Suspect’s suicide prompts Chicago police to finally close grisly 1989 murder caseon April 2, 2021 at 10:15 am

It was in late 2019 when a retired Chicago police detective got an email about a murder case he’d investigated three decades earlier.

The ex-cop, Michael Fleming, had always suspected that Jan Krol strangled his ex-wife Jadwiga Krol, then burned her body in the trunk of her car. But he never was able to persuade prosecutors there was enough of a case to charge him.

Now Krol, his only suspect, was dead. Krol’s daughter notified Fleming that her father had killed himself in Poland.

Based on that news, the Chicago Police Department closed the case last summer.

The murder was cleared “exceptionally” — a classification the department uses when a suspect dies or the police decide there are too many barriers to prosecute a case that they can’t overcome, such as uncooperative witnesses.

Last year, more than 130 murder cases in Chicago were cleared exceptionally. The Krol case was among the oldest.

Fleming won’t talk about the case.

Not long after the killing, he was quoted in a 1990 Chicago Tribune story with the headline, “Murder probe turns into a game of cat and mouse.” In it, he defended his aggressive pursuit of Krol, confirming he was a suspect and saying, “I like to work mysteries. And I hate to see anyone get away with anything.”

But former police Supt. Richard Brzeczek, who, as an attorney, represented Krol, says Fleming went too far.

Former police Supt. Richard Brzeczek, who, as an attorney, represented Jan Krol: “No evidence whatsoever” that he killed ex-wife.

He says the detective unsuccessfully tried to get Krol to take a lie-detector test even though he knew he was represented by a lawyer and that the police harassed his former client by pulling him over for traffic stops.

“He had no evidence whatsoever,” Brzeczek says of Fleming.

And he says he doesn’t think the case should have been closed.

Hundreds of pages of newly obtained records from the investigation into the killing document the police department’s reasoning that Krol was the killer. According to those police reports, Krol:

Beat his ex-wife for eight years, shot at her during an argument and threatened to kill her in front of cops responding to a domestic violence call.
Told an acquaintance he took her Chevrolet Cavalier days before the killing.
Was holding a slip-knotted clothesline when detectives came to his home. Jadwiga Krol was strangled, her autopsy found.
Had once worked as a janitor at a building in the quiet part of the city where his ex-wife’s gasoline-soaked body was found ablaze in the trunk of her Chevy.
Was driving a van that reeked of gasoline, according to an acquaintance.
Had scratches on his neck and chest that he said were from running into a door — though the police said witnesses told them he didn’t have those marks before his ex-wife’s killing.

Jadwiga and Jan Krol had a complicated relationship. They got married in 1974 in Poland and divorced in 1978. He moved to Chicago in 1980. She followed in 1985. The next year, their children Jusef and Kinga joined them.

Though they no longer were married, they lived in the same home in the 5500 block of North Central Avenue in Jefferson Park.

Jadwiga Krol operated a nail salon out of their house, often working 12 hours a day. A customer said she was “one of the nicest people I’ve ever met.”

According to the police, Krol was an angry drunk who’d lost his janitorial job at Superior Coffee in Bucktown — near the place where the burning Chevy was found — because he slept on the job.

He was jealous of Jadwiga Krol’s relationship with a musician and furious about a trip they took to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, earlier in 1989. Krol said he thought she stole cash from him to pay for it.

On April 6, 1989, Jadwiga Krol told the police her car was stolen while she was in a bar. Krol confided to a friend he was the one who took the car, according to a police report.

Krol told the police the last time he’d seen his ex-wife was before he dropped his kids at church on the morning of April 9. He said he took some packages to a storage facility while the children were in church for more than an hour. The police said they couldn’t confirm his trip to the storage facility.

At 5:50 a.m. on April 10, firefighters answered a call about a car on fire in the 2300 block of North Lister Avenue and found Jadwiga Krol’s burning body inside the unlocked trunk. She was 35.

Detectives arrested the 49-year-old Krol late that day, writing in a report that they expected charges within 24 hours. But he was freed when prosecutors said they needed more evidence.

On April 13, 1989, Krol met detectives at a restaurant. They said he told them he didn’t kill his ex-wife and threw suspicion on her boyfriend. Then, he clammed up, saying his lawyer told him not to say anything.

The boyfriend took a lie-detector test and was deemed to have told the truth when he said he didn’t know about the killing.

