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Public health officials in Cook County are serving up COVID-19 vaccines to bar and restaurant workers as the suburbs follow in lockstep with Chicago’s latest round of eased coronavirus restrictions.

Mondays in May will be designated “restaurant days” at the county’s six suburban mass vaccination sites, Cook County Board Presidents Toni Preckwinkle announced Thursday.

Anyone can sign up for an appointment or walk up to the six sites in Tinley Park, Matteson, River Grove, South Holland, Des Plaines or Forest Park. But officials want to vaccinate as many of the “essential heroes” in the hospitality industry as possible with indoor capacity expanding to the lesser of 50% or 100 people per room.

“Restaurant staff people worked tirelessly, even as they were asked to pivot to new roles to meet new demands, even as hours were cut, doors were closed, and their own life livelihoods were in jeopardy,” Preckwinkle said. “Now we’re starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel, and people are returning toward cafes and restaurants for a sense of normal normalcy and camaraderie that we all have craved.”

An estimated 20% of restaurants statewide won’t survive the pandemic, according to Illinois Restaurant Association President Sam Toia, shuttering about 5,000 businesses and leaving more than 100,000 out of work.

“We were the first industry to be shut down, and probably will be one of the last industries to truly reopen and recover. Vaccinations are absolutely crucial to help drive our COVID numbers back down and get our guests back in restaurants,” Toia said.

The restaurant shot push comes as public health officials face their latest challenge in the pandemic with demand for vaccine slowing across Illinois.

“Most individuals who absolutely knew ahead that they wanted the shot have had the chance to get one,” Cook County Health CEO Israel Rocha said. “Now we have to change hearts and minds to encourage individuals who have not yet made the decision to get vaccinated.”

Ashlee Rezin Garcia/Sun-Times file

Almost a third of all Illinois residents are fully vaccinated, and about half have gotten at least one dose, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health, which reported 107,689 more shots went into arms statewide on Wednesday.

But the state is now averaging just 97,434 shots administered per day over the past week — the first time that rate has fallen below 100,000 in a month, and a 27% decrease compared to the all-time high of almost 133,000 the state reported two and a half weeks ago.

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“This will be an uphill climb, but we are committed to doing everything we can to get people vaccinated and remove barriers to access,” Rocha said.

As part of that effort, city officials announced the Chicago State University mass vaccination site is now offering the one-and-done Johnson & Johnson vaccine in its drive-thru facility, no appointments required. Pfizer shots are also available.

Still, “we’re not out of this yet,” Preckwinkle warned.

Brian Rich/Sun-Times file

The state reported 3,394 new cases of the disease Thursday, the most logged in a single day in about two weeks. They were diagnosed among 89,057 tests, raising Illinois average positivity rate to 3.5%. That figure is still down about 20% overall since April 12.

Officials also reported the disease killed 28 more residents, including a Cook County man in his 30s.

More than 1.3 million people have tested positive statewide over the last 13 months, and 21,927 of them have died.

For help finding a vaccination appointment in Chicago, visit zocdoc.com or call (312) 746-4835.

For suburban Cook County sites, visit vaccine.cookcountyil.gov or call (833) 308-1988.

To find providers elsewhere, visit coronavirus.illinois.gov or call (833) 621-1284.

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Three Chicago restaurants are the latest awardees of the distinguished honor of the Michelin star, the tire company announced Thursday.

The West Loop’s Ever (1340 W. Fulton), the South Loop’s Moody Tongue (2515 S. Wabash) and West Town’s Porto (1600 W. Chicago) were added to the list, rounding out the city’s 24 Michelin-starred restaurants.

“Michelin Guide inspectors were honored to commemorate the strength and creativity of Chicago chefs and restaurant teams throughout the past year,” said Gwendal Poullennec, international director of the Michelin Guides, via statement.

Here’s the inspector notes for the three new eateries:

TWO STARS (excellent cooking that is worth a detour):

• Ever: “Chef Curtis Duffy and Michael Muser have triumphantly returned, and now preside over a bespoke room where the chef’s vision of fine dining enchants palates with complex flavors, stirring textures and visual fireworks.”
• Moody Tongue: “Chef Jared Wentworth offers a tasting menu concept housed in the Moody Tongue brewery building. Each course of the seasonal, ingredient-driven menu is paired with an equally creative beer of their own design, seamlessly woven into the kitchen’s compositions.”

