chicagotribune--2020-12-12--Coronavirus in Illinois updates: 9,420 new COVID-19 cases and 190 additional fatalities reported, as

Coronavirus in Illinois updates: 9,420 new COVID-19 cases and 190 additional fatalities reported, as state passes 14,000 deaths and Chicago-area hospitals get ready for vaccine

The state collects the figures each Friday from a database that local health departments add to throughout the week , @ @ @ @ @ documented the fall surge as it ’ s begun ripping through facilities housing Illinois ’ @ @ @ @ @ has tied outbreaks in the facilities to the virus ’ s spread in surrounding communities @ @ @ @ @ become infected and not show symptoms , yet still spread the virus in facilities where @ @ @ @ @ to quickly catch all those infections .

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CTU workers direct vehicles lined up for COVID-19 testing outside of the Chicago Teachers Union on Dec. 30, 2021, in Chicago. CPS starts back to school on Monday following their holiday break. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)
Chicago-area hospitals are gearing up to deliver the first COVID-19 vaccines to their employees during the first few days of next week, pending approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Rush University Medical Center may start giving vaccines to its workers as early as Monday, depending on when the vaccine is approved and arrives. University of Chicago Medicine may start giving vaccines to workers Wednesday. Edward-Elmhurst Health, which has hospitals in Naperville and Elmhurst, is tentatively expecting to begin vaccinating its workers Tuesday.
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As hospitals get ready for a vaccination campaign, Illinois health officials on Friday announced 9,420 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 and 190 additional fatalities, bringing the total number of known infections in Illinois to 832,951 and the statewide death toll to 14,050 since the start of the pandemic.
The numbers come two weeks after the Thanksgiving holiday that health officials worried could create COVID-19 superspreader events. Officials have said the state is entering the period during which a possible post-Thanksgiving surge could begin to show up.
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Meanwhile, the U.S. gave the final go-ahead Friday to the nation’s first COVID-19 vaccine, marking what could be the beginning of the end of an outbreak that has killed nearly 300,000 Americans.
Here’s what FDA approval could mean for Chicago and the rest of Illinois.
Here’s what’s happening Friday with COVID-19 in the Chicago area and Illinois:
(Updated) 9:23 p.m.: FDA authorizes emergency use of COVID-19 vaccine in bid to end pandemic
The U.S. gave the final go-ahead Friday to the nation’s first COVID-19 vaccine, marking what could be the beginning of the end of an outbreak that has killed nearly 300,000 Americans.
Shots for health workers and nursing home residents are expected to begin in the coming days after the Food and Drug Administration authorized an emergency rollout of what promises to be a strongly protective vaccine from Pfizer Inc. and its German partner BioNTech.
Read more here.—Associated Press
4:30 p.m.: ‘I’ll be the first in line’ for vaccine, Indiana doctor says as medical workers feel COVID-19′s toll
Loss of smell, taste, fever, chills. Sounds like COVID-19, maybe.
These are symptoms Dr. Scott Samlan said are described by 30 to 40 patients a day.
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But only a fraction of those will test positive for the virus, he said. Seeing so many patients has helped him predict who is sick and which cases appear most severe.
”We’re getting pretty good, like, yeah, you have COVID,” said Samlan, 44, chief executive officer at NW Indiana 24/7 ER&Hospital, which is near Cabela’s in Hammond.
People are catching the virus from their friends and family.”
They go to have a beer or cup of coffee with a friend, and that’s where they’re getting it, because they think they know these friends,” he said. “Because they think their circle is insular, but it’s not.”
As Community Hospital in Munster should get its first shipment of COVID-19 vaccines for medical workers within days, Samlan said he’s eager to get inoculated.
”I’ll be the first in line,” he said.
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—Meredith Colias-Pete, Post-Tribune
3:37 p.m.: Another grim week for nursing homes, other long-term care facilities
COVID-19 continued to tear through long-term care facilities in the past week at a pace that remained among the worst of the pandemic.
The latest figures, released Friday by the state Department of Public Health, count 420 deaths from the virus among residents at nursing homes, in assisted living and at other long-term care facilities. That was fewer than the week before, which saw 480 deaths and became the deadliest week yet for these institutions. But this week’s toll still ranks among the worst weeks of either the spring or the fall surge.
The state also recorded 4,489 new infections among residents. That’s the second-highest weekly number of the pandemic, just shy of the record of 4,536 new infections set last week.
The state collects the figures each Friday from a database that local health departments add to throughout the week, and those weekly figures have documented the fall surge as it’s begun ripping through facilities housing Illinois’ most vulnerable populations. Research has tied outbreaks in the facilities to the virus’s spread in surrounding communities. Workers and others can become infected and not show symptoms, yet still spread the virus in facilities where ramped-up testing is still unable to quickly catch all those infections.
A Tribune analysis last week showed that, as with Illinois’ overall second surge, the rates of new cases and deaths were highest in areas outside of the greater Chicago area, when adjusted for population size.
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Many of the new outbreaks have gotten little individual attention from the state, but an outbreak at the state-run veterans home in LaSalle has resulted in the state firing the director and placing the nursing administrator on leave. As of Friday the virus had infected 209 veterans and staffers, and killed 33.
—Joe Mahr
3 p.m.: Art Institute, Brookfield Zoo announce staff furloughs amid new round of pandemic closings
The Art Institute and Brookfield Zoo both announced this week that they will be furloughing scores more workers in the new year as the institutions reckon with a second wave of pandemic-caused shutdowns.
The Art Institute on Friday said it will put 109 staffers from across departments on furlough beginning in the new year while the higher-paid employees who remain on full-time duty take pay cuts.
Meanwhile, earlier this week Brookfield Zoo said it will furlough 40 workers beginning in January as the zoo shuts down for a couple of months.
Read more here. —Steve Johnson
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2:24 p.m.: White House threatens FDA chief’s job if Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine is not granted emergency authorization by end of the day
White House chief of staff Mark Meadows on Friday pressed Food and Drug Administration chief Stephen Hahn to grant an emergency use authorization for Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine by the end of the day or face possible firing, two administration officials said.
The vaccine produced by Pfizer Inc. and its German partner BioNTech won a critical endorsement Thursday from an FDA panel of outside advisers, and signoff from the agency — which is expected within days — is the next step needed to get the shots to the public.
The FDA is not required to follow the guidance of its advisory committees, but often does.
Meadows spoke to Hahn by telephone on Friday, according to a senior administration official who was familiar with the conversation but was not authorized to discuss private conversations.
Read more here. —Associated Press
2:22 p.m.: Walgreens to hire 25,000 as part of plan to start giving COVID-19 vaccine to nursing home residents and staff before Christmas
Walgreens expects to receive its first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine Dec. 21 and plans to inoculate nursing home residents and workers at more than 30,000 longterm care facilities nationwide.
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Deerfield-based Walgreens plans to hire about 25,000 workers across the U.S., including up to 9,000 pharmacists and other health care workers, to administer the vaccine, once approved, to longterm care facilities through a partnership with pharmacy service provider PharMerica, the companies said during a panel discussion Friday on the vaccine rollout.
Read more here. —Abdel Jimenez
2:12 p.m.: Chicago-area hospitals get ready for vaccine
Chicago-area hospitals are gearing up to deliver the first COVID-19 vaccines to their employees during the first few days of next week, pending approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Rush University Medical Center may start giving vaccines to its workers as early as Monday, depending on when the vaccine is approved and arrives. University of Chicago Medicine may start giving vaccines to workers Wednesday. Edward-Elmhurst Health, which has hospitals in Naperville and Elmhurst, is tentatively expecting to begin vaccinating its workers Tuesday.
University of Chicago thinks it might get about 1,950 doses and Edward Elmhurst says it may get 3,900 vaccines as part of the first shipment. Rush expects about 1,950 doses.
Rush has already set up 10 vaccination bays in its Brennan Pavilion and hopes, after a soft launch, to vaccinate about 1,000 workers a day, assuming each vaccination takes about five to seven minutes and vaccinations run from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m., said Lisa Weichman Harries, Rush director of operations for employee and corporate health services.
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Rush will prioritize workers who are exposed to patients with COVID-19 or participate in procedures that generate aerosols. Rush employees will be notified over MyChart and email about when they may sign up for appointments.
Many hospitals are already asking workers to register for vaccine appointments.
At University of Chicago Medicine, employees have been asked to create MyChart accounts, where they will receive notifications when it’s their turn for the shots, at which point they can schedule appointments.
University of Chicago Medicine is vaccinating workers in three waves with the first priority going to those who work within six feet of patients, including nurses, doctors, food delivery workers and custodians. The second wave will be for workers who don’t provide patient care but work in spaces where patients are present, and the third wave will be for employees who don’t work in facilities where patients are present.
