MADISON, Wis. — The Wisconsin Supreme Court struck down Democratic Gov. Tony Evers’ statewide mask mandate Wednesday, stripping the governor of one of his last remaining tools to curb large-scale spread of COVID-19 as the state stands on the precipice of another surge in infections.

The conservative-leaning court ruled 4-3 that Evers violated state law by unilaterally issuing multiple emergency orders to extend the mandate for months. The court found Evers needed legislative approval to issue more orders after the initial 60-day mandate he issued in August expired.

“The question in this case is not whether the governor acted wisely; it is whether he acted lawfully. We conclude he did not,” Justice Brian Hagedorn wrote for the majority.

The decision marks another legal defeat for Evers. The Supreme Court in May struck down his stay-at-home order, finding that his health secretary lacked the authority to issue such an order. A state appeals court blocked Evers’ attempts to limit capacity in bars, restaurants and other indoor places in October.

Wednesday’s decision comes as COVID-19 cases have been rising in the state. The seven-day average has jumped from fewer than 400 cases in mid-March to 501 on Tuesday. State Department of Health Services Secretary Julie Willems Van Dijk said the state is seeing “warning signs” that another surge in infections is about to begin.

Local mask mandates remain in place. Milwaukee and Dane County, home to the state capital of Madison, both have issued such mandates. But invalidating the statewide order leaves Evers with few options to control spread on a broad scale.

Evers spokeswoman Britt Cudaback didn’t immediately respond to a message seeking comment. Justice Ann Walsh Bradley, a member of the court’s three-justice minority, lamented in a dissent that the ruling hampers the ability of governors in Wisconsin to protect lives.

“This is no run-of-the-mill case,” she wrote. “We are in the midst of a worldwide pandemic that so far has claimed the lives of over a half million people in this country. And with the stakes so high, the majority not only arrives at erroneous conclusions, but it also obscures the consequence of its decision. Unfortunately, the ultimate consequence of the majority’s decision is that it places yet another roadblock to an effective governmental response to COVID-19.”

Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul, who defended the mask order, issued a statement urging people to continue to wear masks.

Republican lawmakers applauded the ruling. Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu said in a statement that Evers abused his power and the court’s decision affirms the separation of powers between the legislative and executive branches.

“The governor’s repeated abuse of emergency powers and pervasive violation of state statute created a state of chaos and had to be stopped,” LeMahieu said.

Evers had argued that he can issue multiple health emergencies because of the changing nature of the pandemic. The mask order first took effect in August and Evers extended it four times since then, most recently on Feb. 4 immediately after Republican legislators repealed it.

Nearly 60 organizations opposed repeal of the mask mandate, including groups representing hospitals, doctors, nurses, EMTs, school administrators, businesses, children, unions, Milwaukee schools, American Indian tribes, pharmacists, firefighters, local health departments, senior citizens, churches and dentists.

Hagedorn joined with the liberal justices in supporting Evers stay-at-home order in May, when conservatives held a 5-2 majority. His stance then gave Democrats hope that he would cast the deciding vote to uphold the mask mandate. But during oral arguments in the mask case on Nov. 16, Hagedorn questioned Evers’ authority to renew health emergencies beyond the 60-day limit. He said it was an “extraordinary grant of short-term power to the governor” and that “it seems like the Legislature wanted to allow for only a very short period of time.”

The case challenging the mask mandate was brought by Jere Fabick, a major Republican donor in Wisconsin who has given more than $350,000 to Republican or conservative candidates in Wisconsin between 1994 and the middle of 2020, according to the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign.

In 2016, Fabick gave $20,000 to conservative Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Rebecca Bradley. Fabick is a board member and policy advisor for The Heartland Institute, a free-market think tank, and also the president of a multi-state Caterpillar equipment and engine dealer.

___

Associated Press writer Scott Bauer contributed to this report.

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MINNEAPOLIS — A Minneapolis firefighter who wept as she recalled being prevented from using her EMT training to help George Floyd will be back on the stand Wednesday in the trial of the fired police officer charged in Floyd’s death.