ONE STAR (high quality cooking, worth a stop):

• Porto: “Young chef Marcos Campos’ style is anchored by his Spanish heritage and explores the Atlantic coast of Spain and Portugal through its conservas, seafood and specialty rice dishes.”

Michael Muser

Ever’s Duffy and Muser received two Michelin stars in 2014 at the Avenues at The Peninsula Chicago, and three stars the next four years (2015 to 2018) at Grace, which shut down in 2017.

And Campos, Porto’s executive chef and partner with the Bonhomme Hospitality Group, specializes in Mediterranean cuisine.

Alinea in Lincoln Park remains Chicago’s only three-star restaurant. Three of the restaurants starred in Michelin’s last guide, in 2019, closed last year: Band of Bohemia, Blackbird and Everest.

The new selections will be available on the Michelin app, said officials in a statement.

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A former Melrose Park police officer whose late grandfather was a reputed mob boss and whose brother is a former reality TV star pleaded guilty Thursday to his role in a gambling ring once run by a bookie now facing a prison sentence of more than two years.

John Amabile, 33, was charged earlier this month as part of an investigation that also led to charges and prison time for Gregory Paloian, of Elmwood Park.

A third individual, Ramiro Barajas, was also charged Wednesday as part of the same investigation, court records show.

Paloian admitted in January that he ran the ring from 2015 until 2019 in Chicago, Elmwood Park and Melrose Park. But federal authorities have said they “know now that Paloian was running a bookmaking operation as early as 2012 and continuing until shut down by the FBI.”

They also said the ring involved 60 gamblers, and that “a veteran police officer from a local police department” was among Paloian’s “most prolific agents.”

That turned out to be Amabile, who admitted Thursday to violating federal and state gaming statutes.

“Defendant recruited, managed, and supervised gamblers, and supplied them with log-ins and passwords which he acquired from Paloian so they could place wagers upon professional and collegiate sporting events” through a website, according to a plea agreement reached by federal prosecutors and Amabile, and accepted by U.S. District Court Judge Martha Pacold on Thursday.

The illegal gambling operation “accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in wagers, and generated hundreds of thousands of dollars in winnings and losses for the gamblers, the agents and the bookmaker . . . and generated at least $100,000 in gambling proceeds for the defendant,” the agreement stated.

“On a regular basis, defendant met with his gamblers to settle-up, i.e., to pay out winnings and collect losses from them,” the document said. “Defendant shared winnings and losses with Paloian on a 50% basis and routinely spoke with Paloian by phone or text.”

Ashlee Rezin Garcia/Sun-Times

Notably, Amabile’s plea agreement alleges that Paloian maintained the gambling website Unclemicksports.com, drawing the most direct connection yet between the Paloian gambling ring and the one once run by Vincent “Uncle Mick” DelGiudice.

DelGiudice paid more than $10,000 a month for use of that same website, according to an indictment filed early last year. That indictment also named Mettawa Mayor Casey Urlacher as a defendant, though Urlacher was pardoned in January by then-President Donald Trump.

DelGiudice also pleaded guilty in February to running the sports gambling ring.

Although Amabile could face up to five years in prison and a substantial fine, the plea deal mentions six to 12 months as a possible range. The judge is expected to rule in August on Amabile’s sentence.

Amabile, who declined to comment after Thursday’s hearing, also has agreed to forfeit $100,000 which “constitutes proceeds of gambling activity,” court records show.

He resigned from the west suburban police department as the investigation came to light.

Amabile’s father Joseph is a former Melrose Park police lieutenant. Amabile’s uncle James is a former Melrose Park fire lieutenant who was convicted in a mob-related extortion case in 2015, sentenced to six months in prison and released from custody in 2016, according to interviews and records.

Amabile’s brother Joe became a minor celebrity after appearing on “The Bachelorette” and, subsequently, other reality shows.

Amabile’s late grandfather, also named Joseph, was a reputed “crime kingpin in the western suburbs,” and an acolyte of high-ranking hoodlum Sam Battaglia, before his death in 1976, according to interviews and published accounts. The grandfather was convicted of extortion in 1967 and sent to prison, according to his Chicago Sun-Times obituary.

Chicago Sun-Times archive

Over the years, members of the family have donated to political campaigns benefitting Melrose Park Mayor Ronald Serpico — who has presided after a number of scandals and embarrassments within his police department during his many years in office.