Employees who identify as belonging to high-risk groups — such as those with Type II diabetes, serious heart conditions and cancer — will get priority within each wave. They don’t have to prove they are at high-risk. University of Chicago Medicine will take their word for it.
The system expects to receive enough vaccines to vaccinate all interested employees by February.
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Advocate Aurora Health, which has 10 hospitals in Illinois, expects to be able to vaccinate all its interested frontline workers in the next four to six weeks, said Dr. Robert Citronberg, executive medical director of infectious disease and prevention, during a news conference Thursday.
The system is prioritizing people who work in its ICUs, COVID-19 units and emergency rooms.
At Edward-Elmhurst, interested employees are registering to receive appointments.
Though many hospitals require employees to get flu shots each year, most will not likely require workers to get the COVID-19 vaccine, largely because it will be approved under an emergency use authorization, rather than a regular, full FDA approval.
”While it’s been studied for a few months, we don’t have enough data about any long term effects about it, and we think as a system a more prudent approach is to encourage the vaccine among our team members,” Citronberg said. “We are very optimistic that the vast majority of our team members will take the vaccine over the next few months.”
—Lisa Schencker
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2:10 p.m.: Congress averts government shutdown, buys more time for COVID-19 relief talks
Congress sent a temporary government-wide funding bill to President Donald Trump on Friday that would avert a federal shutdown at midnight and buy time for on-again, off-again talks on COVID-19 aid.
The bill sets a new deadline of midnight next Friday. The short-term measure passed the Senate by a unanimous voice vote without much drama and sent senators home for the weekend without a clear picture of what awaits next week. The House passed the bill Wednesday. Trump was expected to sign it before midnight.
The talks are stalled but there is universal agreement that Congress won’t adjourn for the year without passing a long-delayed round of pandemic relief. An emerging $900 billion aid package from a bipartisan group of lawmakers hit a rough patch after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., swung against the effort. Still, negotiations are ongoing and the pressure remains intense.
Read more here. —Associated Press
1:30 p.m.: United Airlines gears up to help distribute vaccine
Even as passenger numbers have plummeted during the coronavirus pandemic, United Airlines’ 55,000-square-foot cargo facility just south of the terminals at O’Hare International Airport has kept humming with planes unloading containers carrying anything from mail and packages to pharmaceuticals and PPE.
Now United is gearing up for an influx of even more critical cargo: the COVID-19 vaccine. The kickoff to the vaccination campaign moved a step closer this week as a U.S. government advisory panel endorsed use of Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine, and Chicago officials prepare for the rollout, including an initial shipment of 23,000 doses.
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Getting millions of doses to people in the U.S. alone will require a massive logistical effort with an extra challenge: vaccines that must be kept far more frigid than typical cargo. United is just one of several airlines and shipping companies gearing up for a push.
Read more here. —Lauren Zumbach
1:18 p.m.: Chicago’s Dean Richards returns to work after a bout with COVID-19: ‘This virus is sneaky.
Dean Richards, the longtime WGN-Channel 9 and WGN 720-AM personality, is to return to the airwaves Sunday morning after recovering from the COVID-19 virus.
Richards, whose illness was first reported by the media columnist Robert Feder, said he felt fortunate that his relatively mild symptoms had not been more serious.
”I thought I was being super-careful,” he told the Tribune Friday. “All I can say to people is, if you think that too ... be even more careful. This virus is sneaky.”
Richards, 66, said he plans to broadcast his Sunday morning WGN radio show from home.
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Dating back to the days of the late Roy Leonard, the show long has been a locus for arts and entertainment coverage. On Sunday’s show, Richards said, he plans to talk to Emily Blunt and Jamie Dornan about their new Irish movie, “Wild Mountain Thyme,” a new adaptation of John Patrick Shanley’s play “Outside Mullingar.”
Read more here. —Chris Jones
12:11 p.m.: 9,420 new confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases and 190 additional deaths reported
Illinois health officials on Friday announced 9,420 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 and 190 additional fatalities, bringing the total number of known infections in Illinois to 832,951 and the statewide death toll to 14,050 since the start of the pandemic. Officials also reported 104,448 new tests in the last 24 hours.
The seven-day statewide rolling positivity rate for cases as a share of total tests was 9.4% for the period ending Thursday.
—Chicago Tribune staff
12:08 p.m.: Some COVID-19 vaccines are nearly ready for use. Others are still being tested. Here are some of the local volunteers taking part in vaccine trials.
David Daly was a little bit nervous earlier this month as the syringe pricked his upper arm, the first injection he received as a volunteer in a local COVID-19 vaccine clinical trial.
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The 43-year-old actuary from southwest suburban Lockport knows there is always some risk involved in helping test the safety and efficacy of any new drug.
“But I think it is a pretty acceptable risk,” he said after his appointment at Rush University Medical Center, where he’s taking part in a study for a vaccine developed by the University of Oxford and the multinational pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca. “I’ve been impressed that even though it’s moved quickly, I think they’re still taking safety very seriously. They’re not shortcutting scientific protocols for the vaccine.”
Daly is among the roughly half-million Americans who have signed up to participate in various vaccine trials as scientists race to produce safe and effective immunizations to the coronavirus, which has so far killed more than 13,000 in Illinois and 1.5 million worldwide.
Read more here. —Angie Leventis Lourgos
11:40 a.m.: Illinois State University cancels spring break over COVID-19 concerns
Illinois State University students won’t be getting a spring break next year after all because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
A couple of months after saying that the students at the campus in Normal would have be getting a break in the spring 2021 semester, ISU President Larry Dietz sent out a letter informing students and faculty about the change in plans.
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As with other schools that have modified or canceled breaks, Dietz said in a message that the decision was made “at the urging of state officials” out of concern that students traveling home and then coming back could cause the virus to spread on campus and in the community.
Read more here. —Associated Press
10:07 a.m.: Hines VA hospital among 37 VA hospitals to receive initial vaccine doses
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs on Friday announced that Hines VA Hospital in Maywood would be among 37 VA sites across the country to receive initial doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.
The west suburban hospital was the only VA hospital in Illinois to make the list.
An FDA advisory committee on Thursday recommended that the agency approve Pfizer’s vaccine for emergency use. The FDA is expected to issue a decision within days.
Hines was selected because it has the capacity to vaccinate large numbers of people and store the vaccine at the extremely cold temperatures necessary for Pfizer’s product, the hospital said in a press release.
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When the vaccine is approved, Hines will start immunizing health care workers and veterans in its long-term care facilities, the release said. Eventually the hospital hopes to receive enough vaccine for all veterans who want it.
—Madeline Buckley
5 a.m.: New hospital data shows wide disparities in available beds; search for any Illinois hospital below
Amid pandemic fears of overrun hospitals, federal regulators have released figures that show how full each hospital is — including with COVID-19 patients — and how many beds each has to spare.
The figures, which cover a seven day period from Nov. 27 to Dec. 3, show wide disparities across the Chicago area and the state.
Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn averaged nearly 182 patients a day with confirmed or suspected cases of COVID-19, the highest number in the state. Seven other hospitals averaged more than 100 daily COVID-19 patients, including six in the greater Chicago area and one in Peoria.
One key metric is the capacity in intensive care units, because forecasters fear ICUs would be the first to fill up in a surge. During the week reflected in the new data, the state Department of Public Health showed the overall percentage of open ICU beds in Illinois hovered between 18% to 24%. The state has set a threshold of concern of 20%.
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But the individual-level federal data shows how much ICU capacity varies from hospital to hospital. More than a dozen had less than 10% of their ICU beds left, according to the new data. Three hospitals reported that every staffed ICU bed that week was occupied with a patient: Franciscan Health Olympia Fields, Mt. Sinai in Chicago and Memorial in downstate Belleville.
New numbers come out each Monday, to cover the preceding Friday-to-Thursday period.
You can look up any Illinois hospital here. —Joe Mahr
5 a.m.: ‘This feeling is needed.’ Virtual Santas go all out to make Christmas special for kids during the pandemic.
This year, getting in the holiday spirit requires a dash of hope, a little bit of magic and a zoom account. Just ask Santa.
“(Kids) know COVID-19 is bad, they know to wear their masks and be careful and maybe they won’t see their cousins this Christmas,” said Andre Russell, aka Dreezy Claus. “But when they talk to me they are just having a ball.”
Veteran Santa Clauses and rookie St. Nicks alike are shifting the gears on their sleighs and pivoting to virtual visits with customized backgrounds and classic props while officials plead with people to stay home during the pandemic.
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Read more here. —Jessica Villagomez
Breaking coronavirus news Stay up to date with the latest information on coronavirus with our breaking news alerts.
In case you missed it
Here are five things that happened Thursday related to COVID-19:


chicagotribune--2020-12-12--Local hospitals ready to give first COVID-19 vaccines to employees as soon as next week

In a historic milestone , the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Friday authorized for emergency use a COVID-19 vaccine @ @ @ @ @ Pfizer , the first shot of its kind to be administered outside of clinical trials @ @ @ @ @ consider a vaccine the globe ’ s best weapon against the new virus , which @ @ @ @ @ than 14,000 in Illinois and more than 1.5 million worldwide .

Madeline Buckley, Lisa Schencker, Angie Leventis Lourgos

Chicago-area hospitals are gearing up to give the first COVID-19 vaccination shots to their employees as soon as early next week now that emergency use authorization has been granted by the U.S. Federal Drug Administration.
Rush University Medical Center could begin administering the vaccine to its workers as soon as Monday, depending on when the vaccine arrives, hospital officials said. University of Chicago Medicine might start inoculating employees Wednesday. Edward-Elmhurst Health, which has hospitals in west suburban Naperville and Elmhurst, is tentatively expecting to begin vaccinating its workers Tuesday.
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And Edward Hines Jr. VA Hospital in Maywood was selected as one of roughly three dozen veterans health administration sites across the country to receive initial doses, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs announced on Friday. The west suburban hospital was the only VA hospital in Illinois to make the list, in part because it has the capacity to store the vaccine at extremely cold temperatures, the hospital said in a news release.
In a historic milestone, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Friday authorized for emergency use a COVID-19 vaccine developed by multinational pharmaceutical company Pfizer, the first shot of its kind to be administered outside of clinical trials in the U.S. Medical experts consider a vaccine the globe’s best weapon against the new virus, which has so far killed more than 14,000 in Illinois and more than 1.5 million worldwide.
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These stations in the Brennan Pavilion at Rush Medical Center, shown on Friday, Dec. 11, 2020, will be used in administering the COVID-19 vaccine. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)
Rush has already set up 10 vaccination bays and hopes to soon vaccinate about 1,000 workers a day; this is assuming each vaccination takes roughly five to seven minutes to administer and that the shots will be given from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m., said Lisa Weichman Harries, Rush’s director of operations for employee and corporate health services.
Rush expects to receive about 1,950 doses in the first shipment, and will prioritize workers who are exposed to patients with COVID-19 or participate in procedures that generate aerosols. Employees will be notified over MyChart and email about when they can sign up for appointments.
Luke Hvass, a clinical pharmacy specialist, is one of the staff members who will immunize his colleagues. He said he’ll talk them through possible side effects and other important details, and then sterilize the injection site.
“Then it will be a quick poke, a jab in the arm,” he said.
A refrigerator that will temporarily hold COVID-19 vaccines is shown at Rush Medical Center on Friday, Dec. 11, 2020. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)
Hvass will monitor the patients for a minute or two; if they feel fine, they’ll proceed to the waiting area where they’ll be monitored for side effects for another 15 minutes or so, he said. They’ll have a nurse available, and will also have EpiPens and Benadryl on hand, in case of any allergic reactions, he said.
After receiving the first dose, workers will immediately be signed up for an appointment to receive a booster shot.
Like the rest of his colleagues, Hvass is wondering when the vaccine will be available to him.
“Whenever my name gets called, that’s when I’ll be ready to go,” he said, smiling.
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Many hospitals are already asking workers to register for vaccine appointments.
At University of Chicago Medicine, employees have been asked to create MyChart accounts, where they will receive notifications when it’s their turn and they can schedule appointments; University of Chicago Medical Center expects to get about 1,950 doses initially, and the system anticipates receiving enough doses to vaccinate all interested employees by February.
University of Chicago Medicine is vaccinating workers in three waves, giving first priority to those who work within 6 feet of patients, including nurses, doctors, food delivery workers and custodians, officials said. The second wave will be for workers who don’t provide patient care but work in spaces where patients are present. The third wave will be for employees who don’t work in facilities with patients.
Workers who are at higher risk for contracting the virus — such as those with Type 2 diabetes, serious heart conditions or cancer — will get priority within each wave, officials said.
At Edward-Elmhurst Health, employees are registering to receive appointments to get the shot; the system might get 3,900 doses in this first shipment of vaccines.
Advocate Aurora Health, which has 10 hospitals in Illinois, expects to be able to vaccinate all its interested front-line workers in the next four to six weeks, said Dr. Robert Citronberg, executive medical director of infectious disease and prevention, during a news conference Thursday.
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The system is prioritizing people who work in its intensive care units, COVID-19 units and emergency rooms.
Amita Health, which has 19 hospitals in Illinois, expects to start getting vaccines Tuesday or Wednesday. Many of Amita’s hospitals will likely receive just under 1,000 doses each, initially, with some receiving less or more, said Dr. Michael Kelleher, who leads Amita Health’s COVID-19 vaccine steering committee.
Amita has made priority lists of employees to get the vaccines, and will use scheduling software to contact workers by email or phone to make appointments.
Amita is prioritizing employees who care for COVID-19 patients, such as those who work in emergency rooms and intensive care units, as well as those who participate in procedures that generate aerosols.
Though many hospitals require employees to receive flu shots each year, most are unlikely to require their workers get a COVID-19 vaccine, largely because the immunization will be authorized under an emergency use authorization rather than a regular, full FDA approval.
“While it’s been studied for a few months, we don’t have enough data about any long-term effects about it, and we think as a system a more prudent approach is to encourage the vaccine among our team members,” Citronberg said. “We are very optimistic that the vast majority of our team members will take the vaccine over the next few months.”
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Drugstores and big box stores are also preparing to soon administer the COVID-19 vaccine.
North suburban Deerfield-based Walgreens anticipates getting its first doses Dec. 21, and plans to inoculate nursing home residents and workers at more than 30,000 long-term care facilities nationwide. CVS Health and Walmart are making plans to administer the shot in nursing homes and assisted living facilities as well.
Tribune reporter Abdel Jimenez contributed.
lschencker@chicagotribune.com
mabuckley@chicagotribune.com
eleventis@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-12-12--‘We just pray that we get the strength to keep going day by day.’ Family cancels pilgrimage after th

‘We just pray that we get the strength to keep going day by day.’ Family cancels pilgrimage after third brother dies of coronavirus

“ We definitely stand strong with our faith and knowing that God has a plan for us , ” she @ @ @ @ @ pray that we get the strength to keep going day by day .
”

The Rev. Manuel Padilla, left, and the Rev. Esequiel Sanchez carry the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe after it was removed from the the shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Des Plaines, Dec. 11, 2020. Religious leaders have urged devotees to avoid pilgrimages to the site. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
Tragedy has once again struck the family who started the pilgrimage from Chicago to Our Lady of Guadalupe shrine in Des Plaines.
In September, 63-year-old Ricardo Alanis, founder of the first and largest yearly pilgrimage from Chicago to the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Des Plaines, died of COVID-19.
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Two months after Ricardo Alanis died, one of his brothers died from COVID-19 in Mexico. And on Friday, a third brother, Jose Alanis, died of COVID-19 complications at Amita Health St. Francis Hospital in Evanston, according to a family member.
The Alanis’ family initially planned to make the 15-mile journey from Our Lady of Lourdes Church to the shrine, 1170 N. River Rd. in Des Plaines. But the family decided to postpone the pilgrimage with the most recent family death, said Maria Guadalupe Alanis, 34, Ricardo Alanis’ daughter.
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“We definitely stand strong with our faith and knowing that God has a plan for us,” she said. “We just pray that we get the strength to keep going day by day.”
In 2000, Ricardo Alanis led a few dozen people on the first pilgrimage from Chicago to Des Plaines, starting a tradition that would grow into thousands of people making the annual trip to pay homage to a Mexican icon of Catholicism.
The Alanis family will be celebrating Mass on Dec. 12 and make the pilgrimage at a later date to honor the three brothers.
jaanderson@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-12-12--Illinois surpasses 14,000 COVID-19 deaths less than a week after hitting 13,000 mark; Pfizer vaccine

Illinois surpasses 14,000 COVID-19 deaths less than a week after hitting 13,000 mark; Pfizer vaccine authorized by FDA

“ But if we don ’ t keep on this path of trying to wear our mask and stay at @ @ @ @ @ a big surge , ” she said .
“ We ’ re already teetering .
@ @ @ @ @ there are a dozen beds , a dozen ICU beds in the region right now @ @ @ @ @ can not be handled .
”

CTU workers direct vehicles lined up for COVID-19 testing outside of the Chicago Teachers Union on Dec. 30, 2021, in Chicago. CPS starts back to school on Monday following their holiday break. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)
Illinois on Friday surpassed 14,000 COVID-19 deaths since the pandemic began, less than a week after the statewide death toll reached 13,000.
The state reported an additional 190 deaths of people with COVID-19 on Friday, with fatalities continuing to be consistently high in December as the state continues to battle the aggressive fall coronavirus resurgence.
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While the authorization of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine has provided hope that the end of the pandemic may be in sight, there continues to be a persistently high number of deaths in Illinois and throughout the country.
“We all want the deaths to come down. I think the light at the end of the tunnel is the vaccine and getting as many people vaccinated as will be vaccinated based on the supply,” Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike said Friday at a coronavirus briefing in Chicago.
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“But if we don’t keep on this path of trying to wear our mask and stay at home, we could have a big surge,” she said. “We’re already teetering. We have some areas where there are a dozen beds, a dozen ICU beds in the region right now. So a big surge cannot be handled.”
[ Coronavirus updates: Here's what happened Friday in the Chicago area and the rest of Illinois ]
As of Thursday night, 5,141 people across the state were hospitalized with COVID-19, with 1,081 in intensive care units and 635 on ventilators. The number of statewide hospitalizations has come down over the past few weeks, after reaching as high as 6,175 on Nov. 20.
The state reported 9,420 new and probable cases of COVID-19 Friday, which came out of a batch of 104,448 tests. The seven-day statewide positivity rate for cases as a share of total tests stood at 9.4% for the period ending Thursday, down from 10.3% a week earlier. The state reported that throughout the course of the pandemic, 832,951 known and probable cases have been identified in Illinois.
Officials have said the COVID-19 inoculations could begin in a matter of days for the priority groups, including health care workers and long-term care facilities.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker said a state review panel is “poised to review all available FDA data and based on all information to date, the team is optimistic that this vaccine can safely move forward.”
“Federal officials have told us that these first doses will be shipped out to states within 24 hours of approval, and Illinois is prepared to quickly get this vaccine to our front-line health care workforce,” Pritzker said.
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Pritzker’s administration last week released details about its updated plan for distributing the initial vaccine shipment throughout the state, which prioritizes the 50 counties that have seen the highest per capita death rates during the pandemic, via 10 regional hospital distribution points.
That initial plan did not include counties where a few of those regional hospitals are located in the group of 50, but “since then we’ve made some revisions to our allocation to make sure that every regional hospital will get a portion of vaccine to distribute in week one,” Ezike said Friday.
jmunks@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-12-12--What’s it like to take part in a COVID-19 vaccine trial? Three local participants share their experi

What’s it like to take part in a COVID-19 vaccine trial? Three local participants share their experiences.

“ A vaccine is our only way out of this , ” he said .
“ When this does get @ @ @ @ @ rolled out , I think it will be something we can all be very confident @ @ @ @ @ to be the silver bullet that takes us back to the pre-pandemic life that we @ @ @ @

