chicagotribune--2020-06-24--Scattered thundershowers pop up around Chicago, more possible Wednesday evening as temperatures and

Scattered thundershowers pop up around Chicago, more possible Wednesday evening as temperatures and humidity continue to increase

Isolated downpours and lightning storms began developing a little after noon from just south of Evanston north to Waukegan and @ @ @ @ @ and on the West Side , according to the National Weather Service .

A bicyclist heads south on North Lake Shore Drive at East Chicago Avenue in Chicago on June 23, 2020. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)
Isolated thunderstorms popped up Wednesday afternoon in the Chicago area and over Lake Michigan, and the area could see more Wednesday evening, including a slight chance of thunderstorms, as temperatures continue to rise throughout the week.
Temperatures were expected to reach the mid-70s to low 80s with a chance for scattered showers Wednesday afternoon.
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Isolated downpours and lightning storms began developing a little after noon from just south of Evanston north to Waukegan and in the near west suburbs and on the West Side, according to the National Weather Service.
There’s a limited chance of thunderstorms Wednesday night, according to the weather service.
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But, Thursday’s weather should be beautiful, according to weather service meteorologist Gino Izzi. The area is expected to have clear skies and temperatures in the mid-80s.
There is still a chance of rain beginning Thursday night through Saturday, with the possibility of severe storms Friday evening.
Scattered showers and isolated storms today. Turning warm and humid with additional storm chances Friday and Saturday. #inwx #ilwx pic.twitter.com/DCZCEUTzJZ — NWS Chicago (@NWSChicago) June 24, 2020
Humidity will continue to increase across the area Friday, according to the weather service.
“Friday could just be breezy, hot and humid,” Izzi said.
For updates on the forecast, check the Tribune’s weather page.


chicagotribune--2020-06-24--From closed rest areas to drive-thru testing limitations, truck drivers face rough road during coron

From closed rest areas to drive-thru testing limitations, truck drivers face rough road during coronavirus pandemic

Some drivers and truck stop workers wear masks when they are around others and some don ’ t , said @ @ @ @ @ a long-haul driver with JKC Trucking , based in south suburban Summit .
Echols said @ @ @ @ @ many truckers , who are in contact with so many people from all over the @ @ @ @ @ lackadaisical .
”

Truck driver Brenda Echols of JKC Trucking Inc. at Summit Cold Storage in Summit, May 15, 2020. Echols drives between Illinois and Texas. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
Life as a long-haul trucker has always had its challenges — boredom, bad traffic and tough schedules.
But the coronavirus pandemic has added new problems, with closed rest stops and roadside restaurants, along with varying levels of compliance by both drivers and the individuals they encounter when it comes to wearing face masks. Drivers say it can also be tough for for them to get tested for COVID-19.
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With several interstate highways and its location in the nation’s center, Chicago is a major trucking hub. Truck drivers offer a unique perspective on the coronavirus pandemic because they are one of the few groups of essential workers who have been traveling regularly between different regions of the country.
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“We’re supposed to be America’s heroes, essential workers out on the road, but we can’t get anywhere to stop and eat dinner now,” said Bob Easom, 43, who lives in Delaware and drives in the Midwest and along the East Coast.
Even as businesses are starting to reopen, Easom said he still finds closed rest areas, restaurants that are open but have limited hours, and warehouses that take truck deliveries and refuse to let drivers use their restroom facilities.
To make up for the lack of roadside restaurants, Easom said he stocks up his in-truck refrigerator, but “you get tired of eating lunch meat and peanut butter and jelly.”
He carries plastic jugs for when he can’t find an open restroom, a trick that won’t work for female drivers.
Some drivers and truck stop workers wear masks when they are around others and some don’t, said Brenda Echols, 55, a long-haul driver with JKC Trucking, based in south suburban Summit. Echols said it worries her that so many truckers, who are in contact with so many people from all over the country, are so “lackadaisical.”
Echols said she has noticed people in urban areas are more careful than in rural areas about masks and hand sanitizer.
“We’re part of the supply chain that we worry about so much,” said Echols, who drives between Illinois and Texas. “When you have places that aren’t taking it seriously, it can disrupt that.”
Echols, who often delivers food products like eggs, said she always wears a mask and gloves when she gets out of her truck, and JKC requires masks for drivers whenever they’re around people. She recalls going into an Illinois truck stop recently and someone made a show of coughing, to make fun of her.
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“He thought that was funny,” Echols said.
Truck driver Brenda Echols of JKC Trucking Inc. at Summit Cold Storage in Summit, May 15, 2020. Echols drives between Illinois and Texas. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
Easom said he sees a range of mask habits among truckers and warehouse workers — some wear masks, some don’t, and some have them dangling about their necks. He said he sees less mask use in Indiana and Michigan than on the East Coast, and admits that he “hates wearing the damn thing.”
But the isolation of sitting behind the wheel of a truck all day may have an upside when it comes to the health crisis.
Todd Spencer, president and CEO of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, said the trade group has been “genuinely surprised” that more truckers have not been getting the virus.
Spencer said it has become easier for drivers to get personal protective equipment than it was in the beginning of the pandemic, with the Federal Emergency Management Administration distributing face masks. Also, truck stops are selling masks and hand sanitizer.
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The Centers for Disease Control issued special guidelines for long-haul truckers and their employers. It recommends drivers wear cloth face coverings in public when social distancing is difficult, to regularly wipe down high-touch areas of their trucks, like door handles, and make a plan with their employers and families for what to do if they get sick on the road.
The CDC advises trucking companies to provide masks and other personal protective equipment and information on COVID to employees. The federal agency recommends that employers consider drafting non-punitive emergency sick leave policies if sick leave is not offered. The agency also suggests that employers should not require a positive COVID-19 test result or a doctor’s note for sick drivers to validate their illness, qualify for sick leave or return to work.
At the beginning of the pandemic, there were few drive-thru COVID testing sites that could accommodate trucks, making it hard for a driver who got sick on the road to get tested.
More testing sites are allowing truck tractors to come through, but there is a still problem with facilities not taking out-of-area residents, and many truckers are far from home, said Bob Stanton, a Batavia-based long-haul trucker and co-founder of Truckers for a Cause, which focuses on driver health issues.
Stanton, 62, is a Type 2 diabetic on high blood pressure medication who has sleep apnea, and his wife is a Type 1 diabetic. Because of their health concerns, if either got COVID, “it’s probably not going to go well,” Stanton said.
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In late March, when it was apparent how serious the pandemic had become, “we had a long, heart-to-heart talk about whether I should go back to work.” They decided they couldn’t afford for him not to go back on the road.
Stanton noted that because most truck drivers don’t have sick pay, they will work while suffering possible coronavirus symptoms.
“They’re contagious and possibly spreading disease the whole time,” Stanton said.
mwisniewski@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-06-24--Watch live: Gov. J.B. Pritzker announces broadband expansion initiative in Illinois

Gov .
J.B. Pritzker is scheduled to announce a broadband expansion initiative in Illinois at 1:30 p.m. Watch live below @

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chicagotribune--2020-06-24--Lake and Porter counties report no new COVID-19 deaths Wednesday

After trending downward for six weeks , the U.S. caseload has been growing again for over a week , particularly @ @ @ @ @ .
Some 34,700 new cases were reported nationwide Tuesday , according to the count kept @ @ @ @ @ The number was higher than any other day except April 9 and the record-setting date @ @ @ @ @ 36,400 cases were logged .

Both Lake and Porter Counties reported no new COVID-19 deaths Wednesday, according to state figures.
To date, Lake County reported 238 deaths from the virus, while Porter County has had 37 deaths, officials said. Lake County remains Indiana’s second biggest COVID-19 hotspot, after Indianapolis, with over 4,500 confirmed cases, while Porter reported 650 cases, with 559 people recovered. Two remained hospitalized.
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More than 35,000 people were tested to date in Lake County, compared to 8,500 in Porter.
Gary reported an additional death from the virus Tuesday, bringing its total to 56, while the city has seen 769 cases, Mayor Jerome Prince said. The rate of new infections appears to be slowing slightly with less than 10 per day since June 6, he said.
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“This is encouraging, but this is not the time to let our guard down. We have seen serious surges in new cases around the country, and our residents, especially our older family members and neighbors, remain at high risk of contracting the disease,” he said.
Hammond appears to lead with nearly 850 confirmed cases, followed by Dyer, 780; Gary, 769; East Chicago, 464; and Crown Point, 445. Gary leads in deaths, followed by Crown Point, 37; Dyer, 30; Hobart, 21; Hammond, 20; and Munster, 15, according to the Lake County Health Department.
Multiple nursing homes in Lake County have acknowledged COVID-19 deaths, or reported them to the federal government.
Indiana has reported nearly 2,400 official deaths and another 192 who doctors suspect died from the virus.
The Gary Health Department, 1145 W. 5th Ave., continues to offer free testing Tuesdays and Thursdays by appointment. No upfront payments are required, but residents are encouraged to bring insurance information. A doctor’s order is not required.
COVID-19 testing will be offered from 9 a.m to 6 p.m. Thursday to Saturday at the Carrie Gosch Early Learning Center, 4001 Indianapolis Blvd. in East Chicago, the Lake County Health Department said.
Indiana is also offering free COVID-19 testing to anyone at almost 200 sites around the state. Testing locations are listed on the Indiana Department of Health’s website including Methodist Hospitals and an ISDH/Optum test site in Valparaiso.
Elsewhere, the U.S. infection rate shows little sign of slowing down.
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Coronavirus hospitalizations and caseloads hit new highs in over a half-dozen states as signs of the virus’ resurgence mounted, with newly confirmed infections nationwide back near their peak level of two months ago.
After trending downward for six weeks, the U.S. caseload has been growing again for over a week, particularly in the South and West. Some 34,700 new cases were reported nationwide Tuesday, according to the count kept by Johns Hopkins University. The number was higher than any other day except April 9 and the record-setting date of April 24, when 36,400 cases were logged.
While new cases have been declining steadily in early U.S. hot spots such as New York and New Jersey, several other states set single-day case records Tuesday, including Arizona, California, Mississippi, Nevada and Texas. Some of them also broke hospitalization records, as did North Carolina and South Carolina.
The Associated Press contributed.


