chicagotribune--2020-05-12--Coronavirus in Illinois updates: Officials report record-high 4,014 new known cases as state conduct

Coronavirus in Illinois updates: Officials report record-high 4,014 new known cases as state conducts largest number of tests in 24-hour period with nearly 30,000

“ I realize that the players have the right to haggle over their salaries , but we do live in @ @ @ @ @ know , the people of Illinois , the people of the United States deserve to @ @ @ @ @ to watch anyway , on television , ” Pritzker said .
“ I , you @ @ @ @ @ re able to come up with safety precautions as has been suggested by Major League @ @ @ @ @ hope that the players will understand that the people of our United States need them @ @ @ @ @ ( an ) important part of the kind of leisure time that all of us @ @ @ @ @ summer — to watch them play baseball to root for our favorite teams .
We @ @ @ @ @ normalcy back , and hope they ’ ll be reasonable .
”

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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)
Illinois officials on Tuesday announced 4,014 new known cases of the coronavirus, the most in a single-day since the pandemic began. In all, there have been 83,021 known cases statewide.
The spike in new confirmed cases was accompanied by the largest number of COVID-19 tests conducted across the state in a 24 hour period. The 29,266 tests reported Tuesday topped Friday’s previous high of 20,671.
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The state also announced 144 additional fatalities, tying the second-highest daily total reported so far. That brings the overall death toll to 3,601 since the pandemic began.
[ COVID-19 cases in Illinois by ZIP code: Search for your neighborhood ]
[ How will Illinois reopen? Three charts breaking down Pritzker’s plan ]
[ As the coronavirus spreads, the Tribune is tracking Illinois cases here ]
Here’s what happened May 12 with COVID-19 in the Chicago area and Illinois:
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6:33 p.m.: Potbelly warns it could close 100 stores as COVID-19 causes sales drop
Potbelly is considering permanently closing 100 stores after sales tanked as stay-at-home orders took hold.
The Chicago-based sandwich chain, which had been in the midst of a turnaround when the coronavirus pandemic struck, saw sales at stores open at least 15 months drop 68% in March, the company said Tuesday in releasing its first quarter earnings.
The quarter had been looking good before that, with sales up 2.5% for the first 10 weeks of the year, and the company had hoped to report its first positive sales at comparable stores in more than three years. Instead, it ended the quarter down 10%.
Revenues overall fell 11% to $87.6 million and the company reported an adjusted net loss of $7.7 million for the quarter.
Potbelly came under fire when it was approved for $10 million in funding from the federal Paycheck Protection Program meant for small business. Under public pressure, it returned the money.
The company, which has about 470 restaurants, has slashed costs to try to weather the sales hit. It furloughed a third of its corporate employees, cut salaries for executives and corporate employees by 25% and temporarily closed 36 company-operated restaurants. Read more here. —Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz
6:10 p.m.: Report: Structural racism responsible for high rate of COVID-19 deaths among African Americans
Long-established elements of structural racism, from substandard housing to mass incarceration to limited job opportunities, are responsible for the disproportionate toll COVID-19 is taking on African Americans in Chicago and elsewhere, a new paper from the Chicago Urban League argues.
The paper, released Tuesday, notes that black residents account for 30% of Chicago’s population but 54% of the city’s coronavirus deaths. Similar lopsided figures can be seen in Milwaukee, St. Louis, Washington, D.C., New Orleans and other cities.
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“How can we live in the wealthiest country in the world and have such stark inequities?” said report co-author Kathie Kane-Willis. “It’s just not right.”
The report says African Americans are more likely than other races to be infected by the virus because of larger structural forces, starting with job opportunities. Black people represent an outsize portion of employees who work in jobs that heighten their risk of exposure, from bus drivers to nursing aides to mail sorters, and are less likely to be able to work from home.
Black people are also more likely to live in overcrowded conditions, in households with older family members who are more vulnerable to the virus, or in homeless shelters, nursing homes or jails, the report says.
“Jails and prisons have a steady influx of people into and out of the facilities," the paper says. “It is a daily, constant churn of new detainees, staff and volunteers, and contracted workers all entering into the facilities from the community. The buildings themselves are often overcrowded, or structured in such a way that people spend time double or triple-bunked, or sleeping in dormitory-style housing.”
Once infected, the paper says, African Americans are more likely to die from COVID-19 than people of other races because of other factors grounded in discrimination, from a lack of access to health care to segregated neighborhoods where airborne pollutants and lead levels are especially high. Read more here. —John Keilman
4:45 p.m.: With MLB considering pandemic-shortened season, Pritzker says people ‘deserve to get their pastime back’
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker was asked Tuesday about Major League Baseball’s possible pandemic-shortened season starting later this summer and the potential it could be delayed by negotiations between players and team owners.
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“I realize that the players have the right to haggle over their salaries, but we do live in a moment where, you know, the people of Illinois, the people of the United States deserve to get their pastime back, to watch anyway, on television,” Pritzker said. “I, you know, if they’re able to come up with safety precautions as has been suggested by Major League Baseball that works, I hope that the players will understand that the people of our United States need them to recognize that this is (an) important part of the kind of leisure time that all of us want to have during the summer — to watch them play baseball to root for our favorite teams. We need that back, that normalcy back, and hope they’ll be reasonable.”
Pritzker, a billionaire, also said he was “disappointed in many ways that players are, you know, holding out for, you know, these very, very high salaries and payments, during a time when I think everybody is sacrificing.” —Chicago Tribune staff
4:24 p.m.: Nigerian immigrant working as CNA dies of COVID-19 months before becoming nurse, citizen
Nearly five years after emigrating from Nigeria, Ijeoma Afuke was within reach of realizing two major goals.
The certified nursing assistant was studying to become a nurse in the United States. Afuke’s exam was scheduled in June.
She also had completed the requirements to become a United States citizen and had an important interview in April that was postponed due to the emergence of the coronavirus.
Before she could reschedule it, the 35-year-old Chicago woman became another casualty working on the pandemic’s front line in the health care sector.
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Afuke died April 29 at Stroger Hospital of pneumonia related to a COVID-19 infection. She did not have a serious underlying medical condition that made her more vulnerable to the virus, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.
Her husband, JJ Afuke, said he believes Ijeoma contracted the virus while working for MADO Healthcare in Chicago’s Uptown neighborhood. The nursing facility had an outbreak of 50 confirmed cases among residents and staff and three deaths as of Friday, state public health officials said, citing the most current information available. Read more here. —Christy Gutowski
4:17 p.m.: Applying for unemployment benefits for the first time? Here are 7 things you need to know.
Millions of Americans are learning a new skill this spring — how to file for unemployment insurance.
The coronavirus pandemic has resulted in job losses, both temporary and permanent. Nationally, the U.S. unemployment rate hit 14.7% in April, the highest rate since the Great Depression.
The Illinois Department of Employment Security has been swamped with unemployment claims, and many residents have reported problems filing for benefits. Here are some things to know if you’re filing for jobless benefits. —Mary Wisniewski
4:07 p.m.: Morton Arboretum to reopen for members June 1
The last of Chicago’s major nature parks to close because of coronavirus, Morton Arboretum, is also the first to announce its reopening.
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Beginning June 1, the expansive collection of pathways, trails and roads through cultivated forests in west suburban Lisle will begin allowing members back onto its grounds, Morton said Tuesday afternoon.
Calling it a phased reopening, the arboretum plans to welcome only members through June 14, with nonmembers allowed in from the 15th on. Visitors must reserve a timed-entry pass in advance, social distancing rules will be observed, and all buildings, including indoor restrooms, and the Children’s Garden and Maze Garden will remain closed. Read more here. —Steve Johnson
3:27 p.m.: Hyatt to cut 350 workers in Chicago as part of wider layoffs prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic
Hyatt Hotels Corp. will begin laying off some 1,300 of its corporate employees around the world next month, including about 350 people in Chicago.
The cuts represent roughly a third of the staff at its Chicago headquarters, a Hyatt spokesperson said Tuesday.
The wave of pink slips are another result of the pandemic that’s ground travel to a halt, decimated demand for hotel rooms and rocketed the U.S. unemployment rate to a Depression-era level of 14.7%.
Hyatt had looked to save money by making cuts to executive salaries and reducing other corporate employees’ pay and work schedules, but the hotel chain said these moves haven’t been enough to see the company through this “unprecedented challenge.” Read more here. —Lori Rackl
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3:15 p.m.: Illinois attorney who filed lawsuits against Pritzker for stay-at-home order now working with dozens of businesses that have reopened, filing suit for others
After pouring time and money into his biker bar, Poopy’s, for 24 years, Kevin Promenschenkel faced a coronavirus reckoning: If he wasn’t able to reopen for his annual Memorial Day concert and summer kickoff, his business would not survive.
So the western Illinois bar owner hired lawyer Tom DeVore to file a lawsuit on his behalf Monday against Gov. J. B. Pritzker because of the executive order he signed, effectively shuttering some nonessential businesses starting March 21.
The St. Louis-area lawyer has become the go-to guy for businesses in the south and west parts of the state chafing at the stay-at-home rules. He also filed suits on behalf of a hairdresser and two Republican elected officials, and is representing about 80 other small businesses.
When he hasn’t filed suit, DeVore has written letters notifying local authorities that each of the businesses intended to reopen despite the stay-at-home-order. Most of the businesses that don’t require special state licenses have already re-opened, seemingly daring local or state officials to do something about it. Read more here. —Katherine Rosenberg-Douglas
3 p.m.: Pritzker says General Assembly ‘must convene’
After leaving a return to Springfield in the hands of legislative leaders for weeks, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Tuesday that the General Assembly “must convene so that we can begin to put our financial and economic house back in order.”
“Even as we battle this terrible virus, the General Assembly needs to pass a comprehensive plan to support families, small businesses and small towns,” Pritzker said.
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Republican leaders in the legislature have been calling for weeks for lawmakers to reconvene in Springfield, but House Speaker Michael Madigan and Senate President Don Harmon have been noncommittal.
Pritzker said he’s spoken with all four legislative leaders and encouraged them to reconvene.
“I think it would be best if they could get together before the end of May so that we can get the very necessary things done like our budget,” the governor said.
Lawmakers have a May 31 deadline to pass a state spending plan for the budget year that begins July 1. After that, approval requires a supermajority in each chamber. —Dan Petrella
2:40 p.m.: State working to give Illinois hospitals cash infusions amid coronavirus struggles
Illinois hospitals will get $75 million in new money, and the state is hoping to send them another $250 million a year in Medicaid funding amid financial pressures related to the coronavirus.
It’s cash that could help hospitals, many of which have furloughed workers and made other cuts in recent weeks as they struggle with the costs of caring for COVID-19 patients, cancellations of elective surgeries, and seeing fewer non-virus patients.
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The $75 million in government money is meant to help hospitals continue to provide COVID-19 services in their communities, and started going out in April, according to the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services.
And the state has asked the federal government for approval of a separate plan that would add nearly $250 million to the state’s hospital assessment program, through which hospitals receive much of their Medicaid money. Medicaid is a state and federally funded health insurance program that serves people with low incomes and disabilities, among others.
