Increase The Peace youth leader Anahi Botello led a peace walk in Little Village on Sunday to memorialize Adam Toledo, the 13-year-old who was fatally shot by police in the neighborhood on March 29.

“That was very empowering because I am a Little Village citizen and in a lot of ways I empathize with Adam,” Botello said. 

While she’s glad she was able to use her voice, Botello feels she didn’t do enough. The peace walk was just a starting point for change, she said.

Photos: Little Village Peace Walk Memorializes 13-Year-Old Adam Toledo

This weekend, protesters took to the streets, in Little Village and other parts of the city, after the Civilian Office of Police Accountability released police body camera footage of the shooting.

For weeks, Little Village has been in the spotlight, as have conversations about gang violence and disinvestment. Community organizations, some based in Little Village and others that include the community in their service areas, are working to help residents heal and address the systemic issues the neighborhood faces. 

“Our residents are strong. They’re resilient. It’s a strong neighborhood,” said Baltazar Enriquez, president of the Little Village Community Council. “Seeing the video did hurt us a lot. It broke us down to the core.”

Solomon Martinez said residents are coping in lots of different ways. Martinez is the youth program manager at the Erie Neighborhood House in Little Village, which serves young people between fifth and 12th grades, offering support like mentorship, counseling and development programs. Young people guide the program and help determine what resources and services are necessary.

“This is a single incident in a long history of community violence and state violence in Little Village,” Martinez said. “A lot of what youth are trying to do is find that space where they feel good, where they feel whole because this hurts.”

Martinez said people are also trying to grieve and are looking for opportunities to turn their rage and passion into change. 

A memorial of candles and flowers for 13-year-old Adam Toledo sits near the alley where he was killed March 29 by a Chicago police officer. (WTTW News)

Increase The Peace, a violence prevention organization, operates on the Southwest Side, with a chapter in Little Village. Executive Director Berto Aguayo said investment in neighborhoods like Little Village is critical, including funds for violence prevention initiatives, jobs for young people, housing and wraparound services. 

“Police and gang violence, street violence, have the same common denominator: disinvestment,” Aguayo said. “When you look at communities like Little Village, like Back of the Yards, like Englewood, communities that have high levels of violence, they’re also the very same communities with high levels of youth unemployment, where it’s harder to find an after-school program to engage in, where it’s a lot harder to find a mental health center.”

He said youth need to be invested in — with opportunities, mentorship and guidance so that gangs don’t fill that void. 

“Gang involvement is way more complicated than, ‘There’s not a job so I’m joining a gang,’” Martinez said. “A lot of what we’re trying to do is create a community where people can dream and those dreams have an impact. That the thing that a youth wants to do is available to them. That’s one of the things that youth in Little Village are constantly navigating is, ‘I want to do this, but I don’t have this option, this is not available to me.’”

Botello also said Little Village needs more resources, including funding and mental health resources. 

“We need people who are for our people, not against our people,” Botello said. “We need people that can empathize, can sympathize, that understand why we are the way we are and what we are going through and actually see potential in us.”

View Original Source

Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II sits alone in St. George’s Chapel during the funeral of Prince Philip, the man who had been by her side for 73 years, at Windsor Castle, Windsor, England, Saturday April 17, 2021. Prince Philip died April 9 at the age of 99 after 73 years of marriage to Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II. (Jonathan Brady / Pool via AP)

WINDSOR, England (AP) — Sitting by herself at the funeral of Prince Philip on Saturday, Queen Elizabeth cut a regal, but solitary figure: still the monarch, but now alone.

The queen sat apart from family members at the simple but somber ceremony in accordance with strict social distancing rules during the coronavirus pandemic. But if the ceremony had been for anyone else, at her side would have been her husband of 73 years, who gave a lifetime of service to the crown.

Wearing a facemask, the queen was dressed all in black, except for the diamond brooch that flashed on her left shoulder — a piece she had often worn on engagements with her husband.

