chicagotribune--2020-07-20--COVID-19 took a big toll in Illinois. Will deaths surge again?

In New York and New Jersey , the trajectories look like tall , steep roller coasters , topping out at @ @ @ @ @ per 100,000 residents in April .
While those rates have dropped dramatically since , and @ @ @ @ @ in Arizona , the number of people who died during that spike was significant , @ @ @ @ @ Jersey ’ s overall COVID-19 death rates to 129 and 176 per 100,000 people , @ @ @ @ @ the COVID Tracking Project shows .

Paca Kujtim of Arlington Heights self-administers a COVID-19 test in his car at the Arlington International Racecourse on March 31, 2021 in Arlington Heights. Kujtim was getting testing as a precaution for upcoming travel. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)
When the COVID-19 pandemic struck the United States, Illinois was one of the first hot spots in the country, fueling a death toll that remains among the nation’s highest.
Now — after big drops in daily deaths in Illinois and other hard-hit states — the Sun Belt is seeing a massive surge. The daily death rate in Arizona is now as high as Illinois’ ever was, after adjusting for population.
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The sharp increases in deaths in these Southern and Western states have added to growing unease in Illinois, where the downward trends on cases and positive test results have started to inch back up.
The Pritzker administration on Wednesday announced faster, more targeted interventions to try to keep Illinois from taking a severe turn for the worse. On Twitter, the governor has warned that “trends can change quickly” and that “what’s happening in Florida, Texas or Arizona could happen right here in Illinois.”
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Researchers say that although the latest data does not signal the need for outright alarm, it does suggest that the state, without changes, could be on the verge of another deadly surge.
“I think we have just a large ensemble of yellow flags,” said Jaline Gerardin, a Northwestern University assistant professor of preventive medicine who works with the state on virus modeling.
In other states, the flags are red. In Arizona and Texas, the number of daily COVID-19 deaths has nearly doubled this month, based on a rolling seven-day average. Big increases are being seen in California and Florida, too, with daily death tolls sometimes hitting triple digits statewide.
In Illinois, which once saw an average of 120 daily COVID-19 deaths, the toll steadily dropped until it was down to about 20 by the beginning of July, where it’s hovered since.
Here’s what the latest data shows regarding COVID-19 deaths, and Illinois’ place in the national context:
Illinois hit hard early
This spring, New York received much of the attention related to the pandemic as its hospitals and morgues were overwhelmed with COVID-19 victims. Illinois largely, but not completely, avoided that fate.
Yet Illinois remains among the worst states overall for deaths tied to COVID-19, even after adjusting for population differences. Data collected from the volunteer COVID Tracking Project indicate the virus has killed 58.8 Illinoisans per 100,000 residents as of Friday.
That’s still nearly double the pandemic’s overall death rate in Arizona, more than double Florida’s, nearly triple California’s and nearly five times the rate in Texas.
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How can those other states be getting all the headlines when Illinois’ overall death rate is far worse? It has to do with how unevenly the pandemic has taken its toll.
Compare the trajectory of daily deaths in Illinois with that in Arizona, California, Florida and Texas — and then add in the early hot spots of New York and New Jersey.
In New York and New Jersey, the trajectories look like tall, steep roller coasters, topping out at 3.9 and 3.1 daily deaths per 100,000 residents in April. While those rates have dropped dramatically since, and are now far lower than in Arizona, the number of people who died during that spike was significant, pushing New York and New Jersey’s overall COVID-19 death rates to 129 and 176 per 100,000 people, respectively, the data from the COVID Tracking Project shows.
Illinois’ trajectory looks far more gradual, peaking in mid-May at 0.9 deaths per 100,000 residents, then beginning a slower drop. Illinois officials say this later peak was because of an aggressive shutdown that smoothed out the roller coaster into more of a hilly road. That, ultimately, saved lives.
As for the other four states, they had a relatively modest early pandemic, with death rates just a fraction of New York’s, New Jersey’s and even Illinois’ at the time. So the recent increases in deaths aren’t enough to bring their total death rates above those in the pandemic’s initial hot spots — not yet, anyway.
Death trends slow to show
Illinois’ stay-at-home order went into effect March 21, effectively putting the state on a partial lockdown.
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At that point, Illinois’ known death toll from COVID-19 was just five people. (Or, if you do the math, the rolling seven-day average was 1.3 deaths per day on March 20.)
Despite the swift measures taken, deaths in Illinois still grew significantly — to an average of nearly 117 a day in early May — before beginning a slow drop. The state was still averaging about 75 deaths a day when Pritzker ended the order May 29.
Researchers note that deaths are lagging indicators of the virus’s spread. People who die were typically infected weeks earlier. That’s why, even if a virus starts spreading wildly, deaths may not see an uptick right away.
It’s also why, once death figures start growing, the trend can take a long time to reverse.
So far, even as Pritzker reopened more businesses in phase three, then launched phase four on June 26, deaths have continued to drop.
Alarming increases
While Illinois deaths were dropping, other states’ tallies were growing, to the point that Arizona now averages more than 60 deaths a day, and California, Florida and Texas have reached an average of 90-plus deaths a day.
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The daily death rate, adjusted for population, has doubled in three of those four states since July 1. The highest rate is in Arizona, with 0.89 deaths a day, on average, per 100,000 residents. That’s six times Illinois’ most recent rate of 0.14 deaths per 100,000 residents, and approaching Illinois’ peak death rate of 0.92 deaths per 100,000 residents on May 10.
These rising death statistics, sadly, were expected. That’s because the numbers of confirmed COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations have also been growing.
In Arizona, for example, there are now 3 ½ times as many cases as there were on June 15. And although more cases may emerge as more people are tested, increased testing can’t explain away that growth. Over the same period, the number of people tested in Arizona doubled, which is a smaller increase.
By contrast, testing in Illinois has increased at a greater rate than the small rise in cases.
Comparing testing between Arizona and Illinois In the past month, Arizona has seen its positive cases increase far more than its testing, while the opposite was true in Illinois. Source: COVID Tracking Project. Created by the Chicago Tribune dataviz team.
The impact of testing on case numbers is why some researchers focus on the positivity rate, or the percentage of tests coming back positive. Illinois’ rate has hovered near 3% in the past month, based on seven-day averages, which is considered a good sign. Arizona’s has climbed from 17% to 23%.
A recent study published by a group of researchers, most from the University of Illinois, found that as a state’s positivity rate rose so did hospitalizations. That’s true in Arizona, where hospitalization figures more than doubled in the past month, while Illinois’ have dropped.
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The lesson, researchers said: Public officials need to pay attention to the metrics and make quick adjustments to restrictions to avoid the need for bigger changes later.
Among the researchers working on that University of Illinois study were Nigel Goldenfeld and Sergei Maslov, who develop COVID-19 case forecasts for the state.
Their paper concluded that, if Illinois’ doesn’t limit the number of so-called super-spreader encounters like those in crowded bars and at large parties, and virus trends began to mirror those in the Sun Belt, Illinois could run out of hospital beds by the fall.
“Nobody wants to overreact. But you also don’t want to underreact,” Goldenfeld said.
Will death tolls rise again?
The real question is whether the virus is spreading or dying out.
Again, there are no easy answers. But there are statistics to watch.
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Illinois saw a sustained drop in the daily number of new cases (averaged over seven days) to under 600 cases in late June. It since has risen to more than 1,000, a cause for concern.
And while Illinois’ positivity rate is still low overall, the Pritzker administration also said Wednesday that it’s closely watching the positivity rate in each region of the state to see if movement restrictions should be tightened. Among the options: closing bars and limiting indoor dining, actions suggested by the University of Illinois study.
Kay Haines and Amber Smith relax along Chicago's lakefront near Diversey Parkway on July 14, 2020. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)
The state is also watching hospital admissions for COVID-like symptoms, by region. The state doesn’t release those specific figures daily, but on a similar metric — hospital beds occupied by COVID-19 patients — different regions of the state are showing different trends.
In the northeast region, covering Chicago and its suburbs, the average daily count of COVID-19 patients has dropped by 12% over the most recent two weeks that could be analyzed.
Far fewer people are being hospitalized downstate. But the figures have been increasing.
Over those same two weeks, the north-central region saw its figures increase by 20%, the central region by 25% and the southern region by 36%.
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Other evolving factors may also affect death trends.
For one, doctors have gotten better at treating COVID-19, suggesting fewer hospitalized patients could die. (Researchers estimate about 1% of those infected die.) Infections also are spreading in younger people, who — while they’re less likely to get seriously ill — could more fuel spread to more vulnerable people.
Researchers offer mixed assessments of the state’s latest guidelines but agree the key to avoiding a surging death toll is to react faster to warning signs than other states where deaths are now surging.
“(There was) all of this missed opportunity where (other states) could have reimposed mitigation, but they didn’t,” the U. of I.’s Maslov said. “We were really worried about this repeating itself in Illinois. Now we are cautiously optimistic that it will not. But time will tell.”
jmahr@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-07-20--The risk of drownings has rarely been higher as Chicago endures a pandemic and one of its hottest su

The risk of drownings has rarely been higher as Chicago endures a pandemic and one of its hottest summers

“ You want something that the victim can grab ahold of and you don ’ t want that to be @ @ @ @ @ who is untrained , ” she said .
“ We ’ ve seen too often @ @ @ @ @ they go in the water themselves and the original swimmer makes it out but the @ @ @ @ @ ”

