Good afternoon. Here’s the latest news you need to know in Chicago. It’s about a 5-minute read that will brief you on today’s biggest stories.
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Top story
She got her coronavirus miracle, surviving 3 weeks in a coma. Then came the hard part.
When Karla Taylor-Bauman went home after 54 days in hospitals, including 21 days on a ventilator in an induced coma, she called her recovery from coronavirus a miracle.
But miracles don’t come easy, the Lake Villa woman has found.
Four months later, she isn’t fully back to normal. She tires easily, can’t climb more than a handful of stairs and, still needing continued care, hasn’t been able to go back to her job as a financial adviser.
Having been so sick — after she got out, her doctor described her condition as having been “as close to brain dead as you get without being brain dead” — she knew recovery would take time.
What surprised her were the medical bills. They began to arrive about a month after Taylor-Bauman, 50, was released from the hospital at the end of May. She and her husband Jevon Bauman said they amounted to about $240,000, mostly from the hospital, Vista Medical Center East in Waukegan, despite having health insurance.
Then, after we asked the hospital about the tab for her care, Taylor-Bauman got a call from Vista with some surprising and happy news.
“I thought maybe they were going to say they will work with me and set up a payment plan,” she said. Instead, she was told her balance owed was now zero. “I just started crying because I really was not expecting that.”
Taylor-Bauman said she found out from a hospital representative and her insurance company that some of the bills were sent to her in error or already had been covered by her insurance.
Stephanie Vera, Vista’s marketing manager, confirms that: “This patient has no outstanding balance with our hospital for the cost of her treatment. Her hospital charges were covered by her insurance provider per the terms of our agreement with them.”
It would be nice if that were the happy ending to Taylor-Bauman’s COVID-19 saga. It’s not. Her battle to regain her health after her miracle isn’t over. Nor are her financial problems.
The Baumans had fallen behind on their mortgage payments even before she got sick and are now facing foreclosure on their home of five years. They recently got a notice from the Lake County sheriff’s office that their home is set to be sold in a foreclosure auction Nov. 10.
Jevon Bauman said they got behind on their $1,871-a-month mortgage when he lost his sales job late last year. He’s working again, as a salesman, but at a much lower salary. And she has been out of work since she got sick.
He said he’s tried to negotiate with First National Bank of America, the mortgage-holder, but that it hasn’t been willing to modify the loan.
“I’m just praying for God to do whatever it is he needs to do in my life,” Taylor-Bauman said.
Read Stefano Esposito’s full story here.
More news you need
- Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx’s office announced today that it would not bring charges in the fatal shooting of Jemel Roberson, a Black security guard who had just subdued a suspected gunman after a shooting when he was shot to death by a white police officer outside a Robbins bar in 2018. Foxx’s office said there isn’t enough evidence to support criminal charges against Midlothian Police Officer Ian Covey.
- Foxx urged the state parole board late last year to keep cop-killer Ronnie Carrasquillo in prison. Then, she changed her mind. In July, Foxx sent the board a two-sentence letter saying she no longer opposed parole for Carrasquillo, who fatally shot Chicago police Officer Terrence Loftus in 1976. Her office won’t talk about what prompted the change.
- The Civilian Office of Police Accountability released body cam footage yesterday that shows a man stabbing a cop in her protective vest before other officers fire a series of fatal shots at him. The knife-wielding man, identified as 34-year-old Shaon Jermy Ochea Warner, was pronounced dead at the scene, officials said.
- President Donald Trump said early today that he and first lady Melania Trump have tested positive for the coronavirus, a stunning announcement that plunged the country deeper into uncertainty just a month before the presidential election. Keep up with our coverage here.
- When John Ryan ran for mayor of Alsip in 2017, his campaign fliers struck a strong populist tone. “Representation Not Compensation,” one declared, referring to his successful push as a village trustee in 2012 to cut the pay and benefits of the mayor and other members of the village board. Now, more than three years into his term, he wants a raise.
A bright one
‘I Voted’ stickers are back, and Chicagoans rejoice
Chicagoans who cast ballots on the first day of early voting were met with a pleasant surprise: The popular “I Voted” stickers the city ditched in 2012 have made a quiet comeback.
As officials geared up for an election marked by the COVID-19 crisis, Chicago Board of Elections Chairwoman Marisel Hernandez said the decision to dump the wristbands handed out in recent years was made to protect poll workers from coming into close contact with voters during the coronavirus pandemic.
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But the stickers also serve as a symbol of civic pride, Hernandez said. “It’s an acknowledgment to a lot of people not only that they voted, but possibly a lot of other things — that they contributed to this election, that they are a part of it. With COVID and all of the other things going on, it is just a nice little gift to our voters.”
The stickers, which celebrate the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, are also being sent to mail-in voters, some of whom have already taken to social media to express their excitement.
“This sticker is an ABSOLUTE UNIT,” one Twitter user posted on Wednesday.
As voters continue to cast their ballots, Hernandez said she’s “so glad about the enthusiasm.”
Read Tom Schuba’s full story here.
From the press box
When Colts quarterback Philip Rivers first faced the Bears in 2007, Rex Grossman was his counterpart. Fourteen Bears quarterbacks later, Rivers will make his his 228th consecutive regular-season start with Indianapolis on Sunday at Soldier Field (noon, CBS-2).
Speaking of the Bears, QB Nick Foles has a unique style when he throws deep downfield.
The White Sox had a frustrating end to their playoff run, but columnist Rick Morrissey expects the team to be exciting for the next several years.
Jon Lester can save the Cubs’ postseason … assuming he gets the opportunity, Steve Greenberg writes. The Cubs are playing a must-win Game 2 this afternoon. Game 3, if necessary, will be at 2:30 p.m. tomorrow on ESPN2.
And the Fire play in Montreal at 6:30 p.m. tomorrow on WGN-9.
Your daily question ☕
What did you think when you learned President Donald Trump had tested positive for the coronavirus?
Email us (please include your first name and where you live) and we might include your answer in the next Afternoon Edition.
Yesterday, we asked you: How do you plan on celebrating Halloween this year while staying safe? Here’s what some of you said…
“The same way I always do: Buy a whole bunch of candy and forget to leave my porch light on.” — Bryan Maloney
“I’ll have the candles lit, The 1963 Haunting of Hill House on the television and my black cat on my lap!” — Jill Jackson
“Wearing masks and using hand sanitizer while trick or treating. Maybe even try to go to a drive thru haunted house.” — Amanda Viverito Khalil
My celebrations include:
— ⚜️ Nicole Vavallo ⚜️ (@NicoleVavallo) October 1, 2020
*Night of 1,000 JackoLanterns at Chi botanical
*Goebberts Pumpkin Farm
*Jacks Pumpkin Patch on Elston
*Costume stores
*Starbucks caramel apple spice drinks
*making treat bags for kids on my block
*made a scary fairy garden
*making Halloween door wreaths pic.twitter.com/DIaAI8YvTT
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