The monarch’s four children and eight grandchildren sat in small groups nearby, during a stripped-back service at Windsor Castle that made their loss somehow more personal for people who often live their lives in public. The pandemic has put Britain’s royal family in the same position as many others, unable to give loved ones the sendoffs they would have wanted.

Just 30 mourners were allowed to attend the service for the prince, who died April 9 at the age of 99.

“We have been inspired by his unwavering loyalty to our queen, by his service to the nation and the Commonwealth, by his courage, fortitude and faith,” the dean of Windsor, David Conner, said in his call to prayer. “Our lives have been enriched through the challenges that he has set us; the encouragement that he has given us; his kindness, humor and humanity.”

Philip’s body was carried to St. George’s Chapel at the castle on a Land Rover that the prince himself had specially designed. It was followed by members of the Royal Family, including Princes William and Harry, who made their first public appearance together since Harry and his wife, Meghan, gave a controversial interview to U.S. television host Oprah Winfrey in which they discussed the difficulties of royal life and how the two brothers had grown apart.

The procession traversed the grounds of Windsor Castle, passing military detachments arrayed under bright blue skies.

The nation honored Philip with a minute’s silence observed across the United Kingdom at 3 p.m., its beginning and end marked by a gun fired by the King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery. The final shot signaled the start of a funeral service steeped in military and royal tradition, but infused with the duke’s personality.

Inside the medieval Gothic chapel, the setting for centuries of royal weddings and funerals, this service was quiet and without excessive pageantry. Philip was deeply involved in planning the ceremony. At his request, there was no sermon. There were also no eulogies or readings, in keeping with royal tradition.

Former Bishop of London Richard Chartres, who knew Philip well, said the 50-minute service reflected the preferences of the prince, who was a man of faith but liked things to be succinct.

“He was at home with broad church, high church and low church, but what he really liked was short church,” Chartres told the BBC.

The monarch offered her own touches to the day. Ahead of the funeral, Buckingham Palace released a photo of the queen and Philip, smiling and relaxing on blankets in the grass in the Scottish Highlands in 2003. The palace said the casual, unposed photo was a favorite of the queen.

Earlier in the day, a few local residents left flowers outside the castle, though most people heeded requests from the palace and police to stay away because of the pandemic.

The funeral procession and the service itself took place out of public view, within the grounds of the castle, a 950-year-old royal residence 20 miles (about 30 kilometers) west of London. It was broadcast live on television.

The day’s events began at 11 a.m., when Philip’s coffin was moved from the royal family’s private chapel to the Inner Hall of Windsor Castle, where it rested until the procession began. The coffin was draped with Philip’s personal standard, topped with his Admiral of the Fleet Naval Cap and sword. The sword was given to him by his father-in-law, King George VI, on the occasion of his marriage to the queen in 1947.

Composing a wreath atop the coffin were flowers chosen by the queen, including white lilies, small white roses, white freesia, white wax flower, white sweet peas and jasmine. A note from the monarch was attached, but its contents were not disclosed.

The funeral reflected Philip’s military ties, both as the ceremonial commander of many units and as a veteran of the Royal Navy who served with distinction during World War II. More than 700 military personnel took part in the commemorative events, including army bands, Royal Marine buglers and an honor guard drawn from across the armed forces.

The armed forces also sent wreaths of flowers that were laid outside St. George’s chapel, some with handwritten notes. One said the Royal Marines wanted to pay their respects to a man “who stood with us and among us for 64 years.”

Lieutenant Gen. Roland Walker, regimental lieutenant colonel of the Grenadier Guards, said his unit was honored to take part because of its close relationship with the prince. Philip served as regimental colonel of the guards, its honorary leader, for 42 years.

“This is a privilege,” he told the BBC. “Because my understanding is he planned this, so we’re here because he wanted us to be here, and that, I think, down to the junior guardsmen, is a known fact.’’

Philip and the queen’s children — Prince Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward — walked behind the hearse along with other members of the Royal Family, all of whom wore civilian clothes at the queen’s request. The queen followed in a Bentley.

