Chicago in 2022? Much like in 2021

 2021 was a watershed year for Chicago and for many, both residents and lawmakers alike, it seemed to be the year of trouble, frustration, and even rage; much of it centered on Mayor Lori Lightfoot, the city’s second Black, and openly gay, mayor.

As the dean of the local political press, Fran Spielman of the Chicago Sun Times, noted some months ago, keeping crime down and the school system sound are hallmarks of the mayor’s office, no matter who is on the seat, or rather hot seat.

Looking at these two key areas we find a very different woman from the one who ran for office, and who, in many respects, seems more like her immediate predecessor, Rahm Emanuel: prickly, thin skinned and prone to defending her appointed leadership, even when they fall on their swords.

In several key, and related areas, she departed from the populist stance that she had as a mayoral candidate, notably for an elected school board, that she favored in one fashion, or another, and which helped her win in key wards, but later condemned.

Crime prevails as number one problem

Unfortunately, for many residents, crime, while on the rise across the nation, seems to have dominated her tenure, and nearly every Chicago headline; while the homicide rate has soared in the space of a year.“

Murders in Chicago last year increased by more than 50%,” the Chicago Sun-Times reported, “compared to a national increase of 30%.”

This area in particular has made Lightfoot the punching bag for many sections of Chicago, and her handpicked Police Superintendent David Brown, imported from Dallas, seems ineffectual, or naive at best, in the court of public opinion

This was especially seen in the aftermath of the George Floyd murder with looters that tailgated peaceful protests in the city and seemed to set the tone, as violence and robberies increased downtown in 2021, with no real abatement in sight.

Carjacking, likewise, was a national trend, but, in Chicago, it seemed like a hobby for many of the city’s youth, as they swept across downtown, Boystown, and the far North Side, stealing subcompact cars, as well as luxury models such as a Mercedes Benz; and, all with the tap of the revolver against the driver’s window. 

Some drivers fought back and were pistol whipped, others were able to flee on foot, but many failed and often lost their phones, wallets and purses, in the process.

These were Intersected with drive-by shootings, the seemingly routine domestic violence, freeway vigilantes wielding guns, but none seemed to match the smash and grabs along Michigan Avenue and Oak Street, as every chic shop had their windows rammed by rental trucks, or flash mobs, entering and stealing everything in sight, later to  be sold on the internet, by black marketeers.

Fashionable women on a budget might be careful in buying an evening bag, from an unknown website at a deeply discounted price, not knowing that it once graced the window of Louis Vuitton, or Gucci.

Helping to derive local coffers of needed revenue as the city struggles to regain an economic foothold after Covid lockdowns; crime and robberies can also affect the tourist trade, as well as local suburbanites going downtown for dinner and a show, and the overseas visitor looking to explore what is often touted as a world class city.

Contrary to public belief Lightfoot has never called for defunding the police, and in fact, her efforts to balance accountability, and give them a long delayed raise, has been largely ignored.

Likewise, Kim Foxx, States Attorney for Cook County has also taken a number of hits, even outside of her fumbling with the Jussie Smollett case, where an early recusal could have saved her from disgrace; but, along with the may she has been repeatedly blamed for the increased crime in Chicago.

With many criminals released on ankle bracelets, and 10 percent bail, the perps are back on duty, often the next night. Foxx in a recent radio interview on WCPT, said “those are the judges” not her office, but many resident and business owners have wondered aren't they under her purview, and why the almost laughing dismissal?

Right behind crime? Chicago Public Schools and COVID

Chicago Public Schools faced the challenges of teaching remotely, or in person, and how to deal with the safety of staff as well as students with Covid. So much so that there were photos of teachers giving remote instruction on laptops perched on snack tables, with teachers in  folding chairs, outside in the freezing cold, in front of their schools.

Former CPS head, Janice Jackson after playing cat and mouse games with the Chicago Teachers Union over safety concerns became so worn down, that she resigned in May of last year.

Now with  increased hospitalizations of children, and an equal rise for adults with the Omicron variant, new concerns are on the horizon and both the CTU and CPS are in meetings as on Wednesday, teachers refused to teach in person; a necessity they say with most students unvaccinated, 60%, at last estimate, and many, unsure of the new variant and its effect on them, and anyone in their care, outside of school.

Now, with name calling and accusations of incompetence, last year’s troubles have resurfaced, and City hall and the new head, Pedro Martinez, seem headed for a public showdown. 

Much like before, in August, as The Chicago Tribune then reported, concerns are for those “COVID 19 quarantine procedures and telework accommodations for CTU members who are medically unable to return to classrooms.”

While students returned to class on Monday after the winter break, new infections due to record level increases of the Omicron variant, the return to the remote has been called a “walkout” according to school district leaders.

They also maintain that current procedures like masking, weekly testing and improved air filtration are enough, and the city’s chief medical officer, Dr. Allison Arwady has said the schools are safe.

Plans to keep the 350,000 student district buildings open reflect both the national trend to keep children in school, and reflect that many parents need to work, in the absence of child care. 

A repeat of 2021 seems imminent and the celebrity endorsement of the CTU is pending.

