line learning they offer differs from school to school and responds to parent choice. If families choose remote learning, they are accommodated,” the statement said.
In Sage’s case, the principal and operations director indicated she was not eligible for a leave of absence, but they encouraged her to check for other openings in the archdiocese and added: “Of course, it goes without saying that we would also welcome you back to teach at our school if there is a time that you feel safe returning to in-person instruction, or our school’s needs have changed such that virtual instruction opportunities are available.”
The letter, which Sage shared with the Tribune, also stated: “Unfortunately, sometimes serving the needs of many precludes the ability to meet the needs of others, especially in times like these. In this case, a fully remote program would compromise the academic, spiritual, and emotional well-being of our children. As we are returning to in-person instruction, it is critical that our teachers be available to teach in-person for classes that are in-person.”
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In a written statement to the Tribune, Jim Rigg, superintendent of archdiocesan schools, said any teachers concerned about returning for in-person learning were encouraged to speak with their principals.
“Our principals are doing their best to answer questions and accommodate concerns, although each circumstance is unique,” Rigg said. “If teachers cannot be accommodated in their original school, they are encouraged to apply for open remote teaching positions in other archdiocese schools.”
In the archdiocese’s statement later Thursday, officials said they’ve “diligently responded to principal and employee concerns brought to our attention. However, we cannot accommodate all requests. Given the preference of a majority of families for in-person learning, remote teaching opportunities are limited."
With about 70,000 students in Cook and Lake counties, the Archdiocese of Chicago’s school system is one of the largest in the state that plans to reopen full time.
Chicago Public Schools had previously planned a hybrid reopening, where students would rotate into schools twice a week, but the district retreated to all-remote learning at least for the start of the new year, as have many suburban districts.
CPS switched gears after pressure from the Chicago Teachers Union, which strongly opposed in-person classes and threatened to walk off the job for what would have been the second time in less than a year.
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Teachers in the archdiocese are not unionized.
And though some archdiocese schools have reported very low numbers of students opting out of in-person classes, its plans to reopen have not been without controversy or setbacks.
Thursday evening, two Catholic schoolteachers, a parent and faith leaders were among those who appeared at a news conference asking for the schools in the Chicago Archdiocese to begin fall classes remotely.
Standing outside of the archdiocese office, a new group calling itself Arch Teachers for a Safe Return decried the school system’s decision to proceed with in-person learning despite growing COVID-19 cases.
“We believe that the archdiocese is putting people in danger,” said the Rev. C.J. Hawking, of Arise Chicago, an interfaith workers rights group.
Since the reopening plan was announced in July, Hawking said teachers from dozens of schools have reached out to Arise to express concerns.
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Besides health and safety concerns among some teachers, some parents have also said that choices for remote learning lacked detail or were not fully formed. Some parents said they were wary of a plan to use a third-party vendor to provide remote classes.
Rigg confirmed Wednesday the archdiocese signed a contract “within the last week” with a private company, Catapult Learning, but said only a “limited number of schools” elected to use Catapult for remote learning. Rigg said schools were given four different options for remote learning to choose from.
Wednesday, the archdiocese confirmed that one suburban school — Mary, Seat of Wisdom in Park Ridge — is postponing its opening date until Sept. 8 because an administrator became ill with COVID-19.
Families with children at archdiocesan schools have also been asked to sign waivers stating: “It is imperative that you understand that even with this plan in place, (the school) cannot guarantee that your student will not contract COVID-19 as there are no known measures at this time to completely eliminate the possibility of infection. As a result, attending school and/or participating in any school activities exposes your child and/or your child(ren) to risk of contracting COVID-19.”
Rigg said that’s part of a longer document that lays out parents’ responsibilities to keep their children and other children safe.
"It is very important that parents clearly understand their role in supporting safe in-person instruction," he said.
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The responsibilities outlined in the document include daily temperature checks and keeping children at home when they are ill. The document given to parents included a waiver section, but it is not mandatory for parents to sign it, Rigg said.
Many parents have said they’re glad to have the option of sending their children back to school and are confident that administrators and teachers are doing all they can to minimize the risks.
One Northbrook parent, Curt Schaller, told the Tribune in late July that he thought it was good that parents in the Catholic system had the choice between remote and in-person learning, particularly for working families.
“People fail to realize the impact not having schools open has on working families and single-parent families,” Schaller said. “What are they to do with their kids?”
Sage, the St. Francis Xavier teacher who was released from her contract, said she knew her job could be at stake if she refused to return to the classroom, but said: “I feel really strongly about this. People’s lives are in danger.”
Sage said she thought teachers didn’t get enough input into plans for reopening schools and worries that, no matter how well-intentioned those plans are, the risks are too great.
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“It’s a pandemic. It’s unprecedented. We can’t go back to what was normal. We need to make the e-learning better and we can,” she said. “We’re not even at the second wave yet.”


chicagotribune--2020-08-21--Gerardo Victoria had big plans for the fall: culinary school.  But he fell ill from COVID-19 and die

Gerardo Victoria had big plans for the fall: culinary school.  But he fell ill from COVID-19 and died at the age of 23. ‘A horrible thing.’