Genevieve Hansen, one of several bystanders seen and heard shouting at Derek Chauvin as he pinned Floyd facedown outside a convenience store last May, described her desperation Tuesday as she recounted how she was unable to come to Floyd’s aid or tell police what to do, such as administering chest compressions.

“There was a man being killed,” said Hansen, who testified in her dress uniform and detailed her emergency medical technician training. “I would have been able to provide medical attention to the best of my abilities. And this human was denied that right.”

Hansen was among several onlookers to testify Tuesday to what they saw of Floyd’s May 25 death. They described their increasing frustration, anger and despair as they begged Chauvin to take his knee off Floyd’s neck.

Witness after witness described how Chauvin was unmoved by their pleas, including the teenager who shot the harrowing video of the arrest that set off nationwide protests. She said the officer gave the people watching from the sidewalk a “cold” and “heartless” stare.

“He didn’t care. It seemed as if he didn’t care what we were saying,” said 18-year-old Darnella Frazier, one of several witnesses who testified through tears.

Chauvin continued to kneel on Floyd while fellow Officer Tou Thao held back about 15 onlookers, even when Hansen identified herself as a firefighter and pleaded repeatedly to check Floyd’s pulse, according to witnesses and bystander video.

“They definitely put their hands on the Mace, and we all pulled back,” Frazier told the jury.

Chauvin, 45, is charged with murder and manslaughter, accused of killing Floyd by pinning the 46-year-old handcuffed Black man to the pavement for what prosecutors said was 9 minutes, 29 seconds. Floyd was arrested after being accused of trying to pass a counterfeit $20 bill at the convenience store.

Floyd’s death, along with the bystander video of him pleading that he couldn’t breathe, triggered sometimes violent protests around the world and a reckoning over racism and police brutality across the U.S.

The most serious charge against Chauvin carries up to 40 years in prison.

The defense has argued that Chauvin did what his training told him to do and that Floyd’s death was not caused by the officer but by a combination of illegal drug use, heart disease, high blood pressure and the adrenaline flowing through his body.

On Tuesday, the prosecution asked multiple witnesses to describe their horror at what they saw, buttressing the testimony with multiple videos, some of which had never been seen before. Many described feeling helpless and guilty as Floyd gasped for air, pleaded for his life and finally fell limp and silent, his eyes rolling back in his head.

The testimony was apparently aimed at showing that Chauvin had multiple opportunities to think about what he was doing and change course.

But Chauvin attorney Eric Nelson sought to portray the onlookers as angry and agitated, in an apparent attempt to show that they posed a potential threat to police that might have distracted them during their encounter with Floyd.

Hansen testified that the onlookers were getting more upset and that the paramedics did a “load and go”– placing Floyd on a stretcher and quickly getting him away from bystanders so he could be treated elsewhere.

Earlier Tuesday, Donald Williams, one of the onlookers, testified that he called 911 after paramedics took Floyd away, “because I believed I witnessed a murder.” In a recording of the emergency call, Williams can be overheard yelling at the officers: “Y’all is murderers, bro!”

During cross-examination, Nelson pointed out that Williams seemed to grow increasingly angry at the police, calling Chauvin “tough guy,” “bum” and other names, then calling Chauvin expletives, which the defense lawyer repeated in court.

Williams, a professional mixed martial arts fighter, initially admitted he was getting angrier, but then backtracked and said he was controlled and professional, and was pleading for Floyd’s life but wasn’t being heard.

Williams said he was stepping on and off the curb, and at one point, Thao put his hand on Williams’ chest. Williams admitted that he told Thao he would beat the officers if Thao touched him again.

But witnesses also testified that no bystanders interfered with police.

When Frazier was asked by a prosecutor whether she saw violence anywhere on the scene, she replied: “Yes, from the cops. From Chauvin, and from officer Thao.”

