The chain that owns the ArcLight Cinemas multiplexes in Lincoln Park and Glenview announced Monday that its theaters, closed for more than a year, will stay shut for good.
“This was not the outcome anyone wanted,” said a statement on the website of parent company Pacific Theatres, “but despite a huge effort that exhausted all potential options, the company does not have a viable way forward.”
ArcLight theaters closed in March 2020, expressing hope at the time that it would welcome back patrons once the country “made it past the current health crisis.” While other movie chains made short-lived attempts at reopening last year, and many now are back in business under the capacity limitations imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic, ArcLight has kept its doors shut nonstop.
It’s the latest blow for movie fans in the Chicago market, where AMC announced the permanent closure of its Navy Pier Imax screen and Cinemark shut down its multiplexes in Evanston and Bloomingdale.
ArcLight also operated six sites in the Los Angeles market as well as locations in Boston and the San Diego and Washington, D.C., areas.
Almost every part of Brandon Hagel’s play this year has blown away expectations. He could easily be one of the NHL’s rookie scoring leaders — if not for his finishing struggles.
But on Monday, he ripped the best shot of his Blackhawks tenure to date at the biggest moment.
Hagel’s overtime winner, which flew past goalie Joonas Korpisalo’s glove as he slid left to right, gave the Hawks a 4-3 win and a series sweep of the Blue Jackets.
“[To] finally get a shooting goal…it’s nice to get it out of the way,” Hagel said. “I know I can score in this league. So [I want to] just build off stuff like that.”
Monday’s win culminated a chaotic deadline day in which the organization executed four trades, creating an emotional environment for the coaching staff and players.
“You’re talking about lives and friendships,” coach Jeremy Colliton said. “Those are the guys you go to war with, and then all of a sudden, they’re not there. It’s a tough day. And it’s tough to play a game on that day. Our guys did a really good job of understanding that, while it’s hard, [we needed to] find a way to…win important points.”
It proved to be a chaotic game, too.
On defense, Adam Boqvist left in the first period after taking a puck to the face and did not return due to concussion symptoms — a massive blow for Boqvist and the Hawks moving forward.
Nikita Zadorov was healthy scratched in favor of Riley Stillman, who made his Hawks debut. And Calvin de Haan played despite leaving Saturday’s game with a hip pointer, then tweaked his injury again midgame and “struggled with his mobility” the rest of the night.
“He gutted it out,” Colliton said. “He was in a tough spot and we needed those minutes.”
On the forward end, Brett Connolly also made his Hawks debut and scored a crucial third-period goal that briefly gave his new team the lead.
The Hawks rallied from 1-0 and 2-1 deficits via Duncan Keith and Phillipp Kurashev tallies, then saw their own 3-2 advantage equalized by a Patrik Laine wondergoal before finally prevailing in overtime.
Did Chicago’s embattled “Windy City Rehab” host Alison Victoria clinch her second consecutive win on tonight’s finale of the HGTV series “Rock the Block?”
We’ll reveal all in a bit, but here’s a look at what happened this season and on tonight’s finale hosted by Ty Pennington.
The four teams — consisting of Alison Victoria and her teammate, Ontario-based general contractor Mike Holmes (“Holmes on Homes”), Nate Berkus and Jeremiah Brent (“Nate and Jeremiah: Save My House”), David Bromstad (“My Lottery Dream Home”) and Tiffany Brooks (“50K Three Ways”) and Brian and Mika Kleinschmidt (“100 Day Dream Home) — had six weeks to add the most value to each of four identical homes on a $225,000 budget. The winners receive the chance to name the block and brag about it until next season.
Victoria and Holmes won two of this season’s five challenges, knocking it out of the park when it came to kitchen/dining rooms. In week two, the first floor living spaces were on the line and Bromstad and Brooks emerged victorious. In week three, the competition focused on upstairs main bedroom and bathroom, and Victoria and Holmes won again. Berkus and Brent won the basement challenge in week four, turning the space into a separate dwelling/in-laws suite complete with kitchen, bathroom, main bedroom and bathroom. In week five, Berkus and Brent were the champs once again (the judges loved the three-season porch and the close attention to detail of the designers’ work).
Tonight, three judges arrived to give each home their professional once-over. It also marked the first time the teams got to tour their competitions’ homes. In addition, each team got to use up whatever remaining funds they had in their budgets to give the homes any added oomph they could to sway the judges’ votes.