Then , one by one , the rest of his family in the home also got sick and were diagnosed @ @ @ @ @ Victoria was cleared to go home about a week later .
Gusman said she was @ @ @ @ @ mother and did not become ill .

Gerardo “Jerry” Victoria was always coming up with new recipes and sharing them with his family in their South Holland home.
This fall, he planned to follow his love for cooking and attend culinary school.
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“He was more than a brother-in-law. He was a friend. We were close,” Vanessa Gusman said.
About a month ago, he became ill as COVID-19 spread through his family. He died on Tuesday at the age of 23, and is among 14 people aged 23 or younger, including one infant, who have died from virus-related causes in Cook County. As of Thursday, Illinois has reported 213,721 cases and 7,833 fatalities.
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“It was a horrible thing,” Gusman said. “He was getting better and getting the help he needed. He was excited to come home.”
Gerardo "Jerry" Victoria on his way to pick up a favorite video game in a photo taken by his brother Fernando before the coronavirus pandemic. Victoria, 23, died on Aug. 18, 2020, at the University of Chicago Medical Center, in part, due to COVID-19. (Fernando Victoria)
Victoria had been off a ventilator at the University of Chicago Medical Center for about a week, and was breathing “fine” and speaking to his family every day, she said. He’d even been able to get out of bed and walk with some assistance.
There were plans for him to undergo rehab and “get back to his normal self,” Gusman said. “Unfortunately, he didn’t make it.”
Victoria had eaten dinner Monday night, and his breathing was good. But early Tuesday, about 15 or 20 minutes after a nurse checked on him, his heart rate just “dropped.”
The nurse rushed to get help, Gusman said. “When they got back, he was already gone.”
Victoria was pronounced dead at 2 a.m. Tuesday. The cause of death was acute hypoxic respiratory failure due to COVID-19 infection, with hypertension, diabetes and obesity as contributing factors, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.
“We all talked to him the day he died,” Gusman said, her voice breaking.
Victoria was the youngest of six children and lived with his parents, two of his brothers and Gusman in South Holland. Two of his three sisters live in Chicago and one near South Holland.
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Victoria became ill in mid-July, but his family thought it might be from his diabetes. “He was very pale and was throwing up constantly,” she said.
Then, one by one, the rest of his family in the home also got sick and were diagnosed with COVID-19. Everyone except Victoria was cleared to go home about a week later. Gusman said she was in New York visiting her mother and did not become ill.
“It just happened all of a sudden. Most of us stay inside,” she said.
Gusman said the family had been making plans to go to the movies with him and hang out. “He was excited to come home and be with his family.”
A GoFundMe page on his behalf had raised nearly $2,000 of a $7,000 goal to help pay for funeral expenses.
Among the donors was his favorite teacher, Kathleen Sweet, who posted this message:
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“He was one of the sweetest and most joyful people.”


chicagotribune--2020-08-20--Lawyers for indicted Ald. Edward Burke say feds bungled wiretaps, call post office scheme a setup

The motion said that despite Solis ’ best efforts , Burke never agreed on tape to provide any official action @ @ @ @ @ .
The filing repeatedly accused prosecutors of overreaching and conflating Burke ’ s actions as @ @ @ @ @ official duties as alderman , saying that “ while the government might not like it @ @ @ @ @ law against a politician merely soliciting business without promising official action .