In 2017, former Melrose Park police Detective Greg Salvi was sent to prison for a drug-dealing scheme that included stealing narcotics from his department’s evidence room.

In 2013, a motorcycle club started by Melrose Park cops disbanded after a reporter discovered members were wearing patches pledging support for the Outlaws, a notorious biker gang that’s been described as a criminal enterprise by federal authorities.

In 2009, former Melrose Park Police Chief Vito Scavo was convicted in a racketeering and extortion scheme and sent to prison.

Paloian was previously sentenced in 2002 to 41 months in prison for running a mob-connected bookmaking operation. Federal prosecutors also recently revealed that his name was on the prison contact list for imprisoned Cicero mob boss Michael “The Large Guy” Sarno, who had been arguing for compassionate release. A judge denied Sarno’s request earlier this month.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Amarjeet Bhachu wrote in a court filing that “Paloian has regularly sent money to Sarno’s prison account since he was imprisoned; these are no doubt the proceeds of his illegal gambling business.”

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Fans allowed at Bulls, Blackhawks games as Chicago continues to ease restrictions

Sun-Times Media

With two million vaccine doses administered and health metrics improving, Mayor Lori Lightfoot is reopening Chicago a little bit more — this time to let restaurants and theaters serve more patrons and allow fans inside the United Center for the first time since the start of the pandemic.

The new Phase Four rules, effective immediately, allow the Bulls and Blackhawks to close their seasons before roughly 5,250 fans per game — 25% of the United Center’s capacity.

The Blackhawks play at home Thursday and Saturday against the Florida Panthers, then finish their regular-season home schedule with two games in May. The Bulls have a home game Friday, the first of six regular-season games left.

That 25% rule also applies to Wrigley Field, Guaranteed Rate Field and Soldier Field, an increase from the current 20%. The 25% also includes churches, synagogues, mosques and other houses of worship.

Restaurants and bars can increase indoor capacity to 50% or 100 people, whichever is less. The cap had been 50% or 50 people.

Meetings, conferences and conventions held at large indoor venues like McCormick Place now can operate at 25% capacity or 250 people, whichever is less.

Festivals and, what the city calls “general admission outdoor spectator events” get the green light to welcome 15 people for every 1,000 square feet.

The same rules apply to flea markets, which can operate at 25% capacity.

Fran Spielman has the full story here.

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2:41 p.m. Shot, please! Preckwinkle pushes vaccinations for restaurant workers as indoor capacity expands

Public health officials in Cook County are serving up COVID-19 vaccines to bar and restaurant workers as the suburbs follow in lockstep with Chicago’s latest round of eased coronavirus restrictions.

Mondays in May will be designated “restaurant days” at the county’s six suburban mass vaccination sites, Cook County Board Presidents Toni Preckwinkle announced Thursday.

Anyone can sign up for an appointment or walk up to the six sites in Tinley Park, Matteson, River Grove, South Holland, Des Plaines or Forest Park. But officials want to vaccinate as many of the “essential heroes” in the hospitality industry as possible with indoor capacity expanding to the lesser of 50% or 100 people per room.

“Restaurant staff people worked tirelessly, even as they were asked to pivot to new roles to meet new demands, even as hours were cut, doors were closed, and their own life livelihoods were in jeopardy,” Preckwinkle said. “Now we’re starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel, and people are returning toward cafes and restaurants for a sense of normal normalcy and camaraderie that we all have craved.”

An estimated 20% of restaurants statewide won’t survive the pandemic, according to Illinois Restaurant Association President Sam Toia, shuttering about 5,000 businesses and leaving more than 100,000 out of work.

Mitchell Armentrout has the full story here.

1:43 p.m. 23 coronavirus cases, one of them fatal, linked to lunch at warehouse in Naperville, federal safety agency finds

A federal investigation has found that a Naperville warehouse failed to quarantine employees following a COVID-19 outbreak tied to a luncheon that caused nearly two dozen workers to contract the virus, including one who died.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration says Midwest Warehouse and Distribution System Inc. failed to take steps “to identify, inform, isolate and quarantine” exposed employees.

In all, 23 employees tested positive for the coronavirus days after the late October luncheon, including one employee who died of complications on Nov. 4, the agency said in a statement.