chicagotribune--2020-06-24--Illinois anti-abortion group sues Pritzker, alleges COVID-19 gathering limits unconstitutional

“ Our request is simple : Equal treatment under the law .
We want to be able to get our @ @ @ @ @ work just like the other advocacy organizations and social causes that the governor has permitted @ @ @ @ @

An Illinois anti-abortion organization alleges in a federal lawsuit that Gov. J.B. Pritzker has unconstitutionally allowed certain groups to disregard the state’s limits on the number of people who can gather together while holding other groups to a different standard.
The lawsuit, filed in Chicago late Tuesday by Illinois Right to Life, seeks a temporary restraining order allowing the organization to gather in groups of more than 10 or 50 people.
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Citing the recent wave of demonstrations that has attracted thousands of people and the exemption given to places of worship, Illinois Rights to Life alleges Pritzker has declined to enforce state rules for some causes and provided leniency for others.
[ Read Illinois Right to Life’s lawsuit vs. Gov. J.B. Pritzker ]
“The governor has said it’s OK for some organizations to gather, to fundraise and to rally support around their cause, but everyone else faces the threat of police enforcement or being shut down,” said Mary Kate Knorr, executive director of Illinois Right to Life.
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“Our request is simple: Equal treatment under the law. We want to be able to get our message out and do our work just like the other advocacy organizations and social causes that the governor has permitted to do so.”
The governor’s office said in response that prior lawsuits against the stay-at-home order haven’t been successful.
“The courts have repeatedly upheld the governor’s executive orders as based on public health guidance,” Pritzker spokeswoman Jordan Abudayyeh said in a statement Wednesday. “The state has never prevented people from exercising their First Amendment rights.”
The Illinois attorney general’s office will handle the case.
On Friday, Illinois enters the fourth phase of the state’s coronavirus reopening plan that allows gatherings of more than 50 people.
The group typically has gatherings of more than 10 or 50 people for training sessions, rallies in public places connected to anti-abortion causes, panel discussions and speaking engagements at schools and churches, the lawsuit said.
Last month, Pritzker faced a spate of legal challenges from Chicago-area churches that challenged the governor’s stay-at-home order that limited the number of people who could gather for in-person religious services.
Chicago Tribune’s Jamie Munks contributed.


chicagotribune--2020-06-24--New street closures for restaurants this week in Andersonville, Little Italy and Edison Park, plus m

New street closures for restaurants this week in Andersonville, Little Italy and Edison Park, plus more outdoor dining in Chinatown

If all things go well , she hopes to close the stretch of Broadway two weekends per month .
Some @ @ @ @ @ paying for seating rentals and barricades , plus the additional labor that goes into setting @ @ @ @ @ looking into other sources of funding to help relieve financial pressures as well as exploring @ @ @ @ @ .
The Chamber is also considering other locations for the program .

After two weekends of street closures around the city, Mayor Lori Lightfoot is expanding her pilot program to create additional outdoor space for restaurants to host diners.
The program, designed to boost business for restaurants reeling due to the coronavirus closures, originally included six areas, but some will be added and others will be altered or eliminated.
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This stretch of Broadway will not close this weekend for outdoor dining as the local Chamber of Commerce reevaluates the program with the aim of reopening it two weekends per month. Meanwhile, new outdoor restaurant seating will be available in Andersonville, Chinatown, Little Italy and Edison Park. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)
In Andersonville, West Balmoral Avenue will be closed on the east side of North Clark Street until the first alley, and on the west side of North Clark Street to Ashland Avenue. The closures begin Wednesday during restaurant operating hours for one week.
In Chinatown, no streets will be closed, but you’ll find tables and seats in the pedestrian walkway in Chinatown Square. Restaurants that have applied for permits include Evergreen Restaurant, Emperor’s Choice Restaurant and Kam Fung Restaurant, and all will have sidewalk seating.
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In Little Italy, West Taylor Street is slated to be closed from South Loomis Street to South Ashland Avenue, starting Friday and ending Sunday. However, restaurant owners on that strip said on Wednesday they were still awaiting final confirmation of the plan from city officials.
In Edison Park, North Oliphant Avenue will be closed from the alley between North Olmsted Avenue and North Northwest Highway to the first alley just north of North Northwest Highway. Closures will run from 4 p.m. Friday to 11 p.m. Sunday every weekend until further notice.This is an expansion of last weekend, where Oliphant was closed only north of Northwest Highway.
“It’s like a block party on each side of Northwest Highway,” said Melissa McIntyre, executive director of the Edison Park Chamber of Commerce, who noted that lights were strung between buildings to add a more festive feeling.
According to a press release from the mayor’s office, the Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection has approved more than 1,000 sidewalk cafe permits and retroactively reduced fees for the permits by 75% for more than 500 businesses that had already paid in full. The city has also approved permits for outdoor dining in more than 30 parking lots.
The six areas originally named in the pilot program included street closures in Chatham on 75th Street, Lakeview on Broadway, Little Village on 26th Street, Near North on Rush Street, Near West Side on Taylor Street, and West Loop on Randolph Street. However, only three areas participated in the last two weekends — Lakeview, Near North and a stretch of South Oakley Street near 24th Street, which was not part of the original proposal.
Although Little Village was originally part of the street closure pilot program, the Little Village Chamber of Commerce, along with both Aldermen George Cardenas and Michael D. Rodriguez, met with affected restaurant owners and ultimately decided that the program was not a good fit for the area. They cited concerns about losing business on days when traffic was blocked. However, some restaurants have applied for outdoor sidewalk cafe permits, including Don Pepe Restaurant, Mi Tierra En La Villita, Las Islas Marias and Osito’s Tap.
Maureen Martino, executive director of the Lakeview East Chamber of Commerce, said Broadway will not be closed to car traffic this coming weekend. In the meantime, the Chamber will collect information from restaurant surveys on what worked, what didn’t, and what improvements can be made going forward.
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If all things go well, she hopes to close the stretch of Broadway two weekends per month. Some participants have had concerns about paying for seating rentals and barricades, plus the additional labor that goes into setting up. She’s looking into other sources of funding to help relieve financial pressures as well as exploring creative solutions for inclement weather. The Chamber is also considering other locations for the program.
“We’re happy with the way things went. We thought it was well done and, of course, all our businesses did very well,” Martino said. “We’re going to see what we might be able to tweak a little bit to make it better for us. ... We’re also looking at if it’s sustainable for (the restaurants) to do it.”
gwong@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-06-24--Man identified after being found fatally shot along with two surviving victims in South Side home

A 20-year-old woman was shot in the leg and taken to St. Bernard Hospital in good condition , police said @ @ @ @ @ was shot went in a private vehicle to Advocate Trinity Medical Center , and his @ @ @ @ @ .

A man who was fatally shot early Wednesday in the Gresham neighborhood on the South Side has been identified, officials said.
Police, who were responding to a call of shots fired around 5 a.m. found Jessie D. Gregory’s body in the living room of a home in the 8000 block of South Stewart Avenue, according to police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office.
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Gregory, 20 and of the 10500 block of South Wentworth Avenue, was pronounced dead on the scene at 5:18 a.m., the medical examiner’s office said. Earlier, police said he was 29.
A 20-year-old woman was shot in the leg and taken to St. Bernard Hospital in good condition, police said. An 18-year-old man who was shot went in a private vehicle to Advocate Trinity Medical Center, and his condition was not yet known.
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The person who called 911 to report the gunfire was with the other victims, but was not in the same room and he was not shot, said Sally Bown, a police spokeswoman.
No arrests have been made.
pfry@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @paigexfry


chicagotribune--2020-06-24--Health department urges self-quarantine after attendee of combined basketball tournament, Black Live

Health department urges self-quarantine after attendee of combined basketball tournament, Black Lives Matter protest in Waukegan develops COVID-19

The park district learned of the event through a Facebook post and after reaching out to the city , the @ @ @ @ @ district ’ s legal advisers , they decided to keep staff away from the event @ @ @ @ @ be damaged or stolen , Lerner said .
The event was peaceful and didn ’ @ @ @ @ @ , Lerner said .