Mayor Bill de Blasio bumps forearms with Tara Easter, a registered nurse at NYU-Langone Hospital who received the COVID-19 vaccine, Dec. 14, 2020, in New York. (Kevin Hagen / AP)
David Daly was a little bit nervous earlier this month as the syringe pricked his upper arm, the first injection he received as a volunteer in a local COVID-19 vaccine clinical trial.
The 43-year-old actuary from southwest suburban Lockport knows there is always some risk involved in helping test the safety and efficacy of any new drug.
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“But I think it is a pretty acceptable risk,” he said after his appointment at Rush University Medical Center, where he’s taking part in a study for a vaccine developed by the University of Oxford and the multinational pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca. “I’ve been impressed that even though it’s moved quickly, I think they’re still taking safety very seriously. They’re not shortcutting scientific protocols for the vaccine.”
Daly is among the roughly half-million Americans who have signed up to participate in various vaccine trials as scientists race to produce safe and effective immunizations to the coronavirus, which has so far killed more than 14,000 in Illinois and more than 1.5 million worldwide.
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Clinical research nurse Samantha Gatewood administers the second shot in an AstraZeneca vaccine trial to participant David Daly at Rush University Medical Center on Dec. 3, 2020. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)
The first COVID-19 shots outside of a clinical trial could be given in the Chicago area within days, after federal officials Friday night gave a Pfizer vaccine emergency use authorization; however, officials caution that fully vaccinating all adults will take much longer.
Even as some vaccines prepare to hit the market, researchers nationwide say there’s still a need for 1 million more clinical trial volunteers, whose bodies and experiences play a critical role in developing immunizations and bringing them to mass circulation.
More than 50 vaccines are being tested on humans in ongoing studies internationally, with about a dozen in the large-scale, later stages of development. Those trials will continue in the hopes of compiling more safety data and eventually producing enough immunizations to inoculate people around the globe. Participants will continue to be monitored long-term for health and safety data.
With most vaccines requiring two doses — an initial shot and then a booster — that could eventually be some 14 billion doses needed worldwide.
Several local vaccine volunteers say taking part in a trial is a chance to contribute to ending the death toll and economic devastation of the pandemic.
Gregory Bowman, a registered nurse who is also taking part in the trial at Rush, plans to encourage his own patients to get vaccinated, once they are eligible.
“If I’m pushing it on my patients, I’ve got to be willing to put myself out there as well,” he said. “I see this as an act of service.”
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Steve Dale, a certified animal behavior consultant and WGN radio show host, is participating in a trial at the University of Illinois at Chicago for a vaccine produced by biotechnology company Moderna. He said he’s in awe of the historical significance of a prospective new vaccine, a breakthrough for humanity.
“We’re living through history now,” he said. “I’m excited about what the future holds, for what science can bring us.”
As for Daly, he’s hopeful the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine and others will prove effective so the world can return to normal.
He longs to shake hands and hug loved ones again. To travel the globe. To be at a crowded bar on a Friday night.
“A vaccine is our only way out of this,” he said. “When this does get approval and it does get rolled out, I think it will be something we can all be very confident in. It is going to be the silver bullet that takes us back to the pre-pandemic life that we all want.”
Still recruiting
Like all vaccine trial participants, Daly doesn’t know whether the immunization or a placebo was injected into the muscle of his upper arm.
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For the study he’s part of, two-thirds of volunteers are given the vaccine and the other third is given a shot of saline, to control the experiment.
A randomized computer system determines who gets the vaccine versus who gets the placebo, and then alerts the pharmacist what to prepare and bring to the clinic. The study is double-blind, which means even the researchers don’t know who has what; later in the trial, it will be officially un-blinded so researchers can analyze results.
This is designed to prevent unconscious bias, said Dr. Beverly Sha, professor of medicine at Rush University Medical Center, who is leading the vaccine trial.
“If I told you that you got the vaccine and it was real, it might alter your behavior,” she said. “The risk of exposure to COVID might now be different among the people who know they got the vaccine versus those who know they didn’t.”
She added that patients or researchers could also minimize side effects unintentionally, because they really want the vaccine to be successful.
Daly had his first in-person appointment at Rush on Dec. 3, after a rigorous screening process, multiple phone interviews and going over lengthy health and safety information.
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Clinical research nurse Samantha Gatewood speaks with vaccine trial participant David Daly at Rush University Medical Center on Dec. 3, 2020. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)
The roughly 90-minute visit included a physical, a blood draw and a COVID-19 nasal swab test, as well as the first injection. The next day, he reported no side effects except minor arm soreness. He’s scheduled to receive the second shot in early January.
While Daly hopes he received the vaccine, he said he’s still taking the same precautions as he did before the trial.
“Social distance as much as possible, wearing a mask, hand-washing, good hygiene,” he said. “I don’t want to be walking around … thinking I’m immune and I really have two shots of saline in my arm.”
At the same time, his level of possible exposure to the virus might be greater than some because he works out at a public gym four or five times a week and frequently travels domestically on airplanes for work.
This could benefit the study, which seeks volunteers who are at a higher risk of infection, from health care workers to those living in congregate care facilities or multigenerational housing.
So far, more than 90 participants have been screened for the study at Rush, and most have received the first injection; to be eligible, volunteers must be over 18 and cannot have had a known COVID-19 infection, an impaired immune system, or be pregnant or breastfeeding.
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Sha said the study is still recruiting, particularly older volunteers and patients with underlying health conditions, as well as Black and Latino participants. The Oxford-AstraZeneca trial is expected to enroll some 30,000 participants at sites nationwide.
Globally, the study has had some high points — as well as some more tumultuous moments.
On Tuesday, an article in the medical journal the Lancet said the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine “has an acceptable safety profile and is efficacious against symptomatic COVID-19, with no hospital admissions or severe cases reported,” based on data out of the United Kingdom, Brazil and South Africa.
The second shot in an AstraZeneca vaccine trial at Rush University Medical Center. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)
But a recent manufacturing error raised questions and confusion about the vaccine’s dosing and efficacy, after one group of volunteers received a half-dose of the first vaccine; surprisingly, the participants given the lower dose appeared better off, with apparent 90% effectiveness compared with the group that got two full doses, where the vaccine appeared to be 62% effective.
“Of course, it’s generated a lot of questions among the patients and participants, and we don’t have all the answers, so that can be challenging,” Sha said, adding that patients at Rush were unaffected and are receiving full doses.
Earlier in the pandemic, testing was temporarily paused twice, each time after a participant developed illness; in one case, a volunteer was found to have undiagnosed multiple sclerosis, which was determined to be unrelated to the vaccine. National Institutes of Health Director Dr. Francis Collins has said the other case involved a spinal cord problem; the participant’s condition has since improved.
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Neither of those volunteers was part of the study at Rush, which didn’t start until after the second pause was lifted.
Collins in September described this kind of clinical hold on a study “not at all unprecedented.”
“This certainly happens in any large-scale trial where you have tens of thousands of people invested in taking part, and some of them may get ill,” he said. “And you always have to try to figure out is that because of the vaccine or were they going to get that illness anyway?”
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Bowman has seen the pain and devastation of the virus firsthand.
Early in the pandemic, he worked at a coronavirus drive-thru testing site at Rush, swabbing hundreds of patients under a tent between two hospital buildings. Since July, he’s been helping prevent COVID-19 outbreaks among the homeless at Chicago shelters.
“I observe a lot of human suffering as a consequence of this virus,” he said.
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Clinical research nurse Samantha Gatewood finishes administering the second shot in an AstraZeneca vaccine trial to participant Gregory Bowman at Rush University Medical Center on Dec. 3, 2020. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)
Bowman, 33, of the Humboldt Park neighborhood, said he decided to participate in the vaccine trial at Rush as “a service to my loved ones and my community.”
“We need a safe and effective vaccine to bring this pandemic to a close, and that’s not going to happen unless people are willing to volunteer for these trials,” he said.
Like most people, he longs for the day when he won’t have to wear a mask everywhere and can reconnect with friends and loved ones outside his bubble. His wife is from Brazil, and the pandemic has prevented them from visiting her family; they’ve had to miss important events, like the recent birth of their niece.
Bowman received his second shot on Dec. 3.
Except for a little tenderness at the injection site after the first shot, Bowman said he’s had no side effects. Sha said some patients have reported body aches or fevers for a day or two after receiving the injection.
“But it’s definitely not two-thirds of our patients that are reporting it,” she said.
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The trial is in phase 3, and the vaccine has already been given to about 10,000 patients and much data had already been compiled in earlier stages.
“I feel confident that AstraZeneca is following the right process for formulating the vaccine,” Bowman said. “I think it is moving faster than usual but that’s because we’re trying to bring this pandemic to a close.”
Vaccine hesitancy might prove to be a major public health challenge, with just 47% of Americans reporting that they plan to get immunized against COVID-19 once a vaccine is available; 26% say they don’t plan to get vaccinated and 27% are unsure, according to a poll released Wednesday by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research at the University of Chicago.
To assuage concerns, nine pharmaceutical companies issued a joint statement in September pledging a “commitment to developing and testing potential vaccines for COVID-19 with high ethical standards and sound scientific principles.”
‘Small cog in history’
Dale, who is part of the Moderna trial at the University of Illinois at Chicago, said he’s confident in the study’s safety protocols.
“I do believe that safety is paramount and the companies have made that clear,” he said. “My experience has been that they’re being incredibly careful every step of the way.”
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The East Lakeview neighborhood resident has heard from folks who are skeptical, who say they’ll wait to get a vaccine until others get it first, or who question the speed of vaccine development. Some have called him a hero for participating in the trial, and others have called him a fool.
“And some were ready to offer my obituary,” he said.
Dale received the first injection in mid-September. He didn’t recall feeling anxious during that visit, but when his blood pressure was taken during the physical, he said it was higher than ever before.
“I didn’t really feel nervous, but there must have been some trepidation on some level,” said Dale, who once wrote a column for the Tribune.
He got the booster shot in mid-October; he said he’s had no side effects following either injection.
“I’m very proud to be a part of this,” he said. “To be a small cog in history, to have participated in a very small way. If everybody said ‘I’ll wait for someone else to do this,’ then no one would.”
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As vaccines developed by companies like Moderna and Pfizer approach the finish line, this has raised an interesting ethical question regarding volunteers enrolled in other trials: Some have asked whether they’ll be able to get another vaccine that’s on the market once available, in case they received a placebo during the trial.
Sha said volunteers she works with can get another vaccine, but they would be encouraged to stay in the Oxford-AstraZeneca trial; researchers then would record that the participants were inoculated with another vaccine and continue collecting data.
“There is interest in knowing what happens to the antibody response in somebody who maybe did get AstraZeneca to start with and later gets Moderna or Pfizer,” she said.
Some medical experts say there are benefits to having multiple COVID-19 vaccines on the market, because some might have different advantages.
For example, while many other vaccines require deep freezer space, the one developed by Oxford and AstraZeneca only needs refrigeration, which could make it easier to store and circulate to rural areas and developing nations.
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“It’s an all-hands-on-deck situation,” Bowman said. “There are just a lot of resources being thrown at this problem, more than in ordinary times, which explains why we’ve been able to find what seems like, according to preliminary data, a safe and hopefully effective vaccine so quickly.”
The Associated Press contributed.
eleventis@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-12-12--Former US Attorney Jim Burns dies at 75 following career that took him from basketball court to fede

Former US Attorney Jim Burns dies at 75 following career that took him from basketball court to federal courthouse

The death was announced by Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White , who appointed Burns in April 2000 to serve @ @ @ @ @ job he had held ever since .
Burns took the post as federal investigators were @ @ @ @ @ corruption probe of the office under White ’ s predecessor , George Ryan , who @ @ @ @ @ .
Ryan was released from prison in 2013 after being sentenced to 6½ years on @ @ @

