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A clause in a collective bargaining agreement from the early 1980s requires the department to strive for as close to 45% minority representation as possible in all ranks. The department of nearly 4,800 uniformed members currently has 721 Black employees, which represents 15%. Of that number, 422 are firefighters, 35 of them women, according to department numbers the Tribune received in a records request. Hispanic representation is higher at 18%.
Olsen, 41, was previously terminated by the department in the fall of 2017 after being accused of abusing department resources to access information about a woman amid criminal charges of harassment on social media, The Beacon-News previously reported. Olsen, who was an officer with the department since 2006, was later reinstated after he appealed his termination, which was reduced to a 60-day suspension.
About 10:40 a.m., the Chicago Police Department’s Marine Unit responded to the South Branch of the river off the 2800 block of South Eleanor Street near Bridgeport, where they recovered the body of Yuet Tsang, 80, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.
“Walking up to the building and seeing it, even the emotional response to that you really can’t prepare for,” Simpson said. “It was like a piece of my history, my family’s history, the community’s history, the city’s history, it’s been hollowed out. It definitely hurt to see that.”
The state gas tax, currently 39.2 cents per gallon, is set to increase by 2.4 cents on July 1, according to the state Department of Revenue. But with Pritzker’s signature, that bump will be pushed off until Jan. 1, with the exact amount to be determined by where inflation stands at the end of September. Drivers will be hit with another increase on July 1, 2023.
“We congratulate the courageous and righteous decision that the village of Skokie, under the leadership of Mayor (George) Van Dusen, has made,” the statement said. “Since Feb. 24, when the Russian aggression in Ukraine increased, we have heard from many of our fellow Illinoisans, including Skokie residents, who have shared our grief. We are certain that Skokie residents are proud that this principled position was taken. Thank you for standing with Ukraine.”
No injuries have been reported as of 4 p.m. and the extra-alarm blaze, a 3-11, at Antioch Missionary Baptist Church, 6248 S. Stewart Ave., was still burning according to Chicago Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford, who was on the scene. No one was inside as services ended about 1 p.m.
Under state law, using cannabis is prohibited in any public place, so the gathering is not a smoke fest — but, ironically, drinking is allowed at such events, and Lagunitas Waldos Triple IPA will be sold. The event is for those 21 and older, and is free, with a suggested donation to the Cannabis Equity Coalition Illinois.
Nyisha Beemon holds a photo of her daughter Jaya Beemon, an 18-year-old Malcom X College nursing student who was gunned down in 2020. Beemon stands next to a vacant lot she bid on through the Cook County Scavenger Sale program in the 7900 block of South Avalon Avenue on March 31, 2022. (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune)
“I think Putin read all the wrong lessons from the natural processes that liberal democracies go through — the elections, the criticism,” Cleverly said. “He was clearly not listening to the people who should know better or didn’t know better and pursued this ego-driven attack on Ukraine. And then, when the messy, untidy democracies of the liberal world saw what happened, instead of falling apart like he thought we would, we pull together because that’s what we do.”