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The Spin: Chicago's lakefront set for limited reopening | Aldermen look to remove CPD from CPS | Lightfoot announces use of force panel
By Chicago Tribune staff
Chicago Tribune |
People use the Lakefront Trail near Belmont Harbor Monday, June 15, 2020, in Chicago. (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune)
Chicago has some new clarity on a return to some additional normalcy after Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced a limited reopening of the city's Lakefront Trail, as well as bars and breweries.
The mayor, meanwhile, announced the members of a new commission aimed at reviewing the Chicago Police Department's use of force policies.
And, a group of Chicago aldermen say they're planning to file an ordinance that would remove police officers from the city's public schools.
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Chicago announces Lakefront Trail set to reopen June 22, bars and breweries on Wednesday
"The city of Chicago continued its slow return to normal on Monday as officials reopened Millennium Park, announced that bars and brewers will be allowed to serve outdoor customers on Wednesday and set the reopening of Chicago's iconic Lakefront Trail for June 22.
"But all three moves will come with restrictions aimed at preventing a resurgence in the coronavirus and could be rolled back if the city sees COVID-19 cases spike down the line.
"The Lakefront Trail will reopen solely for exercise and transit, from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. starting Monday, but residents must 'keep it moving,' either while walking, running, biking or rollerblading on the trail, the mayor's office said in a news release. Beaches and parks east of Lake Shore Drive, however, will remain closed.
"Only half the trail's access points will be open, the mayor's office said, and park security will work with Chicago police and the Office of Emergency Management and Communication to ensure trailgoers are following public health guidelines." Read the Tribune's team coverage here.
* Chicago sues Trump administration over refusal to allow Obamacare special enrollment period amid pandemic — Read Jason Meisner's story here.
* Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot's plan for coronavirus eviction protections advances despite concerns — More from John Byrne here.
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Illinois GOP Chairman Tim Schneider speaks at the Governor's Day rally at the 2017 Illinois State Fair in Springfield. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)
At state GOP's virtual convention, chairman hails Trump as 'man for our time,' and urges using Obama's prescription for victory
The state Republican Party held a virtual convention over the weekend. GOP chairman Tim Schneider declared President Donald Trump as "a man for our time" and said Republicans need to follow former Democratic President Barack Obama's "prescription" for victory: organize, protest and vote.
As the Tribune's Rick Pearson reports: "Republicans, who are in a significant minority in Illinois government, had planned to hold their state convention in Peoria but chose to hold it through digital technology due to restrictions on gatherings as a result of the coronavirus. The party faithful plan to assemble on Sept. 19 to ratify a party platform and rally for the fall."
"'Let us work together. Let us organize. Let us rally and let our voices be heard and get everyone we possibly can to the ballot box in November,' said Schneider, a former Cook County commissioner who was installed as chairman by then-GOP Gov. Bruce Rauner, but like Rauner lost his publicly elected office in 2018." Read the rest of the story here.
The Gold Room at the Congress Hotel in Chicago on Feb. 12, 2020. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)
Gov. J.B. Pritzker cool to hotel industry's push for larger gatherings in next phase of reopening
From the Tribune's Dan Petrella: "Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Monday said he's not ready to embrace a push by the hotel industry to allow meeting rooms and ballrooms to reopen at half capacity when the state moves into the next phase of the governor's reopening plan.
"Hotels and motels have remained open since Pritzker issued his stay-at-home order in March to slow the spread of the new coronavirus. But gatherings are limited to 10 or fewer people under phase three of the governor's 'Restore Illinois' plan, which took effect May 29.
"With the move to phase four — which is on track to take place June 26 in all four regions of the state — the cap on gatherings would increase to 50. Pritzker is expected to release industry-specific guidelines for phase four, which would include limited dine-in service at restaurants and bars, in the coming days." Read the rest of the story here.
Jeanette Taylor, alderman for the 20th Ward, talks with members of the media during a forum in reaction to the proposed site of the Obama Presidential Center in Jackson Park Jan. 28 in Chicago. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)
Aldermen plan to file ordinance seeking removal of police from Chicago Public Schools
"A group of aldermen on Monday announced they would introduce a plan to end the agreement that allows Chicago police officers to work inside Chicago public schools, amid growing calls from activists to stop the practice.
"It remains to be seen whether the ordinance from South Side Ald. Roderick Sawyer, 6th, Ald. Jeanette Taylor, 20th, and Northwest Side Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa, 35th, gains any traction in the City Council." John Byrne has the story.