Three judges were on tap for the finale: former “Rock the Block” champ and host of “Help! I Wrecked My House” Jasmine Roth; realtors Ken and Anita Corsini of “Flip or Flop: Atlanta,” who are also the builders of the homes and will be selling them when the show is over.
Warning: Spoilers ahead!
Brian and Mika Kleinschmidt decided to spend their remaining $10,000 on a home fitness center, with a glass garage door and artificial turf. They extended the backyard deck to the indoor gym to make a seamless transition. “No matter what, as far as I’m concerned, it’s our street,” Brian declared.
Berkus and Brent took their $5,000 bonus from last week to create a home theater room in the basement. (And, for some levity, Berkus showed up sporting an identical set of sweats and jacket to those of Bromstad.) “This has been the hardest thing I’ve ever done,” Berkus muses.
Victoria and Holmes had $8,300 left in their budget. The opted for a backup generator for “peace of mind” and “to make the home the healthiest and safest on the block,” Holmes said. Energy recover and replenishing air filtration system in the attic. “What [these items] add in value is so important,” Victoria said. “I love our house. I would live in our house,” Victoria said at one point.
Bromstad and Brooks opted for adding an additional bathroom, but ran into a huge obstacle when they removed wallpaper and stripped away the wall behind it, realizing they had no color paint left and no money left for labor to help them. They jumped right in to prime and paint. And they were happy with the results. They also zhooshed up the family room.
The results?
— House Berkus/Brent: The judges were wowed by the front porch; loved the kitchen island (“exquisite” countertops) and pass-through with its wood countertops with inset leather); loved the brickwork on all four sides of the exteriors; did not like the curtain wall in the main bedroom; loved the home theater; and they were amazed by the full in-law suite in the basement.
— House Victoria/Holmes: judges were chomping at the bit to see the “Alison-designed kitchen” — and they were blown away; admired the flow of the kitchen, dining room and living room and loved the brick feature in the kitchen; the wood wall and ceiling in the main bedroom impressed, as did the massive closet; loved the tile and attention to detail (“two words: ombre tile!”), but wondered if all the work was going to translate to value; lamented the missing outdoor staircase connecting the deck to the patio; putting green limited the use of the backyard.
–House Bromstad/Brooks: judges were wowed from the entryway (“they went bold!”); loved the first-floor bedroom and on-suite; the kitchen was called “a statement” and loved the view of the lake from the sink; loved the mudroom and reading nook; did not think there was enough closet space; main bath seemed “cramped”; did not like their lack of use of outdoor space.
— House Kleinschmidt: judges liked the open and traditional look of the entryway andthe first floor home office/bedroom option, though the lack of a first-floor full bath puzzled them; the kitchen floored all three judges, especially the two dishwashers; the electric fireplace was a plus; they were amazed by the deck pergola that operated by voice command; the main upstairs bedroom and on-suite blew them away as did the adjacent laundry room; the bowling alley/game room though a huge wow factor, proved to be a huge con in terms of return on the dollars spent; the fitness room was a “smart use of space.”
The winners?
In the end, the Kleinschmidt’s slow-and-steady, family-friendly design won over the judges and the whole competition, even thought the team did not win a single individual challenge over the course of the series. Roth and the Corsinis felt the two used their money well to make upgrades that truly added value — not just great design or materials. By connecting the deck, patio and home gym, the duo made the home more functional. Even though the bowling alley was tough to appraise, it didn’t take away from the value added elsewhere. The home’s appraised value: $625,000.
Welcome to the newly named Kleinschmidt Way!
“I swear, I’m saying it right here,” Victoria said, laughing. “I’m never doing this show again.”
Since the trade deadline changed the roster and Donovan finally settled on a starting unit, the results in that opening quarter have been better. That’s why Donovan wants to stay the course with the group for now.
The sample size is still small for Billy Donovan, but the Bulls coach isn’t just relying on the analytics in his decision-making process.
He’s relying on what he’s seen.
That’s why for now the current starting lineup will remain the current starting lineup, even with some shaky moments by the group since the roster was completely altered at the Mar. 25 trade deadline.
“One of the things we try and do is after like every 10 games maybe sit down and look at the analytical reports, and I know with this group it’s been maybe somewhat of a small sample size because there haven’t been a lot of games, but actually that lineup has not been bad starting,’’ Donovan said on Monday. “It’s been OK. … I don’t feel like we’re getting out to these starts where we’re digging ourselves out of holes.’’