The Lake County Health Department is advising everyone who attended a basketball tournament June 14 in Waukegan to self-quarantine until Sunday after an attendee tested positive for COVID-19.
The “Above the Rim Classic” basketball tournament, which took place 3 to 8:30 p.m. June 14 at what is now Corrine J. Rose Park, billed itself in flyers as “protesting on the court through the sport,” calling on attendees to “pack the park” and asking they wear masks.
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The park, formerly known as Belvidere Park, is a Waukegan Park District facility.
Organizers did not get permission from the park district to host the event and because it was protest, it “wasn’t something you could really stop from happening,” park district Executive Director Jay Lerner said.
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“It was a Black Lives Matter protest that involved basketball,” Lerner said. “Protests have been happening throughout the whole country, and they’re not treated in the same way by the state as other gatherings.”
The park district learned of the event through a Facebook post and after reaching out to the city, the Waukegan Police Department and the district’s legal advisers, they decided to keep staff away from the event and remove anything that could be damaged or stolen, Lerner said. The event was peaceful and didn’t result in any damage, Lerner said.
Basketball courts had reopened to the public in phase 3, which began May 29, Lerner said.
The health department is asking anyone who attended the event to self-quarantine at home until Sunday, to monitor their health and to get tested for the novel coronavirus. Attendees should also limit their contact with others in their home, avoid contact with vulnerable people, and wear a face covering if they leave home to seek testing or medical care.
Symptoms of COVID-19 may appear two to 14 days after exposure to the virus and can include fever, chills, cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, fatigue, muscle or body aches, headaches, loss of taste or smell, sore throat, congestion or runny nose, nausea or vomiting, and diarrhea.
"This pandemic is far from over," said Lake County Health Department Executive Director Mark Pfister. "The virus is still spreading in our communities, and if we let our guard down we could see cases and deaths start to rise again in Lake County."
The health department also recommended anyone who attended any recent protest or demonstration to get tested five to seven days after the event or right away if symptoms develop.
Getting tested too soon after being exposed may not detect the virus, resulting in a false negative test, according to a news release.


chicagotribune--2020-06-24--Lincoln Park Zoo sets public reopening for Monday with Shedd Aquarium and Brookfield Zoo re-starting

Lincoln Park Zoo sets public reopening for Monday with Shedd Aquarium and Brookfield Zoo re-starting on July 1

DuSable Museum of African American History is still assessing the situation .
“ At this time , we have not @ @ @ @ @ as we are still reviewing the various rules and recommendations that will apply , ” @ @ @ @ @ said in a statement .
“ Our reopening will be approached with the health and @ @ @ @ @ visitors as our top priority .
”

Chelsea Gonzalez, 9, right, with sister Abigail,4, and friend Jilliana Tirado, 6, interact with gorillas at Regenstein Center for African Apes at the Lincoln Park Zoo. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune)
After being closed more than 3 months by COVID-19, Chicago’s Lincoln Park Zoo Monday said it will begin a limited reopening for members on Friday and for the general public Monday.
Other major institutions are expected to go public with their own reopening plans soon, including some whose facilities are primarily indoors. This story will be updated as new information comes in.
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The news follows Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot announcing Monday that the city would enter “Phase 4″ of its 5-step re-opening plan Friday, confirming the June 26th possible re-opening date cultural leaders have long understood as the likely date for that transition.
Like restaurants that will be allowed to welcome back indoor diners, museums and zoos will be limited to 25% occupancy with tours limited to 50 people or fewer, city officials said.
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Later Monday, Brookfield Zoo announced that its limited reopening — following guidelines similar to Lincoln Park’s, detailed below --will begin July 1 for members and a week later for the general public.
Shedd Aquarium will be the first of the big indoor institutions to open up again. On Wednesday, the Shedd said it would open to members July 1 and reopen July 3 for the general public. Chicago History Museum is preparing for an early July reopening, as well, while the Illinois Holocaust Museum, in Skokie, set a firm reopening date of July 15.
Exterior of the Kovler Lion House at the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago on Monday, Aug. 27, 2018. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)
At Field Museum, the institution is preparing to reopen in the next several weeks, a spokeswoman said, while a Museum of Science and Industry representative said that museum is looking at a to-be-determined summer reopening.
“We are thrilled that Chicago is moving into Phase 4,” Art Institute of Chicago Executive Director of Public Affairs Kati Murphy said via email. “When we reopen, visitors will feel safe and comfortable while enjoying an experience they expect from the Art Institute. We expect to be ready to open by the end of July.”
DuSable Museum of African American History is still assessing the situation. “At this time, we have not set a firm reopening date as we are still reviewing the various rules and recommendations that will apply,” President and CEO Perrri Irmer said in a statement. “Our reopening will be approached with the health and safety of our employees and visitors as our top priority.”
Lincoln Park’s reopening will be for timed-entry admission only, a major adjustment for the free zoo, which has long just opened its gates and let people in. In order to keep capacity safe and manageable, guests can reserve hourly entry slots via EventBrite or by telephone at 312-742-2000.
The zoo will ask visitors to limit their stay to two hours and to wear a face covering while they are on the grounds of the north side institution. Only the East and West Gates will be open, and indoor habitats will remain closed for the time being.
Pathways will be marked one-way “to facilitate social distancing,” the zoo said in its announcement, and “food and gifts will be available via outdoor, minimum or no-contact transactions.”
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Almost all of the area’s major museums and nature institutions closed in mid-March as a result of the pandemic.
The 1,700-acre Morton Arboretum, the last to close (in early April), was also the first to re-open, welcoming members to outdoor spaces only on June 1 with the general public following two weeks later. Chicago Botanic Garden on June 9 began a similar reopening plan.
This story may be updated as more institutions share their plans.
sajohnson@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @StevenKJohnson


chicagotribune--2020-06-24--Willowbrook teen charged with reckless discharge of a firearm and battery to a police officer

“ It is alleged that the defendant ’ s recklessness endangered his friend ’ s life , ” DuPage County @ @ @ @ @ Berlin said in a statement .
“ Additionally , the allegations that the defendant then @ @ @ @ @ the scene and tried to disarm another deputy I find particularly troubling .
This type @ @ @ @ @ tolerated , and anyone accused of such behavior will quickly find themselves facing serious felony @ @ @

A teenager from Willowbrook has been charged with reckless discharge of a firearm and trying to disarm a police officer who responded after the boy allegedly shot his friend in the chest on accident.
The DuPage County Sheriff’s Office reported officers were sent to an apartment complex at Route 83 and Honeysuckle Rose Lane for a gunshot victim Monday morning. Paramedics took the injured boy to the hospital and he is expected to recover, DuPage County officials said.
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Officers were told a 16-year-old was showing his friend a gun. While the teenager was handling the gun, his mother tried to take it from him, at which point it discharged, striking the victim in the chest, the DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office reported.
As the injured boy was about to be taken to the hospital, the 16-year-old allegedly punched a sheriff’s deputy in the face and placed another sheriff’s deputy in a chokehold from behind and tried to steal his gun, the state’s attorney’s office reported.
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“It is alleged that the defendant’s recklessness endangered his friend’s life,” DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin said in a statement. “Additionally, the allegations that the defendant then physically attacked a deputy at the scene and tried to disarm another deputy I find particularly troubling. This type of behavior will not be tolerated, and anyone accused of such behavior will quickly find themselves facing serious felony charges.”
The suspect has been charged with reckless discharge of a firearm, attempting to disarm a police officer and aggravated battery to a police officer, all felonies.
A judge decided the juvenile should be held in custody at least until his next court date on July 1, according to the state’s attorney.
kfornek@pioneerlocal.com


chicagotribune--2020-06-24--Read Illinois Right to Life’s lawsuit vs. Gov. J.B. Pritzker

A state anti-abortion group alleges in a federal lawsuit that Gov .
J.B. Pritzker has unconstitutionally allowed certain groups to @ @ @ @ @ limits on the number of people who can gather together while holding other groups to @ @ @ @ @ lawsuit , filed late Tuesday by Illinois Right to Life , seeks a temporary restraining @ @ @ @ @ gather in groups of more than 10 or 50 people .
Read more here .

A state anti-abortion group alleges in a federal lawsuit that Gov. J.B. Pritzker has unconstitutionally allowed certain groups to disregard the state’s limits on the number of people who can gather together while holding other groups to a different standard. The lawsuit, filed late Tuesday by Illinois Right to Life, seeks a temporary restraining order allowing the organization to gather in groups of more than 10 or 50 people. Read more here.


chicagotribune--2020-06-24--Remembering the lives of those in Illinois who died from coronavirus

As the number of deaths attributable to COVID-19 ticks upward , the Tribune is working to chronicle those who have @ @ @ @ @ Chicago area or who have connections to our region .
These are some of those @ @

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 COVID-19 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.
If you know of someone or would like to offer a remembrance of someone please share your information here. To file a death notice, go here.
Subscribe to the Chicago Tribune: Our mission is to deliver trusted and meaningful local news. Your support allows us to continue providing the award-winning, watchdog and in-depth journalism our community deserves. Subscribe here.