* Hyde Park Ald. Sophia King is taking over as head of the Chicago City Council's 18-member Progressive Caucus, the group announced Friday.
King replaces Southeast Side Ald. Susan Sadlowski-Garza, 10th, who will have heavier responsibilities helping the city's economy recover from the COVID-19 pandemic in her role as chair of the Workforce Development Committee.
King, 4th, was appointed in 2016 by Mayor Rahm Emanuel to succeed Will Burns, who resigned to take a job with Airbnb. She won a special election, then won a full term last year.
"During this critical moment, we are more committed than ever to combatting the systemic issues of racism and all forms of discrimination, and prioritizing the needs of our most vulnerable communities," King said in a statement. "The next three years will shape our city's future for decades and our caucus is devoted to advancing progressive policy that ensures every Chicagoan has the opportunity to not just survive, but thrive."
A friend of Barack and Michelle Obama, King is married to Alan King, a partner at the Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath law firm and a house music DJ.
The caucus now finds itself in a less confrontational stance toward the mayor's office than under mayors Emanuel and Richard M. Daley. Whereas the members were largely parts of the loyal opposition during those administrations, Mayor Lori Lightfoot has brought some members into the fold.
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Progressive member Ald. Scott Waguespack, 32nd, chairs the powerful Finance Committee, while Sadlowski-Garza helms Workforce Development.
At the same time, a group of six Democratic Socialists within the progressive caucus has taken on a more left-leaning posture, publicly advocating positions such as defunding the Chicago Police Department that are at odds with those of the mayor and some other caucus members. — John Byrne
* Chicago aldermen advance $200,000 settlement for sister of man who died after paramedics didn't treat him — More from Byrne here.
Martesa Lee, a Chicago Transit Authority supervisor, outside of her Chicago home on Tuesday, June 9, 2020. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)
Video shows police gave CTA supervisor a choice: Drop complaint against Chicago officer or face arrest
From the Tribune's Stacy St. Clair: "When CTA supervisor Martesa Lee attempted to lodge a complaint against a Chicago police officer in February, she was given a choice:
"Drop her grievance against the officer she accused of pushing her out of an unmarked crime scene on a Red Line platform or face possible arrest.
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"'Is it worth it to you?' Chicago police Sgt. William Spyker asked her.
"It was.
"Authorities arrested Lee in front of her co-workers and a platform of CTA riders after she informed the sergeant she would not let the matter go. With her hands cuffed behind her back and tears streaming down her face, she refused additional opportunities to retract her grievance and regain her freedom.
"'He pushed me,' she said, again and again.
"The incident, captured on police body camera videos obtained by the Tribune, exemplifies the kind of small, typically undocumented occurrences that can erode community trust in the Chicago Police Department, especially at a time of renewed focus on law enforcement conduct nationally. Critics contend it highlights, yet again, a decades-old 'code of silence' — an unwritten understanding that officers protect one another at all cost — that has led to federal oversight of the department in recent years.
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"In this case, not only did the sergeant immediately dismiss Lee, he had the officer who was the subject of her complaint cuff her." Read the rest of St. Clair's story here.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot makes an announcement during a news conference at City Hall Thursday, June 11, 2020, on how Chicago police officers made popcorn and coffee in U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush's office while nearby businesses were being looted last month. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
Mayor Lori Lightfoot announces committee to review Chicago Police Department use of force policies
From the Tribune's team coverage: "Under pressure from Chicago activists demanding broad changes to how the city polices, Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced a task force to review the Police Department's use of force policies.
"The committee will include residents, students, lawyers, advocates and elected officials, Lightfoot said. Deputy Chief Ernest Cato, a veteran of the department who was a runner-up for the police superintendent job earlier this year, will co-chair the committee alongside activist Arewa Karen Winters, whose great nephew Pierre Loury was killed by police.
"Lightfoot's task force was announced by the city on Monday amid national fallout from the Minneapolis police killing of George Floyd, though the mayor and police Superintendent David Brown said the group was created earlier this year as part of the city's federal consent decree governing Police Department reforms." Read the rest of the story here from Gregory Pratt, Jeremy Gorner and Dan Hinkel.
* Lightfoot says assertion that Chicago cops were asked to protect U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush's office amid unrest is 'simply not true' — More from Gregory Pratt here.
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