chicagotribune--2020-10-01--Coronavirus in Illinois updates: Here’s what happened Sept. 30 with COVID-19 in the Chicago area

Stress is also what makes the annual admiring of foliage — aka leaf peeping — so poignant this pandemic year @ @ @ @ @ stressed , yet so is everyone else , ” said David Lorenz , vice president @ @ @ @ @ agency that produces those nearly somnolent , stress-relieving “ Pure Michigan ” tourism spots .
@ @ @ @ @ sacrifice and hunkering down — leaves change colors because their trees are prepping for months @ @ @ @ @ fall foliage is all metaphor and melancholy .
Because “ nothing gold can stay ” @ @ @ @ @ we spend three too-short months noticing what Gwendolyn Brooks called “ summer-gone.
” We wonder @ @ @ @ @ comfortable it will be to touch the earth ” ( Mary Oliver ) .
We @ @ @ @ @ need for calm .

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Paca Kujtim of Arlington Heights self-administers a COVID-19 test in his car at the Arlington International Racecourse on March 31, 2021 in Arlington Heights. Kujtim was getting testing as a precaution for upcoming travel. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)
The Illinois Department of Public Health on Wednesday urged trick-or-treaters to socially distance on Halloween, while cautioning the holiday is best celebrated sans the usual celebrations.
“IDPH recognizes that some who will choose to gather together anyway, and instead of denying that reality, we are issuing guidance and recommendations for safer ways to celebrate together in person,” IDPH director Dr. Ngozi Ezike wrote in a statement. “Remember, we know what our best tools are: wearing our masks, keeping our distance, limiting event sizes, washing your hands, and looking out for public health and each other.”
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Also on Wednesday, Illinois public health officials reported they had logged 2,273 newly diagnosed cases and 35 additional confirmed deaths of people with COVID-19, raising the statewide tally to 293,274 known cases and 8,672 deaths.
Additionally, the central Illinois region around Champaign-Urbana could be hit with stricter restrictions on restaurants, bars and other businesses as the percentage of positive coronavirus tests is on the rise, state public officials warned on Wednesday.
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Here’s what’s happening Wednesday with COVID-19 in the Chicago area and Illinois:
8:35 p.m.: American Airlines to furlough 19,000 employees as clock runs out on deal for federal aid
American Airlines will begin furloughing 19,000 employees on Thursday after lawmakers and the White House failed to agree on a broad pandemic-relief package that includes more federal aid for airlines.
CEO Doug Parker said Wednesday night that if Washington comes up with a deal for $25 billion in airline aid “over the next few days,” American will reverse the furloughs and recall the employees.
The move by American represents the first — and likely the largest — involuntary jobs cut across the industry in coming days. United Airlines has indicated it could furlough nearly 12,000 workers.
Read more here. —Associated Press
8:15 p.m.: Pelosi, Mnuchin have ‘extensive’ talks on coronavirus relief
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin held an “extensive conversation” Wednesday on a huge COVID-19 rescue package, meeting face to face for the first time in more than a month in a last-ditch effort to seal a tentative accord on an additional round of coronavirus relief.
After a 90-minute meeting in the Capitol, Pelosi issued a statement saying the two would continue to talk. “We found areas where we are seeking further clarification,” she said. Talks resume Thursday.
“We made a lot of progress over the last few days. We still don’t have an agreement,” Mnuchin said after meeting with Pelosi and briefing top Senate Republican Mitch McConnell.
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At the very least, the positive tone set by Pelosi and Mnuchin represented an improvement over earlier statements. But there is still a considerable gulf between the two sides, McConnell said.
“I’ve seen substantial movement, yes, and certainly the rhetoric has changed,” White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows said.
Read more here. —Associated Press
7 p.m.: Cook County Board commissioner tests positive for COVID-19
A Cook County commissioner who appeared in a news conference with board President Toni Preckwinkle last week announced on Wednesday he tested positive for coronavirus.
Commissioner Kevin Morrison, D-15th, released a statement late afternoon that he will self-isolate for 14 days and not resume activities until he tests negative. He said he is mostly asymptomatic.
“Unfortunately, I have tested positive for COVID-19,” Morrison wrote. “Fortunately, I am feeling well with very little symptoms. … I encourage everyone to continue to follow public health guidance and to stay safe.”
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Preckwinkle, who appeared at an event with him last week, received negative test results on Wednesday, a spokesman said. The news conference, announcing a small business recovery fund, was joined by three other political officials.
She took the test on Tuesday after a staffer for Gov. J.B. Pritzker, with whom she attended another news conference last week, tested positive for coronavirus. Also on Tuesday, she canceled her public appearances.
“I wish Commissioner Kevin Morrison a speedy recovery,” Preckwinkle tweeted. “All of us at Cook County look forward to having you back and healthy very soon.”
—Alice Yin
6:45 p.m. (update): Wisconsin sets new record for daily COVID-19 deaths as surge in cases threatens to overwhelm hospitals
Wisconsin set a new record for COVID-19 deaths on Wednesday and the surge in cases in the state threatened to overwhelm some hospitals.
Health officials reported 27 new deaths, breaking the state’s old record of 22 deaths set on May 27. The disease has killed or played a role in the death of 1,327 people in the state since the pandemic began.
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Health officials reported 2,319 newly confirmed cases, bringing the total number of cases in Wisconsin to 122,274 since the pandemic began.
Wisconsin had the third-highest positivity rate of any state as of Wednesday. Hospital officials in some areas said they were close to being overwhelmed by COVID-19 patients — a scenario that health officials have been warning could happen since the pandemic began but that only now seems like it could happen.
Read more here. —Associated Press
6:35 p.m.: COVID-19 tightens grip on American heartland as infections surge in Midwest
The coronavirus tightened its grip on the American heartland, with infections surging in the Midwest, some hospitals in Wisconsin and North Dakota running low on space and the NFL postponing a game over an outbreak that’s hit the Tennessee Titans football team.
Midwestern states are seeing some of the nation’s highest per capita rates of infection, and while federal health officials again urged some governors in the region to require masks statewide, many Republicans have resisted.
Like other states, health officials in Wisconsin had warned since the pandemic began that COVID-19 patients could overwhelm hospitals. That’s now happening for some facilities as experts fear a second wave of infections in the U.S.
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A record number of people with COVID-19 were hospitalized in Wisconsin. Of those 737 patients Wednesday, 205 were in intensive care, with spikes in cases in northern parts of the state driving up the numbers. The state also reported its highest single-day number of deaths — 27 — raising the toll to 1,327.
Read more here. —Associated Press
4:50 p.m.: Chicago’s outdoor dining street closures to continue into the fall and winter
After a summer of street closures dedicated to outdoor dining that saw dozens of Chicago restaurants move tables and chairs into the roadways, rest easy knowing that cold weather won’t stand in the way. Some of the shutdowns will continue this fall, and some even into the winter.
The Chicago Department of Transportation, local chambers and officials are still working with restaurants to determine when exactly street closures will end for each area, but for the time being, many permits will be extended as needed.
Here’s the schedule. —Grace Wong
3:30 p.m.: Hotel job losses in Illinois could double without additional federal aid, industry group warns. ‘We need Congress to act and act now.’
Hotel job losses in Illinois could double if Congress doesn’t pass another coronavirus stimulus bill, according to an industry group report.
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At the start of the pandemic, hotels across the Chicago area furloughed and laid off workers under the strain of stay-at-home orders and suspended travel. The hotel industry, which is a large source of jobs and tax revenue for the state, has been one of the hardest hit by the health crisis. In September, leisure and hospitality jobs in Chicago were down almost 27% from 2019, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
“In Illinois, winter is coming both literally and figuratively. We need Congress to act and act now,” said Michael Jacobson, president and CEO of the Illinois Hotel & Lodging Association, during a news conference Tuesday.
Read more here. —Katie Surma
2:36 p.m.: Is it safe to fly during coronavirus pandemic? Research from pre-mask days reveals potential for a superspreader disaster.
While the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said air travel can increase the risk of getting COVID-19 because it involves spending lots of time in crowded places, the agency also has said viruses don’t spread easily on flights because of how planes filter and circulate air. And until recently, there has been little research showing the coronavirus spreads aboard planes.
But one newly released study found that at least a dozen passengers became infected on a March flight from London to Hanoi while sitting near a young businesswoman believed to have had COVID-19. The other found that two flight attendants on a Boston to Hong Kong flight got the same genetic strain of the virus as a middle-aged couple on the plane who became sick with COVID-19 the day after they landed. The authors at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and the University of Hong Kong concluded that the flight attendants got the virus from the infected passengers.
Read more here. —The Mercury News
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1:46 p.m.: Indiana mail-in ballots postmarked by Election Day can be counted through Nov. 13, judge rules
A federal judge ruled Tuesday that mail-in ballots postmarked by Election Day can be received and counted through Nov. 13, “if otherwise valid,” according to court records.
After initial review of the injunction, Lake and Porter county election officials had different reactions, but they made one thing clear: It is very unlikely that results will be known on Election Night.
U.S. Judge Sarah Evans Baker issued the preliminary injunction, which stops the state from enforcing the noon deadline on Nov. 3 for mail-in ballots to be considered, according to court records.