Going swimming is one of the best outdoor activities that you can do during the summer. There are some different rules for keeping your family safe at the pool versus at the lake or the beach, and it's important to be aware of them to keep your family and others safe. (mapodile/ E+ via Getty Images/Photo Illustration)
When public swimming pools and beaches closed, the key to surviving a sweltering Chicago summer during the pandemic was simple for those who could afford it: Buy a pool.
For the rest of us, the options are scarce and mostly illegal, like sneaking a swim in sometimes-dangerous waters where there are no lifeguards.
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And that’s increasingly worrying safety experts, who say the risk of drownings has rarely been higher as Chicago suffers through one of its hottest summers.
“There are a lot of factors coming together here that cause us to be concerned about the potential rise in drowning numbers,” said Connie Harvey, national director of Aquatics Centennial Initiatives for the American Red Cross.
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“There are fewer places to swim that are protected by lifeguards, but people are still going to go to the water,” she said. “It’s a hot summer, they’re going to find places to swim.”
[ Too many people are drowning. Here’s how to stay safe in Lake Michigan this summer. ]
Kevin Schafer carries an inflatable tube to the water south of Foster Avenue Beach on July 4, 2020, in Chicago. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)
B.J. Fisher, director of health and safety for the American Lifeguard Association, fears drownings could set a record this year, not just because beaches have been closed, but because of a buying binge for backyard pools.
“When you close a beach down and the temps hit triple digits, people are going to seek relief,” Fisher said. “There are 10 million backyard pools in the United States. There are 309,000 public pools that people expected to be open this year. They’re filled and treated and then they didn’t open.
“Regretfully, these kids are out trying to seek some relief from the heat and this is among the easiest ways to do it,” he added.
He expects the number of drowning victims worldwide to spike to nearly half a million this year, up from the 350,000 to 380,000 people who typically drown each year. And for every person who drowns, there are 10 more who nearly drown and suffer brain damage from loss of oxygen.
[ 14 things lifeguards wish you knew about water safety ]
Like a ‘washing machine’
The waves were crashing against Promontory Point on the South Side as a man in his 20s decided to go for a swim this past week. Within minutes, he was pulled underneath the water, according to witnesses who described the man as a good swimmer.
As rescue boats bobbed on the rough waters, divers found the man after about 40 minutes and he was pronounced dead at the University of Chicago Medical Center on Thursday afternoon. One of the divers compared the lake there to a “washing machine.”
Full search still underway pic.twitter.com/uyaIKyNhPN — Chicago Fire Media (@CFDMedia) July 16, 2020
Three other people, including two children, have drowned in the Chicago area in just the last two weeks.
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Last Sunday, a 10-year-old girl visiting Lakeshore Camp Resort in Porter County drowned in about 15 feet of water as she swam from a platform, officials said.
On July 9, a 12-year-old boy died in Marquette Park Beach in Gary as he was wading in chest-deep water and unexpectedly stepped into deeper water.
On July 6, a 31-year-old man died at Clark Street Beach in Evanston. The beach was closed and swimmers were being told to get out of the water when someone noticed the man struggling in the water.
In the cases of the children, lifeguards were on duty and still could not prevent the drownings, illustrating how dangerous swimming in lakes can be even when monitored.
While the Illinois Department of Public Health says beaches and pools may now open, Chicago officials have not given their OK in the city.
The Chicago Park District has deployed security and “social distance ambassadors” to keep people out of the water. Some of the ambassadors are lifeguards, but they aren’t working in that capacity this summer. Instead, red signs and flags are posted where lifeguards would normally be stationed.
We need lifeguards at our beaches. For more than a month now I've been asking for plans from the Park District about... Posted by Alderwoman Maria Hadden on Monday, June 29, 2020
North Side Ald. Maria Hadden, 49th, has been calling for lifeguards to be considered essential personnel and return to work, whether beaches are open or closed. In a June 29 social media post, Hadden complained she had been asking about lifeguards for a month.
“I’ve been asking for plans from the Park District about providing lifeguards to monitor our shoreline and to prevent drownings. I’ve pushed this up the chain to the mayor’s office as well,” she wrote.
“Officially the beaches are closed, but people are still going there in droves,” she noted. “This is not surprising as we saw the same behavior for weeks when the lake shore parks were closed; people still went there.”
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But Mayor Lori Lightfoot said this past week that it’s too soon to reopen beaches because of a recent spike in coronavirus cases, especially among younger people.
“We open up the beaches, people are going to flock to the beaches,” she said this past week, adding it’s much harder to impose social distancing in those kinds of spaces. “So, until we feel like we are in a good place, and right now, as I mentioned, we’re starting to see a slight uptick in cases.”
The mayor added that, even with lifeguards, the beaches would remain a public risk.
“We do have some people on the beach, but even if there’s lifeguards there, the lake is dangerous,” she said. “The lake is not safe.
“That’s been true historically, it’s particularly true, I think, now that we have historically high lake levels, and we’re seeing the waves crashing and really having a fierceness that makes the lake dangerous,” Lightfoot added.
Lake levels this month have been averaging a few inches above the previous maximum July monthly average, meaning there’s a good chance 2020 will hit a record at month’s end.
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“Very high water levels on Lake Michigan are causing piers, jetties, break walls and docks to sit lower in the water than they have in the past,” said Brett Borchardt, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service. “This increases the chances that waves may sweep over them and cause people to be pulled into the lake. Submerged structures could also be a danger to boats on the lake.”
Crowds cool off along the Chicago lakefront near Diversey on July 14, 2020. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)
Great fun, grave danger
Jim Eiler is the vice president of Aqua Pools, with locations in Worth and Homer Glen. He couldn’t even remember how many months ago he sold out of self-setup pools, which sell for about $200 to $800.
“They went superfast and getting them is impossible,” he said.
This year more than any other he’s also sold more aboveground pools — the kind that stay up all year long, cost about $5,000 and can last more than 15 years.
Sales are also up for in-ground pools, but he’s got clients waiting two and three times as long as usual, up to 12 weeks in some cases, because of material and manufacturing delays.
“So many orders are coming in that they can’t keep up,” he said. “We’ve never been this busy before.”
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Eiler’s father founded the company, so he’s spent much of his life around pools. The only time he can remember business being close to this level was after Sept. 11, 2001, when families were afraid to fly and decided to spend their vacation savings on their backyards.
Back then, sales remained high until about 2006. This time, the boom should easily extend to next year, but he’s concerned what will happen after that.
“I heard one story where a person posted online that they bought too many of those flip-and-fill kiddie pools, the kind that sells for $90. He listed them for $400,” Eiler said. “What happens when people go back to their normal lives and realize no one is using the pool? There’s going to be a surplus of never or rarely used pools on those kinds of online marketplaces.”
A lifeguard walks along the breakwater south of Foster Avenue Beach on July 4, 2020, in Chicago. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)
Safety experts point to the lack of regulation around these kind of pools that people often leave full all season long, sometimes without a cover. They don’t require a permit and aren’t subject to laws that require fencing.
“A lot of people do not understand the dangers that go along with that pool purchase,” said Harvey, with the American Red Cross. “They’re not really thinking through what their safety plan should be.
“Now you add on the fact that everybody’s locked down at their home, parents have more distractions than ever before, the kids are at home more because schools are shut down, summer camps aren’t operating and parents are still trying to work from home,” she said. “And so the distraction that goes along with having a body of water in your area, it’s just a tremendous risk and it’s harder because you’re juggling more things as parents and caregivers.”
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What you can do
Harvey said the Red Cross has adapted to the times by offering safety instructional classes and videos online. The organization is also working with the Chicago Park District and the Boys and Girls Club of Chicago to offer free in-person instruction when available, though classes are limited.
“A lot of times spring is when they’ll do water safety in schools and when families are getting prepped for summer, and that’s when everybody started being shut down,” she said. We asked, ‘What can we do virtually to help support schools and our partners?’ So we took some of our materials traditionally done in an instructor-led way and transitioned those to online.”
The Red Cross Water Safety for Parents and Caregivers online course focuses on developing an awareness of the risks of drowning and how to minimize those risks, especially for young children. Kids also can do independent exercises on its Water Safety for Kids site, which offers videos, activities and quizzes. Parents and caregivers can learn CPR, how to treat heat emergencies, control bleeding and other skills in the free American Red Cross First Aid app.
Harvey referred people to the Red Cross site for other safety ideas, such as always having a designated “water watcher” for backyard pools. It can be particularly dangerous when you have many adults around a pool because there’s a tendency for everyone to think someone else is watching, meaning no one ends up watching closely, she said.
The Red Cross also teaches the phrase, “Reach or throw, don’t go” because so often when a person is struggling to swim, an untrained rescuer will put themselves into rough water trying to help.
“You want something that the victim can grab ahold of and you don’t want that to be another rescuer, especially someone who is untrained,” she said. “We’ve seen too often someone tries to help and they go in the water themselves and the original swimmer makes it out but the rescuer becomes a fatality.”
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She also recommended emptying small pools of water after each use, or at least covering them and removing any ladder access. If a fence is cost-prohibitive, she said new pool owners should at least consider door and window alarms for every exit point nearest the water.
“A backyard swimming pool is great fun,” she said. “But it can also be a grave danger.”
Chicago Tribune’s John Byrne contributed.


chicagotribune--2020-07-20--Opioid overdoses skyrocket in the face of COVID-19 pandemic; stronger drugs, scarce treatment blamed

There are at least an additional 580 cases pending at the medical examiner ’ s office , an indication that @ @ @ @ @ is likely much higher .
At a news conference on Tuesday Medical Examiner Dr. Ponni @ @ @ @ @ opioid deaths would eventually be tallied for this period , as about 70 % to @ @ @ @ @ generally are ruled as opioid-related .
In the whole of last year , the county @ @ @ @ @ , according to medical examiner data .