Ald. Edward Burke, 14th, right, gets applause after his farewell speech on his last day as alderman at the City Council meeting, April 19, 2023. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
Lawyers for indicted Chicago Ald. Edward Burke alleged in a court filing Thursday that federal investigators bungled the wiretap of Burke’s phones and improperly tried to set him up in a scheme involving the old main post office that forms the backbone of the corruption case.
The allegations came in a motion to suppress the evidence gleaned from the wiretaps on Burke’s cellphone and City Hall offices, which allowed the FBI to monitor thousands of conversations the alderman made and received over the course of nearly a year.
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The 71-page motion accuses prosecutors of directing then-Ald. Daniel Solis to have “scripted interactions” with Burke and lie about the post office deal in an effort to curry favor with the government. At the time, Solis had been recorded “committing a number of different crimes,” the motion stated.
The motion also revealed for the first time that Solis entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with the government on Jan. 3, 2019, the same day Burke was first charged. It was soon after Solis had abruptly announced his retirement and just days before court records were unsealed showing Solis had been secretly recorded by a developer.
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According to the filing, Solis admitted in the agreement taking campaign cash from a real estate developer in exchange for official action at the Zoning Committee that Solis chaired.
The disclosure — which came in a footnote in the motion — is the first official indication that Solis will likely not face criminal prosecution. A spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office had no comment.
Burke’s attorneys want U.S. District Judge Robert Dow to declare the wiretapped calls inadmissible at trial, saying that prosecutors “recklessly and intentionally” withheld in the Title III wiretap application that they had used a “desperate” alderman to try to catch Burke committing a crime.
“The government did not disclose that it instructed a desperate (Ald. Solis) to record his conversations with Ald. Burke, even though (Solis) told the government that he had no knowledge of Ald. Burke ever having been involved in corrupt activity in the 25 years they served together on the City Council,” the motion stated.
According to the filing, then-U.S. District Chief Judge Ruben Castillo used the misinformation from prosecutors to find that there was probable cause for the wiretaps.
The motion was among a flurry of defense filings in the bombshell case after months of being on the back burner.
In addition to the motion to suppress, Burke’s attorneys filed motions to dismiss specific counts of the indictment as well as to strike potentially inflammatory language from the charges quoting Burke talking about Jewish lawyers.
Burke’s co-defendants, longtime 14th Ward political operative Peter J. Andrews and real estate developer Charles Cui, also filed various motions to suppress evidence and dismiss counts against them.
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But it’s the effort by Burke’s high-powered attorneys to suppress the wiretaps that shed the most light on the still-evolving case, which rocked Chicago politics in November 2018 when FBI agents raided Burke’s offices at City Hall.
Burke, 76, a Democratic stalwart and onetime dean of the City Council, was originally charged in a criminal complaint in January 2019. He was indicted four months later on 14 counts including racketeering, federal program bribery, attempted extortion, conspiracy to commit extortion and using interstate commerce to facilitate an unlawful activity.
The 59-page indictment outlined a series of schemes in which Burke allegedly tried to muscle developers into hiring his law firm, Klafter & Burke, to appeal their property taxes. Among the projects Burke tried to capitalize on was the massive $800 million renovation of the old main post office in the West Loop, according to the charges.
Andrews was accused of assisting the alderman in attempting to shake down two businessmen seeking to renovate a Burger King restaurant in the 14th Ward.
The indictment also accused Cui of hiring Burke’s law firm in exchange for the alderman’s help with a sign permit and financing deal for a project in the Portage Park neighborhood.
All three have pleaded not guilty.
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The motion to suppress filed Thursday revealed that before tapping Burke’s cellphone, investigators in May 2017 had been granted authority to tap several telephone lines in Burke’s offices in City Hall. After several weeks of eavesdropping on a total of 2,185 calls, however, the wiretap of the landlines was abandoned, according to the motion.
The motion also offered new details in the potential origins of the probe, though Burke’s attorneys say prosecutors have not disclosed how or exactly when the investigation of Burke was officially opened.
Burke’s lawyers said the feds’ interest ramped up when Solis and Burke both attended the 2016 Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia. There, a state senator and “certain Chicago aldermen,” including Burke, approached Solis about hiring a certain contractor in the post office development.
After Burke recommended a certain wrecking company, investigators “directed Ald. Solis to begin engaging in conversations with Ald. Burke surrounding the Post Office project and record the conversations,” according to the defense motion.
The motion said that despite Solis’ best efforts, Burke never agreed on tape to provide any official action in exchange for private business. The filing repeatedly accused prosecutors of overreaching and conflating Burke’s actions as a private attorney with his official duties as alderman, saying that “while the government might not like it,” there is no law against a politician merely soliciting business without promising official action.
The filing also quotes several conversations that Burke’s lawyers say show the alderman was careful not to cross any legal lines.
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At one point in December 2016, when the post office developer was having issues with Amtrak and train tracks that run under the property, Solis asked Burke where he was as far as getting legal business from the firm.
“I said, I’m not hired to represent them so I’m just trying to get the background here,” Burke responded, according to the motion. “If indeed I get hired, then it’s a different story. ... Right now it’s pro bono.”
The motion also said that in their wiretap application, prosecutors “grasped at innuendo” that Solis interjected into conversations with Burke.
During one recorded meeting with the post office developer, Solis “slipped” a comment into the conversation in an obvious effort to get Burke to implicate himself, the motion stated.
“I’d be surprised if you don’t know somebody here,” Solis allegedly said. “If you don’t know somebody, he’s a nobody. There’s a book, there’s a book about that.”
jmeisner@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-08-20--Chicago police union donates nearly $60K to State’s Attorney Kim Foxx’s Republican challenger Pat O’

Chicago police union donates nearly $60K to State’s Attorney Kim Foxx’s Republican challenger Pat O’Brien

O ’ Brien faces uncertain odds in a Democratic-leaning county that could be energized to vote in the race between @ @ @ @ @ , a Democrat , and President Donald Trump , a Republican .
But Foxx has @ @ @ @ @ this year ’ s surge in gun violence and summer lootings as well as for @ @ @ @ @ found “ abuses of discretion ” but no criminal wrongdoing in the Jussie Smollett case @