Aurora standoff

Working from home was already becoming more commonplace , then it became the reality for many non-essential workers who were @ @ @ @ @ result of the COVID-19 pandemic .
The convenience of working from home , however , @ @ @ @ @ live .
WalletHub released a list comparing the work-from-home conditions in all 50 states and @ @ @ @ @ reviewing 12 metrics : share of workers working from home , share of potential telecommuters @ @ @ @ @ , level of cybersecurity , average retail price of electricity , access to low-priced internet @ @ @ @ @ , share of detached housing units , share of homes for sale that have a @ @ @ @ @ feet , share of homes for sale with a swimming pool , and average home @ @ @ @ @ how crowded those homes are .
Using these metrics , each state was given a @ @ @ @ @ and its work environment before being given an overall rank for how good it is @ @ @ @ @ from home .

Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 6 A man is taken into custody outside a home in the 500 block of Bangs Street on June 24, 2020, after a standoff with Aurora police. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)
Aurora police took a man into custody after he barricaded himself in his home, possibly with a firearm, after a report of shots fired in the area June 24, 2020.


chicagotribune--2020-06-24--Aurora police take man barricaded in home into custody after report of shots fired

The Aurora Police Department ’ s Special Response Team and Crisis Negotiators responded to the incident around 2:45 a.m. Police @ @ @ @ @ multiple people inside the residence and additional guns .
However , as the morning went @ @ @ @ @ was only one other person in the house with the man .

A man is taken into custody outside a home in the 500 block of Bangs Street on June 24, 2020, after a standoff with Aurora police. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)
Aurora police took a man into custody after he barricaded himself in his home, possibly with a firearm, after a report of shots fired in the area Wednesday morning on the city’s east side.
After an hourslong standoff, the Aurora police crisis negotiation team made contact with the man after his girlfriend was able to link them on a three-way call. Within 40 minutes, the man peacefully exited the house wearing shorts, a white tank top and smoking a cigarette on the 500 block of Bangs Street.
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Police officers at the scene of a man barricaded in his home on the 500 block of Bangs Street in Aurora on June 24, 2020. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)
Around 2 a.m. Wednesday, police received a call of a man with a gun and shots fired, and that he was breaking out car windows with the gun. When officers arrived, the man had barricaded himself in his home.
The Aurora Police Department’s Special Response Team and Crisis Negotiators responded to the incident around 2:45 a.m. Police received information that there were multiple people inside the residence and additional guns. However, as the morning went on, police determined there was only one other person in the house with the man.
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Officers made announcements for them to leave the house, and around 4:15 a.m. a woman walked out of the house uninjured, police said.
Police tried to get in direct contact with the man for nearly five hours. Just before 9 a.m., negotiations took a positive turn when his girlfriend was able to link negotiators.
“Going into it, we knew the worst possible outcome, and everything we tried to do in the interim is try to slow the situation down and bring it to a peaceful resolution,” Aurora police Chief Kristen Ziman said.
Some homes on the block were evacuated during the incident, police said.


chicagotribune--2020-06-24--A new HBO docuseries about the hunt for the Golden State Killer also recalls an unsolved 1984 Oak Pa

A new HBO docuseries about the hunt for the Golden State Killer also recalls an unsolved 1984 Oak Park murder

Wolff said the production team also talked with people who said they saw Lombardo jogging the night she was killed @ @ @ @ @ who reported similar attacks in the Oak Park area around that same time period .
@ @ @ @ @ do as much research as we could to see if we could advance the case @ @ @ @ @ without the cooperation of the Oak Park P.D.
, our hands were really tied , @ @ @ @

Kathleen Lombardo studied ballet and tap as a young girl, played the piano and worked at an Oak Park bookstore as an honors student at Trinity High School in River Forest.
“She was a sweet person, quiet, a very good student, very honest. She was not someone who would ever lie or steal. She had a strong faith. She felt close to God,” said Christopher Lombardo, one of her four brothers.
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Kathleen Lombardo was 24 years old when she was sexually assaulted and fatally stabbed on Aug. 1, 1984, while out for an evening jog-walk near her Oak Park apartment. Christopher Lombardo said her murder devastated their family, especially his mother, who died five years later.
Lombardo’s killing also had a profound impact on the late true crime writer Michelle McNamara, who was a teenager growing up in Oak Park at the time. She wrote in her book, “I’ll be Gone in the Dark,” that unsolved murders became an obsession when, two days after Lombardo’s murder, she visited the alley where her body was found and spotted pieces of a Walkman she believed was the one Lombardo carried while she walked that night.
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McNamara’s book — about her search for the Golden State Killer, a serial rapist and murderer who terrorized California in the 1970s and 1980s — has been adapted into a six-part docuseries scheduled to premiere at 9 p.m. Sunday on HBO. The second episode, airing July 5, briefly touches on Lombardo’s murder.
McNamara died unexpectedly in April 2016, and people close to her finished her book, which was published in February 2018. A chapter is devoted to her Oak Park upbringing and some investigating she did on the Lombardo murder years after it happened. In 2013, McNamara met with one of the people who discovered Lombardo’s body behind a house in the 100 block of South Wesley Avenue. In her book, she explores a theory that a neighbor killed Lombardo.
Kathleen Lombardo was killed in Oak Park in 1984 at the age of 24. (Courtesy of the Lombardo family/Handout)
Elizabeth Wolff — who directed the second and fifth episodes of the docuseries and serves as a producer — said the production team dug into McNamara’s research of the Lombardo case with hopes headway could be made. “We really went in thinking, how can we pick up the torch and help solve Michelle’s white whale?”
Wolff said she visited Oak Park in April 2018. She contacted Christopher Lombardo in July 2018, and he said he met with the production team three times in the Chicago suburbs. A Chicago attorney, on behalf of Christopher Lombardo and the production team, filed a Freedom of Information Act request in November 2018 to obtain Oak Park police records of the investigation into Lombardo’s murder and the results of any DNA testing in the case.
An attorney for the village denied the request, writing that the “release of the requested records would interfere with the Department’s ability to collect evidence, investigate persons of interest and secure the cooperation of potential witnesses.” The village attorney said the Illinois State Police crime lab accepted “several items for DNA analysis from the Department” in October 2018, and the FBI “has expressed an interest in possibly assisting with the investigation.”
Wolff said the production team also talked with people who said they saw Lombardo jogging the night she was killed and reached out to women who reported similar attacks in the Oak Park area around that same time period. “We really tried to do as much research as we could to see if we could advance the case in any way, but without the cooperation of the Oak Park P.D., our hands were really tied,” Wolff said.
Joe Moran, the acting Oak Park police chief, denied the Tribune’s request for an interview for this story, but said in an emailed statement: “While more than three decades may have passed since Ms. Kathleen Lombardo died at the hands of a yet unknown assailant, the Oak Park Police Department’s determination to find her killer has not (wavered).”
Ronald Surmin, the first Oak Park police detective on the scene that warm Wednesday night in 1984, said he looked into at least 100 tips at the time. The Tribune reported witnesses said they saw a man follow Lombardo just before she was killed. The suspect is described in the police report as a 6-foot-tall Black man with short, curly hair, 25 to 30 years old, wearing a yellow tank top, dark shorts, knee-high socks and a blue bandana around his head.
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There are a few theories about who killed Lombardo, who briefly studied at what is now known as Quincy University in western Illinois and worked as a sales clerk in the fabric department at the Marshall Field’s Loop store.
George Seibel, a former Chicago police homicide detective who founded and ran the Institute for Cold Case Solution at Morton College until his retirement in 2017, believes the person who killed Lombardo also sexually assaulted and fatally stabbed Rita Hopkinson, a 22-year-old medical student, at the CTA’s Austin Blue Line station in 1978. That case is unsolved too.
Seibel proposed the same person is behind a series of reported sexual assaults in nearby forest preserves and along and near Washington Boulevard around the same time period. Lombardo lived with a female roommate in the 300 block of West Washington Boulevard at the time of her death. Seibel has identified a potential suspect he said is already in prison for a 1991 sexual assault.
“Could he have been the same guy that many years later that had done the other crimes? I’m not sure, but what I do know for sure is that everything that I’ve learned in 50 years of working on violent crimes and murders says that the same guy that started this thing in the train station in ’78 absolutely killed Kathleen Lombardo six years later. There’s just not a doubt in my mind,” Seibel said.
In her book, McNamara recounts the night of Lombardo’s murder from the perspective of one of the people who came across her body. The man, who was a teenager hanging out with a group of boys at the time, recalled a neighbor emerging from the alley as they made the discovery. The neighbor said he didn’t have a phone to call the police, avoided looking at Lombardo’s body in a “strange way” and appeared freshly showered after police cars arrived, according to the book. McNamara doesn’t name the neighbor.
Surmin — who left the Oak Park police department in 1988 and now lives in Missouri — told the Tribune this was the first he heard of this neighbor. He took issue with a few points in McNamara’s book, including her claim she discovered pieces of Lombardo’s Walkman.
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Police search an Oak Park alley on Aug. 2, 1984, where the body of Kathleen Lombardo was found. (Ernie Cox Jr. / Chicago Tribune)
“We cut down bushes, weeds, everything around the area, seeing if we could find anything, because we thought maybe the broken part of the knife was still there or something. For me to walk away the next day, leaving the Walkman pieces laying there is ridiculous,” said Surmin, who also challenged McNamara’s assertion that “police debunked a rumor I remember, that witnesses had seen the killer exit the El train and begin following Kathleen.”
He said he’s “100 percent sure” the killer is “from Chicago, not somebody in the neighborhood going out right outside their house and raping and killing somebody.” Christopher Lombardo, who is about 17 months younger than Kathleen, believes the person who killed his sister spotted her from the “L” platform of the Oak Park Green Line station that night.
“There have been any number of possibilities. My mom was not happy with the investigation at the time,” said Dominic Lombardo, the oldest Lombardo brother, who said he last saw his sister when he stopped by Marshall Field’s just weeks before her murder.
Christopher Lombardo said he gave the docuseries team a collection of materials about his sister’s death, including newspaper clippings saved by his late father, also named Dominic, who worked as a history teacher and counselor at Chicago’s Lane Tech College Prep for many years. Much of this information didn’t make the cut for TV. An HBO representative said a companion podcast will expand on stories and themes from the series, but the details are still being worked out.
“I didn’t initiate the project. I understood what they were trying to do all along was to produce a high-quality screen adaptation of Michelle McNamara’s book,” Christopher Lombardo said. “My only hope from this is that in there, somewhere, is included a request that if anyone has information about my sister’s murder, they contact the Cook County state’s attorney’s office or the Oak Park police.”
tswartz@tribpub.com