Chicago Recovery Alliance outreach worker Nikki Carter chats with a client at the walkup window of the traveling alliance van parked on Cermak at Washtenaw in Chicago on July 16, 2020. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune)
Sweating in the heat of a late afternoon sun, Brandi biked up to a mobile drug treatment van in Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood and asked for an assortment of needles.
“Do you need Narcan?” Nikki Carter, an outreach worker, asked while leaning out the van’s window.
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“I have some, but you can always give me more,” replied Brandi, a drug user.
She said she often has people using heroin in her home and feels a responsibility to keep them safe.
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“You’re not going to die on my watch,” Brandi said.
As opioid-related deaths have sharply increased so far this year, Brandi, 45, is among Chicago drug users navigating increasingly unsafe drugs on the market and a changed landscape due to the societal impacts of COVID-19.
Outreach workers Nikki Carter, left, and Lydia Karch work aboard the Chicago Recovery Alliance van parked on Cermak at Washtenaw in Chicago on July 16, 2020. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune)
In Cook County, opioid overdose deaths this year are on pace to double last year’s figures, with the long-simmering public health crisis spiking while Chicago also faces increased gun violence and continues to battle the COVID-19 pandemic.
The deaths in the three overlapping crises are disproportionately impacting the Black community, highlighting racial inequities in health care, housing, education and other areas. The toll is particularly heavy on the city’s West Side, where since late March, nearly 80 people have died in just a few ZIP codes.
Meanwhile, experts say street drugs are increasingly being cut with more dangerous substances, raising the risk of fatal overdose at a time when the pandemic has resulted in closures of some clinics and a reduction in available social services.
“It seems like the state, the city and the county really put the focus on the pandemic,” said state Rep. La Shawn Ford, co-founder of the West Side Heroin Task Force. “We had some good gains related to dealing with the opioid and heroin epidemic. Lots of focus, all hands on deck, but it really was disappointing that we let up. It’s like we couldn’t do both.”
‘Really dangerous cuts’
Case files at the Cook County medical examiner’s office offer a window into the mounting toll on the West Side.
Overdose victims have been as young as 18 and as old as 78, found unresponsive in a single-room occupancy hotel, slumped in the passenger’s seat of an abandoned truck, sprawled on a sidewalk and collapsed in their own homes, among many other places.
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Most have been from Chicago, but not all. On the afternoon of May 21, paramedics discovered a McHenry County man in an alley off Roosevelt Road; his skin was blue and he was without a pulse, but he was still alive.
“Bystanders on the scene did not know much about the subject other than he was known to utilize illicit drugs,” a report says.
The man died in a hospital 10 days later. He was 41.
The man is among 782 people who have died this year of opioid-related overdoses, as of Friday, according to data from the medical examiner’s office. In the same time period in 2019, the county had recorded 609 such deaths.
There are at least an additional 580 cases pending at the medical examiner’s office, an indication that this year’s tally is likely much higher. At a news conference on Tuesday Medical Examiner Dr. Ponni Arunkumar estimated that about 1,200 opioid deaths would eventually be tallied for this period, as about 70% to 80% of pending cases generally are ruled as opioid-related. In the whole of last year, the county logged around 1,265 such deaths, according to medical examiner data.
Nearly 50% of the people who died were Black, though they only make up about 24% of the county’s population, according to 2019 census estimates. White people made up about 36% of the deaths, Latino, about 13% and Asian, less than 1%.
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Kathie Kane-Willis, a drug policy researcher at the Chicago Urban League, said emergency response data showed that overdoses started to rise sharply in November, long before the pandemic began.
The cause, she said, is an illicit opioid flow that has become ever more dangerous as heroin, derived from the opium poppy, is supplanted by far more powerful synthetic chemicals like fentanyl and its many cousins, which are cheaper to make and easier to smuggle.
“The supply has changed,” she said. “I think we’re moving toward a fentanyl-only market, and I think that was happening before the lockdown.”
Robert J. Bell, special agent in charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Chicago division, said the amount of opioids coming from Mexican drug cartels actually appears to have declined slightly since the pandemic began, though that could be an intentional move to raise prices.
Plenty of drugs are still here, he said, whether stockpiled in advance or smuggled over the border that has been closed to all but essential traffic during the pandemic. Cartels might even be using backpackers to keep the flow going, he said.
“Availability probably stayed fairly steady,” he said.
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Chicago Recovery Alliance outreach worker Nikki Carter shows off a bottle of Narcan, which is distributed to clients requesting it at the traveling alliance van. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune)
Outreach workers in Chicago have reported overdoses that take much longer than usual to reverse, and drug-checking programs are finding substances revealed to be mostly fentanyl, said Brandie Wilson, executive director of the Chicago Recovery Alliance.
“They’re just really dangerous cuts,” Wilson said.
During a recent trip to a methadone clinic where she was tested, Brandi was shocked to find that she had fentanyl, but no heroin, in her system.
She said she began using heroin at 21. More people she knows have died from drugs in the last year or so than in the prior years since she has been a user, she said.
Health care workers see increased access to naloxone as a main tool in the fight against opioid overdoses. The Chicago Recovery Alliance is piloting a program that will put naloxone vending machines in three spots in the city, Wilson said. She hopes the first machine will be ready by August.
“It is open access to the community without having to put yourself in danger,” she said.
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A worsening situation amid the pandemic
On Thursday afternoon, a young woman wearing a surgical mask walked up to the Chicago Recovery Alliance’s outreach van in Little Village and got bags of clean needles, trying to stay safe the best she can while she works through her addiction.
The woman said she relapsed in March after being sober for three years.
The timing was bad — the methadone clinic nearest to her had closed as much of the state shut down to reduce the spread of COVID-19. She was uneasy using public transportation as the virus to date has sickened more than 160,000 Illinoisans.
“Getting to a further (clinic) involves public transit, which is a COVID risk,” she said.
The woman’s plight represents a problem as the COVID-19 pandemic has threatened social safety nets and increased the vulnerability of already at-risk populations.
Kane-Willis said the pandemic has made things worse, citing a lack of treatment, insufficient distribution of the overdose-reversing mediation naloxone and the stress that has come with quarantine.
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Drug users also appear to be increasingly mixing opioids with other drugs, ranging from cocaine to psychiatric medicines, possibly trying to stretch out their high with dangerous combinations.
“People are confused and scared, and oftentimes in time or trauma and strife, people use more substances,” she said. “That’s common across the board. When someone is unemployed, filling that time is difficult.”
While some treatment facilities and social service organizations remained open during Illinois’ stay-at-home order, people who use drugs and outreach workers say the pandemic temporarily shuttered some services.
An emergency room doctor at Northwestern Memorial Hospital said patients who came in reported the temporary closures of some clinics that serve people with opioid use disorder.
Carter, the special projects manager for Chicago Recovery Alliance who provides services in the organization’s mobile van, said she has heard from clients who have had difficulty finding shelter during the pandemic.
Other services remained open but modified the approach.
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At the Chicago Treatment and Counseling Center, clinicians expanded the criteria clients need to meet to be able to take home methadone, which means fewer people have to come in, said Bill Aitchison, director of clinical services at the center.
And a street outreach program run by the Cook County sheriff’s office meant to help hard-to-serve drug users has been put on hold during the pandemic, though workers are continuing to reach out to clients by phone, text message and telehealth services.
Elli Petacque Montgomery, who directs the program, said the team has also had extra challenges finding treatment beds because COVID-19 outbreaks at some facilities have prevented newcomers from entering.
Four of the program’s clients have died since the pandemic began, including two who seemed to be doing well in their recovery, she said.
“The stress of what was happening around them was probably the trigger,” she said.
But with the deaths have come saves. Sgt. Efrain Mata of the Cook County sheriff’s office said his officers’ use of naloxone has gone up nearly 300% since last year, resuscitating many people who otherwise might have died.
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“Those few seconds can save someone’s life,” he said. “(Officers) didn’t care if (the person had) COVID or not — you can see it in the bodycam footage. It makes me proud as a supervisor knowing that they were continuing to do their jobs during this health crisis. They don’t hesitate.”
Dr. Sarah Messmer of the University of Illinois at Chicago’s Community Outreach Intervention Project, a needle exchange and health clinic that serves drug users in the heart of the West Side, said patients in the early days of quarantine were confused or fearful about accessing treatment as some providers shut down or trimmed their operations.
But as Illinois has opened up, she said, many seem to be returning.
“The number of people we’re seeing is increasing now that things are open more and people are more comfortable,” she said.
As for Brandi, she tries to stay as safe as possible by securing a steady supply of naloxone while hoping to someday break free of her addiction. She has received treatment at a methadone clinic, which has reduced how much she uses.
“If I knew this was going to be a lifelong thing, I don’t think I would have been curious,” she said. “I’m 45 now and still struggling with it.”
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mabuckley@chicagotribune.com
jkeilman@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-07-21--Trump expected to send new federal force to Chicago this week to battle violence, but plan’s full sc

Trump expected to send new federal force to Chicago this week to battle violence, but plan’s full scope is a question mark

“ Some of the unrest that we saw , even in the last month or so , but particularly last @ @ @ @ @ leading up to it in Portland , is just not acceptable when you look at @ @ @ @ @ not upholding the rule of law , ” said Meadows .
“ So , Attorney @ @ @ @ @ on that with Secretary Wolf and you ’ ll see something rolled out this week @ @ @ @ @ in and make sure that the communities , whether it ’ s Chicago or Portland @ @ @ @ @ across the heartland of the country , we need to make sure their communities are @ @ @