The police learned that Jadwiga Krol had taken out a $150,000 life insurance policy on herself, with her children as the beneficiaries, because, she told her insurance agent, “I have a very bad feeling something bad will happen to me.”

The insurance policy was paid out.

In May 1989, Krol’s 14-year-old daughter was hospitalized with severe burns she said she suffered in a cooking accident. She said she didn’t want to go back home, though, because she was afraid of her father, according to a police report.

On July 18, 1989, detectives again asked prosecutors to charge Krol with murder and again were told no.

On April 20, 1991, Krol, who was a licensed pilot, was flying passengers in a single-engine airplane on a sightseeing tour when the plane had engine problems and crashed near Gurnee. Everyone survived.

The wreckage of the single-engine Piper Comanche that Jan Krol crashed in a farm field near Gurnee in 1991 after experiencing engine problems.

Fleming visited the injured Krol in the hospital. According to a police report, “Krol stated that after the plane crash he only talked to God about the murder of his wife. Krol was then asked if God told him to talk to [detectives] about the murder of his wife and he responded ‘no.’ “

Later that year, Krol was convicted in federal court in Chicago of making and selling fake immigration documents.

Krol and his children were going to be deported.

So Fleming tried a final time to get the kids to talk about their father’s possible involvement in their mother’s killing, but they refused, according to a police report.

They were deported in 1992.

According to police reports, Krol’s daughter now lives in Great Britain. She told the police she suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder over her mother’s death and that her brother has spent most of his life in prison in Poland.

An FBI agent assigned to Warsaw helped confirm that Krol had killed himself in 2013 in the mountain town of Zakopane in southern Poland — closing the police department’s book on the family’s sad saga.

Zakopane, high in the Carpathian mountains in southern Poland, is a popular resort town.

Suspect’s suicide prompts Chicago police to finally close grisly 1989 murder caseon April 2, 2021 at 10:15 am Read More »

Improved EIU running game faces stiff test against conference’s top defenseon April 2, 2021 at 10:30 am

Prairie State Pigskin

Improved EIU running game faces stiff test against conference’s top defense

Improved EIU running game faces stiff test against conference’s top defenseon April 2, 2021 at 10:30 am Read More »

Woman shot Thursday in Chicagoon April 2, 2021 at 7:41 am

One person was taken into custody after a 19-year-old woman was shot Thursday night in Gresham on the South Side.

The woman was sitting in a vehicle about 9:35 p.m. in the 7800 block of South Winchester Avenue when a female fired shots at her, Chicago police said.

She suffered a gunshot wound to the shoulder and was transported to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, police said. She was listed in fair condition.

One person was taken into custody, police said.

Police sources said the incident was domestic-related.

Seven people were shot, 2 fatally, Wednesday in Chicago.

Read more on crime, and track the city’s homicides.

Woman shot Thursday in Chicagoon April 2, 2021 at 7:41 am Read More »

White Sox blow two-run lead, fall to Angels 4-3 on Opening Nighton April 2, 2021 at 5:30 am

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Manager Tony La Russa probably liked his chances of winning his first game in his second go-around with the White Sox when he pulled ace right-hander Lucas Giolito with one out and nobody on base in the sixth inning on Opening Night.

After all, the Sox bullpen has been touted as one of baseball’s best all spring long, and in came Codi Heuer and his 99-100 mph heat to get the pen rolling in 2021.

Heuer navigated through some trouble and five outs, but La Russa and the Sox find themselves at 0-1 after a 4-3 loss in which left-hander Aaron Bummer served up the tying and go-ahead runs in the eighth inning. Both runs were unearned because of a throw by second baseman Nick Madrigal that pulled shortstop Tim Anderson off second base, so it’s not time to write off the Sox pen just yet. Especially after one game.

“He deserved better,” La Russa said of Bummer.

Mike Trout roped a tying single and Shohei Ohtani scored the go-ahead run on Albert Pujols’ groundout to Yoan Moncada in the eighth inning. That followed an 11-pitch walk against Bummer in the eighth.

“We talk about it daily, winning each day,” Bummer said. “We lost today, that’s on me in my opinion. Got to be better next time. We did a lot of things right but the bullpen didn’t finish it off. Tough one to swallow.”

Giolito struck out six of the first nine batters he faced and exited with two runs allowed on two hits and two walks, threw 87 pitches.

“Early in the season, I threw a lot of pitches through five innings,” Giolito said. “Bullpen can take it from there, it’s all good.”