The Woodridge-based company faces a fine of $12,288.

David Struett has the full story here.

1:09 p.m. Free rides, pot and savings bonds: Vaccinators get creative

Free beer, pot and doughnuts. Savings bonds. A chance to win an all-terrain vehicle. Places around the U.S. are offering incentives to try to energize the nation’s slowing vaccination drive and get Americans to roll up their sleeves.

These relatively small corporate promotion efforts have been accompanied by more serious and far-reaching attempts by officials in cities such as Detroit, where they’re offering $50 to people who give others a ride to vaccination sites. Chicago is sending specially equipped buses into neighborhoods to deliver vaccines.

Public health officials say the efforts are crucial to reach people who haven’t been immunized yet, whether because they are hesitant or because they have had trouble making an appointment or getting to a vaccination site.

Read the full story here.

12:19 p.m. City contact tracers had access to COVID-19 patient records after quitting or being fired, investigation finds

More than a quarter of the city’s COVID-19 contact tracers who left their jobs as of early this year still had access to patient data for at least a month after their termination, an investigation from the city’s watchdog found.

Inspector General Joe Ferguson’s office investigated Chicago’s contact tracing program, which is run by an organization under contract with the city, and found the Chicago’ Department of Public Health “did not consistently remove terminated users’ access” to a system of tracking COVID-19 patients within seven days, which is a standard.

Of the almost 600 contact tracers hired last year, the report found 50 of those workers had been fired or resigned as of Feb. 15, 2021. While all of the departing workers should have had their access to a system with patient data cut off within 7 days, only 11 had the ability removed. A month later, more than a quarter of those contact tracers were still able to look at patient information, though city officials told investigators they believe none of the ex-employees tried to access records.

COVID-19 contact tracing, which involves interviewing people who test positive for the virus along with anyone they might have infected, is considered an important tool in fighting the pandemic. While the report found that the city’s tracing program, run by Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership and more than 30 community organizations, largely did a good job of protecting privacy and reducing cybersecurity risks, it said some oversight practices can be improved.

Brett Chase has the full story here.

11:45 a.m. US recovery from pandemic recession is showing momentum

Powered by consumers and fueled by government aid, the U.S. economy is achieving a remarkably fast recovery from the recession that ripped through the nation last year on the heels of the coronavirus and cost tens of millions of Americans their jobs and businesses.

The economy grew last quarter at a vigorous 6.4% annual rate, the government said Thursday, and expectations are that the current quarter will be even better. The number of people seeking unemployment aid — a rough reflection of layoffs — last week reached its lowest point since the pandemic struck. And the National Association of Realtors said Thursday that more Americans signed contracts to buy homes in March, reflecting a strong housing market as summer approaches.

Economists say that widespread vaccinations and declining viral cases, the reopening of more businesses, a huge infusion of federal aid and healthy job gains should help sustain steady growth. For 2021 as a whole, they expect the economy to expand around 7%, which would mark the fastest calendar-year growth since 1984.

Read the full story here.

11:09 a.m. 1 in 5 high schools students absent from class, CPS data shows

Almost one in five Chicago Public Schools high schoolers was absent last week regardless of whether they signed up for in-person learning or chose to stay remote, according to district data released Wednesday.

The new attendance figures come as officials celebrate the reopening of all CPS high schools last week, a milestone reached after long negotiations with the teachers union and after 13 months of closures because of COVID-19.

District leaders have said offering in-person classes is the first step to recovering from the pandemic, but they’ll face challenges in the months ahead in reengaging students who haven’t had consistent or quality access to education.

Districtwide, including elementary schools, “we are continuing to see the majority of our students learning virtually, with an overall attendance rate of 89.5%,” Bogdana Chkoumbova, CPS’ chief of school management, said at Wednesday’s virtual Board of Education meeting.

Keeping with trends throughout this school year, Black students and children experiencing homelessness have had the highest absentee rates, largely because those populations have been most impacted by the various barriers to learning during the pandemic.

Nader Issa has the full story here.

10:02 a.m. Fans should still take precautions when attending sporting events

Is it safe to go to big sporting events during the pandemic?

Not yet, but there are ways to make it safer if you go.

“Yelling, chanting, hugging and generally pouring out our sports enthusiasm is still not the safest activity,” noted Jennifer Dowd, associate professor of population health at University of Oxford and chief scientific officer of Dear Pandemic, a website that offers expert opinions.