A demonstrator shouts next to a group of military veterans during a Black Lives Matter protest at the Hatfield U.S. Courthouse, July 26, 2020, in Portland, Oregon. (Marcio Jose Sanchez / AP)
Chicago may see an influx of federal agents as soon as this week as President Donald Trump readies to make good on repeated pledges he would try to tamp down violence here, a move that would come amid growing controversy nationally about federal force being used in American cities.
[ UPDATE: Trump announces new federal ‘surge’ of law enforcement to Chicago ]
U.S. Department of Homeland Security, for example, is crafting plans to deploy about 150 federal agents to the city this week, the Chicago Tribune has learned.
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The Homeland Security Investigations, or HSI, agents are set to assist other federal law enforcement and Chicago police in crime-fighting efforts, according to sources familiar with the matter, though a specific plan on what the agents will be doing — and what their limits would be — had not been made public.
DHS in Washington did not immediately respond to requests for comment, while the Department of Justice indicated an announcement would be forthcoming on an expansion of what has been dubbed Operation Legend, which saw several federal law enforcement agencies assist local police in Kansas City, Missouri, including the FBI and U.S. Marshals Service.
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Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 9 Activists square off with Chicago police officers on July 20, 2020, during a march through the Loop to protest the possible deployment of federal agents. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)
One Immigration and Customs Enforcement official in Chicago, who asked not to be named because they were not authorized to speak on the matter, confirmed the deployment was expected to take place. The official noted that the HSI agents, who are part of ICE, would not be involved in immigration or deportation matters.
Federal agents being used to confront street protesters in Portland, Oregon, has raised alarm in many circles. Chicago, too, has dealt with protests that have led to injuries in recent days.
At an unrelated news conference Monday morning, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said she has great concerns about the general possibility of Trump sending feds to Chicago based on what has happened in Portland.
If Trump wants to help, she said, he could boost federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives resources and fully fund prosecutors.
“We don’t need federal agents without any insignia taking people off the streets and holding them, I think, unlawfully,” Lightfoot said.
It was unclear where all the agents would be coming from, though sources said some could be from agencies operating in the Chicago area, and others might appear from around the country. Questions remained about the chain of command they would fall under.
The Chicago Police Department issued a statement Monday.
“The Chicago Police Department does not maintain any authority over the federal government’s deployment of federal law enforcement agents to the City of Chicago. We regularly work alongside our local and federal law enforcement agency partners toward the common goal of keeping Chicago residents safe,” the statement read. “If federal agents are deployed, it is critical that they coordinate with the Chicago Police Department and work alongside us to fight violent crime in Chicago.”
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Activists march through the Loop to protest the deployment of federal agents in Chicago on July 20, 2020. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)
Later Monday, Lightfoot sent a four-page letter to Trump saying that, despite his “misplaced and incendiary rhetoric,” she will take him at his word that he wants to help Chicago.
And if that’s so, she said, the city needs gun safety reforms and investigations of illegal sales, more spending on community-based outreach and development in disinvested South and West Side neighborhoods.
“These acts will deliver on your promise to make Chicagoans safer — not derision, mandates, or militarized forces,” Lightfoot said.
But late Monday, Lightfoot appeared on the MSNBC show “The ReidOut” and said she will use every tool she has to stop Trump from sending “troops” to the city, including filing a lawsuit.
“We’re not going to have tyranny in the city of Chicago,” Lightfoot said.
Lightfoot said the federal government could help by sending resources that work through the existing federal infrastructure but said she’s concerned about the possibility of what happened in Portland happening in Chicago.
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“Our democracy is at stake and I’ll be darned if I’m going to let anybody, even if their name is Mr. President, bring those kind of troops to our city and try to take off our residents,” Lightfoot said.
Word of the Chicago plan comes as Trump last week made a vague announcement on how his administration intended to deal with crime in big U.S. cities like Chicago. The Republican president, who has been very critical of Chicago’s violence throughout his term, has been pushing a “law-and-order” message as he enters the final stretch of his reelection campaign against his presumptive Democratic challenger, former Vice President Joe Biden.
Trump alluded to the same issue in an interview with “Fox News Sunday” host Chris Wallace, calling Chicago and New York “stupidly run” cities and blaming the violent crime there on Lightfoot and New York Mayor Bill de Blasio.
He repeated his pledge at the White House on Monday, and linked the effort to Portland.
“I’m going to do something that I can tell you, because we’re not going to leave New York and Chicago and Philadelphia, Detroit and Baltimore, and all of these — Oakland is a mess. We’re not going to let this happen in our country, all run by liberal Democrats,” Trump said, talking about violence in those places, and then mentioning Portland.
“We’re going to have more federal law enforcement, that I can tell you,” he said. “In Portland, they’ve done a fantastic job. They’ve been there three days and they really have done a fantastic job in a very short period of time, no problem.”
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Lightfoot pushed back last week on criticism from Trump’s press secretary, saying the Trump administration is trying to put the blame for crime on Democrats for political purposes to “score points with their base.”
Without offering specifics, White House chief of staff Mark Meadows told Fox News over the weekend that Trump, Attorney General William Barr and acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf would roll out a plan this week about reducing crime in various U.S. cities.
“Some of the unrest that we saw, even in the last month or so, but particularly last night and in the week leading up to it in Portland, is just not acceptable when you look at communities not being safe and not upholding the rule of law,” said Meadows. “So, Attorney General Barr is weighing in on that with Secretary Wolf and you’ll see something rolled out this week as we start to go in and make sure that the communities, whether it’s Chicago or Portland or Milwaukee or some place across the heartland of the country, we need to make sure their communities are safe.”
As news of the plans spread, leaders of the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois issued a strongly worded statement opposing the move.
“Make no mistake: Trump’s federal troops will not be a constructive force in Chicago,” Colleen Connell, executive director of the group, said in the statement. “As our colleagues have seen in Portland, Trump’s secret forces will terrorize communities, and create chaos. This is not law and order. This is an assault on the people of this country, the specific protections of protest and press in the First Amendment, and the Constitution’s assignment of policing to local authorities — not from a president acting like a despot.”
The president of CPD’s largest union had pushed for the federal government to help fight crime in Chicago as recently as Saturday, sending Trump a letter.
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“I am certain you are aware of the chaos currently affecting our city on a regular basis now,” John Catanzara, president of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 7, wrote in a letter that was posted on the FOP’s Facebook page. “I am writing to formally ask you for help from the federal government. Mayor Lightfoot has proved to be a complete failure who is either unwilling or unable to maintain law and order here.”
In her MSNBC interview, Lightfoot called Catanzara “unhinged.”
On Sunday, Black Lives Matter Chicago issued a statement condemning Catanzara's request, saying it "made even more frightening" the news of federal agents rounding up protesters in Portland.
“Escalating the level of surveillance and militarization of our communities does not make us safer, whether it is by federal agents or the Chicago Police Department,” the group said in the statement. “Defunding the police and investing in education, jobs, housing, and mental health care is what is needed to make us safe.”
Former Obama education secretary Arne Duncan, who now leads anti-violence group Chicago CRED, said he doesn’t believe Trump is trying to help the city.
“I have zero confidence that he’s trying to serve anyone’s interests but his own, that’s all he does,” Duncan said.
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Like Lightfoot, Duncan said he’s concerned that Trump’s move could exacerbate problems if it turns into a situation like Portland.
“It’s creating lawlessness, it’s not stopping it. It is an act of lawlessness itself,” Duncan said. “If that’s the plan, if that’s the intent, nobody needs it, including Chicago.”
So far in 2020, Chicago has experienced one of its most violent years in recent memory, especially since late May with the fallout over the death of George Floyd at the hands of police in Minnesota. Through July 12, homicides in Chicago were up 48% with 385, compared with 260 at the same time last year, official CPD statistics show. Shootings were also up by 46%.
During a 28-day period through July 12, 116 people were slain in Chicago, the statistics show. That’s up from 41 during the same period in 2019.
Other cities around the country also have seen spikes in violence this year. For instance, through July 12 in New York, homicides were up 23% over the year-earlier period, while shootings rose about 61% during that same time last year, according to NYPD statistics. In Philadelphia, homicides were up 21% through July 19, and shooting victims were up by 33% compared with that same period in 2019, Philadelphia police statistics show. In Los Angeles, homicides were up close to 13%, according to LAPD statistics through July 11.
In addition to Portland, Homeland Security agents have already been sent to other cities, including Washington, D.C., and Seattle.
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Oregon’s attorney general sued Homeland Security and the U.S. Marshals Service on Friday, alleging in a complaint that federal agents in Portland, which has continued to see intense unrest since Floyd’s death on May 25, unjustifiably grabbed people from the city’s streets.
Chicago Tribune’s David Heinzmann contributed.


chicagotribune--2020-07-21--Coronavirus in Illinois updates: 1,173 new known COVID-19 cases as Lightfoot bans indoor service at

Coronavirus in Illinois updates: 1,173 new known COVID-19 cases as Lightfoot bans indoor service at Chicago bars and city adds other restrictions

COVID-19 patients may be at risk of developing the neuroimmune condition ME/CFS that depletes one ’ s energy .
ME/CFS @ @ @ @ @ of those affected unable to work and 25 % homebound or bedridden , impacts 15 @ @ @ @ @ worldwide , and symptoms may be triggered by an infection , according to the National @ @ @ @ @ Anthony Fauci , director of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases , says @ @ @ @ @ showing symptoms that resemble those seen in ME/CFS patients .

