chicagotribune--2020-07-27--Column: Today’s social justice movement was born out of anger, not hope. There’s nothing peaceful ab

Column: Today’s social justice movement was born out of anger, not hope. There’s nothing peaceful about it.

The young people who tried to bring down the statue of Christopher Columbus aren ’ t like the protesters from @ @ @ @ @ ’ t buy into the prevailing sentiment of their parents and grandparents that nonviolence is @ @ @ @ @ that you are worthy of the things you are fighting for .

Police block the street leading to Mayor Lori Lightfoot's home while protesters rally in support for activist Miracle Boyd and defunding the Chicago Police Department on Thursday, July 23, 2020. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)
Fighting for social justice has never been pretty. People get impatient and angry. Someone always gets knocked down.
John Lewis’ beating on Bloody Sunday revealed how treacherous it was to challenge the status quo more than a half-century ago. Eighteen-year-old Miracle Boyd, who got her teeth knocked out by police during a protest in Grant Park a week ago, reminded us how dangerous fighting for change still is.
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The injured police officers revealed the risks of standing in the way of change.
No one condones violence, regardless of who the perpetrators are. But we need to at least try to understand it.
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It is naive to think that protests are supposed to be cordial and respectful. Most of the young people taking to the streets recently have always played by the rules, while social injustice thrived. They aren’t going to keep using a tactic that doesn’t bring about results.
Too many people have created a rosy picture in their mind of what the struggle should look like. Unfortunately, it is based on a misconception about what civil unrest actually is. It’s about hostility, disobedience and demanding to be heard.
The young people who tried to bring down the statue of Christopher Columbus aren’t like the protesters from older generations. They don’t buy into the prevailing sentiment of their parents and grandparents that nonviolence is the best way to prove that you are worthy of the things you are fighting for.
If it takes a repeat of the 2017 Women’s March, with people carrying kids on their shoulders and wearing pink pussy hats to make you feel comfortable, then today’s social justice movement isn’t for you.
These young protesters don’t give two cents about making middle-class Americans feel good about supporting their cause. Some of them are throwing rocks and defacing property, while shielding themselves with black umbrellas.
They don’t care if you decide that they are the villains and the police are the innocent victims. They aren’t concerned about those of you who turn your back on the movement because suddenly it has become too uncomfortable.
This youthful, multiracial movement was not inspired by promise and hope. It was born out of anger and despair. There’s nothing nice about it.
The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. demanded that demonstrators, Black and white, dress up during the civil rights marches. Men wore suits and ties. Women wore dresses and heels.
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If you need that in order to support this social justice movement, then tune out right now and go back to sleep. Today’s protesters aren’t walking arm in arm singing, “We Shall Overcome.” They are playing loud music in front of Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s house and singing Kirk Franklin’s “Do You Want a Revolution? Whoop! Whoop!”
The difference in the old civil rights protests and today’s is that there was a powerful leader at the helm laying out the agenda and setting the rules. While the current protests generally fall under the Black Lives Matter umbrella, they are often spontaneous and unorganized. Many aren’t officially sponsored by the BLM group.
There is no Southern Christian Leadership Conference to hold the Black Panthers at bay. And there are few, if any, young John Lewises who would take a blow to the head from a cop and not strike back.
Sometimes, it isn’t even clear what people are getting knocked down for.
Right now, the demands are all over the place, including defunding the police, stopping police brutality, taking down Confederate monuments and removing statues of Christopher Columbus.
The goals of the 1960s social-justice protests were concise. Voting rights, desegregation and jobs were the focus and it never changed. King’s most powerful contribution was keeping everyone’s eyes on the prize.
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When the stakes are this high, the idea of peaceful protests simply isn’t real. People on both sides have too much to lose and no one wants to walk away empty-handed.
Even King had trouble keeping up the facade that civil unrest could be peaceful. At the back of the line in Selma, Montgomery, Birmingham and Chicago, there always were people ready to toss a brick the moment police pulled out their batons.
Of course, it’s unpleasant to see protesters getting their teeth knocked out. And police officers shouldn’t end up in the hospital. But sometimes, it’s the unfortunate price that is paid to grab the attention of those in power.
We don’t know whether Mayor Lightfoot bowed to the pressure of the protesters when she reversed course and decided to remove the Columbus statutes from public property. It’s good if she did. It means she is at least willing to listen.
Regardless, the whole episode at Grant Park struck a lot of people the wrong way. Some have begun to rethink whether they can support such a rowdy movement, though they say they believe in social justice reform.
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Ultimately, that’s an individual choice. But while deciding, consider this.
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In many ways, these protests are the antithesis of the 1960s civil rights movement, which achieved gains for a brief period that, decades later, have either disappeared or continue to be threatened.
It is understandable that the younger generation might look at the past and see a huge failure. They’re wrong, though. A lot has changed for the better, and there is much to be learned from the brave men and women who put their lives on line for them.
Today the protesters can claim a major victory, though the reward won’t make a substantive difference down the road. Those two statutes of Christopher Columbus are gone from the city’s landscape and they are not coming back — at least until Chicago gets a new mayor who thinks they never should have been taken down.
Change is often fleeting, whether obtained peacefully or by force. But the loudest protesters get the most attention.
dglanton@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @dahleeng


chicagotribune--2020-07-27--‘I see a disaster in the making.’ Professors slam reopening plans at Illinois colleges amid COVID-19

‘I see a disaster in the making.’ Professors slam reopening plans at Illinois colleges amid COVID-19 crisis, prompting some schools to reverse course.

“ We were incredibly heartened by the announcement ... yet we didn ’ t feel like that answers all of @ @ @ @ @ said .
“ We are being told by the university that there are people who @ @ @ @ @ ― they say it ’ s only 10 % ( of the faculty ) ― @ @ @ @ @ make sure the people who are being asked to take on their courses are really @ @ @ @ @ own agency .
”