If you do decide to go to a game, outdoor stadiums are safer than indoor arenas, which won’t be as well ventilated. Venues that limit attendance and require masks are safer as well. Some teams are requiring proof of vaccination or a negative test for the coronavirus.

Once at the stadium, avoid indoor bars, restaurants and box seating, Dowd said. “Spaces that are indoors with lots of people eating and drinking without masks are still among the riskiest,” she said.

Read the full story here.

8:37 a.m. CPS to allow in-person graduations for class of 2021

Large commencements with hundreds of cheering parents, siblings and grandparents might not return for some time, but this year’s 8th graders and high school seniors will be able to take part in more traditional ceremonies than last year.

Both indoor and outdoor graduations and other end-of-year events can be held this spring with some capacity restrictions, Chicago Public Schools officials announced at Wednesday’s virtual Board of Education meeting.

“As we look for ways to honor our graduates after what’s been a very difficult year, the district developed a plan to celebrate graduates while ensuring the safety of each school community,” Bogdana Chkoumbova, CPS’ chief of school management, told the school board.

“Schools will have the option to hold indoor, outdoor or virtual graduation events where students can obtain their diplomas and take pictures in their caps and gowns,” Chkoumbova said. “Graduations can either be social events, where mingling can occur, or spectator events that are ticketed and seated with no mingling.”

Read Nader Issa’s full story here.

7:12 a.m. Outdoor mask guidance echoes what many Americans already do

In the small Nebraska town of Oxford, the school district dropped its mask mandate last month in what was a fairly straight-forward decision: Cases were down dramatically, and it didn’t bother local officials that their move flouted Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines.

Those federal mask guidelines just didn’t seem to fit local conditions well in the town of about 800 people where hardly anyone wears a mask.

“We haven’t paid a whole lot of attention to what is going on at the federal level — mainly what is coming out through the state,” Southern Valley Superintendent Bryce Jorgensen said. “You just can’t compare Chicago to Oxford, Nebraska. Things are just different.”

On Tuesday, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention eased its guidelines on the wearing of masks outdoors, saying fully vaccinated Americans don’t need to cover their faces anymore unless they are in a big crowd of strangers. And those who are unvaccinated can go outside without masks in some situations, too.

For most of the past year, the CDC had been advising Americans to wear masks outdoors if they are within 6 feet of one another.

The decision marked the U.S. government’s latest step toward normalcy, but came as much of the country already had moved on from mask rules. The CDC essentially endorsed what many Americans have already been doing.

Read the full story here.

New cases and vaccination rates

• A total of 3,394 new cases of COVID-19 and 38 additional deaths were reported by Illinois health officials Thursday.
• The latest cases were among 89,057 specimens tested over the last 24 hours, bringing the state’s positivity rate to 4%, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health.
• A total of 107,689 vaccine doses were administered in the state Thursday, health officials said. An average of 97,434 vaccine doses have been administered per day over the last week.
• Since the pandemic began, over 1.3 million people in Illinois have tested positive for COVID-19 and 21,927 have died, officials said.

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Chicago Bears Draft Rumors: Expert analyst hints at major move by Ryan Heckman

There is trouble in paradise. Adam Schefter of ESPN is reporting that Aaron Rodgers is very unhappy with the way things are with the Green Bay Packers and does not want to return. His departure from the NFC North would be a complete miracle. He has tortured the Chicago Bears for many years and not having to deal with that any more would be the greatest thing ever. They have had Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers for about 30 years not so it would be great to see them finally take a break.

The Chicago Bears would love to see Aaron Rodgers leave the Green Bay Packers.

Aaron Rodgers is currently the reigning MVP. A player has never been traded the year after they won the award in the history of the league. This would truly be a monumental shift in the current NFL. The Green Bay Packers are legit Super Bowl contenders with him there but would take a major dip if he wasn’t. Bears fans around the world would love to see it.

A lot of this probably stems from last year’s draft. The Packers literally traded up to select a quarterback named Jordan Love. They went behind Rodgers’ back to make the move as well because the reports are that he had no idea it was happening. Now, about a year later, this story is what is being reported.

It also came on the day of the draft. The early morning reports were that the San Francisco 49ers offered Green Bay a lot to get their all-time great quarterback but the Packers declined. Now, the report makes so much more sense. If Rodgers doesn’t want to be there, it is hard to see him being there.

