chicagotribune--2020-06-19--After weeks of no guests, Chicago’s tourism industry is betting on local leisure travel to help it r

After weeks of no guests, Chicago’s tourism industry is betting on local leisure travel to help it rebound

According to the Loop Alliance , pedestrian activity on State Street in the Loop has increased by 35.3 % so @ @ @ @ @ the first few weeks of April , the height of Gov .
J.B. Pritzker ’ @ @ @ @ @ , pedestrian activity this month is still down by 79 % compared with the same @ @ @ @ @

Visitors take pictures near Cloud Gate but the sculpture remains fenced off, June 15, 2020, as Millennium Park reopens after COVID-19 pandemic closures. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)
Heading into the official start of summer, Chicago’s tourism scene will be vastly different from years past.
There will be no major events like Lollapalooza, Chicago Pride Parade or Taste of Chicago. Skydeck Chicago, the observation deck on top of Willis Tower, is closed. So are the museums. Baseball has been canceled since March.
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Already the Fourth of July weekend is shaping up to be a dud with the fireworks show at Navy Pier canceled. The event typically draws more than 100,000 people, according to Navy Pier spokesperson Payal Patel.
Without these and other events that draw millions of people to the city each year, the chances of Chicago’s tourism industry rebounding anytime soon will be slim, experts say.
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But as Chicago moves forward with a phased reopening, industry insiders see a glimmer of hope. More visitors are coming from outside the state, and suburban residents are venturing downtown after weeks of being cooped up at home.
“We will have to tailor experiences with what’s open. We have to promote the boat tours and the outdoor dining patios. … It doesn’t mean we can’t be an attractive destination,” said David Whitaker, president and CEO of Choose Chicago, the city’s tourism arm.
While the fireworks are canceled, Navy Pier partially reopened June 10 for outdoor dining and will be open for the holiday at a limited capacity, Patel said. Architectural boat tours, the Riverwalk, kayak rental companies and some rooftop bars downtown have also reopened.
People on a pontoon boat sail past diners sitting on the Riverwalk along the Chicago River on June 17, 2020. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)
And signs of liveliness have slowly come back to the city’s Loop. Itching for a night out, local residents strolled downtown on a clear Wednesday evening, and some were taking graduation photos by the Wrigley Building on Michigan Avenue.
According to the Loop Alliance, pedestrian activity on State Street in the Loop has increased by 35.3% so far in June compared with the first few weeks of April, the height of Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s stay-at-home order. However, pedestrian activity this month is still down by 79% compared with the same time period in 2019.
At the Cloud Gate sculpture known as The Bean, a couple of dozen people sporting face masks were taking photos, though the sculpture was still surrounded by a fence.
Cherrica Igot, 19, and her two sisters were visiting Chicago for a day from Oroville, California. They were on their way to Virginia, where Igot’s oldest sister is moving for a new job.
“After being home for so long and with so many places still closed, we decided to take a road trip. We wanted to have more time together,” Igot said.
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Igot said they wanted to try Chicago-style deep dish pizza, and dined out at Lou Malnati’s in the city’s Near North neighborhood. “We saw that Chicago was reopened, and we wanted to stop by,” she said.
Still, occupancy rates remain abysmal in the city, causing a major headwind for hotels. For the week ending June 6, the occupancy rate in Chicago was 31.1%, a decrease from 83.5% during the same time period last year, according to data tracking firm STR.
But the lodging business sees an opportunity to attract summer road-trippers, particularly those from surrounding states. The eight states closest to Illinois typically account for 70% of leisure travel to the city, according to Whitaker, from Choose Chicago. “We have been the playground for neighboring states,” he said.
Steve Corona, 71, of Fort Wayne, Indiana, is a season ticket holder for the Chicago Cubs and often visits the city during the summer.
Corona said he planned to stay in Chicago for the month of July, splitting lodging between the Palmer House and Airbnb rentals, to watch the Cubs play at Wrigley Field. But his reservations at the Palmer House, booked months in advance for the first week of July, were canceled by the hotel.
Hilton Worldwide, which owns the Palmer House, said the hotel is temporarily closed as a result of the impact to business from the coronavirus pandemic, and did not provide a date for reopening.
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But Corona said his reservations for the end of July haven’t been canceled, giving him hope his plans aren’t entirely ruined.
“I’m ready to go. I want to get to the park,” he said Thursday, as baseball season remained in doubt.
Some hotels are seeing leisure travel pick up.
Guests eat and drink on the rooftop bar at LondonHouse on June 17, 2020, in Chicago. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)
Oxford Hotels and Resorts, which manages LondonHouse, The Langham and The Godfrey, started seeing a rebound three weeks ago, and business at LondonHouse’s rooftop bar is “booming,” said President George Jordan.
“The weekends are when business usually picks up. But it’s very last minute. People are booking 24 to 72 hours ahead of their trips,” Jordan said.
Most visitors are coming from the suburbs and exurbs, Jordan said. “People want to get out of their nest. … We see pent-up demand. They want to go out. They want to walk down Michigan Avenue,” he said.
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On a recent Wednesday evening, Jordan said the LondonHouse had an occupancy rate of about 70%.
During the pandemic, Oxford had a contract with the city to supply about 1,100 rooms at some of its hotels to house and feed first responders and health care workers requiring isolation.
Oxford laid off about 75% of its staff nationwide but has started bringing workers back as business picked up, Jordan said. The contract with the city helped the company weather the storm, and about 40% of those laid off from LondonHouse are back at work, he said.
The hotel business has been hurting since early March, when major conventions hosted in the city began dropping out due to the coronavirus. About a third of hotel stays in Chicago are from annual conventions, trade shows and business meetings at McCormick Place, experts say.
“It lives and breathes by meetings. … But group travel is going to be one of the segments that recovers the slowest because COVID-19 spreads in close proximity to people,” Blake Reiter, director of custom forecast for STR, said.
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A guest enters LondonHouse on June 17, 2020, in Chicago. A sign at the entrance informs all guests to wear face coverings while in public areas of the hotel. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)
Chicago is losing more than $1.4 billion, including spending at hotels, restaurants and entertainment options, from the nearly 100 cancellations of McCormick Place trade shows, according to estimates from the Near South Side convention venue.
Last year, direct tourism spending in Chicago accounted for more than $16.5 billion, generating more than $1.1 billion in tax revenue for the city and state, according to the most current data from Choose Chicago, the city’s tourism arm.
Choose Chicago, along with a group of 250 businesses and organizations, is hoping to help the ailing industry with an initiative to promote Chicago as a safe place to travel.
In late May, Choose Chicago announced the Tourism & Hospitality Forward initiative, a pledge to get businesses to establish best practices and safety measures. Some 250 hotels, museums, hospitality-related businesses, zoos and other organizations have signed on.
“There is no marketing or tourism template for reopening during a global pandemic. We need to make sure tourists can trust us. Safety is going to be a high priority for us to bring back workers and guests,” said Glenn Eden, chairman of the Choose Chicago board of directors and executive vice president for Weber Shandwick, a Chicago-based public relations firm.
Floor signs inform guests to practice physical distancing in the check-in area at LondonHouse. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)
In April, Mayor Lori Lightfoot named ad agency veteran Michael Fassnacht as chief marketing officer, tasked with promoting the city’s tourism industry.
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“Welcoming visitors will mean something different now,” Whitaker said. “It’s promoting that it’s a safe environment to be at.”
Hotels have been forced to adapt to the change in consumer demand. Big chain hotels like Chicago-based Hyatt are trying to attract customers by making it easier for customers to change their reservations.
Starting July 1 through July of next year, guests can cancel a reservation with Hyatt at no charge up to 24 hours before arrival. The policy does not apply to group bookings, and there are limitations for guests who booked through travel agents and other third parties.
Hyatt also is rolling out more targeted promotions through its website to feature destinations closer to where people live, said Julia Vander Ploeg, senior vice president and global head of digital for Hyatt.
Ploeg declined to give occupancy rates at Hyatt hotels, but said it has seen an uptick in guests taking local trips as well as people driving to their destination.
“We are seeing leisure travelers act on this first. I think it’s really reflecting of basic human desire to explore and travel,” Ploeg said.
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Still, the road ahead is tough as more hotels announce layoffs.
On Monday, Hilton said it was cutting about 22%, or some 2,100, corporate employees globally. Hyatt announced in May it would lay off some 1,300 corporate employees, including 350 in Chicago. And Marriott International said in May it is extending furloughs through Oct. 2 and offering buyouts to corporate employees.
“Many hotels that I’m talking to are still seeing more cancellations than bookings. And they are still in the red in terms of bookings,” said Michael Jacobson, president and CEO of the Illinois Hotel and Lodging Association.
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Though it’s uncertain how their plans might pan out this summer, some people are ready to travel. Corona, from Fort Wayne, said he still plans to visit Chicago in late July for about a week. He said the city is enjoyable even without baseball.
“Me and my wife like to go to Lou Malnati’s and eat at all sorts of restaurants in the city. We enjoy going to Chicago every year,” he said.
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abjimenez@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @abdel1019


chicagotribune--2020-06-19--From teachers strike to total shutdown: A timeline of Chicago Public Schools’ very strange year

Sept. 3 : The school year begins under rainy skies and a more serious storm brewing : Teachers start the @ @ @ @ @ and , after months of negotiations , the Chicago Teachers Union has rejected a fact-finder @ @ @ @ @ Mayor Lori Lightfoot says the city will match — for 16 % raises over a @ @ @ @ @ clock for a possible strike .
The union is holding out for 15 % raises @ @ @ @ @ with a range of other demands on staffing , class sizes and social services .
@ @ @ @ @ a 5 a.m. news conference outside Benito Juarez Community Academy in Pilsen saying the union @ @ @ @ @ for “ nearly a decade of austerity and cuts .
”