Also Tuesday, prosecutors played cellphone video recorded by another bystander, 18-year-old Alyssa Funari, that showed onlookers shouting and screaming at Chauvin after Floyd stopped moving. The footage also showed Hansen, the Minneapolis firefighter, calmly walk up to Thao and offer to help. He ordered her to get back on the sidewalk.

“I felt like there wasn’t really anything I could do as a bystander,” a tearful Funari said, adding that she felt she was failing Floyd. “Technically I could’ve did something, but I couldn’t really do anything physically … because the highest power was there at the time,” she said, referring to the police.

Frazier testified that she looks at her father and other Black men in her life and thinks of “how that could have been one of them.”

“It’s been nights I stayed up, apologizing and apologizing to George Floyd for not doing more, and not physically interacting and not saving his life,” she said, adding of Chauvin: “But it’s like, it’s not what I should’ve done, it’s what he should’ve done.”

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Most days you’ll find Angel Chavez crafting perfect renditions of French classics like crème brûlée at Bistro Campagne, where he’s the head pastry chef. But two days a week, he’s running Au Levain, a one-man Lincoln Square bakery that brings unexpected influences to classic pastries.

Consider his breakfast challah, a thick roll of challah, that staple of Jewish holiday dinners, topped with a baked egg, bacon, and Gruyère ($7). His kouign-amann ($5) wouldn’t be out of place on a cheese plate — it’s decked out with Brie and housemade apple butter. Chavez serves his Basque goat’s milk cheesecake ($28) with a changing selection of sauces, like cardamom and cinnamon cajeta. He’s even making some of the city’s best chocolate chip cookies: Jammed with chocolate, they come in packs of 16 ($18) — you can get them frozen ($15 for 15), if you prefer, to pop in the oven anytime you want.

Chavez’s baked goods are a far cry from the conchas he snacked on in his great-grandfather’s bakery in Mexico City, but his inspiration still comes from those memories. “I remember the smell of sugar and caramel,” he says. “That’s what I think about when I’m creating my own recipes.” Order at aulevainchicago.com for pickup Sundays and Wednesdays, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., at Bistro Campagne (4518 N. Lincoln Ave.).

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A Grayslake police officer shot and seriously wounded a man who threatened to kill himself and then pointed a gun that was later determined to be a replica.

Officers were called at 11:50 p.m. Tuesday for a man threatening suicide at a home in the 1600 block of Fairport Drive, according to a statement from Lake County Major Crime Task Force spokesman Christopher Covelli.

Police found a 28-year-old man from unincorporated Round Lake who was staying at an extended relative’s home on Fairport Drive, Covelli said. The man’s mother, who wasn’t there, had called police.

As two officers came up to speak with the man, he allegedly came outside with a pistol, Covelli said. The man pointed the pistol at the officers, and one of the officers discharged his firearm at the man, striking him, Covelli said.

Officers treated the man until paramedics arrived. He remained hospitalized in serious but stable condition.

Police later determined the object pointed at Grayslake officers was a replica semi-automatic pistol with a black and silver finish, Covelli said. There were no markings on the firearm to indicate it was a replica.

The results of the Lake County Major Crime Task Force’s investigation will be turned over to the Lake County state’s attorney’s office, Covelli said.

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Well, well, well, Sox fans. The moment we’ve all been waiting for has arrived: MLB Opening Day. On April 1, the White Sox 2021 season starts in Los Angeles against the Angels. We don’t mean to sound like pre-World Series era Cubs fans, but this is the year! Or at least, it’s the beginning of years of postseason success for this franchise. The organization put the pieces in place this offseason. And after a lackluster spring, we’re ready for some meaningful baseball. We’ve got you Southsiders covered with some key players for and this season plays out with Opening Day around the corner.

Our MVP Bet

Give us a T, dot the I, curly M and Anderson. MVP! 