After finishing in fourth place in a bid for the Democratic nomination for Illinois governor, former U.S. Attorney Jim Burns talks to supporters in Chicago in 1998. (Charles Cherney / Chicago Tribune)
During an unsuccessful bid for the 1998 Democratic governor nomination, Jim Burns played off his athletic accomplishments in his first campaign ad, making a short jumper and asking voters to “give me a shot” at public office.
Asked how many takes it took before he sunk the basket, Burns replied, “Frankly, my pride won’t let me answer that.”
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Burns, whose success took him from the basketball court to the federal courthouse as U.S. attorney but never to public elective office, died Friday. He was 75.
The death was announced by Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White, who appointed Burns in April 2000 to serve as inspector general, a job he had held ever since. Burns took the post as federal investigators were continuing their Operation Safe Road corruption probe of the office under White’s predecessor, George Ryan, who was elected governor in 1998. Ryan was released from prison in 2013 after being sentenced to 6½ years on corruption charges.
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“As a former U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, Burns worked tirelessly in his role as inspector general to help restore integrity and eliminate all forms of institutionalized corruption and wrongdoing in the secretary of state’s office,” White said in a statement.
“Burns was a strong, visible and independent inspector general, and I am grateful for all he accomplished. Burns restored the public trust and changed the culture of the office. His legacy of honesty, fairness and transparency leaves an indelible mark on the secretary of state’s office and the state of Illinois,” White said.
Born in Quincy and raised in McLeansboro in southeastern Illinois, he led his high school to fourth place in the state basketball tournament before getting a scholarship to Northwestern University.
He won third-team All-America, Academic All-America and All-Big Ten honors in his senior season with the Wildcats in 1966-67 and graduated with a degree in history. He spent a year professionally with the Chicago Bulls and then the Dallas Chaparrals in the American Basketball Association in 1967 before a torn Achilles tendon late in the season ended his playing days.
He returned to Northwestern in 1968 and received a law degree in 1971. Burns then served as an assistant U.S. attorney from 1971 to 1978 and moved to the position of chief of the criminal division.
He then went into private practice, serving as a regulatory partner with Isham, Lincoln and Beale from 1978 to 1987 and then became a defense and regulatory partner with Keck, Mahin and Cate from 1987-1993.
It was then that Burns was appointed to the top federal prosecutor’s position in Chicago under President Bill Clinton. Former Mayor Richard M. Daley and the late Democratic U.S. Sen. Paul Simon clashed over the appointment. Daley favored Dick Devine, who had been a top aide when Daley served as Cook County state’s attorney. Simon feared Devine was too close to Daley, and Devine later was elected state’s attorney.
As U.S. attorney, Burns led the prosecution of several high-profile cases involving the violent El Rukn street gang, public corruption, international drug smuggling, organized crime, white collar financial fraud and environmental and civil rights violations. He held the post until 1997.
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Burns also had an interest in politics and knew the role the U.S. attorney’s office played in vaulting the late Republican James R. Thompson from the job to become Illinois’ longest serving governor.
“If we do a really first-rate job here, then I think there are going to be some very exciting options,” Burns said in 1994.
He already had been defeated in one statewide race, serving as the lieutenant governor pick of Democratic governor candidate Neil Hartigan, a former state attorney general. But the duo lost the 1990 race to then-Republican Secretary of State Jim Edgar, who succeeded Thompson as governor.
Burns gave up the federal prosecutor’s post for a bid for the Democratic nomination for governor in 1998. But his late entry and a scattered field left money and support splintered, and Burns finished fourth as then-Downstate U.S. Rep. Glenn Poshard took the nomination. Poshard lost to Ryan in the general election.
Burns returned to private practice at Sidley & Austin before being named to the inspector general’s job by White, whose office looked to try to restore voter integrity as a result of the federal investigations left under Ryan.
Burns moved to expand the size of the inspector general’s office, make it more professional and broaden its powers to investigate corruption.
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But the 6-foot-4 Burns retained a passion for basketball. In his first state fly-around as a governor candidate, he stopped at his birthplace of Quincy. It was there, in the backyard behind then-Mayor Chuck Scholz’s home, that Burns shot a few hoops for local TV cameras. First, he missed a layup. Then, he tossed up a brick that bounced off the rim.
“The start was a little rocky,” Burns said. “But then I knocked down a few hook shots, and it started coming back.”
Burns is survived by his wife, Marty, and three children. Services were pending.
rpearson@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-12-11--Column: COVID-19 pandemic causes surge in food insecurity. Any relief bill should boost SNAP payment

Column: COVID-19 pandemic causes surge in food insecurity. Any relief bill should boost SNAP payments.

“ The distributions are happening in cold , wet weather , and the fact that people are lined up for @ @ @ @ @ how great the need is , ” said Kate Maehr , executive director of the @ @ @ @ @ which supplies food to more than 700 pantries , shelters and soup kitchens .
“ @ @ @ @ @ struggling before the pandemic , and one of the really tragic truths we ’ ve @ @ @ @ @ has been born disproportionately on the shoulders of people who are already dealing with poverty @ @ @ @ @ impacts of racism .
This has fallen disproportionately on the shoulders of a group of @ @ @ @ @ .
It feels a little bit like we ’ re watching a crisis that just @ @ @ @

Fabiola Rodriguez, right, receives groceries at the food pantry at Harmony Community Church in the Lawndale neighborhood Dec. 9, 2020. The Greater Chicago Food Depository supplies the food pantry. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune)
Let’s consider some facts about food insecurity in Chicago.
Right now, as the coronavirus pandemic worsens and our already gut-punched economy continues to wobble, nearly 10% of Chicagoans “sometimes or often” don’t have enough to eat.
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About 1 out of every 5 households in the Chicago metropolitan area, are food insecure. If you look only at households with kids in them, it’s one out of every four.
________
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The Chicago Tribune publishes a variety of columnists. Columns are opinion content that reflect the views of the writers and not necessarily the Chicago Tribune
________
Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach, an economist and director of Northwestern University’s Institute for Policy Research, shared those numbers with me. They come from weekly household surveys conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau and reflect the staggering problems families here and across the country are having putting food on the table.
“Even with the modest social safety net we have,” Schanzenbach said, “it’s not going to be enough to weather this storm.”
That’s why you’ve seen photos and videos of cars stretched out for miles to pick up food from pantries. That’s why mothers and fathers and children stand in the cold each week outside churches and community centers that operate as food distribution points for people in need.
Volunteers Richard Calhoun, left, and John Lattyak prepare food for distribution at Harmony Community Church in Chicago's Lawndale neighborhood Dec. 9, 2020. The Greater Chicago Food Depository supplies the food pantry. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune)
“The distributions are happening in cold, wet weather, and the fact that people are lined up for blocks and blocks tells you how great the need is,” said Kate Maehr, executive director of the Greater Chicago Food Depository, which supplies food to more than 700 pantries, shelters and soup kitchens. “We had people who were struggling before the pandemic, and one of the really tragic truths we’ve seen is that this crisis has been born disproportionately on the shoulders of people who are already dealing with poverty and health disparities and the impacts of racism. This has fallen disproportionately on the shoulders of a group of people who were already struggling. It feels a little bit like we’re watching a crisis that just keeps unfolding.”
We’re in the midst of the Third-Annual Insult-A-Columnist Holiday Food Drive, which aims to direct our divisions toward something good: donations to the Food Depository in the name of RexStinks or RexRocks. (At present, the RexRocks team has donated far more, despite my best efforts to be loathsome.)
I would argue, based on the numbers above and the overall crisis we’re living through, that your donations mean more this year than ever. Food pantries like the ones the Food Depository supports can be a lifeline for people, particularly as lawmakers in Washington, D.C., plod along on a new pandemic relief bill, seemingly unconcerned about how desperate many Americans have become.
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Remember, being food insecure doesn’t mean you’re living in poverty. A missed paycheck or two, or even a reduction in work hours, can leave many unable to make ends meet. Food pantries help fill the gap, allowing people facing temporary financial woes to pay rent and keep food on the table.
“Do we need people to come out and support this drive and every other drive? Absolutely,” Maehr told me. “I hope there are lovers and haters of you who are so passionate that they come out in droves to show support. But I also need them to hold our leaders in Washington accountable and encourage them to do something.”
While it’s unclear exactly what the next federal relief package will contain, there’s one tool in the government’s toolbox that should be leveraged hard: the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP.
“Usually SNAP is the backbone of anti-hunger policy,” said Schanzenbach, who serves on the Food Depository’s board of directors. “In the beginning of the pandemic, they took steps to increase it so everybody gets maximum SNAP benefits. It’s good economic policy. People spend it in the local economy. The $100 a person gets is invested in that community right away. The economic multiplier is very high.”
But even at the maximum rate, SNAP isn’t giving people enough.
“The purchasing power of SNAP isn’t adequate anymore, even if we went back to good economic times,” Schanzenbach said. “Usually people with higher incomes get lower levels of SNAP benefits, but even the maximum benefit is just too little.”
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On average, SNAP provides a little more than $4.50 per person per day. That’s why economists liked Schanzenbach and groups focused on food insecurity are pushing a substantial increase they believe would improve the health of struggling families.
The relief packages being considered now might include something like a temporary 15% increase in SNAP benefits.
“Because we have so much need right now, it’s shocking to me that we’re spending so little,” Schanzenbach said. “We could really make a large dent in this with an increase that’s something like 30% instead of 15%, but people would consider that heresy. It would just be a nonstarter in Washington right now.”
Maehr said: “We’re in a pandemic and we have this tool that is so perfect for responding to the moment we’re in. The food stamp program is targeted and efficient and able to get direct to people who need assistance. And those dollars get spent in grocery stores in communities reeling from the economic impact of this pandemic. That we would choose not to use this tool is unconscionable.”
We’re a wealthy nation that lets many of its own people go hungry.
That’s a tough statement, but it’s true, and it was true long before the coronavirus pandemic made things worse.
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We have the power to make a difference, by helping groups like the Greater Chicago Food Depository and pushing lawmakers to do the right, and smart, thing. I hope you’ll do both.
To donate to the Insult-A-Columnist Holiday Food Drive go to: http://myfooddrive.org/#InsultRex. You can choose Team RexStinks or Team RexRocks. Please give until I hurt.
rhuppke@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-12-13--What’s it like to take part in a COVID-19 vaccine trial? Three Chicago-area participants share their

What’s it like to take part in a COVID-19 vaccine trial? Three Chicago-area participants share their experiences


chicagotribune--2020-12-13--4 killed when car crashes into Cicero building; authorities identify 3 victims, all from Chicago

Responding officers found the vehicle engulfed in flames when they arrived , Hanania said .
They were able to take @ @ @ @ @ vehicle , but all four occupants of the car were pronounced dead .