When Chicago Public Schools opened for the new school year the day after Labor Day, it was clear that teacher contract talks were breaking down and that a strike was a strong possibility.
The walkout came to pass a few weeks later, but what was unimaginable then was that the coronavirus would render 2019-20 the most extraordinary school year on record in Chicago — and that the virus, unheard of when school started, would result in an unprecedented statewide shutdown of in-class instruction.
“We never really got a chance to just get settled,” Dyshawn Pope, who graduated this spring from Chicago’s Harlan Community Academy, said of his senior year. “It felt like we were rushing through it. It was just a lot.”
As CPS officially ends its school year, here’s a look back at how it shaped up, from picket lines to pandemic:
Bumpy beginning
Sept. 3: The school year begins under rainy skies and a more serious storm brewing: Teachers start the new year without a contract and, after months of negotiations, the Chicago Teachers Union has rejected a fact-finder’s recommendation — one Mayor Lori Lightfoot says the city will match — for 16% raises over a five-year deal, setting the clock for a possible strike. The union is holding out for 15% raises over three years, along with a range of other demands on staffing, class sizes and social services. CTU President Jesse Sharkey holds a 5 a.m. news conference outside Benito Juarez Community Academy in Pilsen saying the union is trying to make up for “nearly a decade of austerity and cuts.”
Mayor Lori Lightfoot — who said the previous week that the current offer puts “real money on the table” and that there was “no reason” there couldn’t be a deal before the start of school — joins CPS CEO Janice Jackson at an assembly at Englewood STEM High School to celebrate the school’s opening.
Messiah Herron heads his first day of pre-kindergarten at South Shore Fine Arts Academy in Chicago in September. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
Sept. 12: After widespread failures in how CPS has addressed sexual misconduct in its schools, the district enters into an agreement with the U.S. Department of Education that gives the agency oversight of extensive school system reforms. In its announcement, an official in Education Secretary Betsy DeVos’ office calls the CPS track record “extraordinary and appalling.”
Strike buildup
Sept. 24: The CTU kicks off a strike authorization vote with a rally featuring appearances by Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders and actor John Cusack.
Sept. 26: After months of failed negotiations, CTU announces members have voted by a huge margin to authorize a strike.
Oct. 2: The CTU announces its members will strike in two weeks if no contract is settled on by then. Joining CTU is the union representing thousands of CPS support staff members, as well as Chicago Park District workers.
Oct. 16: As the two sides show no signs of a detente, CPS officials preemptively cancel classes for the following day. Within a few hours, that becomes a moot point when the CTU officially announces it is on strike — its first open-ended walkout since 2012.
Strike begins
Thousands of Chicago public school teachers and supporters participate on the first day of strike in October. (Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune)
Oct. 17: CTU’s 25,000 members walk off the job, leaving about 300,000 students without classroom instruction. Schools remain open for child care and meals for students who need them. Another 7,000 support staff, including custodians special education assistants and bus aides, also go on strike. That evening, famed civil rights leaders the Rev. Jesse Jackson sits in the evening’s negotiation sessions to try to help broker a deal.
Oct. 19: As teachers and support staff walk the picket lines, both sides cite progress heading into the strike’s first weekend, but the angry rhetoric flies back and forth. The mayor insists there is no more money on the table for teachers, while other city and CPS officials grumble that the union is more focused on protesting than on negotiating. The union in turn accuses the mayor of failing to keep her campaign promises and says it’s her office that lacks the urgency to get make a deal.
From left, lawyer Kevin Sterling, cross-country runners Sydney Partyka of Taft High School and Ian Bacon of Jones College Prep talk to reporters in October after a hearing seeking an emergency injunction that would allow them to compete in regionals. The effort failed. (Camille Fine / Chicago Tribune)
Oct. 24: A group of CPS cross-country runners file a lawsuit to win the right to compete in regional competition.
Oct. 26: The strike has now lasted seven school days and after near-daily, marathon bargaining sessions, there are strong hopes heading into the weekend that a deal is near and that classes will resume the following Monday. But talks hit a snag for what a CPS officials calls, without elaboration, a “breach of trust” by the union.
Oct. 27: The Service Employees International Union, which represents the support staff, reaches a tentative deal with CPS but encourages its members to honor picket lines in solidarity with teachers who remain on strike.
Week of Oct. 28: Dreams for postseason play are dashed for virtually all CPS athletes. Despite the cancellation of school sports during the walkout, some teams had still held out hope to participate in playoffs but IHSA confirms its rules forbid it. The lawsuit by cross-country runners has been rejected by a Cook County judge.
Oct. 30: A tentative teachers contract deal is announced, and in the evening the union’s House of Delegates votes 364-242 in favor of it. Among other wins for the union, the deal provides 16% raises for teachers, a class size enforcement mechanism and a nurse and social worker in every school.
But just when it appears the strike is over, an 11th-hour setback: Union leaders say the vote is contingent on a separate deal on makeup days — and they want all 11 school days of the strike rescheduled. The mayor angrily accuses the union of misleading her and remains adamant that there will be no makeup days.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot and CPS CEO Janice Jackson announce a deal with the Chicago Teachers Union to end the strike Oct. 31. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)
Oct. 31: The mayor softens her stance on makeup days and says she’s willing to talk but that she won’t allow the union to “continue to ... the move goal posts unilaterally.” After a lengthy, tense, closed-door meeting at City Hall — and throngs of protesters outside — Lightfoot announces an end to the strike. The sides agree to make up five of the 11 strike days.
Returning to school
Nov. 1: Students, teachers and staff return to school for the first time since Oct. 16.
Nov. 5: CPS announced the schedule for the five strike makeup days, cutting into Thanksgiving, winter and summer breaks and pushing the last day of school to June 18.
Nov. 15: CTU announces that the new contract has been ratified, averting the prospect of the strike resuming.
Lincoln Park High scandals
January: Scandal erupts at Lincoln Park High School following the suspension of the boys basketball team and the removal of several leaders and coaches, including the firing of the interim principal and an assistant principal, after what officials call “multiple allegations of serious misconduct” involving staff and students. The situation causes chaos at the school in ensuing weeks, including student walkouts, the launching of several internal misconduct investigations, a power struggle between CPS and the Local School Council and an eventual lawsuit by the two administrators who were fired.
Lincoln Park High School found itself engulfed in scandal in January following the removal of several administrators and coaches. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)
Reacting to COVID-19
March 6: A special education classroom assistant at Vaughn Occupational High School in Portage Park becomes the sixth person in Illinois to be diagnosed with coronavirus, officials announce. The school cancels classes through the following week and students and staff are asked to self-quarantine through mid-March. The staff member had been on a cruise ship on which many passengers were sickened.
Chicago Department of Health set up a COVID testing in March outside Vaughn Occupational High School, where an aide became Illinois' sixth COVID case. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tri / Chicago Tribune)
March 10: Even as some suburban districts and private schools begin to close, city and school officials say there are still no plans for a districtwide shutdown of schools.
March 13: Lightfoot reiterates that she has no plans at this point to close all city schools because of the coronavirus. But later that day, citing the gravity of the situation and of his actions, Gov. J.B. Pritzker overrides her and announces that all elementary and secondary schools in Illinois must shut their doors by March 17 and remain closed for the rest of the month. Illinois joins eight other states in shutting down all schools to combat the coronavirus.
March 15: CPS discloses a coronavirus case at Sheridan Math and Science Academy in Bridgeport and closes the building ahead. Mansueto High School, a Chicago charter school, also announces a staff member tested positive for COVID-19 and that it was shutting down early.
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker announces the statewide school shutdown in March. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago / Chicago Tribune)
March 17: The statewide school closure begins.
March 19: The mayor announces that Chicago Public Schools will remain closed through April 20, citing the “continued upward trajectory of the virus spread.”
March 25: CPS’ Board of Education votes to create a $75 million coronavirus emergency spending fund.
Late March: The school shutdown puts a spotlight on the digital divide among CPS students: Officials say about one-third of students at district-run schools lack adequate internet access from home, and announce a plan to distribute more than 100,000 electronic devices to students.
March 31: Pritzker announces the statewide closure of schools will continue through April 30.
April 17: Pritzker announces that schools statewide will remain closed for the remainder of the school year.
Late April: The district continues to struggle with how to grade students’ remote work fairly, and the grading system it eventually settles on receives criticism from some teachers, students and parents, despite the fact that no student can earn an F or a lower grade than before the pandemic.
May 27: CPS releases data on student participation in remote learning, revealing that, as of May 11, more than 2,200 students had had no contact with teachers at all since the start of the pandemic, and another 15,000 still lacked digital access to remote learning.
Later that day, protesters take to the streets in Englewood, prompted by the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis two days before. CPS students continue to participate in protests in Chicago over the next week and beyond — many calling for CPS to end its $33 million contract with the Chicago Police Department to provide resource officers in school buildings.
Michel Adelien watches Mayor Lori Lightfoot speak during the CPS virtual graduation ceremony this week. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)
June 14: With traditional end-of-year events such as graduation and prom canceled, Oprah Winfrey gives the commencement address at a first-ever virtual citywide graduation ceremony that also features an array of local music and sports celebrities.
June 18: The final day of classes for the 2019-20 school year. How school will look in the fall — and whether and how schools will reopen — remains uncertain.