William and Harry were part of the nine-member royal contingent, although their cousin, Peter Phillips, walked between them. There was no obvious tension between the brothers, whose relationship has been strained since Harry’s decision to quit royal duties and move to California. After the service, they walked back to the castle together, seeming to chat amiably.

Their appearance at the service stirred memories of the 1997 funeral of Princess Diana, when William and Harry, then 15 and 12, walked behind their mother’s coffin accompanied by Philip.

In honor of Philip’s military service, several elements of the funeral had a maritime theme, including the hymn “Eternal Father, Strong to Save,” which is associated with seafarers and seeks protection “for those in peril on the sea.”

As Philip’s coffin was lowered into the Royal Vault, Royal Marine buglers sounded “Action Stations,” an alarm that alerts sailors to prepare for battle — included in the service at Philip’s request. He will rest there, at least until the queen’s death, alongside the remains of 24 other royals, including King George III, whose reign included the years of the American Revolution. The queen and Philip are expected to be buried together in the Royal Burial Ground on the Frogmore Estate close to Windsor Castle.

For decades, Philip was a fixture of British life, renowned for his founding of the Duke of Edinburgh’s Awards program that encouraged youths to challenge themselves and for a blunt-spoken manner that at times included downright offensive remarks. He lived in his wife’s shadow, but his death has sparked a reflection about his role, and new appreciation from many in Britain.

“To be perfectly honest I didn’t realize the extent (of) what his life had been, what he had done for us all,” said Viv Davies, who came to pay her respects in Windsor. “He was a marvelous husband, wasn’t he, to the queen and the children? Just remarkable — and I don’t think we will see the like again.”

View Original Source

Health officials recommended a pause on the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine on Tuesday after six people experienced rare but severe blood clots.

The six adverse reactions to the vaccine were experienced by women aged 18 to 48 and resulted in one death. In a joint statement issued Tuesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Food and Drug Administration said the “these adverse events appear to be extremely rare.”

As of Tuesday, more than 6.8 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine had been administered.

Healthcare providers are urging the public to receive the currently approved and authorized Pfizer or Moderna vaccines.

Dr. Juanita Mora, an allergist and immunologist at the Chicago Allergy Center, said she’s observed vaccine hesitancy in the Latino community and said only about 11 percent of Illinois’ Latino community has received the COVID-19 vaccine.

“We have a lot of work to do but vaccine hesitancy is going to increase even more,” Mora.

You can read more about the Johnson & Johnson vaccine pause recommendation on the CDC’s website

View Original Source

Cook County is set to release 10,000 COVID vaccine appointments Tuesday afternoon.

The appointments are set to be released at noon and will include doses of both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.

“Following the expansion of eligibility on April 12, appointments will be available for individuals 16 years or older,” Cook County Health said in a release. “The Pfizer vaccine is the only vaccine currently approved for 16 and 17 year olds. As such, it is important for these individuals to schedule at a Pfizer site.”

The county noted that those ages 16 and 17 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian for their appointments.

Appointments can be made at vaccine.cookcountyil.gov or by calling (833) 308-1988 Monday – Frida between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. Monday through Friday and between 8 a.m. and 10 p.m. on Saturdays.

Meanwhile, Aurora also announced it is offering first-dose Pfizer vaccine appointments between April 20-27 at its mass vaccination site located at 970 N. Lake St. Appointments can be made at Kanevax.org.

View Original Source

Protestors gather in front of the Brooklyn Center Police Department during a protest in the shooting of Daunte Wright, Friday, April 16, 2021 in Brooklyn Center, Minn. Former Brooklyn Center police Officer Kim Potter was charged with second-degree manslaughter in Sunday’s shooting of Wright, a 20-year-old Black man, during a traffic stop. (Elizabeth Flores / Star Tribune via AP)

BROOKLYN CENTER, Minn. (AP) — As protests intensified in the Minneapolis suburb where a police officer fatally shot Daunte Wright, a group of Black men joined the crowd intent on keeping the peace and preventing protests from escalating into violence.