The lawsuit filed by Common Cause Indiana and the Indiana State Conference of the NAACP said about 1,500 ballots in Marion County and 400 in Hamilton County were rejected for this year’s primary election because they arrived after the noon deadline.
Read more here. —Alexandra Kukulka
1:42 p.m.: Champaign region could see stricter coronavirus rules as positivity rate rises
The central Illinois region around Champaign-Urbana could be hit with stricter restrictions on restaurants, bars and other businesses as the percentage of positive coronavirus tests is on the rise, state public officials warned on Wednesday.
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The massive saliva-based testing program at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign can account for roughly 20% of all tests conducted statewide in a given day, giving the 21-county region a deceptively low positivity rate, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health.
The region’s positivity rate stands at 2% on a seven-day average, but when Champaign County is removed, the rate jumps to 7.2%, approaching the 8% threshold that could trigger stricter rules to prevent the spread of the virus that causes COVID-19, officials said.
Read more here. —Dan Petrella
1:13 p.m.: Halloween 2020: IDPH releases socially distanced trick-or-treating guidelines for those who 'choose to gather anyway’
The Illinois Department of Public Health on Wednesday urged trick-or-treaters to socially distance on Halloween, while cautioning the holiday is best celebrated sans the usual celebrations.
In a news release pointing out that “the safest way to celebrate is to stay home,” IDPH said trick-or-treaters this year should only travel with other members of their household. Both trick-or-treaters and those passing out candy must wear a mask and maintain a 6-foot distance at all times. That means the latter group should consider leaving the candy outside.
“IDPH recognizes that some who will choose to gather together anyway, and instead of denying that reality, we are issuing guidance and recommendations for safer ways to celebrate together in person,” IDPH director Dr. Ngozi Ezike wrote in a statement. “Remember, we know what our best tools are: wearing our masks, keeping our distance, limiting event sizes, washing your hands, and looking out for public health and each other.”
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Read more here. —Alice Yin
12:10 p.m.: 2,273 newly confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 35 additional deaths reported
Illinois public health officials reported Wednesday they had logged 2,273 newly diagnosed cases and 35 additional confirmed deaths of people with COVID-19, raising the statewide tally to 293,274 known cases and 8,672 deaths.
—Chicago Tribune staff
11:02 a.m.: Hair loss. Memory problems. Strange rashes. COVID-19 patients report a litany of symptoms outside official criteria, some persisting for months.
As medical experts and scientists grapple to understand the new virus, some patients are reporting a great variety of symptoms that fall outside the official lists issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other major health authorities.
Often these conditions seem to appear or subside without warning, sometimes lingering for months after the virus is supposedly gone.
Earlier in the pandemic, most medical efforts were focused on keeping the sickest patients alive and relieving overwhelmed hospitals. But now there’s a growing need for research on the long-term health of those who survived the virus but don’t seem to be fully recovering, said Natalie Lambert, associate research professor at Indiana University School of Medicine.
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Many sickened by coronavirus express frustration as they battle a new and mysterious illness with no road map and very little history. Unpredictable symptoms — often outside the typical diagnostic criteria — are cited as a common source of stress.
Read more here. —Angie Leventis Lourgos
11 a.m.: Wisconsin hospitals filling with COVID-19 patients as virus surges: ‘We’re going to be in a dire situation in two, three, four weeks’
COVID-19 patients are filling Wisconsin hospitals, forcing doctors to transfer patients to other facilities and build waiting lists as the disease surges across the state.
State health officials have been warning that COVID-19 patients could overwhelm hospitals since the pandemic began in March. Now it appears that fear has become reality.
The number of people hospitalized in Wisconsin stood at 646 on Tuesday, a new record, with 205 patients in intensive care units, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported. Case spikes in northern and northeastern Wisconsin are driving much of the hospitalizations, the newspaper reported.
Officials at ThedaCare in the Fox Valley said they’ve exceeded capacity in the COVID-19 unit at their Appleton medical center and have started sending patients to Neenah and hospitals in Berlin, Shawano and Waupaca.
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“If it’s growing the way that it has for the past week or so, we’re going to be in a dire situation in two, three, four weeks,” said Michael Hooker, vice president and chief medical officer for acute care at ThedaCare. “Yes, we saw this coming, but didn’t expect it to be quite so rapid.”
Read more here. —Associated Press
10:51 a.m.: What does a ‘K-shaped’ recovery look like? Christmas spending may expose deep economic inequity in US.
This Christmas will be one of exorbitant spending and lavish gifts for many American families. It’ll also be one of tight budgets and difficulty putting food on the table for many others.
That’s the effect of the pandemic recession, which is exacerbating inequalities between the rich and the poor.
High-paid U.S. workers are benefiting from a strong stock market and lower expenses, allowing them to save more money than ever — and spend more on holiday gifts. The less fortunate, meanwhile, are grappling with job losses, eviction and food insecurity. Known as the “K-shaped” recovery, the disparities will be on full display this holiday season.
Read more here. —Bloomberg News
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7:10 a.m.: Lightfoot to hold final online budget town hall with city officials
Mayor Lori Lightfoot and City Budget Director Susie Park were scheduled to hold a final online town hall Wednesday regarding Chicago’s 2021 budget.
The city is running an $800 million budget deficit for 2020 following tax shortfalls because of the coronavirus pandemic and facing a hole of about $1.2 billion for 2021.
Since late August, the city has held a series of online town halls and gathered more than 38,000 survey responses about residents' budget concerns and spending priorities, according to a news release from the mayor’s office. Wednesday evening’s town hall will be livestreamed on Facebook from 6-7 p.m.
Lightfoot is to detail more of her plans for the 2021 budget when she gives her annual budget address in mid-October.
—Chicago Tribune staff
6:46 a.m.: COVID-19 cases traced to adult volleyball games at Gages Lake restaurant
Almost 200 players and spectators were potentially exposed recently to COVID-19 during adult volleyball games at a Gages Lake restaurant and bar, with 14 testing positive for the virus as the result of an investigation by the Lake County Health Department.
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The health department began its investigation on Sept. 23 after investigators and contact tracers identified people who watched or played volleyball with symptoms of the coronavirus pandemic at Jesse Oaks Food & Drink, according to a department press release.
Dr. Sana Ahmed, the health department’s medical epidemiologist and an infectious disease physician, said Tuesday investigators and contact tracers contacted Jesse Oaks when they learned about the outbreak so they could identify as many people as possible who were exposed.
“This could potentially be a large outbreak,” said Ahmed, who estimated nearly 200 people were at risk of getting the virus. “We reached out to the establishment because we were concerned more people were exposed. We identified 14 who became infected.”
Ahmed said the preliminary investigation showed some confirmed cases were among spectators as well as athletes.
Read more here. —Steve Sadin
5 a.m.: ‘This is the future of our sport’: Athletes Unlimited, a venture that treats pro sports like a fantasy league, ends first softball season in Rosemont with plans to return
An intriguing professional sports experiment ended in Rosemont on Monday night when Team Osterman, a softball squad named after its captain, Olympic gold medalist Cat Osterman, won its final game.
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But victory wasn’t really the point. Points were the point.
The six-week league was launched by Athletes Unlimited, a fledgling outfit that treats professional sports like a fantasy league. Players receive points not just for winning games but for performing well individually.
Hit a single, get 10 points. Stretch it into a double, get 20. Knock it over the fence and receive a cool 40 points.
Pitchers, meanwhile, get 4 points for every out but have 10 points taken away for every earned run. Winning an inning yields 10 points for every member of the team. Winning the game brings 50. Earning one of three Most Valuable Player spots voted on by players and fans after each game is worth up to 60 points.
The season was set to start in August, right after National Pro Fastpitch and the 2020 Olympics concluded. But when both were shut down by COVID-19, Athletes Unlimited suddenly became the only place to play.
That drew a surge of big-name athletes, including Osterman, who had been planning to retire after the Olympics. But it also meant the league had to create its own version of a bubble — Athletes Unlimited calls it a “shield” — to keep players safe from the virus.
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Read more here. —John Keilman
5 a.m.: Carbondale Driver Service facility closed after employee tests positive for COVID-19
The Carbondale Driver Services facility has been temporarily closed after an employee tested positive for COVID-19.
A news release from the Illinois Secretary of State’s Office Monday said the facility will be closed until Oct. 9 and its employees are under quarantine after an order from the Franklin-Williamson Bi-County Health Department. Attempts to reach representatives from the health department were not successful Tuesday.
The release said there is not a direct impact on customers and that the facility is scheduled to be cleaned while closed. The release also reminded drivers that the Secretary of State’s Office has extended all expiration dates to Feb. 1, 2021, for driver’s licenses and ID cards. The release encouraged drivers to do basic things, like renewing a license or car registration, online at www.cyberdriveillinois.com.
For those needing in-person assistance, the release directed them to nearby facilities in Marion at 1905 Rendleman St.; in Anna at 101A Transcraft Drive; and in Benton at 812 N. Main St.
—The Southern, via Tribune Content Agency
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chicagotribune--2020-09-30--Chicago’s outdoor dining street closures to continue into the fall and winter. Here’s the schedule.