He actually has a point, even with a handful of bad losses for this starting lineup.
The lineup was actually short-handed the first few games in which Nikola Vucevic was made the new man in the middle, that’s why there was a 33-20 first-quarter deficit in San Antonio and then a 34-29 deficit at Golden State.
Zach LaVine missed the game against the Suns, but that first-quarter deficit was just two, 39-37.
With LaVine back in the starting lineup against Utah, the first-quarter deficit was just 26-25 and then 28-25 against the Nets – a game the Bulls eventually won.
Against the Pacers, Raptors and Hawks, however, the starting unit built first-quarter leads, averaging 32 points per game in that stanza, while allowing 26.7 points.
Has it been perfect?
Absolutely not, but it’s definitely been sturdier than some of the holes the previous starting rotations put Donovan & Co. in before the changes were made.
“Maybe like a little bit earlier in the year, we obviously got hit with some injuries and some guys out, but once we came out of the All-Star Break I think that was the time we made a lineup change,’’ Donovan said. “I don’t feel that’s the case right now just looking at some of the numbers and just watching us play.’’
Temple run
Veteran Garrett Temple has now missed eight game was an injured hamstring, but there was at least some good news for the guard.
The major obstacle that was holding him back was his inability to get in some straight-ahead running and sprinting pain-free, and he cleared that the last few days. What Donovan wants to now see is how he holds up in a few contact practices, which will come this week.
“The hard part for him is just because the four games in five nights, we’ve had very, very limited contact – we’ve had no contact – he needs some contact before we take another step,’’ Donovan said.
Closing time
Forward Troy Brown Jr. doesn’t know how many closing opportunities he’ll get the remaining 19 games, and that’s why getting that shot in the loss to the Timberwolves meant so much.
Acquired in the three-way deal with the Wizards and Boston, Brown is seeing his stock rise, which included his first impactful moment with his new team, scoring 15 points and grabbing seven rebounds in 22 minutes of work.
“I’m just trying to make the most out of my minutes,’’ Brown said. “It’s very cool that the Bulls took a chance on me. I’m just trying to work my butt off, make some shots, just making an impact on the game, all the little stuff. The shots will come. But I’m not really worried about those at the end of the day.’’
White Sox slugger Jose Abreu led the team last season with an average exit velocity of 92.9 mph. | Steph Chambers/Getty Images
Averages rise when batted balls’ velocity breaks 90 mph.
Almost anything new brings a learning curve. Baseball metrics are no different as fans try to put the information they’re given into context.
So it goes with exit velocities.
Last year for the White Sox, Jose Abreu (92.9), Eloy Jimenez (92.4), Nomar Mazara (91), James McCann (90.5) and Yasmani Grandal (90.1) had average exit velocities that topped 90. Hardest-hit balls were by Luis Robert (115.8) and Abreu (114).
Kyle Schwarber led Cubs hitters with an average exit velocity of 92.8 mph, while David Bote (92.4) and Ian Happ (91.1) also exceeded 90. Schwarber (114.9), Anthony Rizzo (114.5) and Willson Contreras (114.1) exceeded 114 mph on their hardest-hit balls.
It’s too early for 2021 data to have much meaning, but through Sunday, Robert led the Sox with a 92.6 average exit velocity, and Javy Baez topped the Cubs at 91.6.
For that to be more than trivia, we need context. Do higher exit velocities translate into greater chances of success at the plate? How hard does a ball have to be hit?
For that, we can turn to a table at Baseball Savant, https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/statcast_hit_probability?year=2020&type=ev
With year-by-year data starting in 2015, Baseball Savant’s information pairs exit velocities with measures that include batting averages and weighted on-base averages. In wOBA, offensive events are weighted according to their average impact on scoring. Average wOBAs have hovered around .320 in recent years.
In 2020, the Sox’ wOBA was .334, with Abreu 10th in MLB at .411. The Cubs were at .309, with Happ leading at .369.
Higher exit velocities have higher BAs and wOBAs than lower velocities. Some soft-hit balls go for base hits, of course. One 2020 hit exited at all of 13 mph.
Averages climb rapidly when exit velocities surpass 90 mph. In 2020, averages were .213 BA and .226 wOBA at 91 mph, then .248/.254 at 92, .253/.274 at 93, .283/.306 at 94 and .285/.319 at 95.