Hundreds of people have gathered outside the heavily guarded Brooklyn Center police station every night since Sunday, when former Officer Kim Potter, who is white, shot the 20-year-old Black motorist during a traffic stop. Despite the mayor’s calls for law enforcement and protesters to scale back their tactics, the nights have often ended in objects hurled, tear gas and arrests.

The Black men at the edge of the crowd wear yellow patches on protective vests that identify them as members of the Minnesota Freedom Fighters, a group formed to provide security in Minneapolis’ north side neighborhoods during unrest following the death of George Floyd last year. They are not shy about casting a forceful image — the group’s Facebook page features members posing with assault-style weapons and describes itself as an “elite security unit” — but on Friday the Freedom Fighters didn’t appear to be armed and said they intended only to encourage peaceful protesting.

As several people began to rattle a fence protecting the Brooklyn Center police department, the Freedom Fighters communicated to each other over walkie-talkies. They declined to say how many are in their group.

On recent nights, the Freedom Fighters have moved through the crowd in formation, wearing body armor and dark clothing, weaving past umbrella-wielding demonstrators to create separation along a double-layer perimeter security fence. Their passive tactics are intended to deescalate the tension, preventing agitators from pressing forward and provoking the law enforcement officers standing at attention with pepper-ball and less-lethal sponge grenade launchers at the ready.

“We can keep it peaceful,” said Tyrone Hartwell, a 36-year-old former U.S. Marine who belongs to the group. “There’s always somebody in the group that wants to incite something,” adding that throwing objects at the police takes the focus away from their calls for justice and seeps energy from the movement.

Minneapolis is on edge — simultaneously watching the trial of former police officer Derek Chauvin in Floyd’s death and reeling from the shooting of Wright. In the midst of that, Hartwell said the Freedom Fighters are trying to push the movement for racial justice forward, while keeping at bay the violence and destruction that often acutely affects minority communities.

Hartwell pointed to the apartments across the street from the Brooklyn Center police department, where residents have complained of tear gas streaming into their homes. They are the ones who suffer when clashes between law enforcement and demonstrators escalate, he said.

The group was formed after the NAACP put out a call for armed men to organize and protect their neighborhoods from looting and arson following Floyd’s death. Hartwell said groups of white people had come into predominantly Black communities and harassed children.

As the group came together, Hartwell formed bonds with and mentored other Black men as they took an active role in protecting their neighborhoods.

“We care about our community,” he said. “We all have kids so we’ve got to start at home first.”

They have also formed relationships with the city government and police department. City spokeswoman Sarah McKenzie said there are several “formal and informal relationships” with members of the Freedom Fighters, but it does not fund or contract with the organization because it is an armed group.

However, some demonstrators said those ties mean the Freedom Fighters act at the behest of the police and are not aggressive enough in calling them to account.

As the crowd grew Friday, umbrella-carrying demonstrators became emboldened. Chants of “Daunte Wright” and “George Floyd” gave way to insults to the police. A handful of Freedom Fighters, visibly and vocally angry at the growing tension, refused to leave at the urgings of their comrades. They grabbed at the umbrellas, calling for calm and pleading for outsiders to stop escalations.

Errant flash-bang canisters exploded overhead, scattering spectators and giving those eager to confront law enforcement their opportunity to push forward into the fracas. The Freedom Fighters disappeared in the confusion, unable to prevent the altercation after a peaceful evening of protest fell into chaos.

View Original Source

FILE – In this June 1, 2020, file photo, a protester runs as he is chased by police in New York. A grim video of a Chicago police officer fatally shooting a 13-year-old boy is once again shining a light on the policies that govern foot chases. (AP Photo / Wong Maye-E, File)

CHICAGO (AP) — After a police officer chased a 13-year-old boy into an alley and shot him to death, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot demanded a new policy that would protect officers, suspects and bystanders in what she called one of the most dangerous actions an officer can take: a foot pursuit.

The mayor’s demand was fueled by the release of a video showing officer Eric Stillman shooting Adam Toledo in the chest following a foot chase that lasted a mere 19 seconds. Now a host of questions loom about what, if anything, can be done to reduce the risk of such a deadly encounter.