“ The patio has been great for us because we ’ ve kept our dining room closed the last six @ @ @ @ @ it was unsafe ( for employees ) , ” Sardharia said .
“ We had @ @ @ @ @ because we enjoy the outdoors , but I don ’ t want to keep my @ @ @ @ @ s 65 degrees and be responsible if they get sick .
I ’ m not @ @ @ @ @ our intentions are to re-open the dining room this weekend .
”

After a summer of street closures dedicated to outdoor dining that saw dozens of Chicago restaurants move tables and chairs into the roadways, rest easy knowing that cold weather won’t stand in the way. Some of the shutdowns will continue this fall, and some even into the winter.
The Chicago Department of Transportation, local chambers and officials are still working with restaurants to determine when street closures will end for each area, but for the time being, many permits will be extended as needed.
When the program was initially announced in June, it aimed to be a key strategy in boosting sales for local businesses and restaurants that were struggling as a result of the pandemic. The original pilot program included six areas, but after a successful initial weekend, it expanded to more than a dozen street closures, ranging from just the area in front of some restaurants to multiple city blocks.
Some areas, however, opted out of a full street closure, choosing to close down side streets, parking spaces or shared parking lots instead. Others opted out entirely, instead leaving it up to individual restaurants to apply for sidewalk cafe permits.
Results of the Winter Design Challenge, offered by the city as a way to help restaurants extend the outdoor dining season, have yet to be announced. That means many restaurants are taking matters into their own hands — some are considering opening their indoor dining rooms for the first time since the March shutdown in preparation for guests who no longer want to brave the elements for a meal.
The closure on Schubert Street in Lincoln Park has been a huge help in maintaining business for Faraz Sardharia, owner of Tandoor Char House. He plans on opening the restaurant’s indoor dining room on weekends as the weather turns because he doesn’t want to furlough his employees.
“The patio has been great for us because we’ve kept our dining room closed the last six months because we felt that it was unsafe (for employees),” Sardharia said. “We had a good time doing it because we enjoy the outdoors, but I don’t want to keep my employees outside if it’s 65 degrees and be responsible if they get sick. I’m not happy with that, so our intentions are to re-open the dining room this weekend.”
Yet others will continue to take advantage of the additional outdoor space in the streets.
Meetings between neighborhood officials and business owners are scheduled for this weekend with more in coming weeks, so to stay up to date on street closures in your area, be sure to visit the websites and social media pages of your local chambers of commerce or alderman’s office. There’s no central website to get this information, so we spoke to chambers of commerce or aldermen in each of these street closure areas to get specifics.
The current list of street closures are below.
Andersonville
Two sections of West Balmoral Avenue, one on each side of Clark Street, which remains open.
These two sections will be closed for as long as the city allows, according to business owners on the block, who are still finalizing their plans for the chillier weather. Look for heaters in the coming weeks.
Chatham
East 75th Street from Calumet Avenue to Indiana Avenue.
Although 75th itself won’t be closed, the parking spaces on 75th Street have been replaced by a boardwalk, which started Labor Day Weekend, and will run through Nov. 30 from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. every day. Special events during this time include Art Walk & High Tea on Oct. 3; “Thriller” Themed Halloween Celebration and Get Out The Vote on Oct. 31; Give Thanks with arts, crafts and storytelling on Nov. 14; and Shop Black/Shop Local for the holidays and Kwanzaa on Nov. 27. More information can be found at facebook.com/greaterchathaminitiative
Chinatown
Outdoor dining will continue at dozens of restaurants in Chinatown Square near Archer Avenue.
Only one additional restaurant outside of this area (Evergreen at 2411 S. Wentworth Ave.)
has outdoor dining.
Rogers Park
West Jarvis Avenue between Ashland Avenue and Greenview Avenue.
The closures will continue through Dec. 7 with a possible extension. For updates, follow Ald. Maria Hadden’s social media page or subscribe to her newsletter.
Edison Park
North Oliphant Avenue from Northwest Highway to the first alley.
Outdoor dining on this stretch will end Oct. 31.
Fulton River District
West Fulton Market from Halsted Street to North Carpenter Street.
This street closure will continue through the end of December, with the possibility of an extension. Visit wcachicago.org for updates.
Lakeview
North Southport Avenue from Waveland Avenue to Grace Street.
Although the street closures are continuing on a week-by-week basis, expect streets to be closed Fridays through Sundays until Oct. 26 as a part of Dine Out Lakeview.
Lakeview East
North Broadway from Belmont Avenue to Surf Street and North Sheffield Avenue from Belmont Avenue to School Street.
These two areas will both be closed Oct. 2-4 and Oct. 9-11 as part of the Lakeview East Dine Out program. To see a list of participating restaurants, visit lakevieweast.com/dineout. Call ahead because some restaurants require reservations.
Lincoln Park
West Schubert Street from Halsted Street to the alley east of Halsted Street.
This area will be closed through Nov. 8.
Little Italy
South Laflin Street from the alley north of Taylor Street to Taylor Street.
This closure will end Dec. 13, with the possibility of an extension. Visit wcachicago.org for updates.
Near North Side
North Clark Street from Grand Avenue to Kinzie Street.
This is a weeklong closure and details are still pending on when it will conclude.
River North
North Wells Street from Huron Street to Superior Street.
This closure is for weekends only. To stay up to date on any changes, sign up for the Ald. Brendan Reilly’s newsletter.
Roscoe Village
West Roscoe Street from Seeley Avenue to Damen Avenue.
This closure is for one weekend only for the Roscoe Street(ery) Oct. 2-4.
Rush & Division
North Rush Street from Oak Street to Cedar Street; East Bellevue Place from State Street to the first alley east of Rush Street; and West Division Street from Dearborn Street to State Street.
These closures are still going on seven days a week. Any changes will be announced via Ald. Brendan Reilly’s newsletter.
West Loop
West Randolph Street service lanes from the Interstate Highway 94 expressway to Carpenter Street.
This closure will end Dec. 13, with the possibility of an extension. Visit wcachicago.org for updates.
gwong@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-10-02--Daywatch: Trump tests positive for COVID-19, inside Democratic Speaker Michael Madigan’s job machine

Daywatch: Trump tests positive for COVID-19, inside Democratic Speaker Michael Madigan’s job machine and a guide to the Midwest’s fall foliage

Trump ’ s positive test comes just hours after the White House announced that senior aide Hope Hicks had come @ @ @ @ @ traveling with the president several times this week .
Trump was last seen by reporters @ @ @ @ @ on Thursday evening and looked to be in good health .
Trump is 74 years @ @ @ @ @ higher risk of serious complications from a virus that has now killed more than 205,000 @ @ @

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Good morning, Chicago. Late Thursday night, President Trump tweeted that he and Melania Trump tested positive for COVID-19. Earlier in the evening, Trump said that he and the First Lady were beginning the “quarantine process” as they awaited their test results after one of his closest aides, Hope Hicks, tested positive for coronavirus.
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In Illinois, public health officials on Thursday reported 2,166 newly diagnosed cases and 25 additional confirmed deaths of people with COVID-19. The positivity rate in Chicago has been increasing the last three days, and is now sitting at 4.6%.
Also, as we settle into the cooler weather, here’s the full schedule of Chicago’s outdoor dining street closures for fall and winter.
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Here’s more coronavirus news and other top stories you need to know to start your day.
President Donald Trump stands on stage with first lady Melania Trump after the first presidential debate with Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden on Sept. 29, 2020. (Julio Cortez/AP)
President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump have tested positive for the coronavirus, he said Friday. The positive test comes a month until the election and after the president has spent the year largely downplaying the threat of the virus.
Trump’s positive test comes just hours after the White House announced that senior aide Hope Hicks had come down with the virus after traveling with the president several times this week. Trump was last seen by reporters returning to the White House on Thursday evening and looked to be in good health. Trump is 74 years old, putting him at higher risk of serious complications from a virus that has now killed more than 205,000 people nationwide.
White House doctor says Trump will continue carrying out his duties ‘without disruption’ after contracting COVID-19
Live update all day here.
House Speaker Michael Madigan congratulates Gov. J.B. Pritzker after Pritzker's first budget address at the Illinois State Capitol in 2019. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)
Facing intense pressure from a federal investigation into ComEd’s bribes-for-favors scandal, Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan broke two months of near silence last week in a letter that proclaimed his innocence and tried to reframe his penchant for patronage hiring as a virtue.
What Madigan didn’t mention when discussing the numerous jobs he’s secured for people during more than 50 years in politics is how that practice has benefitted him and what it’s cost taxpayers and electricity ratepayers.
10 years of Madigan coverage: Read the Tribune’s investigations into Illinois' house speaker
Some mourned their closest loved ones. Others came to the aid of strangers. And some saw the pandemic upend their lives and dreams. Updating COVID-19 stories that touched readers. (Chicago Tribune staff and family photos)
Some of them fought the new coronavirus from hospital beds, others at makeshift testing sites. Some mourned their closest loved ones; others came to the aid of strangers. And some saw the pandemic upend their lives and dreams.
Six months into the greatest public health crisis in a century, how are they now faring? Here’s an update on six COVID-19 stories of loss, heroism and resilience.
The proposed site of a discharge pipeline into the Big Muddy River in Franklin County near West Frankfort, Illinois, photographed on Aug. 29, 2019. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)
Gov. J.B. Pritzker promises to move Illinois into a clean energy future. He pledges to make the state a leader in fighting climate change. But key decisions by the Chicago Democrat’s administration could ensure Illinois remains one of the nation’s biggest contributors of lung-damaging, climate-changing pollution for years to come.
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Fall colors at Sylvania Wilderness. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune)
Watching leaves turn color and drop from the trees may be one of the few activities this autumn you can do safely, without too many caveats. If you’re a nervous traveler but want to experience fall in all its colors, here’s a guide to view the Midwest’s foliage.


chicagotribune--2020-10-02--10 years of Madigan coverage: Read the Tribune’s investigations into Illinois' house speaker

The Tribune has spent the last decade chronicling how Madigan operates , including how he places allies in taxpayer-funded jobs @ @ @ @ @ people serve as foot soldiers on legislative campaigns that allow the speaker to stay in @ @ @ @ @ of the House is key to helping Madigan bring in clients at his lucrative property @ @ @ @ @

Democratic Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan has been under fire since a federal political corruption investigation into ComEd’s lobbying practices surfaced last year.
While the ComEd bribes-for-favors scandal represents the gravest threat Madigan has faced to his lengthy reign, it’s not the first time his government and political operation has come under public scrutiny.
[ Madigan says it’s not ‘ethically improper’ to find government jobs for people. Here’s what he’s failing to mention. ]
The Tribune has spent the last decade chronicling how Madigan operates, including how he places allies in taxpayer-funded jobs, how some of those people serve as foot soldiers on legislative campaigns that allow the speaker to stay in power, and how control of the House is key to helping Madigan bring in clients at his lucrative property tax appeals law firm.
Along the way, the speaker’s political operation also has been rocked by other scandals.


chicagotribune--2020-10-02--House Speaker Michael Madigan says it’s not ‘ethically improper’ to find government jobs for people.

House Speaker Michael Madigan says it’s not ‘ethically improper’ to find government jobs for people. Here’s what he’s failing to mention.