At 96 mph, numbers started to resemble star caliber at .316/.363. Average wOBA surpassed .400 with an Abreu-like .415 to go with a .353 BA at 97.
From there, the sky was the limit, with 100 mph bringing .451/.599. The top exit velocity with more than 100 fair balls plus foul balls resulting in either a putout or error was 111, with an astronomical .784 BA and 1.108 wOBA.
Data from other seasons tell similar stories. Hitters generate average production as they surpass the low 90s, then produce at star level from the mid-90s on up.
Exit velocities also equate to home-run probability. No home run was hit at less than 87 mph last season. The lowest exit velocity at which more than 10% of batted balls were home runs was 100, with 11.2%. At levels with at least 100 batted balls, home runs exceeded 30% at 111 (32.5), 112 (31.1), 113 (32.5) and 114 (31.1).
Fans will get used to hearing velocities instead of “hard hit,” but until it becomes second nature, understand that production doesn’t reach star level until about the mid-90s.
“We’re not going to win the World Series now,” closer Liam Hendriks said. “Let’s stop talking about it. Let’s just figure out how to win, let’s figure out how to win April.”
The White Sox are struggling with runners in scoring position, their highly touted bullpen has four blown saves and they are tied for first in the AL with nine errors.
Other than that, everything was fine through their first nine games heading into a four-game series with the AL Central rival Indians at Guaranteed Rate Field.
Are they as advertised? As self-advertised?
You know, all that World Series talk and whatnot.
They say it’s much too soon to surrender, and of course they are right.
“We need to be realistic here. We have played nine games,” Jose Abreu said through translator Billy Russo Monday morning.
Perhaps the Sox talked themselves up too much. But who can blame them? They weren’t the only ones talking, and the soaring confidence wasn’t viewed as a bad thing. Oddsmakers and national media also chimed in with love for the Sox.
A 4-5 start has not doomed them, but it served as a reality check. Perhaps it’s time to tap the brakes.
“We need to go back to square one as a group and take it game by game,” closer Liam Hendriks said Monday. “We’re not going to win the World Series now. Let’s stop talking about it. Let’s just figure out how to win, let’s figure out how to win April, figure out how to win this series [against the Indians]. And let’s go to war.”
There is this: The Sox are playing without the slugger some thought would carry them even more than Abreu — Eloy Jimenez. And Tim Anderson, expected to come off the injured list Thursday, has been missed. Those are two Silver Slugger Award winnings. And a team that in recent years swung too freely is showing more patience and was tied for first in the major leagues with the Dodgers (who played one more game) with 50 walks and was first in the AL with with a .354 on-base percentage.
Yermin Mercedes’ unexpected monster start helped, but “we are definitely missing Eloy’s bat in our lineup. That’s not a secret,” Abreu said.
“The things that Eloy can do with his bat not everyone can do. Even though we have a talented group of young kids, it’s not easy for them to fill that void.”
Abreu, the reigning MVP who led the AL in RBI the last two seasons, has hit two grand slams but said he has left six or seven runs on the bases by not coming through. In their previous seven games the Sox batting .205 with runners in scoring position.
Hendriks, signed for $54 million in the offseason, blew a save against the Royals Sunday after Adam Eaton dramatically homered in the bottom of the eighth to give the Sox a lead.
The Sox goal remains the World Series, Hendriks said, and it’s imperative that they envision it happening, and believe that it can happen.
“You envision winning a ring, you envision doing all these things, but in the same sense, you’ve got to remember the small things that come into the day to day life of being a baseballer,” Hendriks said.
Focus on the day to day things like routine, batting practice swings, pitchers’ flat-ground throwing sessions, Hendriks said, and make it become second nature.
“Once July and August come, all that sort of stuff hits and then you’re rolling all the way to the playoffs,” he said.
If the Sox and their fans should know by know, manager Tony La Russa isn’t going to knock his players in public. He has downplayed the bullpen’s failures and defending the defense.
He said he agrees with Hendriks’ take on living in the now. He sees his players pressing a bit.
“I actually think that some of the executions are not quite what they have to be because they’re trying too hard,” he said. “And I applaud that.
“The guys want it, and trying too hard is an early issue that’s a healthy one.”
Chicago Teachers Union President Jesse Sharkey | Tyler LaRiviere/Sun-Times file
High school teachers and staff returned to in-person work Monday but could revert to remote teaching this week if a deal isn’t reached with CPS.
