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Celebrate virtually this season Holiday parties are a tradition at many businesses. A 2019 survey from the outplacement services firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas found that 76 percent of companies planned to hold holiday parties in 2019. As popular as holiday office parties may be, few businesses are likely to gather in person this holiday season as the world continues to confront the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Social distancing guidelines may put many holiday office parties on indefinite hold, but there are still ways for employees to gather this holiday season. Virtual meeting apps like Zoom have helped many businesses stay connected during the pandemic, and there’s no reason why the same platform cannot be utilized when hosting virtual office parties this holiday season. While it might not be the same as planning in person holiday office parties, planning a virtual office get-together can still capture the spirit of the holiday season. • Encourage festive backgrounds. Backgrounds have taken on special meaning as people limit their interactions to video calls. Virtual holiday party organizers can encourage employees to decorate their backgrounds in traditional holiday colors to give the virtual party an authentic holiday feel. • Send special care packages to employees. Various companies have helped make virtual happy hours more unique by offering virtual happy hour kits, and such kits can be created
and shipped to employees with a holiday theme in mind. Such kits may include snacks, the ingredients necessary to whip up special beverages like eggnog and even some party favors. Company presidents can then propose a toast during the party and express their appreciation to all the hard work employees have put in during what’s proven to be a very challenging year. • Take the day off. Holiday office parties often take place after office hours. Since that might not be doable when everyone is working from home, host the virtual holiday party on a company-wide off day. Schedule the party for midday and then encourage everyone to hang around on the video call and chat for as long as they’d like. Such calls can be a great time for everyone to catch up and unwind without having to worry about going back to work once the call ends. • Cater the party. Dinner is often served at traditional holiday office parties, and while it may require some logistical maneuvering, employers can still provide employees with meals. If employees all live in the same general vicinity, arrange for individually prepared meals to be delivered to their homes. If employees are more spread out, employers can offer to reimburse them for meals they eat during the virtual get-together. Office holiday parties will likely go virtual this year. While that might not be how employees prefer to get together and celebrate, there are many ways to make such gatherings memorable and festive.
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dupage cOunty
dupage county sheriff’s Office and community partners to distribute 1,000 thanksgiving meals to those in need In one way or another, this past year has been hard on just about everyone in the communities we serve. The DuPage County Sheriff’s Office, however, is thankful for community partnerships that puts it in a position to serve in a variety of ways, including helping our neighbors in need to have a bountiful Thanksgiving. This year, the DuPage County Sheriff’s Office has partnered with Electri-Flex of Roselle, SCARCE, and others to donate, collect and distribute 1,000 turkeys and all the fixings this week to families in need across the county. In addition to the turkeys and broiler pans donated by ElectriFlex, they distributed 500 boxes of stuffing, 3,000 cans of corn, 1,000 cans of cranberry sauce and countless potatoes, vegetables and desserts to families identified by several community organizations. “We’re going through some extremely hard times right now, everywhere. I’m glad we’re in a position to help so many families during a holiday season when they would have had nothing,” Sheriff James Mendrick said. “Public safety is changing its role as the needs of the people change. We are so grateful to our partners at ElectriFlex and SCARCE for this collaboration.” Several organizations, including food pantries in Bloomingdale,
Addison and Wayne Township, as well as municipal organizations in Roselle and Lisle will be received turkeys throughout the week leading to to Thanksgiving. A large portion of the turkeys were distributed by Sheriff’s Office personnel from in the Sheriff’s Office parking lot as part of the bi-weekly Meals for Seniors event they host with the DuPage County Senior Citizens Council. “We and SCARCE are here to serve our community and sometimes that comes in the form of providing a little comfort during a stressful time,” said Undersheriff Edmond Moore. “We’re grateful for the community relationships we’ve built that allow us to make it happen.” Jason Kinander, CEO of ElectriFlex, donated the turkeys and the freezer truck to store them in as a way to give back to citizens in need. “In these unprecedented times of financial hardship and uncertainty during this pandemic, Electri-Flex Company and the Kinander family are happy to do their part to assist,” Kinander said. “Doing nothing is never an option.” DuPage County Board Chairman Dan Cronin applauded the community partnership, which also includes District 6 County Board Member Jim Zay who donated the stuffing.
“This is a great opportunity to serve our community during these difficult times. Anything we can do to reach out and let folks know we
care, while so many are struggling, we will do,” Cronin said. “Sheriff Mendrick and community volunteers like Jason Kinander and Kay
McKeen remind us of the important difference we can all make when we put our minds to helping our friends and neighbors.”