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Paca Kujtim of Arlington Heights self-administers a COVID-19 test in his car at the Arlington International Racecourse on March 31, 2021 in Arlington Heights. Kujtim was getting testing as a precaution for upcoming travel. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)
Chicago bars that don’t sell food will no longer be allowed to serve alcohol indoors starting this Friday as part of a new effort to curb the spread of the coronavirus, Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced Monday. The city also will limit all indoor fitness classes to a maximum of 10 people and ban personal services requiring the removal of masks, such as shaves and facials, her administration said.
The announcement came as Illinois reported 1,173 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Monday, bringing the state’s total number of cases to 162,748. State health officials also said six more people have died after contracting the virus. So far, 7,301 people have died in Illinois.
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[ Illinois’ new COVID-19 plan: How the state will manage any outbreaks in 3 charts ]
[ COVID-19 cases in Illinois by ZIP code: Search for your neighborhood ]
[ Schools reopening tracker: What suburban Chicago districts are planning for the fall ]
[ 20 questions about assessing your COVID-19 risk at restaurants, gyms and more ]
Here’s what’s happening Monday regarding COVID-19 in the Chicago area and Illinois:
7:13 p.m. (update): Questions raised over how to enforce visitor limit at residential buildings: ‘There’s not a lot of teeth’
Chicago is asking residential buildings to limit guests to five per unit as part of a new set of restrictions announced Monday morning in hopes of curbing a recent spike in COVID-19 cases.
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The rule is meant to avoid indoor gatherings and parties, and goes into effect Friday. Other new restrictions limit indoor seating for bars and breweries, group sizes at restaurants, fitness class participants, and services where face coverings must be removed, such as facials and shaves.
But how the visitor restrictions for apartments and condos will be enforced is less clear, and experts say it will be difficult for both the city and property managers to make sure the new guideline is followed.
“A lot of leases say you can’t violate a local ordinance, but this isn’t an ordinance,” said Robert Kahn, a Chicago attorney who specializes in landlord and tenant law. “There’s not a lot of teeth to this stuff.”
On a Monday call, Samir Mayekar, deputy mayor for economic development, said the city has been in touch with organizations like the Chicagoland Apartment Association to request they post information letting members know about the new rules. It can be carried out similar to how larger apartment buildings post signs about social distancing and masks, Mayekar said.
Asked how the city would enforce the limit, Mayekar said they’re working through an “enforcement framework,” but didn’t have details.
Read more here. —Ariel Cheung
5:20 p.m. (update): Trump, Congress square off over coronavirus aid as crisis worsens
President Donald Trump acknowledged Monday a “big flare up” of COVID-19 cases, but divisions between the White House and Senate Republicans and differences with Democrats posed fresh challenges for a new federal aid package with the U.S. crisis worsening and emergency relief about to expire.
Trump convened GOP leaders at the White House as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell prepared to roll out his $1 trillion package in a matter of days. But the administration criticized the legislation’s money for more virus testing and insisted on a payroll tax cut that could complicate quick passage. The timeline appeared to quickly shift.
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Read more here. —The Associated Press
3:50 p.m.: Illinois Federation of Teachers latest to urge school districts, colleges to stick with remote learning this fall
The Illinois Federation of Teachers called on school districts Monday to return to remote learning for the beginning of the school year unless in-person teaching is safe and possible.
The announcement made IFT the latest statewide educators’ union to endorse the continuation of virtual instruction, though the federation didn’t reject the idea of in-classroom learning completely.
Read more here. —Kelli Smith
2:35 p.m.: 1,173 new known COVID-19 cases, 6 additional deaths
Illinois reported 1,173 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Monday, bringing the state’s total number of cases to 162,748.
State health officials also said six more people have died after contracting the virus. So far, 7,301 people have died in Illinois.
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The state also reported 34,598 new COVID-19 tests in a span of 24 hours, two days after setting a record with 46,099 tests.
—Chicago Tribune staff
12:50 p.m.: Wisconsin’s largest teachers unions call for online school due to the coronavirus pandemic
Teachers unions for Wisconsin’s five largest school districts asked Gov. Tony Evers and the state’s top health and education officials on Monday to keep schools closed at the start of the year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The letter was signed by union leaders for teachers in Milwaukee, Madison, Green Bay, Kenosha and Racine. It was sent to Evers, Department of Public Instruction Secretary Carolyn Stanford Taylor and Department of Health Services Secretary Andrea Palm.
Read more here. —The Associated Press
12:05 p.m.: White House to resume its daily public coronavirus task force briefings
The White House is reviving its public coronavirus task force briefings, and President Donald Trump will again take on a starring role.
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Trump says he’ll lead a briefing at 5 p.m. Tuesday, his first since April 27.
The coronavirus task force, led by Vice President Mike Pence, briefed the public daily in March and April with Trump participating and dominating many of the televised sessions. But the briefings disappeared in late April after ratings began to slide and Trump mused about the possibility of using disinfectants inside the body to kill the virus.
Read more here. —The Associated Press
11 a.m.: Residential buildings to set guest limit at 5 as part of new COVID-19 restrictions announced Monday
Chicago is asking residential buildings to limit guests to five per unit as part of a new set of restrictions announced Monday morning in hopes of curbing a recent spike in COVID-19 cases. The rule is meant to avoid large indoor gatherings and parties, and goes into effect Friday.
Read more here. —Ariel Cheung
10:26 a.m.: COVID-19 patients could be at risk for chronic fatigue syndrome: ‘Your whole life can change if you get this’
As the world continues to watch the number of COVID-19 cases increase (and daily records being broken), patients with myalgic encephalomyelitis, aka chronic fatigue syndrome, want to tell those recovering from coronavirus to listen up.
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COVID-19 patients may be at risk of developing the neuroimmune condition ME/CFS that depletes one’s energy. ME/CFS, which leaves 75% of those affected unable to work and 25% homebound or bedridden, impacts 15 million to 30 million people worldwide, and symptoms may be triggered by an infection, according to the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, says some diagnosed with coronavirus are showing symptoms that resemble those seen in ME/CFS patients.
Read more here. —Darcel Rockett
10:20 a.m.: Lightfoot bans indoor service at Chicago bars starting Friday
Chicago bars will no longer be allowed to serve alcohol indoors starting this Friday as part of a new effort to curb the coronavirus, Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced.
The city will also limit all indoor fitness classes to a maximum of 10 people and ban personal services requiring the removal of masks, like shaves and facials.
Read more here. —Gregory Pratt
9:34 a.m.: COVID-19 vaccine prompts immune response in early test, Oxford University scientists say
Scientists at Oxford University say their experimental coronavirus vaccine has been shown in an early trial to prompt a protective immune response in hundreds of people who got the shot.
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British researchers first began testing the vaccine in April in about 1,000 people, half of whom got the experimental vaccine. Such early trials are designed to evaluate safety and see what kind of immune response was provoked, but can't tell if the vaccine truly protects.
In research published Monday in the journal Lancet, scientists said that they found their experimental COVID-19 vaccine produced a dual immune response in people aged 18 to 55 that lasted at least two months after they were immunized.
Read more here. —The Associated Press
7:44 a.m.: As companies keep workers in the dark on COVID-19 cases, some employees are turning into amateur sleuths to track virus cases
Jana Jumpp spends eight hours a day updating a spreadsheet - not for work, but a recent hobby: figuring out how many of Amazon's 400,000 warehouse workers have fallen sick with the coronavirus.
Amazon won't give a number, so Jumpp tracks it on her own and shares what she finds with others. She relies on Amazon employees at more than 250 facilities who call, text or send her Facebook messages with possible cases. She asks for proof, like messages or voicemails from Amazon, and tries to make sure she doesn't count the same case twice.
It's time consuming, but Jumpp says workers should know if there's an outbreak and just how risky it is to head to work.
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“Amazon is not going to do it, so it’s up to us,” says Jumpp, 58, who lost her job in July at an Amazon warehouse in Jeffersonville, Indiana, after she went on leave for fear of contracting the coronavirus and ran out of paid time off.
Read more here. —The Associated Press
6 a.m.: COVID-19 took a big toll in Illinois. Will deaths surge again?
When the COVID-19 pandemic struck the United States, Illinois was one of the first hot spots in the country, fueling a death toll that remains among the nation’s highest. Now — after big drops in daily deaths in Illinois and other hard-hit states — the Sun Belt is seeing a massive surge. The daily death rate in Arizona is now as high as Illinois’ ever was, after adjusting for population.
The sharp increases in deaths in these Southern and Western states have added to growing unease in Illinois, where the downward trends on cases and positive test results have started to inch back up.
Researchers say that although the latest data does not signal the need for outright alarm, it does suggest that the state, without changes, could be on the verge of another deadly surge.
Read more here. —Joe Mahr
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6 a.m.: Opioid overdoses skyrocket in the face of COVID-19 pandemic; stronger drugs, scarce treatment blamed
As opioid-related deaths have sharply increased so far this year, Chicago drug users navigating increasingly unsafe drugs on the market and a changed landscape due to the societal impacts of COVID-19.
In Cook County, opioid overdose deaths this year are on pace to double last year’s figures, with the long-simmering public health crisis spiking while Chicago also faces increased gun violence and continues to battle the COVID-19 pandemic.
The deaths in the three overlapping crises are disproportionately impacting the Black community, highlighting racial inequities in health care, housing, education and other areas. The toll is particularly heavy on the city’s West Side, where since late March, nearly 80 people have died in just a few ZIP codes.
Meanwhile, experts say street drugs are increasingly being cut with more dangerous substances, raising the risk of fatal overdose at a time when the pandemic has resulted in closures of some clinics and a reduction in available social services.
Read more here. —Madeline Buckley, John Keilman
6 a.m.: The risk of drownings has rarely been higher as Chicago endures a pandemic and one of its hottest summers
When public swimming pools and beaches closed, the key to surviving a sweltering Chicago summer during the pandemic was simple for those who could afford it: Buy a pool.
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For the rest of us, the options are scarce and mostly illegal, like sneaking a swim in sometimes-dangerous waters where there are no lifeguards.
And that’s increasingly worrying safety experts, who say the risk of drownings has rarely been higher as Chicago suffers through one of its hottest summers.
“There are a lot of factors coming together here that cause us to be concerned about the potential rise in drowning numbers,” said Connie Harvey, national director of Aquatics Centennial Initiatives for the American Red Cross.
“There are fewer places to swim that are protected by lifeguards, but people are still going to go to the water,” she said. “It’s a hot summer, they’re going to find places to swim.”
Read more here. —Katherine Rosenberg-Douglas
6 a.m.: Sticky notes on the bathroom door and wipes by the coffee pot. Employees find new rules as they return to the office.
Some Chicago offices are starting to reopen with a limited number of employees who are volunteering to return. As they do, companies are piloting new safety policies to protect workers from a health crisis that shows few signs of waning. The early steps, from practical safeguards to quirky solutions, offer a glimpse at what office life might be like once more companies bring employees back.
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Hand sanitizer is everywhere, and certain desks are blocked off to promote social distancing while working. Conference rooms are often off limits, as are dining areas. There are signs on nearly every wall, door and TV screen reminding workers about the new rules.
Steps that once might have felt invasive, like daily temperature checks and health assessments, are often required before employees can walk through the front door.
Read more here. —Ally Marotti and Lauren Zumbach


chicagotribune--2020-07-21--Residential buildings to set visitor limit at 5 due to COVID-19, but questions raised over how to en