Chicago Public Schools officials say they are “firmly committed” to reopening high schools next week for the first time during the pandemic despite a plan by the Chicago Teachers Union to have high school teachers and staff work remotely Wednesday in an attempt to pressure the district into a reopening agreement.
The district has held “productive discussions with CTU leadership to ensure a smooth transition back for our students and staff,” and the two sides are working to reach an agreement “as soon as possible,” CPS CEO Janice Jackson and the district’s education chief, LaTanya McDade, wrote in a letter to high school families Monday.
“Over the weekend we made progress on a number of areas and have general alignment on topics including the scheduling models schools will use and safety protocols to keep students and staff safe in high school buildings,” they wrote.
“We have also agreed that high school staff will be able to work [remotely] on Wednesdays, which is a remote day for all students, and we will work to support vaccinations for students when they are eligible and doses are available.”
The union’s House of Delegates, however, “told the leadership of the CTU in no uncertain terms that we’re not simply reopening schools without more progress at the bargaining table and without a return agreement in high schools,” CTU President Jesse Sharkey said during a virtual news conference Monday.
“We’re asking for some basic safeguards and some reassurances that we’re not pouring gasoline onto a fire, that we’re not making an unsafe situation worse,” Sharkey said.
“We expect to see progress at the table. … If we do not see that, the members of the CTU are not going back into buildings under those conditions.”
Asked if the potential walkout would extend past Wednesday, Sharkey said the union would hold another meeting this week to discuss the latest bargaining updates and figure out what to do moving forward.
A CTU document sent to members over the weekend shows progress has been made on several key issues.
In response to the union’s demand for a student vaccine program, the district plans to create a student and family vaccination plan by the end of the school year, according to the CTU document. All staff have been eligible for vaccines since late January.
CPS also agreed to provide more technology for simultaneous instruction, add two hours of teacher preparation time each week, implement new safety protocols for lunchrooms and designate staggered start and end times and one-way hallways and stairs when needed, the document shows.
Under CPS’ current plan, of the district’s 96 high schools, 36 (most of which have fewer than 100 students returning) would have students in school four days each week, while the rest would put each in-person student in classrooms two days a week, the CTU update said. The union is demanding some of the largest high schools where hundreds of students opted to return split into one-day-a-week cohorts to maximize social distancing.
The union document showed CPS asked to change the number of positive COVID-19 cases required to shut down an individual school from three to six, which CTU has so far rejected.
In an afternoon update livestreamed on Facebook, CTU chief of staff Jennifer Johnson said there hadn’t yet been “adequate progress” in negotiations.
“We should be talking to each other about what Wednesday will look like in the high schools if we still need to walk out,” Johnson said. “We have to be prepared to refuse on Wednesday.
Loretto Hospital at 645 S Central Ave. serves the Austin community. | Anthony Vazquez, Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times
A Trump Tower event and shots given at hospital executive George Miller’s suburban church raised questions and led to a suspension of vaccine supply from the city.
Some community organizers in Austin are calling for the firing of The Loretto Hospital President and Chief Executive George Miller over his handling of COVID-19 vaccines.
As of Monday, an online petition had almost 250 signatures and the lead organizers say they are asking for a video-conference meeting with the hospital board members, a request the directors so far are not granting.
“The documented inappropriate use of our vaccines, the lack of accountability/respect of our vaccines by President Miller and his team during the pandemic have and continue to disgrace Loretto Hospital and the community it serves,” said an April 5 letter from organizer Mary Russell Gardner and a dozen other women.
Miller is being disciplined by his board, receiving a two-week suspension, following vaccine events at the Trump Tower, the CEO’s South Suburban church and elsewhere that led Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s Administration to cut off vaccine supplies until the hospital can show that it has a plan to make sure shots are going to the Austin community.
The hospital is conducting an inquiry and audit to present to the city. The hospital’s No. 2 executive, former Chief Operating Officer Anosh Ahmed, resigned last month in the wake of the controversy.
Austin is one of the hardest hit communities by COVID and Loretto was entrusted to make sure its residents were getting vaccines. But last month a number of reports by Block Club Chicago and other media outlets described events that took the vaccine shots to a Gold Coast watch store, the Trump Tower and other sites outside Austin.