Reigning MVP Aaron Rodgers is so disgruntled with the Green Bay Packers that he has told some within the organization that he does not want to return to the team, league and team sources told ESPN on Thursday.

More on NFL Live now….

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 29, 2021

There never has been an NFL MVP traded after winning the award in the previous season. The only MVPs not to return to their team in the season after winning the award were Norm Van Brocklin (retired after winning MVP in 1960) and Jim Brown (retired after winning MVP in 1965). https://t.co/hH8kZfuI0A

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 29, 2021

Related Story: There is one QB prospect to avoid at all costs

If the Bears traded up and selected a quarterback, fixed the offensive line a little bit, and Rodgers left the division, all of a sudden the 2021 season is looking much less bleak. This might be an unrealistic thing to happen but it sure sounds possible at this point. As mentioned before, it would be a complete miracle for the Bears.

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Rob Gorodetsky moved to Las Vegas to make something of his life, and he wound up turning himself into a “human meme,” his attorneys said.

He created the larger-than-life “Instagram persona” known as “Big Rob” who bet big, bought flashy cars and jewelry, enjoyed piles of cash and made his way into exclusive events with celebrities and models.

But they said Gorodetsky’s piles of cash never lasted long. He often had to sell the cars immediately. “Big Rob Style” was “a living lie,” they told a judge. And Thursday, U.S. District Judge Elaine Bucklo sentenced the 28-year-old Gorodetsky to 28 months in prison for wire fraud.

“You are very young,” Bucklo noted before handing down the sentence. “But it’s just a massive, massive fraud.”

The sentencing hearing on the 23rd floor of the Dirksen Federal Courthouse made for an ignominious ending for a career that once prompted USA Today to ask, “Is this the future face of sports gambling?”

A lengthy 2017 profile in the newspaper described Gorodetsky as having “emerged as one of the most compelling and controversial, albeit largely unknown, figures in sports.” It said Gorodetsky and his inner circle thought he could go on to be “America’s leading sports bettor.”

But that was before federal prosecutors filed charges against Gorodetsky in January 2020, accusing him of swindling $9.6 million out of a single investor between 2014 and 2018. Though the investor has not been named, he is described in court papers as a successful New Jersey ophthalmologist and the father of a onetime girlfriend of Gorodetsky’s.

Gorodetsky pleaded guilty shortly after the charges were filed. Before he was sentenced Thursday, Gorodetsky spoke to the judge in a voice that was barely audible inside the courtroom. He apologized to the investor he stole from, and he said there was “nothing I can say or do that will ever make it right.”

The feds say Gorodetsky falsely made himself out to be a successful day trader, convincing the investor to hand over $953,000 between February and July 2014 with the understanding that they would share in the profits from the investments Gorodetsky would make. Instead, prosecutors said Gorodetsky invested only $215,000 and put another $747,388 to other use.

And while Gorodetsky told the investor the $953,000 had grown to $2 million, the money Gorodetsky had sunk into an E-Trade account was worth less than $72,000 by July 2014, records show.

Still, Gorodetsky convinced the investor to hand over another $8.74 million between July 2014 and November 2017 for sports wagering. Prosecutors said Gorodetsky used more than $2.2 million of that on travel and entertainment, as well as a Rolls Royce, a Bentley, two Lamborghinis and watch and jewelry purchases in excess of $324,000.

Prosecutors also said Gorodetsky failed to report nearly $7 million between 2014 and 2017. And before he scammed his girlfriend’s father, they said he managed to talk $516,570 out of at least eight other investors between 2011 and 2012, putting $231,500 to his own use and losing the rest in trading.

Defense attorney Chris Gair wrote in a court memo last year that Gorodetsky began his life as an “incredibly shy child” who was introduced to poker in middle school and began to gamble whenever he had the opportunity. USA Today wrote that Gorodetsky went to New Trier High School in Winnetka, and Gair wrote that Gorodetsky was suspended from school “for taking his classmates’ money at poker games and setting up a gambling hall in high school.”

Gair wrote that the USA Today profile turned out to be Gorodetsky’s undoing, prompting investigations by the Nevada Gaming Commission and the FBI.

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English rock band Genesis is returning to the U.S. for their first tour in 14 years.