Residential buildings to set visitor limit at 5 due to COVID-19, but questions raised over how to enforce: ‘There’s not a lot of teeth’

At the same time , property managers will be hard-pressed to clamp down on violations , as many do not @ @ @ @ @ she said .
Smaller apartment buildings , too , often allow residents to come and @ @ @ @ @ with no security or doorman to restrict entry to too many guests .

Chicago is asking residential buildings to limit guests to five per unit as part of a new set of restrictions announced Monday morning in hopes of curbing a recent spike in COVID-19 cases.
The rule is meant to avoid indoor gatherings and parties, and goes into effect Friday. Other new restrictions limit indoor seating for bars and breweries, group sizes at restaurants, fitness class participants, and services where face coverings must be removed, such as facials and shaves.
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But how the visitor restrictions for apartments and condos will be enforced is less clear, and experts say it will be difficult for both the city and property managers to make sure the new guideline is followed.
“A lot of leases say you can’t violate a local ordinance, but this isn’t an ordinance,” said Robert Kahn, a Chicago attorney who specializes in landlord and tenant law. “There’s not a lot of teeth to this stuff.”
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On a Monday call, Samir Mayekar, deputy mayor for economic development, said the city has been in touch with organizations like the Chicagoland Apartment Association to request they post information letting members know about the new rules. It can be carried out similar to how larger apartment buildings post signs about social distancing and masks, Mayekar said.
Asked how the city would enforce the limit, Mayekar said they’re working through an “enforcement framework,” but didn’t have details.
Rosa Escareno, commissioner of the Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection, said the city works closely with the health and buildings departments to field complaints.
Escareno asked that residents call in complaints about people violating the rules and said they will “triage” those accordingly.
“The most important thing here is consistency, having protocols in place if residents feel this isn’t adhered to,” she said.
Meanwhile, property managers like Bridget McDonnell sprang into action Monday as they considered how best to adhere to the new rules. McDonnell, who manages eight mid- and high-rise condo buildings for the Chicago-based FirstService Residential, readied notices to send out to condo owners about the city’s limits on visitors.
How strictly the rule will be enforced is up to each individual condo association board, she said. Rule breakers could be issued violation notices, which can come with penalties like fines or, in extreme cases, lead to eviction.
At the same time, property managers will be hard-pressed to clamp down on violations, as many do not surveil their buildings 24/7, she said. Smaller apartment buildings, too, often allow residents to come and go as they please, with no security or doorman to restrict entry to too many guests.
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“We’ll let homeowners know it’s your responsibility as a homeowner to take care of your unit, and then we just leave it up to them,” McDonnell said. “We don’t know what people are doing in their units, and there’s only so much we can actually do.”
The real estate industry has nimbly adapted to changes in leasing practices, common space use and home sales. In the earliest phases of the state’s response to COVID-19, open houses and showings were shut down or severely restricted, but slowly have been allowed again as Illinois loosened its restrictions.
The limit on guests is the only real estate-related rollback of reopening announced Monday, meaning occupied apartments can still be shown to prospective tenants and open houses can continue.
Those practices have tenants more on edge than visitors in other apartments, said Joan Fenstermaker, a Chicago-based tenant lawyer. Showings were limited during phase three of the state’s response, but now tenants have little ammo to prevent landlords from bringing strangers into their homes, she said.
“I’m getting a ton of calls from tenants complaining about prospective tenants coming in and not observing correct PPE wearing or social distancing,” Fenstermaker said. “That’s my concern.”
Under current phase four guidelines in Chicago, residential buildings are tasked with disinfecting shared spaces, requiring the use of personal protective equipment and limiting the capacity in common areas like lounges, fitness centers and game rooms.
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But there is little property managers can do to force residents to wear masks, and limits on visitors will be similarly hard to enforce, said Kahn, who represents several property managers with wide-sweeping portfolios.
A landlord also can’t get a rule-breaking tenant evicted, as Cook County has extended its ban on eviction enforcement through at least July.
“If a tenant isn’t wearing a mask, they can’t keep them out (of the building) legally,” Kahn said. “It’s frustrating for our clients. They’re damned if we do, damned if we don’t. It makes no sense.”
archeung@chicagotribune.com
Gregory Pratt contributed to this article.


chicagotribune--2020-07-20--Chicago bars won’t be able to serve customers alcohol indoors starting Friday, Mayor Lori Lightfoot’

Chicago bars won’t be able to serve customers alcohol indoors starting Friday, Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s administration announces

Under Lightfoot ’ s new rules , the number of individuals who can be at a table in bars and @ @ @ @ @ to six , city officials said .
Since June 26 , when Chicago advanced to @ @ @ @ @ plan , restaurants have been restricted to 25 % capacity , with a maximum of @ @ @ @ @ floor , with tables at least 6 feet apart and with 10 or fewer people @ @ @

