chicagotribune--2020-09-10--Illinois’ COVID-19 positive test rate down but hospitalizations rising; Pritzker announces funding t

Illinois’ COVID-19 positive test rate down but hospitalizations rising; Pritzker announces funding to connect unemployed residents with training and jobs

Two federal grants totaling $ 16.6 million will be distributed to a dozen local workforce agencies across the state to @ @ @ @ @ residents for jobs such as contact tracing , building sanitation , temperature screening , and @ @ @ @ @ Priority will be given to applicants who have lost their jobs during the pandemic .

Gov. J.B. Pritzker answers a reporter's question after making a job training announcement at The Workforce Connection on Sept. 10, 2020, in Rockford. (Scott P. Yates/Rockford Register Star)
The percentage of positive coronavirus tests appears to be trending downward in Illinois after rising for much of the summer, but state officials remain concerned about stubbornly high positivity rates in certain regions as well as rising hospitalizations.
“We can’t outrun this virus. It hasn’t gone away," Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Thursday during a news conference at the James R. Thompson Center in the Loop. “We can’t pretend that we can fully restore our economic vitality as long as it’s here without any way to temper or prevent it.”
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State health officials on Thursday reported 1,953 newly confirmed cases of COVID-19, bringing the total number of cases statewide since the pandemic began to 255,643. With 28 more fatalities also reported, the official death toll stands at 8,242.
Statewide, the positivity rate stood at 3.8% on a seven-day average as of Wednesday. The 3.7% seven-day average the previous day marked the first time the positivity rate dipped below 4% in more than a month.
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[ Silent spreaders and long haulers. Aerosols and protocols. 10 things science has learned about COVID-19 in less than a year. ]
Still, the share of positive tests remains much higher in two regions that have been placed under tighter restrictions in an effort to slow the spread of the virus.
In Will and Kankakee counties, where tighter restrictions on restaurants, bars and casinos took effect Aug. 26, the rate remains at 7.5%. That’s below the 8% rate that triggered stricter rules, but still above the 6.5% threshold needed for them to be loosened once again.
In the Metro East region near St. Louis, the positivity rate was 10.1%, three weeks after stricter rules were put in place.
While positivity rates are improving in much of the rest of the state, Pritzker said the state is closely monitoring rising hospitalizations.
As of Wednesday night, 1,609 people were reported to be hospitalized in the state with COVID-19, up from 1,481 a month earlier.
[ COVID-19 in Illinois by the numbers: Here’s a daily update on cases, positivity rate and hospital data in your area ]
Reiterating a message she’s been promoting for months, Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike cited medical research suggesting “near universal adoption” of mask wearing and other public health measures such as hand-washing could effectively halt community spread of the virus.
“What more can I tell you? How can we convince you further? Wear a mask," Ezike said. “It’s really that simple.”
Earlier Thursday, Pritzker joined local officials in Rockford to announce a nearly $17 million effort to connect roughly 1,300 people who are unemployed amid the coronavirus pandemic with training and jobs, including temporary jobs assisting with the response to COVID-19.
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Two federal grants totaling $16.6 million will be distributed to a dozen local workforce agencies across the state to help train and employ out-of-work residents for jobs such as contact tracing, building sanitation, temperature screening, and food preparation and distribution. Priority will be given to applicants who have lost their jobs during the pandemic.
[ PPP loans kept many small businesses afloat this summer. Without more funds, experts say a wave of bankruptcies is coming. ]
The federal funding “will help us address a goal for reinvigorating our economy that’s twofold: returning more of our residents to the jobs that they know and also simultaneously addressing new economic demand brought on by COVID-19,” Pritzker said.
The federally funded program will reach only a minute portion of unemployed Illinois residents, however.
During the week ending Aug. 29, the most recent for which data is available, more than 26,000 initial unemployment claims were filed with the Illinois Department of Employment Security. As of July, there were nearly 500,000 fewer jobs in Illinois compared with the same period last year.
More information on the jobs announced Thursday is available at illinois.gov/gethired.
dpetrella@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-09-10--Special legislative committee begins rarely used disciplinary proceeding to look into conduct of Hou

Special legislative committee begins rarely used disciplinary proceeding to look into conduct of House Speaker Michael Madigan

“ We have very little precedent to go by .
I have studied the Derrick Smith transcripts all weekend long @ @ @ @ @ to follow precedent .
And we have to make sure we contact the U.S. attorney @ @ @ @ @ a response before this committee can do any work further , ” Welch said .