Chicago police’s largest union on Wednesday donated $57,800 to Kim Foxx’s challenger in the Cook County state’s attorney’s race in what the union president said is the beginning of a bid to flex more political influence.
The influx from the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 7 eclipses the total contributions Republican Pat O’Brien reported during the second quarter. In addition to the FOP donation, the former judge looking to unseat the Democratic incumbent this November received $5,000 from the Chicago Police Sergeants Association PAC Fund at the end of July, records show.
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“Kim Foxx doesn’t have the experience or judgment to run an office I think in regular times, and in times where there are events which obviously would test anyone, she certainly has failed that test,” O’Brien said. “There certainly is more of a feeling that I’m getting from business leaders and from individuals that they are sick and tired of favoring the criminal at the expense of the victim of crime, and that they’re ready and willing and able to elect a Republican for state’s attorney.”
Foxx’s senior campaign adviser Alex Sims dismissed the police union’s endorsement and attacked both O’Brien and the FOP. Sims said she was “not at all surprised” by the move and criticized O’Brien for his involvement as lead prosecutor in the wrongful conviction of a group of men in the 1986 murder of medical student Lori Roscetti.
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In a phone interview, O’Brien said his office based its procedure on confessions and testimonies available at the time. But he agreed with the later DNA testing that found the men were innocent.
”I don’t know what it is that she wants to accuse me of. I did exactly what a prosecutor would do,” O’Brien said. “I prosecuted the evidence that was in front of me.”
FOP President John Catanzara said he finds it “rather rich” that Foxx is criticizing the union when she espouses what he described as a “do as I say, not as I do politics.”
“Pat O’Brien is gonna make a phenomenal state’s attorney,” Catanzara said. “Everybody has questionable decisions in their past that they have to answer, whatever the case may be. ... There is no such thing as a perfect candidate, but I gotta tell you, I think if I had a law license, I’d be a better candidate than Kim Foxx. She’s that bad.”
Catanzara added that the $57,800 donation, the maximum a political fund can give, is a sign of what’s to come for the FOP’s political action committee. He said in a year’s time, he hopes the union will have a seven-figure PAC fund after making more maximum contributions to bolster politicians who are friendly to FOP causes.
Still, O’Brien faces uncertain odds in a Democratic-dominated county that could be energized to vote in the race between former Vice President Joe Biden, a Democrat, and President Donald Trump, a Republican. But Foxx has been panned by critics for this year’s surge in gun violence and summer lootings, as well as for a special prosecutor report that found “abuses of discretion” but no criminal wrongdoing in the Jussie Smollett case.
At the close of the second quarter, on June 30, O’Brien had less funds on hand than Foxx: $31,481.25 to her $43,280.61, records show. But from the day after the March 17 primary until Thursday, O’Brien reported almost $80,000 more in contributions, which includes the FOP donation. O’Brien said in addition, he has about $100,000 in checks that he has yet to cash as well as a pledge from Guaranteed Rate CEO Victor Ciardelli to raise at least another $100,000.
Still, Foxx beat out her Democratic challenger Bill Conway earlier this year despite him outspending her. Endorsed by Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and several former 2020 Democratic presidential candidates, Foxx survived attacks during the primary campaign over her office’s handling of the case against Smollett, an actor accused of faking a hate crime against himself last year.
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O’Brien wasted no time in slamming Foxx after special prosecutor Dan Webb released his report this week stating her office misled the public on the Smollett deal. He also is pushing a narrative that Foxx is “soft-on-crime,” echoing criticism from Chicago police’s upper brass that her office does not prosecute offenders enough.
Although there have been anti-police protesters calling for criminal justice system reforms more in line with what Foxx has championed, O’Brien said Foxx in fact “should be worried about the growing movement of people that don’t take to the streets or are fed up with a city that has to raise its drawbridges in order to protect itself, because the state’s attorney won’t.” He was referring to this month’s lootings that prompted Lightfoot to raise the bridges downtown.
Foxx has rejected the characterization that she’s to blame for any increase in crime, especially in the wake of political finger-pointing following this summer’s lootings. Her office said it approved charges for nearly all looting-related felony arrests.
“It does not serve us to have dishonest blame games when all of our hearts are breaking by what we are seeing,” she said during a news conference earlier this month.
ayin@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-08-20--State announces SAT makeup dates for high school students who missed spring exams because of COVID-1

State announces SAT makeup dates for high school students who missed spring exams because of COVID-19

“ I really think we need to consider what are all of the tools in our tool kit that we @ @ @ @ @ very strong case for suspending this ( testing ) , ” Pacione-Zayas said .
“ @ @ @ @ @ this being writ-large beneficial to students , to educators , to school administrators .
I @ @ @ @ @ consider this long and hard .
”

State-sponsored SATs are generally required of all high school juniors in Illinois but were postponed this past spring by COVID-19. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)
Illinois education officials have announced new fall SAT dates for high school seniors who missed the state-provided exams last spring when they were postponed after COVID-19 shut down schools.
All high school juniors in the state are typically required to take the SAT with Essay exam, and many use that score on college and scholarship applications. Because those tests were delayed last spring, the Illinois State Board of Education is requesting that schools offer the test Sept. 23 or Oct. 14, or both days, for seniors who want the chance to take it before such applications are due.
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However, schools that are planning only remote learning this fall, such as Chicago Public Schools, are asked to have their seniors take the SAT next April along with this year’s junior class.
At a state education board meeting Wednesday, some members raised concerns about offering in-person testing this fall and, more broadly, whether other standardized tests should be given. Secretary Cristina Pacione-Zayas asked whether the board would consider applying for a standardized testing waiver from the federal government, as the state of Georgia has done.
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“I really think we need to consider what are all of the tools in our tool kit that we can use to construct a very strong case for suspending this (testing),” Pacione-Zayas said. “I really do not see this being writ-large beneficial to students, to educators, to school administrators. I really think we need to consider this long and hard.”
Other board members pointed out it is unlikely the federal government will issue such a waiver and argued that without a direct order, suspending the tests could be detrimental for districts that rely on funding attached to test scores.
“I’m just going to be really honest: You’ve got districts out here that are in desperate need of those Title I dollars,” said Vice Chair Donna Leak.
Still, Leak maintains she has never been a fan of the state assessments and believes this issue requires a longer conversation.
At Wednesday’s meeting, officials also announced updates to the Illinois Report Cards, which are collections of testing, demographic and other data that are provided for each public school in Illinois and are the main state measurements of school performance. This year, report cards will display qualifiers, such as “no data available” or “calculated with concerns,” next to metrics that were affected by the COVID-19 school closures.
This story contains a corrected date for the September makeup test.