Illinois State University’s first attempt to articulate its vision for reopening amid the coronavirus pandemic this fall didn’t sit well with everyone.
The plan, dubbed “Redbirds Return” after the central Illinois college’s mascot, drew swift criticism from faculty after it was shared in early June, prompting instructors to draft their own proposals and call for greater precautions when scores of students are expected to descend on campus next month. The faculty’s letter objecting to the plan has been signed by more than 500 employees, students, parents and other community members.
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“Since releasing the plan, we’ve received a great deal of feedback,” ISU President Larry Dietz said earlier this month. “Many faculty and staff members have also made it clear they would like a greater voice formulating plans.”
At the same time, Dietz announced modifications the faculty had been seeking: increased flexibility to work from home, through at least December, and to teach remotely if the subject matter allows.
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With the fall term rapidly approaching, faculty members at Illinois colleges are escalating their complaints and have emerged as a leading force against the resumption of in-person instruction. Their concerns, aired in petitions and debates in academic senates, are taking on renewed urgency after reports that students returning to some college towns are spreading the coronavirus at parties and other gatherings.
Despite the risks, some students are eager to restart college experiences that were upended this spring and want to get their money’s worth, since most schools aren’t discounting tuition.
Public universities such as ISU have found themselves in an especially precarious position during the pandemic. In Illinois, they’d already suffered financial damage from the state’s three-year budget impasse — and are now bracing for more damage, if fewer students enroll in fall classes or opt to live at home.
This spring, many schools shelled out millions of dollars in room and board refunds when students were asked to move home and classes abruptly shifted online. Some have also implemented furloughs or hiring freezes.
Stacy Otto, an education professor at ISU who was involved in drafting the faculty proposals, acknowledged the financial challenges but said she also worries about the societal cost of allowing up to 18,000 students to flood the community. As of Saturday, McLean County, where the school’s campus in Normal is located, has recorded 453 cases and 15 deaths, according to its health department.
“I see a disaster in the making, as many of my colleagues do,” Otto said about the prospect allowing students to return. “Our students largely come from the western suburbs of Chicago. They go home on the weekends a lot of times. There’s not much we can do to control student behavior, is the truth of the matter.”
Like many other colleges, ISU plans to offer a mix of classes: some fully online, some in person and some that combine both. Otto said her department is conducting all of its classes remotely, except for a handful of undergraduate courses, and she expects to teach from her home.
Still, Otto said some department chairs are still mandating that faculty members teach in person. She also said graduate student instructors have less flexibility in choosing their preferred mode of instruction and could feel pressured to teach in person.
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Eric Jome, an ISU spokesman, said school leaders “share the same health and safety concerns raised by faculty members,” knowing the pandemic can improve or worsen very quickly.
“Almost without exception, all of the modalities that faculty members chose were adopted,” Jome said. He also said the provost’s office is developing “a more complete picture” of teaching assignments for graduate student instructors.
But since she suffers from an immunodeficiency condition and has other medical ailments, Otto said she sent a letter to ISU’s president, provost and general counsel last week, saying she holds the university liable if she contracts the coronavirus while teaching in person.
Otto was granted an accommodation by ISU under the American Disabilities Act to teach at home for the fall semester. However, she still wants to ensure she won’t be forced back to campus in the spring or required to travel for work.
“This absolutely threatens my survival,” said Otto, who’s in her 50s. “I don’t go anywhere. I’m a crazy hermit professor now.”
Students, faculty members and visitors on campus must wear face masks and will be educated on the importance of avoiding large gatherings and the need to follow health and safety guidelines, Jome said.
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But a recent uptick in statewide coronavirus cases has renewed concerns. On Saturday, Illinois announced the fourth straight day with more than 1,200 new cases, resulting in the highest seven-day rolling average since late May. In all, Illinois tallied about 170,000 known cases.
Under Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s Restore Illinois plan, colleges can begin offering in-person classes in phase four, which the state entered June 26. Gatherings of 50 or fewer people are allowed in phase four, but college campuses likely won’t return to pre-pandemic operations until the state enters the final phase, and that can happen only when there’s a vaccine, an effective and widely available treatment, herd immunity or a sustained drop in cases.
Anxiety is running particularly high for professors who work at colleges in Chicago and Cook County, where the highest number of cases has been recorded. The nearly 5,000 deaths counted in Chicago and Cook County make up well more than half of all coronavirus-related fatalities in Illinois. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot has scolded young residents for flouting precautions, as city data showed that people between 18 and 29 years made up the largest share of positive cases.
At Loyola University Chicago, faculty dissent also appears to have played a role in nudging the school to scale back this fall’s campus activities.
The school announced July 13 that it would limit face-to-face classes and shift most online — a change from prior intentions to provide both on-campus and virtual instruction, depending on a student’s preference. The new decision followed a petition signed by more than 200 faculty members and graduate students calling on administrators to make online teaching the default option for everyone.
Loyola University officials said employee and student feedback was a factor in a move to more remote learning. (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune)
In a message to students, Loyola said “feedback through faculty and staff surveys,” scientific data and public health guidance factored into the change.
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“As COVID-19 infection rates and deaths continue to increase across numerous states, we share the concerns of our faculty, staff, and broader community,” the message said.
Loyola students returning to live in campus dorms will have their own rooms, must wear masks and will be required to submit to frequent testing and contact tracing. The school was looking to acquire hotel space to accommodate all students who wish to come back. Only courses that involve labs, experiential learning and research will be available on campus.
Alyson Paige Warren, an English department adjunct instructor, applauded Loyola’s decision to rely more on online classes this fall. She said the changes show that administrators listened to faculty concerns, but some issues remain unresolved.
“We were incredibly heartened by the announcement ... yet we didn’t feel like that answers all of our questions,” she said. “We are being told by the university that there are people who want to be on campus ― they say it’s only 10% (of the faculty) ― but we really want to make sure the people who are being asked to take on their courses are really doing so out of their own agency.”
Another school in the city, Columbia College Chicago, has not reversed its plans for a hybrid semester, despite strong faculty opposition. However, administrators have clarified the college’s position on the faculty accommodations process after union pushback.
Provost Marcella David initially told the faculty that requests for accommodations would be due last Friday, July 24. Diana Vallera, president of the college’s part-time faculty union, said she fought that deadline. David sent an email to faculty members on Thursday clarifying requests could be submitted anytime but encouraged them to submit before Friday to be “better prepared” for the school year.
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College spokesperson Lambrini Lukidis said a little more than half of fall semester courses will be fully remote. The other half will be mostly hybrid, with some completely in person. She said this mix “is designed to give students and their families options best suited to their needs and goals, and to address specific pedagogical needs.”
Vallera called the current proportion of remote classes “unacceptable.” She and the union insist only classes that need face-to-face instruction, such as studio and lab classes, should be held in person.
At Columbia College, decisions about course formats were made by the provost’s office and department chairs, Vallera said. However, she said, the faculty wants to see remote learning as the default with the flexibility to “opt in instead of opt out” of in-person teaching.
Vallera contended the current model of requesting accommodations from administration “takes advantage of a situation where we are part-time faculty,” as these instructors may feel pressured to teach in person because their job is not secured by tenure. Vallera also said some part-time faculty members worry about lacking access to health insurance or unemployment benefits if they don’t meet the criteria for remote teaching but still decline to teach in person.
Vallera’s union, along with unions at several other Illinois institutions, held a news conference and released a statement Thursday calling for colleges to commit to remote learning “with few exceptions.” Vallera said the coalition plans to launch a petition and host a town hall with medical professionals soon.
Similar conversations are playing out at college campuses across the country. At the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, a requirement to submit medical documents in order to receive an exemption from in-person teaching has caused an uproar. On the other end of the spectrum, the University of Chicago has said it will allow instructors to teach in whatever mode they prefer.
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The state’s largest university is also caught up in the debate. In May, an association of professors at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign issued a statement opposing plans to offer in-person instruction this fall, warning that welcoming students back could create a “super-spreader” event.
But the school forged ahead. Students begin moving into dorms next month, and more than a dozen saliva-based testing centers are supposed to be up and running by then. The school is also asking students to publicly pledge ― and share on social media ― that they are committed to acting responsibly on campus, including regularly undergoing testing.
More recently, a petition shared in the academic senate called for a debate about the dangers of UIUC’s approach. The petition said the decision to allow up to 53,000 students to return “was made in haste, without the benefit of a full public airing, and particularly the consent of the faculty, who will have to implement these changes. "
echerney@chicagotribune.com
chao@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-07-27--People attend a pro-police rally in Grant Park

The crime genre of movies is as vast as they come , and from this list we compiled , you @ @ @ @ @ for you .
Whether you 're looking for something different or purely the classics , @ @ @ @ @

Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 8 People join a rally near the Columbus statue site in Grant Park on July 25, 2020. (Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune)
People attend a pro-police rally on July 25, 2020, at the site of a Christopher Columbus statue Mayor Lori Lightfoot ordered removed early Friday following clashes between police officers and protesters. A few hundred people gathered in the early afternoon and criticized Democratic politicians including Gov. J.B Pritzker, Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx and Mayor Lori Lightfoot.


chicagotribune--2020-07-26--Church pastor accused of sexually abusing 3 women when they were children

One victim , now 21 , began attending Jones ’ church when she was 10 , telling authorities that she @ @ @ @ @ pastor a year later .
The victim accused Jones of using pre-church meetings as an @ @ @ @ @ her , pressing his body against hers and eventually asking her to send him nude @ @ @ @ @ The defendant told ( the victim ) that he could not wait to have sex @ @ @ @ @ 18 , ” prosecutors said .

The celebrated pastor of a Morgan Park neighborhood church and a former high-ranking Chicago Fire Department official was accused of grooming and fondling three women for sex when all three were still young girls.
Prosecutors said Jerry L. Jones Sr., 71, groped all three victims, touched himself in their presence and often made lewd sexual comments over the course of 26 years. The criminal case began after one of the victims wrote a lengthy Facebook post detailing the abuse.
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Among the allegations against Jones — pastor of Apostolic Assembly Church of Lord Jesus Christ — is that he used Bible Scripture to convey his sexual desires and, in one case, used them to try to coerce two young sisters into “giving the defendant their virginities,” according to prosecutors.
Jones, who is also a second assistant presiding bishop of the Pentecostal Churches of the Apostolic Faith International, faces three counts of aggravated criminal sex abuse, a Class 2 felony.
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Pastor Jerry L. Jones, 71, charged with three counts of aggravated criminal sex abuse. (Chicago Police Department)
During a Sunday bail hearing broadcast on YouTube, Jones’ attorneys denied the claims. “There are possibly retaliatory motives in bringing these allegations so many years after the alleged facts,” said defense attorney Tom Breen, who said his client wasn’t a flight risk.
Judge Charles Beach II agreed, ordering Jones released on $50,000 bail but barring him from having contact with the victims or anyone younger than 18.
One victim, now 21, began attending Jones’ church when she was 10, telling authorities that she was first groped by the pastor a year later. The victim accused Jones of using pre-church meetings as an opportunity to fondle and kiss her, pressing his body against hers and eventually asking her to send him nude photos of herself. “The defendant told (the victim) that he could not wait to have sex with her until she was 18,” prosecutors said.
When the victim was 17, she said she told two church officials about the abuse, one of them a minister, prosecutors said. But the church put Jones and the victim on a “‘restoration plan’ intended to punish both (the victim) for 84 days and (Jones) for 40 days, as well as to resolve the situation internally.”
Under the state’s Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act, clergy members are required to alert law enforcement or child welfare officials about any suspected abuse. A request for comment left at the church Sunday afternoon wasn’t answered.
Jones was also accused of similar allegations against two relatives who were raised by Jones and his wife Laverne.
The sisters, now 30 and 34, told authorities that they didn’t want to come forward because they did not want to enter the child welfare system without guardianship. Eventually, one of the sisters wrote the lengthy post on Facebook, which the 21-year-old victim later read and contacted police to file a report.
The criminal charges come in stark contrast with Jones’ long career of service related to his ministry work and his nearly 30-year career with the Chicago Fire Department. He was also called “Chicago’s Firefighting Bishop,” in a December 1991 edition of Ebony magazine. In 2005, Jones retired as the assistant fire commissioner and the department’s chief officer of diversity.
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Jones was also involved in Pentecostal Churches of the Apostolic Faith, becoming the youngest bishop at the time of his consecration. In 1994, former U.S. Rep. Mel Reynolds entered a House proclamation honoring Jones as “a true role model to our youth and community.” That same proclamation also praised Jones as a “former high school track star, a one time Karate Champion, a United States Army Veteran, he was the youngest Assistant Deputy Fire Commissioner in the History of the City of Chicago.”
Jones is expected to return to court Friday.
wlee@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @MidNoirCowboy


chicagotribune--2020-07-26--Lakefront Trail opens at Oak Street after erosion repairs are completed

The Lakefront Trail , closed in March , reopened in late June as the city ’ s shutdown eased .
@ @ @ @ @ to users commuting or exercising between 6 a.m. and 7 p.m. with a “ keep @ @ @ @ @ The Park District has added signage along the route to remind users of rules , @ @ @ @ @ on-site .