Illinois state Rep. Emanuel "Chris" Welch, D-Hillside, right, addresses Illinois House Minority Leader Jim Durkin, R-Western Springs, during the first meeting of a special legislative panel Sept. 10, 2020, at the Illinois Capitol. The committee is looking into House Speaker Michael Madigan's role in a bribery scandal involving utility giant Commonwealth Edison. (Ted Schurter/The State Journal-Register)
The Illinois House kicked off a rarely used disciplinary process Thursday to probe the conduct of Speaker Michael Madigan in light of allegations that Commonwealth Edison undertook a bribery scheme to gain his favor, with Republicans seeking to hear testimony from the powerful Democrat and former utility executives and lobbyists.
House Republican leader Jim Durkin, who petitioned for the probe, asked the six-member panel to decide whether to authorize a charge against Madigan for engaging “in conduct unbecoming to a legislator, or which constitutes a breach of public trust... including engaging in a bribery scheme and extortion scheme, conspiracy to violate federal and state laws, among other misconduct and misuse of the office.”
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ComEd this summer agreed to pay a $200 million fine as part of a deferred prosecution agreement with federal prosecutors who alleged the utility engaged in a “yearslong bribery scheme” by offering jobs and other inducements to allies of Madigan.
Madigan, the nation’s longest serving speaker and the chairman of the Illinois Democratic Party, has not been charged and has denied wrongdoing.
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The special committee is made up of three Democrats and three Republicans, and partisan differences were quickly felt.
Rep. Emanuel “Chris” Welch, a Democrat from Hillside who chairs the committee, said the panel’s first task is to reach out to the U.S. attorney’s office to ensure the legislative committee’s effort doesn’t interfere with ongoing federal probe.
Durkin’s petition to form the committee invoked the House’s rarely used Rule 91, which was most recently triggered last year after then-Democratic state Rep. Luis Arroyo was charged with one count of federal program bribery. Arroyo resigned before that special investigating committee held its first meeting.
In 2012, the process advanced much further in the case of then-state Rep. Derrick Smith. The full House voted overwhelmingly to oust him from his seat after he was indicted on charges he accepted a $7,000 bribe.
That process, which started with a special investigating committee, should set the precedent for the present panel’s work, Welch said.
“We have very little precedent to go by. I have studied the Derrick Smith transcripts all weekend long and we’re going to follow precedent. And we have to make sure we contact the U.S. attorney’s office and get a response before this committee can do any work further,” Welch said.
Rep. Deanne Mazzochi, a Republican from Elmhurst, suggested Welch’s proposal was an effort to bring the proceedings to a halt, and that there’s a “whole host of work” the committee can do independently of the U.S. attorney’s office.
“No one said anything about halting the work of the committee, but we are going to reach out to the U.S. attorney’s office and make contact first," Welch said. "There will be nothing further until then.”
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A majority vote of the committee is needed to authorize a charge against Madigan, meaning it would require the support of at least one Democrat. If a majority was achieved in favor of charges, a 12-member disciplinary panel would decide whether to recommend disciplining Madigan to the full House of Representatives.
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ComEd’s deal with prosecutors concluded that the utility benefited by at least $150 million from state lawmakers’ approval of the Energy Infrastructure and Modernization Act in 2011 and the Future Energy Jobs Act in 2016.
Mazzochi and her fellow Republican committee members, Reps. Tom Demmer and Grant Wehrli, submitted a list of several people they want to ask to voluntarily appear and produce documents, among them Madigan and his longtime confidant Michael McClain, a former ComEd lobbyist.
Also named on the list are former Chicago Ald. Michael R. Zalewski, former City Club of Chicago president and veteran lobbyist Jay Doherty, former CEO of ComEd parent company Exelon Anne Pramaggiore, and a longtime lobbyist for the utility, John Hooker.
The Republicans also want to hear from Fidel Marquez, a former ComEd vice president who was charged last week with bribery conspiracy in connection he played a part in ComEd’s alleged scheme to curry Madigan’s favor.
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Madigan will not be required to attend the committee’s proceedings, but he will be invited to attend on his own or with an attorney, and they will be able to review any evidence that’s presented, Welch said.
Madigan, in a statement last week, called Durkin’s petition for the creation of the committee a “political stunt.”
Welch, in a news conference after Thursday’s meeting, questioned the Republicans’ appointment of two members to the committee who are waging reelection battles, as well as the timing of the Aug. 31 petition filing.
“There’s a posturing element involved here, certainly,” Welch said. “But I was appointed chair of a committee that I didn’t know I was going to be chair of. I’m going to do the job, try to be as fair as possible, make sure we’re as open and as transparent as possible.”
Mazzochi said the suggestion that Republicans called for the committee for political reasons was “insulting.”
“This committee is made up of people who are loyalists to Madigan on the Democrat side, we know that, we understand that,” Mazzochi said after Thursday’s meeting “But, you know what, they have to be accountable to their members, too, and many of their members have said, ‘We don’t like this behavior by the speaker and if true, he should resign.’”
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Since the ComEd agreement was made public, several members of Madigan’s caucus have publicly called on the speaker to resign his leadership posts, which he has said he doesn’t intend to do.
First-term Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker has called on Madigan to answer questions raised by prosecutors’ allegations, and said last week that “perhaps the creation of this legislative committee will actually get some of those answers.”
jmunks@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-09-10--Rare native flowers sprout in Cook County forest preserves