We’re betting hard that Tim Anderson earns MVP honors for the Sox in 2021. At 27 years old, Tim is a clubhouse leader and the reigning MLB/AL batting title holder shows no signs of slowing down. He certainly hasn’t kept quiet about how good he thinks the Sox are. In a radio interview, Tim is quoted saying, “F*** it, we’re the best team in the American League,” and the rest of the baseball world heard him loud and clear. If he’s right, he’ll certainly have to lead the charge in our race to the top of the MLB standings.

Sox 2021 Pick-to-Click

No powerhouse of a batting order gets by in this league if the defense isn’t there to back them up. And at the heart of every MLB defense is a strong pitching rotation. Openers, relievers, closers, you name it, the White Sox have it. Which is why our Pick-to-Click is right-handed youngster, Dylan Cease.

Since his first outing in 2019, Cease has been hyped up as a premium pitching talent. However, like high expectations usually go, he’s had difficulties living up to them. Yasmani Grandal certainly thinks highly of him as he’s gone as far to say he sees Cease as a Cy Young caliber player. We aren’t counting that out, but we also don’t think he needs to get there yet. The White Sox have a stellar rotation, and if Cease finds his groove it could spell disasters for others come playoffs.

Predicting the Season

The number crunchers and AI over at FiveThirtyEight don’t seem as hyped for the White Sox 2021 season with their predictions for the MLB this year. But lucky for us, we get to make our own prediction here. We’re basing this year’s predictions solely off of the pace they set for the 60 games played in 2020. This would put them finishing at 93-67, hopefully 1st in the AL Central, and locked-and-loaded for fall. Our reasoning for maintaining the pace is that the offseason signings made us better, but Eloy Jimenez is out for the next 5-6 months, and that sets us back considerably. So, we have them at the same pace with the high hopes of a trophy-raising outcome in the postseason.

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Not only is being outside still the safest way to be together, but it’s also much more comfortable as temperatures begin to rise in Chicago. While April is always a bit of a wild card where weather is concerned, with more sunshine and warmer breezes, Chicagoans are ready to get outdoors and have some fun. Here are six things to do outside in Chicago this April to gear up for the springtime bloom!

You can get out and about this spring while supporting the Northcenter Chamber of Commerce and Common Pantry! Walk, run, or bike safely and at your own pace, and don’t forget to bring the provided map and interactive bingo card to get the full experience.

While many of the zoo’s buildings are still closed for safety reasons, you can enjoy all of the wildlife living outdoors at LPZ! There are always new fluffy and feathered friends to meet, and it’s a perfect opportunity to get outside in Chicago’s rising temperatures this month.

Starting in April, the world’s “largest permanent digital art projection” will feature Astrographics— a four-part artistic piece produced by Adler Planetarium which “will explore ways in which humans conceptualize and visualize their universe.” If you’ve been staring at the same four walls for most of the winter, this is a great way to get out and…reconceptualize your universe.

Even if you live in Chicago, it can be fun to be a tourist in your own city for a day. Learn more about the spookier side of Chicago’s history with the Gangsters and Ghosts Tour— a socially-distanced, limited-capacity walking tour running four times daily and hitting spots like Palmer House and the Congress Hotel.

Seeing live music in person continues to be difficult to do safely, but Montrose Saloon provides a space for musicians and listeners alike to make it work. Almost every night, there’s an outdoor show (weather permitting) featuring a local artist, and with no cover charge— so don’t forget to hit that tip jar!

Locals and tourists alike agree that the architecture cruise tour in Chicago is a great way to experience the city. During the Chicago Architecture Foundation Center’s 90-minute River Cruise, you’ll learn the background of over 50 buildings along the Chicago River, all while enjoying the spring sunshine (hopefully!).

Image by Day_Photo from Pixabay 

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The importance of self-care

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By Howard Moore,
today at 9:45 am

A couple of weeks ago I was in bed watching television. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, except it was in the middle of the afternoon. The thought came to me that I spend a lot of my time doing this…too much of my time. And when I’m not lounging watching the tube, I get behind a computer and either check out the internet or write. Plenty of times I have my laptop and tv going at the same time. I can do kicked-back multi-tasking with the best of them.