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idph preps for expected initial 400,000 doses of vaccine By saRah MansuR capital news illinois
After Pfizer submitted its application for a COVID-19 vaccine to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration last week, Illinois public health officials have continued preparing locations to store and distribute the vaccine that could be released to frontline hospital workers in a matter of weeks. Pfizer announced Friday that it planned to submit its COVID-19 vaccine application for emergency approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration — a process that could take between two and four weeks, Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike said during Friday’s daily news conference. On Friday, Ezike said she expects the state will receive about 400,000 doses of the vaccine in the first round of distribution. “That is the number that we’re working with to identify how we will partition that out for the first phase,” she said. “And we already know that we heard directly from General (Gustave) Perna that, as soon as FDA approval is granted, the next day they would start shipping out vaccines,” she added. Perna is the chief operating officer of Operation Warp Speed, which is the Trump administration’s national program to develop, manufacture and distribute a COVID-19 vaccine. Dr. Moncef Slaoui, Operation Warp Speed’s chief science adviser, reiterated this timeframe during a Sunday interview on ABC’s This Week with George Stephanopoulos. Slaoui said vaccines would be shipped to states “within 24 hours from approval.” “Hopefully, people will start to be immunized, I would say, within 48 hours from the approval,” Slaoui said during the interview.
Under the state’s COVID-19 Mass Vaccination Planning Guide released in October, the first vaccine doses released will be given to front line hospital workers and first responders. During Monday’s news briefing, Gov. JB Pritzker was asked about ensuring access to the vaccine among low-income or marginalized communities. “I just want to say that one of the big concerns that I have is making sure that we do this with an equity lens, and that includes not only people of color but rural communities, places that often are left out and left behind, forgotten,” he said. “I want them to be significantly considered for the near term possibility of getting the vaccine but this vaccine is going to roll out over quite a number of months. We’re not really going to see, as I understand, the vaccine coming to the general public until perhaps March or April at the earliest.” Ezike said the hospital workers set to receive the vaccine in the first rounds include staff who are not health care professionals, such as the cleaning and food staff. “A lot of those people in those jobs are our Black and brown communities and so we are going to make sure that they are included in that first phase 1a,” she said. Essential workers outside of hospitals and at-risk individuals, including people 65 years of age and older, will be next in line to receive the vaccine in the first phase of distribution when limited doses are available, according to the vaccination planning guide. Ezike said the initial doses of the vaccine will be distributed through hospitals in each of the 11 regions of the state. State public health officials are also identifying freezer storage locations, since Pfizer’s vaccine must be kept at 94 degrees below zero.
“We’ve also ordered 20 separate contraptions that can hold vaccines at that ultra-cold level. So those 20 freezers, if you will, will be placed in all of the 11 regions to make sure that there is access for every part of the state to the vaccine,” Ezike said. Pharmaceutical company Moderna could seek emergency approval for its COVID-19 vaccine application with the FDA by the end of the month, Slaoui said. Unlike the vaccine under FDA
review from Pfizer, Moderna’s vaccine can be shipped and stored long-term at standard freezer temperatures of 4 degrees below zero, for six months. On Saturday, the FDA also issued emergency approval for a second anti-body therapy treatment for mild-to-moderate COVID-19 infections in adult and pediatric patients. During Monday’s news conference, Ezike said the government has already provided the state
with about 8,500 doses, and that the treatment is meant to be given early in the infection to help prevent hospitalization for high-risk and older individuals. “We have teams that are working right now to discuss the equitable distribution of this very important resource. We are going to make sure that, in terms of communication, the public is aware of this resource and who are the appropriate candidates,” she said.
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cOOK cOunty
county officials announce cook county legal aid for housing and debt Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle joined Chief Judge Timothy Evans, Cook County Commissioners Alma Anaya and Scott Britton, Chicago Bar Foundation Executive Director Bob Glaves, and Chicago Department of Housing Commissioner Marisa Novara to announce the launch of Cook County Legal Aid for Housing and Debt (CCLAHD). CCLAHD is a new, county-wide initiative aimed at helping residents resolve eviction, foreclosure, debt, and tax deed issues. “Cook County has been experiencing an affordable housing crisis since at least the turn of the century,” said President Preckwin-
kle. “The pandemic has only exacerbated this crisis and the most vulnerable among us, our Black and Brown residents, have once again been left to bear the brunt of the burden. When you look at this issue against the backdrop of the financial hit many are taking, we understood we needed to step in and provide solutions.” Today’s announcement signals the start of the first program under the initiative, the Early Resolution Program (ERP). The ERP provides free legal assistance, counseling, pre-court mediation and case management for residents and landlords dealing with evictions or delinquent property taxes, and
creditors and debtors with issues related to consumer debt. The services are provided on a pro-bono basis for residents of Cook County without legal representation and are being offered to: 1.) tenants facing eviction, 2.) landlords dealing with an eviction, 3.) debtors being sued for unpaid debts, and 4.) creditors wishing to sue on the basis of unpaid debts 5.) residents who have defaulted on property tax payments or mortgage foreclosure payments.
