Daywatch: Isolated timeouts lead to school crisis, property tax burden shifting in suburbs and a guide to Chicago’s newest food hall

Chicago Tribune (IL)

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Good morning, Chicago. Here are some of the top stories you need to know to start your day.

Inside the chaos at an Illinois school where secluding children became the norm

Since mid-May, DCFS has opened a total of 21 abuse investigations involving students at Gages Lake School, which serves young children in suburban Lake County with behavioral and emotional disabilities. Citing evidence from surveillance video, agency reports describe workers grabbing children by the wrists, shoving them into walls and throwing them to the ground in a cluster of seclusion spaces -- some with lockable doors, others open -- that the school calls “the office.”

The monthslong crisis at Gages Lake -- pieced together through interviews and a review of DCFS reports, police runs and employee complaints -- underscores what can happen when a school relies heavily on isolated timeouts to manage students with behavioral challenges.

Our investigation found Illinois schoolchildren being locked away, alone and terrified, for reasons that violated the law. Read “The Quiet Rooms” here.

Businesses hit hard by new property tax assessments in the suburbs -- but homeowners could catch a break

As he took over a system riddled with errors and inequity, Assessor Fritz Kaegi vowed to change the way commercial properties are valued in Cook County.

Now his initial assessments are in, covering the north and northwest suburbs, and they show valuations for commercial, industrial and larger apartment properties increased by more than 74%, compared to less than 16% for homes, a Tribune analysis found.

2 teens with Chicago ties dead after volcano erupts in New Zealand

Two teenage brothers with ties to Chicago are among at least seven people who died after a volcano erupted on New Zealand’s White Island, and their parents remain unaccounted for, officials said.

The boys died after being taken to a hospital following the explosion that sent steam and ash 12,000 feet into the air. They had been touring the island with their parents.

Rescuer describes horror of New Zealand’s silent eruption.

Marijuana will be legal in Illinois soon -- but immigrants warned to think before they partake

With much of Illinois anticipating the state’s legalization of marijuana in January, activists are urging immigrants not to use or buy cannabis or work in the new industry, as it could lead to drastic measures like deportation.

Starting Jan. 1, marijuana will be legal to purchase in Illinois for those 21 and older. But marijuana remains illegal under federal law, meaning even working at a local dispensary could be viewed by federal agents as a form of drug trafficking, advocates say.

Illinois has approved four more recreational marijuana dispensaries. That brings the total to nine in Chicago and 32 statewide.

Chicago has the largest Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe outside of Mexico City -- and it’s growing

Some walk barefoot. Others carry heavy statues. Some ride bikes. Or horses. There’s even a procession of semitrucks.

Thousands of Chicagoans are traveling miles through the cold to pay homage to Our Lady of Guadalupe. Here’s why they do it and here’s what to know if you’re traveling to the shrine.

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New Obamacare plan includes some of Chicago’s top hospitals

For years, Illinois consumers who’ve bought health insurance on the state’s Obamacare exchange have had a tough time finding plans that included the Chicago area’s biggest hospitals. That, however, is about to change.

With just days left to sign up for health insurance through the exchange, Northwestern Medicine and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois announced that the insurer’s Blue Choice Preferred PPO, which is sold on healthcare.gov, will include in-network services from Northwestern.

A new 3,800-capacity music venue is coming to Pilsen

Pilsen’s music scene has been booming in recent years, and that growth is getting an exclamation point in the next few months: Radius, a 3,800-capacity concert venue, is scheduled to open early next year. The 55,000-square-foot venue’s size puts it in line with the Loop’s Chicago Theatre and Auditorium Theatre.

Here’s everything you should try at Time Out Market

Enormous, audacious and expensive. Those three words best describe the city’s latest food hall, Time Out Market Chicago, which features 18 food concepts and multiple bars sprawled over 50,000 square feet and three floors. The Tribune’s Louisa Chu and Nick Kindelsperger tried every stand to help you find the good stuff.

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