chicagotribune--2020-06-24--3 people shot, house set on fire, 7 officers hurt as unruly crowd gathers at scene of investigation

3 people shot, house set on fire, 7 officers hurt as unruly crowd gathers at scene of investigation into 2 missing girls in Milwaukee

Police had been to the home earlier Tuesday , as a crowd began to grow .
By mid-afternoon , the @ @ @ @ @ , as some in the group wanted to look for evidence that supported the rumors @ @ @ @ @ Journal Sentinel reported .

MILWAUKEE — Three people were shot, a house was set on fire and seven police officers and a firefighter were injured as a large unruly crowd gathered at the scene of an investigation into two missing teenage girls in Milwaukee.
Police fired tear gas and rubber bullets into the crowd Tuesday night as tensions rose and rumors spread online about the girls, ages 13 and 15. Police said they were investigating whether they were victims of sex trafficking.
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The three people shot weren't shot by police, authorities said. Police Chief Alfonso Morales denounced the unrest as vigilantism and said some people were reacting to information that had not been proven.
“We investigate the information that is given to us. We can’t allow an unruly crowd to determine what that investigation is,” Morales said.
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One of the two girls had been found as of Tuesday night, Morales said.
Police had been to the home earlier Tuesday, as a crowd began to grow. By mid-afternoon, the crowd surged toward the house, as some in the group wanted to look for evidence that supported the rumors of sex trafficking, the Journal Sentinel reported.
Some broke into the house, while others smashed windows and by evening the house was set on fire and the unrest escalated.
Police said two 14-year-old children and a 24-year-old man were shot during the unrest. Their injuries are not believed to be life threatening. Details on the extent of the injuries to the officers and firefighter weren’t immediately known.


chicagotribune--2020-06-23--Cardinal Cupich to ordain seven at Niles church: new priests have ties to Park Ridge, Buffalo Grove,

Cardinal Cupich to ordain seven at Niles church: new priests have ties to Park Ridge, Buffalo Grove, Evanston, Northbrook, Glenview, Mundelein

Meany said he thinks the archdiocese might have chosen the suburban church , rather than the cathedral , because its @ @ @ @ @ distancing , both for the priests on the altar and the worshippers in the pews @ @ @ @ @ plenty of capacity , and after the June 29 ceremony the large , grassy courtyard @ @ @ @ @ the newly-ordained priests to give their first blessings to their family members and friends .

In this file photo from a previous event, Archbishop Blase Cupich gives a homily at a welcome Mass for him at St. John Brebeuf Church in Niles. (Pam DeFiglio, Pioneer Press)
One of the most significant events in the Archdiocese of Chicago’s year is coming to the north suburbs Monday. Cardinal Blase Cupich typically ordains new Catholic priests at Holy Name Cathedral, but this year will do so at St. John Brebeuf Church in Niles.
Seven men, who have prepared for their vocations for years, will become priests at a socially-distanced ceremony. The church will limit attendance to only those invited, but the ceremony will be live-streamed.
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“I’m very pleased. It’s quite an honor to host it,” said Rev. Michael Meany, pastor of St. John Brebeuf, 8305 N. Harlem Ave., Niles.
Meany said he thinks the archdiocese might have chosen the suburban church, rather than the cathedral, because its spacious design allows for social distancing, both for the priests on the altar and the worshippers in the pews. The parking lot has plenty of capacity, and after the June 29 ceremony the large, grassy courtyard will provide a place for the newly-ordained priests to give their first blessings to their family members and friends.
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The ordination had to be re-scheduled from May due to the threat of COVID-19, and Meany said Archdiocese staff, including a doctor, have come to SJB to determine how far apart the cardinal, priest candidates and other celebrants should stand on the altar platform.
“Everything is taped off,” Meany said. “Where they walk, where they stand, where the cardinal will be. They rehearse on Sunday so it’ll be clear.”
The church can hold 1,300 people, but guidelines for reopening permit only 20 percent of capacity, or 260 people. Even after each priest candidate invites their family members and two priest mentors and a select number of Archdiocese personnel, he figures there will be fewer than 260 in attendance. All must wear face coverings, and ushers will also seat attendees in a socially-distanced manner.
The priest candidates range in age from 27 to 52 and hail from Buffalo Grove and Park Ridge as well as from Colombia, Ecuador, Guam and the Philippines. Cardinal Cupich will also ordain a priest for ministry in the Archdiocese of Tabora, Tanzania during this celebration.
“These unprecedented times challenge us, but also are moments of grace that give us hope as these new priests remind us that good shepherds provide leadership and comfort,” said Cardinal Cupich in a news release.
Catholics ordain men as priests through one of the seven sacraments, called holy orders. By ordination, priests receive a wide variety of responsibilities, particularly celebrating the Mass on Sundays, holy days and week days and, according to Catholic belief, granting forgiveness of sins through the sacrament of reconciliation, formerly known as confession.
Priests can also celebrate other sacraments, such as of baptism, matrimony, and anointing of the sick.
Each priest candidate has completed at least six years of human, spiritual, academic and pastoral preparation. This includes an exhaustive study of philosophy, Catholic theology, the history of the Church and more. As part of their seminary education, future priests are assigned to minister at parishes, schools, and hospitals.
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Those to be ordained are as follows.
Larry Josue Basbas, 52, from Agafia Heights, Guam, will have his first assignment at Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Glenview, Ill. He will celebrate his first Mass on Sunday, July 5 at 2:30 p.m. at St. Pascal Parish, 3935 N. Melvina Ave., Chicago.
Arthur Bautista, 29, from Malolos, Bulacan, Philippines, will have his first assignment at Ss. Timothy, Henry, and Margaret Mary Parish in Chicago. He will celebrate his first Mass in English and Tagalog on Sunday, July 5 at 10 a.m. at St. Josaphat Parish, 2311 N. Southport Ave., Chicago.
Ismael Garcia Sainz, 27, from Evanston, will have his first assignment at St. Norbert and Our Lady of the Brook Parish in Northbrook, Ill. He will celebrate his first Mass in Spanish on Tuesday, June 30 at 6 p.m. at the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe, 1170 N. River Rd., Des Plaines.
Patrick Gorman, 42, from Park Ridge, will have his first assignment at St. Alphonsus Parish in Chicago. He will celebrate his first Mass on Monday, June 29 at 5 p.m. at Mary Seat of Wisdom, 920 Granville Ave., Park Ridge.
Vinicio Jiménez, 32, from Olmedo Loja, Ecuador, will have his first assignment at Immaculate Conception and Five Holy Martyrs Parish in Chicago. He will celebrate his first Mass in English and Spanish on Monday, June 29 at 6 p.m. at Santa Maria del Popolo, 116 N. Lake St., Mundelein.
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Henry (Hank) Lyon, 25, from Buffalo Grove, will have his first assignment at St. Emily Parish in Mount Prospect. He will celebrate his first Mass on Tuesday, June 30 at 7 p.m. at St. Juliana, 7201 N. Oketo Ave., Chicago.
Martin Marulanda, 34, from Manizales, Caldas, Colombia, will have his first assignment at Our Lady of Tepeyac, Assumption, and St. Roman Parish in Chicago. He will celebrate his first Mass on Sunday, July 5 at 9:30 a.m. at St. Damian Parish, 5250 155th St., Oak Forest.
Patrick Bergin, 56, from Merna, Ill., will be ordained during this celebration for the Archdiocese of Tabora, Tanzania. Cardinal Cupich will ordain Bergin on behalf of Archbishop Paul R. Ruzoka, who is unable to travel to the United States because of COVID-19 restrictions. Bergin will exercise his priestly ministry in Tabora.


chicagotribune--2020-06-25--Daywatch: Chicago Board of Education keeps CPD contract, Illinois gun permit applications up 500% an

Daywatch: Chicago Board of Education keeps CPD contract, Illinois gun permit applications up 500% and ‘Queertopia’ installation comes to Chicago

Chicago Public Schools is seeking to fire Lincoln Park High School boys head basketball coach Pat Gordon , whose removal @ @ @ @ @ was the start of a messy leadership shake-up .
Half a year after claims of @ @ @ @ @ community and led to the ousting of two well-liked administrators — along with suspensions of @ @ @ @ @ and the boys basketball season — the news that Gordon will face a termination hearing @ @ @ @ @ Tuesday to Lincoln Park families from CPS Network Chief Laura LeMone .