Cicero firefighters use the jaws of life to remove the driver's side door of an SUV as emergency authorities prepare to remove the last victim of a single-car crash near the intersection of Cicero and Roosevelt on Saturday, Dec. 12, 2020. The SUV crashed into a building. (Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune)
Three of the four people killed in a fiery one-vehicle crash early Saturday morning in Cicero have been identified as Chicagoans, a town spokesman said.
Corey D. Williams, 23; Anquanisha Murdock, 24; and Julsef Fleming, 23, died in the wreck, said Cicero spokesman Ray Hanania. All three lived on Chicago’s West Side.
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The other victim, the male driver, has not yet been identified.
Around 3 a.m., the vehicle was traveling east on Roosevelt Road when it veered off the road and crashed into a building just before Central Avenue, according to Hanania.
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Responding officers found the vehicle engulfed in flames when they arrived, Hanania said. They were able to take three people out of the vehicle, but all four occupants of the car were pronounced dead.
Police are investigating the crash.


chicagotribune--2020-12-13--Man, 24, shot on Eisenhower Expressway, Illinois State Police say

Around 1 p.m. , troopers responded to a shooting in the eastbound lanes of Interstate 290 at Central Avenue , @ @ @ @ @ a 24-year-old man had been shot before he veered off the roadway and hit a @ @ @

A man was shot Saturday afternoon while driving on the Eisenhower Expressway on the West Side, according to the Illinois State Police.
Around 1 p.m., troopers responded to a shooting in the eastbound lanes of Interstate 290 at Central Avenue, police said. They found a 24-year-old man had been shot before he veered off the roadway and hit a median wall.
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The Chicago Fire Department transported him to a hospital in serious condition, police said.
pfry@chicagotribune.com
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Twitter @paigexfry


chicagotribune--2020-12-12--COVID-19 vaccine will start arriving in states Monday, with more sites getting doses Tuesday and Wed

COVID-19 vaccine will start arriving in states Monday, with more sites getting doses Tuesday and Wednesday, Army says

At a meeting where an expert panel advising the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on vaccines unanimously endorsed the @ @ @ @ @ local health officials were struggling to ensure the vaccine is distributed fairly and to those @ @ @ @ @ ease people ’ s concerns about getting the shot .

MATTHEW PERRONE, MIKE STOBBE and MARK SCOLFORO

We have lifted the paywall on this story. To support essential reporting, please consider becoming a subscriber .
WASHINGTON — The nation’s first COVID-19 vaccine will begin arriving in states Monday morning, U.S. officials said Saturday, after the government gave the final go-ahead to the shots needed to end an outbreak that has killed nearly 300,000 Americans.
Trucks will roll out Sunday morning as shipping companies UPS and FedEx begin delivering Pfizer’s vaccine to nearly 150 distribution centers across the states, said Army Gen. Gustave Perna of Operation Warp Speed, the Trump administration’s vaccine development program. An additional 425 sites will get shipments Tuesday, and the remaining 66 on Wednesday.
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Initially, about 3 million doses were expected to be shipped nationwide. It was unclear exactly who would receive the first shots, though health care workers and nursing home residents were the priority. Perna said health authorities would decide.
A similar number of shots will be held back for those recipients’ second dose, which is needed for full protection from COVID-19.
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The announcement Saturday kicks off a massive logistical operation involving the federal and state governments, private companies and health care workers to quickly distribute limited vaccine supplies throughout the U.S. It offers hope in a country grappling with surging COVID-19 infections and deaths, which are overwhelming hospitals and raising fears that things will only get worse as people gather over the holidays.
The U.S. has recorded more than 16 million cases of COVID-19, by far the most of any country in the world, according to data kept by Johns Hopkins University, and also leads the world in deaths related to the coronavirus at more than 297,600, including a record 3,309 recorded on Friday. The coronavirus has caused more than 1.6 million global deaths.
Perna, the Army general, compared the vaccine distribution effort to D-Day, the U.S.-led military offensive that turned the tide in World War II.
“D-Day was the beginning of the end and that’s where we are today,” Perna said a news conference. But he added that it would take months of work and “diligence, courage and strength to eventually achieve victory.”
MaineHealth, a network of 12 hospitals based in Portland, plans to provide an expected first delivery of nearly 2,000 vaccines to doctors, nurses and others facing risk as they treat COVID-19 patients, said Dr. Dora Mills, chief health improvement officer.
“It’s almost hard for me to talk about without tearing up,” Mills said Saturday. “This vaccine gives us some glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel.”
The first shipments will leave Pfizer’s manufacturing plant in Kalamazoo, Michigan, by truck and then be flown to regional hubs around the country. Medical distributor McKesson and pharmacy chains, including CVS and Rite-Aid, also are involved in the initial rollout and vaccinations at nursing homes and assisted living centers.
In a key distribution challenge, the vaccine, co-developed with BioNTech, must be stored and shipped at ultra-low temperatures — about 94 degrees below zero. Pfizer has developed shipping containers that use dry ice, and GPS-enabled sensors will allow the company to track each shipment and ensure it stays cold.
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Distribution sites are mainly large hospitals and other facilities able to meet those ultra-cold storage requirements. Within three weeks, vaccines should be delivered to all vaccination sites identified by states, such as local pharmacies, Perna said.
The vaccine was timed to arrive Monday so health workers could receive the shots and begin giving them, Perna said.
Workers at Mount Sinai Hospital System in New York did a dry run this week to prepare for their shipment. In a clean room, pharmacists practiced making separate doses of a training vaccine and ensuring the freezer was kept at temperatures colder than in Antarctica.
“Not a lot of people have vaccinated for a large pandemic like this,” said Susan Mashni, vice president of pharmacy at Mount Sinai. “So we want to make certain that we get it right. There’s a lot of different moving pieces and parts.”
At a meeting where an expert panel advising the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on vaccines unanimously endorsed the Pfizer shot, some said local health officials were struggling to ensure the vaccine is distributed fairly and to those most in need and to ease people’s concerns about getting the shot.
A Pfizer manufacturing plant in Portage, Mich., on Dec. 11, 2020. The U.S. gave the final go-ahead Friday to the nation’s first COVID-19 vaccine, marking what could be the beginning of the end of an outbreak that has killed nearly 300,000 Americans. (Paul Sancya/AP)
But “the funding necessary for state and local health departments to carry out this program has been put in the deep freeze,” said Dr. Jeffrey Duchin, a Seattle physician representing the National Association of County and City Health Officials.
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The Food and Drug Administration authorized emergency use of the vaccine late Friday. It capped an unprecedented global race to speed vaccines through testing and review, chopping years off the normal development process.
The FDA found the vaccine highly protective with no major safety issues. U.S. regulators worked for months to emphasize the rigor and independence of their review, but President Donald Trump’s administration pressured the agency until the final announcement. A top White House official even threatened to remove FDA chief Stephen Hahn if a ruling didn’t come before Saturday.
Concerns that a shot was rushed out could undermine vaccination efforts in a country with deeply ingrained skepticism about vaccines.
“Science and data guided the FDA’s decision,” Hahn said Saturday. “We worked quickly because of the urgency of this pandemic, not because of any other external pressure.”
While the vaccine was determined to be safe, regulators in the U.K. are investigating several severe allergic reactions. The FDA’s instructions tell providers not give it to those with a known history of severe allergic reactions to any of its ingredients.
The FDA’s vaccine director, Dr. Peter Marks, said the agency will carefully track any reports of allergic reactions in the U.S.
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Next week, the FDA will review a vaccine from Moderna and the National Institutes of Health that appears about as protective as Pfizer’s shot. On Friday, the Trump administration said it had purchased 100 million more doses of that vaccine on top of 100 million it previously ordered.
The announcement came after revelations that the White House opted not to lock in an additional 100 million doses of Pfizer’s vaccine for delivery in the second quarter of 2021. The Trump administration contends the current orders plus those in the pipeline will be enough to accommodate any American who wants to be vaccinated by the end of the second quarter of 2021.
Stobbe reported from New York, and Scolforo from Harrisburg, Pa. Associated Press Medical Writer Lauran Neergaard in Alexandria, Virginia, video journalist Marshall Ritzel and Health Writer Candice Choi in New York contributed to this story.
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.


chicagotribune--2020-12-12--Man fought back during attempted carjacking in Loop after 19-year-old told him, ‘Give it up,’ prosec

Man fought back during attempted carjacking in Loop after 19-year-old told him, ‘Give it up,’ prosecutors say

Judge David Navarro on Saturday ordered Moore , who has no criminal record , held on $ 10,000 bond , @ @ @ @ @ come up with $ 1,000 to go free until his next court appearance in the @ @

Witnesses flagged down police while a 60-year-old man brawled with and pinned down a 19-year-old man who dragged him out of his car during an attempted carjacking Friday in the Loop.
The suspect, Jayln Moore of Hazel Crest, didn’t know the victim and chose him essentially because he “just saw the victim” and it “looked like a nice car,” prosecutors said.
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Judge David Navarro on Saturday ordered Moore, who has no criminal record, held on $10,000 bond, meaning he will need to come up with $1,000 to go free until his next court appearance in the case.
This was “basically a crime of opportunity” that places “individuals at risk,” Navarro said before setting the bond.
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Moore is accused of two felonies, attempted vehicular hijacking and unlawful vehicle invasion, in connection with the incident on Friday about 1:25 p.m. in the 300 block of South Wabash Avenue.
The victim was talking on his phone while sitting in his car when Moore “flung the door open” and started punching the man in the face with his fist, prosecutors said.
He told the victim, “Give it up,” and kept on hitting his chest, while grabbing his body and pulling him out of the car.
They began wrestling on the street while the victim “fought back” and screamed to bystanders for help as he pinned Moore to the ground, prosecutors said.
One of the witnesses flagged down an officer, and witnesses identified Moore as the attacker during the alleged incident, which was also captured on surveillance video.
Moore’s attorney, a public defender, told Navarro that Moore is a lifelong resident of Cook County who lives with his family. Moore is a graduate of CICS Longwood high school in Chicago, his attorney said. Because of the pandemic, he is unemployed.
“One thousand to walk?” Moore asked the judge, who replied: “That’s right.”
Moore’s next court date was set for Dec. 21 at the Skokie courthouse.


chicagotribune--2020-12-12--Off-duty cop stripped of police powers after shooting man during confrontation in Albany Park, polic

Off-duty cop stripped of police powers after shooting man during confrontation in Albany Park, police say

An off-duty officer who shot a man in the hand Friday night during a confrontation with the occupants of a @ @ @ @ @ Park neighborhood has been relieved of his police powers while the incident is probed by @ @ @ @ @ Accountability , Chicago police said .