The move almost backfired as Heuer issued a four-pitch walk to Trout and a single to Anthony Rendon before Upton hit into a double play — on a 107 mph one-hopper gloved by Moncada.

Madrigal was caught stealing on a close play in the seventh but La Russa did not challenge, although he wanted to. A new rule gives teams 20 seconds to make that decision, down from 30 last year, and the Sox were late asking for a challenge.

Adam Eaton broke a tie with a two-run homer.

White Sox blow two-run lead, fall to Angels 4-3 on Opening Nighton April 2, 2021 at 5:30 am Read More »

What’s Maundy Thursday?on April 2, 2021 at 2:22 am

Margaret Serious

What’s Maundy Thursday?

What’s Maundy Thursday?on April 2, 2021 at 2:22 am Read More »

Blackhawks concede late goal, lose heartbreaker against Hurricaneson April 2, 2021 at 2:49 am

The Blackhawks spent the two days leading up to Thursday’s rematch against the Hurricanes focusing on having a better start.

“For the most part, it’s mental,” coach Jeremy Colliton said Thursday morning. “We do absolutely talk a lot about preparation and getting yourself ready, getting your teammates ready.”

“[We need to] hang on to the puck a little bit more, and keep it away from them, and just be ready to have a better start,” Patrick Kane added. “Our last three starts haven’t been that great.”

But after all that, the Hawks’ first period Thursday was more of the same, putting them behind the eight-ball for good in an eventual 4-3 loss.

The Hurricanes entered the first intermission leading 1-0 and holding a 12-2 scoring-chance advantage. The Hawks have now conceded 47 scoring chances while producing just 16 in their last four first periods combined (per Natural Stat Trick).

The Hawks played some of their best hockey in weeks the rest of the game, however. Scoring chances were 17-13 in their favor during the second and third periods.

Brandon Hagel tied the game 2-2 early in the third period, then Dylan Strome tipped in a Connor Murphy shot to re-tie the game 3-3 later.

But they were never able to grab the lead, never able convert a hefty dose of momentum into a winning goal, before Jesper Fast gave the Canes a winner of their own with 29 seconds left.

Olympic talk for Kane, too

In addition to the Hart Trophy race, Kane also discussed the possibility of playing on the U.S. men’s hockey team in the 2022 Winter Olympics on Thursday — one day after Hawks general manager Stan Bowman was named GM of the Olympic team.

It would be a great honor and a great opportunity to play for your country,” Kane said. “We could put a pretty good team together to compete with some of the ‘better’ countries.”

A member of both the 2010 and 2014 teams that fell short, Kane seems to be an extremely likely candidate for selection again this time.

Although he hasn’t talked about it with Bowman yet, he sounded motivated to participate and try to end the U.S.’s lengthy men’s hockey gold medal drought.

“There’s a lot of talk about the 1960 and 1980 teams, and here we are 40-plus years later and we’re still talking about those teams,” Kane said. “The legend lives on if you win. So it would be nice to be able to do that for the country and USA Hockey.”

Kalynuk seeking stability

Defenseman Wyatt Kalynuk played both games against the Hurricanes this week.

The 23-year-old rookie out of Wisconsin has bounced on a weekly (sometimes daily) basis between the Hawks’ active roster, taxi squad and AHL affiliate in Rockford this season. He’d previously made only one NHL appearance: March 7 vs. the Lightning.

“Every day, you might not know where you’re going to be,” Kalynuk said Wednesday. “As the season goes on, there might be a little more stability here. But it’s been a wild, crazy year.”

On the other hand, Ian Mitchell has now been out of the lineup for four consecutive games. Colliton said he wants Mitchell to “keep doing what he’s doing” and he’ll get another chance eventually.

“The guys who aren’t in, they have to have an urgency to keep improving and do everything they can to prepare for the next opportunity,” Colliton said. “That’s what’s going to get them ready to succeed.”

Blackhawks concede late goal, lose heartbreaker against Hurricaneson April 2, 2021 at 2:49 am Read More »

Coronavirus live blog, April 1, 2021: An average of 519 Chicagoans are testing positive for COVID-19 each day as health officials warn to skip Easter celebrationson April 1, 2021 at 11:00 pm

Latest

6 p.m. Coronavirus spike all the more reason to skip Easter celebrations, Chicago’s top doc says

In-person Easter celebrations should be put on hold as coronavirus infection rates hop back up to troubling levels, the city’s top doctor warned Thursday.