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Good morning, Chicago. Here’s the coronavirus news and other top stories you need to know to start your day.
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Protesters gather in the Loop during a march calling for removal of Chicago police officers from Chicago Public Schools on June 24, 2020. (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune)
A vote by a deeply divided Chicago Board of Education to end its contract with the Chicago Police Department has failed, split along gender lines.
The $33 million agreement pays for police officers who are stationed in schools. Students protested the board vote last year, accusing the district of turning schools into miniature police stations, but the pressure has been even greater following the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
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Paul Hogan, right, warms up as his coach Ryan Nightingale looks on at CrossTown Fitness in Chicago on June 24, 2020. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)
After months with nothing but virtual workouts and, more recently, personal training and outdoor classes, CrossTown Fitness has been getting ready to let people back inside its three Chicago gyms.
There are socially distant workout stations marked on the floor. They’ve stocked up on cleaning supplies to disinfect weights, cardio equipment and frequently touched surfaces, and purchased devices to check temperatures and disinfect shoes upon entering. One trainer made a video offering advice on how to work out in a mask.
A worker shows a customer a gun June 17, 2020, at Maxon Shooter’s Supplies and Indoor Range in Des Plaines. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)
Take your pick. The pandemic, the police killing of George Floyd, the presidential election. Protests, looting, calls to “defund the police.” With a wave of crises crashing across the country, more than 40,000 Illinoisans applied for a gun permit in a little more than two weeks this month, more than 500% over this time last year, according to Illinois State Police.
Lincoln Park High School in Chicago on Jan. 14, 2016. (Jose M. Osorio/Chicago Tribune)
Chicago Public Schools is seeking to fire Lincoln Park High School boys head basketball coach Pat Gordon, whose removal from his post in January was the start of a messy leadership shake-up. Half a year after claims of widespread misconduct rattled the school community and led to the ousting of two well-liked administrators — along with suspensions of several coaches, a dean and the boys basketball season — the news that Gordon will face a termination hearing came in a letter late Tuesday to Lincoln Park families from CPS Network Chief Laura LeMone.
Artist Sam Kirk stands under her art installation Queertopia (transgender) at Pioneer Court along Michigan Ave., in Chicago, Wednesday, June 24, 2020. (Antonio Perez/ Chicago Tribune) (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
Chicago artist Sam Kirk’s art installation celebrating the beauty and joy of the diversity among the LGBTQ community has arrived in her hometown. On Wednesday, Kirk’s “Queertopia” installation, which highlights different faces, races and experiences, was put on display at Pioneer Court plaza at 401 N. Michigan Ave.


chicagotribune--2020-06-25--Brothers at center of Jussie Smollett case claim to end their cooperation with authorities

“ I hope this effort from your office and your clients was worth it because my clients are advising that @ @ @ @ @ or not , they will no longer be cooperating with the prosecution of Mr. Smollett @ @ @ @ @ .

Actor Jussie Smollett leaves the Cook County Jail on March 16, 2022, after he was ordered to be released pending appeal of his conviction and 150-day sentence. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)
A day after claiming they would no longer cooperate with Jussie Smollett’s prosecution, the case’s key witnesses — a pair of bodybuilding brothers who told police they helped the actor stage a hoax hate crime on himself last year — reversed course, saying they would now continue voluntarily working with authorities.
The new developments in the strange Smollett saga stem from a dispute over property police seized in a raid at the brothers’ home in the early stages of the investigation, when Abimbola and Olabinjo Osundairo were treated as suspects rather than witnesses.
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The brothers’ attorney asked for the return of those belongings, including several firearms, ammunition and magazines, but the process became “a paperwork nightmare,” according to a letter from their attorney, Gloria Schmidt Rodriguez, addressed to a Chicago Police Department lawyer.
“I hope this effort from your office and your clients was worth it because my clients are advising that whether they receive their items or not, they will no longer be cooperating with the prosecution of Mr. Smollett,” Schmidt Rodriguez wrote in the letter, dated Wednesday and obtained by the Tribune.
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But by Thursday, a 9 mm handgun that had been missing from a previous inventory inspection had been located, and so the brothers would continue their voluntary cooperation, according to a news release from Schmidt Rodriguez’s office.
Attorneys are scheduled for a hearing before Cook County Judge James Linn on Friday, which could determine what items, if any, will be returned to the brothers from police inventory.
Special prosecutor Dan Webb’s office did not return a request for comment Thursday.
The brothers are top witnesses in the case against Smollett. Their statement to police turned the onetime “Empire” actor from victim to suspect, launching a high-profile case that has seen roller-coaster twists since Smollett was first charged last year.
But even if the Osundairos had stood firm in their opposition to voluntarily testifying — or if they waver again — it might not be a death blow to Smollett’s case. Prosecutors could still have issued subpoenas that would have compelled the brothers to appear in court or face legal consequences. Judges at the Leighton Criminal Court Building have even been known, in extreme circumstances, to keep witnesses in custody to ensure their presence at trial.
“If I’m a lawyer and I say, ‘my guy’s not cooperating,’ what that means is, if you want to talk to them you’ve got to subpoena them,” said K.S. Galhotra, a longtime Cook County public defender now in private practice. “… They’ll walk into the courtroom and testify on the witness stand, but (prosecutors) don’t get to spend six hours in the office going over the prior statements and preparing them for testimony.”
And Cook County is no stranger to recalcitrant witnesses. It is not uncommon for key witnesses who initially cooperated with police to take the stand at trial years later and deny their previous statements or claim they do not remember making them.
When that happens, prosecutors can introduce as evidence a witness’s previous sworn statements — for example, grand jury testimony.
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Brothers Abimbola Osundairo, left, and Olabinjo Osundairo depart after attending a court appearance for Jussie Smollett on Feb. 24, 2020, at the Leighton Criminal Court Building. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)
But while the Osundairos gave sworn testimony before a grand jury in February 2019, that indictment was abruptly dropped the next month, complicating the situation. And they never went before a grand jury on Smollett’s new charges, Schmidt Rodriguez told the Tribune.
That doesn’t necessarily preclude the previous grand jury statements from being introduced to a jury in the new case, Galhotra said.
But even if their previous grand jury transcripts couldn’t be used, the brothers’ statements to police were recorded on video, according to police records. That video also could be played for jurors if the brothers declined to play ball on the witness stand.
But now that the brothers’ handgun has been located, Schmidt Rodriguez said, they intend to remain cooperative.
“Abel and Ola Osundairo continue to stand 100 percent by their earlier statements and testimony about their involvement in the staged attack,” her statement Thursday afternoon read.
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The temporarily missing handgun was not the only concern sources raised with the way Chicago police have handled evidence in the high-profile matter.
For example, the sweatshirt Smollett wore the night of the alleged attack was apparently checked out of the evidence holding area in April 2019 — after Smollett’s first case was dropped — by someone who signed their name as “Sig Nature,” sources familiar with case said.
A special Cook County grand jury indicted Smollett in February on six counts of disorderly conduct alleging he orchestrated a racist and homophobic attack on himself in downtown Chicago in January 2019.
The allegations were similar to charges brought by State’s Attorney Kim Foxx’s office last year. Foxx had recused herself from overseeing the prosecution, revealing she’d had contact with a member of Smollett’s family early in the investigation at the request of Tina Tchen, Michelle Obama’s former chief of staff.
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But in appointing attorney Webb as special prosecutor last year, Cook County Judge Michael Toomin wrote that Foxx botched the recusal by handing the reins to her top deputy. Because the recusal was invalid, the entire process played out without a real prosecutor at the helm, he wrote.
mcrepeau@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-06-25--‘Guns are flying off the shelf.’ Permit applications up more than 500% amid coronavirus pandemic and

‘Guns are flying off the shelf.’ Permit applications up more than 500% amid coronavirus pandemic and George Floyd fallout.

