Daywatch: Southern Illinois reports zero ICU beds | Lightfoot to name new CEO of Chicago Public Schools | Inside the most expensive actively listed home in Chicago

Chicago Tribune staff, Chicago Tribune
·3 min read
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Good morning, Chicago.

Yesterday city officials announced updates to the Chicago travel advisory. While the quarantine requirements still cover most of the U.S. and its territories, there were two places removed from the list.

Meanwhile, we know that a number of you who received the Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine have been wondering, what’s next? My colleague Alison Bowen put together a guide about what know to know about boosters, mixing and matching vaccines and more, if you got J&J. Check it out here.

— Nicole Stock, audience editor

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Southern Illinois reported zero available ICU beds this week, amid COVID-19 surge

An Illinois region reported Monday and Tuesday that it ran out of intensive care unit beds, a milestone that has meant delayed surgeries and, in some cases, longer waits for appropriate care.

In the latest Illinois Department of Public Health count released Tuesday, the state’s southern region reported that, overnight Monday, its hospitals had no available ICU beds in an area that includes roughly 400,000 people. As of Tuesday morning, 19 hospitals in that region still had zero open ICU beds, said Arien Herrmann, regional hospital coordinating center manager for the area.

Lightfoot to name San Antonio schools chief Pedro Martinez as new CPS CEO, sources say

Mayor Lori Lightfoot has selected San Antonio schools superintendent Pedro Martinez to be the next CEO of Chicago Public Schools, sources told the Tribune.

Lightfoot is scheduled to announce the selection Wednesday morning at Benito Juarez high school in Pilsen, where Martinez reportedly graduated from.

Chicago cop files suit saying he faced retaliation after blowing whistle on superior who allegedly directed resources to his street during 2020 unrest

A Chicago Police Department sergeant has filed a lawsuit alleging retaliation for reporting on then-acting Cmdr. Jason Brown for allegedly redirecting department resources to his own block during last summer’s civil unrest.

Sgt. Marc Vanek alleges he reported on Jason Brown for sending a team of officers to the block of his Bridgeport home in early June 2020. In the lawsuit, Vanek alleges that in retaliation, he was removed from his position heading the department’s Internet Narcotics Enforcement Team and instead detailed to working midnight shifts as a patrol sergeant in the 11th District.

Chicago Ald. Jim Gardiner publicly apologizes for ‘rants,’ one day after sources identify him as subject of an FBI probe

Chicago Ald. Jim Gardiner rose during Tuesday’s City Council meeting and apologized for his “offensive words” but said he “never acted on any of those rants” in which he appeared to call for ward services to be withheld from political opponents.

Whether Gardiner retaliated against constituents for political purposes is among the questions federal authorities are investigating, sources have told the Tribune — though Gardiner made no mention of this during his comments from the council floor.

Trump Tower penthouse listed for $30M, making it the most expensive actively listed home in Chicago

The 14,260-square-foot full-floor penthouse on the 89th floor of Chicago’s Trump International Hotel & Tower was listed for sale on Tuesday for $30 million.

The five-bedroom condo is the highest-priced, actively listed home in Chicago, although a six-bedroom, 25,000-square-foot mansion in Lincoln Park with a $45 million asking price has been on the market for several years but is not allowing showings at present.