Filed under:Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s aides defend her push for little-used coronavirus hospital built by Walsh Construction as important ‘insurance policy’ at a time of ‘immense emergency.’Taxpayers spent nearly $66 million fashioning McCormick Place into an emergency coronavirus hospital with 2,750 beds this past spring amid fears that COVID-19 patients would overwhelm hospitals in the Chicago area.Those fears turned out to be unfounded. Just 38 patients were transferred to the sprawling convention center — meaning taxpayers’ cost for the makeshift hospital turned out to be more than $1.7...…Filed under:Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s aides defend her push for little-used coronavirus hospital built by Walsh Construction as important ‘insurance policy’ at a time of ‘immense emergency.’Taxpayers spent nearly $66 million fashioning McCormick Place into an emergency coronavirus hospital with 2,750 beds this past spring amid fears that COVID-19 patients would overwhelm hospitals in the Chicago area.Those fears turned out to be unfounded. Just 38 patients were transferred to the sprawling convention center — meaning taxpayers’ cost for the makeshift hospital turned out to be more than $1.7...WW…

SHARETaxpayers spent nearly $66 million fashioning McCormick Place into an emergency coronavirus hospital with 2,750 beds this past spring amid fears that COVID-19 patients would overwhelm hospitals in the Chicago area.Those fears turned out to be unfounded. Just 38 patients were transferred to the sprawling convention center — meaning taxpayers’ cost for the makeshift hospital turned out to be more than $1.7 million per patient, on average.But top aides to Mayor Lori Lightfoot say her decision to initiate the project with the federal government and the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition...…SHARETaxpayers spent nearly $66 million fashioning McCormick Place into an emergency coronavirus hospital with 2,750 beds this past spring amid fears that COVID-19 patients would overwhelm hospitals in the Chicago area.Those fears turned out to be unfounded. Just 38 patients were transferred to the sprawling convention center — meaning taxpayers’ cost for the makeshift hospital turned out to be more than $1.7 million per patient, on average.But top aides to Mayor Lori Lightfoot say her decision to initiate the project with the federal government and the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition...WW…

SHAREEarly last year, when federal investigations into public corruption dominated the headlines, a longtime ally of House Speaker Michael Madigan gave a little advice to a ComEd vice president, according to an explosive court document filed Friday.Lobbyist Mike McClain allegedly told the utility executive that, “I would say to you don’t put anything in writing.”“All it can do is hurt ya,” he added.The two then discussed a “favor” for Madigan that federal prosecutors now say was part of a brazen, years-long Chicago-style bribery scheme that sent $1.3 million to Madigan’s associates for...…SHAREEarly last year, when federal investigations into public corruption dominated the headlines, a longtime ally of House Speaker Michael Madigan gave a little advice to a ComEd vice president, according to an explosive court document filed Friday.Lobbyist Mike McClain allegedly told the utility executive that, “I would say to you don’t put anything in writing.”“All it can do is hurt ya,” he added.The two then discussed a “favor” for Madigan that federal prosecutors now say was part of a brazen, years-long Chicago-style bribery scheme that sent $1.3 million to Madigan’s associates for...WW…

SHARESHAREThe Rev. John Baptist Ormechea lives in one of the most picturesque parts of Rome in a centuries-old monastery buffered by gardens and overlooking the ancient Colosseum.A member of a Catholic religious order the Passionists, Ormechea was moved into the Rome complex in 2003 not for its contemplative setting but, according to the order’s province that includes Chicago, “because all the residences in the province had youth programs or were in a parish setting.”From the late 1970s to the late 1980s, Ormechea served at Immaculate Conception parish on the Far Northwest Side. Then, in...…SHARESHAREThe Rev. John Baptist Ormechea lives in one of the most picturesque parts of Rome in a centuries-old monastery buffered by gardens and overlooking the ancient Colosseum.A member of a Catholic religious order the Passionists, Ormechea was moved into the Rome complex in 2003 not for its contemplative setting but, according to the order’s province that includes Chicago, “because all the residences in the province had youth programs or were in a parish setting.”From the late 1970s to the late 1980s, Ormechea served at Immaculate Conception parish on the Far Northwest Side. Then, in...WW…

SHARETwo of the CTA’s busiest bus routes — the No. 79 that runs along 79th Street and the No. 49 on Western Avenue — have recorded the most coronavirus cases among bus drivers, with nine drivers on each run falling ill over a six-month span, records show.Three other routes — the No. 4, No. 8 and No. 22 — each saw eight CTA drivers infected with COVID-19 over the same period.Four more routes — the No. 3, No. 20, No. 29 and No. 72 — had seven drivers each diagnosed with the virus.La Voz AARPLea este artículo en español en , un servicio presentado por AARP Chicago.Together, those nine routes...…SHARETwo of the CTA’s busiest bus routes — the No. 79 that runs along 79th Street and the No. 49 on Western Avenue — have recorded the most coronavirus cases among bus drivers, with nine drivers on each run falling ill over a six-month span, records show.Three other routes — the No. 4, No. 8 and No. 22 — each saw eight CTA drivers infected with COVID-19 over the same period.Four more routes — the No. 3, No. 20, No. 29 and No. 72 — had seven drivers each diagnosed with the virus.La Voz AARPLea este artículo en español en , un servicio presentado por AARP Chicago.Together, those nine routes...WW…

SHAREWhen Mayor Richard M. Daley held office, one of his most powerful — if least visible — aides was Victor Reyes, Daley’s City Hall patronage chief.Reyes, who since has gone on to become a powerhouse Chicago lobbyist, still likes to stay out of the spotlight. But that’s getting harder as federal authorities continue to pursue their wide-ranging investigation of political corruption in Chicago and the suburbs, a dragnet that so far has resulted in criminal charges against politicians including Ald. Edward M. Burke (14th) and former state Sen. Martin Sandoval.Unlike Burke and Sandoval,...…SHAREWhen Mayor Richard M. Daley held office, one of his most powerful — if least visible — aides was Victor Reyes, Daley’s City Hall patronage chief.Reyes, who since has gone on to become a powerhouse Chicago lobbyist, still likes to stay out of the spotlight. But that’s getting harder as federal authorities continue to pursue their wide-ranging investigation of political corruption in Chicago and the suburbs, a dragnet that so far has resulted in criminal charges against politicians including Ald. Edward M. Burke (14th) and former state Sen. Martin Sandoval.Unlike Burke and Sandoval,...WW…