Good morning, Chicago.
Yesterday Chicago officials added the final state to its travel advisory, meaning now all of the U.S. (outside of Illinois) is on the list. The city’s top health official also urged unvaccinated people to avoid travel altogether, if possible.
Speaking of vaccines, United Airlines told employees yesterday that anyone who is granted a religious or medical waiver from their accelerated vaccination deadline at the end of this month will be placed on temporary leave. Read more here from my colleague Robert Channick.
— Nicole Stock, audience editor
Here are the top stories you need to know to start your day.
COVID-19 tracker | For your smart speaker | More newsletters | Puzzles & Games | Daily horoscope | Ask Amy | Today’s eNewspaper edition
More Top Picks Best Game Calls
Two lawsuits have jolted the Chicago Blackhawks and all of professional hockey, alleging the team failed to properly respond to allegations that a former video coach sexually assaulted a player during the Hawks’ run to the 2010 Stanley Cup.
The suits have observers inside and outside the sport questioning the team’s response to the accusations in 2010 as well as its accountability now. But the news also has brought to light the story of a man whose behavior around young hockey players raised concerns before, during and after his time with the Blackhawks but who didn’t face public repercussions until after he left the NHL.
Timeline: The allegations against a former Chicago Blackhawks video coach
Acknowledging it has lagged behind deadlines set as part of a court-ordered consent decree, the Chicago Police Department said in a report Wednesday it has reworked its process for implementing reforms to more quickly become compliant.
In the report filed in federal court, the department outlines its own views on its work during the first half of the year to comply with a consent decree that followed a U.S. Department of Justice investigation into CPD after the killing of teenager Laquan McDonald by Chicago police Officer Jason Van Dyke. The consent decree mandates an overhaul to boost professionalism and address a wide variety of issues including training, the use of force, and transparency.
A U.S. Navy veteran and Lombard native, Mark Frerichs , 59, found a way to make a living doing what he loves in Afghanistan when he moved to Kabul 10 years ago as an independent contractor working on public works projects.
“He always seemed so proud when telling me about the projects he was working on,” his sister, Charlene Cakora of Lombard, told the Tribune.
Frerichs has been held captive by the Haqqani network, a militant group affiliated with the Taliban, for the past 19 months after he was kidnapped on Jan. 31, 2020. Frerichs was taken captive by someone who met with him in Kabul on the ruse that they would hire him on a project, according to his family and U.S. officials.
NorthShore hospital system to merge with Edward-Elmhurst Health
NorthShore University HealthSystem and Edward-Elmhurst Health announced plans Wednesday to merge — a union that would create a nine-hospital system across Chicago’s northern and western suburbs. The deal is expected to close later this year, pending regulatory approval.
An Orland Park woman who raises butterflies in her home hit the monarch migration jackpot: A tiny tag affixed to one of her 2020 butterflies was recovered in the mountainous region of central Mexico where Midwestern migratory monarchs spend the winter.