The Rundown: What’s next for the park district’s CEO?

Park District CEO Michael Kelly at a press conference on the beach
Park District CEO Michael Kelly at a press conference Monday, August 16, 2021, at a beach on the city's South Side. A handful of City Council members have now called for Kelly to resign over his handling of a lifeguard sex abuse scandal. Dan Mihalopoulos / WBEZ
Park District CEO Michael Kelly at a press conference on the beach
Park District CEO Michael Kelly at a press conference Monday, August 16, 2021, at a beach on the city's South Side. A handful of City Council members have now called for Kelly to resign over his handling of a lifeguard sex abuse scandal. Dan Mihalopoulos / WBEZ

The Rundown: What’s next for the park district’s CEO?

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Hey there! It’s Friday, and my dad is visiting tomorrow so that this doesn’t happen when I attempt to remove my window air conditioner for the season. Here’s what you need to know today.

1. Speculation swirls around park district CEO’s future amid lifeguard abuse probe

A growing number of City Council members are calling for Chicago Park District CEO Michael Kelly to resign over his handling of a lifeguard sex abuse scandal, but ousting him could be easier said than done.

The complications lie in Kelly’s contract, reports WBEZ’s Dan Mihalopoulos. Unless the veteran executive and the park district board can come to a mutual separation agreement, the district has two options: firing Kelly for cause and without cause.

In the for-cause scenario, Kelly could demand a closed-door hearing before the board, which would then take a majority vote on whether or not to move forward with his termination. To fire him without cause, at least four board members would need to be in favor, and the district would need to give Kelly 60 days notice. He would then get eight months of his taxpayer-funded salary, plus health benefits.

Members of the board were scheduled to hold a special closed-door session today starting at 2:30 p.m. However, officials would not disclose the topic of the meeting. [WBEZ]

2. U.S. hiring slumped in September

The September jobs report is in — and it’s not pretty.

Despite optimistic predictions from forecasters, just 194,000 jobs were added last month, according to the U.S. Department of Labor — significantly fewer than what was reported in August, when hiring cooled off significantly.

“It’s just a bumpy recovery,” said Nela Richardson, chief economist at the payroll processing firm ADP. “And it’s a recovery that’s still linked to the pandemic and the delta variant.”

While the unemployment rate did see a slight dip, some of the decline is tied to people leaving the workforce. [NPR]

Meanwhile, jobless claims appear to be dropping, a trend that coincides with the end of enhanced unemployment benefits. [CNBC]

3. Southern Illinois surpasses Chicago’s COVID-19 death rate

When COVID-19 first emerged in Illinois, deaths were mostly clustered in Chicago, particularly in Black and Latino communities. Eighteen months later, the picture has changed, the Chicago Tribune reports.

The paper’s new analysis of state and federal data finds that over the course of the pandemic, southern Illinois experienced a higher death rate per 100,000 residents than anywhere else in the state. Even starker: During the most recent surge, residents living near Illinois’ southern tip, where vaccinations lag, were nearly eight times as likely to die as those living in highly vaccinated DuPage and Kane counties.

“We’ve had a pandemic now that’s among the unvaccinated,” said Dr. Ngozi Ezike, the director of Illinois’ Department of Public Health. [Chicago Tribune]

Meanwhile, hospitalizations and deaths continue to decline in Chicago, where 58.3% of eligible residents are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. [COVID Dashboard]

4. Staffing shortages are hurting Chicago’s police reform efforts, watchdog reports

A new report from the independent monitor tasked with evaluating Chicago’s police reform efforts shows the city is meeting more of its goals, but key weaknesses within the Police Department are hampering additional progress.

One major issue: staffing shortages. According to the report, 363 officers left the force in the first six months of 2021 — more retirements than in all of 2018. The vacancies are especially problematic when it comes to supervisors, who are responsible for maintaining high standards of behavior within the ranks.

The monitor also found problems with citywide anti-violence units formed by Superintendent David Brown. In the past, similar teams have been blamed for damaging police-community relations, and the report warns the same concerns are cropping up again. [WBEZ]

5. Today marks the 150th anniversary of the Great Chicago Fire

On this day 150 years ago, flames tore through the O’Leary family’s barn on DeKoven Street, igniting what would later become known as the Great Chicago Fire. By the time the blaze was extinguished, 18,000 buildings had been destroyed, some 300 people were dead and another 100,000 were homeless.

What emerged from the rubble? Through the smoke and soot, some landmarks, most famously the Chicago Water Tower. Apparently, its water works didn’t work during the blaze — talk about cracking under pressure.

However, the Water Tower wasn’t the only downtown structure left standing. Curious City recently took a closer look at some of the lesser-known buildings that survived, including a bohemian club. [WBEZ]

Here’s what else is happening

  • Bidders will face off tonight in a live auction for items that once belonged to the Chicago gangster Al Capone — including his favorite pistol. [Chicago Tribune]

  • Snail mail may slow to an actual crawl due to cutbacks at the U.S. Postal Service. [NPR]

  • An Illinois woman will spend four days in jail after getting too close to a grizzly bear and her cubs at Yellowstone National Park. [NYT]

  • Chicago civil rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson is celebrating his 80th birthday. [WTTW]

Oh, and one more thing …

The sweaty spectacle known as the Chicago Marathon returns this weekend after a pandemic hiatus, which means tens of thousands of runners will embark on a 26.2-mile journey through the city. Settling for the sidelines? WBEZ’s Charmaine Runes ran through a decade’s worth of race data and pulled out some fun facts sure to impress your fellow fans.

A few highlights: The cooler the weather, the faster the average finish time. Plus, more than a third of all runners from the past 10 races were from Illinois. [WBEZ]

Here’s some helpful info on where to watch the event and how to get there. [Sun-Times]

Tell me something good …

It’s never too early to plan your Halloween costume (I’m already contemplating which of my 14 turtlenecks to wear for my Shiv Roy get-up). What will you be this year?

Anya writes:

“This year I’m being David Bowie, which I have always wanted to do. I have a pair of ’70s inspired powder blue flared pants. and I found a vintage powder blue blazer from the ’70s that perfectly matches them. I’m gonna get a temporary orangey-red hair dye and slick my hair back a little and try to copy his makeup from the ‘Life on Mars’ music video. I’m so excited to actually get to celebrate Halloween this year!!”

Thanks for all the responses this week. We’re sorry we couldn’t share everyone’s costume idea, but it was nice hearing from you!