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Good morning, Chicago. Here’s the coronavirus news and other top stories you need to know to start your day.
Illinois officials on Monday reported 1,773 newly confirmed coronavirus cases and 12 deaths of people with COVID-19
COVID-19 in Illinois by the numbers: Here’s a daily update on cases, positivity rate and hospital data in your area
Illinois’ new COVID-19 plan: Here’s how the state will manage any outbreaks, in 3 charts
Former first lady Michelle Obama delivered a blistering attack on President Donald Trump in giving the keynote speech of the opening night of Democrats’ virtual national convention on Monday night, saying he has governed with “chaos” while displaying an “utter lack of empathy.”
“Let me be as honest and clear as I possibly can: Donald Trump is the wrong president for our country,” Obama said of her husband’s successor.” He has had more than enough time to prove that he can do the job, but he is clearly in over his head. He cannot meet this moment.”
Analysis: 5 takeaways from the first night of the Democratic convention
Cook County prosecutors gave actor Jussie Smollett an inexplicable and unprecedented deal — and then misled the public about it — when they dropped disorderly conduct charges against him last year, but there was no evidence that they were swayed by outside clout or committed any crimes, a team of special prosecutors has concluded.
A news release Monday summarizing an investigation led by special prosecutor Dan Webb indicated that while no criminal charges were warranted against anyone in State’s Attorney Kim Foxx’s office, his team would be reporting potential violations of legal ethics over the handling of the Smollett investigation to Illinois’ attorney disciplinary board. Some false statements in the Smollett matter were made by Foxx herself, Webb found.
After violent clashes between police and protesters in downtown Chicago over the weekend, it seemed everyone from lawmakers and civil rights advocates to activists were accusing officers of “kettling,” a controversial practice for controlling crowds.
Because of the large enrollment in the Chicago Public Schools and large suburban districts, a vast majority of the students in the state will start the school year learning remotely — which means thousands of students in Illinois are having a unconventional start to the school year.
A loop around the lake: Michigan’s Upper Peninsula provides a welcome, nature-packed escape
The Upper Peninsula is particularly apt for a late-summer, socially distanced trip, Tribune editor Ariel Cheung writes. And communing with nature — stunning scenery, air fresh and fragrant, and birch trees as far as the eye can see — is a deeply restorative cure after being cooped up for most of the year.