In addition , the Tribune in 2014 documented more than 400 current or retired state and local government employees who @ @ @ @ @ donated regularly to his campaign funds , registered voters for him or circulated candidate petitions @ @ @ @ @ investigation also found repeated instances in which Madigan took personal action to get them jobs @ @ @ @ @ From the ranks of those workers , Madigan built the most potent ground game in @ @ @ @ @ has used to influence elections in every corner of the state , especially state House @ @

Then-Speaker Michael Madigan works the floor as the Illinois House convenes at the Bank of Springfield Center on Jan. 8, 2021. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)
For years, Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan has defended his aggressive push to land political allies and their friends and family on taxpayer-funded payrolls, but rarely has he waxed as philosophically about it as he did last week in a three-page letter.
Facing intense pressure from a federal investigation into ComEd’s bribes-for-favors scandal and an invitation from a House corruption committee to tell the public what he knows, Madigan’s missive broke two months of near silence. The powerful speaker loudly proclaimed his innocence and tried to reframe his penchant for patronage hiring as a virtue.
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Not only is “helping people find jobs not a crime,” Madigan wrote, it’s not even “ethically improper” for politicians to make job recommendations.
“To the contrary, I believe that it is part of my duties as a community and political leader to help good people find work — from potential executives to college interns, and more,” wrote the 78-year-old Illinois Democratic Party chairman, alluding to some of the very jobs that prosecutors brought up in charging ComEd with crimes. “What an employer chooses to do with that recommendation rests solely with their discretion.”
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What Madigan didn’t mention when discussing the numerous jobs he’s secured for people during more than 50 years in politics is how that practice has benefited him and what it’s cost taxpayers and electricity ratepayers.
[ 10 years of Madigan coverage: Read the Tribune’s investigations into Illinois' house speaker ]
The Tribune has spent the last decade chronicling how it works: Patronage jobs are the lifeblood of Madigan’s political organization. And the people Madigan recommends be hired often serve as foot soldiers on the campaigns for the very legislative seats that allow the speaker to stay in power. In turn, that control of the House is key to helping Madigan bring in clients at his law firm, which handles high-dollar property tax appeals on some of Chicago’s biggest buildings.
Starting in 2010, the Tribune published the “The Madigan Rules," a first-of-its-kind, yearslong investigation that exposed how the speaker built his political empire and law practice, revealing how those two careers repeatedly intersected. The report found that in some cases Madigan took public actions that benefited his private clients, though the speaker said his “personal code of conduct" ensured he maintained "high ethical standards.”
In 2013, the legislature’s watchdog investigated Madigan’s role in a Metra scandal after the commuter rail agency’s then-executive director contended he was muscled out for not acceding to the speaker’s patronage demands.
More recently, Madigan even answered questions about patronage under oath in what he said was his first-ever deposition. During testimony as part of a lawsuit, Madigan made clear he knows the finer points of his vaunted patronage army.
Beyond that, the current ComEd probe has put under the spotlight another practice that’s gone on at the Capitol under Madigan: the cycle of House Democratic staffers and friendly lawmakers who leave and then land a hefty stable of lobbying clients in part based on their perceived access to the speaker. Those lobbyists often become part of a campaign fundraising network that provides money to help Madigan-backed candidates.
Though they’re not drawing a government salary, those lobbyists also contribute to the policies enacted in Springfield that affect the pockets of taxpayers.
The speaker has not been charged in the ComEd case. He has denied wrongdoing.
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“As I have said before, I have done nothing wrong,” Madigan wrote in his letter, which explained why he would not appear before the House panel looking at the ComEd scandal. “I believe that (the federal) investigation, once all of the facts are made available to the public, will demonstrate that I have not engaged in any improper conduct.”
Speaker’s playbook
While the ComEd investigation represents the gravest threat Madigan has faced to his reign, it’s not the first time his government and political operation has come under public scrutiny.
In its investigative series, the Tribune reported that public records showed Madigan’s law firm in 2008 represented 45 of the 150 most valuable downtown buildings ― more than twice what the closest rival represented. Some clients said it’s not that simple to separate the expert tax assistance the firm provides from the political reputation of the man whose name is on the door.
At that time, Madigan ally Joe Berrios sat in judgment over property tax appeals that Madigan’s firm filed. Berrios doubled as a state lobbyist, plying his trade inside a Capitol where Madigan held sway. In 2010, Madigan helped Berrios get elected county assessor, giving him power over how all property is valued for property tax purposes. Madigan’s firm did well on appeals when Berrios was assessor.
The Tribune also found Madigan took public actions that benefited his private clients. As a public official, he got a private road behind a shopping mall repaved, helped secure state funding for an expanded tollway interchange and intervened for a developer looking for state cash. In each case, Madigan was a private lawyer for businesspeople who stood to benefit.
Madigan said there were no conflicts of interest in the Tribune’s findings, which he described as “strained attempts to link my legislative actions to clients of the firm who might remotely and incidentally ‘benefit’ from such action.”
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In 2012, the Tribune reported on how a large operator of assisted living homes signed on with Madigan’s law firm and found itself with several Springfield wins. Nursing homes, pharmacies and other assisted living companies in recent years all have hired the property tax law firm where Madigan is the rainmaker-in-chief. As speaker, Madigan made decisions affecting the fortunes of many companies that put money in his pocket, the Tribune found.
Madigan said he abides by a written personal code of conduct to avoid conflicts on matters involving clients.
In addition, the Tribune in 2014 documented more than 400 current or retired state and local government employees who worked elections for Madigan, donated regularly to his campaign funds, registered voters for him or circulated candidate petitions on his behalf. The investigation also found repeated instances in which Madigan took personal action to get them jobs, promotions or raises. From the ranks of those workers, Madigan built the most potent ground game in Illinois politics, which he has used to influence elections in every corner of the state, especially state House races.
One of those political workers, Raymond Nice, had a six-figure job at the Cook County recorder of deeds office and later briefly was appointed to a county employee panel. More recently, prosecutors alleged that Nice was designated a subcontractor and had payments funneled to him through a ComEd lobbyist. Nice did little or no work, prosecutors said.
Metra scandal
That look at Madigan’s patronage army was spurred by a scandal at Metra over whether the speaker went a step too far in trying to exert his clout as he navigated the intersection of public business and ward-style patronage through his Chicago office and Illinois Capitol suite.
Metra CEO Alex Clifford contended his tenure was shortened because he didn’t bow to Madigan’s patronage demands. According to Clifford, the speaker wanted Metra to give a raise to a 13th Ward acolyte who was a labor relations specialist and secure a job for another person who was not identified.
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Clifford refused. In the end, he walked away with a severance package worth up to $871,000 — a controversy that ended up with public hearings.
“I thought it was an ethical and moral character flaw," Clifford testified about Madigan’s actions.
A secret 2014 watchdog report obtained by the Tribune concluded that “insufficient evidence” existed to say Madigan violated the state ethics act or other related laws in the Metra scandal.
But Thomas Homer, the legislative inspector general at the time, issued a statement noting that “a decision to close an investigation based on insufficient evidence does not constitute a Good Housekeeping seal of approval or a best practices award.”
Madigan, who requested the Metra investigation at the height of the scandal, was quoted in the report as speaking highly of one operative the speaker backed for a promotion.
“You can understand that there are many people that are involved with me and campaigns and community service. Among these many people, some are better than others. (He) happens to be one of those who is better than others," the speaker is said to have told Homer.
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The report also highlighted how Metra’s then-board chair once entered Madigan’s Capitol office to talk about government issues and left with a yellow Post-it note bearing the names of two workers the speaker wanted to see promoted — moves the board chair later told the Tribune she didn’t make.
And the report outlined how Clifford recalled a similar meeting in which a then-Metra lobbyist with strong Madigan ties was spotted carrying two resumes out of Madigan’s office.
In his report, Homer wrote that the proximity of Madigan’s discussions first about government issues and then shifting to his favored employees “created the impression among Metra officials that the speaker’s support for Metra’s legislative initiatives may be linked.”
“While this may not have been the speaker’s intention,” Homer wrote, “the natural inferences to be drawn by Metra officials should have been obvious.”
ComEd probe
Long ago, Madigan learned the ways of Chicago-style patronage under his mentor the late Mayor Richard J. Daley. Since then, Madigan has made so many inroads that at least one pocket of government has earned a nickname in his honor.
At the city’s Streets and Sanitation Department’s bureau of electricity, Madigan enjoyed such success in placing people that the agency became known as “Madigan Electric.”
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That nickname has taken on a different context as the speaker has been linked to the ComEd scandal.
State Rep. Deanne Mazzochi, R-Elmhurst, questions David Glockner, an Exelon executive vice president, during a House Special Investigating Committee hearing in Springfield on Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2020. (Ted Schurter/The State Journal-Register)
ComEd has admitted in federal court that it sought to influence legislation in Springfield by arranging for jobs and vendor subcontracts for Madigan’s political allies, approved lobbyists and ward operatives even in instances where they performed little or no work.
For instance, ComEd allegedly agreed in May 2018 to pay $5,000 a month to retiring 23rd Ward Ald. Mike Zalewski, an ally from Madigan’s Southwest Side sphere of political influence, as part of a “roster” of Madigan associates.
Former Ald. Frank Olivo, who represented Madigan’s 13th Ward power base for years, is among those identified as getting a ComEd subcontract.
Victor Reyes, the speaker’s onetime ally, a former political operative for Mayor Richard M. Daley and founder of the now-defunct patronage army the Hispanic Democratic Organization, is in a law firm identified as receiving ComEd legal contracts. The deal was set to shrink, but Reyes talked to a Madigan ally to try to save it from the chopping block, according to federal court records and testimony from a ComEd official.
One 2019 meeting involving ComEd officials described matter-of-factly how Madigan had named people for decades to hold lower-ranking power company jobs, such as meter readers ― what one speaker ally called part of an “old-fashioned patronage system,” according to federal authorities.
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As part of an agreement with prosecutors, ComEd is paying a $200 million fine, the largest ever at Chicago’s federal courthouse. In exchange, federal authorities will drop a charge of bribery against ComEd after three years if the power company cooperates.
The federal filings on ComEd also include allegations of Madigan clout involving an individual who was well-versed in the speaker’s ways.
Juan Ochoa, the former head of the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority, told the Tribune for a 2014 story that Madigan called him to request a raise for the daughter of a former state senator who once represented Madigan’s Southwest Side neighborhood. Ochoa said the daughter was a hard worker who deserved a raise, and she got it after Madigan’s call.
“I didn’t feel like he was putting a gun to me but, then again, he is the speaker of the House,” Ochoa explained at the time. “This was someone who is important to the speaker of the House, who to a great extent controlled our legislation and funding.”
These days, federal prosecutors have alleged that in 2017, Madigan sought to appoint Ochoa to ComEd’s board of directors.
The request was made by longtime ComEd lobbyist and Madigan confidant Michael McClain to then-ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore, prosecutors said.
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Pramaggiore received internal company resistance and asked McClain if Madigan would be satisfied if she secured a $78,000 part-time job for Ochoa rather than the board seat, but McClain said the speaker would appreciate if she’d “keep pressing,” according to court documents.
Around September 2018, having been elevated to an executive post with Exelon, Pramaggiore allegedly reassured McClain: “You take good care of me and so does our friend (meaning Madigan), and I will do the best that I can to, to take care of you.”
Ochoa was appointed in April 2019, but he is no longer on ComEd’s board.
Madigan’s ties to the ComEd scandal were on display on two fronts this week.
In Chicago, former ComEd executive Fidel Marquez, who oversaw lobbying efforts, pleaded guilty to bribery conspiracy for participating in a long-running jobs scheme designed to influence Madigan’s legislative decisions.
In Springfield, Democrats and Republicans in the House debated whether the speaker conducted himself in a manner unbecoming of a lawmaker. The proceedings were part of an evenly split Special Investigative Committee, one that the nation’s longest-serving legislative leader dismisses as a Republican “stunt” to get free media coverage before the November election.
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Democrats rejected Republican attempts to subpoena Madigan, Marquez and a lineup of the speaker’s associates who allegedly benefited from jobs and contracts.
Madigan’s letter to the committee loomed large at a hearing, where House Republican leader Jim Durkin maintained Democrats would have to disregard ComEd’s admissions to believe the speaker “didn’t know what was going on around him.”
In his letter, though, Madigan maintained that ComEd’s agreement with federal prosecutors “does not attribute any misconduct to me. It asserts that certain individuals at ComEd hired individuals I purportedly recommended in an attempt to influence me. But let be me clear: that attempt was never made known to me — if it had been, it would have been profoundly unwelcome.”
Under oath
What does Madigan look for when he makes a job recommendation?
A Madigan deposition the Tribune first disclosed last year gave a few clues. He acknowledged giving recommendations on behalf of a number of members of his 13th Ward organization for government jobs, ranging from the offices of Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White to Cook County’s circuit court clerk.
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Madigan knew the whereabouts of his troops so well that when he was asked about a policy analyst at City Hall, the speaker recalled that person, a member of his ward organization, had switched over to a job at a different government agency.
“I recommended him to the (Chicago Housing Authority),” Madigan testified.
And he was hired, an attorney asked? “He was hired.”
Madigan also had a recommendation to replace the retiring Zalewski in the neighboring 23rd Ward seat when the alderman left the City Council: state Rep. Silvana Tabares.
Who did you talk to, the speaker was asked?
“Rahm Emanuel,” Madigan said.
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The then-mayor appointed Tabares to the seat.
At another point, Madigan was pressed on whether it is his standard practice to recommend precinct captains for positions in various levels of government.
“You can understand that many people come to me asking for recommendations for employment, and I render recommendations for employment in both the private and the public sector. I do it in both. But there’s a test that people have to meet,” he replied.
“They have to be, to my knowledge, they have to be honest, hardworking people with integrity. And if they are, I’ll recommend to a potential employer the best of my knowledge and my experience with this person, this would be a good worker for your office, a good worker for your business whatever it may be.”
rlong@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-10-02--Gov. J.B. Pritzker vows to fight climate change with clean energy. Only three other states mined mor