Bicyclists peddle along the lakefront near 51st Street and Lake Shore Drive in Chicago on June 18, 2020. (Jose M. Osorio/Chicago Tribune)
A long-closed section of the Lakefront Trail — hit hard by erosion and for months a roadblock along the popular path — is open again to walkers, runners and bikers.
The Chicago Park District reopened the trail between Oak and Ohio streets last week following the completion of erosion repairs, according to a news release. There are still crumbling portions of the trail, but the latest improvements bridge the lakefront route from South Shore to Edgewater.
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Other repairs are still in the works, according to the Park District, including sections south of Fullerton Avenue and from 43rd to 51st streets on the South Side, a stretch of the Chicago Shoreline Protection Project.
The repairs have been made possible by Chicago billionaire Ken Griffin, who gave nearly $5 million to mend damaged areas. Griffin previously gave $12 million in 2016 to create the trail’s separate pedestrian and bicycle paths.
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The Park District initiated emergency assessments of lakefront damage earlier this year after near-record lake levels and a January storm with waves nearing 20 feet pummeled the shoreline. That storm caused $37 million in damage in Chicago and Cook County, harmed buildings along the lakefront and shut down parts of the trail.
The Lakefront Trail, closed in March, reopened in late June as the city’s shutdown eased. The trail is currently open to users commuting or exercising between 6 a.m. and 7 p.m. with a “keep it moving” caveat. The Park District has added signage along the route to remind users of rules, and social distancing ambassadors are on-site.
Lakefront beaches, along with parking lots, remain closed.
mgreene@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-07-26--Hanna weakens to tropical depression; another system developing in Atlantic

South Texas is projected to get another two to five inches of rain , with an estimated total of six @ @ @ @ @ the area .
Northern Mexican states of Coahuila , Nuevo Leon and Tamaulipas are expected @ @ @ @ @ of additional rain .

You can expect temperatures in the high 80's and scattered afternoon thunderstorms.
After picking up strength and making landfall as a Category 1 hurricane Saturday, Hanna has weakened to a tropical depression, producing heavy rain and dangerous flash flooding over parts of southeast Texas and northeast Mexico.
Tropical Depression Hanna was last located 35 miles west of Monterrey, Mexico Sunday afternoon, moving west southwest at 9 mph and packing maximum sustained winds of 35 mph with higher gusts, according to the National Hurricane Center’s 5 p.m. advisory.
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Hannah weakened from a tropical storm to a tropical depression Sunday afternoon. (National Hurricane Center)
Hanna’s center will continue moving inland over northeastern Mexico through Sunday night and is expected to dissipate Monday night.
The Tropical Storm Warning along the coast of Texas south of Baffin Bay has ended, forecasters said. The service issued a Tropical Storm Warning from Barra el Mezquital Mexico to the mouth of the Rio Grande.
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South Texas is projected to get another two to five inches of rain, with an estimated total of six to 12 inches rainfall hitting the area. Northern Mexican states of Coahuila, Nuevo Leon and Tamaulipas are expected to six to 12 inches of additional rain.
Hanna poses no threat to Florida at this time. But the hurricane center is watching yet another broad area of low pressure with potential for development.
The low pressure area was located about 1,000 miles west southwest of the Cabo Verde Islands on Sunday morning, moving west across the Atlantic at about 20 mph as it produced a “wide area of disorganized showers and thunderstorms,” the NHC said.
In its 2 p.m. update, the hurricane center reported there was a 70% chance of development into a tropical depression within the next 48 hours, and within the next five days the chances rise to 90%.
If the cluster strengthened into a tropical storm, it would become Isaias, the ninth named storm of the Atlantic season. The current record for the earliest named Atlantic storm beginning with the letter “I” is held by Irene, which formed on August 7, 2005, according to Colorado State University meterologist Phil Klotzbach.
Tropical Depression #Hanna Advisory 16: Hanna Weakens to a Tropical Depression Over Northeastern Mexico. Heavy Rain and Dangerous Flash Flooding Continue Over Far Southeast Texas and Northeast Mexico. https://t.co/VqHn0u1vgc — National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) July 26, 2020
Tropical Storm Hanna is expected to rapidly weaken to a depression “later today and dissipate Monday” as it moves farther inland.
However, forecasters stressed that “heavy rainfall, strong winds, storm surge, dangerous surf, and isolated tornadoes remain a threat.”
Chris Birchfield, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Brownsville, told the Associated Press that residents needed to remain alert to the storm’s real threat of heavy rainfall.
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Forecasters warn the downpours could lead to life-threatening flash flooding, rapid rises on small streams, and isolated minor to moderate river flooding in south Texas, and inland to the Mexican states of Coahuila, Nuevo Leon, and northern Tamaulipas.
Hanna was the first hurricane of the 2020 Atlantic season. It made landfall twice — at around 5 p.m. about 15 miles north of Port Mansfield, and again about an hour later in Padre Island with maximum sustained winds of 90 mph.
President Donald Trump tweeted on Saturday that his administration was “closely monitoring” Hanna along with Douglas, a dangerously strong hurricane closing in on Hawaii in the Central Pacific.
Trump urged residents to listen to emergency officials in order “to protect your family & property!”
Hurricane Douglas was last located about 285 miles east of Honolulu, heading west northwest at 16 mph with maximum sustained winds of 90 mph, the NHC said.
Hurricane and tropical storm watches and warnings are in effect for several counties including Kauai, Maui, Hawaii, as well as the islands of Lanai, Molokai and Kahoolawe.
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Douglas will pass “dangerously close” to the main Hawaiian Islands later Sunday, forecasters said, with hurricane-force-winds extending outward up to 25 miles from the center and tropical-storm-force winds extending about 105 miles.
“Some slow weakening is forecast during the next 48 hours, but Douglas is expected to remain near hurricane intensity as it passes near, or over, the islands,” forecasters said.
Hurricane Douglas will produce heavy rainfall between 5 to 10 inches total, with the greatest amounts up to 15 inches in elevated terrain, the hurricane center said. (Image Source) (NOAA)
Meanwhile, little is left of what was once known as Tropical Depression Gonzalo.
Its remnants produced gusty winds and heavy rains Saturday night as they moved west across the southern Caribbean Sea. In its last advisory on the system, the NHC said this movement will continue over the next couple of days.
The 2020 Atlantic hurricane season is already breaking records for the number of named storms early in the season.
This story will be updated throughout the day. Check back later for the latest updates from the National Hurricane Center and other weather services.
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Lisa Maria Garza and Iliana Limón Romero of the Sentinel staff and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
Paola Pérez can be reached at paoperez@orlandosentinel.com or on Twitter @pdesiperez.


chicagotribune--2020-07-26--Demonstrators for opposing causes rally and protest in the Loop Saturday

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Stacy St. Clair, John Keilman, Dan Hinkel, Paige Fry

Demonstrators with competing causes came to downtown Chicago Saturday afternoon for protests and rallies planned amid concerns that federal agents could try to quell unrest and commit civil rights violations like those alleged in Portland, Oregon.
Grant Park hosted both a rally in support of police and Republican politicians and later protests advocating for immigrant rights and against police brutality. As of early evening, there had been rhetorical clashes between opposing sides but the events had remained peaceful. There was no clear sign of a federal presence.
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The afternoon started with a pro-police rally at the site of a Christopher Columbus statue Mayor Lori Lightfoot ordered removed early Friday following clashes between cops and protesters.
About 2 p.m., a few hundred people gathered and criticized Democratic politicians including Gov. J.B Pritzker, Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx and Lightfoot, who radio shock jock Erich “Mancow” Muller called “a little communist.”
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Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 8 People join a rally near the Columbus statue site in Grant Park on July 25, 2020. (Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune)
Jimmy Lee Tillman, a Republican and one of the few Black people at the rally, told the crowd the city needs federal intervention. He referenced President Donald Trump’s pledge to send federal agents to fight the city’s violence.
“We need the ATF here, there are too many guns on the street. We need the DEA, there are too many drugs on the streets. And we need the FBI, there are too many unsolved murders on the street,” he said.
Sol Gasca and Angelica Sanchez, who described themselves as wives of Chicago cops, said they came to support their husbands. It has been a difficult year for the department, they said, and they live in constant fear for their husbands’ safety.
“It is very difficult,” Sanchez said. “When they go to work every day, we don’t know if they’re going to make it home. We’re here because all the police aren’t bad. Our husbands are two of the many, many good ones and we’re proud of them.”
While the rally’s official cause was supporting cops, it largely served to support various local Republican politicians and candidates.
John Catanzara, the frequently-disciplined cop who leads the Chicago Fraternal Order of Police, wore a “Cops for Trump” shirt and said, “We need to push back on the politicians who are ruining this city, county and state.”
Fraternal Order of Police President John Catanzara speaks in support of Chicago police officers and President Donald Trump during a rally near the Columbus statue site in Grant Park on Saturday, July 25, 2020. (Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune)
Tom McKenna, 73, said he was a cop during the riots at the 1968 Democratic National Convention and remains ready to back police.
“I can still swing a (expletive) night stick,” he said.
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The rally transpired near the bare pedestal of a statue Lightfoot said she removed “until further notice” for the safety of cops and protesters.
Counterprotesters stood across the street clanging cowbells, and the two sides shouted at each other while police formed a wall between them. Though animosity between the groups was clear, there were moments of harmony. A man wearing a vagina costume was joined by a man dressed as movie pirate Jack Sparrow, and the pair had a civilized debate with a woman in a “blue lives matter” shirt over what constitutes a socialist.
That was an exception, however. Toward the end of the rally, a knot of counterprotesters approached the fence separating them from the pro-police crowd, getting in a close quarters shouting match until police moved the counterprotesters back.
Erik Love, a Black 27-year-old who said he is an Army veteran, briefly found himself in the middle.
“That’s literally the scariest thing I did all year, walking in between the police officers, blue lives matter and Black Lives Matter,” he said. “I don’t think I’m going to do that again.”
Meanwhile, demonstrators began to gather about 2 p.m. at the other end of the park in anticipation of a Black Lives Matter event later in the afternoon.
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Some strung yellow caution tape on the trees along Columbus Drive, hoping to set a perimeter that would keep protesters with opposing views separated.
“We don’t want to make mistakes,” organizer Rabbi Michael Ben Yosef of Tikkun Chai Inter-National said. “We don’t want this to be (a chaotic event). We want it to be totally different.”
The small crowd there included yellow-shirted representatives of the Wall of Moms. The local mothers made plans to offer a human wall to protect those protesting police brutality and racism after a similar effort in Portland attracted widespread media coverage.
Getty Kasole, a relative newcomer to street activism, advised the moms on how to conduct themselves, including being mindful of how others might view their actions. Skipping away from trouble, she said, is less panic-inducing than running. Kasole said she has been to about 10 protests since May, and none had fallen into chaos. She wanted to keep that streak going.
“My goal here is to keep people safe,” she said.
By 5 p.m., marchers protesting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement had merged with the Black Lives Matter demonstrators, swelling the crowd to hundreds.
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Protesters march through downtown Chicago on Saturday, July 25, 2020. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune)
Vic Resendiz, an activist with the Chicago Activist Coalition for Justice, urged people to take video of police stops and ICE encounters alike when people of color are involved.
“You must take out your phone and record,” he said. “It’s not enough to not be racist. We must be anti-racist.”
After speeches, the group headed west on Jackson chanting, “Whose streets? Our streets.”
About 6 p.m., marchers called to defund ICE and CPD. A sign that simply read, “Shut up” had been placed in a window of the building on the southwest corner of the Wabash Avenue and Harrison Street intersection. Some protesters stopped near the sign, using a one-finger gesture to convey their response to it.
Posted about the Dunkin on the southwest corner of Wabash/Harrison. Some protestors gave it the finger #ChicagoProtests pic.twitter.com/J9H59KRth0 — Paige Fry (@paigexfry) July 25, 2020
Officers walking and on bikes followed behind the protesters, as is common during demonstrations. One sergeant told a protester to stay safe, and she told him she was kicked by an officer at a different protest.
At least one protester had a medical emergency during the march. A young woman fell to the ground on Clark Street, near Madison Street, and was visibly shaking. Dozens of protesters who were toward the rear of the march took a knee and yelled for a medic until assistance arrived.
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Protestors sit in a circle at the intersection of Michigan/Randolph #ChicagoProtests pic.twitter.com/9KI9OIvEi8 — Paige Fry (@paigexfry) July 26, 2020
The march continued without much interaction between protesters and police. Dust almost rose when protesters rounded back southbound on Michigan Avenue and about dozen helmeted officers, batons in hand, walked in a horizontal line out of Millennium Park near Madison Street toward the group.
The crowd began to rush toward the line of police and two high-ranking officers who had been monitoring the march quickly walked over to the front line and ordered the officers to leave. The protesters cheered as they turned around back into the park.
The competing protests came the first weekend after Trump announced that he planned to send a “surge of federal law enforcement” to Chicago, among other cities, to combat violence. Attorney General William Barr said hundreds of federal agents could take part in Chicago and engage in “classic crime-fighting” actions such as investigating homicides, gangs, gun crime and drug trafficking organizations. The new agents would include members of the FBI, U.S. Marshals Service, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Department of Homeland Security, among others.
Protesters calling for the abolishment of ICE and for the Chicago Police Department to be defunded march North on Clark Street in downtown Chicago on Saturday, July 25, 2020. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune)
Activists have voiced fears that agents instead will push back against protesters. Lightfoot has said Chicago would not welcome the kind of force documented on camera on the streets of Portland, where agents appear to have arrested protesters and hauled them away in unmarked vehicles.
Federal agents there have fired rubber bullets and tear gas, and their presence has magnified protests that started after the death of George Floyd under the knee of a Minneapolis police officer in late May.
Protests in Chicago over the last two months have fueled allegations that police have abused protesters. Those accusations have come alongside complaints from police who’ve said dozens of cops have been hurt and alleged people have thrown rocks, frozen water bottles and explosive devices at officers.
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sstclair@chicagotribune.com
jkeilman@chicagotribune.com
dhinkel@chicagotribune.com
pfry@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-07-26--Coronavirus in Illinois updates: 1,541 new known COVID-19 cases and 1 additional death reported