WHY SHOULD ANYTHING PREVENT A POLICE OFFICER FROM CHASING A FLEEING SUSPECT?

The first answer is this: Pursuing suspects, whether in a vehicle or on foot, can be incredibly dangerous. In Chicago, five years before Adam Toledo was killed, a Chicago Tribune analysis found that a third of police shootings in the city included foot chases. There have been scores of similar stories in other cities, including Dallas, where a shooting death led David Brown, the police chief at the time who now heads Chicago’s force, to establish a policy that limited foot pursuits.

DOES THE CHICAGO POLICE DEPARTMENT HAVE A FOOT PURSUIT POLICY?

Sort of. The department does not have a formal foot pursuit policy, but says it is drafting one. It does have a training bulletin that covers when suspects should not be pursued and when deadly force is not justified.

The bigger question is why the city has been so slow to enact a policy. The department already has a strict vehicle pursuit policy that dramatically limits when officers can engage in a car chase. A few years ago, the city entered into an agreement with the state of Illinois that, among other things, called for the department to track the number of foot pursuits. The agreement also called for a training bulletin that reflected the “best practices” of other law enforcement agencies.

CAN ANYTHING BE DONE TO LIMIT FOOT PURSUITS?

Yes. Other law enforcement agencies have spelled out what officers should do when suspects take off on foot. The Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department, for example, directs deputies chasing suspects alone to stop the chase if the suspect runs into a building, the woods or any “otherwise isolated area.” In Portland, Oregon, the general rule is that officers should try to keep suspects in sight “until sufficient cover is available to take him/her into custody.”

More than one department makes a point of addressing the concern in the macho world of police work that an officer who simply stops running will be labeled a coward. “No sworn member shall be criticized for deciding against initiating, discontinuing his/her involvement in or terminating a foot pursuit,” reads Portland’s policy.

COULD OR SHOULD ANYTHING HAVE BEEN DONE TO KEEP THE OFFICER FROM SHOOTING ADAM TOLEDO?

That’s a question prosecutors will have to grapple with. But it’s important to understand that the chase began moments after the sound of eight quick gunshots pierced the air. The officer knew someone had a gun and was willing to fire it in a residential neighborhood in the middle of the night.

Then there is the fact that things happened so fast: It was less than a second between the time the boy had a gun in his hand and the time the officer shot him as he turned toward him without it.

Almost as soon as the Chicago chase started, it ended with an officer facing a suspect in an alley with nothing between them. “The officer had no place to take cover or concealment,” his attorney, Tim Grace, said in a statement.

While some departments have language in their policies directing officers to weigh the benefits of chasing suspects against the risks to the public, there was every reason for the Chicago officer to believe the 13-year-old was armed seconds after somebody fired a gun.

“It would be a hard sell to say a cop ought to do nothing if someone’s got a gun,” said Jonathan Smith, a former section chief of the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division who served as a consultant on the agreement between Illinois and the city of Chicago. “I don’t know of any police department in the country where if there is a discharge of a gun, you’re not going to pursue that suspect.”

View Original Source

CHICAGO (CBS) — At least seven people have been shot, one of them fatally, so far this weekend in Chicago.

The weekend’s gun violence began shortly after 7 p.m. Friday, when an 18-year-old man and a 44-year-old woman inside a business in the 3600 block of West 16th Street in the Lawndale neighborhood, and a person walked in and shot both of them.

The 18-year-old man, identified as Jawon Ward, was shot in the chest and face, and was pronounced dead at Mount Sinai Hospital, according to police and the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office. The 44-year-old woman was shot in the left shoulder and was taken to Mount Sinai in good condition.