Gregory Pratt, Josh Noel, Grace Wong, Howard Reich

People hang out in the cabanas at Deuce's on Clark Street in Chicago's Wrigleyville neighborhood on July 2, 2020. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune)
Chicago bars that don’t sell food will no longer be allowed to serve alcohol indoors starting this Friday as part of a new effort to curb the spread of the coronavirus, Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced Monday.
The city also will limit all indoor fitness classes to a maximum of 10 people and ban personal services requiring the removal of masks, such as shaves and facials, her administration announced.
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The news was delivered abruptly Monday morning, in a news release the administration sent out just minutes after Lightfoot stopped speaking at an unrelated news conference.
But it wasn’t entirely unexpected either. Lightfoot was slow to reopen bars in Chicago, saying she was concerned about people losing their inhibitions and behaving irresponsibly under the influence.
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And in recent weeks, Lightfoot has warned that she would not hesitate to roll back some restrictions if there is a spike in cases. Her administration has been warning about an uptick in COVID-19 cases among young residents as people flock to bars.
Under Lightfoot’s new rules, the number of individuals who can be at a table in bars and restaurants also will be reduced to six, city officials said. Since June 26, when Chicago advanced to phase four of its reopening plan, restaurants have been restricted to 25% capacity, with a maximum of 50 people per room or floor, with tables at least 6 feet apart and with 10 or fewer people per table.
Rogers Park Social sells cocktails and beer to-go from a carryout window July 20, 2020. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)
It’s unclear, however, the number of businesses that will be affected by Lightfoot’s announcement.
Of the 300-400 bars operating without a food license in Chicago, most aren’t open right now, especially the ones that don’t have outdoor seating, said Pat Doerr, managing director of the Hospitality Business Association of Chicago.
The biggest blow to them is the smaller group numbers allowed because this means fewer employee positions. It’ll also be harder for bars to operate when there’s unpredictable weather because they won’t be able to bring patrons inside.
“This is arbitrary but probably not a deathblow,” Doerr said. “Even before 2020, people in Chicago wanted to be outside as much as possible in the summer, and that trend has certainly continued this year.”
In a conference call with reporters, Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said the city’s at about 233 new cases a day and the recent uptick in numbers is a problem city officials want to address.
“The bottom line is, I’m concerned right now,” she said.
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Arwady said the next potential milestone for alarming cases is about 400 new infections per day, which would be roughly equivalent with the measure officials are using to order people to quarantine in Chicago when they’re coming from states with large numbers.
But, she said, no individual number will automatically lead to restrictions.
Officials said the city is concerned about “bubble trouble,” referring to people’s close friends and extended family. During the more restrictive phases of the quarantine, they said, people had a more limited “bubble.” But as society gradually reopens, they’re expanding it and putting themselves at greater risk.
“Most cases are able to name someone that they had close contact with who had COVID, whether that’s a household contact or whether that’s a friend,” Arwady said.
Still, the announcement generated some pushback from bar owners and lobbyists, who said it would hurt small businesses. Lightfoot’s deputy mayor for economic development, Samir Mayekar, however, said Chicago is “the largest open city in America” despite the moves.
Art Johnston, owner of Sidetrack, a Boystown bar, said he was “unhappy” by the city’s decision and wished there would not be a rollback. Nevertheless, Johnston acknowledged that the city did say it was a possibility if numbers increased.
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“The invulnerability people of a certain age seem to feel is clearly a factor. It’s upsetting, but if it’s what we have to do we will,” Johnston said.
“Bar owners are Chicago citizens, No. 1, and we’ll do what we have to to beat back these numbers. It will be difficult on bar owners and our employees, as are so many parts of this pandemic,” Johnston said.
The inside of Sidetrack on North Halsted Street in Chicago cannot be used after July 20, 2020. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)
The rollback means the bar won’t be profitable now, since it will depend on outdoor space only. But Johnston said he is confident it won’t threaten business ultimately.
Asked if he would be forced to furlough employees as a result of the rollback, he said, “It’s a difficult question we’re beginning to confront right now. We’re coming to a time of hard decisions.”
Johnston also said he doesn’t understand why the rule applies only to bars without food. He said he’s had “almost zero issues with customers not complying.”
“I think the rule should be the same for bars and restaurants,” he said. “Frankly, I don’t understand the slice and dice. It seems a bit arbitrary in parts, but it is what it is, and we’re going to move forward and do what we can.
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“The people running our city and state are doing what they think is best,” Johnston said. “I’m glad we have grown-ups in charge.”
Mike Miller, owner of Delilah’s, a rock ‘n’ roll tavern in Lincoln Park famous for its deep whiskey and bourbon list, said he had decided not to open the bar at all — even after bars were allowed — because of safety concerns and “an abundance of caution.” He expressed frustration regarding people’s lack of personal and civic responsibility and said he’s seen many people walking around in public spaces without masks.
“We didn’t want to ride the roller coaster of opening and closing,” Miller said regarding his decision to stay closed. “I just wish everyone would wear a mask so we can get back to our lives.”
The owner of a Rogers Park bar said he’s pleased with the mayor’s decision.
Wally Andersen, general manager at Rogers Park Social, stands at the service window where cocktails to-go are sold July 20, 2020. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)
“I’m totally behind it,” said Erik Archambeault, owner of Rogers Park Social, which does not serve food. “I think it’s foolish to open up too early until we get everything under control.”
The neighborhood bar and lounge has been doing cocktails to-go from its window and applied for a sidewalk grant but did not open indoor service during phase four. He said his restaurateur friends feel similarly wary about opening up indoor service and, while concerned about their bottom line, are moving slowly.
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“For the most part, business owners, restaurant owners and bar owners are doing their best as far as the requirements of masks and social distancing inside and outside, but I think the public sometimes — especially after a couple cocktails and food — gets a little loose and maybe forgets to put a mask on,” Archambeault said. “It’s a challenge, and that’s definitely a difficult thing (for business owners).
“We all know Chicago is a city that likes to drink,” he said. “If you drive around on a Thursday or Friday after work, it’s crazy. I think she’s doing the right thing and pulling back to slow down so we don’t have a situation like Florida or Texas.”
The upper level open air space at the bar Sidetrack can still be used after Chicago officials announced a re-tightening of restrictions July 20, 2020. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)
The new rules mean that jazz clubs that don’t serve food — such as the Jazz Showcase, Green Mill and Constellation — may not serve liquor indoors as of 12:01 a.m. Friday, according to the city’s Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events. Music venues that do serve food, such as Andy’s Jazz Club, may continue to serve alcohol.
Chicago’s jazz club owners had varied responses to the news.
The Green Mill, in Uptown, will close its doors after Thursday night’s performances.
“It’s just not worth it” to stay open, club owner Dave Jemilo said. “The cover charge rarely covers the band (fees). But even if it does, how do you pay everyone else?
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“I don’t even think we were breaking even yet, but we were getting there. And breaking even means employees get to work and make money. The joint itself doesn’t make any money, but there’s musicians getting paid. That’s better than everyone not working at all and the bar not making any money besides.
“We were enforcing the rules and all of that,” Jemilo added, referring to social distancing, masks and temperature checks, among other things. “If people in other areas of the city — like Wrigleyville and others — if they’re not doing it right, why don’t they just get shut down?
“I’m thinking of my draft beer going bad. How long does it last before I have to dump it?”
The Jazz Showcase, in the Loop, will keep the music playing.
“I’m going to open up anyway, even if I can’t serve liquor,” said owner Wayne Segal. “I’ll be creative with a juice bar or something. I’m going to keep it going. I believe people will come and support us, because we need it more desperately than ever.”
Jemilo hopes eventually to be able to have seating and alcohol service outdoors at the Green Mill, but he expects the process of getting permission to do that will take time.
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Constellation, in Lakeview, will go ahead with its first scheduled show on July 31, but without bar or audience.
“I had already been thinking about not opening the bar,” said Constellation owner Mike Reed. “I want people to feel comfortable first and foremost.”
So the July 31 show featuring Chicago bassist-bandleader Tatsu Aoki’s Miyumi Project will be livestreamed only, without listeners in the house. Future shows may have audiences.
The timing of the city’s new policy on serving alcohol indoorscoincides with the long-anticipated start of Major League Baseball on Friday.
Although Wrigleyville’s sports bars and restaurants have been busy in recent weeks, most of them would not have to close under the new restrictions because they serve food. With the Chicago Cubs’ home opener on Friday at Wrigley Field, the neighborhood is expected to be busy.
Sheffield’s Beer Garden, a smokehouse and bar in Wrigleyville, is among the bars not affected by the bar closure since it serves food. The restaurant and bar has been reservations-only since it reopened, with a two-hour limit to each reservation, and it will have a few TVs outside.
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“I believe it will be busier than we normally will be because of the game,” said Juan Zapata, a manager. “People want to be closer to Wrigleyville.”
gpratt@chicagotribune.com
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gwong@chicagotribune.com
hreich@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-07-20--Peoria will crack down on ‘roving street parties’ after weekend shooting left 13 wounded, police chi

Peoria will crack down on ‘roving street parties’ after weekend shooting left 13 wounded, police chief says

Officers disbursed a crowd outside a gasoline station early Sunday that reassembled at another location 45 minutes later , according @ @ @ @ @ gathering was broken up by police , attendees returned to the location near the gas @ @ @ @ @ cleared , and the crowd gathered at the riverfront .
Police didn ’ t learn @ @ @ @ @ of shots fired were received .

A Peoria police vehicle cruises through the intersection of Hamilton Boulevard and Water Street in Peoria on July 19, 2020, where hours before gunfire broke out at a large gathering, injuring multiple people. (David Zalaznik./Journal Star )
Peoria, Illinois — Peoria’s police chief said Monday there will be a crackdown on “roving street parties” in the wake of a weekend shooting that left 13 wounded.
Pre-dawn parties like Sunday’s that attracted about 200 people have been happening in Peoria for about a year, Chief Loren Marion said at a news conference.
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Police have responded to the parties when alerted to illegal activities such as fistfights and public drinking. However, he says those dispersed, many of them adults, conspire to come up with a new location, head there in droves and restart the party.
Officers disbursed a crowd outside a gasoline station early Sunday that reassembled at another location 45 minutes later, according to authorities. When that gathering was broken up by police, attendees returned to the location near the gas station. That location was cleared, and the crowd gathered at the riverfront. Police didn’t learn of that location until reports of shots fired were received.
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Marion said the gunfire occurred after a fight erupted. He said investigators are reviewing video of the scene to determine who was behind the shootings.
Marion did not have any update on the condition of the victims, who range in age from 20 to 39.


chicagotribune--2020-07-20--The Spin: Trump dances around questions about dispatching federal agents to Chicago | Lightfoot halt

The Spin: Trump dances around questions about dispatching federal agents to Chicago | Lightfoot haltingly adds voice to small choir of Dems calling out Madigan |  Kanye’s tearful presidential stump speech

Then Lightfoot , who campaigned on a platform of ethics and transparency , gave the windup and finally the pitch @ @ @ @ @ t think it ’ s for my purposes as mayor , when there ’ s @ @ @ @ @ anyone as an elected official , for me to say that the person should resign @ @ @ @ @ and ( Chicago state Rep. ) Kelly Cassidy and it sounds like now others said @ @ @ @ @ allegations are true , obviously , he should resign .
But we don ’ t @ @ @ @ @ , yet .
”