“Leadership at Loretto is focused on completing the internal audit process for the city, delivering critical health care services to the community and its future,” the hospital said in an emailed statement.
Gardner, an Austin community organizer and former aldermanic candidate, started the online petition drive calling for Miller’s ouster.
“We realized this story is not done yet — it’s one thing after another, after another, after another,” Gardner said in an interview. “We want to get Loretto back to where it can be administering the new doses.”
Gardner called the situation “a mess” and said the board has a duty to restore the trust of the community and the city, which controls vaccine supplies for small hospitals like Loretto.
“We were just outraged that they did not fire the executives at the hospital,” said Austin resident Tara Stamps, who also signed the letter. She said the actions were disrespectful to the community.
“The behind-the-scenes jockeying to retain Miller … reeks of arrogance and disrespect of the community and the professionalism to lead this institution,” the women said in their letter.
Brett Chase’s reporting on the environment and public health is made possible by a grant from The Chicago Community Trust.
Get the latest news on how COVID-19 is impacting Chicago and Illinois. Follow here for live updates.
The state’s coronavirus caseload metrics continue trending in a worrisome direction as officials hurry to get as many people vaccinated as possible. Here’s the latest news from today.
News
TOP STORY: Illinois’ COVID-19 positivity rate jumps to highest level since late January; 2,433 new cases
Officials on Monday announced that Illinois’ coronavirus test positivity rate has reached its highest point since late January, when a previous surge in cases was tapering off.
The seven-day positivity rate — a crucial figure for measuring the virus’ spread — jumped to 4.4% and continued an incremental upward trend that could lead officials to again place stronger restrictions on businesses. The statewide positivity rate had dipped to 2.1% on March 13.
Chicago’s numbers are even more alarming. On Monday, the Chicago Department of Public Health reported that the city’s positivity rate now sits at 5.6% — up from 5.1% just a week earlier.
Last week, CPDH spokesman Andrew Buchanan said that figure and other important metrics, including case numbers and hospital data, would factor into any decision to implement stronger mitigations and restrictions, including barring fans from baseball games.
The World Health Organization has advised governments that test positivity rates should remain at or below 5% for 14 days before reopening.
6:25 p.m. Cook County to release 35,000 more vaccine appointments at 3 p.m. Tuesday
Cook County health officials will release 35,000 new appointments Tuesday afternoon for any individuals to receive a single dose or first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.
The appointments will be released online at 3 p.m. and will be available to any person 16 years old and up, according to a statement from Cook County Health.
This is the largest block of appointments released since the beginning of the vaccination rollout in January.
Appointments will be offered for all three currently approved vaccines; Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson.
6:07 p.m. Ceremony honors essential workers, Brown and Black communities affected by pandemic
“Taps” echoed across Daley Plaza Monday at a ceremony to remember the Black and Brown communities devastated during the pandemic, and the essential workers who put their lives on the line to keep others safe.
The bells of First United Methodist Church tolled during a moment of silence, followed by a performance of “Ave Maria,” and then a wreath was laid at the plaza’s eternal flame.
“As the coronavirus shut down the nation, our streets were silent, yet our essential workers continued to report to their jobs,” said Cook County Circuit Court Clerk Iris Martinez.
“Over the past year, death has hit hard in nearly every community, but the most affected have been our Latino neighborhoods — Brighton Park, Pilsen, Little Village, Hermosa, Humboldt Park, Belmont Cragin, Berwyn, and Cicero, just to name a few.”
This was partially due to a lack of inclusion, gaps in data collection, and segregation of social demographic information on the local and national level, she said.
Illinois Unidos, also known as the Illinois Latino COVID-19 Initiative, organized the ceremony.
4:50 p.m. Suit against COVID-wracked nursing home can continue despite Pritzker’s immunity order
A lawsuit against a west suburban nursing home where 12 people died last year from coronavirus can go forward despite Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s executive order last year granting privately owned nursing homes broad protection against being sued over COVID-19 illnesses, a federal judge has ruled.
Westchester Health and Rehabilitation Center — which had 46 reported coronavirus cases last year — is being sued by the families of Rita Saunders and Lottie Smith, who contracted the virus while living there in March 2020.
Saunders, 64, was hospitalized March 23, 2020, and died about a week later.
Smith, 83, entered the hospital a day earlier and recovered. She says she suffered falls that the nursing home allowed to happen because she’d complained about conditions in the facility.