I lead a sedentary lifestyle….very sedentary.

It hasn’t always been this way. This is a fairly recent development. Even though I haven’t worked a 9-to-5 gig in some time, I was still fairly active. Yeah, I may have created activities to keep myself from being bored to death, but at least I was doing something.

But then came the pandemic….

I can’t totally blame the pandemic. In the early days I made a determined effort to keep moving. I’d walk around my neighborhood a few times each day. Besides the exercise, the walks helped keep my mind off all the illness and death that was surrounding us.

I’m not sure when and why I stopped walking. Maybe the obsession with getting in the daily 5000 to 7000 steps burned me out. Maybe it was the cold temperatures of late fall/winter that made going outside less appealing. Probably it was some of both.

Last week I told this story to my mental health professional. Hey, if you’ve read the last few paragraphs, you can’t be surprised I have a therapist. Anyway, her response to when I told her about the recent ‘laziness’ was to tell me not to use that word. She said to call it a “lack of motivation.”

Next, she talked about the importance of self-care. You need to do the things that make and keep you physically and mentally happy and healthy. It’s especially important during a pandemic that is keeping most of us at home.

We talked about setting up some goals. Nothing too stressful; just find a few things to do every day that would make me feel better about myself and life. They include reading books, listening to music and walking.

I’m back out on the streets again. But, instead of stressing over not hitting an arbitrary goal, I take a short walk until I feel like stopping. If I miss a day, it’s not a big deal. There’s always tomorrow.

Related Post: What can you do during a week off during a pandemic

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Free Your Mind

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Does Your Status Determine How You Treat People?

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By Tiffany Grant,
today at 9:21 am

People get the job done, no matter what that job may be. Money, power, and prestige does not do what people can do, so be intentional about how you treat people, all people. Money, power, and prestige can alter how people respond – it can intimidate as well as motivate behavior. Even if you’re in a position that influences or dictates the people who are chosen for the job, how those people perform will eventually boil down to how you treat them. At some point, money, power, and prestige will not matter as much as how you make people feel.

Do you treat people the way you want to be treated? Or do you treat people how you can merely based on your status? It’s better to treat people the way you would want to be treated as that is sure. All else is subject to change.

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“Bally Sports Big Opening Day” will air Thursday on Bally’s 19 regional sports networks. It will originate from Stadium’s studios in the United Center.

Another regional sports network is set to launch, and though it won’t be seen in Chicago, its grand opening will be held here.

The Fox Sports RSNs that Sinclair bought from Disney in August 2019 finally will be rebranded as Bally Sports on Wednesday. So viewers of, say, the St. Louis Blues and Cardinals on Fox Sports Midwest soon will be watching them on Bally Sports Midwest.

To celebrate, the network will air “Bally Sports Big Opening Day” from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Central on Thursday in conjunction with MLB’s Opening Day. The show will be produced and hosted by Stadium, another Sinclair property, and originate from its studios in the United Center.

However, the show will cover more than baseball.

“This isn’t a baseball Opening Day show, this is a Bally opening day show,” said Adam Anshell, Stadium managing director of operations. “As we see the rebrand happening, we want to shine a light on how much Bally Sports has. They’ll have 30 broadcasts on Opening Day across all the Bally networks between MLB, NHL, NBA.

“Between the teams themselves, there’s so many great stories and players, but also the talent that we have across these networks, whether it’s Matt Vasgersian [Angels], Chip Caray [Braves], Tom Glavine [Braves], Jim Edmonds [Cardinals], Jack Morris [Tigers], all of these names are part of this family. Now we can bring it all together in one place to kick things off with the Bally name.”

Bally has the rights to 14 MLB teams, and all of their games will be broadcast that day by their respective RSNs. All 19 Bally RSNs will carry the show, which will be hosted by Stadium’s Michael Kim, Bally Sports SoCal reporter Kristina Pink and Charlotte Hornets voice Eric Collins of Bally Sports Southeast.