Gov. J.B. Pritzker vows to fight climate change with clean energy. Only three other states mined more climate-changing coal than Illinois last year.

Megan Beeler , an elected official from coal country , said state leaders have so far done little to help @ @ @ @ @ .
Some former miners have moved away or found other work , she said , @ @ @ @ @ retraining programs is dimmed by the steep drop in state tax collections during the COVID-19 @ @

The proposed site of a discharge pipeline into the Big Muddy River in Franklin County near West Frankfort, Illinois, photographed on Aug. 29, 2019. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)
Gov. J.B. Pritzker promises to move Illinois into a clean energy future. He pledges to make the state a leader in fighting climate change.
But key decisions by the Chicago Democrat’s administration could ensure Illinois remains one of the nation’s biggest contributors of lung-damaging, climate-changing pollution for years to come.
Illinois already is a major supplier of coal, the chief source of heat-trapping gases warming the planet. After Pritzker took office in early 2019, his administration began clearing the way for a new coal mine, despite a sharp fall in demand for the fossil fuel as electric utilities shift to cheaper, cleaner sources of energy.
Pritzker appointees also tentatively approved a 12-mile pipeline that every day would dump millions of gallons of toxic waste into a Mississippi River tributary, making it easier for a recently bankrupt company to continue digging coal out of the state’s second-largest mine.
Birds fly over the Foresight Energy’s Pond Creek mine in Williamson County, Illinois. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)
The governor’s aides said their reviews of the projects are far from over. “We don’t agree that the administration’s decisions are locking Illinois into a coal-dependent future,” Jordan Abudayyeh, Pritzker’s spokeswoman, said in an email response to questions from the Chicago Tribune.
Abudayyeh said the governor made his intentions clear with a list of principles for a clean-energy future. But Pritzker’s “Putting Customers & Climate First” agenda does not address the impacts of coal mining.
State support for coal companies reflects the lingering clout of a once-dominant industry in Illinois, where the southern, coal-rich portion of the state is closer to the Deep South than Chicago and is still tied politically to a bygone era.
Four years after President Donald Trump vowed he would save the industry, coal is expected to provide less than a fifth of the nation’s electricity this year, down from more than half a decade ago. Industry giants — once regulars on the Fortune 500 list of profitable companies — are closing mines, shedding jobs and seeking bankruptcy protection from creditors.
“I’m hard-pressed to think of any state or analyst upbeat about the future of coal,” said Barry Rabe, a professor of public policy at the University of Michigan. “Increasingly, the discussion is about how we can navigate a just, humane transition.”
Climate promises, coal policies
Coal mines keep being approved even as the damage to public health and the environment becomes more widely understood.
During 2019 alone, companies that burned Illinois coal released more than 82 million tons of heat-trapping carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, according to a formula developed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The staggering amount of climate-changing pollution is equivalent to more than three years of emissions from the 4.6 million automobiles registered in Illinois.
Eight underground coal mines operating in Illinois also pollute rivers and streams. Two are on the EPA’s watchlist of major Clean Water Act offenders, federal records show; four others have violated limits on toxic metals and chemicals dumped into waterways this year.
What makes the disconnect more jarring between Pritzker’s climate promises and his coal policies: The state’s highly automated, non-union mines employ fewer workers every year. Most of what is dug out of the ground ends up in other states and countries.
Illinois mine employment peaked in 1930, when more than 51,000 workers extracted nearly 52 million tons of coal. The workforce has been declining ever since.
By the end of 2019, federal records show, the number of miners in the state had dropped to fewer than 3,000. Yet only Wyoming, West Virginia and Pennsylvania mined more coal last year than the 45 million tons from Illinois.
Production dipped only slightly in recent years while overseas markets dried up and domestic customers switched to cleaner-burning, less-expensive natural gas and pollution-free wind power.
Squeezed by rivals and faced with legal pressure from environmental groups, energy companies announced the retirement of 322 coal-fired power plants across the nation during the past decade, including nine during the past year in Illinois, according to a list compiled by the nonprofit Sierra Club.
Many of the remaining coal plants operate far less frequently than they once did.
“All of these coal companies can’t survive in a rational economic climate,” said Seth Feaster, an analyst with the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, a nonprofit group that tracks the transition from fossil fuels. “Sooner rather than later there will be no place for their coal to go.”
The coronavirus pandemic is another setback. Between January and June, federal records show, Illinois coal mines cut more than 900 jobs.
What’s left of coal-fired electric generation in Illinois is fueled mostly by out-of-state suppliers. During the early 1990s, the state’s utilities decided it was less expensive to comply with the federal Clean Air Act by switching to low-sulfur Wyoming coal instead of installing pollution-control equipment to scrub high-sulfur Illinois coal.
But Illinois coal has a lasting effect on global climate wherever it is burned. It also is a major source of lung-damaging pollution that triggers respiratory ailments and contributes to heart disease close and far away from coal-fired power plants and factories.
“If you are going to align your state’s energy policies with your climate and health goals, you have to do something about coal mining,” said Bruce Nilles, executive director of the nonprofit Climate Imperative project and former leader of the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal campaign.
Seeking permits
Based on his public statements, Pritzker is one of several Democratic governors mindful that if climate change is left unchecked, surges of extreme heat, wildfires, drought, flooding and rising seas could kill millions of people and devastate the global economy.
Pritzker and the other governors vow their states will rely solely on carbon-free electricity or become carbon-neutral by 2050. They contend their plans will help heal the planet while creating thousands of jobs to manufacture, build and maintain wind turbines, solar panels and other sources of renewable energy.
"We’re already experiencing the damaging effects of climate change, and the challenges we face require immediate action,” Pritzker said shortly after taking office.
Two months ago the governor outlined his principles to accelerate what so far has been a slow but steady shift to clean energy. “By working together," he said, "we can build on that progress to protect consumers and the climate.”
During his 2018 campaign, Pritzker promised Illinois would reduce climate pollution on par with the Paris Agreement, a global treaty Trump withdrew from at the urging of fossil fuel executives. Candidate Pritzker also lambasted the industry-friendly record of his Republican opponent, then-Gov. Bruce Rauner, whose 2015 inauguration was bankrolled in part by one of the state’s coal magnates.
As governor, Pritzker officially joined states and cities on record saying they will comply with the climate accord. He followed up by extending lifelines to some of the same coal executives who backed Rauner, including Robert F. Murray, a major Trump fundraiser who spearheaded the Republican president’s rollbacks of clean air and water regulations.
Foresight Energy, a company Murray controlled until last month, wants to build a pipeline for contaminated water seeping into its Pond Creek mine in Williamson County, about 300 miles south of Chicago. The pipeline would empty into the Big Muddy River, a major regional waterway still impaired by pollution from earlier mining operations.
In July 2019, the Illinois EPA tentatively approved one of at least three permits Foresight needs before construction can begin. The Illinois Department of Natural Resources awarded another permit in January.
Speaking at December hearing, an Illinois EPA official said it is “just not economical” for the company to filter toxic chemicals in its wastewater.
Foresight and its parent company, Murray Energy, declared bankruptcy during the past year. The restructured companies are severing their affiliation, though both will continue to be led by Robert F. Murray’s nephew, according to court documents.
Neither company returned calls and emails from the Chicago Tribune. During the Illinois EPA hearing, a Foresight executive said the pipeline is needed to keep workers safe during the projected 50-year life of the Pond Creek mine.
“The economic boost that this mining operation provides to southern Illinois is very, very significant,” said Clayton Cross, the company’s engineering director.
Another company is planning a new coal mine in Vermilion County. The proposed Bulldog Mine stalled during Rauner’s four years in office but secured its mining permit after Pritzker became governor.
Pritzker aides noted that Sunrise Coal needs other permits before mining could begin. It is unclear if Sunrise will follow through on its plans after the Illinois EPA required the Indiana-based company to reapply for permission to pollute nearby streams.
Sunrise did not respond to questions from the Tribune, but an industry trade group said coal is still needed to generate electricity.
“If the state wishes to increase its reliance on more renewable energy resources, coal will be a vital support system to maintain grid reliability during such a transition,” Nick Williams, president of the Illinois Coal Association, said in an email. “In a shrinking market, the low-cost provider will prevail."
'Some really unique areas’
Industry backers note that coal played a key role in the development of Illinois after statehood in 1818, with mines eventually developed in 76 of the 102 counties.
The state also was a battleground in the fight for unions to protect workers. Mother Jones, the firebrand organizer, is buried in Mount Olive next to union miners slain during one of the most violent labor disputes. Farther south, 19 strikebreakers, three union miners and a company executive were killed during the Herrin Massacre, a series of gunfights and extrajudicial executions recalled later by the historian Paul Angle in his book “Bloody Williamson.”