More than a dozen species of native plants have been identified at locations in the Cook County forest preserves where @ @ @ @ @ seen in decades .
And some plants have popped up at locations where they have @ @ @ @ @

Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 9 Kristin Pink, ecologist with the Cook County Forest Preserve District, looks at swamp thistle as she visits restoration sites at Palos preserves near Palos Park on Sept. 10, 2020. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune)
More than a dozen species of native plants have been identified at locations in the Cook County forest preserves where they haven’t been seen in decades. And some plants have popped up at locations where they have never been seen before.


chicagotribune--2020-09-10--Barricaded man misled SWAT, saying he had hostages during South Loop standoff, police said

The suspect , who was taken to a hospital for a mental health evaluation , was telling police he had @ @ @ @ @ weapons , but that was not the case , said O ’ Shea .

Chicago police take a man into custody after he allegedly barricaded himself inside a South Loop B & B Sept. 10, 2020. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)
A man who fired three shots while barricading himself inside a South Loop B & B for nearly two hours has been taken into custody after the incident on Thursday afternoon.
"He’s under arrest for firing the firearm multiple times within the apartment,” Chicago police Deputy Chief Daniel O’Shea told reporters at the scene following the incident in the 1400 block of South Wabash Avenue.
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The suspect, who was taken to a hospital for a mental health evaluation, was telling police he had hostages and "multiple” weapons, but that was not the case, said O’Shea.
Police were called to the scene shortly before 11 a.m. after two witnesses told officers there had been some kind of robbery and "multiple guns and multiple offenders”remained inside the B & B, which prompted a SWAT response.
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With the help of building management, officers went door to door, evacuating occupants in units above and below the apartment where the situation was unfolding, O’Shea said.
But when the suspect, who police were negotiating with, fired three shots, SWAT burst in and took him into custody, according to O’Shea.
No one else was with him and only one handgun, with a "30-round magazine,” was recovered.
O’Shea had high praise for SWAT officers and negotiators for "patiently bringing this to a successful closure without anyone getting hurt.”
The Chicago Fire Department brought at least one truck and an ambulance to the scene, said spokesman Larry Merritt, who confirmed no one was injured or shot during the incident.
No charges had been filed yet.
rsobol@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-09-10--PPP loans kept many small businesses afloat this summer. Without more funds, experts say a wave of b

PPP loans kept many small businesses afloat this summer. Without more funds, experts say a wave of bankruptcies is coming.

“ I think you ’ re going to see the wave of bankruptcies in September for reasons totally separate from @ @ @ @ @ Salerno said .
“ You ’ re going to see it because they ’ ve @ @ @ @ @ sheet anyway .
They ’ ve got to renegotiate their leases .
They ’ re @ @ @ @ @ whatever long-term debt they have and dig themselves out of this hole .
”