“ It seems like it ’ s something you can do and you think that that is going to have @ @ @ @ @ , ” he said .
“ It ’ s really like a coping strategy .
@ @ @ @ @ coping strategies , do things like overeat or smoke cigarettes or drink alcohol , use @ @ @ @ @ are not going to help but rather hurt them ?

Take your pick. The pandemic, the police killing of George Floyd, the presidential election. Protests, looting, calls to “defund the police.”
Any one of such similar events historically has been enough to push some people off the fence, prompting them to finally buy a gun or add to their collection.
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But with a wave of crises crashing across the country, more than 40,000 Illinoisans applied for a gun permit in a little more than two weeks this month, more than 500% over this time last year, according to Illinois State Police.
Gun sales are soaring at Mark Glavin’s gun shop in Elgin, from an average of 10 a day last year to as many as 200 a day this year. With so many gun purchases, he said, ammunition also can be hard to find.
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“Take a full glass of coronavirus, shake in a shot of riots and another of this defund police notion, and everything goes crazy,” said Glavin, owner of Fox Valley Shooting Range. “Not to mention the backlog on background checks.”
The mandatory 72-hour background check — required by the state before getting a gun — has stretched to more than a week for some of his customers. On Monday, he was still waiting on five backgrounds he submitted on June 16, eight from June 17 and seven from Thursday.
The firearms services bureau of the Illinois State Police is taking an average of 94 business hours — not counting holidays, weekends, the day the gun is purchased, or the day the sale is approved or denied — to process background checks, roughly a day longer than usual, according to state police spokeswoman Beth Hundsdorfer.
The bureau is responsible for issuing firearm owner’s identification cards and concealed carry licenses, as well as conducting background checks for licensed gun dealers when a sale is made. Its work started to pick up in March and has spiked in June, Hundsdorfer said.
From June 1 to June 17, there were more than 42,000 applications for FOID cards, compared with about 7,000 during the same time last year, a 501% increase.
The 42,089 applications over those 17 days come close to the 48,194 applications submitted in the months of December, January and February combined. Applications reached nearly 5,000 on a single day in June.
“We know that traditionally there’s an uptick in gun purchases around elections and major tragedies,” said Noam Ostrander, an associate professor of social work at DePaul University who has worked extensively with victims of gun violence and police brutality in Chicago.
“We saw, certainly, people buying a lot of guns after Barack Obama was elected because people thought, ‘Oh my God, they’re going to take away my guns.’ And we saw a strong rise in gun ownership among Black Americans after (Donald) Trump was elected because there was a witnessing of an emboldening of white supremacist groups and, I think, a fear,” Ostrander said.
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“There’s two big predictors of gun ownership — not sport-type rifle owners — but among new gun owners usually, and that is perceived risk of victimization and then a belief that the world is a dangerous place,” he continued. “And if we dig into that second one, right, the world does look like a dangerous place right now.”
A worker shows a customer a gun June 17, 2020, at Maxon Shooter’s Supplies and Indoor Range in Des Plaines. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)
Dan Eldridge, owner of Maxon Shooter’s Supplies and Range in Des Plaines, said nearly half the customers clamoring for appointments these days appear to be first-time buyers.
“The numbers I saw from the National Shooting Sports Foundation … said 40% of respondents to (store) surveys were new, first-time buyers. And of those, 40% are female — 40% of the 40%,” Eldridge said. “We’re tracking 150% of a typical May in firearms sales ... and that’s with being open by appointment only.”
But those aren’t the numbers he found surprising.
“One stat that jumped out at me was defensive ammunition,” he said. “You have two flavors of ammo, practice — or range — and self-defense, hollow-point, which is much more expensive. We saw May 2020 over May 2019 firearms sales were twice as high and defensive ammunition was 10 times as high.
Juan Contreras loads a new target at Maxon Shooter’s Supplies and Indoor Range in Des Plaines. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)
“I’ll draw the obvious conclusion, which is that the number of new guns that are going into circulation is not as noteworthy,” he continued. “What is significant is a whole lot of people who have firearms for their house or self-defense are saying, ‘I’d better have some ammunition for this thing or it’s not going to do me any good.’”
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‘I have accepted the Second Amendment’
Alexandra Filindra, an associate professor of political science at the University of Illinois at Chicago, said there’s plenty of research and anecdotal evidence to suggest many of those white, first-time gun buyers may consider themselves politically progressive, but any perceived disruption to the status quo may expose underlying reasons to pull the trigger on a gun purchase.
“It’s not so much a security concern, though they may tend to want to misidentify it as fear,” she said. “But typically people who are highly anxious and afraid tend to be more supportive of gun control.”
A 38-year-old man from Dixon — who didn’t want his name used, citing employment reasons — described himself as “a very liberal Democrat” who for decades has been “for most forms of gun control politically.” But since March, he’s been waiting for his first gun permit to arrive so he can keep his family safe, he said.
“My views have recently changed, and I have accepted that the Second Amendment provides for the personal ownership and use of a firearm,” he said in an email. “The recent social unrest of a divisive president, the pandemic and dramatic rise in unemployment, and the more recent social unrest because of the way we police in this country have all been reasons that have prompted my recent application.”
David Lombardo, owner of Safer USA and a concealed carry gun instructor, said he’s had several callers lately who candidly disclosed their political beliefs and asked him for one-on-one training, because “they don’t want anyone to know they’re doing the training, let alone going to buy a firearm.”
“I have seen the emergence of a new class of students seeking training: anti-Second Amendment liberals,” he said.
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Carrie Lightfoot, founder of the popular shooting blog The Well Armed Woman, said there’s nothing hypocritical about changing your views when the world around you is changing. And she’s not surprised women make up a good portion of these new gun buyers.
Women have always understood they are at a disadvantage when it comes to a male aggressor who will likely be taller, heavier and stronger. Now we are “all shaken to our core” by world events, which is why “it is only natural” women are arming themselves, she said.
“I am seeing women come to gun ownership who literally just weeks or months ago were opposed to people owning guns personally,” Lightfoot said. “Sometimes, it is in moments of personal need and through our personal concerns that our life’s context changes.”
Buying a gun is one way of feeling in control, despite the risks and past beliefs, according to Leonard Jason, a professor of community psychology at DePaul University.
“It seems like it’s something you can do and you think that that is going to have an effect on the problem,” he said. “It’s really like a coping strategy. Why do people use unhealthy coping strategies, do things like overeat or smoke cigarettes or drink alcohol, use drugs, do things that are not going to help but rather hurt them?
“We often do things that are not rational,” Jason added. “What we think is right and what we think we should do is not often the same.”
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‘Life as an armed self-protector’
Ostrander, from DePaul, believes more emphasis should be placed on training with all the new buyers. He cited data showing male first-time gun owners are eight times more likely to accidentally shoot themselves than those in gun-free homes.
“If they feel safer having 5 pounds of metal in their home, then at least let’s try to get some basic instruction going. Some standard gun safety,” he said.
Gun shop owners reached by the Tribune also support training and have added instructors and classes to keep up with the new customers, but social distancing and other concerns from the pandemic are making it difficult.
Glavin said he has added an extra shooting range officer at his Elgin shop. Both he and Eldridge, in Des Plaines, said new classes fill as soon as they are announced. With social distancing requirements, they must limit classes to nine students (the instructor makes 10).
Lightfoot, who offers an online instructional video for women starting out, said now more than ever, “diligent research” is required when turning to the internet for instruction.
“The challenges that these new gun owners face is getting the information, education and training that is necessary as they begin their life as an armed self-protector,” she said.
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‘No way of knowing’
The strain is being felt at the 30-person firearms services bureau, where 24 employees process applications for FOID cards and concealed carry permits. Six others work solely on processing background checks required when someone tries to buy a gun.
Nine more employees are scheduled to begin work in July. And the state police intend to hire an additional 20 employees, bringing the total to 59, according to spokeswoman Hundsdorfer.
Even before the recent surge, the state police were facing criticism for delays in processing applications. A lawsuit filed in January accused state police of violating the “fundamental individual rights” of gun owners. The state police acknowledged that at least 10% of applications were taking longer than the legally required 30 days to process.
Then the pandemic hit in March, followed by the fallout from Floyd’s death on May 25. On any given day, about 1,135 new users register on the firearm services bureau website. “On May 31, there were 6,467 new users. On June 1, there were 9,558 new users,” Hundsdorfer said. “On average, the current staff works an extra week in overtime hours every month to address application processing needs.”
The agency also took the unprecedented step of automatically extending for a year all FOID and concealed carry permits up for renewal in 2020, Hundsdorfer said. The goal was to provide “relief from the renewal requirements during the effects of COVID-19 pandemic,” she said.
The extension was announced in mid-April, and Eldridge thought it was a smart idea that would speed things up. But that hasn’t happened, he said. “If you didn’t have a FOID before all this started, you’re not getting a gun.”
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Jim Leckinger, a 58-year-old former naval officer living in Aurora, “had to maintain qualifications on a variety of weapons” during that career but hasn’t handled guns since. In March, he inherited two antique guns from the 1800s, which he took to get cleaned by a gunsmith. He was told he couldn’t get them back — he plans to display them in a shadowbox — until he produces a firearms identification. He has been awaiting approval from state police since March 28.
“I don’t have a lot of interactions with government agencies, but this one has to be the poorest-run organization in Illinois,” he said, noting he’s called three times and emailed the agency twice, trying to get an update. “They are absolutely unresponsive.”
Glavin said his store requested 507 background checks for gun sales between June 1 and June 17. During a similar period last June, he requested 54. When he sells a gun, he can’t hand it over until the buyer clears the background check.
He said since the pandemic began, he’s added shelving and had to invent a new filing system to ensure he gives each customer the correct gun — out of maybe 200 he’s sold in a day. With background checks taking eight or nine days, that’s close to 2,000 guns to keep track of.
Jason, the psychology professor from DePaul, thinks gun sales may remain high for some time because people don’t know when a sense of normalcy will be restored.
“We just have no way of knowing,” he said.
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kdouglas@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @312BreakingNews


chicagotribune--2020-06-25--Deeply divided Chicago Board of Education rejects bid to end contract with CPD, despite weeks of pro