Phil Collins, Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford announced The Last Domino? Tour on Thursday, which will kick off at Chicago’s United Center on Nov. 15.

Genesis will play two shows in the New York area, at Madison Square Garden in New York City on Dec. 5 and the brand-new UBS Arena on Long Island on Dec. 10.

The 14-date tour will also visit Washington, D.C., Charlotte, Montreal, Toronto, Buffalo, Detroit, Cleveland and Philadelphia. The trek wraps in Boston on Dec. 15.

Tickets for the general public go on sale May 7. See www.genesis-music.com for details.

Collins, Banks and Rutherford were part of Genesis’ blockbuster ’80s lineup that produced hits including “That’s All,” “Invisible Touch” and “In Too Deep.” On the tour, they will be joined by their longtime guitar and bass player Daryl Stuermer and Collins’ son Nic on drums.

Genesis’ last U.S. tour was 2007’s Turn It On Again: The Tour.

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MIAMI — It was billed as the beginning of the end for Nicolas Maduro. With foreign leaders in tow and the world watching, anti-Maduro activists gathered in Colombia in February 2019 with the aim of pushing entire warehouses worth of aid — flown in on U.S. military cargo planes — across the border into Venezuela.

Instead, the humanitarian convoy was violently blocked by security forces loyal to Maduro — the first in a series of miscalculations in the Trump administration’s policy toward Venezuela.

More than two years later, the risky gambit is being questioned by a U.S. government watchdog. A new report by the inspector general at the U.S. Agency for International Development raises doubts about whether the deployment of aid was driven more by the U.S. pursuit of regime change than by technical analysis of needs and the best ways to help struggling Venezuelans.

The findings were published April 16 but have not been previously reported.

The report focuses on the frenzied few months after opposition leader Juan Guaido rose up to challenge Maduro’s rule, quickly winning recognition as Venezuela’s rightful leader by the U.S. and dozens of allies.

As part of that effort, USAID between January and April 2019 spent $2 million to position 368 tons of emergency supplies on the Caribbean island of Curacao and on the Colombia-Venezuela border.

Under Guaido’s orders, the aid was supposed to be delivered into Venezuela in defiance of Maduro, who condemned the effort as a veiled coup attempt. But when an opposition-organized caravan that tried to enter Venezuela was blocked at the border, at least one truck caught fire, destroying $34,000 worth of U.S.-supplied aid.

As media attention turned away and Guaido’s fight to unseat Maduro unraveled in the months that followed, the U.S. assistance was quietly repurposed. In the end, only eight tons ever reached Venezuela, with the remaining 360 tons distributed inside Colombia or shipped to Somalia, the report found.

The report said the U.S. deployment of aid responded in part to the Trump administration’s campaign to pressure Maduro rather than just coming to the aid of struggling Venezuelans.

For example, the assistance was needlessly delivered in giant Air Force C-17 cargo planes instead of cheaper commercial options that were available, the report said. Ready-to-use meals to fight child malnutrition were also sent even though USAID’s own experts had decided the nutritional status of Venezuelan children didn’t warrant its use at the time, investigators said.

To bolster Guaido, USAID — believing U.N. agencies had been co-opted by Maduro — minimized funding to the United Nations even though some U.N. agencies had infrastructure inside Venezuela to distribute the aid. A Venezuelan nonprofit organization, which isn’t identified by name in the report, was awarded funding partly based on its alignment with U.S. foreign policy interests even though doubts persisted about whether it could meet the agency’s legal and financial requirements.

The “directive to pre-position humanitarian commodities was not driven by technical expertise or fully aligned with the humanitarian principles of neutrality, independence and being based on needs assessments,” the report says.

While international aid workers at the time issued similar warnings about the risks of assistance being politicized — the aid convoy in Colombia was preceded by a “Venezuela Live Aid” concert organized by billionaire Richard Branson — the findings of a U.S. agency tasked with auditing how U.S. tax dollars are spent carries additional weight.

The report, which was nearly two years in the making, was prepared to address challenges and “fraud risks” in USAID’s response to the Venezuelan crisis. It contains six recommendations to improve coordination across the sprawling agency — the main vehicle for U.S. foreign assistance — and strengthen controls to avoid politicizing humanitarian action.

A USAID spokesperson said the agency welcomed the report’s findings, which it is implementing, and all efforts to improve the effectiveness of USAID’s work, especially in challenging environments.