“It is our hope that this program will help to level the legal playing field during these troubled economic times,” said Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans. “By offering assistance to those who need it most, Cook County is showing its commitment to fostering fair resolutions for all.” Cook County is providing initial funding for the ERP through a $1 million seed allocation of CARES Act funds. These funds will be used to support community part-
ners and expand services to suburban Cook County. The Chicago Bar Foundation has played a critical role in the program development phase and will continue acting as lead coordinator between partner organizations and government offices. Community partners include: • CARPLS • Center for Conflict Resolution
see ‘cOOK’ page 13
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supreme court strikes down city of policy on police citations By saRah MansuR capital news illinois
The state’s highest court has struck down a southern Illinois city’s policy that partly evaluates police officers on the number of citations officers issue, finding it violates an Illinois law prohibiting ticket quotas. On Thursday, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled unanimously in favor of the labor union that represents police officers in the Randolph County city of Sparta. The union, known as the Policemen’s Benevolent Labor Committee, sued Sparta over the city’s activity-points policy used for evaluating the performance of its police officers. The policy required all full-time officers to meet a monthly point minimum, based on actions that include issuing citations, making traffic stop warnings and taking on extra duty assignments.
Each action carried a different point value. For example, citations were worth two points while traffic stop warnings were worth one point. In September 2018, the police union filed a lawsuit against the city that claimed the activitypoints policy violates the section of the Illinois Municipal Code that prohibits cities and towns from implementing ticket quotas. The Illinois General Assembly amended the state municipal code in 2014 with a section titled, ‘quotas prohibited.’ That section states: “A municipality may not require a police officer to issue a specific number of citations within a designated period of time… A municipality may not, for purposes of evaluating a police officer’s job performance, compare the number of citations issued by the police officer to the number of citations issued by any other police officer who has simi-
lar job duties.” The section goes on to address the allowable practice of evaluating a police officer based on the police officer’s “points of contact.” The section defines points of contact as “any quantifiable contact made in the furtherance of the police officer’s duties, including, but not limited to, the number of traffic stops completed, arrests, written warnings, and crime prevention measures.” The section states that points of contact “shall not include either the issuance of citations or the number of citations issued by a police officer.” The city of Sparta argued that the activity-points policy did not violate the law because it does not mandate officers to write a specific number of citations during a certain period of time, and that officers could meet the monthly minimum without writ-
ing any citations. In December 2018, a Randolph County judge found the city’s policy did not violate the state municipal code, and the union appealed its case to the 5th District Appellate Court, which is one level below the Illinois Supreme Court. Last October, the 5th District Appellate Court reversed the Randolph County judge’s ruling, and it found the city’s activity-points policy violates the state law. “Although it seems like an officer can achieve the monthly minimum points total without issuing a single citation, this policy still violates (the section of the Illinois Municipal Code) because it does exactly what is prohibited by the plain language of the statute, i.e., it permits the department to evaluate its officers by including the issuance of citations or the number of citations issued, among other things, as a point of
contact,” the appellate court stated in its opinion. Following the decision from the 5th District Appellate Court, the city of Sparta asked the Illinois Supreme Court to hear the case and rule in their favor. The city was joined by the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police, which submitted a legal brief in support of the city’s position to the Illinois Supreme Court. In a nine-page decision issued Thursday, the Illinois Supreme Court agreed with the appellate court’s ruling. The high court’s opinion, authored by outgoing Justice Thomas Kilbride, found the primary issue facing the court in the case “is whether (Sparta) may include the issuance of citations, along with other activities, as a point of contact in its activity-points policy used to evaluate the job perfor-
see ‘QuOta’ page 11
Legal Notices
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Legal Notices
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‘QUOTA’ from page7 mance of police officers.” The language of the Illinois Municipal Code’s section on quotas, Kilbride wrote, “could not be clearer on that point.” In the opinion, the justices recognized the argument by the city and the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police “that a fair points policy must account for the full range of officer activity and that the failure to include issuance of citations as part of duty performance undercuts important traffic safety enforcement programs.” But, Kilbride wrote, including citations in the points of contact systems is a matter “more properly addressed to the legislature.” “The (Illinois Municipal Code), as it is currently written, expressly prohibits that practice, and the (code) must be enforced as written,” the opinion states. Ed Wojcicki, executive director of the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police, said the group is pleased that the Illinois Supreme Court at least acknowledged that they raised some valid issues. “We’re disappointed with the decision itself because the act of issuing citations is an important part of helping to keep our community safe. The fear of getting a citation is preventive medicine,” Wojcicki said in a phone interview. “But this is going pretty far by saying (an officer) can’t be evaluated on whether (he or she) writes any citations at all. That’s going very far. We’re going to have to figure out what that (decision) means and decide whether we want to go back to the legislature.”