Employees work the front desk at Spa Bleu in West Dundee on July 9, 2020. PPP loans enabled owner Tammy Coakley to hire back 70 furloughed employees and reopen her salons on June 1. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)
For six months, small businesses have relied on Paycheck Protection Program loans, operational pivots and no small measure of hope to keep their doors open during the pandemic.
They may be on borrowed time.
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More than 225,000 PPP loans worth nearly $23 billion were approved in Illinois alone. Without additional federal relief, some experts project a flood of small-business bankruptcies this fall as the PPP money runs dry.
“The PPP money kept people out of bankruptcy this summer,” said Brian Shaw, a bankruptcy attorney at Cozen O’Connor in Chicago. “You’re going to see a wave of closures after Labor Day. Businesses just are not going to be able to continue.”
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The Small Business Administration wrapped up the PPP Aug. 8 after approving more than 5.2 million loans totaling $525 billion. The program, which was tweaked several times after its April launch, offered businesses with fewer than 500 employees forgivable loans of up to $10 million, if 60% of the money went toward payroll.
Part of a broader coronavirus relief package, the $659 billion paycheck program has been beset by problems. It initially came under fire after banks allegedly prioritized larger clients ahead of smaller businesses. Extended for a second round, demand for the loans fell off, leaving about $130 billion of funds on the table. A Sept. 1 House subcommittee report found that billions of dollars in PPP loans may have been diverted to “fraud, waste and abuse” through lack of oversight from the SBA and the Treasury.
The loans covered 24 weeks of payroll, but with no end in sight to the pandemic, the money is looking increasingly like a bridge loan to nowhere.
“Since the same troubles that started with the pandemic are still in play, a lot of these businesses are floundering,” Shaw said.
[ 27,412 Illinois companies got PPP loans of more than $150,000: Search our database ]
Nationwide, large commercial bankruptcies are up 55% this year, with 207 public and large private companies — those with more than $50 million in assets — filing through Sept. 1, according to BankruptcyData, which tracks commercial bankruptcies for the restructuring industry.
The largest bankruptcy filings since the pandemic hit include rental car giant Hertz, Latam Airlines, Frontier Communications, Chesapeake Energy and Ascena Retail Group, which owns women’s clothing chains Ann Taylor, Loft and Lane Bryant.
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Experts say small businesses will soon follow suit.
While the evidence is largely anecdotal at this point, the pandemic appears to have outlasted the PPP funds for a growing number of small businesses, a trend that may fuel bankruptcy filings well into next year, said James Hammond, CEO of Boston-based New Generation Research, publisher of BankruptcyData.
“There’s certainly a lot of companies that despite their PPP success at getting some funding, haven’t been able to hold it together and already have shown up in bankruptcy courts,” Hammond said.
That’s the case in federal bankruptcy court in Chicago, where a handful of Chicago-area companies filed for bankruptcy after receiving PPP loans of at least $150,000, according to publicly available SBA data and court filings.
In April, Michael Marinov, a Sarpino’s Pizza franchisee, received about $210,000 in PPP loans through Fifth Third Bank to support payroll for 39 employees at four of his six suburban Chicago locations. Two months later, he filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
The decision was driven both by the pandemic and an unrelated federal lawsuit brought by three former employees alleging labor law violations at the Countryside location, said Ben Schneider, a Skokie attorney representing Marinov in the bankruptcy case.
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“He had spent considerable resources over the last couple of years defending himself, and it just got to the point where he couldn’t afford the cost of litigation anymore,” Schneider said.
Marinov declined to comment.
Tammy Coakley, owner of two northwest suburban beauty salons, received PPP loans totaling more than $439,000 in April. In late May, she had the business file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
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Hannah Matousek gives client Sandy Okimura a haircut July 9, 2020, at Spa Bleu in West Dundee. The salon got a $215,000 Paycheck Protection Program loan. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)
The loans enabled her to hire back 70 furloughed employees and reopen her Spa Bleu salons June 1. The bankruptcy filing seeks to reorganize more than $1 million in debt, including loans for a failed cryotherapy business.
“For me, the PPP has been a blessing, and the reorganization is something that I needed to do based on one business that was weighing the other two businesses down,” Coakley said. “It was just all commingled and it ended up becoming a mess.”