Under the assessment program, hospitals contribute money into a fund, which receives a federal match. The money is then redistributed to hospitals based on a complex formula. Read more here. —Lisa Schencker
2:35 p.m.: Officials report 4,014 new cases and 144 more deaths
Officials on Tuesday reported 4,014 new known cases of COVID-19, the highest daily total since the outbreak began, as well as an additional 144 deaths. That brings the statewide total to 83,021 known cases, as well as a death toll totaling 3,601.
1:40 p.m.: As families denied stimulus checks because of mixed immigration status turn to federal courts, Rep. Jesus ‘Chuy’ Garcia asks Congress to change the provision
Illinois lawmakers are urging Congress to roll back a part of the federal relief package that denies financial assistance to U.S. citizens married to immigrant spouses.
U.S. Rep. Jesus ‘Chuy’ Garcia, D-Illinois, called on the U.S. House to “rectify these inequities in the coming days" at a news conference Tuesday.
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There are more than 3,700 Illinois families who did not get stimulus checks due to the immigration status of a spouse, Garcia said.
“Imagine being denied financial stimulus assistance simply because of the status of your spouse. Imagine U.S. children denied of assistance because their parents are undocumented,” Garcia said.
Several individuals married to immigrant spouses, including one in Illinois, have filed lawsuits against President Donald Trump claiming it is unconstitutional for the federal government to exclude them from any financial assistance because of who they married.
On April 24, an Illinois man under the pseudonym John Doe filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois against President Trump, Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, alleging a provision of the coronavirus relief package denying $1,200 stimulus checks to Americans married to immigrants without Social Security numbers is discriminatory. Read more here. —Abdel Jimenez
12:50 p.m.: United Airlines will give passengers worried about COVID-19 on packed flights a chance to rebook
United Airlines said it will give passengers on crowded flights a chance to rebook before they fly after some travelers were surprised by fuller-than-expected planes, raising concerns about a lack of social distancing.
Starting next week, United said it will try to contact travelers 24 hours in advance if a flight appears to be nearly full so they can switch to a different flight or take a travel credit. The option will also be available at the gate if more than 70% of passengers have checked in.
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It’s easy to understand why travelers would expect plenty of empty seats. The number of travelers going through airport security screening is down more than 90% compared with last year, according to the Transportation Security Administration. United said 85% of its flights are less than half full.
But airlines have also dramatically cut the number of flights they operate, meaning some can still fill up. Read more here. —Lauren Zumbach
11:50 a.m.: Businessman Willie Wilson threatens lawsuit to force Illinois to pay for face coverings under Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s order
Businessman Willie Wilson is threatening to sue the state of Illinois unless Gov. J.B. Pritzker sets aside money to help poor people buy masks to wear in public places during the COVID-19 outbreak.
Pritzker issued an executive order this month requiring people in stores and other public places where they can’t socially distance to wear some kind of face covering.
While the governor’s order said coverings could be fashioned from pieces of cloth or shirts, Wilson in a letter to the governor argued people may not be able to do that, and said “scientific studies suggest that T-shirts, bandanas, scarves, and tea towels offer insufficient protection from the virus.”
“People should have the very best masks,” Wilson said Tuesday. “Poor people aren’t going to have masks. They’re going to try to go into stores and be put out because of that.”
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If the governor doesn’t amend his order by Thursday to help fund the purchase of masks, Wilson said he would sue in federal court “to compel you to include provisions for the indigent and vulnerable."
Pritzker’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Read more here. — John Byrne
11:30 a.m.: Mayor Lori Lightfoot says city will ‘take action’ if defiant churches hold in-person services despite stay-at-home orders
Potentially setting up a Sunday confrontation with defiant church leaders, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said the city is prepared to enforce stay-at-home orders against houses of worship that continue holding in-person services.
Lightfoot made the comments at a Tuesday news conference where she was asked about church leaders vowing to continue holding religious services despite social distancing requirements. Previously, the mayor criticized the services as putting people at risk but said she preferred to do educational outreach.
Now, however, Lightfoot said the city will take some unspecified action to enforce the stay-at-home orders.
“We’re going to be communicating over and over again over the course of this week. I understand that people are getting anxious. But defying common sense and public health guidance only puts their congregations at physical risk," Lightfoot said. “We don’t want to see a cluster break out because faith leaders believe they have only one way of showing their reverence to the God that they worship. The Bible tells us, where two or more are gathered in my name, there will I be also. There’s lots of ways in which we show our devotion to our faith that don’t include physically putting people at risk.”
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She added: "We’re going to continue to have that discussion but, if necessary, we are going to take action to make sure there is compliance to the stay-at-home orders.” Read more here. — Gregory Pratt
10:55 a.m.: As MLB considers a pandemic-shortened season, Mayor Lori Lightfoot says she doesn’t think Chicago will be ready for large crowds by July
Mayor Lori Lightfoot said she doesn’t believe Chicago will be ready for “large crowds in a ballfield” by July and said any plan to start the professional baseball season must be done in consultation with local cities.
Lightfoot made the comments Tuesday when asked about a plan advanced by Major League Baseball owners to the players union that could lead to the coronavirus-delayed season starting around the Fourth of July weekend in ballparks without fans.“
From the Chicago perspective, we need to make sure that can be done safely,” Lightfoot said. “I can’t predict where we’re going to be in July. I think there’s got to be a lot of coordination and conversation from MLB, the local teams, with their relevant city and health departments. I’m not going to support something that puts people at risk and I certainly don’t think we’re going to be ready in July for having large crowds in a ballfield.”
Still, Lightfoot said, the city can consider the possibility if it can be done safely.Under the owners’ plan, spring training could start in early to mid-June, a person familiar with the decision told The Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because details of the plan were not announced. Read more here. — Gregory Pratt
10:30 a.m.: Sheriff Tom Dart appealing judge’s order on social distancing, other measures at Cook County Jail
Sheriff Tom Dart accused lawyers for Cook County Jail detainees in a court filing Monday of playing a game of “constitutional whack-a-mole” over the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, saying he’s appealing a federal judge’s order dictating social distancing and other protocols at the sprawling Southwest Side facility.
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Last month, U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly issued a preliminary injunction mandating specific measures to battle the spread of coronavirus at the jail, including additional testing, social distancing, and banning double-inmate cells and group housing in most cases. The judge denied other relief sought by the plaintiffs, including ordering the release of medically vulnerable detainees due to the pandemic.
The ruling came as part of an ongoing lawsuit filed by the Loevy and Loevy law firm and the MacArthur Justice Center at Northwestern University alleging Dart has failed to stop a “rapidly unfolding public health disaster” at the jail, which has been identified as one of the nations’ leading hot spots for coronavirus infections.
In a 29-page brief filed late Monday, lawyers for the sheriff fired back at continued efforts by plaintiffs’ attorneys to seek the release of detainees, accusing them of using the pandemic to push a “decarceration” agenda that is disrupting efforts to keep inmates and staff safe.
The filing also alleged that the plaintiffs have shifted their demands so many times, “it is what the sheriff can only characterize as constitutional whack-a-mole.” Read more here. –Jason Meisner
9:25 a.m.: Expo Chicago art fair at Navy Pier moves to next spring
Claiming a new date on the American visual arts calendar, Expo Chicago, the big fall art fair on Navy Pier, is being postponed until next spring, the organization announced Tuesday.
The announcement of April 8-11, 2021, as the event’s next dates reflects an increasing understanding that the traditional late September long weekend was not going to fall early enough in the expected coronavirus recovery cycle, said Expo Chicago President and Director Tony Karman.
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A month ago, Karman still hoped that the 8-year-old event, which brings together galleries, collectors, curators and other art lovers, could take place on the planned September 24-27, 2020, dates. Read more here. -Steve Johnson
6:50 a.m.: Chicago to require food-delivery apps to disclose costs
Chicago next week will start requiring third-party food delivery apps to disclose the details of costs to consumers after use of the apps has exploded during the coronavirus and the costs have drawn scrutiny because of restaurant complaints.
The city says the rules being released Tuesday are the first in the country to require the apps, such as GrubHub, UberEats, Postmates and DoorDash, to give customers a detailed breakdown of transactions. All receipts will have to include items such as the menu price of food, taxes, delivery charge, tip and any commission or service fee a restaurant pays, according to a news release.
The app companies have come under fire from restaurants since the beginning of COVID-19-related lockdowns as restaurants struggle to stay in business on the strength of their takeout and delivery orders alone. Recently, a viral Facebook post of a GrubHub receipt for a restaurant that earned $376.54 on bills to customers of $1,042.63 drew new scrutiny for the app.
“These new rules will be in place permanently and apply to all websites, mobile applications or other internet services that offer or arrange the sale of food or beverages by a restaurant, bar or other food-serving establishments,” according to the release.
The requirements, being put in place by the city’s Business Affairs and Consumer Protection Department, “will provide customers with the details they need to make fully-informed purchasing decisions,” according to the release.
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The rules were set to go into effect May 22, according to the city. — Chicago Tribune staff
6 a.m.: A summer without swimming? Pools could be ‘one of the last places’ to reopen as coronavirus restrictions begin to ease
It could be a summer without swimming in Illinois, as park districts and private clubs try to determine if and when it’s safe to open pools.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s five-phase plan to reopen the state touches on health clubs and outdoor activities, but there is currently no specific guidance available for opening pools.
“I suspect that pools are going to be one of the last places that are going to be allowed to be open,” University of Chicago chief epidemiologist Dr. Emily Landon said.
There is no evidence that COVID-19 can spread through water in pools, hot tubs or water parks, and “proper operation and disinfection” of such facilities “should” kill the coronavirus, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s website.
“I mean, (pool disinfection is) meant to kill a lot of things that are significantly hardier, in the microbiologic world, than coronavirus,” Landon said.
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Still, that doesn’t change the fact that it’s nearly impossible to social distance in a public pool, she said. Read more here. — Sophie Sherry
6 a.m.: Advocates say dog scams are on the rise as people seek puppies during the pandemic
A Mokena family out $250 after trying to buy a puppy from an online seller reported their situation to the Better Business Bureau, which says such scams are on the rise as homebound people look for companionship from new pets while stuck at home because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Nationwide, the BBB received 371 complaints about dog scams in April, up from 118 during the same month last year, said Steve Baker, a St. Louis-based investigator for the consumer group and former head of the Midwest region of the Federal Trade Commission.
While pet rip-offs existed well before the pandemic, they are among the various scams — from fake tests and cures to bogus government aid — that authorities and consumer groups have warned about as fraudsters seek to exploit people’s fears and needs during the crisis. As of mid-April, the FTC had taken 18,235 reports of COVID-19-related scams of all types nationwide, according to the agency. Read more here. — Dan Hinkel
Breaking coronavirus news Stay up to date with the latest information on coronavirus with our breaking news alerts.
May 11
Here are five things that happened Monday that you need to know:


chicagotribune--2020-05-12--Gov. J.B. Pritzker calls on legislature to ‘act expeditiously’ on coronavirus relief package as stat

Gov. J.B. Pritzker calls on legislature to ‘act expeditiously’ on coronavirus relief package as state reports record 4,000 new cases

“ The state already provides a lot of support for cities and counties .
And so , I would just @ @ @ @ @ of enforcement mechanisms that are available to us and I don ’ t want to @ @ @ @ @ ve asked people to do the right thing .
And I want to point out @ @ @ @ @ in Illinois have been doing the right thing , ” he said .

Dan Petrella, Rick Pearson, Lisa Schencker, Jamie Munks

House Speaker Michael Madigan, left, stands with Senate President Don Harmon while Gov. J.B. Pritzker delivers his first State of the State speech before a joint session of the Illinois House and Senate at the State Capitol in Springfield on Jan. 29, 2020. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)
On the same day Illinois reported a record number of coronavirus tests and new cases, Gov. J.B. Pritzker urged state lawmakers to “act expeditiously” on a relief package for families, small businesses and communities across the state, but stopped short of using his power to call them back to Springfield for a special session.
For weeks, the first-term Democrat has said it’s up to legislative leaders to decide when lawmakers should go back to the Capitol, even as leaders in the Republican minorities urged Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan and Senate President Don Harmon to reconvene the General Assembly for the first time since mid-March.
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But on Tuesday, Pritzker said legislators should come back before the end of May to address a state spending plan for the budget year that begins July 1 and to approve aid for those suffering the economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The legislature must convene so that we can begin to put our financial and economic house back in order, even as we battle this terrible virus,” Pritzker said during a videoconference from his Gold Coast home, where he is isolating after a staffer tested positive for COVID-19. “The General Assembly needs to pass a comprehensive plan to support families, small businesses and small towns.”
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The package should include rental assistance for families and small businesses, mortgage relief for homeowners and businesses, and grants, loans and tax credits to aid businesses affected by the coronavirus and his statewide stay-at-home order, Pritzker said.
“And we must pass a law to distribute funds to small cities and towns to support their need to fund first responders and basic services that could fall apart from COVID-related revenue losses,” he said.
Pritzker’s call for the state to provide more coronavirus relief comes as he faces continued pockets of resistance to his stay-at-home order and his five-phase reopening plan, particularly in central and southern Illinois. The governor suggested he may withhold federal funds from communities that buck his orders.
Exactly how the state will pay for an aid package while facing billions of dollars in lost revenue itself remains unclear, and Pritzker declined to put a price tag on his proposal. He said that will ultimately depend, at least in part, on whether the federal government approves another stimulus package that includes funding to help states offset shortfalls in income and sales tax revenue.
Pritzker laid out his agenda for lawmakers as state health officials announced 4,014 new known cases of the coronavirus, the most in a single day since the pandemic began.
The spike in new confirmed cases was accompanied by the largest number of COVID-19 tests reported across the state in a 24-hour period. The 29,266 tests reported Tuesday topped the previous high of 20,671 last Friday.
The previous high for new cases in a single day was 3,137, reported on May 1. In all, there have been 83,021 known cases of the virus in 98 of the state’s 102 counties.
The state also announced 144 additional fatalities Tuesday, matching the second-highest daily total reported so far. That brings the overall death toll to 3,601 since the pandemic began.
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In a statement last week, Madigan cited ongoing concerns about the safety of lawmakers and staff in a statement responding to GOP calls for the legislature to reconvene. “We need to ensure the health and safety of members, staff and the general public is considered at all times when thinking about a return to Springfield,” Madigan’s statement said.
On Tuesday, spokesman Steve Brown said nothing had changed.
“The governor’s thoughts are always welcome and appreciated,” Brown said.
A spokesman for Harmon said that “like the governor, the Senate is eager to provide relief for families and small businesses hit by this pandemic.”
“We are reviewing recommendations for action as the Senate president wants to make sure senators return to a crystal-clear legislative agenda and a plan to minimize the health and safety risks to everyone working at the Capitol,” Harmon spokesman John Patterson said in a statement.
While there are health concerns associated with gathering 177 lawmakers and their staffs, the Illinois Department of Public Health has issued guidance to legislative leaders on steps they could take to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Those measures include limiting access to the statehouse to legislators and key staff and requiring temperature checks to enter the building.
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The governor has the power to call lawmakers into special session, but Pritzker said he doesn’t plan to exercise that authority.
“Just because you call them into special session does not mean they will show up,” he said. “And they have to have confidence in the plan for showing up, and that means the leadership, both Republican and Democratic, need to agree to a plan that’s been approved by the Department of Public Health.”
Pritzker’s call for a COVID-19 relief package is an acknowledgment of the economic pain that has been caused by the pandemic and the steps he’s taken to slow its spread.
But the governor continued to defend his phased, regional plan for reopening the economy as the best approach to protect public health. Pritzker referred to those pushing efforts to reopen the economy or individual businesses earlier than allowed by his plan as “outliers.”
“These people do not follow the science or data. They’re just listening to partisan rhetoric, perhaps, and following their own instincts. But no science,” Pritzker said. He said the virus “is still out there and still killing people” and early reopening of businesses “just put people at risk willy-nilly.”
With some communities and counties downstate saying they will not enforce Pritzker’s orders, the governor said he would consider the withholding of federal coronavirus relief funds to those municipalities that disobey.
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“The state already provides a lot of support for cities and counties. And so, I would just suggest there are a number of enforcement mechanisms that are available to us and I don’t want to utilize those. I’ve asked people to do the right thing. And I want to point out the vast majority of people in Illinois have been doing the right thing,” he said.
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf issued a similar warning to counties in his state that disregarded his orders keeping nonessential businesses closed.
Despite partisan tensions over his reopening plan, the Pritzker administration announced earlier Tuesday that a bipartisan group of lawmakers has agreed to a plan that would add nearly $250 million to Illinois’ hospital assessment program, through which hospitals receive much of their Medicaid money. Medicaid is a state and federally funded health insurance program that serves people with low incomes and disabilities, among others.
Under the assessment program, which is often a contentious issue in state budget negotiations, hospitals contribute money into a fund that receives a federal match. The money is then redistributed to hospitals based on a complex formula.
While the small group of lawmakers has reached a deal, the full legislature must return to Springfield to vote on the plan, which also requires federal approval.
“Hospitals perform a central role in every community throughout our state,” state Sen. Heather Steans, D-Chicago, said in a news release. “The importance of hospitals has never been higher, so our support should be stronger, especially for hospitals relying more on state Medicaid resources for funding.”
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The administration on Tuesday also announced $75 million in funding to help hospitals continue to provide COVID-19 services in their communities and $25 million in grant funding from Pritzker’s $45 billion “Rebuild Illinois” infrastructure program for local projects that are ready to begin construction this summer.
The hospital funding, which is coming from an increased federal match for state Medicaid dollars, started going out in April, according to the Department of Healthcare and Family Services.
dpetrella@chicagotribune
rap30@aol.com
lschencker@chicagotribune.com
jmunks@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-05-12--Potbelly warns it could close 100 stores as COVID-19 causes sales drop

The quarter had been looking good before that , with sales up 2.5 % for the first 10 weeks of @ @ @ @ @ company had hoped to report its first positive sales at comparable stores in more than @ @ @ @ @ it ended the quarter down 10 % .