chicagotribune--2020-06-19--1 dead, young teen among 7 wounded in shootings Friday

The fatal shooting happened around 11 a.m. in the Chatham neighborhood on the 8100 block of South Evans Avenue .
@ @ @ @ @ 26-year-old man was driving southbound on Evans Avenue when someone opened fire , hitting the @ @ @ @ @ shoulder .
The man then hit three cars after he was struck , police said @

A man fatally shot Friday morning has been identified as a rapper known as Tray Savage, who was among eight victims, including a 14-year-old boy, attacked on Friday.
Savage, whose real name was Kentray Young, was killed around 11 a.m. in the Chatham neighborhood in the 8100 block of South Evans Avenue, Chicago police said.
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Young was part of former Chicago rapper Chief Keef’s record label, performing under the name Tray Savage.
A representative for Keef told Billboard magazine Friday: “The entire Chief Glo Gang Family are extremely saddened about the loss of Kentray ‘Tray Savage’ Young who was taken too soon today.”
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He had performed with Keef in 2013 and recorded his own music, including “Faces,” “Know Who I Am” and “Got The Mac,” according to Billboard.
Young, was sitting in a vehicle when a white SUV pulled up in front of him and blocked the street, police said. The gunman then got out of his vehicle, approached Young and fired one to two shots, hitting Young in the neck and shoulder, police said.
After the gunshots, Young’s vehicle crashed into the white SUV, climbed on top of it and then hit another parked vehicle nearby, police said.
The gunman returned to his car and reversed northbound on Evans to flee the scene, police said. Young was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 11:30 a.m., according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office. An autopsy was scheduled that will determine the cause and manner of death of Young, who lived in the 8000 block of South State Street, according to the medical examiner’s office.
Witnesses recalled seeing a white SUV, possibly a Mazda, in the area at the time of the shooting, police said.
Video purportedly taken at the crime scene circulating on social media shows a bright blue car, possibly the victim’s, lurched on top of another vehicle.
Doni Bowens was sitting on a neighbor's porch when gunshots rang out Friday morning in the 8100 block of South Evans Avenue near his Chatham home.
Bowens, 39, ducked and ran into the gangway for cover. When it was clear the shots were no longer being fired, Bowens’ friend went out to perform CPR, on Young.
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Young still had a pulse when his friend was trying to help him, Bowens said.
It was only later that Bowens learned from news reports that the man who was shot was a rapper with a following.
“He was just a young black brother that needed his life saved,” Bowens said.
In a separate shooting Friday afternoon, a 14-year-old boy was wounded in the 1000 block of North Springfield Avenue in the city’s Humboldt Park neighborhood, about 3:30 p.m.
The boy suffered a gunshot wound to the leg and was being treated at the scene. Police said the boy was outside when someone in a red vehicle pulled up and opened fire.
Earlier, there was a triple shooting in the Burnside neighborhood. Police said shortly before 2:30 p.m., a gunman emerged from a gangway of a residence in the 9200 block of South Dobson Avenue and opened fire on three victims who attempted to run to a backyard, said Officer Michelle Tannehill, a police spokeswoman.
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A 46-year-old man was shot in the side and was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where his condition was stabilized, Tannehill said.
A woman, 49, was hit in the right thigh, and a 32-year-old man was shot in the right buttock. Both of those victims were taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, she said.
About 40 minutes after the fatal attack, a 28-year-old man was left in critical condition after being shot in the 6900 block of South Dante Street in the Grand Crossing neighborhood.
Shortly before 11:40 a.m., the victim was sitting in his vehicle when a black vehicle drove past and someone opened fire, police said.
Officers responded to a ShotSpotter alert to the location but later discovered the victim had driven himself to the 7100 block of South Cornell Avenue, and an ambulance was called.
The victim was taken in critical condition to the University of Chicago Medical Center with a gunshot wound to the left thigh and several wounds to the back, police said.
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Earlier Friday, a 28-year-old man was seriously wounded on the West Side in the Austin neighborhood.
That shooting happened shortly before 10:15 a.m. in the 1200 block of North Lockwood Avenue. The victim was standing on the sidewalk when a vehicle carrying four people pulled up and told the victim to freeze, police said.
The victim did not comply and soon after, all four occupants opened fire, hitting the man in the upper back and upper left shoulder. The gunmen then fled the scene in an unknown direction.
The victim was taken in critical condition to Stroger Hospital.
Shortly before 9 a.m., two men and a woman were involved in a domestic-related altercation that turned physical in the 6600 block of South Woodlawn Avenue, police said.
A 30-year-old man was shot once in the abdomen and was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where his condition was stabilized.
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No one was in custody for any of the shootings, and detectives were investigating.


chicagotribune--2020-06-19--Shots fired at River North building where cops find several IDs, a weapon and large amount of drugs

The officers were called to the building in the 100 block of West Huron Street around 10 a.m. and saw @ @ @ @ @ there was a shooter on the seventh floor , police said .
They went up @ @ @ @ @ said another person had fired at him .

Chicago police officers responding to a call of an assault at a River North building Friday found a hallway pocked with bullet holes and a man who said someone had tried to shoot him, authorities said.
No one was injured, and police said they recovered several IDs, large amounts of drugs and one weapon in a nearby room.
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The officers were called to the building in the 100 block of West Huron Street around 10 a.m. and saw people running out and saying there was a shooter on the seventh floor, police said. They went up and found a man who said another person had fired at him.
No one was in custody, police said.


chicagotribune--2020-06-19--Column: Amid crises of racial unrest and coronavirus, Chicago’s top planner sees opportunity to revi

Column: Amid crises of racial unrest and coronavirus, Chicago’s top planner sees opportunity to revive South and West Sides

“ The impression you get from outside is that everything is closed , ” he told me in a telephone @ @ @ @ @ inside , you get a very different vibe.
” Lee ’ s clothing store , @ @ @ @ @ completely looted .
But she had bought a little bit of inventory and she had @ @ @ @ @ trying to sell again , to let people know that she was there .
”

“I love a challenge. I have been known to always run toward the fire. This is a pivotal moment for the city and I’m thrilled to be in a position to do something about it.”
The person uttering those surprisingly hopeful words is Maurice Cox, Chicago’s planning commissioner.
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Cox, you might think, would have every reason to feel burdened and overwhelmed by events out of his control. Less than a year after Mayor Lori Lightfoot handed him the challenging job of reviving beaten-down business districts on the city’s South and West Sides, those districts have been further battered by the twin blows of the coronavirus recession and the looting that erupted after the killing of George Floyd.
But after talking to owners of boarded-up businesses, like Alicia Lee, who runs the Iconic Rush Boutique at 1955 East 71st St., Cox has a different view than the one people are seeing on their TV screens.
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“The impression you get from outside is that everything is closed,” he told me in a telephone interview Thursday. “From inside, you get a very different vibe.” Lee’s clothing store, he said, “was completely looted. But she had bought a little bit of inventory and she had set it out and was trying to sell again, to let people know that she was there.”
“I’m getting back on my feet,” Lee said Friday from her store.
Stories like that matter now. While much of the national conversation in the wake of Floyd’s death has rightly focused on tearing down Confederate monuments and other symbols of racism, too little attention is being paid to the nitty-gritty task of building up African-American and Latino neighborhoods that have been hammered by decades of disinvestment and decay.
That’s Cox’s task. If anything, in his view, the crises of COVID-19 and racial unrest have made it easier.
“I think there’s a greater sense of awareness of the need,” he said. “After witnessing the past few months, most people understand [rebuilding] is absolutely imperative. Chicago can’t fully recover unless there’s really an equitable development of these neighborhoods. ... The crisis aspect of this really helps to hold people’s attention to not accept status quo.”
“The larger conversation that the nation is having about disinvestment in black and brown communities has helped. There is more private sector interest in the South and West Sides than before. We are in part benefiting from the fact that everyone understands this investment trend must change,” Cox added, though he could not name any companies that had committed to locate stores in Chicago.
Lured to Chicago last year from Detroit, where he helped plant the seeds of that city’s still-incomplete revival, Cox was quickly put in charge of a signature Lightfoot initiative, the $750 million Invest South/West program.
He and his beefed-up planning staff held community meetings in the ten areas that Invest South/West seeks to revive: Auburn Gresham, North Lawndale, Austin, Englewood, Humboldt Park, New City, Roseland, South Chicago, South Shore and the Quad Communities, which includes North Kenwood, Oakland, and portions of Douglas and Grand Boulevard.
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All were hit by violence after Floyd’s death.
On the South Side, looters ransacked grocery stores that officials had worked for years to bring to “food deserts.” In North Lawndale, where rioters burned stores after the 1968 assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., some residents said the looting marked a severe setback from years of painstaking rebuilding.
When I asked Cox if the violence was daunting, he had a surprising reply: Previous Invest South/West planning efforts had laid the groundwork for revival. “When this hit, I was so thankful that we put the operating model in place so we could just hit the ground running.”
Yet mindful of the fact that planners ultimately are measured by the impact of their work on people’s lives, not just the plans and processes they put in place, Cox stressed that his department is moving ahead with several concrete initiatives.
In the short term, architects working pro bono are designing outdoor seating areas for restaurants on the South and West Sides. The first of them may debut in July, Cox said.
Responding to the disproportionate share of coronavirus deaths in black and brown communities the planning department has shifted its Invest South/West priorities to meet the need for better health care facilities on the South and West Sides.
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It is contributing $4 million to the planned transformation of a long-vacant commercial building on 79th Street in Auburn Gresham into a healthy lifestyle technology hub. “It’s locally owned and will provide community health services that COVID-19 made us painfully aware of,” Cox said.
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In August, the city will ask developers to make proposals for mixed-use projects that would rise on vacant city plots in Englewood and Austin. And this fall, Cox hopes, the city will join with the Obama Foundation to break ground on the long-delayed Obama Presidential Center in Jackson Park. A federal review of the project’s impact on the historic park appears to be nearing completion.
“This has been an amazing nine months,” Cox said of his tenure with the city. “If you were looking for a mandate to do things differently, we just received it. I’m thrilled to push to creatively seize this opportunity. For a planner, this is what we look for — that kind of strategic alignment. The city has prepared itself well for this moment.”
In Chicago and other American cities, the great unknown is still this: Will the present push for revival be more successful than the failed urban renewal efforts of the past?
Blair Kamin is a Tribune critic.
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bkamin@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @BlairKamin


chicagotribune--2020-06-19--DCFS set to resume parental visits after 3-month coronavirus shutdown, but advocates say it’s ‘much