As each opening game approaches, the show will send each audience to that game’s pregame show. For instance, the first network game is Indians-Tigers at 12:10 p.m. Central. At 11 a.m., that audience will leave the show for local pregame programming, but the Bally show will go on.

“The idea being if you want to come in a little early before your pregame show – or for some of those West Coast teams a lot early for their pregame show – there’s going to be a ton of great content, interviews, features, things like that,” Anshell said.

“We’ll even mix in some of the things that Stadium brings to the family, as well, with [college basketball reporter] Jeff Goodman being in Indianapolis for the Final Four, [NBA reporter] Shams Charania will be in studio to talk NBA. We’ll include the Tennis Channel, which is another Sinclair property. Really just trying to show the full scope of what we have available.”

Though Stadium doesn’t figure to put on such an extravaganza like this again, it could spark other collaborations between Stadium and its sister stations.

“Once we see the power of that, it could make an amazing opportunity to do more of that going forward,” Anshell said. “There’s a general sense that when Sinclair bought the RSNs, it wasn’t just to keep the status quo. It was trying to find more opportunities to grow and build these and building value in time periods beyond the games.”

Stadium sports network is available on over-the-air broadcast TV (Channel 62.2 in Chicago), its app, watchstadium.com and many other providers, such as YouTube TV, Sling TV and fuboTV. However, the show only can be seen on the Bally RSNs.

Still, some of Stadium’s programming might be familiar to viewers of Marquee Sports Network, which is jointly owned by Sinclair and the Cubs. Stadium produces two monthly shows for Marquee: “Chris & Tell,” an interview show hosted by Chris Myers, and “Class is in Session,” a topical show hosted by Doug Glanville that examines societal issues in sports.

And with 19 new siblings in the family, Stadium, which launched in August 2017, wants to do more.

“We’re looking for a bigger opportunity to come along with the RSNs,” Anshell said. “If we’re going to be able to launch any kind of regular programming that we would do on the RSNs, we want to be ready for that.”

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Less than an hour later, an off-duty Chicago police officer shot someone breaking into their home in Portage Park.

A Chicago police officer fatally shot an armed man in Portage Park, according to police, in the second police shooting early Wednesday on the Northwest Side.

Officers began chasing the man on foot at 12:20 a.m. in the 3500 block of North Laramie Avenue, Chicago police said in a statement.

The man allegedly pulled out a gun in the 5200 block of West Eddy Street, “which led to a confrontation with police,” and an officer fired shots striking him, police said.

The man was taken to Illinois Masonic Medical Center where he was pronounced dead, police said. His name hasn’t been released.

Police spokesman Tom Ahern shared a photo of a weapon allegedly recovered from the man.

CPD spokesman Tom Ahern/Twitter

The specifics of the shooting were being investigated by the Civilian Office of Police Accountability with the cooperation of the Chicago Police Department, police said. The officers involved will be placed on routine administrative duties for 30 days.

Less than an hour later, an off-duty Chicago police officer shot someone breaking into their home in Portage Park on the Northwest Side. The officer shot the man in his face about 12:55 a.m. as the man broke into the officer’s home in the 3100 block of Belle Plaine Avenue, police said. The man was rushed in serious condition to Illinois Masonic Medical Center.

Wednesday’s police shootings mark the sixth and seventh police shootings in Chicago this month.

Early Monday, Chicago police fatally shot an armed person and arrested another after responding to gunfire in Little Village. Last Thursday, an alleged shoplifter was killed in a shootout with police after he shot a security guard and an officer in Back of the Yards on the South Side.

On March 20, an officer was shot in her hand Saturday during a SWAT standoff in the Austin neighborhood by a man who allegedly wanted to “lure” cops to the area, according to prosecutors. On March 15, an off-duty officer was ambushed by two gunman while stopped in traffic in the Calumet Heights neighborhood

On March 14, an on-duty CPD sergeant was shot while standing in the parking lot of the Gresham District police station, at 7808 S. Halsted St.

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