Potbelly is considering permanently closing 100 stores after sales tanked as stay-at-home orders took hold.
The Chicago-based sandwich chain, which had been in the midst of a turnaround when the coronavirus pandemic struck, saw sales at stores open at least 15 months drop 68% in March, the company said Tuesday in releasing its first-quarter earnings.
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The quarter had been looking good before that, with sales up 2.5% for the first 10 weeks of the year, and the company had hoped to report its first positive sales at comparable stores in more than three years. Instead, it ended the quarter down 10%.
The company reported a first-quarter net loss of $13.3 million, as overall revenues fell 11% to $87.6 million.
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Potbelly came under fire when it was approved for $10 million in funding from the federal Paycheck Protection Program meant for small businesses. Under pressure, it returned the money.
The company, which has about 470 restaurants, has slashed costs to try to weather the sales hit. It furloughed a third of its corporate employees, cut salaries for executives and corporate employees by 25% and temporarily closed 36 company-operated restaurants.
“Currently, we are having proactive conversations with our landlords, are considering closing up to 100 shops, and are continuously working to implement ways to work more effectively and efficiently,” CEO Alan Johnson said in a news release. "We have a firm grasp on what we can control within our business.”
Potbelly has been serving customers with curbside pickup and delivery and is selling pantry items and family meals. Investments in digital ordering that were part of its turnaround plan have helped drive an improvement in sales as the pandemic has worn on, the company said.
In March the company drew down $40 million of financing available under its revolving credit facility.
Potbelly, founded in 1977, has struggled in recent years as it fell behind the growing fast casual competition. Last year it announced a new franchise program and new store designs as part of a turnaround plan.


chicagotribune--2020-05-12--Report: Structural racism — from segregated housing to limited job opportunities — responsible for h

Report: Structural racism — from segregated housing to limited job opportunities — responsible for high rate of COVID-19 deaths among African Americans

The report says African Americans are more likely than other races to be infected by the virus because of larger @ @ @ @ @ job opportunities .
Black people represent an outsize portion of employees who work in jobs @ @ @ @ @ exposure , from bus drivers to nursing aides to mail sorters , and are less @ @ @ @ @ work from home .

A housekeeper changes a bed on April 17, 2020, in the intensive care unit where COVID-19 patients are seen at Roseland Community Hospital in the Roseland neighborhood on Chicago's Far South Side. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)
Long-established elements of structural racism, from substandard housing to mass incarceration to limited job opportunities, are responsible for the disproportionate toll COVID-19 is taking on African Americans in Chicago and elsewhere, a new paper from the Chicago Urban League argues.
The paper, released Tuesday, notes that black residents account for 30% of Chicago’s population but 54% of the city’s coronavirus deaths. Similar lopsided figures can be seen in Milwaukee, St. Louis, Washington, D.C., New Orleans and other cities.
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“How can we live in the wealthiest country in the world and have such stark inequities?” said report co-author Kathie Kane-Willis. “It’s just not right.”
The report says African Americans are more likely than other races to be infected by the virus because of larger structural forces, starting with job opportunities. Black people represent an outsize portion of employees who work in jobs that heighten their risk of exposure, from bus drivers to nursing aides to mail sorters, and are less likely to be able to work from home.
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Black people are also more likely to live in overcrowded conditions, in households with older family members who are more vulnerable to the virus, or in homeless shelters, nursing homes or jails, the report says.
“Jails and prisons have a steady influx of people into and out of the facilities," the paper says. “It is a daily, constant churn of new detainees, staff and volunteers, and contracted workers all entering into the facilities from the community. The buildings themselves are often overcrowded, or structured in such a way that people spend time double or triple-bunked, or sleeping in dormitory-style housing.”
Once infected, the paper says, African Americans are more likely to die from COVID-19 than people of other races because of other factors grounded in discrimination, from a lack of access to health care to segregated neighborhoods where airborne pollutants and lead levels are especially high.
“Many communities of color are located in areas with disproportionately poor air and water quality,” the report says. “The higher the levels of environmental pollutants in an area, the more vulnerable residents are to stroke, heart disease, lung cancer, and chronic and acute respiratory illnesses.”
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot has responded to the disparity by creating response teams for hard-hit areas of the city and opening new testing sites in predominantly black and Latino neighborhoods. But the paper concludes that a multitude of short- and long-term measures is needed to stem the tide.
Those range from funding community-based groups to provide wellness checks and allowing Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program beneficiaries to buy groceries online, to ending mass incarceration and providing health care for all.
“It seems to me that the most fragile among us tend to be the most expendable, unfortunately,” Kane-Willis said. “We have to care about everyone.”
jkeilman@chicagotribune.com
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chicagotribune--2020-05-12--Morton Arboretum to reopen for members June 1 after coronavirus closure

However , she added , “ our plans are entirely subject to change .
Organizations need to be agile in @ @ @ @ @ put public health first .
We ’ re going to continue to evaluate our plans @ @ @ @ @ .
”

The last of Chicago’s major nature parks to close because of coronavirus, Morton Arboretum, is also the first to announce its reopening.
Beginning June 1, the expansive collection of pathways, trails and roads through cultivated forests in west suburban Lisle will begin allowing members back onto its grounds, Morton said Tuesday afternoon.
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Calling it a phased reopening, the arboretum plans to welcome only members through June 14, with nonmembers allowed in starting June 15. Visitors must reserve a timed-entry pass in advance, social distancing rules will be observed, and all buildings, including indoor restrooms, and the Children’s Garden and Maze Garden will remain closed.
Young visitors on a troll hunt get a close-up view of one of the six larger-than-life trolls at Morton Arboretum in Lisle on June 14, 2018. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
“We think it’s really essential for us to provide outdoor space where people can get outside of their homes safely,” said Alicia LaVire, vice president of marketing and communications.
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However, she added, “our plans are entirely subject to change. Organizations need to be agile in this situation and continue to put public health first. We’re going to continue to evaluate our plans and make shifts as needed.”
The 1,700-acre park, along with Chicago Botanic Garden and Brookfield Zoo, tried to remain open beyond the March 13-15 weekend when most major area museums and Lincoln Park Zoo closed. The arboretum stayed open the longest, eventually closing to visitors beginning April 2.
The reopened park will allow only a “greatly reduced” number of patrons in at a time, and guards and fencing will help people maintain social distancing, said LaVire.
As for restrooms, the arboretum is encouraging patrons to plan ahead and try to avoid needing them, she said, but some spaced out port-a-potties will be provided and cleaned hourly.
The arboretum also announced that its planned spring outdoor art exhibition “Humans + Nature” will now open April 9, 2021. The popular current outdoor exhibit “Troll Hunt” will remain up into next year.
sajohnson@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @StevenKJohnson


chicagotribune--2020-05-12--The Spin: Pritzker, Lightfoot mull tougher enforcement of stay-at-home order | Willie Wilson threate

The Spin: Pritzker, Lightfoot mull tougher enforcement of stay-at-home order | Willie Wilson threatens suit over face covering order | As Congressional Dems float $3T relief package, local mayors share fiscal woes

Chicago historian , activist and centenarian Timuel Black pens a piece in the Chicago Sun-Times blasting politicians who see older @ @ @ @ @ pandemic , but praises young political activists who are helping those in need particularly on @ @ @ @ @ resides .
“ At 101 , I ’ ve been lucky to live beyond the @ @ @ @ @ hope we can inspire each other , and stay politically alert and active.
” Read @ @ @ @ @ points out he was born the same year as the Spanish Flu outbreak , here @