chicagotribune--2020-08-20--TCF Bank inside Glenview Jewel Osco store robbed by 2 men Thursday afternoon, FBI says

Anyone who has information about the men or may have witnessed the incident are encouraged to call the Glenview police @ @ @ @ @ email gpdtipline @ glenview.il.us .
The FBI Chicago field office can also be contacted at @ @ @ @ @ at tips.fbi.gov .

Two men robbed the TCF Bank located in Jewel Osco, 2502 Waukegan Road, in Glenview on Aug. 20, 2020. (Federal Bureau of Investigation / HANDOUT)
A bank branch was robbed by two men in Glenview Thursday afternoon, according to the FBI.
The men robbed the TCF Bank branch located inside Jewel Osco, 2502 Waukegan Road, around 1:30 p.m. Thursday, according to Glenview police and the FBI.
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One of the suspects is described as a white man around 18-20 years of age, with dark, curly hair. He is around 5-foot-7 inches to 5-foot-8 inches tall and weighs around 150 pounds. He was seen on surveillance wearing a mask and a hooded sweatshirt.
The second suspect is described as an Asian man around the same age, weight and height. He was seen on surveillance cameras wearing a mask, a baseball hat and a North Face T-shirt.
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The pair left in a gray dual cab pickup truck, FBI officials said. No weapons were observed or implied in the incident, and no one was injured, according to police.
Officials declined to say how much money may have been taken.
Glenview police’s Criminal Investigations Unit is investigating the robbery with the help of the FBI.
Anyone who has information about the men or may have witnessed the incident are encouraged to call the Glenview police tip line at 847-901-6055 or email gpdtipline@glenview.il.us. The FBI Chicago field office can also be contacted at 312-421-6700 or through their website at tips.fbi.gov.
kedquist@chicagotribune.com
Twitter: @kaitlinedquist


chicagotribune--2020-08-20--‘Undeniable’ body cam and security video shows Alameda County cop shoved Raptors president with cred

‘Undeniable’ body cam and security video shows Alameda County cop shoved Raptors president with credentials after title win

“ The video sadly demonstrates how horribly I was treated by a law enforcement officer last year in the midst @ @ @ @ @ Toronto Raptors , winning its first world championship .
It was an exhilarating moment of @ @ @ @ @ for our players , for our city , for our country , and for me @ @ @ @ @ professional journey in the NBA .
Yet , unfortunately , I was reminded in that @ @ @ @ @ my hard work and success , there are some people , including those who are @ @ @ @ @ who will always and only see me as something that is unworthy of respectful engagement @ @ @ @ @ s only one indisputable reason why that is the case - because I am Black @