DCFS set to resume parental visits after 3-month coronavirus shutdown, but advocates say it’s ‘much too little too late’

As they await court action , advocates from the Shriver Center and elsewhere also have been putting public pressure on @ @ @ @ @ .
With the renewed public focus on racial inequality after the killing of George Floyd @ @ @ @ @ , advocates have noted the visitation policy has a disproportionate impact on black families , @ @ @ @ @ majority of DCFS clients .

Quincita Fleming, mother of 5, lost custody of her children to DCFS, and due to the coronavirus she has not been allow to visit for months now, June 19, 2020. (Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune)
Quincita Fleming hasn’t seen her three children, ages 10, 2 and 5 months, in person since March.
That’s when the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, which court records show has custody of Fleming’s children due to a pending abuse case, suspended supervised parental visits for all children in its care because of concerns about the coronavirus pandemic.
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After months of pressure from advocates and a lawsuit brought by the Cook County public defender’s office on behalf of Fleming and three other mothers, the enforced social distancing between parents and their children is about to end.
DCFS on Monday told staff and partner agencies that it is preparing to resume in-person visits as soon as June 26, when all four regions of the state are expected to move into phase four of Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s reopening plan.
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Advocates for families who are involved with the state’s child welfare agency say the move is “much too little too late” for parents and children who haven’t been able to see one another for three months.
Fleming has been unable to breastfeed her baby during a crucial developmental stage. Within a couple days of their last visit her supply of milk dried up, she said.
While she is now able to video chat with her kids weekly, she worries about how the separation is affecting their family bond, particularly with her youngest.
Quincita Fleming, mother of 5, lost custody of her children to DCFS, and due to the coronavirus she has not been allow to visit for months now, June 19, 2020. (Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune)
“I don’t even know if he recognizes my voice or he knows who he’s speaking with when he sees my face on screen,” said Fleming, who declined to discuss her court case.
Fleming is among more than 10,000 other parents across the state have lost out on important bonding time that will be essential their ability to reunite as families, advocates say, despite the fact that reunification is the stated goal of DCFS in most cases.
“It is inexcusable that it took them until June 15 to begin to prepare for this,” said Tanya Gassenheimer, an attorney who advocates on behalf of parents who are involved with the child welfare system at the Chicago-based Shriver Center on Poverty Law.
Gassenheimer and other advocates also are concerned that parental visits won’t resume on a weekly basis until July 15, and sibling visits also will remain on hold until that time.
DCFS suspended all supervised parent and sibling visits for children in foster care on March 25, four days after Pritzker’s statewide stay-at-home order went into effect. The policy was implemented “in light of the extreme circumstances related to COVID-19 and the need to ensure that the health of children is protected through social distancing,”
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The agency instructed its caseworkers and the private agencies that do most of the front-line child welfare work to “identify alternative ways” — such as telephone calls or videoconferencing — for families to visit to “allow children to continue to have meaningful interaction with their families during this time.”
“Every decision we’ve made during this crisis has been focused on the safety of the children, the families and the staff,” DCFS spokesman Jassen Strokosch said. “Safety is our first and foremost goal for children and our families.”
As the new coronavirus was surging in Illinois, Strokosch said, the agency determined that the best way to protect everyone involved was to suspend supervised visitations, which involve not only a parent and children but also foster families, caseworkers, transportation workers and others.
“There’s a larger network involved in any visitation that takes place,” and all those people in turn come into contact with their own families and others, he said.
Another roadblock to resuming parental visits is that many of the venues where they usually take place, such as public libraries, also have been closed due to COVID-19, Strokosch said.
“That’s just not a fair explanation,” said Aaron Goldstein, who heads the civil division in the Cook County public defender’s office, which is representing Fleming and the other mothers in their lawsuit against DCFS.
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Visitations have been allowed to continue in cases where courts have allowed parents to spend time unsupervised time with their children, and the agency hasn’t issued coronavirus-related restrictions for foster families who are caring for children in DCFS custody, Goldstein said.
“The issue is they didn’t think this out,” he said. “They implemented a draconian policy.”
Advocates point to a Mach 27 advisory from the Children’s Bureau of the federal Department of Health and Humans Services that “strongly discourages” child welfare courts across the country from issuing “blanket orders that are not specific to each child and family that suspend family time.”
The bureau also urged state courts “to hold the child welfare agency accountable for ensuring that meaningful, frequent family time continues” and “become familiar with ways in which in-person visitation may continue to be held safely.”
While acknowledging the federal guidance, Strokosch said that “the only way to make decisions that take into account everyone’s safety is to make those decisions on a state-by-state basis.”
So far, attempts to get courts to intervene broadly on behalf of parents in Illinois have been unsuccessful. There have been some cases, particularly in southern Illinois, where judges have ordered visits to resume, Strokosch said.
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The Cook County public defender’s lawsuit, filed May 6, was dismissed from Chancery Court by Circuit Judge Caroline Moreland because the plaintiffs all had pending abuse or neglect cases before the Child Protection Division and each had filed a separate motion to compel in-person visits.
“That court and those judges continue to address the very issues presented by this case,” Moreland wrote in a May 18 opinion. “This court concludes that that forum is the appropriate one for plaintiffs’ grievances.”
The Child Protection Division, meanwhile, has not taken up an emergency motion from the public defender’s office seeking a temporary restraining order against the DCFS policy. The office is appealing both cases.
The situation for parents who’ve been separated from their children has become even more frustrating as the restrictions in Pritzker’s original stay-at-home order have loosened in recent weeks.
“You can get marijuana, you can go golfing, you can now go to restaurants, but parents can’t see their children,” Goldstein said.
As they await court action, advocates from the Shriver Center and elsewhere also have been putting public pressure on DCFS and the Pritzker administration. With the renewed public focus on racial inequality after the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer, advocates have noted the visitation policy has a disproportionate impact on black families, who make up the overwhelming majority of DCFS clients.
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“For Black lives to matter, Black families must also matter,” the Shriver Center wrote in a June 12 post on Twitter. “For close to 3 months, @IllinoisDCFS has kept over 11,000 parents, children, and siblings apart, many of whom are Black. This is unacceptable.”
The tweet drew a rebuke from Pritzker spokesman Jason Rubin, who tweeted in response: “@IllinoisDCFS is in the process of updating the policy, as the @shrivercenter knows. To claim @IllinoisDCFS does not care about black families is frankly disgusting.”
Rubin later apologized on Twitter, writing, “It’s hard not to get heated when the agency is attacked for challenges that are not of their own making and do not have any easy answers.”
While the resumption of visits in a partial victory, advocates have ongoing concern about whether the months of separation will have a lasting effect on reunification of families.
“This is not over because we don’t know the damage that has been done with this gap,” Goldstein said.
Fleming found out Friday that her first in-person visit with her three kids is scheduled for July 2. She’s planning a belated celebration with pizza for her oldest, who had a “quarantine birthday” in May.
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dpetrella@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-06-19--State police investigate death of woman found on Edens Expressway in Skokie

Troopers discovered an unoccupied car parked on Old Orchard Road over the expressway , the engine running and the keys @ @ @ @ @ , state police said the death was being investigated as a hit-and-run , but a @ @ @ @ @ of that .