Today none of the state’s miners belong to a union. With fewer people working in the industry, Wall Street-financed corporations can’t depend on the same level of public support they enjoyed when union miners held many of the jobs in southern Illinois.
Foresight Energy’s Pond Creek mine in Williamson County. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)
People living today in Illinois counties with coal mines are more likely to work in health care, state employment data shows. Other top employers include Southern Illinois University and state prisons.
Natives, transplants and tourists are drawn to the region’s lakes and forested sandstone canyons for hiking, hunting and fishing. In letters to state officials and comments during public hearings, outdoor enthusiasts said the temporary promise of jobs isn’t worth the scars left by coal mining.
“Local folks down here ... are bothered by this,” John Jackson of the Shawnee chapter of the Illinois Audubon Society said during one of the pipeline hearings. “The Big Muddy passes through some really unique areas, areas you don’t have in Springfield or anywhere else in the state.”
Tenney Naumer, a Marion accountant whose family has lived in the area for more than a century, pressed state officials to acknowledge they did not consider Foresight’s financial condition while reviewing permits needed before the pipeline can be built.
Naumer noted the company’s own records show it failed to make a profit during each of the past five years and was removed from the New York Stock Exchange before declaring bankruptcy.
“They’re going belly up,” Naumer said. “What are they going to do when it’s cleanup time? How are they going to pay for that?”
Gamble pays off
As recently as 2017, politicians, analysts and journalists hailed Foresight as a rare bright spot in a dwindling industry.
Founded by a third-generation West Virginia miner named Chris Cline, Foresight bought the rights to dormant coal reserves in four southern Illinois counties during the mid-2000s. Cline announced his arrival with more than $3 million in campaign contributions spread among Illinois politicians, including some who also worked at state agencies overseeing coal mines.
Cline bet he could sell Illinois coal to power plant owners in the U.S., China and Europe for less than what competitors in Wyoming and Appalachia charged. Foresight’s mines cut costs by relying on longwall mining, a process that uses robotic equipment to shear massive swaths of coal from underground seams.
Wall Street investors plowed millions into the company and encouraged Cline to take Foresight public in 2014.
Cline’s gamble paid off, making him a billionaire and one of the wealthiest Americans. Before he died in a helicopter crash last year, he bought private jets, islands in the Bahamas and a pair of luxury yachts he dubbed “Mine Games.” He dated former model Elin Nordegren, the ex-wife of golfer Tiger Woods, and donated millions of dollars to West Virginia universities.
Some of the costs of Cline’s success are documented in the files of financial, environmental and workplace safety regulators:
Five of the 16 Illinois miners killed on the job since 2008 worked at Foresight’s Sugar Camp mine in Franklin County. The injury rate at Sugar Camp exceeded the national average at times during the past decade and met criteria for more stringent monitoring by the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration.
Unable to extinguish a fire at its Deer Run mine in Montgomery County, Foresight idled operations for more than four years. The company later won approval for a new underground portal and resumed production last year.
The U.S. EPA’s compliance tracker shows all four of the company’s mines have exceeded limits on pollution dumped into nearby waterways.
Farmland above the mines is contaminated by runoff from waste piles and slurry lagoons. In public financial documents, the company acknowledges that portions of privately owned land have sunk after miners pulled equipment out of underground chambers and allowed them to collapse, an intended feature of longwall mining.
Less than a year after he turned Foresight into a publicly traded company, Cline sold a majority stake to Murray, an Ohio coal baron behind multiple lawsuits seeking to overturn environmental and safety regulations.
Navigating the transition
The handful of Illinois mines still operating generally pay well compared with other nearby employers. They also pay taxes that support local schools and government services.
In Springfield and Washington, industry supporters continue to propose legislation that would require the use of coal to generate electricity, weaken renewable energy mandates and eliminate environmental protections.
Other options are in the works from Pritzker, environmental groups and labor unions. While the plans are still in draft form, they call for a sustained push toward cleaner energy and include programs to prepare fossil fuel workers for renewable energy jobs.
Megan Beeler, an elected official from coal country, said state leaders have so far done little to help local communities navigate the transition. Some former miners have moved away or found other work, she said, lamenting the promise of robust retraining programs is dimmed by the steep drop in state tax collections during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This is something we’ve been dealing with for at least 40 years,” Beeler, the longtime chair of the Montgomery County finance committee, said in an interview. “Even if you mine coal during the day, you probably farm at night or work another job. We know all too well that coal isn’t forever.”
mhawthorne@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-10-02--Column: The year of voting nervously, very, very nervously

“ I am so paranoid , ” said another , “ that not only am I voting early , in @ @ @ @ @ ’ t want to vote too early in case something happens to Joe Biden and @ @ @ @ @ vote available for someone else .
Isn ’ t that nuts ?
But I can @ @ @ @ @ I feel like the one thing I can control about this whole mess is my @ @ @ @ @ it to count .
”

My 2020 presidential ballot came in the mail last week. I plucked it from the mailbox and held it nervously, the way you might hold a fragile heirloom or a baby or a bomb. So much power in such a small package. Handle with care.
For the next few days, I left the envelope unopened on the dining table. I’d glance at it every now and then, each time with a pang of elation and anxiety. I’ve never voted by mail, and it felt weird to have a ballot so far in advance of Election Day. I’ve always liked the communal ritual of the voting booth on deadline, saying hello to the poll workers, leaving with my little “I Voted” ticket.
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But this year, in the midst of pandemic fears, I requested a mail ballot as soon as I could. By the time the ballot arrived, however, the world had changed, and I’d changed my mind. I wanted to vote in person.
Apparently a lot of people share that change of heart, so many that voting officials are worried that the polls will be swamped. The reason for the change? We’re nervous.
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Even if you haven’t fallen for the current president’s lies and threats about voting — his baseless conspiracy theories about massive mail fraud and rigged elections, on and on — it’s hard to escape the uneasiness he has planted about the process.
That uneasiness is why a lot of people I know are choosing to walk their absentee ballots to a polling place or a drop-off box, even if they still believe, as I do, that the Postal Service can handle the ballots.
“Just to be on the safe side,” one friend said after voting in person.
Another reported dropping off her ballot at a polling place and feeling as emotional as a parent dropping off a kid at college. “Ain’t nobody suppressing this girl’s vote,” she declared.
“I am so paranoid,” said another, “that not only am I voting early, in person, but I don’t want to vote too early in case something happens to Joe Biden and I need to have my vote available for someone else. Isn’t that nuts? But I can’t help it. I feel like the one thing I can control about this whole mess is my vote. And I want it to count.”
[ Where to securely drop off your mail-in ballot in Chicago and the suburbs ]
For all of my lifetime, until now, it was possible to acknowledge the profound failures of the American system while still believing we lived in a democracy, a country in which liberty and justice were a shared goal, if not a shared reality.
From childhood we learned that the United States was the country that helped other countries fight fascism. Now we face our own slide toward fascism — this is not an exaggeration — and there are no countries to come to our rescue. In countries where ours was once envied and admired, we’re now pitied and mocked.
It’s up to us to save ourselves. And the way we do that is to vote, even though many of us are more nervous about voting than ever before.
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We’re nervous because this vote will dramatically change the course of history, ours and the world’s. We’re nervous because our current president has undermined faith in the voting process, going so far as to insinuate that no matter the vote, he’ll declare it illegitimate unless he wins.
But nervousness is also motivation. You could see the motivation at work Thursday in Chicago, when early voting opened at the Loop Super Site, and people lined up at 6 a.m., two and a half hours before the doors opened. In suburban locations where early voting started last week, there have been times when hundreds of people stood in line.
On Thursday, I finally opened my ballot. I spread the pages out on the table. Carefully read the instructions, as nervous as a student studying for an exam. I plan to fill it out in a few days, and when the polling place near my house opens for early voting on Oct. 14, I plan to walk it to a drop-off box there.
A while after I opened my ballot, a press release popped into my email with a subject line that said “Detox from 2020.” It went on to promote “free flights and a beach vacay,” which sounded pleasant.
But the best way to detox from 2020?
Vote. Vote early if you can. In person or by mail. Vote for the candidate who believes in democracy, and who will help preserve it so that we’ll live to vote again.
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mschmich@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-10-02--Loss, heroism and hope: Catching up with Chicagoans whose lives were forever changed by COVID-19