Unless family members are fully vaccinated — meaning two weeks removed from their final dose — it’s best to keep gatherings virtual with COVID-19 still looming, according to Chicago Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady.

That’s even more important this weekend because the virus is already spreading across the city and state at the quickest rate seen in almost two months, Arwady said during an online Q&A.

“You don’t want your Easter celebration to turn into a contact tracing event. You really don’t,” she said. “Each day as more people get vaccinated, these things are becoming safer, but with the amount of people fully vaccinated — unless you’ve got a fully vaccinated group gathering, there still is a fair bit of risk.

“It’s a time when a lot of people traditionally get together, but the virus does not know that it’s Easter. It does not know that it is Passover,” Arwady said. “The things that we’ve been doing to protect each other and protect those we care about — especially now with vaccine in the mix — become even more important.”

Read the full story from Mitchell Armentrout here.

News

4:45 p.m. Biden launches community corps to boost COVID vaccinations

WASHINGTON — Seeking to overcome vaccine hesitancy, the Biden administration on Thursday stepped up its outreach efforts to skeptical Americans, launching a coalition of community, religious and celebrity partners to promote COVID-19 shots in hard-hit communities.

The administration’s “We Can Do This” campaign features television and social media ads, but it also relies on a community corps of public health, athletic, faith and other groups to spread the word about the safety and efficacy of the three approved vaccines. The campaign comes amid worries that reluctance to get vaccinated will delay the nation’s recovery from the coronavirus pandemic — and is kicking off as the U.S. is anticipating a boost in vaccine supply that will make all adult Americans eligible for vaccines by the beginning of May.

President Joe Biden encouraged more than 1,000 faith leaders on Thursday to continue their efforts to promote vaccinations in their communities. “They’re going to listen to your words more than they are to me as president of the United States,” Biden said.

Vice President Kamala Harris and Surgeon General Vivek Murthy held a virtual meeting with the more than 275 inaugural members of the community corps on Thursday to kick off the effort. The Department of Health and Human Services was also encouraging other groups, as well as everyday Americans, to join the effort.

“You are the people that folks on the ground know and rely on and have a history with,” Harris said. “And when people are then making the decision to get vaccinated, they’re going to look to you.”

Read the full story here.

3:12 p.m. Chicago sees ‘quantum leap’ in COVID-19 cases — widening Lightfoot-Pritzker split over vaccine plans

Illinois’ COVID-19 uptick took another jump Wednesday as Chicago’s “quantum leap” in cases raised more concerns of a potential third surge of the virus, officials said.

Another 2,592 residents across the state were diagnosed with the virus among 77,727 tests, which lowered Illinois’ average positivity rate to 3.3%, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health.

But that key metric has shot up 57% overall in under three weeks, while COVID-19 hospitalizations have jumped 24% over the same time frame. More than 1,400 beds were occupied by coronavirus patients Tuesday night, the most the state’s hospitals have treated since Feb. 24.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Mayor Lori Lightfoot agree the uptick has halted any talk of further reopening — but they’re still far apart on when all adults should be eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine dose.

The governor voiced concern Wednesday over the city’s timetable for that move, saying “I think that they will want to do that sooner than they are currently planning to.”

Read the full story from Fran Spielman and Mitchell Armentrout here.

12:39 p.m. Company producing J&J vaccine had history of violations

The company at the center of quality problems that led Johnson & Johnson to discard 15 million doses of its coronavirus vaccine has a string of citations from U.S. health officials for quality control problems.

Emergent BioSolutions, a little-known company vital to the vaccine supply chain, was a key to Johnson & Johnson’s plan to deliver 100 million doses of its vaccine to the United States by the end of May. But the Food and Drug Administration repeatedly has cited Emergent for problems such as poorly trained employees, cracked vials and problems managing mold and other contamination around one of its facilities, according to records obtained by The Associated Press through the Freedom of Information Act. The records cover inspections at Emergent facilities since 2017.

Johnson & Johnson said Wednesday that a batch of vaccine made by Emergent at its Baltimore factory, known as Bayview, cannot be used because it did not meet quality standards. It was unclear how many doses were involved or how the problem would affect future deliveries of J&J’s vaccine. The company said in a statement it was still planning to deliver 100 million doses by the end of June and was “aiming to deliver those doses by the end of May.”

“Human errors do happen,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, said Thursday in an interview on CBS’ “This Morning.” “You have checks and balances. … That’s the reason why the good news is that it did get picked up. As I mentioned, that’s the reason nothing from that plant has gone into anyone that we’ve administered to.”