Coakley opened her original Spa Bleu location in West Dundee in 2004. A second location in South Barrington opened in 2008. In 2017, she diversified her business empire, opening the Bleuroot restaurant in West Dundee and the Inspire Bleu wellness center in South Barrington.
Neither of the newer ventures panned out. Last year, she sold the farm-to-table restaurant to the chefs, and converted Inspire Bleu to a cryotherapy center, a concept that never quite caught fire either.
When all of her businesses were initially shut down by the state’s stay-at-home order in March, Coakley consulted with her attorney to discuss options for the Inspire Bleu space, which she knew was “not going to reopen soon.”
In early April, Coakley secured a $215,000 PPP loan for the West Dundee salon and a $234,000 loan for the South Barrington store, plus a $30,000 loan for Inspire Bleu.
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Coakley said she had not been planning to file for bankruptcy when she got the loans. The plan now is to reorganize her debt, cut her losses on the cryotherapy center and focus on her salons.
The basic strategy is a sound one, said Thomas Salerno, a bankruptcy attorney at the Stinson law firm’s Phoenix office.
“I think you’re going to see the wave of bankruptcies in September for reasons totally separate from the PPP loan,” Salerno said. “You’re going to see it because they’ve got to right-size their balance sheet anyway. They’ve got to renegotiate their leases. They’re going to want to take whatever long-term debt they have and dig themselves out of this hole.”
For some small businesses, getting a PPP loan and then filing for bankruptcy may have been the plan all along.
The SBA barred bankrupt companies from applying for PPP loans, causing banks to deny applications and precipitating dozens of lawsuits by small businesses. The policy was ultimately upheld by the U.S. Court of Appeals in New Orleans.
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While Congress is considering extending the PPP program and expanding it to include bankrupt companies, some have already employed a workaround: defer or in some cases dismiss the bankruptcy filings until after the PPP loans were approved and funded.
“The SBA didn’t have a problem with that — as long as you didn’t have the 'b' word attached to you at the time the loan was made,” Salerno said. “I called it the SBA tango.”
Filing for bankruptcy after getting a PPP loan will nonetheless complicate the reorganization process.
Beyond adding the government as an unsecured creditor, PPP borrowers are able to seek loan forgiveness, raising the question of whether or not it is actually a debt in the bankruptcy proceeding.
“You’ve got a significant debt that you believe you’re not going to have to pay, but you have to wait for the government six months from now to make that decision,” Shaw said.
A Chapter 11 reorganization plan is used by businesses to restructure debt and continue operations. Businesses can also file for Chapter 7 to liquidate assets, while Chapter 13 is a reorganization plan that can only be used by businesses owned by a sole proprietor.
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Chapter 11 commercial filings are up 28% this year through August, according to data released by legal services firm Epiq, which provides bankruptcy research.
While the PPP rules precluded bankrupt companies from participating, the government has actually encouraged businesses to file for bankruptcy through another facet of coronavirus relief legislation passed in March.
As part of the stimulus plan, Congress expanded access to a streamlined new version of Chapter 11 known as Subchapter V, which enables smaller companies to reorganize more quickly and retain control of the business at a lower cost.
The provision was approved by Congress in August 2019 and took effect in February — one month before the pandemic shut down much of the retail economy. The coronavirus relief law temporarily increased the debt limit from $2.7 million to $7.5 million to allow more companies to use the “fast track” Chapter 11 bankruptcy option.
Nationally, Subchapter V bankruptcy filings increased steadily from 82 cases in February to 140 last month, according to data from the American Bankruptcy Institute. There have been 32 such filings to date in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
Shaw said he guided two Chicago companies through Subchapter V bankruptcy filings in May.
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But bankruptcy is not the only measure of the economic disruption wrought by the pandemic on small businesses, Shaw said.
“These little restaurants and convenience stores and small family businesses, half of them that are going to go away won’t even file for bankruptcy,” Shaw said. “Some of these businesses will just shut their doors and go ’poof.’”
rchannick@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-09-10--Marni Yang’s attorney says DNA found at Deerfield homicide scene did not come from her