“ Even with what we know about COVID and the risk being minimal for children , the thought of one @ @ @ @ @ out , so we want to make sure people understand we take that seriously , @ @ @ @ @ But I think the point to underscore here is we have to learn how to @ @ @ @ @ , whether we ’ re talking about schools , going to the grocery store , @ @ @ @ @ or recreational things .
”

We have lifted the paywall on this story. To support essential reporting, please consider becoming a subscriber .
Paca Kujtim of Arlington Heights self-administers a COVID-19 test in his car at the Arlington International Racecourse on March 31, 2021 in Arlington Heights. Kujtim was getting testing as a precaution for upcoming travel. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)
Illinois announced 1,541 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Sunday, the fifth straight day with more than 1,200 new cases.
That leaves Illinois with 171,424 cases reported. There was only one additional death reported Sunday, bringing the toll to 7,398 in the state.
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The new numbers come after officials announced the highest daily total of new cases since Memorial Daylast week.
Counties at warning levels are those identified as having two or more risk factors for increased COVID-19 cases, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health.
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On Friday, LaSalle County, just outside the Chicago area, and Peoria County, as well as Adams County, with a county seat Quincy, in western Illinois, and rural Randolph County in southwest Illinois were put on a “warning level.” The four counties all saw outbreaks of coronavirus recently related to various risk factors, according to state officials.
[ Illinois’ new COVID-19 plan: How the state will manage any outbreaks in 3 charts ]
[ COVID-19 cases in Illinois by ZIP code: Search for your neighborhood ]
[ Schools reopening tracker: What suburban Chicago districts are planning for the fall ]
[ 20 questions about assessing your COVID-19 risk at restaurants, gyms and more ]
Here’s what’s happening this weekend regarding COVID-19 in the Chicago area and Illinois:
Sunday: Here’s what dozens of educators across Illinois say about schools reopening: ‘I’m scared. I want to do my job, but I don’t want to die.’
As Illinois school districts release their reopening plans for the fall, the Tribune asked teachers, social workers and other school staff this question: What are your concerns about the upcoming school year?
Here’s what they said. —Chicago Tribune staff
Saturday: Coronavirus at Illinois long-term care facilities: 24,106 confirmed cases and 4,062 deaths
The Illinois Department of Public Health is releasing information on COVID-19 tied to long-term care facilities in Illinois.
The data shows outbreaks have occurred at 665 long-term care facilities in 52 counties. Of those, 537 facilities have an “active” outbreak, defined as a positive test result in the past 28 days.
In all, 24,106 confirmed cases can be tied to long-term care facilities, with 4,062 deaths as of July 24.
Read more here. —Chicago Tribune staff
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Saturday: 1,426 new known COVID-19 cases, 12 additional deaths
Illinois announced 1,426 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 Saturday, the fourth straight day with more than 1,200 new cases.
The uptick gave the state its highest 7-day rolling average since the end of May, when cases were coming down from the initial peak.
Friday, officials put four counties on warning: LaSalle County, just outside the Chicago area; Peoria County; Adams County, with a county seat Quincy, in western Illinois; and rural Randolph County in southwest Illinois. LaSalle added 21 new cases for a cumulative total of 388; Peoria 37 for 984, Adams 8 for 324 and Ranldolph 7 for 399.
The state also announced Saturday 12 additional deaths from the coronavirus, including five women and one man from Cook County, all in their 60s or older. Lake, DuPage and Kane counties each saw one new death announced Saturday. The other deaths were in Boone, Cumberland and St. Clair counties.
There have been 7,397 deaths from COVID-19 in Illinois in 62 counties.
Saturday saw 38,200 test results announced, bringing Illinois to a total of 2.5 million tests since the beginning of the outbreak. The total confirmed cases stands at 169,883. Five states have more total cases than Illinois: California, New York, Florida, Texas and New Jersey. Arizona, which has seen a recent surge, has 156,392 cases as of Saturday, according to New York Times data.
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—Jonathon Berlin
Friday: New CDC guidance adds pressure for schools to reopen in the fall, but teachers’ demands for remote learning are getting louder
As Chicago Public Schools collects feedback from families on its proposal to bring students back into the classroom part time this fall, federal officials continue to signal they favor schools reopening fully.
Vice President Mike Pence’s comments Friday that reopening schools “is the best thing for our kids” and “also the best thing for working families” followed the release of new resources from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which made a statement on “The Importance of Reopening America’s Schools this Fall.”
The CDC’s new guidance includes resources for elementary and secondary schools and decision-making tools for parents and caregivers. Many of the recommendations sound familiar, such as social distancing, cloth face coverings, proper cleaning and personal hygiene, and “cohorting,” in which a group of students sticks together throughout the day to minimize exposure. Schools are instructed to be prepared for COVID-19 cases and exposure, and have systems such as contact tracing in place for when that happens.
Though the guidance itself focuses on how to keep students and staff members safe and mitigate transmission risks, other language from the CDC and federal officials strongly encourages schools to reopen.
Read more here. —Hannah Leone
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Friday: 4 counties are at a ‘warning level’ for COVID-19 because of outbreaks
After announcing more than 1,500 new known coronavirus cases and 19 confirmed deaths, state health officials said Friday four counties are at a “warning level” for COVID-19 because of outbreaks of the virus.
A total of 1,532 new known COVID-19 cases were disclosed Friday by the Illinois Department of Public Health, with all new confirmed deaths from Cook, DuPage or Winnebago counties. The new numbers came a day after officials announced the highest daily total of new cases since Memorial Day, 1,624 new infections.
Counties at warning levels are those identified as having two or more risk factors for increased COVID-19 cases. The warnings don’t necessarily change a region’s lockdown level, but are meant to be a guide for local officials and residents regarding “personal and family gatherings, as well as what activities they choose to do,” according to a state news release.
The four counties all saw outbreaks of coronavirus recently related to various risk factors, according to state officials.
Read more here. —Sydney Czyzon
Friday: McDonald’s to require masks at restaurants, delays reopenings another month
McDonald’s will require customers to wear face coverings at its restaurants, joining other large businesses that are tightening rules as COVID-19 cases mount across the country.
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The Chicago-based fast food giant also said Friday that it will delay for another 30 days the reopening of dining rooms that remain closed.
The mask requirement takes effect Aug. 1.
McDonald’s will offer masks to customers who don’t have one. If a customer declines to wear one, their order will be expedited and they will be guided to a designated pickup spot a safe distance from other customers.
Nearly 82% of McDonald’s 14,000 U.S. restaurants are in states or areas that require facial coverings for customers, including Illinois, but “it’s important we protect the safety of all employees and customers,” the company said.
Read more here. —Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz


chicagotribune--2020-07-26--1 man in critical condition after Near North Side shooting

Shortly after 4 a.m. Sunday Chicago police were called to the 400 block of East Ontario Street , where they @ @ @ @ @ had been shot multiple times .
He was taken to nearby Northwestern Memorial Hospital , @ @ @ @ @ condition , police said .