Mayor Lori Lightfoot, and Governor Pritzker and others walk away from the podium after they provide an update on COVID-19 at the Office of Emergency Management and Communications in Chicago on Wednesday, March 11, 2020. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)
As some elected leaders around the state criticize Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s plan to reopen Illinois’ economy and consider ignoring it, the governor today said he’s considering withholding COVID-19 relief money to counties that defy the lockdown order.
A couple Chicago churches defied stay-at-home orders and social distancing requirements, holding religious services on Sunday. Now, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot says the city could take action if they do it again this weekend.
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Businessman and frequent political candidate Willie Wilson is threatening to sue the state unless Pritzker sets aside money to help poor people buy masks to wear in public during the COVID-19 outbreak, my Tribune colleague John Byrne reports.
House congressional Democrats released today a $3 trillion proposal for a new round of federal aid that would offer another round of $1,200 checks to taxpayers, extend the $600-per-week bonus in unemployment benefits through January and offer local governments — including small municipalities.
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President Donald Trump’s taken to Twitter to say he’s loath to see money go to what he’s deemed fiscally mismanaged states run by Democrats — even name-checking Illinois. But a group of north and west suburban mayors laid out their fiscal woes and how they want to see the federal government act, during a Zoom conference organized by Democratic U.S. Rep. Sean Casten, whose 6th Congressional District includes those communities, and attended by House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer.
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Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker speaks during the daily press briefing regarding the coronavirus pandemic Sunday, May 3, 2020, at the James R. Thompson Center in Chicago. (Erin Hooley/Chicago Tribune) (Erin Hooley/Chicago Tribune)
The Madison County Board of Health in downtstate Illinois as considering today "whether the county will reopen and end its state-ordered stay-at-home order this evening at a special meeting of the board,” the Belleville News-Democrat reports. If board members OK the resolution, “it would defy the state and Governor J.B. Pritzker and move forward with its own ‘phased’ reopening plan,” the paper reports. Read the details here.
During a news conference today, Pritzker said the state had a number of “enforcement mechanisms." Asked by a reporter whether he’d follow Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf’s threat to withhold COVID-19 relief funding to counties that defy the order, Pritzker said he would grudgingly consider it.
“There are a number of enforcement mechanisms that are available to us and I don’t want to utilize those,” Pritzker said. “I asked that people to do the right thing – and I want to point out the vast majority of people have been doing the right thing,” he said. Mayor Lightfoot is considering similar moves (see item below).
Former Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner blasts Pritzker’s coronavirus response: NBC-Channel 5′s Mary Ann Ahern reports that Rauner wrote in a text message that it’s time to reopen the state’s economy and blamed politics to extending the stay-at-home order. Read or watch Ahern’s story here.
Pritzker calls for legislature to convene: The governor also said during the news conference he had spoken with House Speaker Michael Madigan and Senate President Don Harmon, among others, “about getting the legislature back together.”
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As other governmental bodies have moved to hold virtual meetings, legislative leaders have delayed calling a session amid a stay-at-home-order and social distancing rules calling for no more than 10 people to gather at one time.
“It would be best if they could get together before the end of May so that we can get the very necessary things done like our budget,” Pritzker said.
Where’s Madigan? On the same day the Chicago Tribune editorial board called on Springfield lawmakers to return to work and questioned where Speaker Madigan is, the state Democratic Party he runs released a video featuring a line of the state’s most well-known elected leaders, from Gov. Pritzker and Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton to U.S. Sens. Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth to Mayor Lightfoot, offering messages of thanks to those working through the pandemic including doctors, nurses, pharmacy and grocery store workers, delivery drivers, truck drivers, postal workers and more.
Madigan wasn’t in the video but issued a written statement accompanying a news release about it that reads in part: “We owe these workers not only our thanks, but also our respect and support as they put in long hours, many times away from their own families.” Watch the video here.
Dems taking steps toward a virtual national convention: The party’s presidential nominating convention is slated for August in Milwaukee but like every other organizer of large-scale events in the age of coronavirus, they’re looking at alternate plans. The New York Times has the story here.
Metro Praise International Church in Chicago, Monday, May 11, 2020. The church is catching heat from the mayor for holding church services during the coronavirus pandemic. (Antonio Perez/ Chicago Tribune) (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
Potentially setting up a Sunday confrontation with defiant church leaders, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said the city is prepared to enforce stay-at-home orders against houses of worship that continue holding in-person services.
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Lightfoot made the comments at a Tuesday news conference when she was asked about church leaders vowing to continue holding religious services despite social distancing requirements. Previously, the mayor criticized the services as putting people at risk but said she preferred to do educational outreach. — Tribune reporters Gregory Pratt and Javonte Anderson have more details here.
As MLB considers a pandemic-shortened season, Mayor Lightfoot says she doesn’t think Chicago will be ready for large crowds by July: As Major League Baseball owners advance a plan to the players union that could lead to the coronavirus-delayed season starting around the Fourth of July weekend in ballparks without fans, the mayor said any plan would need to be done in consultation with local cities. Read the story here.
Chicago historian, activist and centenarian Timuel Black pens a piece in the Chicago Sun-Times blasting politicians who see older Americans as expendable amid the pandemic, but praises young political activists who are helping those in need particularly on the South Side where Black resides. “At 101, I’ve been lucky to live beyond the typical life span. I hope we can inspire each other, and stay politically alert and active.” Read the op-ed, where Black points out he was born the same year as the Spanish Flu outbreak, here.
Chicago first to require third-party food delivery apps to disclose cost to consumers: The app companies have come under fire from restaurants since the beginning of COVID-19-related lockdowns as restaurants struggle to stay in business on the strength of their takeout and delivery orders alone. Recently, a viral Facebook post of a GrubHub receipt for a restaurant that earned $376.54 on bills to customers of $1,042.63 drew new scrutiny for the app.
Willie Wilson puts on a face mask after speaking at a news conference on Tuesday, May 12, 2020, at the Thompson Center in Chicago demanding Gov. J.B. Pritzker to amend his executive order mandate regarding face masks (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)
The Tribune’s Byrne writes: Wilson in a letter to the governor argued people may not be able to afford to abide by Pritzker’s order to wear face masks in public if they can’t safely socially distance. While the governor’s order includes those fashioned from pieces of cloth, Wilson argued in the letter that, and said “scientific studies suggest that T-shirts, bandannas, scarves, and tea towels offer insufficient protection from the virus.”
“People should have the very best masks,” Wilson said Tuesday. “Poor people aren’t going to have masks. They’re going to try to go into stores and be put out because of that.”
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If the governor doesn’t amend his order by Thursday to help fund the purchase of masks, Wilson said he would sue in federal court “to compel you to include provisions for the indigent and vulnerable."
Asked to comment on Wilson’s letter, Pritzker spokeswoman Jordan Abuddayeh responded with part of a Cook County Circuit Court finding in which a judge ruled against a request for a temporary restraining order blocking Pritzker’s mask requirement from taking effect. The court ruling notes that the governor’s order allows homemade masks and does not say that “people must buy masks that are expensive or hard to find in stores.” You can read Byrne’s full story here.
U.S. Rep. Sean Casten speaks after a news conference in Chicago on Dec. 14, 2018. (Jose M. Osorio/Chicago Tribune/Chicago Tribune)
The centerpiece of the U.S. House Democrats’ proposed “Heroes Act” is nearly $1 trillion in relief for states, cities and tribal governments, including $375 billion for smaller suburban and rural municipalities largely left out of earlier bills, The Associated Press reports.
Earlier this month, U.S. Rep. Sean Casten, along with a group of mayors and village presidents in his district, sent a letter to House and Senate leaders requesting federal aid for small towns concerned that shutdown orders of businesses and social distancing rules will slash sales, income and property taxes that cover payroll for police officers, firefighters and other engines of local government.
Yesterday, he gathered some of them together to talk about their fiscal woes that have necessitated everything from freezing hiring to halting projects. A snapshot:
Algonquin Village President John Schmidt says right now the suburb is looking at a 20% drop in sales tax revenues amid the statewide shelter-in-place order and the domino effects of that — temporarily closed businesses could shutter for good, leading to job losses that could mean a drop in income tax and, down the line, even property tax funding if people can’t afford to pay their bills.
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“An infusion of money to all the communities in the area would help in the short term,” Schmidt said, adding that federal aid to “smaller municipalities would help keep critical services — fire, police, public works all of the functions we perform at the local level functioning.”
Glen Ellyn Village President Diane McGinley says the DuPage County suburb is dipping into reserves and cutting costs as it anticipates in a drop in revenues to the village’s general fund — 50% of which goes to pay for police operations.
Hoyer noted: “We’re also looking at providing states with tens of billions of dollars extra (in) Medicaid money," the Maryland congressman said, adding: ”This will take pressure off state budgets so that funding for other priorities aren’t siphoned off to pay for Medicaid as eligibility grows.”
Timeline: While previous relief packages have sailed through with bipartisan support, Republicans have said there’s no hurry to take this up and they want to wait until after Memorial Day to consider it.
Casten told The Spin after yesterday’s Zoom meeting that he expects the rhetoric to heat up — including horse trading over Democrats’ push to fund the Postal Service and Senate Republicans’ push to limit when employees can sue businesses if they contract COVID-19 on the job. “I’m highly confident we’ll get a package passed out of the House.”
McConnell: Obama ‘should have kept his mouth shut’ rather than criticize Trump administration response to COVID-19 — The Senate majority leader’s comments yesterday come in the wake of a leaked private phone call Friday that former President Barack Obama had with former White House staffers in which he dubbed the Trump White House response “an absolute chaotic disaster.” CNN has the details here.
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A man checks information in front of a Chicago office for the Illinois Department of Employment Security on April 30, 2020. (Nam Y. Huh/AP)
You can see why elected officials, including small town mayors, have to brace for the economic fallout: Illinois and the rest of the nation are seeing unemployment numbers that we haven’t seen since the Great Depression.
And it could get worse, my Tribune colleagues Ally Marotti and Jonathon Berlin note.
They write: “In Illinois, 37% of jobs are at risk of ending in furloughs, layoffs, or sharp reductions in hours or pay because of the COVID-19 outbreak, according to a recent analysis from McKinsey Global Institute. But some positions are more endangered than others.”
A cratering job market has all manner of implications for state and local governments that rely on everything from income tax revenues that would fall amid climbing unemployment to sales tax dollars that could also fall off if rein in spending.
Hyatt to cut 350 employees at its Chicago headquarters as part of wider layoffs prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic: The Tribune’s Lori Rackl writes, “the portfolio of the global hospitality company, founded by the family of Gov. J.B. Pritzker, spans 20 brands that include 900-plus hotels and resorts in 65 countries.” Read the full story here.
Thanks for reading The Spin, the Tribune’s politics newsletter. Sign up here to have it delivered to your inbox weekday afternoons. Have a tip? Email host Lisa Donovan at ldonovan@chicagotribune.com.
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Corrections and clarifications

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Everyone in @ @ @ @ @ live up to this code of conduct .
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· In Ellen Warren’s Answer Angel column Sunday, a reference to cleaning a shower curtain and liner incorrectly included baking powder. The correct ingredient is baking soda.
The Tribune regrets the error.
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Publishing information quickly and accurately is a central part of the Chicago Tribune’s news responsibility and a value shared in all our publications. Our editorial code of principles governs professional behavior and journalism standards. Everyone in our newsroom must agree to live up to this code of conduct. Download the file.
To report an error, fill out this form.


chicagotribune--2020-05-12--State working to give Illinois hospitals cash infusions amid coronavirus struggles

The cash could help hospitals , many of which have furloughed workers and made other cuts in recent weeks , @ @ @ @ @ costs of caring for COVID-19 patients coupled with the loss of income due to cancellations @ @ @ @ @ non-virus patients .