Lee Filas , the spokesman for Lake County State ’ s Attorney Mike Nerheim , said Thursday that prosecutors would @ @ @ @ @ the media .
Filas , though , added that evidence at trial showed that Yang @ @ @ @ @ she wore gloves during the shooting .

Marni Yang is serving a life sentence in connection with the death of Rhoni Reuter in October 2007. (Illinois Department of Correctio / HANDOUT)
Crime scene evidence recovered during the 2007 investigation of a Deerfield woman’s killing came from an unknown person, and did not come from police investigators or Marni Yang, according to an attorney for Yang.
Yang is serving a life sentence for murdering the pregnant girlfriend of former Chicago Bear Shaun Gayle.
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At a Thursday press conference, Yang attorney Jed Stone said new testing shows that DNA recovered from shell casings found next to the body of Rhoni Reuter came from an unknown male subject.
“We are going to find that unknown male subject,” Stone said.
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The attorney also said a fingerprint recovered at the scene cannot be tied to investigators or anyone else associated with the case, especially Yang.
“Marni Yang wasn’t there. She was innocent,” Stone said.
Former Chicago Bear Shaun Gayle talks with reporters after attending the bond hearing for Marni Yang in Lake County Court in March 2009. (David Trotman-Wilkins / Chicago Tribune)
Yang was convicted in 2011 for shooting Reuter to death at Reuter’s Deerfield condo. Lake County authorities alleged that Yang murdered the pregnant Reuter because Yang and the victim were rivals for the affections of ex- Bear Gayle, who was the father of Reuter’s unborn child.
At trial, jurors heard Yang confess to the murder on a tape recording made at a Denny’s by a friend of Yang. Stone, though, has said the confession was a fabrication that Yang created because she thought police had targeted her then-teenage son in the investigation.
Lee Filas, the spokesman for Lake County State’s Attorney Mike Nerheim, said Thursday that prosecutors would not litigate the case in the media. Filas, though, added that evidence at trial showed that Yang said on the tape that she wore gloves during the shooting.
Nerheim was not the state’s attorney when Yang was convicted.
[ Book publisher who served 30 years for murder is trying to prove the innocence of convicted killer Marni Yang ]
Yang filed a post-conviction petition last year seeking to be exonerated for Reuther’s murder. Prosecutors have filed a motion to dismiss Yang’s petition.
Judge Christopher Stride set a Nov. 10 court date to check on the status of the case. The judge told Stone and prosecutors that he wanted to make progress toward setting a hearing date on the prosecutors' motion to have the case dismissed.
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Yang, 52, is serving a life sentence at the state prison in Logan. Stone is also trying to have her released due to concerns about COVID-19.


chicagotribune--2020-09-10--COVID-19 in Illinois by the numbers: Here’s a daily update on cases, positivity rate and hospital da

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

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

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


chicagotribune--2020-09-10--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--2020-09-10--Daily Illinois coronavirus graphs: 28 new deaths, 1,953 new confirmed cases and 48,982 new test resu

Daily Illinois coronavirus graphs: 28 new deaths, 1,953 new confirmed cases and 48,982 new test results

Illinois announced 1,953 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 Thursday for a total of 255,643 .
The state also announced 28 @ @ @ @ @ of 8,242 and 48,982 new test results for a total of 4.56 million .

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


chicagotribune--2020-09-10--Chicago police hold new round of safety drills on South, Northwest sides

Thursday ’ s drills will take place from 1 to 3 p.m. in the 2600 block of North Narragansett Avenue @ @ @ @ @ the Belmont Cragin neighborhood as well as the 4700 block of South Cottage Grove Avenue @ @ @ @ @ the Bronzeville community .
Agencies expected to participate in the drill include the Office of @ @ @ @ @ police , fire , Department of Transportation , Streets and Sanitation and Water Management , @ @ @

Police officers on bicycles block off the 400 block of North Wabash Avenue to prevent a protest march from reaching Trump International Hotel and Tower on Aug. 27, 2020, in Chicago. Simultaneously, a public safety drill was taking place in the central business district. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)
City officials warned of neighborhood traffic disruptions on Thursday afternoon as police and other agencies conduct a new round of safety drills on the city’s South and Northwest sides.
Last month, police and other city departments conducted drills in the central business district and Near South Side after protests and unrest that followed the Minneapolis police killing of George Floyd in May. Some of the unrest this summer occurred in several neighborhoods in the city.
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In a news release, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said the drill is not a response to a particular incident. The drill is designed to “ensure the safety of large public gatherings and heavily trafficked pedestrian areas,” according to the release.
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Thursday’s drills will take place from 1 to 3 p.m. in the 2600 block of North Narragansett Avenue, a retail area in the Belmont Cragin neighborhood as well as the 4700 block of South Cottage Grove Avenue, a business district in the Bronzeville community. Agencies expected to participate in the drill include the Office of Emergency Management and Communication, police, fire, Department of Transportation, Streets and Sanitation and Water Management, among others.


chicagotribune--2020-09-10--Man rescued by police divers after he jumps into Lake Michigan off Gold Coast

He had been walking with two female friends near the 1000 block of North Lake Shore Drive about 2:35 a.m. @ @ @ @ @ lake , according to police .
The man had been drinking before he got in @ @ @ @ @ officials .