All of this is set against the drumbeat of complaints about the crime, even with single digit temps reigning in some activity, but crime on Chicago’s subway system, especially its main red line, add to the furor with many residents avoiding it like the plague.

Sentencing and electronic monitoring, battle on!

Central to much of resident ire last year was the sentencing system which bordered on lenience, said many. They also were irate at the electronic monitoring that seemed to be of no effect in monitoring criminal behavior, now, or in the future.

In July of last year, reported The Chicago Sun-Times, after an especially violent July Fourth weekend, “Police Supt. David Brown on Tuesday pointed at the county’s justice system for last weekend’s violence, alleging the courts have been too lenient on those charged with crimes.”

“Chicago police officers are doing their job by arresting people and charging them with murder,” Brown said. “That’s doing our part. And what’s happening in the courts, it’s creating this unsafe environment for all of us.”

According to The Chicago Sun Times, “State’s Attorney Kim Foxx later responded, that day, in a Tweet saying, “Finger-pointing instead of talking honestly about the violence plaguing our city doesn’t help bring solutions that make our communities safer. It starts with apprehending those who pull the trigger; police must make an arrest before a case reaches the courthouse door."

In spite of Brown’s comment, in most violent crime cases where felony charges are sought, police do not charge suspects. Chicago police investigate and present their evidence to Foxx’s Felony Review Unit, which then approves or rejects the charges, or asks the police to investigate further.

This understanding of who does what when a suspect is arrested, is not just Brown mispeaking, but is attributable to much of the public perception as well.

Not helping is the fact that Foxx has dropped many felony charges according to a Chicago Tribune Analysis in August of 2021, and, using statistical software, concluded that “The state’s attorney’s office under Foxx dismissed felony cases at a higher rate than under Alvarez.”

They summed it up by stating that “final outcomes of changes in a case, such as guilty pleas, a finding of not guilty or being dropped entirely,” by Foxx’s office, with a score of 25,183 v. 18,694.

62% of Chicago residents feel that crime has increased from more than a year ago, making it the number one issue.

In tandem with this is that Foxx in a desire to mitigate Covid in the penal system decided not prosecute low level crimes, such as shoplifting, by increasing the dollar amount to $1,000, but as St. Teresa once said, the road to hell is paved with good intentions, and her actions have pilloried her judicial reputation.

In an attempt to stem the tide, and save the day Lightfoot in January for a moratorium on electronic monitoring for the most violent offenders,and said, ““I must continue to sound the alarm about the growing number of pre-trial offenders released back to the communities in Chicago on electronic monitoring,” the mayor wrote. “The ballooning number of violent and dangerous people on EM is one of those drivers as they impact the communities to which they return in multiple, harmful ways.” 

This proposal was quickly shot down by Cook County Chief Judge Timothy Evans who in his fiery retort, said, “In a statement Tuesday, Evans said that under the U.S. and state constitutions, Lightfoot’s request to end electronic monitoring for some defendants treated them as if they were “considered guilty until proven innocent,” reported the Sun Times.

“A judge cannot hold someone pretrial without a finding that the defendant poses a real and present threat to the physical safety of any person. This must be found by clear and convincing evidence and the burden of proof is on the prosecution,” Evans wrote. “The mayor’s proposal seems to require that defendants facing certain allegations be considered guilty until proven innocent.”

His office reported that, “The number of defendants on electronic monitoring as of mid-year 2021 was 3,599, an increase of about 1,400 from 2017 levels”, added the Times.

Where perception meets reality has become problematic with a “he said”, “she said”, between the two, each presenting their stats, with the mayor saying there were 130 people who committed crimes on EM, but Evans said that,”less than 1% of would amount to less than 1% of all cases that include a charge for a violent or weapons-related offense.”

Entering the fray was this:” More than 80% of defendants were not arrested for new charges while on bond, and only 3% picked up a new arrest for a violent offense, according to a 2020 report by Loyola University researchers,” added the paper.

If hope was a promise, then all would be well for Chicago in 2022, but for schools and crime, it looks to be a repeat of 2021.

 

Chicago Public Schools face anxiety with a surging virus

When Chicago Public Schools open Monday, students, parents and staff will face a different landscape than last year, which due to the Coronavirus pandemic, mostly prevented in person learning; but, this year is different both with the Delta Variant surge as well as politics.

While many parents bemoaned the pressure, and the challenges of remote learning, there were some, perhaps the minority, where students thrived, including some special needs students who welcomed the change; but, for many others it hampered both their social and emotional skills development. 

CPS largely agrees that the benefits of classroom learning are the best course, but they have also frustrated some parents who want a greater level of protection from the surging Delta Variant, as well as a level of commitment that there be some contingency plans for remote learning.

They are joined by the Chicago Teachers Union who would like to see some type of plan, even an algorithm, that would protect students and teachers, if cases increase, and schools may need to close, even if only for a few weeks.

What they have received is that there will be no mandatory online health check required, and that parents are on their own judgement to create one. Added to that there is a looser path towards social distancing, with a varied view ranging from  3 to 6 feet, but with the latter maintained during lunch periods.