Illinois hospitals will get $75 million in new money, and the state is hoping to send them another $250 million a year in Medicaid funding amid financial pressures related to the coronavirus.
The cash could help hospitals, many of which have furloughed workers and made other cuts in recent weeks, as they struggle with the costs of caring for COVID-19 patients coupled with the loss of income due to cancellations of elective surgeries and fewer non-virus patients.
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The Illinois Health and Hospital Association has estimated that the state’s hospitals are losing $1.4 billion a month.
“It’s a considerable boost during this pandemic,” said association spokesman Danny Chun. “Hospitals have been suffering enormous revenue losses while also absorbing huge costs simultaneously.”
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The $75 million, which is coming from an increased federal match for state Medicaid dollars, is meant to help hospitals continue to provide COVID-19 services in their communities. That money started going out in April, according to the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services.
The state has asked the federal government for approval of a separate plan that would add nearly $250 million to Illinois’ hospital assessment program, through which hospitals receive much of their Medicaid money. Medicaid is a state and federally funded health insurance program that serves people with low incomes and disabilities, among others.
Under the assessment program, hospitals contribute money into a fund that receives a federal match. The money is then redistributed to hospitals based on a complex formula.
State lawmakers would have to approve the plan, which came out of a bipartisan working group. Lawmakers are not currently scheduled to go back to Springfield due to the pandemic.
“Hospitals perform a central role in every community throughout our state,” state Sen. Heather Steans, D-Chicago, said in a news release. “The importance of hospitals has never been higher, so our support should be stronger, especially for hospitals relying more on state Medicaid resources for funding."
The state also said Tuesday that guidelines are being developed to distribute $150 million “innovative future healthcare projects,” according to the news release.
Hospitals across the country have also been getting money from a $100 billion fund created under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.
Local hospital systems that have furloughed workers include Sinai Health System, Lurie Children’s Hospital, University of Chicago Medical Center, OSF HealthCare, Loyola Medicine, Weiss Memorial Hospital in Chicago and West Suburban Medical Center in Oak Park.
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The state has issued guidance to allow hospitals to resume performing elective surgeries beginning May 11, and a number of hospitals are doing so.
But a number of hospitals are not bringing back all their surgeries at once, as they work through backlogs and rebuild their capacities, while ensuring they still have enough beds for COVID-19 patients. Some hospital leaders also fear that many patients will continue to defer surgeries out of fear of visiting hospitals while COVID-19 continues to spread.
This story was corrected to state that the fund distributing money to hospitals under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act contained $100 billion, not $100 million.
lschencker@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-05-12--Chicago morgue coping despite historic surge in deaths due to the coronavirus pandemic

Death is in the job description , but that doesn ’ t mean those who work at the medical examiner @ @ @ @ @ the surge in dead , Arunkumar said .
They cope by checking on each other @ @ @ @ @ to a strict rule : Treat the dead with the respect they ’ d want @ @ @ @ @ .

CHICAGO — The Chicago area’s chief medical examiner starts her day with a numbers problem: how to manage three times the number of deaths as before the coronavirus pandemic with the same number of pathologists.
On a recent morning when The Associated Press got exclusive access to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office for the day, Dr. Ponni Arunkumar scanned a list of 62 new death cases. The average last year was 20 a day.
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“We’ve never gone through anything like this,” she said of the workloads.
Forty of the 62 cases were coronavirus deaths. The oldest to die was a 105-year-old whose obituary described her as a White Sox fan who loved dancing. The youngest was a 53-year-old man who was jailed for allegedly blinding someone in one eye during a barroom brawl.
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Medical examiners worldwide face similar challenges, and some are buckling under the emotional strain. But there was no sign of that at the Cook County facility, where employees seemed to be coping well with the historic surge in deaths. The pandemic has only deepened their sense of camaraderie, said the office’s director of fatality management, who oversees a temporary morgue set up off-site to handle the influx of corpses.
“We lean on each other,” Victoria Raspante said.
The 45-year-old Arunkumar has an air of calm about her. Soft-spoken and quick to smile, she has a knack for keeping those she supervises at ease.
According to figures updated Tuesday, her office has handled 5,323 cases already this year, 2,551 of them COVID-19 deaths since the first confirmed coronavirus death in mid-March. It had 6,254 deaths for all of 2019. Her 18 pathologists have sometimes worked 12-hour days, seven days a week.
The hope was that stay-at-home orders would sharply reduce gun deaths in Chicago, which has had more homicides than Los Angeles and New York combined for successive years. A drop-off in killings would help keep caseloads at more manageable levels.
Cook County Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Ponni Arunkumar, puts on personal protective equipment as she prepares to perform four autopsies in as many hours at the county morgue in Chicago. Arunkumar starts her day with a numbers problem. It's how to manage a tripling of death cases with the same number of pathologists and the same number of hours in a day as before COVID-19. (Charles Rex Arbogast/AP)
That hasn’t happened.
The office has had 111 homicide cases since mid-March when the pandemic began in the county compared to 113 over the same period last year. One of the 22 non-COVID cases this day is a 21-year-old man who was killed in a drive-by shooting as he sat on a porch.
At 8:30 a.m., Arunkumar and six fellow pathologists began autopsies on shooting victims and others whose cause of death wasn’t clear.
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She pointed to a bullet hole in the shoulder of the man who was killed in the drive-by, his bloody clothes nearby. Another pathologist retrieved the bullet through the wound.
Between autopsies, Arunkumar walked into the facility’s main morgue, where around 250 bodies lined rows of floor-to-ceiling shelving. It was filled to capacity.
Downstairs, Rebeca Perrone stacked 24 boxes of unclaimed cremated remains on shelves that already had 500 others. Some of those cremated were homeless. Others lived alone, estranged from their families.
An orange biohazard tag hangs from a body bag in an isolated refrigerated unit set aside for bodies infected with coronavirus at the Cook County morgue in Chicago. (Charles Rex Arbogast/AP)
More remains are going unclaimed these days — a sign that more families can't afford the $250 collection fee because of the economic turmoil caused by the pandemic, said Perrone, who arranges funerals for the unclaimed dead and helps poorer families find resources for burials.
Perrone refused to complain about her heavier workloads. Her job sometimes includes informing relatives that a loved-one has died.
“It’s actually nice to be able to talk to someone on the worst day of their life and say, ‘This is what we can do to help,’” she said.
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Cook County Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Ponni Arunkumar, makes reference to digitally projected X-rays of a gunshot victim as she prepares for her share of autopsies at the county morgue in Chicago. Arunkumar starts her day with a numbers problem. It's how to manage a tripling of death cases with the same number of pathologists and the same number of hours in a day as before COVID-19. (Charles Rex Arbogast/AP)
On the second floor, investigative-unit chief Christopher Kalka said his 27 investigators were also putting in long hours. People who witness suspicious deaths are now asked whether the deceased complained of losing their sense of smell or taste, which are possible symptoms of COVID-19.
All homicides require an autopsy. Most COVID-19 deaths don’t, as a hospital records review is considered sufficient.
Not all COVID-19 cases are clear cut. Pathologists concluded in one man’s death that the virus didn’t directly kill him, but that it affected his balance. He then fell and broke his hip, causing fatal complications.
Doing fewer autopsies in COVID-19 cases reduces staff exposure to the virus. Risk of infection from the dead is low since it is often transmitted via spray from a sneeze or cough. No one who works at the office has tested positive.
Staff didn’t conduct an autopsy on the inmate who was allegedly involved in the barroom brawl. They gave his body a swab test like the ones given to the living to confirm the presence of the virus, though they did it in a room with reduced air pressure so that viruses can’t seep out.
His body was wheeled into a smaller refrigerated unit for coronavirus deaths, an orange biohazard tag affixed to his body bag.
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At an afternoon conference call to talk through the day’s cases, Arunkumar sat alone with other pathologists phoning in. Pathologists mostly review records from home these days to reduce the risk of spreading the virus at the office.
One said she had more than 80 cases to review, including many COVID-19 cases.
“This is absurd,” she said without anger.
Upgrades at the office in recent years have helped avert crippling backlogs during the pandemic. Changes included putting records online. That’s enabled staff to work from home and clear cases faster.
A key to operations now is a perishable-goods warehouse that was converted to a temporary morgue. National Guard troops unloaded bodies on the day the AP visited. Medical examiner's office staffers measured and photographed the bodies at the loading dock before soldiers took the body bags to one of three rooms the combined size of a football field. They laid them gently on specially constructed scaffolding.
One room held 130 bodies, but the site can hold up to 2,000. Two of the three rooms were mostly empty — an encouraging sign amid the grimness.
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Raspante worked seven-day weeks for several weeks at the makeshift morgue before recently getting days off. When her kids ask about her job, she doesn't tell them she’s among the dead all day, every day.
“I tell them that I help hospitals learn why people get sick,” she said.
Death is in the job description, but that doesn’t mean those who work at the medical examiner's office are unmoved by the surge in dead, Arunkumar said. They cope by checking on each other more. Staff also adhere to a strict rule: Treat the dead with the respect they’d want extended to their own loved-ones.
Doing that “makes it easier to handle what we are doing," she said.
Associated Press writer Don Babwin and video journalist Noreen Nasir contributed to this report.


chicagotribune--2020-05-12--‘The Last Dance’ takes up the murder of Michael Jordan’s father, James. 5 things to know about the c

‘The Last Dance’ takes up the murder of Michael Jordan’s father, James. 5 things to know about the criminal case that followed.