Just two weeks before the decision , Rau won gold at the Pan American Games in Canada , a victory @ @ @ @ @ send a Greco-Roman wrestler in his 87-kg weight class to Tokyo , where the opening @ @ @ @ @ July 24 .
It was a crucial , emotional win for Rau , the Chicago @ @ @ @ @ trials in 2016 but did not compete in Rio because the American team had not @ @ @ @ @ .

Stacy St. Clair, Christy Gutowski, Karen Ann Cullotta, Susan Berger

Sabine Gonzalez, foreground, makes enchiladas with her sister Samantha, 22, and parents, Maria and Roberto, on Sept. 29, 2020, in their Glendale Heights home. Both Gonzalez daughters are members of the Illinois National Guard. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)
Some of them fought the new coronavirus from hospital beds, others at makeshift testing sites.
Some mourned their closest loved ones; others came to the aid of strangers.
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And some saw the pandemic upend their lives and dreams.
Six months into the greatest public health crisis in a century, how are they now faring? Here’s an update on six COVID-19 stories of loss, heroism and resilience.
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An Illinois Guard member staffed the state’s first test site. While on the front line, she lost her grandmother to COVID-19.
Army Pfc. Sabine Gonzalez’s life changed dramatically in mid-March when she answered the call, quite literally, to help the Illinois National Guard establish the state’s first coronavirus testing site.
Then 18 years old, the college student became one of the first — and one of the last — Illinois Guard members to serve as part of the state’s COVID-19 response, waging a war unlike any other the military has ever seen. The Tribune chronicled Gonzalez’s first few days at the testing site on Chicago’s Far Northwest Side, the only facility within city limits at the time dedicated to testing first responders and health care workers.
Army Pfc. Sabine Gonzalez helps operate the state's first coronavirus testing center, for first-responders, in March. She later lost her grandmother to COVID-19. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)
“I joined the National Guard so I could help wherever I was needed,” Gonzalez said at the time. “I figured it would be in another state or somewhere I’ve never been. But this is my home, and I’m able to do something to directly help my friends and neighbors.”
Troops conducted about 233,000 tests during the first four months of the pandemic before private contractors took over at state-run sites in July. Though the median deployment time was about 45 days, many voluntarily extended their service. About 150 soldiers spent more than 100 days at testing sites, and Gonzalez was one of them.
She made the decision to stay for the mission’s duration on June 16, the day her grandmother, Lupe Rios, died from the coronavirus.
“It was a very difficult time for me and my whole family,” she said. “But the mission gave me a chance to help save someone else’s grandmother, so I wanted to stick with it until the end.”
Rios, a doting grandmother who enjoyed cooking for her family and rarely offered a harsh word, had worried endlessly about her granddaughter’s safety during her pandemic deployment. She called Gonzalez often during the early weeks of her mission with reminders to be safe and, alternately, promises that everything would be fine.
Gonzalez believes those repeated assurances were meant to comfort grandmother and granddaughter equally.
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On the day of her grandmother’s death, Gonzalez’s commanding officer gave her the day off from the testing site, where troops took up to 750 tests a day. She spent it in her hotel room, calling relatives to share stories about her grandmother and marvel at what a kind, positive force Rios had been in all their lives. Everyone told Gonzalez that she had inherited Rios' smile, a compliment she proudly accepted.
The following day, Gonzalez was back at the testing site, helping patients — many of whom had fevers and awful-sounding coughs — fill out their paperwork.
“My responsibilities took on a whole new meaning that day,” she said. “I knew exactly why I was needed for this mission.”
After the Guard concluded its work in mid-July, Gonzalez returned home to Glendale Heights and resumed her job at a local sporting goods store. She is taking classes at College of DuPage again this semester and is working toward a degree in criminal justice. Because of her military service, she is eligible for grants that will help pay for college.
She is expected to be promoted to specialist later this year, and she is contemplating switching to full-time active duty. It’s a testament, she said, to the profound impact her pandemic mission had on her life.
“The experience changed me,” she said. “It showed me that a group of people can come together and really make a positive difference in this world.” — Stacy St. Clair
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The struggle to move forward after losing her husband and both parents: ‘As much as I’m suffering, I know I’m not the only one'
Some mornings, in her first waking moments, Mayra Velazquez imagines hearing her father making breakfast in the kitchen.
Later in the day, she instinctively thinks to call her mother to see if she should stop at the store on her way home from work. And she still catches herself glancing out the window, expecting to see her husband’s truck pulling up in time for dinner.
Saul and Mayra Velazquez take a selfie from the front seat of a car. In the back seat are Mayra’s parents, Maria and Francisco Gomez. Mayra's father, mother and husband died weeks apart in May of complications related to COVID-19. (Family photo)
The moments are fleeting before the 38-year-old Hanover Park woman is jolted back into a harsh reality that all three are gone, casualties of a pandemic that took a devastating toll on her family.
It has been about four months since her father, mother and husband died weeks apart of complications related to COVID-19. Velazquez said her feelings of emptiness, loneliness and longing for the life she once had are often overwhelming. It is getting harder, not easier, despite what well-intentioned friends keep telling her.
Still, she said her faith in God and the support her family has received from friends, co-workers, neighbors — even strangers who reached out after hearing about her family’s tragedy — have sustained her through unimaginable grief.
“It’s like a roller coaster,” she said. “Sometimes when I’m talking to my sisters, we remember certain things and are able to laugh, and then there’s days when I’m more emotional and all I can do is cry.”
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Her father, Francisco Gomez, 81, was the first to die on May 2. Her husband, Saul, 39, died May 12. And her mother, Maria, 78, hung on for nearly two more weeks, but the family’s hopes were dashed May 23 when she, too, succumbed to the virus.
Velazquez said the family has not pinpointed how it all began. In a cruel twist, it was their closeness that perhaps made them more susceptible. She and her husband lived with her parents and two siblings. She said they followed strict safety precautions, but the fast-spreading virus proved inescapable.
Her large family has not yet gathered to console one another for fear of losing another loved one. But this month, before the ground freezes, relatives are meeting in a northwest suburban cemetery to bury their loved ones' ashes and officially say goodbye.
Velazquez said she is not sure if the intimate service will provide a sense of closure. For now, she keeps her anxiety at bay by focusing on one day at a time, reading the Bible and praying. She tries to be strong, recalling the strength she saw her parents and husband display during times of adversity. She hopes to make them proud.
“They would want me to be strong and to be there for my family,” she said. “They have been there for me through my good and bad times, and I want to be there for them and all the people who have supported me and stood by me.”
The older couple married in Mexico, then immigrated to find better opportunities. Francisco Gomez often worked two jobs to support his family. Maria Gomez worked in the home, raising eight children. Velazquez met her husband through friends two decades ago. Their friendship grew into love, and the couple celebrated their 13th anniversary one month before he became sick.
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Despite all that she has lost, Velazquez said she is thankful to be alive. She asked the public to continue to follow safety protocols because each death “is someone’s family member.” She fears people are letting their guard down as the pandemic continues.
“I know as much as I’m suffering, I’m not the only one,” she said through tears. “And I pray whoever is going through this, they will also find the strength to move forward.” — Christy Gutowski
Couple whose daughters arrived from college just before they became gravely ill have both survived. ‘You can recover, and it’s incredible for people to hear that.’
As the COVID-19 pandemic unleashed its wrath last March, Nancy Frohman and her husband, David Boden, landed in the intensive-care unit at a suburban hospital, hooked up to ventilators and fighting for their lives.
With the couple both unconscious and unable to receive visitors, the couple’s two college-aged daughters found themselves running the household and taking on the role of patient advocates, making urgent decisions on behalf of their critically ill parents.
David Boden and Nancy Frohman, flanked by their daughters Alexa, left, and Mariel Boden, both became seriously ill with COVID-19 and were placed on ventilators. Their daughters managed their care. The couple survived. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)
Since the Tribune wrote about the family’s COVID-19 odyssey, both Frohman and Boden survived their bouts with COVID-19 and have been reunited with their daughters at their Vernon Hills home. They couple said they’re grateful to their health care providers and hopeful others will remain vigilant about preventing the spread of the deadly virus.
“It’s such an important time to tell people this is real, take it seriously and wear your masks,” Frohman said during a break from her job as an administrator at a nonprofit.
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“The positive to all of this is the amazing support we’ve gotten from the community, which is beyond belief,” Frohman said. “So many people we talk to say, ‘If it happened to you, it can happen to anyone.’ But we’re also their silver lining, that you can recover from COVID, and it’s incredible for people to hear that.”
It all began shortly after the couple’s daughters, Mariel and Alexa Boden, learned their universities were shutting down due to the coronavirus.
Their mutual disappointment that they would have to finish the spring semester from home was replaced within days by fear and worry, after both of their parents — who’d initially assumed they were battling nasty sinus infections — were hospitalized in critical condition.
Despite the couple both being healthy and active prior to contracting COVID, Frohman said it’s miraculous that she and her husband, an IT sales representative, have both now returned to working from home. So far they are facing only a few lingering health issues; Frohman has a strained vocal cord, and her husband, who suffered a stroke while hospitalized, has some residual vision challenges.
The couple’s homecoming happened after spending five weeks hospitalized at Condell, followed by weeks of intensive rehabilitation therapy at a suburban care facility.