Illinois State Police were investigating the death of a woman who was found on the Edens Expressway in Skokie, not far from a car that was left running on an overpass.
Marisa Giuliana Moura-Srivatava, 53, was found along the southbound lanes of the expressway near Old Orchard Road about 10:30 p.m. Thursday, the state police said.
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Troopers discovered an unoccupied car parked on Old Orchard Road over the expressway, the engine running and the keys in the car. Earlier, state police said the death was being investigated as a hit-and-run, but a later statement made no mention of that.
It asked anyone with information to call the state police at 847-294-4400.


chicagotribune--2020-06-19--COVID-19 cases in Illinois by ZIP code: Search for your neighborhood

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

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


chicagotribune--2020-06-19--Chicago aldermen get into Twitter fight after one of them complains about parking tickets

Sigcho-Lopez : “ Gamble ?
I moved my car and several min later the police car comes back and gives @ @ @ @ @ another car shows up and gives me another ticket .
Where is the gamble ?
@ @ @ @ @ over this video once I make a formal complaint .
Shame on your comments ”

In this file photo, Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez, 25th, appears at an Amazon delivery station in the 2800 block of South Western Avenue in Chicago on April 3, 2020. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)
Two Chicago aldermen got into a Twitter fight on Friday after Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez, 25th, said he received two tickets totaling “$300 within 12 minutes” in Ald. Brendan Reilly’s 42nd Ward.
Sigcho-Lopez, whose ward includes Pilsen, Chinatown and the South Loop, posted a photo of himself holding two city tickets in front of his Toyota, which is adorned with Bernie Sanders stickers and slogans such as “No racist police.” He said he received the tickets “while I’m sitting in my very pro #CPACNow #BlackLivesMatter car waiting for my wife after her doctors appointment.”
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The post drew a response from Reilly, who tweeted: “Here’s a thought: obey the parking & loading regulations on the block and you don’t get a ticket. Simple. Plenty of people roll the dice & make that gamble every day. Sometimes you get away with it, often times you don’t. Personally, I don’t gamble & don’t get tickets.”
If you were unfairly ticketed then you will demonstrate that during the due process afforded to you by Administrative Hearings. If you were in a lawful standing zone, why did you decide to leave, circle the block & return? Loop standing zones usually offer a 15-min accommodation. — Brendan Reilly (@AldReilly) June 19, 2020
Here’s the rest of the exchange:
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Sigcho-Lopez: “Gamble? I moved my car and several min later the police car comes back and gives me a ticket. Then another car shows up and gives me another ticket. Where is the gamble? You and I will go over this video once I make a formal complaint. Shame on your comments”
Reilly: “Seriously? You send me a story about exploiting parking zone dead spots downtown? And then tell a story about me ‘waiving’ loading enforcement for buildings? Curbside activities are heavily restricted in the Loop, for good reason. Please just follow the law.”
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Sigcho-Lopez: “Exactly - its a loading/standing area where I was standing waiting for my wife. Glad you see the problem now. Plently of Chicagoans have been bankrupted by frivilous tickets and towing issued by police officers. All people should follow the law.”
Reilly: “If you were unfairly ticketed then you will demonstrate that during the due process afforded to you by Administrative Hearings. If you were in a lawful standing zone, why did you decide to leave, circle the block & return? Loop standing zones usually offer a 15-min accommodation.”
Sigcho-Lopez: “I left/circled the block bc I received a ticket w/ no warning. I was not given that 15 minutes. I will seek justice in the Admin Hearing process. For many Chicagoans who work multiple jobs or do not speak the language, the process is inaccessible & a pipeline into poverty.”
But, eventually, Reilly and Sigcho-Lopez exchanged pleasantries and commiserated.
Reilly: “Have a great weekend, Alderman.”
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Sigcho-Lopez: “I’ll be working, as I’m sure you will be too.”
Reilly: “Of course. One of the perks of the job. Have a good one & stay safe.”
Sigcho-Lopez liked the tweet.
In a tweet at a reporter, Sigcho-Lopez later reiterated his complaint, saying the tickets were “unwarranted.”
”The same ticket was issued in the past in this same location and dismissed, long before before my election,” Sigcho-Lopez said. “I am mad at a system that has been issuing targeted unwarranted tickets to Chicagoans, bankrupting some of them as a result, long before today.”
gpratt@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-06-19--Cook County sheriff wins partial appeal victory over COVID-19 order covering jail conditions

The injunction was handed down in April by U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly in an ongoing lawsuit filed by the @ @ @ @ @ and the MacArthur Justice Center at Northwestern University alleging Dart failed to stop a “ @ @ @ @ @ ” at the jail , which at the time had been identified as one of @ @ @ @ @ hot spots for coronavirus infections .

Detainees wait in the intake area before entering Cermak Health Services for a COVID-19 test and health screening in the Cook County Jail in Chicago on May 20, 2020. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune)
A federal appeals court ruled Friday that Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart does not have to comply — at least for now — with a portion of a preliminary injunction precluding group housing or double-celling at the county jail due to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis.
Dart had asked the 7th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to stay the entire injunction order, which also includes mandates to increase testing and social distancing at the jail, while his appeal is pending before the court.
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In its one-page order Friday, the appellate panel narrowly granted the request, saying the sheriff does not have to comply with the portion of the injunction “precluding group housing or double celling of detained persons.” The remainder of the motion to stay was denied.
The injunction was handed down in April by U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly in an ongoing lawsuit filed by the Loevy and Loevy law firm and the MacArthur Justice Center at Northwestern University alleging Dart failed to stop a “rapidly unfolding public health disaster” at the jail, which at the time had been identified as one of the nation’s leading hot spots for coronavirus infections.
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Dart’s office has vehemently defended its response to the pandemic, saying it proactively instituted sanitation and social distancing measures and worked with stakeholders to sharply reduce the jail’s population.
In appealing the injunction last month, lawyers for the sheriff pointed to a recent ruling in Alabama that overturned a similar injunction, saying it placed the district judge in the role of “super-warden.”
“The jail simply cannot operate under threat of contempt and disruption when so many resources have been invested to protect detainees — as much as is structurally and operationally possible, and well beyond what is objectively reasonable,” the sheriff’s filing stated.
Meanwhile, efforts to contain the virus continue at the jail, which currently houses about 4,500 inmates. As of Friday, seven detainees have died after contracting COVID-19 at the jail, though that number has remained steady for weeks.
Only 27 inmates currently have the virus, and none are hospitalized. More than 500 others tested positive and have since recovered, according to the sheriff.


chicagotribune--2020-06-19--Man identified in fatal shooting overnight Thursday in Woodlawn neighborhood

Shortly after midnight , officers responding to ShotSpotter technology discovered an unresponsive man lying on the sidewalk in 6300 block @ @ @ @ @ The victim had suffered multiple gunshot wounds to the body , and was pronounced dead @ @ @ @ @ police said .

A 23-year-old man who was found fatally wounded around midnight Friday in the Woodlawn neighborhood near the Parkway Apartments has been identified, officials said.
Shortly after midnight, officers responding to ShotSpotter technology discovered an unresponsive man lying on the sidewalk in 6300 block of South King Drive. The victim had suffered multiple gunshot wounds to the body, and was pronounced dead at the scene, Chicago police said.
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The man was later identified as Armond T. Procter of the 8100 block of South Emerald Avenue, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.
No one was in custody for the shooting, and detectives were investigating.


chicagotribune--2020-06-19--We’ve lowered the paywall on this essential coverage of coronavirus in Illinois

Testing for COVID-19 has greatly expanded in Illinois , with the state announcing more than 10,000 test results a day @ @ @ @ @ expansion has allowed the state to open up its guidance for who should be able @ @ @ @ @ .
The Illinois Department of Public Health is saying that testing is available without a @ @ @ @ @ anyone with coronavirus symptoms or an underlying risk factor .
Tests are also provided to @ @ @ @ @ of the pandemic , such as medical workers , first responders and employees of prisons @ @ @ @ @ the map for coronavirus testing site near you .

As a public service to our readers and community, we have lowered the paywall on some of our most critical stories so everyone can access this important information. We rely on the support of our subscribers to fund our journalism. If you’re not already signed up, we hope you will consider subscribing.
We are updating a daily live blog with the latest developments on the reopening of Chicago and Illinois. This is where you’ll find updates on the number of COVID-19 cases in our area, as well as the most up-to-date recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Department of Public Health, Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Mayor Lori Lightfoot.
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As summer nears, Chicagoans are desperate to get out and about — to have a summer picnic with family, to get back to work, to get a haircut. Here’s how and when you might be able to do those things.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced Tuesday a five-phase plan to get Illinois reopened as the COVID-19 pandemic slows its toll on health care providers. The plan, from “Rapid Spread” to “Illinois Restored,” splits the state up into regions and allows each region to open a different phase should the impact of the pandemic be different throughout the state. The plan also emphasizes that a region can move backward if the health metrics indicate enough risk. Read more.
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Testing for COVID-19 has greatly expanded in Illinois, with the state announcing more than 10,000 test results a day since April 24. The expansion has allowed the state to open up its guidance for who should be able to get a coronavirus test. The Illinois Department of Public Health is saying that testing is available without a doctor’s order to anyone with coronavirus symptoms or an underlying risk factor. Tests are also provided to people on the front lines of the pandemic, such as medical workers, first responders and employees of prisons or nursing homes. Search the map for coronavirus testing site near you.
All Illinois residents over age 2 must wear a face mask when they can’t maintain a 6-foot social distance in public. Studies show that the coronavirus can spread between people interacting in close proximity, including people who are not showing symptoms. Here’s where you can find them, what kind to get and how to make your own.
Americans are brainstorming with neighbors, posting questions on social media, and googling for tips and advice. The question at the center of all the hand wringing and head scratching: How do you thank the essential workers who remain out in the world, exposing themselves to greater risk of contracting the novel coronavirus, so that we can buy our groceries, receive our mail, travel by public transportation, and get health care if we need it? Here are some creative ideas to inspire you.
Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 68 (Chicago Tribune)
They were mothers and fathers, daughters and sons. Many were proud grandparents. Two were sisters from a tight-knit South Side family. All were loved, relatives say, and will be forever missed. As the number of deaths attributable to the coronavirus ticks upward, the Tribune is working to chronicle those who have lost their lives in the Chicago area or who have connections to our region. These are some of those victims.
Hundreds of Chicago restaurants have pivoted their operations to delivery, takeout or curbside pickup after Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced that all bars and restaurants in Illinois are closed for dining-in service through April 30. We’re collecting information on restaurants across the area that are still open for delivery or take out. Find a restaurant near you.
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A sign in the windows of Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, seen on March 11, 2020, reminds people to wash their hands. (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune)
You wake up with a sore, scratchy throat, and begin coughing and sneezing. It’s probably a run-of-the-mill cold, or it could be the beginning of a bout of seasonal flu. But with dozens of cases of the novel coronavirus surfacing in Illinois, some people are bound to wonder: Could this be the coronavirus? Here’s what experts advise for Illinoisans who fear they are showing signs of coronavirus.
The spread of the coronavirus pandemic has placed an extra burden on Chicagoland nonprofit organizations. Here is an evolving list of where you can make donations to organizations helping those in need.