Toronto Raptors president Masai Ujiri celebrates his team's championship win in Oakland, Calif., on June 13, 2019. Ujiri was shoved several times by an Alameda County sheriff's deputy while making his way to the court. The deputy then claimed he was battered by Ujiri, who he said lacked credentials, and is unable to work as a result of his injuries. Bodycam footage shows much of the officer's version of events is not true. (Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images North America/TNS)
OAKLAND, Calif. — A new video released by the attorneys of Toronto Raptors president Masai Ujiri appears to show an Alameda County sheriff’s deputy initially shoved Ujiri twice, leading to an altercation moments after the Canadian team had defeated the Golden State Warriors in last year’s NBA Finals.
The Raptors had just won their first title at Oracle Arena in Oakland on June 13, 2019, when Ujiri went onto the court to join his celebrating team, as is commonplace.
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Alameda County sheriff’s deputy Alan Strickland claimed in a federal lawsuit filed in February that he stopped Ujiri because he didn’t provide the proper credential, leading to a shoving match that was partially captured on video. Strickland alleged Ujiri hit him “in the face and chest with both fists,” tried to go around him and repeatedly ignored orders to stop.
Strickland’s body camera video released Tuesday by Cotchett Pitre & McCarthy, the law firm representing Ujiri, shows the Raptors president walking while pulling credentials out of his suit’s breast pocket and the deputy aggressively shoving him twice shortly before Ujiri shoves him back. Ujiri asks why he is being shoved, and explains he is the president of the Raptors. The footage ends shortly after that.
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Authorities attempted to criminally charge Ujiri at the time, but the local district attorney declined to prosecute.
Strickland has also filed a workers’ compensation claim, according to KTVU, alleging Ujiri “circumvented” security and tried to “storm” the court and “hit him in the face and chest with both fists.”
KTVU reported that Strickland said Ujiri had a “violent predisposition” and acted with an “evil motive amounting to malice.”
Strickland pleaded no contest to insurance fraud in 2005.
In a statement Wednesday, sheriff’s spokesman Sgt. Ray Kelly said the department had closed out its part in the case last July. Kelly distinguished between the public case, which ended with a citation hearing last November, and the private matter of Strickland’s suit against Ujiri.
“There’s been a snippet of video released publicly that doesn’t tell the story of the entire investigation,” Kelly said. “That story will have to come out through the process. We stand by our original statements.”
Kelly confirmed that Strickland remains employed by the department and said the deputy is on leave recovering from injuries sustained during the incident.
In a counter-claim to Strickland’s suit filed Tuesday, Ujiri’s attorneys said the footage shows Strickland was “undeniably the initial aggressor” in the confrontation and that the new evidence will vindicate Ujiri’s rights “as a victim of unreasonable force, assault, and battery at the hands of Mr. Strickland,” the East Bay Times reported.
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The Raptors said in a statement they stand by Ujiri and point out the video shows Strickland’s legal accusations are “baseless and entirely without merit.”
“We believe this video evidence shows exactly that — Masai was not an aggressor, but instead was the recipient of two very violent, unwarranted actions,” the team said.
“While Masai has the full backing of Raptors and MLSE (Maple Leaf Sports Entertainment) as he fights this injustice, we are aware that not all people have similar support and resources.”
Ujiri released a statement himself on Thursday:
“The video sadly demonstrates how horribly I was treated by a law enforcement officer last year in the midst of my team, the Toronto Raptors, winning its first world championship. It was an exhilarating moment of achievement for our organization, for our players, for our city, for our country, and for me personally, given my long-tenured professional journey in the NBA. Yet, unfortunately, I was reminded in that moment that despite all of my hard work and success, there are some people, including those who are supposed to protect us, who will always and only see me as something that is unworthy of respectful engagement. And, there’s only one indisputable reason why that is the case - because I am Black.
“What saddens me most about this ordeal is that the only reason why I am getting the justice I deserve in this moment is because of my success. Because I’m the President of a NBA team, I had access to resources that ensured I could demand and fight for my justice. So many of my brothers and sisters haven’t had, don’t have, and won’t have the same access to resources that assured my justice. And that’s why Black Lives Matter.”


Corrections and clarifications

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· An editorial in Thursday’s paper included an incorrect year for the city of Chicago’s 1837 incorporation.
The Tribune regrets the error.
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Publishing information quickly and accurately is a central part of the Chicago Tribune’s news responsibility and a value shared in all our publications. Our editorial code of principles governs professional behavior and journalism standards. Everyone in our newsroom must agree to live up to this code of conduct. Download the file.
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chicagotribune--2020-08-20--The Hideout launches monthly subscription program, streaming concerts, happy hours and more

The new setup kicks off Sept. 3 with Chicago singer/songwriter Tasha , who will debut a series called “ To @ @ @ @ @ which songwriters will introduce and highlight a trio of their favorite performers , and each @ @ @ @ @ 15-minute sets .
Other shows include regular concerts , talk shows , comedy , happy @ @ @ @ @ the kind of neighborhood programming for which Hideout is known .

Shrimp Boys perform during Helltrap Nightmare in August 2019 at the Hideout in Chicago. The performers are among the September lineup for Hideout Online's new monthly subscription streaming model. (Youngrae Kim / Chicago Tribune)
Nearly six months after the Hideout closed its doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Chicago venue announced this week that it’s making a full-time move online.
The Hideout has been periodically streaming shows and events online through Twitch for its Hideout Online program, but now the venue will move to Noonchorus, an online platform that was specifically created to host music and other artistic performances during the pandemic quarantine. Hideout Online will also launch a monthly subscription model ($20-$25 per month) in addition to ticketing individual shows.
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[ We want to know: Would you go to a live concert? How has the pandemic changed entertainment for you? ]
The new setup kicks off Sept. 3 with Chicago singer/songwriter Tasha, who will debut a series called “To the Front,” in which songwriters will introduce and highlight a trio of their favorite performers, and each of them will perform short 15-minute sets. Other shows include regular concerts, talk shows, comedy, happy hours and more, recreating the kind of neighborhood programming for which Hideout is known.
The September slate of performers also includes Lockdown Puppet Theater, Scientist Walks into a Bar (talk show), Robbie Fulks, Melkbelly, and more. The full lineup can be seen on Hideout Online’s Noonchorus page.
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Subscriptions launch today, and the first 50 subscribers will get a $5 discount to $20 per month, after which the price rises to $25 per month. Performances are only ticketed by the show and streaming from the Hideout’s website through the end of August.
Details: noonchorus.com/hideout
@lucheezy
adlukach@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-08-20--Former suburban school chief charged with looting lunch program for needy kids

During one visit to the school ’ s Harvey location in 2015 , a state inspector encountered offices with badly @ @ @ @ @ a food program that were either missing or incomplete , according to the FBI filing @ @ @ @ @ have no dedicated food prep area , and an empty classroom where food was being @ @ @ @ @ .