“When we were finally able to be wheeled out of our rooms, we had not seen each other for two months, so it was quite an emotional experience,” Frohman said.
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David Boden also spent three weeks in therapy at Chicago’s Shirley Ryan Ability Lab, where he relearned to walk, gradually moving from a walker to crutches and now relying only occasionally on a cane.
A lifelong musician who plays in local rock bands, Boden has also resumed playing the guitar, his wife said.
“What’s really amazing is our doctors have told us that it does not appear that we have permanent damage to our lungs, heart and other organs, especially as so many patients don’t walk back from this,” Frohman said.
As for their daughters, Frohman said Mariel is looking forward to starting graduate school in London later this year, and Alexa is busy completing her online college coursework for the fall semester.
Frohman said she knows her daughters are looking forward to the day when they can leave the nest and resume their studies in person. But she said having the close-knit family back together again has in many ways been an unexpected gift.
“We realize as a family that these are precious moments, and we don’t usually have this ability to spend so much time together,” Frohman said. “We’re just so proud of our girls. ... You can’t prepare your children for everything that will happen in life, and all you can hope for is that they will be resilient, and our daughters did it in spades.” — Karen Ann Cullotta
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Chicago news anchor Kathy Brock’s parents both landed in the ICU. Her father’s recovery is beyond what ‘we dreamed about.’
Frank Brock spent 53 days in the hospital fighting COVID-19 and was placed on a ventilator. During that time, Carol, his wife of 65 years, succumbed to the virus.
In April, when the Tribune wrote about the Brocks — the parents of longtime former Chicago TV news anchor Kathy Brock — Frank was still in an intensive care unit in his home state of Washington.
He survived, but the ensuing months have been “really difficult.”
“Losing my wife was really difficult. And (the recovery has) been a slow process,” he told the Tribune.
Kathy Brock, longtime former WLS-Ch. 7 news anchor in Chicago, from left, with her parents Carol and Frank Brock. Carol died of the coronavirus on April 5, but her husband has returned home after 53 days in the hospital. (Family photo)
The couple, who shared a birthday and turned 87 last November, were still working their farm and were rarely apart after more than 70 years together.
“It took a pandemic to separate them,” Kathy Brock told the Tribune shortly after her mother died on April 5.
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Due to COVID-19, the family has not yet held a memorial for Carol Brock. They hope to install a headstone and celebrate her life on the one-year anniversary of her death.
“This is a big, unresolved ache we all have,” Kathy Brock said.
Frank Brock still lives in the same house where the couple raised their family, walks about a mile and half each day, and is driving. He had 24-hour care when he first returned home from the hospital but has reduced that to eight hours a day and says he doesn’t think he really needs the caregiver now.
“The fact that he has come back in the way that he has isn’t even something we dreamed about happening,” Kathy Brock said. “He got really good care, is a fighter and pushed through all the obstacles he was facing.”
Kathy Brock said it’s been hard for her dad — not only dealing with his own recovery but also adjusting to life without her mom. She said her dad remains active, but it’s hard when activities and visits with friends are limited because of the pandemic.
Frank Brock is immensely proud of his daughter, whom he described as a “very hard worker.”
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As for the pandemic, Frank Brock said, “It’s one of those things I will be glad when we are on the other side of. I feel sorry for people who were hit so hard.” — Susan Berger, freelance reporter
Lessons from the coronavirus hospital ward in a ravaged neighborhood: ‘We’re not there yet, but we’ve come a long way'
As COVID-19 ravaged Chicago’s Austin neighborhood, Dr. Simone Liverpool bore witness to virus' often-unbeatable strength.
“People don’t understand how sick the patients are and how rapidly they can decline,” Liverpool told the Tribune in April. “They don’t see what we see every day. It has always been a difficult job, but our burden is now tenfold.”
Dr. Simone Liverpool has been treating COVID-19 patients at Loretto Hospital on the Far West Side since the early days of the pandemic. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)
After six exhausting months, Liverpool, who works in the COVID-19 ward at Loretto Hospital on the city’s Far West Side, sees a reason for hope.
On the day she first spoke to the Tribune, her 12-bed ward had 15 positive patients in need of acute care. Within 45 minutes of arriving at work, she had intubated one patient and made plans for another to begin kidney dialysis.
Working in an underserved community hit hard by the coronavirus, Dr. Simone Liverpool said she sees both hopeful and troubling signs in the pandemic's progression and the response to it.
Flash forward to the end of September, when Loretto’s coronavirus ward held only two patients and neither required a ventilator to breathe. With both patients stable, Liverpool was able to sit down for a few minutes in the middle of her 12-hour shift, a short break that still felt like an indulgence after those grueling early months.
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She credits the medical community’s better understanding of the virus for the drop in both hospitalization and death rates. While the virus' many unknowns made the illness tougher to treat initially, Loretto, like many other hospitals, has seen good results from the medications remdesivir and dexamethasone in recent months, Liverpool said.
“They’ve been helpful measures to shorten the course of the coronavirus, but they’re not a cure or a guaranteed treatment,” she said. “We’re not there yet, but we’ve come a long way.”
The safety-net hospital — which provides medical treatment regardless of a patient’s ability to pay — also has significantly shortened the amount of time it takes to receive COVID-19 test results. In April, it took patients a week to get them back. Now it’s about three days, Liverpool said.
Any progress, however, comes after an extremely painful period for Austin residents. The neighborhood’s main ZIP code has the third-highest death rate in the city, with nearly 2 out of every 1,000 residents killed by the virus, according to data maintained by the Chicago Public Health Department. The neighborhood death rate is nearly twice that of the city, a reflection of the deadly consequences that underserved Black communities have endured for generations.
As the virus laid those racial inequities bare, Liverpool believed the undeniable truth would lead to real change in how society cares for its most vulnerable populations. But after the plans to close Mercy Hospital & Medical Center — a safety-net hospital in Bronzeville — were announced this summer, the doctor is no longer confident about public health care reform.
“Health care workers have always known about the disparity, but now everyone is aware of it unless they have closed their eyes,” she said. “The policymakers know now, too, but they don’t seem to be learning.” — Stacy St. Clair
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Despite setbacks, wrestler Joe Rau is still prospecting for Olympic gold: ‘You just have to accept what’s going on and do your best'
Olympic hopeful Joe Rau had been on the cusp of realizing a lifelong dream. Then the pandemic hit.
In late March, then-Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and the International Olympic Committee reached an agreement to delay the Summer Games until 2021. The move marked the first time since World War II that a global crisis prevented the event from opening.
Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 15 Greco-Roman wrestler Joe Rau goes for a run with his then-girlfriend, Astrid De Leeuw, in March in Des Plaines. Rau was favored to make the U.S. team for the Tokyo Olympics (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)
Just two weeks before the decision, Rau won gold at the Pan American Games in Canada, a victory that ensured the U.S. could send a Greco-Roman wrestler in his 87-kg weight class to Tokyo, where the opening ceremony had been scheduled for July 24. It was a crucial, emotional win for Rau, the Chicago native who won the Olympic trials in 2016 but did not compete in Rio because the American team had not qualified in his weight class.
“I was expecting this to happen. You could see it coming,” Rau told the Tribune after the Games were postponed. “I’m just relieved there is a decision and I can start figuring out what my next steps are going to be.”
The relief was short-lived.
In the six months that followed, Rau lost his job, gained about 25 pounds and struggled to find a place where he could train with other wrestlers. With his first national tournament in nearly seven months scheduled for later this month, he has lost the extra weight and is just now regaining his rhythm.
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“I’ve definitely gotten really frustrated with some things, but I’ve got to remember everyone is going through it,” Rau said. “You just have to accept what’s going on and do your best.”
Shortly after the Olympics were postponed, Rau learned his contract with the Chicago Regional Training Center would not be renewed because of a pandemic-related drop in sponsorship money. With the Olympics still a year away, he lost both his monthly stipend and his access to Northwestern University’s wrestling facilities.
Olympic hopeful Joe Rau and Astrid De Leeuw married in July in front of just a few of his family members, due to the pandemic. (Family photo)
Rau contemplated moving out of state before signing in May with the Champaign-based Illinois Regional Training Center. The team typically trains at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, but the school’s COVID-19 restrictions prevent the group from using campus facilities.
The team — which did not start group training until June in accordance with Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s stay-home order — now works out at a private wrestling gym a few miles away. Housed in shed-like building, the facility is smaller than the ones where world-class wrestlers typically train, and the mats are a bit more slippery than those used for international competition, but Rau says he’s grateful for the opportunity to simply wrestle again.
“I’ve got it a lot better than some other guys,” he said. “Some guys are still looking for places to train.”
And there’s more good news.
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When Rau won the Pan American Championships in March, he secured the United States a spot in 87-kg weight class in Tokyo and earned himself an automatic berth in the best-of-three finals at the U.S. Olympic trials. Both qualifications will still be honored in 2021, making the potential path to his first Olympic Games slightly easier.
He also got married to his girlfriend, Astrid De Leeuw, who was visiting Chicago from Belgium when the pandemic hit and spent the next six months quarantined in the United States. The couple wed on Cape Cod, with only Rau’s parents and brothers in attendance. De Leeuw’s parents could not travel to the U.S. for the wedding, so they watched via a livestream.
“We’re making the most of this crazy time,” he said. — Stacy St. Clair