A man was in critical condition after he jumped into Lake Michigan off the Gold Coast early Thursday and had to be rescued by police, according to officials.
The man, 20, was in critical condition at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, according to a police media notification.
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He had been walking with two female friends near the 1000 block of North Lake Shore Drive about 2:35 a.m. when he jumped into the lake, according to police. The man had been drinking before he got in the water, according to officials.
The man had to be rescued by the police marine unit when he couldn’t get out of the water, according to officials.
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Police did not immediately release any other information.


chicagotribune--2020-09-10--Watch live: Gov. J.B. Pritzker gives an update on COVID-19

Gov .
J.B. Pritzker will give an update on the state ’ s response to the coronavirus in a briefing @ @ @ @ @ p.m. Get the latest coronavirus updates here .

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chicagotribune--2020-09-10--Watch live: Mayor Lightfoot to discuss city’s plan to remove lead water pipes

Mayor Lori Lightfoot will join other leaders to announce the city ’ s lead service line replacement program .
Read @ @ @


chicagotribune--2020-09-10--University of Wisconsin-Madison moves classes online, quarantines students in two dorms as coronavir

University of Wisconsin-Madison moves classes online, quarantines students in two dorms as coronavirus cases spike on campus

“ I share the disappointment and frustration of students and employees who had hoped we might enjoy these first few @ @ @ @ @ together , ” Blank said .
“ Before we started this semester , we knew @ @ @ @ @ risk-free in the current environment .
”

A view of Bascom Hall on the campus of the University of Wisconsin in 2013 in Madison, Wisconsin. All classes at the school were moved online and students living in Sellery Hall and Witte Hall were ordered to quarantine for 14 days starting on Sept. 11, 2020. (Mike McGinnis / Getty Images)
MADISON, Wis. — The University of Wisconsin-Madison is moving all classes online and quarantining students in two of its largest dorms as it deals with rising cases of COVID-19.
Colleges across the country have been grappling with outbreaks in recent weeks after choosing to return to in-person instruction, but system President Tommy Thompson insisted on opening campuses this fall despite the warning signs.
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According to UW-Madison data, 1,044 students and 26 employees have tested positive for the virus since Aug. 6. The city-county public health department said there are at least 46 separate outbreaks currently tied to UW-Madison.
Chancellor Rebecca Blank ordered the 2,230 residents living in Sellery Hall and Witte Hall to quarantine for 14 days, starting at 10 p.m. Wednesday, the State Journal reported.
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“I share the disappointment and frustration of students and employees who had hoped we might enjoy these first few weeks of the academic year together,” Blank said. “Before we started this semester, we knew that no plan would be risk-free in the current environment.”
Blank ordered an end to in-person classes through at least Sept. 25.
Dane County Executive Joe Parisi demanded Wednesday that the university immediately send all undergraduates living on campus home in an attempt to contain the coronavirus.
UW-Madison said it doesn’t believe such a step is warranted at this time, system spokesman Mark Pitsch said.


chicagotribune--2020-09-10--Man hit in the eye by paintball in attack near Grant Park

The man , 29 , was standing on a sidewalk in the 700 block of South Michigan Avenue around 12:30 @ @ @ @ @ white sedan fired a paintball gun , police said .

A man was hit in the eye by a paintball fired from a car near Grant Park early Thursday, according to Chicago police.
The man, 29, was standing on a sidewalk in the 700 block of South Michigan Avenue around 12:30 a.m. when someone in a white sedan fired a paintball gun, police said.
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He was hit in the right eye and taken in fair condition to Northwestern Memorial Hospital.
A 26-year-old man with him was hit in the chest but was not injured, police said.
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No one was in custody.


chicagotribune--2020-09-10--Man seriously wounded during carjacking on Interstate 57 near 119th Street

The man in the first car , who had a concealed carry permit from Texas , pulled his own gun @ @ @ @ @ state police said .
The man in the first car was shot twice in the @ @ @ @ @ right knee , and was taken in critical condition to Christ Medical Center in Oak @ @