chicagotribune--2020-06-19--Watch live: Thousands gather in downtown Chicago to commemorate Juneteenth

Thousands of people gathered in downtown Chicago on Friday for marches and other events to commemorate Juneteenth .
Get the @ @ @ @

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chicagotribune--2020-06-19--Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot delivers commencement speech at Northwestern, says democracy will fail

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot delivers commencement speech at Northwestern, says democracy will fail ’if we do not see the humanity in each other’

“ We recognize that there are many steps that Northwestern as an institution and all members of its community must @ @ @ @ @ the physical and emotional safety of Black students and begin to dismantle the white supremacy @ @ @ @ @ petition said .
“ One of those steps is cutting our ties with those who @ @ @ @ @ our city — including Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot .
”

Drawing on the ongoing coronavirus crisis and continued fallout over the Minneapolis police killing of George Floyd, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot called on graduating Northwestern University students to engage in public service and remember that people are all connected to each other.
In her speech Friday, Lightfoot acknowledged the “challenging times” posed by a global pandemic and the national conversation about police and racism stemming from Floyd’s death.
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But, she said, both momentous activities should be seen as a call to service.
“The events of COVID-19 and the murder of George Floyd speak to the importance of engagement through service in two seemingly separate, but powerful and reinforcing ways,” Lightfoot said.
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The coronavirus “forced us to rethink and redefine the very notion of public service, to move it beyond its traditional governmental realm, and expand into every role we play,” Lightfoot said. It also reinforced just how connected we all are, she said.
Floyd’s killing, she said, emphasizes the urgency of getting involved.
“If we are to make our democracy thrive, we all have to do more to engage in our political process. We are at our core a participatory democracy, and thus engagement is our life blood,” Lightfoot said. “So in addition to my challenge to you, I also have a personal request: Spend some time in your life serving government itself.”
Referring to graduates from Northwestern’s journalism school, Lightfoot also tweaked The Washington Post’s slogan, “Democracy dies in darkness,” to call for people to get involved in public service.
“Democracy dies in disengagement,” Lightfoot said. “Disengagement from the public. Disengagement from facts. Disengagement from reality. And disengagement from ourselves.”
The graduation ceremony was held completely online to adhere to social distancing guidelines. Lightfoot attended the University of Michigan as an undergraduate and went to the University of Chicago for law school. Both schools have rivalries with Northwestern, which she briefly addressed.
“I am a partisan when it comes to my undergraduate alma mater,” Lightfoot said. “But I have come to embrace the purple pride.”
Northwestern announced Lightfoot as its graduation speaker in April, touting her as an emerging national leader during the coronavirus pandemic and the “ideal” speaker to mark 150 years since women were first admitted to the university.
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But, in the weeks following that announcement, the world witnessed the police killing of Floyd, and Chicago, along with cities across the country, erupted in protest. Lightfoot has been criticized for her response to the protests, as well as for her record on police accountability issues.
In response, Northwestern students released an online petition earlier this month calling on the university to remove Lightfoot as their commencement speaker. The petition was written in solidarity with black students and organizers at Northwestern, who were calling on the university to invest in its black community and divest from police.
“We recognize that there are many steps that Northwestern as an institution and all members of its community must take in order to ensure the physical and emotional safety of Black students and begin to dismantle the white supremacy we uphold,” the petition said. “One of those steps is cutting our ties with those who actively harm Black individuals within our city — including Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot.”
The petition has since received over 800 online signatures.
Northwestern stood by its decision to have Lightfoot deliver the commencement address. Ahead of graduation, university spokesman Jon Yates said the school was proud to have Lightfoot as a speaker and looked forward to her joining the Northwestern community.
The protest against Lightfoot isn’t unusual. Northwestern students also criticized Mayor Richard M. Daley as a commencement speaker in 2008.
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This year’s ceremony fell on Juneteenth, a holiday marking the end of slavery in the United States, which Lightfoot also noted.
“It is fitting, too, that we are meeting on Juneteenth, the annual celebration marking the end of slavery in America,” Lightfoot said. “But more than that, this day stands as a watershed moment in our nation’s long and still incomplete journey toward full equality and justice that we are feeling so vividly in this moment.”
Lightfoot also spoke against social media and the practice of demonizing political opponents.
“Being engaged doesn’t mean screaming the loudest. It doesn’t mean issuing a set of demands and then villainizing anyone who doesn’t immediately pledge allegiance to your favorite manifesto,” Lightfoot said. “The public square should be about robust debate, working to muster the facts and arguments to persuade. Building coalitions, finding common ground and of course leaning into what you believe — yes, that’s all part of what makes this continuing, evolving American experiment with democracy great and enduring.”
But, she warned, “it is premised upon breaking down barriers that would otherwise separate us. Democracy will fail, it will utterly fail if we do not see the humanity in each other.”
gpratt@chicagotribune.com
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ssherry@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-06-19--Theft charges dropped against former Gary school chief

King said Pruitt submitted her conference expenses to her secretary after the trip .
More than a month after a @ @ @ @ @ through , a clerical staffer filed a second claim for the conference and it was @ @ @ @ @

A felony theft case filed in 2018 against former Gary school superintendent Cheryl Pruitt has been dropped by the Lake County Prosecutor’s office.
Two felony counts involving theft and official misconduct were dismissed June 16 in Lake Superior Court Judge Diane Boswell’s court in response to a motion by a prosecutor.
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Merrillville attorney Scott King said the dismissal came after dialogue with the prosecutor’s office “and the realization that this was at most, a mistake, and not an intentional act.”
Pruitt, 57, was accused of double-billing from a three-day May 2016 Los Angeles education conference. The charges alleged Pruitt deposited $1,256 into her personal account after the school district already paid expenses to the district’s credit card company.
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The allegations came to light after a State Board of Accounts audit.
King said Pruitt submitted her conference expenses to her secretary after the trip. More than a month after a reimbursement to her account went through, a clerical staffer filed a second claim for the conference and it was approved, he said.
King, who described Pruitt as a busy executive handling a school district on the brink of a state takeover, said she deposited the money without examination.
He said after the audit findings were released, Pruitt paid the money back.
“She didn’t process the paperwork which, admittedly, was a double form of reimbursement for legitimate expenses,” King said. “The invoices were handled by the clerical staff, not her.”
With the criminal case dismissed, King said he hopes the state will follow suit and withdraw a 2018 civil suit filed by the Attorney General’s office. It seeks $18,000, which includes mostly penalties and fees.
King said the episode was difficult and embarrassing for Pruitt, who now lives in Illinois.
“She’s been through a lot… When the charges were filed, it was all over the Chicago news.”
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He said Pruitt later lost her job as head of a Chicago virtual charter school.
“She’s very weary so it’s been hard. We’re glad this aspect of the case has been concluded.”
King said he will next initiate an expungement process.
Carole Carlson is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.


chicagotribune--2020-06-19--Juneteenth celebrations in Chicago

Juneteenth celebrations in Chicago

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The home also includes a fire pit and grill .
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Lukas Bobak, of Burr Ridge, sits alone across the street from a peace rally and march in celebration of Juneteenth at Park 540 in the 2400 block of South Dearborn Street on June 19, 2020, in Chicago. Bobak said he had surgery four days ago and is immunocompromised so cannot be in a crowd of people. As a way to participate, he and his girlfriend offered free drinks and snacks to those entering the park to attend the rally. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)


chicagotribune--2020-06-19--Minor league baseball faces major anxiety as Chicago-area clubs hope to salvage their seasons

His team , the Windy City Thunderbolts , a minor league squad in Crestwood that isn ’ t affiliated with @ @ @ @ @ doesn ’ t know if it will be able to play this year .
Even @ @ @ @ @ the field , Hickman ’ s caution over potentially exposing himself to the virus has @ @ @ @ @ of the training he needs to prepare for the rigors of pro ball .