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dupage cOunty
lisle man charged with child pornography after investigation A 39-year-old Lisle man is free on bond, charged with nine counts of possession of child pornography videos.
Brandon Darger, 39, (02/28/91) of 4405 Fender Drive, is charged with nine Class 2 felony counts possessing visual reproductions of child por-
nography on his computer following a months-long undercover Internet investigation into the possession and distribution of child pornography files. The DuPage County Sheriff’s Office Digital Forensic Investigation Unit, along with the Lisle Police Department, executed a search warrant Wednesday at Darger’s home and Darger was arrested at the scene. “Our Digital Forensic Investigation Unit is relentless in its pursuit of those who attempt to victimize and violate our children through child pornography,” said Sheriff James Mendrick. “If you’re producing it, searching for it, watching it or sharing it, they will find you and we will work to prepare the best possible case for prosecutors.” DuPage County Judge John Kinsella set bond at $40,000 during a Thursday bail hearing. If convicted, Darger faces between three and seven years in prison.
“Unfortunately, we continue to see an alarming number of these very disturbing cases,” DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin said. “I would like to commend DuPage County Sheriff Jim Mendrick’s Digital Forensic Investigations Unit as well as the Lisle Police Department for their continued pro-active efforts in going after those who would prey on our most vulnerable.” Darger’s arraignment is scheduled for 10:35 a.m. on Dec. 17 in courtroom 4000. Members of the public are reminded that this complaint contains only charges and is not proof of the
defendant’s guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial in which it is the government’s burden to prove his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
W e d n es day, N OVE M B E R 2 5 , 2 0 2 0 | b u g l e n e w spap e r s. c om | pag e 13 ‘COOK’ from page 5 • Center for Disability & Elder Law • Chicago Volunteer Legal Services • Greater Chicago Legal Clinic • Lawyers’ Committee for Better Housing • Legal Aid Chicago • Legal Aid Society “The Chicago Bar Foundation is grateful to County and Court leadership for prioritizing these critical services amid the pandemic,” said Chicago Bar Foundation Executive Director Bob Glaves. “This partnership between the County, the Court, and a network of outstanding legal aid and community partners is sure to help many thousands of County residents in this time of greatest need.” County officials and community partners also signaled the launch of future CCLAHD programs related to mortgage foreclosure and tax deed assistance in the coming year. As local, state and federal moratoriums on evictions and foreclosures are expected to expire, a portion of the CARES funding will be used to build out these additional programs. “The economic consequences of the pandemic have caused an urgent need for housing and financial resources,” said Cook County Commissioner Alma Anaya. “There is much confusion in the community about what a household’s rights are in order to remain in their home, for example, and I am grateful for the collaboration
of the various legal aid agencies, the court system, and the City of Chicago which will surely bring much needed relief.” “The Cook County Legal Aid for Housing and Debt offers a lifeline to suburban residents,” said Cook County Commissioner Scott Britton. “As a lawyer, I have been acutely aware of the impending legal battles that so many Cook County residents will be facing on the other side of the pandemic. The negative impacts of evictions and unresolved debt can be debilitating for working families across the County, often wreaking havoc on mental and physical health and leading to long-term financial instability. Suburban Cook County is particularly at risk to see a sharp increase in evictions and foreclosures, and the stressors that come along with it. It was an honor to collaborate with President Preckwinkle, Chief Judge Evans, the Chicago Bar Foundation, and so many others to make this a reality.” Based on the Court’s previous foreclosure mediation program in response to the 2008 recession, estimated costs in FY2021 for all CCLAHD programs range between $4 and $7 million. This wideranging estimate accounts for the unknown volume of eviction and foreclosure rates as moratoriums lift. However, according to the most recent analysis conducted by the Aspen Institute in collaboration with the National Low-income Housing Coalition, an influx of filings are expected. County officials have also committed to continued support for
CCLAHD programs after the pandemic has passed. Additional funding will be provided through a combination of federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) dollars, County Corporate Funds, philanthropic support and revenue being collected through the newly instituted foreclosure filing fee. While the initial county funding provided through CARES dollars will support participants in suburban Cook County through the end of this year, the City of Chicago separately provided CARES Act funding for the Lawyers Committee for Better Housing to serve city residents. As a result, all Cook County residents, including city residents, may apply for assistance through CCLAHD and will be referred to the appropriate service agency. “The devastation of eviction and foreclosure disproportionately impacts Black and Brown communities and the coronavirus pandemic is only exacerbating these trends,” said City of Chicago Department of Housing Commissioner Marisa Novara. “We know that both property owners and renters are struggling during this time, and I want to thank Cook County for creating this vitally important initiative to increase access to legal representation that will help to keep residents in their homes and neighborhoods stabilized. I look forward to continuing to partner in finding solutions that will keep people safely housed.”
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