Lighthouse Christian Academy in Lansing, Ill., in 2017, when Pamela Strain, the academy's superintendent, was under federal investigation for allegedly stealing money meant to provide lunches for poor students. (Phil Velasquez / Chicago Tribune)
A former south suburban private school operator has been charged in federal court in Chicago with looting hundreds of thousands of dollars over a seven-year period from a school nutrition program intended for needy children.
Pamela Strain, the founder and president of Beacon Hill Preparatory Academy, was charged Wednesday in a two-count criminal information alleging she failed to report the fraudulent income from the child nutrition program to the IRS.
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Defendants charged by information typically intend to plead guilty. Reached by phone Thursday, Strain’s attorney, Michael Monico, said the matter “is expected to be resolved short of trial.”
“This is a very unfortunate situation,” Monico said. “She has devoted her life to helping children.”
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An arraignment was set for Aug. 28.
The charges come nearly three years after the Chicago Tribune detailed in a front-page story the federal investigation into Strain’s small private school, which operated at various locations in the south suburbs before reopening in Lansing in 2016 under a new name, Lighthouse Christian Academy.
An FBI search warrant made public in 2017 showed that Strain allegedly used her ill-gotten funds to pay for a lavish lifestyle, including her home and other properties, luxury cars, spas, salons and shopping sprees at stores such as Victoria’s Secret and Macy’s, the Tribune reported.
The 54-page search warrant also contained startling details about the conditions at Strain’s schools.
During one visit to the school’s Harvey location in 2015, a state inspector encountered offices with badly outdated equipment and records of a food program that were either missing or incomplete, according to the FBI filing. The school appeared to have no dedicated food prep area, and an empty classroom where food was being stored was infested with moths.
When asked about the problem, the school’s principal “unsuccessfully tried to convince (the inspector) that the moths were pencil shavings,” the filing stated.
The four-page information filed in U.S. District Court stated that from 2009 to 2016, Strain caused Beacon Hill top received more than $4 million in federal funds through its participation in various school programs designed to provide breakfast and lunches, fresh fruits and vegetables, and child care in disadvantaged communities.
The money kept coming in even though Beacon Hill’s nonprofit status was revoked by the IRS in 2012, making it ineligible to participate in the programs, according to the charges.
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Strain, meanwhile, received $2 million in income from Beacon Hill over the seven-year period but failed to report a substantial part of it to the IRS, according to the charges. In her 2013 tax return, Strain reported her total income to be $72,425, allegedly omitting about $466,000 in additional income she’d received from the school.
According to the FBI filing, during the years of the alleged fraud, Strain was spending extravagantly. School funds also went toward shopping at places such as Victoria’s Secret and Bath & Body Works, hair salons and auto shops, even to purchase a weight management nutrition system, according to the FBI.
There were purchases at a luxury hotel in Las Vegas and a limousine company and for airfare. FBI agents are also looking into whether at least $1.7 million in cash withdrawals was spent for Strain’s personal benefit or the school’s, according to the affidavit.
Monico told the Tribune in 2017 that school funds were not used for illegitimate purposes. He said Strain and her family have for years put their own money into the struggling school to help keep it alive.
jmeisner@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-08-20--Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s graduated-rate income tax: Here’s what you need to know

Opponents to the amendment say the economic devastation wrought by the pandemic makes it the wrong time to move ahead @ @ @ @ @ .
The state budget shortfall raises the potential that graduated rates would be raised , @ @ @ @ @ to collect more money through a graduated rate tax .
According to Jason Heffley , @ @ @ @ @ , which opposes the change .
“ Taxes are already too high in Illinois and @ @ @ @ @ to push a massive tax hike when small businesses and working families are hurting .
@

