The superintendent emailed parents, “students that are required to quarantine for travel-related reasons (i.e., travel to high-risk area), will not be permitted to access remote learning during the quarantine period.” Some in the community are thrilled with the tough policy. Others feel it’s overreach, saying kids should never be prevented from learning remotely during the pandemic.

The proposal also endorses the task force recommendations that the city prioritize building affordable housing in areas served by CTA trains and buses, and centralizing marketing and leasing efforts via a web portal to ensure prospective tenants do not experience racial or economic discrimination.

Mark Brown: “It was a rare election-year display of political independence for the judges, who saw in the attack on Toomin, a respected veteran jurist, a clear threat to their own autonomy. Whether this turns out to be a revolt from the Democratic Party itself or just a revolt from Preckwinkle’s leadership of the party remains to be seen.”

“In fact, Brian Koch, of the Division of Environmental Health, said in the letter that…players and spectators can minimize exposure by ‘cleaning clothing and equipment of dust or loose dirt prior to leaving the field” and washing hands after playing. The letter also suggested removing shoes when going inside homes, using door mats and vacuuming frequently. And Koch recommended eating a balanced diet with vitamins and minerals.'”

Said Dr. David Ansell, the chief health equity officer at Rush University Medical Center, “People’s housing is different. Their schools are different. They live in unsafe neighborhoods. They have different access to food, different access to health care and different access to jobs. And these life conditions create the social inequities that drive poor health.”

The group of parents at Thursday’s rally comes from about a dozen nearby districts. “I do believe there’s a way our school board can get the kids back safely. They’re willing you wear masks. They’re willing to wash their hands. They just need to be in the classroom,” one parent said.

“For me, the greater offense is school officials getting it into their heads that they have the right or the obligation to get involved in the details of any family’s life. It is beyond arrogance to deny a child an education–even if it is the second-rate remote kind–as a club to push a family around.”

However, those cuts will not be possible in 2021, since they are required by labor agreements approved by the City Council. The City Council’s Office of Financial Analysis also recommended that the city require officers to carry liability insurance as a way to reduce the cost to taxpayers to settle misconduct lawsuits. That change would require a change in state law.

Ald. Michele Smith (43^rd), the former federal prosecutor now chairing the City Council’s Committee on Rules and Ethics, said, “A lot of the scandals that are going on right now in the state of Illinois have to do with really small municipalities. The mayor of McCook [was indicted]. … It is important that citizens have confidence that their elected officials are only there to benefit them.”

Samantha Harris, a free speech and due process rights attorney, said, “It sets forth the English department’s very specific views on contested political issues and effectively says ‘those who disagree need not apply. [The university] may certainly have the right to do that, but it’s a sad commentary on the state of American higher education.”

“You tell us you know who did it but you’re not doing nothing about it. We are upset. We are hurt,” one family member said during the rally. Some parents are now asking for the federal authorities to take over their cases instead.

“We’re a progressive community and we’re concerned about systemic criminal justice issues and police reform and we want alternative strategies for prevention,” State Rep. Ann Williams said. “But when a shooting happens at a day care, you need to take some action while also still looking at long-term strategies to prevent this.”

Djuan Wash, an activist with Black Lives Activists of Kenosha, was one of the counter-protesters who came to Chicago to “have a conversation with those who don’t believe that Black lives matter.” He said most people screamed at him and told him to go home, but a few listened. “A few did engage, and we began to find out that there were a lot of things we agreed on in terms of how things are run in the country.”

“We campaigned against aldermanic prerogative because we thought it would be replaced by community prerogative, with transparent and accountable processes for things like landmark districts and liquor licenses,” Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez (25th) said. “Unfortunately what we’ve seen so far is much worse: mayoral prerogative.”

Days before the stabbing, Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx’s office had the chance to object to Williams’ release from electronic monitoring on an unrelated charge for the theft of more than a dozen firearms from a gun shop but did not, according to attorneys representing Calderon and Foxx’s opponent in her re-election campaign, Judge Pat O’Brien.

“My landlords are very desperate. They have [renters who] are working but don’t want to pay,” Chicago attorney Carol Oshana said. “It’s extremely difficult to get somebody out right now. Extremely. Even if they are the worst tenants. Even if they are having the police called over and over again. It’s very difficult.”

Demeatreas Whatley, a violence interrupterwith the organization Cure Violence in the South Side neighborhood of Grand Crossing, said that his community feels “on edge” this year. “The way it is now, these guys, if they get word that three of their guys are getting tooled with on a particular block, they don’t care — they’ll shoot the whole block up.”

Mr. Biss responded, “The most important thing is to give everyone a seat at the table. Evanston is home to plenty of skilled and experienced advocates, which is a blessing, but that sometimes means that other voices get ignored.

Said the city’s Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection, “…(W)e have created processes that involve rapid review by various City Departments to ensure safe and responsible operation. While some permits applications have raised public safety concerns or been submitted with missing pieces, we issue the majority of permits within 10 days of a completed application.”