Nearly 27 years after James Jordan ’ s killing , Green is still fighting his case in court — though @ @ @ @ @ of options .
He has long claimed that although he helped dump Jordan ’ s @ @ @ @ @ he was not there when Jordan was shot .
Green ’ s lawyers have stressed @ @ @ @ @ tying him to the shooting and that the investigation was fraught with problems .
In @ @ @ @ @ Carolina Superior Court Judge Winston Gilchrist issued an 82-page order denying Green ’ s latest @ @ @ @ @ .
Green ’ s lawyers have said they intend to appeal .

The Chicago Bulls' Michael Jordan hugs his father, James Jordan, after the Bulls defeated the Portland Trail Blazers to win the 1992 NBA Championship in Chicago. In July 1993, the elder Jordan was murdered, his body found in a South Carolina swamp. (Chicago Tribune)
The blockbuster Chicago Bulls docuseries “The Last Dance” ventured into tragic territory with Episode 7 on Sunday, dealing with the shocking 1993 murder of Michael Jordan’s father, James, just weeks after the Bulls’ third-straight championship.
But while the episode focused on the effect James Jordan’s death had on the Bulls star — including his abrupt retirement from basketball and subsequent turn with the White Sox — nothing was said about the two teenagers convicted in the brutal crime.
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Daniel Green and Larry Demery are each serving life sentences for shooting James Jordan during what prosecutors said was a botched robbery, then dumping his body off of a bridge near the North Carolina state line and riding around in his stolen red Lexus for several days.
Here are five things to know about a criminal case that shocked Chicago and the nation:
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1. A long legal fight
Nearly 27 years after James Jordan’s killing, Green is still fighting his case in court — though he may soon be out of options. He has long claimed that although he helped dump Jordan’s body after the fact, he was not there when Jordan was shot. Green’s lawyers have stressed there was little physical evidence tying him to the shooting and that the investigation was fraught with problems. In January, however, North Carolina Superior Court Judge Winston Gilchrist issued an 82-page order denying Green’s latest effort for an evidentiary hearing. Green’s lawyers have said they intend to appeal.
2. Co-defendant seeking release
Demery, who pleaded guilty to the murder and testified against Green at trial as part of his plea agreement, is currently being considered for parole. The North Carolina Post-Release Supervision and Parole Commission heard the case in August and has asked for more information before rendering a decision, according to a prison spokesman. Demery, who was sentenced to life in prison on May 20, 1996, has been denied parole twice before.
3. A questionable statement?
Green’s attorneys have argued in court filings that Demery was pressured by investigators into implicating Green to avoid a possible death sentence. In a sworn affidavit, lead attorney Chris Mummer said Demery claimed in a prison interview in late 2018 that investigators had insisted he identify Green as the shooter and that Demery felt “coached by law enforcement to lie” on the witness stand. But Gilchrist said in his ruling that Demery’s statements “constitute hearsay evidence" that was not admissible in court.
The burial site of James Jordan's cremated remains outside Rockfish African Methodist Episcopal Church in Teachey, N.C., on May 17, 2018. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)
4. Still a gap in series of events
The timeline of James Jordan’s murder continues to be puzzling. Prosecutors said Jordan was shot after he pulled his 1992 Lexus to the side of the road to sleep while on his way back home to Charlotte from a funeral in Wilmington. His body was not discovered in a swampy area until 11 days after the shooting, and he remained unidentified for more than a week until family members reported Jordan missing. By that time, Jordan’s body had been cremated by a South Carolina coroner as a John Doe.
5. Evidence still points to the pair
Green and Demery were arrested and charged with murder 23 days after Jordan’s death. Among the damning evidence against them were 36 calls made from James Jordan’s car phone during a four-day period immediately after the murder, most of them to Green’s and Demery’s friends and family. Prosecutors said the pair also took a collection of prized possessions from the Lexus, including an NBA championship watch that Michael Jordan had given to his father as well as the Bulls star’s 1986 NBA All-Star ring. Green later filmed a rap video in which he could be seen wearing the jewelry, according to prosecutors.


chicagotribune--2020-05-12--Applying for unemployment benefits for the first time? Here are 7 things you need to know.

You also may receive a dependent allowance in addition to your benefit amount if you have a dependent child under @ @ @ @ @ a nonworking spouse .
You can claim one or the other , and additional children @ @ @ @ @ .
Payment for a dependent spouse can be between $ 15 and $ 93 , @ @ @ @ @ be between $ 26 and $ 185 , according to the state ’ s website @

We have lifted the paywall on this story. To support essential reporting, please consider becoming a subscriber .
A pedestrian passes the closed Chicago Workforce Center on 18th Street in Pilsen on May 1, 2020. A sign on the window stated that "in order to protect everyone through social distancing, IDES offices are closed to the public until further notice. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
Millions of Americans are learning a new skill this spring — how to file for unemployment insurance.
The coronavirus pandemic has resulted in job losses, both temporary and permanent. Nationally, the U.S. unemployment rate hit 14.7% in April, the highest rate since the Great Depression.
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The Illinois Department of Employment Security has been swamped with unemployment claims, and many residents have reported problems filing for benefits. Here are some things to know if you’re filing for jobless benefits:
Am I eligible?
To be eligible for unemployment insurance, you must have been laid off or furloughed through no fault of your own. You can’t have been fired or left your job voluntarily. You can get benefits even if you’re furloughed for a week at a time, according to Department of Employment Security spokeswoman Rebecca Cisco.
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But you must be able, available and looking for work. Typically, you need to register with the Illinois Job Link website to be eligible for benefits.
Under emergency rules, someone temporarily laid off because of the pandemic does not have to register, but is assumed to be actively seeking work as long as that person is ready to return to his or her job as soon as the employer reopens, according to the department’s website.
Other factors that can contribute to eligibility are whether you have earned enough wages or have enough work history.
You also can qualify if you are working reduced hours, as long as what you are earning is less than the weekly benefit amount you would get from the state.
How much will I get?
Benefits are calculated based on wages reported during your “base period,” which means the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters, Cisco said. The higher the wages reported, the greater the weekly benefit amount. Benefits range from $51 to $484 per week.
Payments are backdated from when you first became unemployed, so even if it takes a while to get benefits you should still get all the money you are owed.
You also may receive a dependent allowance in addition to your benefit amount if you have a dependent child under the age of 18 or a nonworking spouse. You can claim one or the other, and additional children will not increase your benefits. Payment for a dependent spouse can be between $15 and $93, while a child allowance can be between $26 and $185, according to the state’s website.
Anyone who gets at least $1 of state or federal unemployment benefits between March 29, 2020, and July 25, 2020, gets an additional $600 per week. This is provided under the $2.2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, also known as the CARES Act.
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How do I file?
While claims can be filed over the phone, the Department of Employment Security asks that individuals try filing online, due to the high call volume. Go to the department’s website, illinois.gov/ides, click on “Individuals” at the top left of the screen, go to “Unemployment Insurance," scroll down to “File for Unemployment Insurance” and follow the prompts.
You can’t file in person, since Illinois Department of Employment Security offices are closed to the public. The Claims Service Center number is 800-244-5631.
When can I file?
The agency is asking that those with last names beginning with the letters A-M go online Sundays, Tuesdays or Thursdays and those with last names beginning with letters N-Z try Mondays, Wednesdays or Fridays. Saturdays are open to anyone to accommodate those who can not file on their allotted days.
If you need to call, the schedule is Tuesday and Thursdays between 7:30 a.m. and 6 p.m. for those with last names beginning with the letters A-M; those with last names beginning with letters N-Z are asked to call on Mondays and Wednesdays during the same hours. Fridays are available for anyone.
What do I need to file?
To file a claim, make sure you have your Social Security number, driver’s license or state ID, employment history for the past 18 months, and, if you’re claiming a dependent child or spouse, that person’s name, Social Security number and date of birth.
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After your claim is filed, the state should send you a notice letting you know if you are eligible and what the amount will be.
What if I’m self-employed?
The CARES Act provides benefits for the first time to the self-employed.
Self-employed workers who believe they are eligible for the new benefits under the Pandemic Unemployment Act must first apply for regular unemployment insurance, according to the Department of Employment Security.
If applicants get an eligibility finding of $0, they can appeal by providing proof of wages earned, or submit a claim through the new “PUA” portal, which became available May 11, the state said.
What about Uber drivers?
Ride-share drivers for Uber and Lyft in Illinois have been receiving benefits through regular unemployment insurance, rather than through PUA funds, according to Chicago Rideshare Advocates, an advocacy group for drivers.
Asked about unemployment insurance for Uber and Lyft drivers, Cisco said she cannot discuss individual employers. She said the department encourages everyone who thinks they may be eligible to file for regular unemployment benefits, and if that is denied, they can submit a PUA application.
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mwisniewski@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-05-12--As MLB considers a pandemic-shortened season, Mayor Lori Lightfoot says she doesn’t think Chicago wi