Chicago police are investigating an early morning shooting on the Near North Side that left one man in critical condition.
Shortly after 4 a.m. Sunday Chicago police were called to the 400 block of East Ontario Street, where they found an unresponsive man who had been shot multiple times. He was taken to nearby Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where he was in critical condition, police said.
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Although police list the address on Ontario as the location of the shooting, published media reports said the shots were fired outside a hotel in the 600 block of Lake Shore Drive, where at least one window appeared to have shot out.
Authorities said detectives were having trouble getting information from people at the scene.
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“Witnesses were being very uncooperative with police and refused to answer any questions,” according to a statement from police.
Check back for updates.


chicagotribune--2020-07-26--Disinvestment in Black and Latino Chicago neighborhoods is rooted in policy. Here’s how these commun

Disinvestment in Black and Latino Chicago neighborhoods is rooted in policy. Here’s how these communities continue to be negatively impacted.

While these covenants are no longer legal , largely due to the opposition and work of the NAACP and Black @ @ @ @ @ .
Today , segregation in Chicago is distinct , and most metrics of stability in @ @ @ @ @ gap between Black and white populations — homeownership , education , health access — can @ @ @ @ @ .
In 2017 , for example , Chicago had higher than a 30 percentage point @ @ @ @ @ homeownership , according to a report by the Urban Institute .
Delegard attributes gaps in @ @ @ @ @ , which is only possible if you were allowed to own a home at all @

Nausheen Husain, Darcel Rockett, Christen A. Johnson, Jemal R. Brinson

It’s an oft-quoted statistic: White families have significantly more wealth than nonwhite families in America — nearly 10 times that of Black families. The racial wealth gap continues to greatly impact the differences in opportunity and access, from long-term health outcomes of a global pandemic, to education and income levels, to what happens when a business doesn’t make enough money.
Wealth inequality exists primarily because of legal federal and local policies that prioritize white wealth, says Darlene Hightower, vice president at Rush University’s community health equity office. “When you’re thinking about why white wealth is preserved and protected and Black wealth isn’t, I think it’s just our origin story, like in a superhero movie,” she said. “I think our country has an origin story and it is built on racism, racist policies, oppression and white privilege. It’s an origin story we can’t seem to get beyond.”
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This Home Owners’ Loan Corporation map and document from 1940 describes Maywood and its Black population in this way: "The area is of mixed and rather poor appearance and unlikely to improve very much due to the age and low grade population, of which considerable portion are negroes. This is fourth grade because of poor prospects and undesirable population." Explore the maps with with this tool build by Mapping Inequality. (Mapping Inequality images from Library of Congress)
Redlining
Racially restrictive covenants, which eventually made redlining possible, started appearing in private property records in the late 1800s to exclude nonwhite people from buying or renting buildings, homes and apartments, according to Kirsten Delegard, cofounder of the University of Minnesota’s Mapping Prejudice Project. The restrictive covenants were made popular by the real estate industry at a time when real estate agents felt it was their ethical duty to preserve racial homogeneity.
One of the earliest examples of a racially restrictive covenant found in Minneapolis states, “premises shall not at any time be conveyed, mortgaged or leased to any person or persons of Chinese, Japanese, Moorish, Turkish, Negro, Mongolian or African blood or descent.” These covenants were later used to indicate which areas of a city were safe and which were hazardous — real estate agents making maps would describe nonwhite neighborhoods as “infiltrated” by Jews, Asians or Black people, drawing red lines around them to mark them as undesirable — redlining.
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“If there were any Black people who lived in that neighborhood, or anyone undesirable, that area would get a hazardous rating, which meant that banks could not get federal backing to put money into homes in that neighborhood,” said Delegard. “It basically cut off all capital to places where Black people lived.”
While these covenants are no longer legal, largely due to the opposition and work of the NAACP and Black activists, their effects linger. Today, segregation in Chicago is distinct, and most metrics of stability in which there is a large gap between Black and white populations — homeownership, education, health access — can be traced back to redlining. In 2017, for example, Chicago had higher than a 30 percentage point gap between Black and white homeownership, according to a report by the Urban Institute. Delegard attributes gaps in homeownership to intergenerational wealth transfer, which is only possible if you were allowed to own a home at all.
“Most white people have no idea that the gap is that large,” said Delegard, “and they think it’s growing smaller when in fact it’s growing larger.”
Throughout American history, Black and Latino neighborhoods, including in Chicago, have witnessed disinvestment. The severe outcomes of this are shown in a series of charts below.
Education
By 1970, the Great Migration brought an influx of Black people to Chicago. Chicago leaders, however, did not integrate Black students into majority-white schools. Instead, they were sent to school in shifts, or by mobile classrooms, called “Willis wagons.”
“When they were protesting in 1963, it was a desegregation protest but the things that people were chanting were like, ‘What do we want? Books! When do we want them? Now!’” said University of Illinois at Chicago history professor Elizabeth Todd-Breland. “These were young people saying, we’re entitled to new textbooks as well; we shouldn’t have things that are falling apart.”
There remain Chicago Public Schools policies that continue the ideas behind redlining, though less explicitly, said Chicago Teachers Union researcher Pavlyn Jankov. Jankov referred to certain policies he said have been harmful: The School Quality Rating Policy, which ranks schools by testing results; the student-based budgeting policy, which awards funding to schools based on enrollment; the proliferation of charter schools in Black neighborhoods, which privatizes education and prioritizes expansion. According to his 2017 research on segregation in CPS, the Black student population has dropped from close to 60% in 1981 to less than 40% in 2015.
“When you have schools and communities that are disinvested, you have students leaving these schools, and you have schools that end up in a death spiral of declining enrollment and resources,” said Jankov.
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Historical and contemporary experiences of segregation and disinvestment in community schools have led to a pronounced discrepancy in higher education. In 2018, more than 60% of white people in Chicago had a bachelor’s degree, but that number hovered around 20% for Black people and 16% for Hispanics, according to census data.
Food and transportation
Disparities run through the veins of Black and Latino communities, so much so that two Chicago neighborhoods, 9 miles apart, have the largest life expectancy gap in the country — 30 years, according to a 2019 NYU School of Medicine analysis. Englewood residents live to be 60 years old on average, compared with 90 years for those who reside in Streeterville. Food insecurity in Chicago’s South and West side communities continues to negatively affect health, education and economic mobility, according to the Greater Chicago Food Depository.
Decadeslong racial segregation and disinvestment are behind these food desert communities, says Daniel Block, professor of geography at Chicago State University and an adjunct professor of preventative medicine at Northwestern. “There’s racism there, but it’s also going through this deeply set system of investment that refuses to invest in these communities because homes are not well valued and people aren’t seeing the possibilities, banks aren’t willing to take a risk,” said Block, who also serves on the Chicago Food Policy Action Council board.
West Garfield Park is one such food desert in Chicago, where public officials continue to try to lure food retailers, but when they get one, another retailer leaves the area. Parts of South Shore had been designated a food desert before a grocery store opened in December on the vacant site Dominick’s left when it closed six years earlier.
“People’s everyday lives in segregated, poor, Black communities, they have to go to multiple stores in multiple neighborhoods just to feed their families,” Block said. “If we can learn how to bring more investment, but investment that is somehow locally controlled somewhat so that we don’t just bring more investment in and immediately see gentrification, then we can really start to improve things.”
This issue feeds into another area of inequity — transportation. In Chicago, eight of the 10 ZIP codes with the highest percentages of people without cars are on the South and West sides, which means a heavy reliance on public transit. (Research found Black Chicagoans lose about one week more to commuting time annually than white residents.) Deloris Lucas, an activist in the Golden Gate neighborhood in the city’s Riverdale community area, said the South Side’s transportation problems have been overlooked for years.
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University of Illinois at Chicago’s Urban Transportation Center has been working with the municipalities of Dolton and Riverdale on their rail crossing issues, says UTC’s director, P.S. Sriraj. Dolton especially is burdened with about 10 grade crossings within a 1-mile length, he said, making it difficult to get in and out of those communities, with an average wait time of 15 minutes.
“Everyone that I’ve been talking to is very much aware and sympathetic to the needs and equity issues that are still very much present in society, in the Chicago area,” Sriraj said. “It’s not just going to work, it’s going to doctor’s appointments, going to get food ... transportation is the great equalizer.”
The more multimodal public transportation is, he said, the more ways mobility serves the needs of the people.
“This is the time when we can introduce and explore new ideas, such as the Divvy experiment being integrated into the CTA Ventra app. There should be more of that. But they need to germinate now, in order for them to benefit the industry and communities in the long run,” he said.
Hospitals and clinics
The inequities in access to health care have not only been maintained, but have gotten worse, said Dima Qato, an assistant professor in the Department of Pharmacy Systems, Outcomes and Policy at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
“Most of the areas that are in need don’t even have primary care facilities,” she said, adding that because a significant portion of the population on the South and West sides are primarily insured through Medicare and Medicaid, it doesn’t encourage new clinics to open because reimbursements will be low.
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“Our pharmacy desert closure data shows it’s actually getting worse in Black communities in Chicago,” said Qato, who has extensively researched pharmacy access for years. “When pharmacies close most of them close on the South Side, which is an area that is already underserved. And I think the same for the clinics.
“I guess that raises the question then on (federally qualified health centers), why aren’t there enough?” she said, adding that these centers would be able to get funding from the federal government to open in areas that are medically underserved. “I think it’s an important question to answer and it could be some politics, it could be some priorities — of who’s willing to open where — but there needs to be a shift.”
Areas designated by the government as underserved need to be updated to more accurately reflect the needs and differences of the local populations throughout the various neighborhoods, Qato explained. Where Medicaid and Medicare patients are being told to go for services could also be a part of the issue.
“People that are insured through public funding are not necessarily always encouraged to go to their local clinics, or hospitals, or even pharmacies, because they’re part of a network where they’re told (in order) to pay less, you need to go here, and if you go out of network, you pay more,” said Qato. “So what does that do to local clinics, businesses and pharmacies? They end up not able to sustain themselves and they close.”
nhusain@chicagotribune.com, drockett@chicagotribune.com, chrjohnson@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-07-26--Aurora woman in prison for murder-for-hire plot granted new trial

She admitted to detectives on the night of her arrest that she wanted to kill her ex and told them @ @ @ @ @ her to sell drugs and that if she did not do so , he would @ @ @ @ @ s father testified that after she broke up with her ex-boyfriend , her car was @ @ @ @ @ it burning .