Deeply divided Chicago Board of Education rejects bid to end contract with CPD, despite weeks of protests since police killing of George Floyd

Ald .
Carlos Ramirez-Rosa , 35th , said many of his colleagues who spoke in support of school officers drew @ @ @ @ @ , “ We need to be driven by research .
We need to be driven @ @ @ @ @ evidence says very clearly the impact of police officers in our schools is negative .
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Protesters dance and play music outside Chicago Board of Education President Miguel del Valle's home as a virtual school board meeting takes place on June 24, 2020. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
A vote by a deeply divided Chicago Board of Education to end its contract with the Chicago Police Department has failed, split along gender lines.
The $33 million agreement pays for police officers who are stationed in schools. Students protested the board vote last year, accusing the district of turning schools into miniature police stations, but the pressure has been even greater following the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
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The board was heavily split on the matter, with three members — Elizabeth Todd-Breland, Luisiana Melendez and Amy Rome — voting in favor of ending the police contract, while Board President Miguel del Valle, Vice President Sendhil Revuluri and members Dwayne Truss and Lucino Sotelo voted to keep police in schools.
Despite vocal opposition to having the resource officers in CPS buildings — including from many students, parents and educators — the mayor and schools chief have spoken in favor of maintaining the officers but continuing to give local school councils the choice.
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Currently, 144 officers are assigned in pairs to 72 schools. There are another 48 mobile school officers and 22 sergeants.
The board members who tried to end the contract characterized it as a civil rights issue, citing research on the school-to-prison pipeline and significantly higher rates of police notifications for Black students than for white students.
“I’m a Black mother, I’m a resident of the South Side of Chicago, I’m a former (Local School Council) member, I’m a former high school college counselor and a historian and an education researcher who studies race and education in Chicago. And in all of these roles I am clear that police do not belong in schools,” said Todd-Breland, who presented the motion.
Rome implored the board to take a stand against police brutality, saying, “It’s unacceptable to support a slow and gradual improvement of what is a well-researched and documented history of disproportionate criminalization of Black and brown students in our schools."
Rome said she’s spoken with students who fear officers will put them in the police gang database or, if they are undocumented, report them to immigration authorities.
Wednesday’s decision won’t be the last word on the issue. The police contract the board upheld was due to end in August. Another would have to win board approval for police to be back in schools in the fall, should they reopen.
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CPS Chief of Security Jadine Chou told the board there will be room for changes to any new police contract, with some already underway.
In his rationale for keeping officers in schools, Truss talked about his work with youth along with recent cases of young lives lost to gun violence, naming 3-year-old Mekhi James and 13-year-old Amaria Jones, both killed over Father’s Day weekend.
“My reality is, I live in Austin,” he said, describing his neighborhood as a microcosm of violence where some children feel safer at school than at home. “SROs are needed in the schools that want them.”
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Board Pres. Miguel Del Valle won’t listen to young students in CPS. Why won’t you listen to us?! We’re the ones in the classroom!! #CopsOutCPS #PoliceFreeSchools pic.twitter.com/XoDkoV5gen — #CopsOutCPS #PoliceFreeSchools (@StuStrikeBack) June 24, 2020
Prior to the start of the meeting, about 30 youth, mostly CPS students, showed up outside del Valle’s home.
Around 10:15 a.m., del Valle went outside and told student protesters that he would vote against ending the contract with the Police Department, eliciting boos.
“I’m a CPS student and I believe cops should not be in CPS schools,” someone could be heard calling out on a video of the exchange that was posted on Twitter. “Why won’t you listen to me? Don’t you care about my voice?”
The board motion to end the contract stated the district must “identify ways to holistically support, rather than criminalize, students.” The motion cites a “well-documented history of police misconduct, abuse, violence, and disregard of human dignity and Black life.”
CPS data for last school year show about 37% of police notifications were for Black male students and 23%were for Black female students, though each of those groups only makes up 18% of the student population. In contrast, slightly more than 1% of police notifications were for white female students and 2.5% were for white male students, who each account for 5% to 6% of students.
Chou acknowledged there is still a disproportionate number of police notifications involving Black students, but said the district has been working to eliminate disparities in discipline and the data show CPS is moving in the right direction.
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In early meeting remarks, CPS CEO Janice Jackson reiterated her belief that local school councils are best poised to make decisions about officers in each school.
“I don’t believe that a top-down mandate makes sense in this situation,” Jackson said. “... My personal views on this continue to evolve, but I also want to make sure that we do the right thing.”
Jackson said she welcomes scrutiny into the school resource officer program and pointed to reforms and restorative practices already in place.
The Chicago Teachers Union and others want the $33 million spent on police reallocated entirely to restorative justice and trauma supports, economic development and affordable housing for CPS families.
In comments to the board, CTU President Jesse Sharkey argued that police in schools do not make students safer, but instead criminalize them.
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He asked the board not to “hide behind the rationale” of local school council power, as the contracts are centrally authorized. If the councils were offered the amount of money that goes toward officers and given choices of how to use it, the results would be different, he said.
Also during the meeting’s public comment period, students called in from outside del Valle’s house as he appeared on screen from within. One student led the group in chants, with students repeating each line.
Slogans are written in chalk outside Chicago Board of Education President Miguel del Valle's home, where protesters gathered Wednesday. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
“We are here to demand the defunding of the police,” he said, “To get CPD out of CPS. ... We as a youth don’t feel safe with police in my school. Police are not meant for schools.” When it came time to vote, del Valle said he could still hear the students outside.
Another speaker, Marvin Hunter, the pastor of Grace Memorial Baptist Church, said he’d heard compelling arguments from both sides. Hunter is the great-uncle of Laquan McDonald, the teenager who was shot 16 times and killed by Chicago police Officer Jason Van Dyke, who was later convicted of second-degree murder. Referencing that case, Hunter said police don’t understand children and the use of officers in schools needs to be rethought.
“The truth of the matter is, speaking as a resident of the city ... the optics of having police officers in the schools is not a good look from the perspective of the community,” Hunter told the board. In his community, he said most people have been traumatized in one way or another by police.
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Dian Palmer, of Service Employees International Union Local 73, which represents CPS support staff, said the district was facing a question of moral priority. Board members could end the school-to-prison pipeline by removing police from schools “and listening to the youth who have been organizing and demanding” that change for years, she said.
“Schools are supposed to be a sanctuary for children,” Palmer said. “... Instead they are met with armed police officers. ... Childhood mischief is met with the criminal justice system.”
Since Floyd’s killing, the Minneapolis Board of Education, and school boards in several other U.S. cities, have cut ties with their police departments – a demand Chicago activists have been making for years. In addition to students, parents and educators, an unusually large number of Chicago City Council members spoke at the meeting, for and against the police contract.
Nodding to his prior experience on an LSC, Ald. Nicholas Sposato, 38th, said, “there’s no group better suited to make decisions about school safety” than elected local school councils.
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Ald. Andre Vasquez, 40th, asked what the board’s response would be if a school officer pressed a knee into a student’s neck for nearly nine minutes, and called it a “straw person idea” to argue police need to be in schools in case there was a shooter.
Protesters dance and play music outside the home of Chicago Board of Education President Miguel del Valle. Protesters want CPS to end its contract with Chicago police, but del Valle told them he supports the police contract. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
Pointing out not all CPS schools have officers, Ald. Rossana Rodriguez Sanchez, 33rd, said the schools that do have police presence are among those where children are already the most traumatized.
Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa, 35th, said many of his colleagues who spoke in support of school officers drew from anecdotes, but said, “We need to be driven by research. We need to be driven by evidence, and the evidence says very clearly the impact of police officers in our schools is negative.”
South Side Ald. Roderick Sawyer, 6th, has also submitted a City Council ordinance that would sever the city-school tie.
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hleone@chicagotribune.com