Read the full story here.

11:58 a.m. Positive COVID-19 test forces postponement of Mets-Nationals season opener

WASHINGTON — The Opening Day baseball game between the Nationals and Mets was postponed hours before it was scheduled to begin Thursday night because of coronavirus concerns after one of Washington’s players tested positive for COVID-19.

The Nationals issued a statement saying “ongoing contract tracing involving members of the Nationals organization” was the reason for scrapping the game at their stadium.

The contest was not immediately rescheduled, even though Friday already had been set up as an off day that could accommodate a game pushed back from Thursday if there were a rainout, for example.

The Nationals said in a statement the game “will not be made up on Friday.”

Washington general manager Mike Rizzo said Wednesday that one of his team’s players had tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday, before the team left spring training camp.

Rizzo said four other players and one staff member were following quarantine protocols after contract tracing determined they were in close contact with the person who tested positive.

Rizzo did not identify any of those involved.

“We’re still in the process of finding out exactly what their status is,” Rizzo said Wednesday. “They’re certainly out for tomorrow’s game.”

Read the full story here.

9:24 a.m. James Taylor kicking off rescheduled 2021 tour at the United Center

Live music may be returning to the United Center this summer.

James Taylor on Wednesday announced his postponed world tour with special guest Jackson Browne will kick off at the Chicago venue on July 29.

Tickets purchased for the original dates will be honored for the trek that wraps up Nov. 1 in San Diego. (The tour was originally slated for a stop June 9 the United Center; refunds are available at point of purchase for those unable to make the new date.)

Taylor postponed the tour last April due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which shut down all live music/theater venues across the country. Browne contracted coronavirus last March, revealing at the time he suffered only minor symptoms and recuperated while quarantining at home.

“(Jackson and I/James and I) want to thank all those who have graciously held onto their tickets; we appreciate your continued patience as we navigate these unchartered waters. We didn’t want to have to cancel this tour that we’ve been waiting so long to perform together, so we’ve been working to get these dates rescheduled to a time period when the U.S. is reopened and safe to gather for a concert,” the two legendary singer-songwriters said in a joint statement.”

Read the full story from Miriam Di Nunzio here.

New Cases & Vaccination Numbers

Another 2,592 residents across the state were diagnosed with the virus among 77,727 tests.
Nearly 500 Chicagoans are testing positive every day, an average figure that has jumped 37% over the past week.
Illinois is vaccinating more people than ever as the state’s rolling average is up to a new high of 109,538 shots doled out per day.
On Tuesday, 137,445 shots went into arms, the state’s third-highest daily total yet.

Coronavirus live blog, April 1, 2021: An average of 519 Chicagoans are testing positive for COVID-19 each day as health officials warn to skip Easter celebrationson April 1, 2021 at 11:00 pm Read More »

Jon “Boog” Sciambi shines in Cubs debut on Marquee Sports Networkon April 1, 2021 at 11:50 pm

Jon “Boog” Sciambi didn’t take long to crack his first joke.

In the top of the first inning of his first regular-season broadcast as the Cubs’ TV voice, Boog listed the offensive categories in which the Pirates ranked last or close to it in 2020.

“That’s not very good, Boog,” analyst Jim Deshaies said matter-of-factly.

Deadpanned Boog: “More from JD coming up in the third.”

Picture Harry Doyle talking to Monte in the movie “Major League.”

That quick wit and dry sense of humor will have Marquee Sports Network viewers chuckling all season. But there’s much more to Boog’s broadcasts than comedy, and he displayed it all Thursday from the Wrigley Field booth.

After the game, I asked Boog how he felt, despite the Cubs’ 5-3 loss.

“I’m freezing!” he said. “It was cold.”

Be that as it may — the temperature was in the 30s — Boog said he felt good.

“It was cool. It was baseball,” he said. “It certainly would be more fun and more memorable if they won. When the home team plays well, you get to call big plays and the crowd gets into it. It just wasn’t to be.”

His preparation was evident by the personal and statistical nuggets he shared about the Cubs and Pirates. He said Pirates pitcher Steven Brault hid in pitching coach Oscar Marin’s office to surprise teammate and close friend Chad Kuhl when Kuhl learned he made the team. He said Cubs left fielder Joc Pederson is a sneakerhead and has his daughter Poppy’s name on the heels of his cleats.