An off-duty officer who shot a man in the hand Friday night during a confrontation with the occupants of a parked vehicle in the Albany Park neighborhood has been relieved of his police powers while the incident is probed by the Civilian Office of Police Accountability, Chicago police said.
Shortly after 10:45 p.m. Friday, an off-duty officer heard shots in the 3300 block of West Irving Park Road and approached an occupied parked vehicle, police said.
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During a confrontation with the occupants of the vehicle, the officer discharged his weapon, striking a man in the hand. The wounded man was taken to Swedish Covenant Hospital and arrested pending further investigation, police said.
The off-duty officer, who was not injured, was taken to an area hospital for observation.
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The officer has been relieved of his police powers while COPA investigates, police said.
dawilliams@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-12-12--COVID-19 in Illinois by the numbers: Here’s a daily update on cases, positivity rate and hospital da

COVID-19 in Illinois by the numbers: Here’s a daily update on cases, positivity rate and hospital data in your area

Among the metrics ( see below ) tracked under guidelines set by Gov .
J.B. Pritzker are the percentage of @ @ @ @ @ , the number of people hospitalized for COVID-19-like illnesses , and the capacity of hospitals @ @ @ @ @ state will decide how much or how little to restrict activities based on these metrics @

Note: With Chicago and Illinois moving into phase 5, the Tribune is no longer updating this data. If the state moves back into bridge phase, the Tribune we reassess. Daily metrics on COVID-19, like cases, deaths and hospitalizations, can be found here. And Daily metrics on the vaccination effort can be found here. More on where the coronavirus stands nationally and around the world can be found here.
To assess how different parts of Illinois are handling the COVID-19 pandemic, officials look at the state through the 11 regions of Emergency Medical Services. The city of Chicago is one region, for example, and the rest of Cook County is another.
Among the metrics (see below) tracked under guidelines set by Gov. J.B. Pritzker are the percentage of coronavirus tests that return positive, the number of people hospitalized for COVID-19-like illnesses, and the capacity of hospitals to take in new patients.The state will decide how much or how little to restrict activities based on these metrics. (Cases, deaths and tests data is as of Dec. 31).
• Check out the Tribune’s coronavirus coverage.
• Remembering the lives of those in Illinois who died from coronavirus.
• Other Chicago, suburbs and Illinois COVID-19 metrics.
• See how the governor’s plan to manage the regions works.
Source: Illinois Department of Public Health
Created by the Chicago Tribune dataviz team. On Twitter @chitribgraphics


chicagotribune--2020-12-12--COVID-19 cases in Illinois by ZIP code: Search for your neighborhood

Search below by street address , ZIP code or city , then click on the map to see the number @ @ @ @ @ .
The state is not providing data for any ZIP code with five cases or @ @

Note: With Chicago and Illinois moving into phase 5, the Tribune is no longer updating this data. If the state moves back into bridge phase, the Tribune we reassess. Daily metrics on COVID-19, like cases, deaths and hospitalizations, can be found here. And Daily metrics on the vaccination effort can be found here. More on where the coronavirus stands nationally and around the world can be found here.
Illinois releases the number of positive COVID-19 cases by ZIP code daily. The map below shows the cumulative cases for each area as well as other analysis of the data.
• Check out the Tribune’s coronavirus coverage.
• Tracking daily Illinois coronavirus deaths, cases and tests.
Search below by street address, ZIP code or city, then click on the map to see the number of confirmed and probable cases. The state is not providing data for any ZIP code with five cases or fewer.
Data as of June 10.
The map search tool above works best in Chrome or Firefox and may not perform consistently in Internet Explorer.
Note: Because of a coding error this map was displaying the incorrect rates for new cases in the last 7 days per 100,000 people — the issue should now be resolved.. The Tribune adjusted the data shown on the map below to focus on new cases, those the state tracked in the last 7 seven days. The totals for the entire pandemic are still available, but in the pop-up after tapping or clicking on a ZIP.


chicagotribune--2020-12-12--Daily Illinois coronavirus graphs: 127 new deaths, 8,737 new confirmed and probable cases and 126,88

Daily Illinois coronavirus graphs: 127 new deaths, 8,737 new confirmed and probable cases and 126,888 new test results

Illinois announced 8,737 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 Saturday for a total of 841,688 .
The state also @ @ @ @ @ a total of 14,176 and 126,888 new test results for a total of 11.71 million @

Johns Hopkins University & Medicine tracked coronavirus cases, deaths and test totals from Jan. 22, 2020 through March 10, 2023, but is no longer providing this data. These charts will no longer be updated.
Check the Illinois Department of Public Health for the most up-to-date data for Illinois.
[ Remembering the lives of those in Illinois who died from coronavirus ]
Can’t see these charts? Go here.


chicagotribune--2020-12-12--Coronavirus in Illinois updates: 8,737 new COVID-19 cases and 127 additional fatalities reported Sat

Coronavirus in Illinois updates: 8,737 new COVID-19 cases and 127 additional fatalities reported Saturday as vaccine set to begin arriving in states next week

And Edward Hines Jr. VA Hospital in Maywood was selected as one of roughly three dozen veterans health administration sites @ @ @ @ @ initial doses , the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs announced on Friday .
The west @ @ @ @ @ VA hospital in Illinois to make the list , in part because it has the @ @ @ @ @ at extremely cold temperatures , the hospital said in a news release .