According to the lawsuit, Westchester knowingly exposed residents to employees who had tested positive for the coronavirus. The suit says nurses with symptoms of the illness were ordered to keep working, and the facility failed to provide them with personal protective equipment.
Westchester wanted a federal judge to dismiss the lawsuit because the governor’s March 9, 2020, coronavirus disaster proclamation gave nursing homes immunity over negligence and didn’t create liability for “willful and wanton” misconduct.
But U.S. District Judge Manish Shah said the lawsuit can continue, quoting a Seventh U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that found that “an immunity defense usually depends on the facts of the case.”
4:46 p.m. Luke Bryan tests positive for COVID-19, sidelined from ‘American Idol’
LOS ANGELES — Luke Bryan says he’s tested positive for COVID-19, which sidelined him from the season’s first live “American Idol” episode on ABC.
Paula Abdul, an original judge on the talent show when it aired on Fox, was announced as Bryan’s replacement for Monday’s show, joining Lionel Richie and Katy Perry on the panel.
“I’m sad to say I won’t be a part of tonight’s first live @AmericanIdol show,” Bryan tweeted earlier Monday. “I tested positive for COVID but I’m doing well and look forward to being back at it soon.”
2:23 p.m. CPS ‘firmly committed’ to reopening high schools next week despite CTU’s threat to stay remote
Pat Nabong/Sun-TimesCTU members voted for high school teachers and staff to work remotely, starting Wednesday, if a reopening deal with Chicago Public Schools isn’t reached by then.
Chicago Public Schools officials say they are “firmly committed” to reopening high schools next week for the first time during the pandemic despite a plan by the Chicago Teachers Union to have high school teachers and staff work remotely Wednesday in an attempt to pressure the district into a reopening agreement.
The district has held “productive discussions with CTU leadership to ensure a smooth transition back for our students and staff,” and the two sides are working to reach an agreement “as soon as possible,” CPS CEO Janice Jackson and the district’s education chief, LaTanya McDade, wrote in a letter to high school families Monday.
“Over the weekend we made progress on a number of areas and have general alignment on topics including the scheduling models schools will use and safety protocols to keep students and staff safe in high school buildings,” they wrote.
“We have also agreed that high school staff will be able to work on Wednesdays, which is a remote day for all students, and we will work to support vaccinations for students when they are eligible and doses are available.”
The union’s House of Delegates, however, “told the leadership of the CTU in no uncertain terms that we’re not simply reopening schools without more progress at the bargaining table and without a return agreement in high schools,” CTU President Jesse Sharkey told reporters during a virtual news conference Monday.
1:42 p.m. Muslims navigate restrictions in the second pandemic Ramadan
CAIRO — For Ramadan this year, Magdy Hafez has been longing to reclaim a cherished ritual: performing the nighttime group prayers called taraweeh at the mosque once again.
Last year, the coronavirus upended the 68-year-old Egyptian’s routine of going to the mosque to perform those prayers, traditional during Islam’s holiest month. The pandemic had disrupted Islamic worship the world over, including in Egypt where mosques were closed to worshippers last Ramadan.
“I have been going to the mosque for 40 years so it was definitely a very, very, difficult thing,” he said. “But our religion orders us to protect one another.”
Still, “It’s a whole other feeling, and the spirituality in Ramadan is like nothing else.”
Egypt has since allowed most mosques to reopen for Friday communal prayers and for this Ramadan it will let them hold taraweeh, also with precautions, including shortening its duration.
12:35 p.m. US colleges divided over requiring student vaccinations
BOSTON — U.S. colleges hoping for a return to normalcy next fall are weighing how far they should go in urging students to get the COVID-19 vaccine, including whether they should — or legally can — require it.
Universities including Rutgers, Brown, Cornell and Northeastern recently told students they must get vaccinated before returning to campus next fall. They hope to achieve herd immunity on campus, which they say would allow them to loosen spacing restrictions in classrooms and dorms.
But some colleges are leaving the decision to students, and others believe they can’t legally require vaccinations. At Virginia Tech, officials determined that they can’t because the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has only allowed the emergency use of the vaccines and hasn’t given them its full approval.
The question looms large as more colleges plan to shift back from remote to in-person instruction. Many schools have launched vaccination blitzes to get students immunized before they leave for the summer. At some schools, the added requirement is meant to encourage holdouts and to build confidence that students and faculty will be safe on campus.