Boog also can talk baseball with the best of them, from analytics to fundamentals to player habits. Remember, he has been calling major-league baseball since 1997, and he has developed relationships with countless players. He talked about how, on cold days, keeping players’ throwing hand warm isn’t the problem. It’s the glove hand because the glove can become stiff.

He also had some great exchanges with Deshaies.

“JD is such a pro and so good to work with and listens so well,” Boog said. “Our crew’s really good. Those guys are following me on different things. We supported in spots with graphics and video; we didn’t overdo it.”

Boog’s sense of humor, self-deprecation and pop-culture references will be big hits with viewers.

When he struggled to pronounce Pirates starter Kuhl’s name in a sentence, he turned into Albert Brooks in the 1987 movie “Broadcast News,” saying, “A lot of alliteration from anxious anchors placed in powerful posts!”

When he asked to see the pitch count appear and then disappear in the score bug, he said, “It’s kinda like the Clapper, only with the score bug and the pitch count.”

When Deshaies asked jokingly whether Boog wanted fries before remembering he doesn’t eat them, Boog motioned to the burly coat he was wearing and said, “We’re covering fat. Now I’m just sorta fat.”

When Boog told the story about the April Fool’s Day 1985 article in Sports Illustrated about fictional pitcher Sidd Finch, who was going to turn the Mets into a dynasty with a 168 mph fastball, he broke out a thick, hilarious New York accent to share what he heard from Mets fans growing up.

And there’s more to come Saturday.

“I know the fans were excited to be back at the ballpark, but I spent my entire year last year calling games remotely,” Boog said. “So for me, to look at the field and be there and call the game and have my partner right next to me, I had a blast.”

Jon “Boog” Sciambi shines in Cubs debut on Marquee Sports Networkon April 1, 2021 at 11:50 pm Read More »

No room for excuses as detention centers fill up with tens of thousands of migrant childrenon April 2, 2021 at 12:09 am

In February, the new Biden administration came under fire for opening the first of several emergency detention center to house unaccompanied migrant children coming across our nation’s southern border.

A refugee center, no matter how humanely operated, is a woefully inferior alternative to placing these children with stable foster families or relatives, which has been the federal government’s stated goal. But now, with some Border Patrol holding facilities for children standing at 1,640% of capacity, it’s safe to say things aren’t getting any better.

Does the president have an actual plan?

The Biden administration, in the new president’s first days in office, commendably ended a cruel Trump administration policy of splitting up families that migrate illegally across the border. Nor would Border Patrol agents any longer turn away unaccompanied minors. But it’s hard to see that the Biden administration has a practical alternative strategy of its own.

The administration rushed to show the world that the United States would now respond to the border crisis more humanely, with Vice President Kamala Harris at the helm of the effort, but clearly that was easier said than done.

“The policymakers came in with a policy change, but then had no plan in place to implement that plan,” Joe Frank Martinez, sheriff of Val Verde County, Texas, told CNN. “People are going to continue to come in mass numbers, people are going to die, but something has to be done quick.”

A growing number of unaccompanied migrant children are crossing the border and, at present, about 12,900 of them are being held in U.S. Health and Human Services shelters. Another 5,300 are being held in Border Patrol facilities. Border Patrol policy dictates that all detainees, including children, should be transferred out of the agency’s custody within three days, but many unaccompanied children have been in Border Patrol facilities for longer than 15 days.

The Biden administration blames the Trump administration for much of the problem — and fairly so. For four years, the Trump administration did its best to dismantle the most compassionate aspects of our nation’s system for dealing with unaccompanied migrant children, more interested in sending a message of zero tolerance — cross the border and you’ll regret it — than caring for kids humanely. Trump slashed funding for refugee services, forcing many shelters and resettlement offices to close.

“The system was gutted, facilities were closed, and they cruelly expelled young children into the hands of traffickers,” U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro N. Mayorkas said in a statement last week. “We have had to rebuild the entire system, including the policies and procedures required to administer the asylum laws that Congress passed long ago.”

The Biden administration also has blamed the pandemic, which is less convincing. To be sure, finding sufficient numbers of beds and host families for unaccompanied children becomes a greater challenge in these times of social distancing, but rising to the occasion should be the expected for an agency — the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services — built on crisis management. The agency, established almost 70 years ago, has approximately 80,000 employees and annual budget of about $1.2 trillion.