In other shootings this weekend:

• Shortly after midnight Saturday, a 20-year-old man was walking in the 7100 block of South Michigan Avenue in Park Manor, when someone shot him in the hand. The victim told police he did not see the shooter. He took himself to Jackson Park Hospital, where he was listed in good condition.
• At about 12:20 a.m. Saturday, a 25-year-old man was driving in the 300 block of South Kedzie Avenue in the East Garfield Park neighborhood, when someone drove up in a Nissan Rogue and shot him in the back. The victim drove himself to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was listed in fair condition.
• Around 2:45 a.m. Saturday, a 25-year-old man was riding in a car in the 11800 block of South Marshfield Avenue in Morgan Park, when a gunman in another vehicle shot him in the chest, arm, and hand. The victim was driven to Franciscan Health Olympia Fields, where he was listed in critical condition.
• At about 10:20 a.m. Saturday, a 37-year-old woman was shot in the thigh inside a home on the 800 block of East 130th Place in the Altgeld Gardens neighborhood. She took herself to Advocate Trinity Hospital, and later was transferred to Advocate Christ Medical Center, where she was listed in serious condition.
• Around 3:45 p.m. Saturday, a 45-year-old man was in the back yard of a home in the 1800 block of South Avers Avenue in the Lawndale neighborhood, when someone walked up and shot him in the left leg. The victim was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital in good condition.

View Original Source

(Rebecca Palmore / WTTW News)

A Maryland hotel executive is trying to assemble new financing for a $680 million offer to buy Tribune Publishing after his partner, a Swiss billionaire, pulled out of the bidding for the newspaper chain.

Stewart Bainum is talking to other potential investors after Hansjörg Wyss dropped out in the last few days, a person familiar with the matter said Sunday.

Wyss told Bainum that it would require too much investment to turn the chain’s flagship Chicago Tribune into a nationwide publication, according to the person, who spoke anonymously because they were not authorized to discuss the private negotiations.

Wyss and Bainum offered to buy the chain for $18.50 per share, topping a previous offer of $17.25 per share, or $634 million, by Tribune’s largest shareholder, hedge fund Alden Global Capital. Bainum told Tribune representatives about Wyss’ withdrawal on Friday, and they authorized him to talk to other potential investors, according to the person familiar with the matter.

Bainum was initially interested in buying one of Tribune’s papers, The Baltimore Sun, but is committed to acquiring the entire company. Two investors have expressed interest in buying Tribune’s Orlando (Florida) Sentinel: former Thomson Financial CEO Mason Slaine and Craig Mateer, who founded a baggage-handling company based in Orlando. 

Through a spokesman, the special committee of the Tribune Publishing board that is handling the offers declined to comment. An attempt to contact Wyss through his foundation was not successful.

Tribune also owns the New York Daily News, the Hartford (Connecticut) Courant and other newspapers.

Alden owns many newspapers through its MediaNews Group subsidiary, including the Boston Herald, the Denver Post and the San Jose Mercury News. Alden became Tribune Publishing’s largest shareholder in 2019 and now holds a 32% stake in the Chicago-based company. It plans to take Tribune private.

Wyss, 85, founded medical device maker Synthes USA, which he sold to Johnson & Johnson  for about $20 billion in cash and stock in 2012. Forbes recently estimated his wealth at $6 billion. Wyss now lives in Wyoming. 

Wyss’ withdrawal was reported earlier by the Chicago Tribune.

View Original Source

The Chicago Bears added some speed to their offense with the signing of veteran wideout Marquise Goodwin to a one-year deal on Friday. Goodwin, who opted out of the 2020 season due to COVID-19 concerns, brings much needed depth to the receivers room.

Aside from Allen Robinson and second-year standout Darnell Mooney, there’s not a lot of confidence in the rest of Chicago’s receiving corp. Fourth-year wideout Anthony Miller’s fate appears all but sealed with the Bears, as they’ve had discussions about possible trades with other teams to ship the former second-round pick out of Chicago.

Behind Miller are Javon Wims…

View Original Source

CHICAGO (CBS) — Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Hustle Chicago stair climb moved this year to a more open venue that has plenty of stairs.

The event traditionally takes place in February at the former John Hancock Center. But this year, it moved to April and took place Sunday at Soldier Field.

Strong-legged participants huffed and puffed their way down the aisles in 20-minute intervals.

Hustle Chicago raises money for the Respiratory Health Association, which helps prevent lung disease and promotes clean air.

View Original Source