An Aurora woman who was sentenced to 20 years in prison for a murder-for-hire plot to kill her ex-boyfriend may get another chance to bring her case to a Kane County jury.
Maricela Arciga, now 33, was found guilty of solicitation of murder for hire in July 2014 after she said she was duped into the plot by an informant and a federal agent.
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This week, a state appeals court threw out Arciga’s conviction and sent her case back to Kane County for a new trial, citing errors by the trial court and her defense attorney.
Maricela Arciga, 33, of Aurora - Original Credit: (Illinois Dept. of Corrections / HANDOUT)
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In September 2010, Arciga told her new boyfriend that she broke up with her ex because he cheated on her. Unbeknownst to her, her new boyfriend was a police informant who had worked previously with Aurora police on different cases.
The two had a series of conversations where she expressed her desire to have her ex-boyfriend shot to death, authorities said.
The boyfriend went to police, and arrangements were made for a federal agent to pose as a hitman and cousin of the boyfriend. Arciga gave the undercover agent $200 and promised to pay him $1,800 more once the hitman shot and killed her ex-boyfriend, prosecutors said.
She admitted to detectives on the night of her arrest that she wanted to kill her ex and told them it was because he wanted her to sell drugs and that if she did not do so, he would kill her. Arciga’s father testified that after she broke up with her ex-boyfriend, her car was stolen and police later found it burning.
After she reported the incident with her car to police and told them about threats allegedly made by her ex-boyfriend, an officer allegedly said it was pointless to try to get an order of protection because her ex never hit her, the court ruling states.
During her trial, Arciga testified she was a victim of entrapment by law enforcement.
A 26-page ruling by the state’s appellate court described numerous errors that kept Arciga from a fair trial. Justice Robert D. McLaren wrote that her defense attorney failed to present evidence that she had no criminal history. He wrote her attorney’s performance “fell below an objective standard of competence.”
“Further, defendant was, without doubt, prejudiced by this failure,” McLaren wrote.
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Arciga, who previously lived in the 1200 block of Coventry Place in Aurora, has been an inmate at the Logan Correctional Center since 2015.
A date for when Arciga’s case will be heard again has not been set.
mejones@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-07-26--Brother charged in Gary teen’s death

Brother charged in Gary teen’s death

The boy was playing basketball at a hoop with three friends when King and another man , driving King ’ @ @ @ @ @ , pulled up while King appeared to start shooting at the boy .
The kids @ @ @ @ @ a friend going one block south near 8th and Kentucky to King ’ s mother @ @ @ @ @ with friends , hearing what sounded like “ fireworks ” .

A 23-year-old Gary man faces murder charges in the shooting death of his teen brother, records show.
Tyjuan D. King was charged July 20 with murder and attempted murder.
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He opened fire, attempting to shoot his brother Traeshaun Toney, 14, playing basketball with other kids near the 700 block of Kentucky Street. King later returned to apologize, then opening fire again multiple times, charges state.
Toney died near 8th and Kentucky Street, police said. He was a Gary Middle School student, a school district spokeswoman said.
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King’s mother told police he was diagnosed with schizophrenia years ago and had been recently off his medication, court records state. He wasn’t faring well since turning 21 and had been unable to get covered on health insurance, she said.
Toney recently lived with a relative for about two months, because he feared what his brother could do to him, their mother told police.
The boy was playing basketball at a hoop with three friends when King and another man, driving King’s mother’s car, pulled up while King appeared to start shooting at the boy. The kids ran, with Toney and a friend going one block south near 8th and Kentucky to King’s mother, who was sitting outside with friends, hearing what sounded like “fireworks”.
“Your son is shooting at me,” Toney told her, according to court records.
The mother confronted King, who left, before returning to apologize.
“This is something you can’t apologize for, you shot at your brother,” she told him, according to witnesses.
He pulled a gun from his pocket and started shooting again, witnesses said.
Everyone ran, while King’s mom and her friend followed him, trying to take the gun away.
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King said “he (Traeshaun) shot my baby”, her friend told police, who said King didn’t have any children.
Before, King had gone to the relative’s house where Toney now lived, but they didn’t let him in, the mother told police.
King would sometimes “would be stare at him like Tyjuan wanted to do something‚” the mother said. Toney “didn’t fear him he just didn’t know what he was going to do to him,” she added, according to police.
King owned a gun, and recently tried to buy another firearm from Westforth Sports in Gary, but both she and his father, who lived in Georgia, called, telling them not to sell it because of his mental condition, records state.
Police later tried to interview the driver, but concluded he had a mental disability, charges show.
King ran from the scene, but later turned himself into police. He asked for a lawyer shortly after they started to interview him.
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A witness cried, telling police it was “so sad, losing both of your sons.”
King’s next hearing is scheduled July 29 under Lake Superior Judge Salvador Vasquez.


chicagotribune--2020-07-26--Former Elgin resident sentenced to 11 years in prison for sexually assaulting child

“ Jamie Boots caused great harm to this victim , and yet when given the opportunity to accept responsibility , @ @ @ @ @ and minimized her behavior , ” State ’ s Attorney Joe McMahon said .
“ @ @ @ @ @ has been served in this case and hope this prison sentence is a big step @ @ @ @ @ .
”

A former Elgin man was sentenced to 11 years in prison after he sexually assaulted a child for more than a year while he was living in Elgin.
James J. “Jamie” Boots, 50, now of Freeport, was convicted earlier this year for predatory criminal sexual assault of a child younger than 13 from April 2009 through October 2010, Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office officials said. The assault took place in the Elgin home where Boots lived.
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James J. “Jamie” Boots, 50, formerly of Elgin, has been convicted of predatory criminal sexual assault of a child in 2009 and 2010 while he lived in the city. (Kane County Sheriffs Office / HANDOUT)
Kane County Judge D.J. Tegeler sentenced Boots on Thursday after he was found guilty in a bench trial in January. Boots was arrested in the spring of 2018.
Boots must serve 85% of his sentence and will have to register for life as a sex offender. He faced a sentence ranging from six to 30 years in prison and receives credit for 28 months served at the Kane County jail while his case was pending.
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“Jamie Boots caused great harm to this victim, and yet when given the opportunity to accept responsibility, he engaged in victim blaming and minimized her behavior,” State’s Attorney Joe McMahon said. “I am pleased that justice has been served in this case and hope this prison sentence is a big step toward healing for this victim.”
mejones@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-07-26--Here’s what dozens of educators across Illinois say about schools reopening: ‘I’m scared. I want to

Here’s what dozens of educators across Illinois say about schools reopening: ‘I’m scared. I want to do my job, but I don’t want to die.’

“ What people don ’ t realize , outside of actual classroom instruction , is there is a huge nurturing portion of pre-K that outsiders normally aren ’ t privy to .
There are comforting hugs that are exchanged at the beginning of the year that we won ’ t be able to give our students in order to reassure them that things will be OK when their parents leave .
So much of the first weeks of school is built on gaining a young child ’ s trust , and how can we successfully do that when a lot @ @ @ @ @ @ @ facial affect , which will be covered by a mask .
... What CPS is asking of us is not going to be a positive learning experience .
Pre-K students are also on a five-day-a-week schedule .
When will our rooms be cleaned and sanitized ?
Pre-K rooms are notoriously known for being petri dishes .
I am not equipped to handle sanitizing a room , especially under these circumstances .
Some schools barely have soap dispensers , so how could we possibly ward off COVID-19 ?
I ’ m scared .
I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I don ’ t want to die .
“