Quick to mention Chicago, President Donald Trump in recent days said he was planning a new law enforcement initiative that would be announced this week — and this morning my Tribune colleagues were out with the scoop: Homeland of Security plans to send 150 federal agents here to fight gang crime.
Neither the president during a news conference today in Washington, nor his communications team in an emailed request from The Spin would answer questions about it.
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The Republican president, hammering home a law-and-order message as he heads into the home stretch of an up-in-the-air reelection bid, has been hammering cities led by Democratic mayors — particularly Chicago and New York City — that have seen spikes in violent crime. Mayor Lori Lightfoot says she has “great concerns about it,” especially after talking with the mayor of Portland, where Oregon’s attorney general is suing a series of federal agencies saying federal agents in unmarked vehicles have picked up people in the streets without warrants.
Lightfoot hesitantly added her voice to the small choir of Democrats calling on Michael Madigan, the state’s powerful party chair and state House speaker, to step down if federal prosecutors’ allegations laid out in court records against Commonwealth Edison prove true.
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The mayor’s office today also put out some big news: Starting this weekend, the city is all but closing down bars that don’t serve food as COVID-19 cases inch up in Chicago.
Welcome to The Spin.
President Donald Trump simulates holding a gun during his speach at the International Association of Chiefs of Police Convention on Oct. 28, 2019, in Chicago. (Charles Rex Arbogast/AP)
The Tribune’s Gregory Pratt and Jeremy Gorner write: “The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is crafting plans to deploy about 150 federal agents to Chicago this week, the Chicago Tribune has learned, a move that would come amid growing controversy nationally about federal force being used in American cities.”
While one city official said they were aware of the plan, Chicago police declined to comment, Pratt and Gorner report. Read the full story here.
Asked by a reporter today at the White House, President Trump didn’t directly say he was sending in federal agents but mentioned Chicago as among the troubled cities where “we’ll have more federal law enforcement — that I can tell you,” the president said.
“I’m going to do something that I can tell you, because we’re not going to leave New York and Chicago and Philadelphia Detroit and Baltimore and all of these — Oakland is a mess ... we’re not going to let this happen in our country, all run by liberal Democrats,” the president told reporters.
“In Portland, they’ve done a fantastic job,” Trump said. Local officials and protesters disagree. In addition to Oregon’s attorney general filing a civil rights lawsuit over federal officers taking custody of protesters, the governor has asked the agents to be removed and the state’s two senators along with Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler have been highly critical of the deployment of federal agents in the city, where protests — some violent — have unfolded almost nightly in the aftermath of the Minneapolis police killing of George Floyd.
Trump says some of the people who have taken over the streets are violent anarchists — not people who are protesting for a cause. He also asserted that all manner of Democratic elected leaders — from U.S. senators to the mayor — are “afraid” of the so-called anarchists and won’t rid the streets of them, so he’s going to.
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71 shot, 12 fatally in Chicago weekend violence: Read the Tribune story here.
Chicago FOP boss, a Trump supporter, pens letter to president asking for federal help to tamp down violence: report — Read the NBC5 story here.
Related — Lightfoot: “Vigilantes” infiltrated peaceful protest, sparking clash with Chicago police officers in Grant Park: It looked like a scene out of 1968, police officers going toe-to-toe with protesters who showed up in Grant Park as the city played host to the Democratic National Convention. Only it was Friday night and the protesters — as Lightfoot described it — infiltrated by “vigilantes” were spoiling for a “fight” with police and trying to bring down a statue of Christopher Columbus. In some ways, she echoed Trump when he described the protest scene in Portland. Gregory Pratt has the details here.
Police say attacks at Grant Park protest appeared organized as more than 20 complaints are filed against cops: Read the Tribune story here.
Also: Bricks tossed through windows of Ald. Ray Lopez’s Southwest Side city office: His home was similarly vandalized earlier this month. A frequent critic of the mayor, Lopez took to Twitter and blasted her over the incident at his office this weekend and posted photos of the broken windows. Read the Tribune story here.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot speaks to the media July 9, 2020. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)
Lightfoot said she has “great concerns” about federal agents being dispatched to Chicago and that she spoke with Portland’s Mayor Wheeler over the weekend.
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“I spent a lot of time yesterday talking with the mayor of Portland, to get a sense of what’s happened there. We don’t need a federal agent, without any insignia, taking people off the street and holding them, I think, unlawfully,” the mayor said, referring to allegations that agents were arresting people on the street and placing them in unmarked vans. “That’s not what we do.”
She also said that if Trump “is truly sincere about wanting to help, there are a number of things that the federal government is uniquely qualified to do that we could use his help with and they all revolve around the fact that we have way too many illegal guns on our streets.” Read the full story, including a snipped about a 4-page letter the mayor penned to Trump, here.
She then ticked off a list of items, including “fully fund the ATF here in Chicago,” she said of the local arm of the U.S. Department of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, whose duties include keeping an eye on illegal gun trafficking.
“He could fully fund additional prosecutors to focus on gun violence cases. He could empower the ATF to actually do what they’re supposed to do, which is go after illegal gun sales ... go after federally licensed gun dealers that aren’t doing their job, or selling to people that they know are straw purchasers that have no intent whatsoever to possess those guns and turn them over in a parking lot to the real person who’s going to take those guns.”
Chicago Mayor-elect Lori Lightfoot is applauded by Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, and the Illinois House after delivering her remarks at the Illinois State Capitol on April 10, 2019, in Springfield. (Justin L. Fowler/AP)
Let’s rewind. On Friday, hours after federal prosecutors in Chicago released details of their case against ComEd, things were awfully quiet in Democratic circles.
The Tribune’s Rick Pearson wrote over the weekend: “The extent of Madigan’s power over Democratic politics was evident from the muted responses of a number of members of his own House majority after federal prosecutors implicated the nation’s longest-serving statehouse leader as the beneficiary of a near-decadelong bribery and influence scheme conducted through Commonwealth Edison.”
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Madigan has not been charged with wrongdoing, and his spokeswoman, Maura Possley, released a statement Friday: “The speaker accepted subpoenas related to his various offices for documents,” Possley said. “He will cooperate and respond to those requests for documents, which he believes will clearly demonstrate that he has done nothing criminal or improper.”
Nevertheless, Gov. Pritzker and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle both took a firm line right away that Madigan should resign if the allegations are true. But the mayor, a formal federal prosecutor, said it wasn’t her place to weigh in on Madigan because he hadn’t been charged with a crime.
Now, as Gregory Pratt, Jamie Munks and I write in a new piece, Democrats in the state House Progressive Caucus and, almost hesitantly, the mayor, are echoing Preckwinkle and the governor’s comments. Read the story here.
Pressed at a news conference today by NBC-Ch. 5 political reporter Mary Ann Ahern, the mayor first said the allegations were “quite disturbing” and then pointed to ComEd, which will be summoned to testify at the city’s Energy Committee on July 30 to “give account for ... their conduct.”
Then Lightfoot, who campaigned on a platform of ethics and transparency, gave the windup and finally the pitch: “I don’t think it’s for my purposes as mayor, when there’s been no criminal charge against anyone as an elected official, for me to say that the person should resign. I thought the governor and (Chicago state Rep.) Kelly Cassidy and it sounds like now others said it right, if those allegations are true, obviously, he should resign. But we don’t know that they are true, yet.”
Family questions whether ComEd bribery scheme played a role in state’s decision not to fully investigate electrocution: The Tribune’s Stacy St. Clair has the details here.
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Federal investigators looking at Pritzker tax break, others during Joe Berrios’ time as Cook County assessor: The Tribune’s Hal Dardick and Todd Lighty have the details here.
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Mayor Lori Lightfoot prepares to speak at a news conference June 25, 2020. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
Shortly after the mayor’s news conference ended this morning, where inquiring reporters might want to know more, the Lightfoot administration issued an announcement that she was scaling back bar operations in order to curb an uptick in COVID-19 cases.
The Tribune’s Gregory Pratt, Josh Noel, Grace Wong and Howard Reich write: “Chicago bars will no longer be allowed to serve alcohol indoors starting this Friday as part of a new effort to curb the spread of coronavirus, Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced.”
While the announcement was abrupt, they write, “it wasn’t entirely unexpected either. Lightfoot was slow to reopen bars in Chicago, saying she was concerned about people losing their inhibitions and behaving irresponsibly under the influence.”
And in recent weeks, Lightfoot has warned that she would not hesitate to roll back some restrictions if there is a spike in cases. Her administration has been warning about an uptick in COVID-19 cases among young residents as people flock to bars.
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Gyms and other personal services also are seeing new restrictions. Read the story here.
Other news: Chicago fast-food workers join ‘Strike for Black Lives’ with march downtown: The Tribune’s Abdel Jimenez has more here.
Kanye West makes his first presidential campaign appearance July 19, 2020 in North Charleston, South Carolina. (Lauren Petracca Ipetracca/AP)
Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden is shoring up his campaign team in neighboring Wisconsin — a crucial swing state that Republican President Donald Trump won by just over 20,000 votes in 2016. The New York Times reported yesterday that Biden has an edge right now over Trump in polls.
According to a news release from the Biden campaign, they include: Tanya Bjork, who becomes the campaign’s strategic adviser after working on the last three Democratic presidential campaigns in Wisconsin (she was in senior leadership in both of Barack Obama’s campaigns and as a senior adviser to Hillary Clinton’s campaign); John Laadt, tapped to become Wisconsin deputy state director after serving in a number of roles for the Biden camp including Massachusetts state director and leading primary efforts in Wisconsin; and Chris Walloch, now the Wisconsin coordinated campaign director after leading campaign efforts during the 2018 campaign cycle.
Chicago musician Kanye West failed to get the 10,000 petition signatures needed to get on South Carolina’s 2020 presidential ballot by today’s noon deadline despite hosting a rally in the state the previous day, the Post and Courier reports.
At yesterday’s event — West’s first since declaring himself a presidential candidate — he ranted against historical figure Harriet Tubman, an African American woman who escaped slavery and worked to help others do the same. West said the Underground Railroad conductor “never actually freed the slaves, she just had them work for other white people,” The Associated Press reports.
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West became tearful at one point while talking about his mother, who died following plastic surgery complications in 2007. Read the full AP story here.
Republican congressional candidate Jeanne Ives is challenging first-term Democratic U.S. Rep. Sean Casten to five broadcast debates — one in each of the west and northwest suburban counties that make up the 6th District — before the November election. That includes Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake and McHenry counties.
“The debates will be safe, publicly broadcast debates,” Ives’ campaign team said in a statement.
In response, Casten — who flipped a reliably red seat in the midterm blue wave — said only that he would be participating in a single debate on Sept. 21.
That debate, expected to be broadcast, will be hosted by 10 League of Women Voters local chapters from across the 6th — groups representing all five counties in the District, said campaign manager Chloe Hunt.
Both quick and fiery orators — with Ives known for making controversial comments — it will be riveting to watch. With Casten holding a huge fundraising lead over Ives, a one-time state representative who nearly unseated then Gov. Bruce Rauner in the GOP primary in 2018, multiple debates would give her more on-air time without having to fork over the money.
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Twitter @byldonovan


chicagotribune--2020-07-20--Watch live: Activists hold news conference before rally at Christopher Columbus statue in Grant Park

Activists are expected to hold a news conference before rallying at the Christopher Columbus statue in Grant Park .
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· A story on Saturday’s A&E page about the reopening of the Field Museum mistakenly said that museum visitors Leo and Enzo Nardini are from Elk Grove Village. They are from Elmhurst.
The Tribune regrets the error.
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Publishing information quickly and accurately is a central part of the Chicago Tribune’s news responsibility and a value shared in all our publications. Our editorial code of principles governs professional behavior and journalism standards. Everyone in our newsroom must agree to live up to this code of conduct. Download the file.
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