Illinois voters in November will be deciding on an issue that will impact both the state’s financial future and their own pocketbooks: an amendment to the state Constitution that would replace Illinois’s flat-rate income tax with a graduated-rate structure.
Why change the way income is taxed? And how would the new rate affect what residents end up paying?
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Here is your one-stop guide to the proposed amendment: Where it came from, how it’s proposed to work and who will ultimately be affected.
What’s a graduated-rate income tax?
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Illinois now has a constitutionally mandated flat-rate tax that taxes all personal income at the same rate of 4.95%.
Under a graduated-rate income tax, different levels of wages are taxed at different rates. Proponents say higher income taxpayers should bear a greater tax burden than lower income taxpayers. Opponents say a graduated tax hurts business owners and job creators and makes them the target of future tax hikes. Raising taxes across the board under a flat tax is more difficult to do, they say.
How does a graduated rate tax work?
When a state imposes a graduated income tax, it separates the pay scale into a number of fixed income brackets and determines a different tax rate for each bracket, called a marginal rate.
These brackets apply to every individual taxpayer’s income — the first bracket of your income will be taxed at the lowest rate, the second bracket at the second lowest rate, and so on. Ultimately, one’s average tax rate will be lower than their final marginal rate.
Do any other states do this?
Thirty-two states and the District of Columbia impose graduated-rate income taxes. The federal government also uses a graduated rate structure to determine federal income tax.
Illinois is one of nine states that still imposes a flat income tax, along with Indiana and Michigan.
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What are the brackets and rates?
Under tax rates approved by the General Assembly, the tax rate would drop to 4.75% for the first $10,000 of income for single and joint filers. Income between $10,000 and $100,000 would be taxed at 4.9%, and the rate would remain at 4.95% for income between $100,000 and $250,000.
From there, single filers would be 7.75% for income between $250,000 and $350,000, and 7.85% for income between $350,000 and $750,000. Joint filers would be taxed at 7.75% on income between $250,000 and $500,000, and 7.85% on income between $500,000 and $1 million.
After that, all income for single filers that make over $750,000 or joint filers that make over $1 million annually will be taxed at 7.99%.
The governor also proposes increasing the current property tax credit by 1 percentage point, from 5% to 6%. He would create a per-child tax credit of up to $100 for individuals earning less than $80,000 and joint filers earning less than $100,000.
The corporate tax rate would increase from the current 7% to a flat rate of 7.99%, matching the top personal rate.
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How will this impact what I pay?
Under the rates approved by legislators in 2019, Pritzker’s proposed graduated income tax plan would lower the average tax rate for all taxpayers earning less than $250,000 annually, which amounts to 97% of Illinois wage earners.
[ Illinois income tax calculator: How would Gov. J.B. Pritzker's proposed graduated income tax affect you? ]
The 3% of Illinois residents who earn over $250,000 annually will pay more in taxes under Pritzker’s proposed plan.
Of the 3% who would see higher tax rates under Pritzker’s plan, 85% live in Cook County and the five collar counties, which are home to about two-thirds of the state’s population.
[ ZIP code breakdown shows where the money is in Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s graduated income tax plan ]
Why change our taxes in the first place?
Illinois has long faced financial problems under Republicans and Democrats and the economic woes have only been exacerbated by actions to deal with the coronavirus pandemic. The state started the budget year with a $3.4 billion deficit, $8.5 billion in unpaid bills and an unfunded public employee pension liability of $137.2 billion.
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Pritzker has said the state’s tax system is structurally inadequate to meet required spending. His plan is the graduated rate tax, which would raise about $1.4 billion for the rest of the current budget year and $3.4 billion over a full 12 months.
Pritzker, a billionaire heir of the Hyatt hotel fortune, is spending $56.5 million of his own money to back what he calls a “Fair Tax,” contending “it’s wrong that I would pay the same tax rate as someone earning $100,000 or, even worse, pay the same tax rate as someone earning $30,000.”
What will Pritzker do if the amendment doesn’t pass?
If the graduated-rate income tax does not pass in November, Pritzker’s proposed options include cutting state spending on education, public safety and social services by 15% or raising the flat tax rate to 5.95% for Illinois taxpayers.
What’s the argument from opponents of the amendment?
Republicans and pro-business groups are fighting the proposal, which they contend will make it easier for lawmakers to raise rates, with middle-class taxpayers eventually also getting taxed at high rates.
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What role does COVID-19 play in this issue?
State spending on COVID-19 relief has deepened Illinois’s preexisting budget strain. Pritzker projected a $2.7 billion shortfall for the budget year that ended on June 30 with a $6.2 billion hole for the new budget year that began July 1.
At an April news conference, the governor stressed that the graduated tax is “needed now more than ever” to alleviate the working and middle classes, provide public services and deal with new budget hits throughout the continued pandemic.
Opponents to the amendment say the economic devastation wrought by the pandemic makes it the wrong time to move ahead on a major tax change. The state budget shortfall raises the potential that graduated rates would be raised, or income brackets lowered, to collect more money through a graduated rate tax. According to Jason Heffley, executive director of Ideas Illinois, which opposes the change. “Taxes are already too high in Illinois and now is the worst time to push a massive tax hike when small businesses and working families are hurting.”
[ COVID-19 pandemic’s economic fallout adds emotional element to battle over Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s graduated income tax plan ]
When and how would this graduated rate income tax take effect?
Since the Illinois Constitution mandates a flat-rate income tax, the Pritzker administration must pass a constitutional amendment to impose a graduated-rate income tax.
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Last year, the General Assembly agreed to put a proposed constitutional amendment before voters as a referendum question in the general election on Nov. 3 that would remove the state’s flat-rate tax requirement.
In order for Pritzker’s tax reform to go into effect, the amendment requires approval by 60% of those who vote on the issue, or a simple majority of the total votes cast, in the November 2020 election.
If the amendment is approved, the new graduated-rate tax structure passed by legislature will take effect on January 1.
How do I vote on the tax amendment?
If you’re registered to vote in Illinois, the amendment will be on your ballot for the Nov. 3 general election. You can vote in-person at your local precinct or by mail-in ballot.
[ Voting by mail in Illinois this year? Read this first. ]
If you are a U.S. citizen, will be 18 by Election Day and have been a resident of Illinois for at least 30 days before Nov. 3, you can register to vote in Illinois.
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Check your registration or register to vote online here.
vsturm@chicagotribune.com