We have lifted the paywall on this story. To support essential reporting, please consider becoming a subscriber .
CTU workers direct vehicles lined up for COVID-19 testing outside of the Chicago Teachers Union on Dec. 30, 2021, in Chicago. CPS starts back to school on Monday following their holiday break. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)
Illinois health officials on Sunday announced 7,216 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 and 115 additional fatalities, bringing the total number of known infections in Illinois to 848,904 and the statewide confirmed death toll to 14,291 since the start of the pandemic.
The first shipments of a COVID-19 vaccine for widespread use in the United States headed Sunday from Michigan to distribution centers across the country.
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Shipments of the Pfizer vaccine will set in motion the biggest vaccination effort in American history at a critical juncture of the pandemic that has killed 1.6 million and sickened 71 million worldwide.
Chicago-area hospitals are gearing up to give the first COVID-19 vaccination shots to their employees as soon as early this week now that emergency use authorization has been granted by the U.S. Federal Drug Administration.
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Rush University Medical Center could begin administering the vaccine to its workers as soon as Monday, depending on when the vaccine arrives, hospital officials said. University of Chicago Medicine might start inoculating employees Wednesday. Edward-Elmhurst Health, which has hospitals in west suburban Naperville and Elmhurst, is tentatively expecting to begin vaccinating its workers Tuesday.
And Edward Hines Jr. VA Hospital in Maywood was selected as one of roughly three dozen veterans health administration sites across the country to receive initial doses, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs announced on Friday.
[ Doctors to answer reader questions about COVID-19 vaccinations Dec. 14 and 16 on Facebook Live ]
The numbers come two weeks after the Thanksgiving holiday that health officials worried could create COVID-19 superspreader events. Officials have said the state is entering the period during which a possible post-Thanksgiving surge could begin to show up.
Meanwhile, here’s what the FDA approval of Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine could mean for Chicago and the rest of Illinois.
Here’s what’s happening this weekend with COVID-19 in the Chicago area and Illinois:
Sunday
White House, other top officials to get early vaccine access
Senior U.S. government officials, including some White House officials who work in close proximity to President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence, will be offered coronavirus vaccines as soon as this week, while its public distribution is limited to front-line health workers and people in nursing homes and long-term care facilities.
Doses of the newly approved vaccine from Pfizer will be made available to those who work in close quarters with the nation’s top leaders, two people familiar with the matter confirmed. They said the move was meant to prevent more COVID-19 spread in the White House, which has already suffered from several outbreaks of the virus that infected Trump and other top officials, and other critical facilities.
Read more here. —Associated Press
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As coronavirus vaccine distribution begins, prepare to carry another thing in your pocket: A COVID-19 credential to show you’ve been inoculated
Among all the tools that health agencies have developed over the years to fight epidemics, at least one has remained a constant for more than a century: paper vaccination certificates.
In the 1880s, in response to smallpox outbreaks, some public schools began requiring students and teachers to show vaccination cards. In the 1960s, amid yellow fever epidemics, the World Health Organization introduced an international travel document, known informally as the yellow card. Even now, travelers from certain regions are required to show a version of the card at airports.
Read more here. —The New York Times
7,216 new confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases, 115 additional deaths reported
Illinois health officials on Sunday announced 7,216 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 and 115 additional fatalities, bringing the total number of known infections in Illinois to 848,904 and the statewide confirmed death toll to 14,291 since the start of the pandemic.
—Chicago Tribune staff
Downtown Naperville’s Features Bar and Grill unveils rail cars for winter dining
Features Bar and Grill unveiled its own take on unique winter seating and dining Thursday when it began stationing dining cars — actual rail cars refurbished to seat customers — outside its Chicago Avenue location.
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The project is a joint effort by the restaurant, Naperville Public Works, the Downtown Naperville Alliance, the Naperville Development Partnership, and private contractors.
Read more here —Rafael Guerrero, Naperville Sun
COVID-19 testing sites continue to pop up around south suburbs
As the promised rollout of a vaccine for the novel coronavirus nears, testing centers remain busy this holiday season following a recent resurgence in COVID-19 cases.
While usually focused on treating children’s ailments, Alzein Pediatrics’ staff in recent weeks were getting questions from children’s parents and grandparents about where they could go for COVID-19 testing.
“We had a lot of patients looking for places to get tested out of concern about being around their children or grandchildren,” said Marie Armstrong, clinical manager for the practice, which has offices in Evergreen Park and Oak Lawn.
Read more here —Mike Nolan, Daily Southtown
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Trucks with first COVID-19 vaccine for widespread use in the US roll out of Pfizer manufacturing plant in Michigan
The first trucks carrying a COVID-19 vaccine for widespread use in the United States pulled out of a Michigan manufacturing facility Sunday, with the shots that are critical to stopping the nation’s coronavirus outbreak destined to reach states a day later.
Shipments of the Pfizer vaccine will set in motion the biggest vaccination effort in American history at a critical juncture of the pandemic that has killed 1.6 million and sickened 71 million worldwide.
Read more here. —Associated Press
Saturday
COVID-19 vaccine will start arriving in states Monday, officials say, as US surpasses 16 million total confirmed cases
The nation’s first COVID-19 vaccine will begin arriving in states Monday morning, U.S. officials said Saturday, after the government gave the final go-ahead to the shots needed to end an outbreak that has killed nearly 300,000 Americans.
Initially, about 3 million doses were expected to be shipped nationwide. It was unclear exactly who would receive the first shots, though health care workers and nursing home residents were the priority. Perna said health authorities would decide.
The announcement Saturday kicks off a massive logistical operation involving the federal and state governments, private companies and health care workers to quickly distribute limited vaccine supplies throughout the U.S. It offers hope in a country grappling with surging COVID-19 infections and deaths, which are overwhelming hospitals and raising fears that things will only get worse as people gather over the holidays.
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The U.S. has recorded more than 16 million cases of COVID-19, by far the most of any country in the world, according to data kept by Johns Hopkins University, and also leads the world in deaths related to the coronavirus at more than 297,600, including a record 3,309 recorded on Friday. The coronavirus has caused more than 1.6 million global deaths.
Read more here. —Associated Press
Charley Pride, country music’s first Black star, dies at 86 of COVID-19 complications
Charley Pride, one of country music’s first Black superstar whose rich baritone on such hits as “Kiss an Angel Good Morning” helped sell millions of records and made him the first Black member of the Country Music Hall of Fame, has died. He was 86.
Pride died Saturday in Dallas of complications from Covid-19, according to Jeremy Westby of the public relations firm 2911 Media.
“I’m so heartbroken that one of my dearest and oldest friends, Charley Pride, has passed away. It’s even worse to know that he passed away from COVID-19. What a horrible, horrible virus. Charley, we will always love you,” Dolly Parton tweeted.
Read more here. —Associated Press
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127 new deaths, 8,737 new cases of COVID-19 reported
Illinois health officials announced Saturday 8,737 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-10 and 127 new fatalities, bringing the total number of known infections in Illinois to 841,688 and the statewide death toll to 14,177 since the beginning of the pandemic.
The figures come a day after officials announced Chicago-area hospitals were getting ready to deliver the first COVID-19 vaccines to their employees during the first few days of next week.
The nation’s first COVID-19 vaccine will begin arriving in states Monday morning, U.S. officials said Saturday, after the government gave the final go-ahead to the shots needed to end the outbreak that has killed nearly 300,000 Americans.
—Rosemary Sobol
Pritzker put on defensive by COVID-19 outbreak that tore through LaSalle VA home with terrifying speed
Beginning Oct. 31, as the coronavirus pandemic was surging once again across the state, including in LaSalle County, an outbreak tore through the home with terrifying speed, infecting more than 200 residents and staff members and killing at least 33 veterans, including Jerome Liesse.
The fallout has been equally swift. Initial inspections by federal and state inspections identified myriad problems at the home, including lax use of personal protective equipment and poor social distancing. State legislators have set hearings, and an investigation by a state inspector general has been launched.
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Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who in his 2018 campaign for governor was highly critical of his Republican predecessor Bruce Rauner’s handling of a deadly Legionnaires’ disease outbreak at another state veterans home, is now on the defensive over his own VA home crisis.
“The governor owns this. This is his job,” said state Rep. Jim Durkin of Western Springs, the Illinois House Republican leader. “It’s the state’s job to provide for the care of the men and women who live and also work within that facility.”
Read more here. —Rick Pearson and Dan Petrella
Friday
‘We just pray that we get the strength to keep going day by day.’ Family cancels pilgrimage after third brother dies of coronavirus
Tragedy has once again struck the family who started the pilgrimage from Chicago to Our Lady of Guadalupe shrine in Des Plaines.
In September, 63-year-old Ricardo Alanis, founder of the first and largest yearly pilgrimage from Chicago to the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Des Plaines, died of COVID-19.
Two months after Ricardo Alanis died, one of his brothers died from COVID-19 in Mexico. And on Friday, a third brother, Jose Alanis, died of COVID-19 complications at Amita Health St. Francis Hospital in Evanston, according to a family member.
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Read more here. —Javonte Anderson
Local hospitals ready to give first COVID-19 vaccines to employees as soon as next week
Chicago-area hospitals are gearing up to give the first COVID-19 vaccination shots to their employees as soon as early next week now that emergency use authorization has been granted by the U.S. Federal Drug Administration.
Rush University Medical Center could begin administering the vaccine to its workers as soon as Monday, depending on when the vaccine arrives, hospital officials said. University of Chicago Medicine might start inoculating employees Wednesday. Edward-Elmhurst Health, which has hospitals in west suburban Naperville and Elmhurst, is tentatively expecting to begin vaccinating its workers Tuesday.
And Edward Hines Jr. VA Hospital in Maywood was selected as one of roughly three dozen veterans health administration sites across the country to receive initial doses, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs announced on Friday. The west suburban hospital was the only VA hospital in Illinois to make the list, in part because it has the capacity to store the vaccine at extremely cold temperatures, the hospital said in a news release.
Read more here. —Madeline Buckley, Lisa Schencker and Angie Leventis Lourgos
Walgreens to hire 25,000 as part of plan to start giving COVID-19 vaccine to nursing home residents and staff before Christmas
Walgreens expects to receive its first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine Dec. 21 and plans to inoculate nursing home residents and workers at more than 30,000 longterm care facilities nationwide.
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Deerfield-based Walgreens plans to hire about 25,000 workers across the U.S., including up to 9,000 pharmacists and other health care workers, to administer the vaccine, once approved, to longterm care facilities through a partnership with pharmacy service provider PharMerica, the companies said during a panel discussion Friday on the vaccine rollout.
Read more here. —Abdel Jimenez
Pandemic puppies, holiday tamales and binge-watching TV from a cardboard ‘yacht’: How 39 Chicagoans made it through 2020
Few would deny that 2020 has been difficult for a host of reasons, from the quarter-million lives lost due to the coronavirus pandemic to the continuing fight against racial injustice.
How did people make it through this year? We asked Illinois residents to tell us what they did to get through 2020. Some adopted dogs, some volunteered in their neighborhoods and others discovered a new hobby. Here’s what they had to say.
Read more here. —Hannah Herrera Greenspan
Breaking coronavirus news Stay up to date with the latest information on coronavirus with our breaking news alerts.
In case you missed it
Here are five things that happened Friday related to COVID-19:


chicagotribune--2020-12-12--Three men wounded in overnight shootings on South and West sides

The man was hit several times in the leg and he went to the University of Chicago Medical Center , @ @ @ @ @ serious condition , police said .

At least three men were wounded in separate shootings overnight on the South and West sides, Chicago police said.
Most recently, a 19-year-old man was walking when someone inside a passing car opened fire, striking him twice in the leg about 3 a.m in the 4000 block of West Ogden Avenue in the Lawndale neighborhood.
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The victim was driven by a friend to Stroger Hospital, where he was listed in fair condition, police said.
Earlier, a 37-year-old man was standing outside his vehicle in the 7200 block of South Champlain Avenue in the Chatham neighborhood when someone approached him on foot and fired shots about 2:15 a.m.
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The man was hit several times in the leg and he went to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where he was listed in serious condition, police said.
A 53-year-old man was grazed by a bullet when he exited a convenience store in the 100 block of West 119th Street in the West Pullman neighborhood about 9:30 p.m. Friday.
The gunman, in a passing vehicle, fired shots in his direction and the bullet grazed the man’s forehead. The man refused medical treatment at the scene and police said he was in good condition.
No one was in custody for any of the shootings, and detectives were investigating.
dawilliams@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-12-12--Police say shots were fired at them during chase; driver in custody after SUV crashes in Chatham

As police continued to tail it , someone suddenly hurled a garbage can in front of the police car .
@ @ @ @ @ out to move it out the way , someone fired four to six shots in @ @ @ @ @ .

Someone fired multiple rounds at a police during a mile-long chase sparked by a motorist driving without headlights late Friday on the South Side, Chicago police said.
Shortly after 11:35 p.m. in the Park Manor neighborhood, officers saw a black Infiniti SUV traveling without headlights in the 6700 block of South Rhodes Avenue and began following it, police said.
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Soon the SUV sped up and began traveling at a “high rate of speed,’' police said.
As police continued to tail it, someone suddenly hurled a garbage can in front of the police car. When officers stopped and got out to move it out the way, someone fired four to six shots in their direction, police said.
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Officers did not return fire and it was not clear who fired shots or who threw the trash can.
Police continued after the SUV until it ran into a pole in the 7600 block of South Cottage Grove Avenue in the Chatham neighborhood and its driver, the only one inside, jumped out and ran away, prompting a brief foot chase.
The driver was taken into custody a short time later and taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center for observation.
Police said they confiscated a weapon from him and that charges were pending.
dawilliams@chicagotribune.com