Masks are now mandatory from last week’s order from Illinois governor, J.B. Pritzker, who says they must be worn by everyone 2 or older, beginning Monday, and for students, “from kindergarten to college,” reported The New York Times.

Chicago is the nation’s third largest school system, and faces wide gaps in racial makeup, student family income, and also contains many homeless children, who face the pandemic in ways that other students may not.

Leading the changes, and the worries among parents and educators is that “the seven day average of newly reported Covid 19 cases in the state has tripled to 3,533 from 1,140 a month ago, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University,” and reported by The Wall Street Journal last week.

Hospitalizations have also increased at a level not seen since May, which concerns the Illinois Department of Public Health Director Ngozi Ezike as she has seen an increase filling hospital beds to an average of almost 500 ICU beds.

As we’ve seen, most of these occur among the unvaccinated, and with school children under 12 years old, who cannot yet be vaccinated, protections are now in place from the state as well as the local level in Illinois.

Pritzker’s mask mandate is a strong measure to prevent the further spread in this population, and  has so far not been a political football as in other states such as Texas, or Florida; giving relief to many.

Illinois Gov. Pritzker

One development for those schools in some states that are fighting for, or rejecting, mask mandates is that insurance providers may not provide coverage for pandemic related lawsuits this school year, noted edweek.org, and that they “are also threatening to entirely drop districts hat fail to follow public health mandes, such as states’ requirements that all students wear masks.”

“Everyone has an idea of what the guidance should be. But insurance companies have the power to say, ‘We won’t cover you,’” said Helio Brasil, the superintendent of the Keyes Union school district in California. “There’s a veto power there, and I’m back at ground zero.”

“PJ Caposey, the superintendent of the Meridian school district in Illinois, has been struggling to explain to parents in his community why he’s requiring all students this fall to wear masks inside school buildings.

Earlier this summer, the district had planned to make masks optional. Even when public-health agencies were strongly recommending masks, Caposey held firm.

That changed on Aug. 4, when Gov. J.B. Pritzker issued a statewide mandate for universal masking in schools to combat the surging spread of the highly contagious Delta variant of COVID-19.”

“I live in a community that would prefer me to defy the governor’s order and just do school the way I want to,” Caposey said.

But, Caposey said, “If we don’t listen, the insurance companies can say we’re not going to be protected. People don’t want to believe me or don’t think that’s a good enough reason.”

There has been a steady increase in children with Covid since July, a fourfold increase according to the American Academy of Pediatrics, “rising from about 38,000 cases the week ended July 22 to 180,000 the past week, according to the AAP,” in a report cited by the Journal.

An important caveat is that all who  are “eligible in a household with young children get vaccinated to better protect them,” they added.

The Midwest, along with the South, has also seen a significant increase in the number of children admitted with Covid 19, reaching a peak of 282 from Aug. 12 to the 18th, yet the AAP considers these hospitalizations, and even death, uncommon.

Edging into the data, and beyond, is that many school districts are distancing themselves from “clear metrics” and have moved to a wait-and-see approach, added the Journal, and this seems to be the Chicago approach: avoiding repeated change, and subsequent anger from teachers by the very powerful CTU.

What CPS has said is that there might be a “brief pause in an entire school’s operation is a serious step, but may be necessary in some circumstances.”

Hitting the nail on the head was Jennifer Finley, the health services director at Dallas Independent School District, who in her Journal interview, said, “There’s no magic number.”

That may be the case but, “districts around the country are already seeing quarantines and closures due to the virus. More than 10,700 students and school employees in Hillsborough County, Fla., last week were either in isolation because of a positive Covid 19 test or in quarantine due to potential exposure.”

Close on the heels of the numbers is a high level of anxiety, reported The Hill, on Monday, that Boston’s Children’s Hospital has seen more children report to the hospital with symptoms of anxiety,” than pre-pandemic.

It was also noted that ”already, schools in 19 states have sent at least 90,000 students to quarantine, while others have shut down, just days and weeks into the year.”

Taking a giant leap forward was the Culver City Unified District outside of Los Angeles who are making all students over the age of 12 to get vaccinated “by mid November to help avoid closure decisions.”

New York has the largest public school system in the US and has taken a more targeted approach to the dilemma and has a plan that “will test a random sample of 10 percent of people in schools every other week,” that will focus on students, and only students, while all adults will face a vaccination requirement.

All elementary children will face required testing, with parental consent, and “only unvaccinated middle and high schoolers will be tested, reported the Times.

Monday afternoon’s news from The Hill has chilled those states that have bans on mask mandates:

“The Education Department announced on Monday that it has opened civil rights investigations into five statewide bans on mask mandates to determine whether they discriminate against students with disabilities.

The department’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) sent letters to school officials in Iowa, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Utah describing how bans on universal mask requirements could prevent schools from implementing policies that protect students from COVID-19, particularly those with underlying medical conditions “related to their disability.”

Spared, for the moment, are Arkansas, Florida and Texas, “because those states are not yet enforcing their policies due to court battles or “”other state actions.””