“It takes away any ambiguity about whether individuals should be vaccinated,” said Kenneth Henderson, the chancellor of Northeastern University in Boston. “It also provides a level of confidence for the entire community that we are taking all appropriate measures.”
9:14 a.m. CTU members vote to work remotely starting Wednesday if high school reopening agreement isn’t reached
With thousands of high school students expected to return to the classroom next week for the first time in over a year, the Chicago Teachers Union is putting pressure on Chicago Public Schools to finalize a reopening agreement early this week.
CTU members Sunday voted for high school teachers and staff to work remotely, starting Wednesday, if a reopening deal with Chicago Public Schools isn’t reached by then, the union said in a statement.
CPS officials have directed 5,350 high school teachers to return to buildings Monday with or without an agreement in preparation for about 26,000 students in grades 9-12 to resume in-person learning next week.
Teachers and staff are planning to honor that request and report in-person Monday and Tuesday while CPS and CTU officials work to solidify a final high school reopening agreement, sources said. That means that staff will be present when juniors at some high schools are scheduled to take the SAT in person Tuesday.
But if a deal isn’t struck or there isn’t “adequate movement at the table” by Wednesday, high school teachers and staff will begin to work remotely, the union said.
8:21 a.m. After Kamala Harris visit, business jumps at Brown Sugar Bakery on Chicago’s South Side
GettyVice President Kamala Harris chats with the staff of Brown Sugar Bakery as she receives a piece of German Chocolate Cake on April 6.
Since Vice President Kamala Harris visited the Brown Sugar Bakery on the South Side last Tuesday to throw a spotlight on small Black female-owned businesses, in-store retail sales jumped 21% overall and online sales increased 88%, according to owner Stephanie Hart.
Harris made a brief stop outside the bakery at 328 E. 75th en route back to Midway Airport after she toured a COVID-19 vaccination center at 2260 S. Grove St., organized by the Chicago Federation of Labor.
She picked up a slice of German chocolate cake – her favorite – and the bakery staff presented her with two trays of caramel, strawberry and lemon cupcakes.
Something meaningful happened as a result of those few minutes. It resulted in a real time positive economic impact for a business that had to shut down for a few months last year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The state has also seen an increase in coronavirus hospitalizations over the last month. As of Saturday night, 1,834 beds were occupied by COVID-19 patients — up 23% from last week. Of those, 409 were in intensive care units and 173 were on ventilators, officials said.
The state injected 131,285 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine Saturday, marking the fifth consecutive day Illinois has inoculated more than 130,000 in a single day. Over the last week, Illinois has reported three record-setting vaccination days, including Friday when the state administered an all-time high of 175,681 shots.
One-year-old Kayden Swann | Legal Help Firm | Legal Help Firm
Kayden Swann took another promising step in his recovery this week and has started to move his extremities, Dr. Marcelo Malakooti said.
A 1-year-old boy who was shot on Lake Shore Drive last week continues to make “slow but steady progress” and has started to move his extremities, his doctor said Monday.
Kayden Swann remained on a ventilator at Lurie Children’s Hospital, but Dr. Marcelo Malakooti said his medical staff is “hopeful” that the toddler may be taken off the machine “at some point in the future.”
“The entire Pediatric Intensive Care Unit team, including nursing, social work, family services, respiratory therapists, physicians, and surgeons have provided the best care and support for Kayden and his entire family,” Malakooti said in a statement.
Though Kayden’s initial prognosis seemed grim, his health has gradually improved since the April 6 shooting. Doctors removed Kayden from a medically-induced coma Saturday.
Kayden was shot in the temple while he rode in the back seat of a car on Lake Shore Drive during an apparent road rage incident. The driver of an SUV shot at the car Kayden was traveling in while both vehicles traveled north, Cook County prosecutors said. The altercation started when the SUV tried to merge near Soldier Field and nearly struck the car Kayden was riding in, prosecutors said.
Contrary to initial police reports, there was no evidence, that Jushawn Brown — the driver in the car Kayden was in — fired his weapon or displayed it during the incident, prosecutors said.
After Kayden was shot, a bystander rushed him to Northwestern Hospital before he was transferred to Lurie.
Brown, 43, is out on bond for a felony gun charge in connection with the shooting.
Brown, of Englewood, is in a relationship with Kayden’s grandmother, prosecutors said.
The driver of the SUV has not been taken into custody.
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