Many of the decisions came from the office of then-USAID Administrator Mark Green, according to the report.

“The verbal direction did not establish clear accountability nor did it provide justification for decision-making,” the report said.

A former Trump-era official disputed some of the report’s findings, maintaining that the decision to send the aid on military planes was taken by the White House and State Department over objections from USAID. The former official spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal decision making,

Green, in a statement, said he was proud of USAID’s work to help Venezuelans in desperate need of assistance with bipartisan support from Congress.

“The Venezuelan crisis is one of the largest humanitarian crises in the world under the most challenging conditions where the illegitimate Maduro regime continues to place obstacles that prevent basic necessities for the Venezuelan people,” said Green, who is now president of the Woodrow Wilson Center, a nonpartisan think tank based in Washington. “The Venezuelan crisis is a destabilizing force that impacts the entire region and assistance continues to be needed to help save lives.”

Whatever mistakes were made, the Trump administration’s actions — coinciding with Venezuela’s economic collapse — were key in pushing other governments and humanitarian groups to focus on the country’s plight.

Shortly after Guaido’s aid delivery caravan failed, USAID started quietly working behind the scenes with U.N. agencies, the International Committee of the Red Cross and other groups to get aid into Venezuela, where such goods are frequently distributed at government hospitals and agencies controlled by Maduro.

Those efforts have continued under President Joe Biden and recently saw the announcement that the World Food Program would soon begin distributing meals to 1.5 million Venezuelan children at a time of rising hunger in the oil-rich nation.

Since 2017, the U.S. has provided more than $500 million in humanitarian and development assistance to respond to the humanitarian crisis, much of it to countries like Colombia, Peru and Brazil that have absorbed the largest number of migrants.

___

Joshua Goodman on Twitter: @APJoshGoodman

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Chicago Bears 2021 NFL Draft: 3 bold predictions for draft weekend by Jordan Campbell

General manager Ryan Pace is at his do-or-die threshold, folks. The Chicago Bears are entering a crucial period as the 2021 NFL Draft kicks off.

A lot of rumors continue to fly around today, and one of them remains that Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields could fall to pick seven or later. If Fields does indeed fall, the Bears would have to be the one team to watch out for.

After all, even The Chicago Tribune’s own Brad Biggs is feeling as though the Bears will do everything they can to move up for a quarterback. Tonight could get wild, and the fans are here for it.

All day long, we’re continuing to see the rumblings and reports shuffle through. One of the bigger ones is from senior Pro Football Focus analyst Steve Palazzolo, who tweeted one simple phrase Thursday afternoon.

The national media is starting to pay attention to the Chicago Bears and what they might do.

Keep an eye on the Bears?

— Steve Palazzolo (@PFF_Steve) April 29, 2021

Historically, PFF has not been kind to the Bears. Chicago has been a team they love to hate. But, if Palazzolo is putting his name out there like this in connection with the Bears, then there is much reason to stop and listen.

Chicago is in desperate need of a franchise quarterback, and it appears they may end up with one tonight. The questions are aplenty, though.

If the Bears trade up, with which team are they going to partner? That might depend on Pace’s top target. It also depends upon which quarterbacks last past pick three. We know Trevor Lawrence and Zach Wilson are going 1-2, but the San Francisco 49ers hold a lot of weight with that third overall pick.

After the 49ers make their selection, things could start to go off the rails in a hurry and Pace may need to take a leap of faith. As Biggs had in his final mock draft, Chicago moved up to that fourth pick to take Trey Lance out of North Dakota State.

If it’s not Lance, it’s likely Justin Fields, assuming many of the reports regarding Mac Jones to the 49ers hold true.

Then again, Jones might not be the pick at three — and we’re in for a wild ride.

The one report coming out on Thursday which makes the trade talk even more intriguing is what Ian Rapoport stated about 2022 draft picks. He tweeted out that next year’s picks will be valued like “gold,” insinuating that a team like Chicago may not have to give up as much as we originally thought.

For the Bears to move up into the fourth pick, for example, it would have been assumed that they would need to give up three first-round picks. Now, after Rapoport’s tweet, maybe that value changes.

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Bears Final 7-Round Mock Draft: The pressure is on

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Whatever the case may be, Palazzolo seems to be onto something here. Maybe the Bears are going to shock the world tonight — and hopefully this time, Pace gets it right.

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