As Illinois school districts release their reopening plans for the fall, the Tribune asked teachers, social workers and other school staff this question: What are your concerns about the upcoming school year?
Here’s what they said. Responses have been edited for space and clarity.
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Melony Espinoza is a school social worker at Lázaro Cárdenas Elementary School. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)
“I work in the Little Village area, which got hit really hard with COVID-19 because the parents are essential workers. ... These families suffered greatly due to the symptoms of the illness, COVID-19-related deaths in the family, loss of income, and the inability to pay bills/rent. Most did not qualify for unemployment due to immigration status. As a result, I spent many hours of my days talking to parents on the phone and feeling utterly helpless. I believe we must rely on science, not on the hope that everything will be OK. My students and their families are not statistics.”
— Melony Espinoza is a social worker at Lázaro Cárdenas Elementary School.
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[ Stressed-out parents navigate back-to-school shopping, unsure if kids are learning in the classroom or on the couch ]
Lindsey Jensen, Jason Jaffe and Kimyada Clanton. (Shayla Samples; Jason Jaffe; Kimyada Clanton)
“What if a student or educator dies? Or what if a 14-year-old comes to school with COVID and is asymptomatic, passes it on to his best friend, and kills his best friend’s mom? Or his best friend’s little sister who has a compromised immune system? Will schools be provided with the resources they need to provide extra social workers and counselors to help students and staff navigate that unimaginable trauma? Will districts have the resources they need to provide teachers with professional development in areas such as trauma-informed practices and social emotional learning? ... This is an opportunity to revolutionize education, and to do something right by finally addressing the aforementioned inequities in a systemic way. But that won’t happen under the ‘leadership’ of an administration that continuously threatens to cut funding from already underfunded schools.”
— Lindsey L. Jensen is a 12th grade English teacher at Dwight Township High School in Dwight, and 2018 Illinois Teacher of the Year.
“Safety is my singular concern, full stop. Student achievement, the degrees to which my students are falling behind their peers, the degrees to which my students are demonstrating mastery of any skill or standard, and many more issues that are genuinely important to students, families, and me during ordinary times are all things that do not keep me awake at night. I am sleepless because I fear for the health of students, faculty, staff and for the health of all of our respective families to whom we would return after a school day. I am sleepless because of the burden of guilt and sorrow that my colleagues and I would assume if COVID-related sickness or death occurred because my classroom or my school or one of my busses was a vector for this invisible disease. I am sleepless because the justifications for full, half, or partial in-person learning do not, to me, counterbalance any modicum of risk of fatality or life-long health complications, however slight the chances and however few the affected.”
— Jason Jaffe is the social studies department chair at Glenbard East High School in Lombard.
“I appreciate the preliminary plan CPS has come up with. I honestly think it is one of the best I have seen across our nation. I believe Janice Jackson and the rest of CPS leaders are creating the best possible solution, with students’ and teachers’ best interest at heart. I like the idea of pods making class sizes smaller to increase social distancing. I also like the idea of hybrid learning. The plan is a good start, but I believe there are more kinks that need to be combed through. I believe more structure needs to be in place in regards to the curriculum. Teachers across the district, w’ere scrambling for resources for remote learning, but I believe we need an appropriate accessible online platform.”
— Kimyada Clanton is a Chicago Public Schools kindergarten teacher.
[ New CDC guidance adds pressure for schools to reopen in the fall, but teachers’ demands for remote learning are getting louder ]
Linda Perales, Angela B. Wooten and Angela Grimmer. (Linda Perales; Angela Wooten; Angela Grimmer)
“They released this plan with little to no protection for everyone. They’ve been saying these big numbers, like 40,000 wipes for 25,000 teachers, which really means one to two wipes per person. Maybe each school will get one extra custodian. And they’re already not given the right amount of supplies for the custodians. I think it’s absurd that pre-K students and cluster students will be in person; it’s almost impossible to separate them. There are also three to four special ed assistants in each class. There’s no way to social distance. Also, how are they going to handle air ventilation? All of these factors together, it will just guarantee people will get infected. And If one person gets sick, that’s it. Honestly, blood is on CPS’ hands if that happens.”
— Linda Perales is a special education teacher at Corkery Elementary School.
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“What people don’t realize, outside of actual classroom instruction, is there is a huge nurturing portion of pre-K that outsiders normally aren’t privy to. There are comforting hugs that are exchanged at the beginning of the year that we won’t be able to give our students in order to reassure them that things will be OK when their parents leave. So much of the first weeks of school is built on gaining a young child’s trust, and how can we successfully do that when a lot of how we teach is through our facial affect, which will be covered by a mask. ... What CPS is asking of us is not going to be a positive learning experience. Pre-K students are also on a five-day-a-week schedule. When will our rooms be cleaned and sanitized? Pre-K rooms are notoriously known for being petri dishes. I am not equipped to handle sanitizing a room, especially under these circumstances. Some schools barely have soap dispensers, so how could we possibly ward off COVID-19? I’m scared. I want to do my job, but I don’t want to die. “
— Angela B. Wooten is a pre-K teacher at George Manierre Elementary School.
“I hear many people express concern that students will be behind academically and behind in social emotional skills. Behind who? All of the other students who haven’t been able to have a normal school experience because of this virus? Behind the arbitrary benchmarks we have set for them? I have spoken with teachers who have had students miss as much as a year of school due to illness. These teachers have said these students recovered and became successful adults despite their missed time in school. These students who are missing school right now will move past this experience and may even benefit from experiencing this unusual time in history. The greatest education in the world will mean nothing to our students if they are dead.”
— Angela Grimmer is a music and orchestra teacher at Carbondale Elementary School.
Lindsey Dickinson, Benjamin Baer and Annette Jaynes. (Lindsey Dickinson; IEA Communications; Annette Jaynes)
“Since public education has been underfunded for so long, we are concerned that local school districts will not be able to provide all staff and students proper PPE, supplies for classrooms, sanitation supplies, and plexiglass barriers. Some of the plans that incorporate in-person instruction for the fall do not outline many of the concerns from staff. What will happen if a teacher gets COVID? What happens if a student becomes COVID positive? What will be done about the substitute shortage or the teacher shortage?”
— Lindsey Dickinson is an eighth grade math teacher in Bloomington.
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“The concerns are incessant. At this time in the summer it is typical to start having back-to-school dreams; this summer it is more like back-to-school nightmares. While there are numerous logistical issues, the No. 1 fear is that despite schools’ many efforts to protect students and staff, we don’t really know how safe a return to school will be. I have heard a few of my colleagues remark on making sure they have updated their wills before the school year starts. On social media, many mention the concern that the yearbook may have a page dedicated to pandemic deaths. Whether these worries will come to pass is unknown but the fear is very tangible.”
— Benjamin Baer is a social studies teacher at Coal City High School in Coal City.
“I’m worried that even though very little has changed since schools closed in March, children and teachers are being led to believe there’s now a plan that can keep them safe. The new in-person experience isn’t going to be like any school day we’ve ever known, so how is it worth the risk to the lives of children and staff? Have we considered how traumatizing this experience is going to be for all of us? Why is it always educators that are tasked with solving society’s problems?”
— Annette Jaynes is a fourth grade sheltered English teacher at Lewis School in Carbondale.
Oak Park River Forest High School teacher Aaron Podolner stands outside his La Grange Park home on July 22, 2020. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
“My district (Oak Park) has made a wise and brave decision to be remote in the fall. ... I am profoundly grateful that I don’t have to worry about colleagues or students dying as a result of the school opening up. ... Teachers are afraid to die. All of my private discussion with teachers, that comes up every single time.”
— Aaron Podolner is a physics teacher at Oak Park and River Forest High School.
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Clockwise from left: Mildred Walton, Elizabeth Hereford, Georgina Swanson and Rick Coppola. (Mildred Walton; Elizabeth Hereford; Georgia Swanson; Martha Maldonado)
“I have been teaching 31 years. I really don’t want to go back and was considering retiring early, but it’s not economically possible at this time. I also have health issues, and I am concerned with contracting the virus. They have projected that 70% of the world’s population will contract the virus and 1 in 4 people gathered in large group settings. I believe if we return to the classroom that I might be that 1 in 4 to contract the virus and possibly be the 1 who doesn’t recover.”
— Mildred Walton is a special education resource teacher at George Manierre Elementary School.
“It’s hard to imagine what effective in-person learning will look like for an entire day with social distancing restrictions. Students will likely feel stressed by the rules, and when they feel anxiety, boredom, or frustration — all feelings that I expect will be exacerbated by the strict safety protocols required for in-person learning — students may become emotionally dysregulated. This could result in students acting out or seeking attention through undesired behaviors.”
— Elizabeth Hereford is a kindergarten teacher at South Loop Elementary School.
“Our strategies for building community and sustaining it will have to change. We will no longer be close enough to solve math problems on the same paper, construct something as a team, or even quietly share a thought with a friend. There are also the times when kids want to share something that is a worry, like my grandma has cancer or my dog is really sick. How long will it take for us to reach that level of trust to offer support to one another? The whole dynamic of a classroom will be a challenge that will need an initial plan and then great flexibility as we face the coming months together. But, ultimately kids need each other and us. We will figure this out.”
— Georgina Swanson is a third grade teacher at Whittier Elementary School in Oak Park.
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“Who knew the fight in 2019 for equitable digital access, nurses and social workers in every school would be of such pressing need in 2020? Teachers did. Perhaps we should lean in and listen to them a little more.”
— Rick Coppola is a seventh grade language arts teachers at South Loop Elementary School.
Clockwise from top left: Rebecca Courtade, Mena Pfest, Louie Ingratta and Tara Donnelly. (Rebecca Courtade; Mena Pfest; Louie Ingratta; Tara Donnelly)
“No matter how much effort schools and teachers put into making schools safe, there’s still going to be loss of lives and exposure to a virus that, if it doesn’t kill you, can result in permanent damage to your organs. No amount of loss of learning or socialization is worth this.”
— Rebecca Courtade is a first grade teacher at Stone Academy.
“My concern with opening is that the science does not support it. What has changed since we closed to keep the students safe? Nothing!”
— Mena Pfest is a science teacher at Stone Academy.