The sad truth is that the last three American presidents have struggled with the growing problem of children crossing the border. In 2009, slightly more than 19,400 children were taken into custody. By 2014, that number had soared to 68,000. And the number of border crossings this year is on track to set a new record.

But Joe Biden, first as a candidate and now as president, has made a point of saying he would make immigration reform a top priority and fix intractable problems — such as kids stewing in detention centers — that other presidents could or would not.

It’s on him to stand and deliver.

Send letters to [email protected]

No room for excuses as detention centers fill up with tens of thousands of migrant childrenon April 2, 2021 at 12:09 am Read More »

Foundation officials vow to make public their progress on Obama Center minority hiring, contracting goalson April 1, 2021 at 11:53 pm

With groundbreaking for the Obama Presidential Center likely in September — and with creating a diverse local workforce a priority — Obama Foundation officials on Thursday pledged to release quarterly reports so the public could determine if it is meeting its minority hiring and contracting goals.

The promise came during a meeting of the top foundation officials with the Chicago Sun-Times editorial board where a variety of issues related to the development of the Obama complex in Jackson Park were discussed.

If construction starts at the beginning of September, the grand opening will be in 2025.

In other news:

The signature structure is the tower housing the Obama museum. The stone used to cover the walls of the squat 235-foot high building — the stone texture and color — remains a major design decision. Former President Barack Obama will personally be selecting the stone, said Obama Foundation President Valerie Jarrett. Lori Healey, who is managing the Obama Center construction, said three “fairly similar” stones are under consideration.
Decisions on the permanent exhibits in the museum are still “a work in progress,” Jarrett said, with a replica of the Oval Office still being planned. She said she met with museum director Louise Bernard on Wednesday and said, “we are still going through the process of crafting the exhibits floor by floor on how to tell the story.”
In December, Jarrett, the longtime confidante and adviser to Barack and Michelle Obama, stepped in as interim foundation president after President Joe Biden tapped then foundation president, Adewale “Wally” Adeyemo, to be deputy secretary of the Treasury. The Senate confirmed Adeyemo on March 25 and Jarrett told the Sun-Times she is dropping the “interim” status. “I’ll be the president for the foreseeable future,” Jarrett said.
As of the end of March, a total of $847 million has been raised since the foundation was founded in 2014, Jarrett said. Fundraising slowed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Jarrett said fundraising prospects have brightened since groundbreaking was announced for 2021 and the end of a long-running federal review — needed because Obama decided to build on 19.3 acres in Jackson Park, listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Regarding naming rights, a common “carrot” for donors in big dollar institutional fundraising, Jarrett said “major decisions” have not been made yet and added “there are going to be opportunities within the inside, certainly and maybe who knows, on the outside as well. So we’re still exploring that right now. But there will be opportunities.”
The foundation has been focusing on ways to leverage the Obama Center project into jobs for people living in certain communities in the South and West sides and to bolster the ability of minority-owned small businesses concerned about cash flow to bid for sub-contracts. Healey said the foundation has “committed” to pay bills within 30 days. “That’s really transformational,” she said and will make it easier for “small, diverse contractors” to bid on projects.

The foundation, over the past few years, has set a series of self-imposed goals when it comes to hiring, contracting and subcontracting. Jarrett said those statistics will be collected with reports released “on a quarterly basis” . . . “to be completely transparent.” She said “it’s our job, as the owner of the project, to hold the contractors feet to the fire and all the subcontractors and all the professional service providers.”

As part of the deal, the foundation has to certify to City Hall it has the money to pay for the construction and will have an endowment. Healey said the construction costs are estimated at $500 million. Details regarding the certification were provided to the Sun-Times by the foundation after the meeting in an email that stated, “The foundation certified to the city that we have ~$485M to cover $482M of hard construction costs. This certification was done by an independent, accounting/audit firm.”

As for the endowment obligation, the Sun-Times was told the foundation board “recently voted to establish an endowment which we will look to fund in the coming months and years. Like other museums, the foundation is committed to building an endowment to create long-term security for the funding of OPC operations and upkeep.”

The foundation appears supportive of a plan embraced by Masters champ Tiger Woods to merge the Jackson Park and South Shore golf courses into one course. Michael Strautmanis, chief engagement officer for the foundation, said, “Our position is it represents more investment in the park and more investment in the community, and we are in favor of that.”

Foundation officials vow to make public their progress on Obama Center minority hiring, contracting goalson April 1, 2021 at 11:53 pm Read More »

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