As MLB considers a pandemic-shortened season, Mayor Lori Lightfoot says she doesn’t think Chicago will be ready for large crowds by July

`` I realize that the players have the right to haggle over their salaries , but we do live in @ @ @ @ @ know , the people of Illinois , the people of the United States deserve to @ @ @ @ @ to watch anyway , on television , '' Pritzker said .
`` I , you @ @ @ @ @ able to come up with safety precautions as has been suggested by Major League Baseball @ @ @ @ @ that the players will understand that the people of our United States need them to @ @ @ @ @ an ) important part of the kind of leisure time that all of us want @ @ @ @ @ — to watch them play baseball to root for our favorite teams .
We need @ @ @ @ @ back , and hope they 'll be reasonable . ''

Mayor Lori Lightfoot said she doesn’t believe Chicago will be ready for “large crowds in a ball field” by July and said any plan to start the professional baseball season must be done in consultation with local cities.
Lightfoot made the comments Tuesday when asked about a plan advanced by Major League Baseball owners to the players union that could lead to the coronavirus-delayed season starting around the Fourth of July weekend in ballparks without fans.
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“From the Chicago perspective, we need to make sure that can be done safely,” Lightfoot said. “I can’t predict where we’re going to be in July. I think there’s got to be a lot of coordination and conversation from MLB, the local teams, with their relevant city and health departments. I’m not going to support something that puts people at risk and I certainly don’t think we’re going to be ready in July for having large crowds in a ball field.”
Still, Lightfoot said, the city can consider the possibility if it can be done safely.
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Guaranteed Rate Field, home of the Chicago White Sox, on May 8, 2020. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)
Under the owners’ plan, spring training could start in early to mid-June, a person familiar with the decision told The Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because details of the plan were not announced.
MLB officials were expected to make a presentation to the union on Tuesday. An agreement with the players’ association is needed, and talks are expected to be difficult — especially over a proposal for a revenue split that would be unprecedented for baseball. Players withstood a 7 ½-month strike in 1994-95 to fight off such a plan.
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker was asked about the potential that any start to the season could be delayed by negotiations between players and team owners.
"I realize that the players have the right to haggle over their salaries, but we do live in a moment where, you know, the people of Illinois, the people of the United States deserve to get their pastime back, to watch anyway, on television," Pritzker said. "I, you know, if they're able to come up with safety precautions as has been suggested by Major League Baseball that works, I hope that the players will understand that the people of our United States need them to recognize that this is (an) important part of the kind of leisure time that all of us want to have during the summer — to watch them play baseball to root for our favorite teams. We need that back, that normalcy back, and hope they'll be reasonable."
Each team, under the proposal, would play about 82 regular-season games: against opponents in its own division plus interleague matchups limited to AL East vs. NL East, AL Central vs. NL Central and AL West vs. NL West.
Postseason play would be expanded from 10 clubs to 14 by doubling wild cards in each league to four.
Teams would prefer to play at their regular-season ballparks but would switch to spring training stadiums or neutral sites if medical and government approvals can’t be obtained for games at home. Toronto might have to play home games in Dunedin, Florida.
The Associated Press contributed.
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gpratt@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @royalpratt


chicagotribune--2020-05-12--Remembering the lives of those in Illinois who died from coronavirus

As the number of deaths attributable to COVID-19 ticks upward , the Tribune is working to chronicle those who have @ @ @ @ @ Chicago area or who have connections to our region .
These are some of those @ @

They were mothers and fathers, daughters and sons. Many were proud grandparents. Two were sisters from a tight-knit South Side family. All were loved, relatives say, and will be forever missed.
As the number of deaths attributable to COVID-19 ticks upward, the Tribune is working to chronicle those who have lost their lives in the Chicago area or who have connections to our region. These are some of those victims.
If you know of someone or would like to offer a remembrance of someone please share your information here. To file a death notice, go here.
Subscribe to the Chicago Tribune: Our mission is to deliver trusted and meaningful local news. Your support allows us to continue providing the award-winning, watchdog and in-depth journalism our community deserves. Subscribe here.


chicagotribune--2020-05-12--Cook County Health simulation lab prepares for ‘worst of the worst’ as coronavirus pandemic rages on

So when the county first got word around early March that a novel coronavirus outbreak could devastate the region , @ @ @ @ @ County Health Simulation Center to help .
Now , hundreds of doctors , nurses , @ @ @ @ @ learning how to care for critically ill COVID-19 patients — while utilizing a simplified ventilator @ @ @ @ @ scientists and engineers is developing .

About 15 years before the novel coronavirus, Cook County Health set up a facility to train medical professionals in emergency preparedness.
So when the county first got word around early March that a novel coronavirus outbreak could devastate the region, officials called on the Cook County Health Simulation Center to help. Now, hundreds of doctors, nurses, medical students and more are learning how to care for critically ill COVID-19 patients — while utilizing a simplified ventilator that an international team of scientists and engineers is developing.
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“The minute that this became a nationwide concern, we were asked to jump in and help,” the simulation center director Dr. Michelle Sergel said during a Tuesday news conference.
She described the center’s vigilance as preparing for “the worst of the worst.”
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“We think of the absolute worst-case scenarios,” Sergel said. “Anything, a plane hitting a building. Anything and everything. Things that make you stay up at night.”
Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle joined the news conference to underline the need for the center’s work. “It’s mission-critical for health care workers to be prepared to care for patients coming in who are critically ill due to COVID-19,” Preckwinkle said.
Training medical staff amid a pandemic comes with new challenges. Typically, professionals are pushed “to their limits” with high-touch technology in tight spaces to replicate the environment of an emergency situation, Sergel said. To ensure social distancing, only four professionals are now allowed inside the simulation center at once.
“We have become very creative in how we can train using social distancing, which is the opposite of what occurs in a typical simulation,” Sergel said.
Family medicine and clinic staffers are also coming to the center to adapt their skills for the pandemic. Dr. Thomas Sweder, director of the family medicine inpatient service at Cook County Health, is one of the simulation lab’s participants.
As a nearly 20-year veteran in the medical field, Sweder is used to treating patients with heart and kidney failure, pneumonia, strokes and other acute medical problems. But he hasn’t intubated a patient since his medical school residency days.
At the simulation lab, Sweder is relearning old skills to prepare to go to the front lines of treating COVID-19 patients.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has pushed all of us in ways that we’ve never been pushed,” Sweder said Tuesday. “Nationwide, there are often more patients who require critical care than there are critical care providers.”
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The simulation lab also is one of the few in the nation training staff using an ASL 5000 breathing simulator, which is part of an international project to craft a low-cost, simplified mechanical ventilator, officials said. That technology is preferred for COVID-19 patients because it produces less aerosolization.
The new ventilator is in the final stages of federal approval, according to Sergel.
ayin@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-05-12--COVID-19 cases in Illinois by ZIP code: Search for your neighborhood

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

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


chicagotribune--2020-05-12--Hyatt to cut 350 employees at its Chicago headquarters as part of wider layoffs prompted by the COVI

Hyatt to cut 350 employees at its Chicago headquarters as part of wider layoffs prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic

“ COVID-19 has thrown our industry into unknown territory , ” Hyatt President and CEO Mark Hoplamazian said in a @ @ @ @ @ parting ways with our colleagues is excruciating , we must be sensitive to commercial realities @ @ @ @ @ fulfill our purpose of care over the long term — through this pandemic and for @ @ @ @ @

Hyatt Hotels Corp. will begin laying off some 1,300 of its corporate employees around the world next month, including about 350 people in Chicago.
The cuts represent roughly a third of the staff at its Chicago headquarters, a Hyatt spokesperson said Tuesday.
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The wave of pink slips is another result of the pandemic that’s ground travel to a halt, decimated demand for hotel rooms and rocketed the U.S. unemployment rate to a Depression-era level of 14.7%.
Hyatt had looked to save money by making cuts to executive salaries and reducing other corporate employees’ pay and work schedules, but the hotel chain said these moves haven’t been enough to see the company through this “unprecedented challenge.”
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“COVID-19 has thrown our industry into unknown territory,” Hyatt President and CEO Mark Hoplamazian said in a written statement. “While parting ways with our colleagues is excruciating, we must be sensitive to commercial realities so we can continue to fulfill our purpose of care over the long term — through this pandemic and for what lies beyond.”
The portfolio of the global hospitality company, founded by the family of Gov. J.B. Pritzker, spans 20 brands that include 900-plus hotels and resorts in 65 countries.
The layoffs are set to begin June 1.
Hyatt said affected employees will be eligible for severance pay, outplacement services and benefits in line with their years of service. Those with “pressing financial hardships” also can seek assistance from the Hyatt Care Fund, which was established during the pandemic with contributions from Pritzker family foundations, some Hyatt hotel owners and other sources.
The Park Hyatt Chicago, 800 N. Michigan Ave., is one of many hotels to temporarily close because of the coronavirus pandemic. Hyatt Hotels Corp. recently announced it would start laying off some 1,300 corporate employees in June. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune)
Job losses have hit the hospitality industry especially hard during the pandemic. The American Hotel & Lodging Association last month reported that 70% of hotel employees have been laid off or furloughed as anemic occupancy rates across the country left eight out of every 10 hotel rooms empty.
As of late April, the association said nearly 3.9 million hotel-supported jobs have been lost since the coronavirus crisis began.
lrackl@chicagotribune.com