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“My school has roughly 600 students. Being a physical education teacher (the only PE teacher in my school) can pose some pretty tough challenges. Within the school week, I would have come into contact with every student in the building. When I am not teaching PE, I am sometimes used to cover classes where teachers may have called in sick or may be attending meetings. That puts me into even more classrooms and further exposure to other students. My main concern is, how could I safely continue to teach while being constantly exposed to such a wide variety of students and settings? What would it look like for someone like me? I have a wife who is a teacher who is pregnant with our first child.”
— Louie Ingratta is a physical education teacher at Sherlock Elementary School in Cicero.
“I can’t stay more than 90 minutes at an outdoor restaurant, but my colleagues, my students and I will be expected to spend all day together in school. This simply makes no sense. Our Chicago schools were underfunded, without enough teachers, with class sizes that were too large, and with crumbling facilities before this pandemic hit. ... We need a radical reimagining of how public education is funded, is administered, and is defined in order to actually educate the children.”
— Tara Donnelly is an English teacher and learning specialist at Lincoln Park High School.
Peter Barash, Matthew Patton and Stephanie Stieber. (Peter Barash; Matthew Patton; Stephanie Stieber)
“Anxiety and frustration will be high and will interfere with learning. It’s not just about reducing numbers in the class and (believing) everything will be fine. The COVID-19 numbers do not support being back at school. Experts predict it will get worse. That means we will likely go back to remote learning again this year. Starting in person only to go back to full-time remote learning will be disruptive and damaging to kids.”
— Peter Barash is a Chicago Public Schools middle school social studies teacher.
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“I work in a school for at-risk youth in Chicago’s Southwest Side. My students live near or below the poverty line and endure its effects on their lives every day — violence, food deserts, lack of mental health, lack of medical care. ... Who prevents sick people from using the CTA with our students as they travel to and from school? Who checks students for illness when they ride school transportation? Who cares for the students if their family has to work and school is virtual? How do we provide equitable access to education for those students with special needs? Who provides meals for our students when their families cannot?”
— Matthew Patton is the director of diverse learning at Excel Academy Southwest.
“We’re craving normalcy so bad that our vision of reality is distorted. What we want to provide is normal life for our kids, joy in their faces and lives during this crazy time. But unfortunately, hybrid social distancing schooling will be a new way to scar them and show them how unreal the world really is right now. ... With time and a plan, teachers will provide an amazing virtual learning experience. We’re already planning for it. It won’t be the same as precoronavirus, but what is right now? Let’s protect them from this uncertainty and fear. Let’s keep them home.”
— Stephanie Stieber is a French teacher at Kenwood Academy in Chicago.
Elana Jacobs is a teacher at Dr. Jorge Prieto Math and Science Academy. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)
“I work in a very large school, so I worry about things like passing periods: people going up and down the hallways. In the sixth and seventh grades, if everybody passed at the same time, it would be like 300 people. So it can’t be the same. They’re not going to have the same social opportunities. But there are also opportunities to do a lot of creative stuff remotely.”
— Elana Jacobs is a special education teacher at Dr. Jorge Prieto Math and Science Academy
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William Westphal, Brenda Cole, Paul Dombrowski and Michelle Gunderson. (William Westphal; Brenda Cole; Joe Serio; Michelle Gunderson)
“I feel that administrators and board members making the physical health of the students anything less than top priority is a disservice to each and every student and faculty member in America. I do not care so much for my own health, but I worry for my students, as any teacher does. ... If we had just conceded to the virus a while ago instead of pretending things are better, we could be having discussions on how to improve and refine our remote learning practices for the upcoming school year right now instead of still debating on how much we value the lives of students across America.”
— William Westphal is an English teacher and assistant wrestling coach at Crete-Monee High School in Crete.
“I’m proud to work at Round Lake Area Schools. The district heard the concerns of our staff and families and made our community’s safety a No. 1 priority.”
— Brenda Cole is a special education teacher at Round Lake High School in Round Lake.
“I have two years till I retire and I have diabetes, so I’m an at-risk teacher. I’ve applied to work virtually, so that presents a lot of different problems. I teach art, which is usually a very hands-on class, and being on Zoom isn’t really very hands-on at all so we have to figure out how to do that. And then the way my school is doing it is I will have a group of students from all the schools in the district — we have 20 schools in the district — and so I may have one student from each school. These are students I don’t know. I’ve been at my school for almost 25 years, and I know all the students.”
— Paul Dombrowski is an art teacher at Willow Bend Elementary School and Conyers Learning Academy in Palatine.
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“I’m concerned about the continuous high rate of testing in school. We shouldn’t be rating our students right now. Not on grades at least; but on how they’re doing. My last concern is relationships. I’m hoping my parents and kids will be able to see my care and commitment to them despite not seeing them every day.”
— Michelle Gunderson is a first grade teacher at Nettlehorst Elementary School.
Clockwise from left: Ariam Abraham, Andrea Parker, Lori Torres and Kirstin Roberts. (Ariam Abraham; Andrea Parker; Lori Torres; Kirstin Roberts)
“There are so many different problems, depending on what teacher you talk to. I’m a high school English teacher. For some context, I have a minimum of 150 students, usually. But if we think about just that 150 students, that means I’m going to have at least 10 pods. It’s not like in elementary school where you have one teacher all day long. Our kids have seven teachers all day long. How am I going to teach the half the group that’s in front of me, while simultaneously teaching the group that’s online for the day, that’s half and half? That is, that’s two positions. ... It’s also just dangerous. We know kids will die. We know teachers will die. And that a lot of people think that might be a harsh thing to say, but it’s true.”
— Ariam Abraham is an English teacher at Simeon Career Academy.
“There are places with school educators and speech pathologists who have to work closely with children. What is the solution for when you need to see kids speak? And with only 400 janitors for over 600 schools, that’s not enough to ensure buildings will be properly cleaned every day.”
— Andrea Parker is an English language arts teacher at Robert Fulton Elementary School.
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“We’re not ready. Even just two days in school, it’s a lot to juggle for families. Myself, as a mother, I don’t feel comfortable putting my kids at risk. I think we haven’t seen cases in children because we’ve kept them sheltered. If we open up our schools, those cases will go up.”
— Lori Torres is a teacher at Monroe Elementary.
“I don’t believe we’ve beat this virus. The numbers continue to climb. I’ve very concerned in person schools are where the virus will spread and continue to gain a foothold. Being in CPS for a very long time, I’m not seeing how, with the lack of resources, we’re ready. I don’t think CPS to be nurturing.”
— Kirstin Roberts is a preschool teacher at Brentano Elementary.
Tina Bairstow, Jim Geovanes and Theresa L. Toro. (Tina Bairstow; Jim Geovanes; Robert Bahl)
“For the district that I work for, they’ll be rotating (students) every third week. Teachers are going to be in there almost full time. So, we’re potentially being exposed to this virus much more than the students are.”
— Tina Bairstow is a math teacher at Antioch Community High School.
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“I’m really happy (Oak Park and River Forest High School) didn’t go with the hybrid system. I think a hybrid system, in the situation we’re in now with the number going up ... it’s just a petri dish.”
— Jim Geovanes is a physical education teacher at Oak Park and River Forest High School.
“My greatest fear is that I contract this virus and it debilitates or kills me. My mom is very high risk and I’m all she’s got. The thought of not being able to be there for her, or worse, spreading it to her or other loved ones scares me to the core. My school is in the 60629 ZIP code and COVID has ravaged that community.”
— Theresa L. Toro is a social worker at Richardson Middle School.
Clockwise from left: Alyssa Rodriguez, Vanessa Bernal, Lorena Ramirez and Rosa Jimenez-Hernandez. (Lani Tons; Vanessa Bernal; Dolores Ramirez; Rosa Jimenez-Hernandez)
“As a person who works at two schools, with two staffs, and two caseloads, it is hard to not feel like I would become the biggest threat to their health and safety, in addition to my family. The majority of students I work with are in specialized classrooms that need an intense amount of support, that requires anything from repeating activities to hand over hand instruction; there is no social distancing in our classrooms. Working with students from preschool to eighth grade typically means working in groups and visiting their classrooms, that is not currently possible. I work with students who can communicate verbally or with an augmented communication device and others who rely on total communication including facial expression and eye movements.”
— Alyssa Rodriguez is a social worker at Rudolph and Lozano elementary schools.
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“Our school community got hit pretty hard with COVID-19 cases and many families do not have the resources necessary to be successful with remote learning and to stay safe due to the need to work.” — Vanessa Bernal is a special education resource teacher at Lázaro Cárdenas Elementary School .
“In my schools, I share my work space with other clinicians. There is no private nurse’s office in my schools where I can safely assess students or staff members who have symptoms without placing my colleagues at risk of being exposed. I do not have immediate access to a sink with running water for frequent hand-washing in all my schools. My schools are also overcrowded, so there is no separate area to quarantine individuals who have symptoms of COVID-19.”
— Lorena Ramirez is a school nurse at Central Cluster Cardenas, Spry and Zapata schools.
“The thought of returning to in-person learning during this second wave of COVID-19 has me feeling overwhelmed and afraid. Don’t get me wrong, I want to be at school with my students. I miss teaching in person and that real connection that I have with my kids every day. And I value the kind of education that can best be provided in person. I signed up for teaching and all the planning, preparing, grading, testing, counseling, consoling, supporting and advocating for students that come with the job. Teachers work hard for our kids every day; yes, even after school and on weekends. The highs and the lows of education are nothing new, but returning to school in person goes beyond the normal and moves into the unsafe. I’m worried about the health and safety of my students, their families, my own two children attending CPS, my husband who is immunocompromised, and my mother in her 60s who lives with us. There are real lives at stake in the decision to return.”
— Rosa Jimenez-Hernandez teaches fifth and sixth grade literacy at Sadlowski Elementary.
Alison Bowen, Saleema Syed, Milan Polk, Ariel Cheung, Stephanie Reynolds, Nara Schoenberg, Christen A. Johnson, David Syrek, Hannah Herrera Greenspan, Lauren Leazenby, Heidi Stevens and Rochell Sleets contributed to this report.


chicagotribune--2020-07-26--Man shot while driving in the Loop; police questioning person of interest

The man was in a black sedan around 1:30 a.m. in the 300 block of North Columbus Drive when he @ @ @ @ @ he was hit , police said .

Detectives are questioning a person of interest after a 31-year-old man was shot while driving in the Loop early Sunday, according to Chicago police.
The man was in a black sedan around 1:30 a.m. in the 300 block of North Columbus Drive when he heard multiple gunshots then realized he was hit, police said.
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He was shot once in the upper back, and he drove himself to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where he was in good condition, police said.
Officers recovered a handgun, police said.
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pfry@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @paigexfry