Cole Bellair, a pitcher with the Crestwood-based Windy City Thunderbolts, works out and practices pitching in his garage in Lockport on June 18, 2020. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune)
Blake Hickman thought he had caught a break. The 26-year-old pitcher, drafted by the White Sox three years ago only to be cut loose from their farm system, got a call from the San Diego Padres in March inviting him to spring training. If he caught on, he’d be back on the road that might lead to the majors.
Within hours, though, Major League Baseball announced it was suspending operations in the face of the COVID-19 crisis, a shutdown that has yet to be resolved. Hickman, who lives in Tinley Park, would have to try to prolong his baseball career closer to home — but that, too, has had its obstacles.
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His team, the Windy City Thunderbolts, a minor league squad in Crestwood that isn’t affiliated with a major league club, doesn’t know if it will be able to play this year. Even if the Thunderbolts do take the field, Hickman’s caution over potentially exposing himself to the virus has prevented him from doing some of the training he needs to prepare for the rigors of pro ball.
“A month is like dang near impossible to be game ready,” he said. “… (The situation) is definitely frustrating because it’s no one’s fault. We got hit by a pandemic. If this happens to end careers, guys are going to have to learn to be at peace with it.”
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Similar anxiety is bubbling throughout the Chicago area’s minor league clubs. Four teams are waiting to see if they can salvage their seasons, while another, the Gary SouthShore RailCats, has already called it quits.
Only one team, the Rosemont-based Chicago Dogs, has announced it will play, though not in Illinois. Starting July 3, it will hold its home games at the suburban Milwaukee ballpark of a rival club, an arrangement that takes advantage of Wisconsin’s looser rules on public assemblies.
Left-hander Jake Dahlberg practices pitching with catcher Dustin Demars at Meadow Hill Park on June 18, 2020, in Northbrook. Dahlberg and Demars will start spring training next week with the Chicago Dogs. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)
“It’s our goal to return to Impact Field in Rosemont, but if state guidelines don’t allow that, we’ll operate the whole season with Milwaukee as a home base,” said team owner Shawn Hunter.
Meanwhile, other clubs are renting out their fields for youth tournaments as they wait to see if they’ll get the chance to play ball.
“Right now, we are hanging in there,” said Mike VerSchave, the Thunderbolts’ general manager. “We’re struggling like a lot of businesses are. From restaurants to retail stores, everyone has been affected by this. We’re not special. But if we’re able to have a season, we’ll be ready to go.”
‘We’ve got to have fans'
Big-time sports leagues like Major League Baseball and the NBA have contemplated restarting their seasons without spectators, their bottom lines padded by lucrative television contracts. But such a financial backstop doesn’t exist in the minors.
“We don’t have TV revenues coming in for a league like ours,” said Commissioner Bill Lee of the Frontier League, which counts the Thunderbolts, Schaumburg Boomers and Joliet Slammers among its 14 franchises. “We’ve got to have fans. Hopefully we can do that. That’s what the world of minor league baseball revolves around.”
Illinois limits public gatherings to 10 people. Even when the state moves to the more relaxed phase four, expected to come June 26, the cap will be 50 people.
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Phase four rules allow theaters and cinemas to operate with capacity limits, but sports stadiums are not on the list of facilities allowed to reopen. State officials would not answer the Tribune’s questions about ballparks, saying only that “we expect to release phase four guidance in the near future to give communities and businesses time to plan for the phased reopening.”
Heather Mills, general manager of the Slammers, said clubs need a regulatory change.
“It’s safe to say we’re attempting to do what we can to get something other than that 50 limit,” she said. “A minor league baseball game doesn’t work under those conditions.”
Lee, who must heed reopening rules in seven states as well as Canada, said a decision on the Frontier League’s season should come within a week.
The Kane County Cougars, meanwhile, face another complication. They are the Class A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks, a major league club, and until MLB reaches an agreement with its players on restarting its season, teams like the Cougars will remain in limbo.
“We’re totally dependent on (MLB),” said general manager Curtis Haug. “They supply all the players and the coaches. As soon as they give us some sort of idea as to how they’ll move forward, that’s when we’ll know the fate of our 2020 season.”
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With their seasons stalled or canceled, clubs are finding other uses for their stadiums, and not just for youth baseball. The RailCats will hold family nights with music and fireworks at their field, along with “wine and canvas” events and kickball leagues.
The Boomers, meanwhile, recently opened their ballpark to foodies who dined on specialty burgers, ribs and other dishes from the suite menu.
“We were moderate in our expectations, but we sold out of our allocation within 24 hours,” general manager Michael Larson said.
Tough to prepare
As minor league clubs cope with the uncertainty, so do their players, who have been left on their own to prepare for a season that might not happen.
Thunderbolts manager Brian Smith said players are prohibited from working out with the team until the season is a go, so some have paid for trainers while others have concocted their own routines, all the while nervously watching the weeks tick past. Scouts often cast a cold eye on minor leaguers who are in their mid-20s or older, so for some players, missing an entire season could be disastrous.
“Some guys who might have been in the prime of their careers might be too old (when play resumes),” Smith said. “That’s how quick this could turn.”
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Cole Bellair, a pitcher with the Crestwood-based Windy City Thunderbolts, works out and practices pitching in his garage in Lockport on June 18, 2020. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune)
Cole Bellair, a Lockport resident who is signed to the Thunderbolts, is only 23, so age isn’t among his concerns. His main issue has been finding a place to train outside of his basement — he was kicked off the field at a local high school — and someone with whom he could practice.
Cole Bellair, a pitcher with the Crestwood-based Windy City Thunderbolts, works out in his garage in Lockport. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune)
“For a while my catch partner was a fence,” he said. “That wasn’t too great.”
But now he’s working out with a teammate, doing long toss and throwing from a mound twice a week, though he has yet to face live hitting.
“I feel like I’m ready to go, but there’s always that aspect of getting some competition in,” he said. “It’s really hard for guys (to go without that) when you get to a certain level. You’ve been competing all your life and now you have nothing to compete for.”
Two-month road trip
For now, the Chicago Dogs are the only local professional baseball team poised for competition. The league in which they play, the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball,has devised a “hub city” system in which teams will share a home base in states with more liberal reopening rules (six of the association’s 12 teams, including the RailCats, were left out).
The Dogs will take up residence with the Milwaukee Milkmen, whose ballpark will open at 25% capacity but could expand to 50%. The team will take numerous safety precautions, which include weekly COVID-19 tests and housing players together at a nearby hotel.
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“We’re not naïve to the thought that players will congregate,” said American Association Commissioner Joshua Schaub “They like to hang out with each other. We’re trying to isolate them like a family group.”
Jake Dahlberg practices pitching with catcher Dustin Demars at Meadow Hill Park on June 18, 2020, in Northbrook. Dahlberg and Demars will start spring training next week with the Chicago Dogs. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)
The Dogs could return to Rosemont for part of the 60-game season if Illinois loosens its rules, but pitcher Jake Dahlberg, who spent two seasons in the St. Louis Cardinals’ system, said the lengthy road trip — possibly more than two months — is part of “the baseball lifestyle.”
As for playing during a pandemic, Dahlberg, 26, said he isn’t worried.
“It comes down to common sense,” he said. “I get that there are times that people are symptom-free and can carry (COVID-19), but I feel healthy, I feel good, and I’m comfortable being around other people who feel the same way. It’s a learning experience for everybody. If a situation arises, we’ll take the necessary precautions to ensure there’s clean, safe baseball.”
jkeilman@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @JohnKeilman


chicagotribune--2020-06-19--‘Now we have everyone’s eyes and ears:’ Juneteenth march organizers focus on police reform

“ Now we have everyone ’ s eyes and ears , ” Murphy said of this year ’ s march @ @ @ @ @ this is our day of independence , I think it ’ s going to shine @ @ @ @ @ that black people were enslaved in American for over 200 years .
”

After weeks of protests across the city against police brutality, this year’s Juneteenth march will focus on police reform and equity in black communities, according to march organizers.
Ashley Munson, lead organizer of the March for US 2020, said the march scheduled for Friday morning will focus on community organizing around the city.
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“This movement started as a result of black people being fundamentally frustrated with how things are,” she said. “You can’t address police reform without addressing the other things that affect black people.”
Munson added some demands include assuring the city provides support to South and West side hospitals and equitable education for students of color.
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The Juneteenth flag, commemorating the day that slavery ended in the U.S., flies in Omaha, Nebraska, on June 17, 2020. (Nati Harnik/AP)
Juneteenth celebrates June 19, 1865, the day Union soldiers told enslaved African Americans in Galveston, Texas, that the Civil War was over and they were free. The holiday is recognized in 47 states, including Illinois.
The march will begin in the South Loop and end at City Hall. Munson said the organization estimates 4,000 to 5,000 people will participate.
“Police reform has been something that’s been needed for years, this has been a movement,” she said of recent rallies and protests. “We want more than police reform and at a fundamental base we want people to stop killing us.”
The Chicago Peace and Equality Juneteenth Rally and Celebration is also focusing on police redistribution of funds and demands for overall equality said lead organizer Romel Murphy.
The march will begin in the South Loop on Friday afternoon. An estimated 5,000 participants are expected, Murphy said.
“Now we have everyone’s eyes and ears,” Murphy said of this year’s march. “This highlights that this is our day of independence, I think it’s going to shine a light on the fact that black people were enslaved in American for over 200 years.”
jvillagomez@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @JessicaVillag


chicagotribune--2020-06-19--Mayor Lori Lightfoot rips Chicago Teachers Union’s ‘Scooby-Doo’ tweet as ‘racist’

The tweet , which was unavailable Thursday afternoon , depicted the African American mayor bound with rope , surrounded by @ @ @ @ @ have taken a police officer mask off her head to reveal that the officer is @ @ @ @ @ s a play on the scene at the end of each episode of the Hanna-Barbera @ @ @ @ @ of youngsters would solve the mystery by unmasking a villain to show it was actually @ @ @ @ @ met earlier in the episode .

Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Thursday lambasted as “clearly racist” and “deeply offensive” a tweet by the Chicago Teachers Union depicting an apparent cartoon version of her tied up, wearing a police uniform and being unmasked by the characters from the “Scooby-Doo” TV show.
The tweet, which was unavailable Thursday afternoon, depicted the African American mayor bound with rope, surrounded by the white characters, who have taken a police officer mask off her head to reveal that the officer is actually Lightfoot. It’s a play on the scene at the end of each episode of the Hanna-Barbera cartoon, when the team of youngsters would solve the mystery by unmasking a villain to show it was actually a person they’d met earlier in the episode.
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Lightfoot said she hadn’t seen the tweet but had it described to her. The original image was still available on Instagram Thursday evening.
“Let me say this: If that kind of tweet, which is clearly racist, had been put forward by a right-wing group, we would rightly be denouncing them, and I think our scorn should be no less because it was put out by the CTU,” she said at a morning news conference about repairs to the Lakefront Trail.
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“It’s certainly disappointing when a group that professes to be educators, people who are in our classrooms, teaching our young people, would engage in these kinds of really deeply offensive and disappointing tactics,” Lightfoot added.
In response, CTU spokeswoman Chris Geovanis released a statement pointing out Lightfoot has opposed recent demands from black activists such as defunding the Chicago Police Department, removing police from Chicago Public Schools, establishing Juneteenth as a paid public holiday and establishing a civilian oversight board with the power to investigate and fire police officers.
“To every demand this mayor and this administration has offered a resounding ‘no,‘ ” Geovanis’ statement reads in part.
“It’s striking that so many of those outraged over a meme have little to nothing to say about the nullification of those most responsible for this moment.”
Geovanis said the union empathizes “with our black brothers and sisters who are triggered by any image that reminds us of the violence perpetrated against us in this land over 400 years and counting.”
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As a Twitter furor erupted over the tweet after the CTU posted it on Wednesday night, union Vice President Stacy Davis Gates tweeted, “Miss me with the ‘racist meme.’ Talk about the real issue. The manufacturing of outrage? There’s real real outrage abt real racism & injustice.”
Miss me with the “racist meme.” Talk about the real issue. The manufacturing of outrage? There’s real real outage abt real racism & injustice. — #CTUINC (@stacydavisgates) June 18, 2020
Lightfoot and the CTU have been high-profile political opponents since before the mayor was elected last spring. The union poured money and manpower into backing Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle for mayor, only to see Lightfoot beat her.
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Then the union went out on strike for 11 school days last fall, further eroding the relationship between the organization and the mayor.
When asked Thursday about CTU’s tweet, Preckwinkle said she saw it and “thought it was in poor taste.” Pressed further about whether she’d ask the union’s leadership to remove the tweet, she said she wouldn’t go that far: “What they do is on them.”
Chicago Tribune’s Lisa Donovan contributed.
jebyrne@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @_johnbyrne


chicagotribune--2020-06-19--AMC Theatres unveils plans to reopen during coronavirus; masks optional

AMC said it plans to increase capacity in its theaters in stages .
At first , AMC will only make @ @ @ @ @ in every showtime .
Over time , that will increase to 40 % and then @ @ @ @ @ hopes that it will be able to have half of its auditoriums full by Labor @ @ @ @ @ will be at full capacity by Thanksgiving .
The reopening is taking place as cases @ @ @ @ @ in former epicenters such as New York , but rising in other states such as @ @ @ @

AMC Theatres, the world’s largest exhibitor, has unveiled plans to re-open after coronavirus forced it to close its more than 600 venues in the U.S. for nearly four months.
The company is expected to resume operations in 450 of those locations on July 15 and expects to be almost fully operational by the time that Disney’s “Mulan” debuts on July 24 and Warner Bros.' “Tenet” bows on July 31.
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As part of that process, AMC is reducing its seating capacity in order to help people social distance, it is implementing new cleaning procedures, placing hand-sanitizing stations throughout its theaters and encouraging contact-less and cash-free concessions.
"We didn't rush to reopen," AMC CEO and president Adam Aron said in an interview with Variety. "There were some jurisdictions in some states, such as Georgia and Texas, that allowed people to reopen theaters in mid-May. We opted to remain closed, so we could give the country time to get a better handle on coronavirus. We wanted to use this time to figure out how best to open and how to do so safely."
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AMC’s competitors Regal and Cinemark announced their own plans to resume business earlier this week, targeting a similar mid-July timeframe for when they expect to be fully operational.
The exhibition sector, and particularly AMC, are under pressure to bring customers back to cinemas. Prior to coronavirus there was a great deal of consolidation in the exhibition space, much of it made possible by debt financing. AMC’s decision to acquire rivals such as Odeon Cinemas, UCI Cinemas and Carmike Cinemas left it heavily leveraged with more than $5 billion in debt. In recent filings, AMC acknowledged that the coronavirus pandemic could push it into bankruptcy. Aron expressed confidence that the theater chain would be able to avoid Chapter 11 and would be able to have enough revenue to service its debt obligations.
The closed AMC theaters at Block Thirty Seven on State Street in Chicago are partially bordered up amid the coronavirus pandemic on April 3, 2020. (Abel Uribe/Chicago Tribune/TNS)
"In my heart of hearts, I think we can manage AMC through this crisis," said Aron. "There are no guarantees and nobody knows what coronavirus will look like in the winter or how long it will take to get a vaccine, but I can tell you that we have a very able management team here. We're going to make every effort to make sure that AMC continues to be well positioned as a leader of the movie theater industry."
AMC will not mandate that all guests wear masks, although employees will be required to do so. Nor will AMC perform temperature checks on customers, though it will monitor its employees’ temperatures and have them undergo screenings to check for signs of coronavirus. The situation will be different in states and cities that require residents to wear a mask when they’re in public, but Aron said that AMC was wary of wading into a public health issue that has become politicized.
"We did not want to be drawn into a political controversy," said Aron. "We thought it might be counterproductive if we forced mask wearing on those people who believe strongly that it is not necessary. We think that the vast majority of AMC guests will be wearing masks. When I go to an AMC feature, I will certainly be wearing a mask and leading by example."
AMC will also sell masks for a dollar to guests who forgot to bring one. Both Cinemark and Regal are encouraging guests to wear masks, but not requiring it in states and areas where it is not mandated.
As it worked to establish and implement new procedures, AMC partnered with The Clorox Company, and current and former faculty of Harvard University's School of Public Health. On their advice, the theater chain said that it is going to lean heavily on technological solutions such as deploying electrostatic sprayers, HEPA vacuums and upgraded MERV 13 ventilation filters, which would eliminate airborne particles and reduce the chance that COVID-19 will spread.
Other procedures being implemented include cleaning auditoriums between each showtime and allowing extra time between screenings for disinfection; blocking out every other row of seats to decrease congestion; pushing guests to use online ticketing and kiosks to limit interactions with staff, and designating various points within theaters for one-way foot traffic.
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AMC said it plans to increase capacity in its theaters in stages. At first, AMC will only make available 30% of capacity in every showtime. Over time, that will increase to 40% and then 50% capacity. AMC hopes that it will be able to have half of its auditoriums full by Labor Day and projects that it will be at full capacity by Thanksgiving. The reopening is taking place as cases of coronavirus are falling sharply in former epicenters such as New York, but rising in other states such as Florida and Arizona.
In order to educate theater-goers about the new measures, AMC is participating in an industry-wide marketing push that's been orchestrated by talent agency CAA and overseen by former Imax Entertainment chief Greg Foster. The company is planning its own promotional efforts, as well.
“Tenet,” Christopher Nolan’s sci-fi thriller, had originally hoped to kick off moviegoing when it opened on July 17. Last week, Warner Bros., the studio behind the film, announced that “Tenet” would be delayed until July 31. Aron expressed confidence that “Tenet” won’t be postponed again.
“They tell me they’re holding that date,” he said.


chicagotribune--2020-06-19--State regulators strike deal with ComEd, other utilities to extend help for customers struggling dur

State regulators strike deal with ComEd, other utilities to extend help for customers struggling during pandemic

“ We talk to utility customers every day at CUB , so we know people are hurting and worried about @ @ @ @ @ ” Citizens Utility Board Executive Director David Kolata said in a statement .
“ The @ @ @ @ @ a victory for consumers all over the state .
We hope some of the measures @ @ @ @ @ of security and stability as Illinois begins to recover from the pandemic and economic crisis @ @

Illinois residents struggling to pay their electric, gas and water bills amid job losses and other economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic received additional relief Thursday from the state’s top utility regulator.
The Illinois Commerce Commission unanimously approved an agreement with Commonwealth Edison, Peoples Gas, Nicor and the state’s other large utility companies that extends a moratorium on service disconnections and a suspension of late payments first put in place in March in response to the pandemic.
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Under the agreement approved Thursday, those policies will be extended through Aug. 1 or when all four regions of the state have entered phase four of Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s “Restore Illinois” reopening plan, whichever comes first. Residential and small business customers will get an additional 30-day reprieve.
All four regions are on track to enter phase four June 26.
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Once those policies are lifted, utilities will offer continued assistance for customers who are struggling to pay their bills.
Among other programs, customers experiencing financial hardship will be eligible for service reconnection without fees, and utilities will offer bill assistance programs, including debt forgiveness, to lower-income customers.
Utilities will give customers a longer period to repay debt, and those experiencing financial hardship will not be required to make down payments to enter repayment plans. Customers will be able to report financial hardship to the utilities without being required to provide any written documentation.
“The terms of this agreement acknowledge that families and small businesses across Illinois are hurting and may need additional help managing their utility bills to stay connected once the moratorium on shut-offs is lifted,” ICC Chairman Carrie Zalewski said in a statement.
One of the state’s top consumer advocates, the Citizens Utility Board, applauded the agreement as “one of the most comprehensive COVID-19 utility customer relief measures in the country.”
“We talk to utility customers every day at CUB, so we know people are hurting and worried about paying their utility bills,” Citizens Utility Board Executive Director David Kolata said in a statement. “The approval of these protections is a victory for consumers all over the state. We hope some of the measures begin to provide a sense of security and stability as Illinois begins to recover from the pandemic and economic crisis.”
dpetrella@chicagotribune.com