A man was shot and seriously wounded during a carjacking on Interstate 57 near 119th Street late Wednesday, according to the Illinois state police.
The man was driving south when another car bumped into him around 10:30 p.m. and the two pulled over to the side of the road, state police said. A man got out of the second car and displayed a handgun.
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The man in the first car, who had a concealed carry permit from Texas, pulled his own gun and shots were exchanged, state police said. The man in the first car was shot twice in the chest and twice in the right knee, and was taken in critical condition to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn.
State police said he was alert and conscious. A passenger in his car escaped unharmed when the gunman drove off in the victim’s car. It was later recovered at 145th and Harrison streets in Posen.
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No one was in custody.
WGN-TV contributed to this report


chicagotribune--2020-09-10--Strangers tried to save 8-year-old Dajore Wilson when she and her father were shot: ‘I fought so har

Strangers tried to save 8-year-old Dajore Wilson when she and her father were shot: ‘I fought so hard to save your baby’

In the hospital Wednesday , her father struggled with the thought of talking to his other children about their sister @ @ @ @ @ struggled with the idea of Chicago as thin ice , cracking everywhere he walks , @ @ @ @ @ now that his daughter is dead .

The clear casket carrying the body of 8-year-old shooting victim DaJore Wilson is carried out of Abundant Living Christian Center in Dolton after her funeral on Sept. 18, 2020. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)
Doreen Angone crossed Union Avenue early Wednesday afternoon, toting a bag of stuffed animals and toys and photos of 8-year-old Dajore Wilson, who had been shot here Monday night.
She placed the photos into clear plastic bags, attached to black cardboard on the tree, that protected the photos from the rain. She left the bag at the tree’s base for the family to set out the stuffed animals.
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Two nights earlier, someone had opened fire on the car Dajore’s father, D’Andre Wilson, was driving at Union’s intersection with 47th Street. Dajore, her father and a friend were shot. Her mother was injured by broken glass. Only Dajore died.
Relatives of Dajore and neighbors near the scene still haven’t fully processed what happened here. Dajore’s family is grieving, her father from his hospital bed, as are neighbors who tried to help in the minutes before police and paramedics arrived.
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Doreen Angone hangs photos of Dajore Wilson, 8, near her memorial on 47th Street and South Union Avenue on Sept. 9, 2020, in Chicago. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)
The 8-year-old’s family had left Dajore’s grandmother’s home nearby and were heading to Fairplay Foods, a block from the shooting, for groceries Monday night. D’Andre Wilson drove, his daughter in the back seat with a family friend, and Dajore’s mother in the front seat.
After grocery shopping, the father planned to take Dajore back to his house and spend time with her and her twin brother, Damani, D’Andre Wilson said.
Their car was stopped at a red light when a man in all black got out of a Dodge Charger that was behind their car, and as the light turned green, the man started shooting, according to police sources.
They ducked when they heard gunfire, D’Andre Wilson said in an interview Wednesday. Rounds hit the dashboard. His car crashed into a tree. The Charger spun around and headed south.
Angone, who lives near the intersection, heard the first gunfire and started walking toward her back porch. She heard a commotion outside, but she wasn’t sure what it was. She heard more gunfire and started down her stairs.
Across the street, Shanna Lamb was outside with her daughter and her daughter’s friend, chopping wood for a fire, she recalled. She rushed them behind a generator when the shooting started. She moved them to a doorway, thinking she’d kick the door down if she needed to.
Police investigate the scene where an 8-year-old girl was killed and two adults were wounded when someone shot into a car near the intersection of 47th Street and Union Avenue during the Labor Day weekend, Sept. 7, 2020, in Chicago. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)
Angone stepped toward her alley, between a trailer and her garage, and heard a car crash into a tree. She waited at the alley, trying to cross as cars passed. Farther south, the black Charger sped past a firehouse. Firefighters were surprised by the speed, 80 to 100 mph they later told police.
When Angone made it across the street, Dajore lay on the ground while her mother hunched over her, pleading with the girl to stay awake.
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“Dajore, breathe, breathe. It’s Mommy, please breathe,” she said to her daughter.
Dajore’s father looked to the apartment nearbyand pleaded for help.
“Please help us,” he yelled. “They just shot my baby.”
“They shot the baby,” Lamb yelled to people who had taken refuge inside. She yelled for someone to start CPR and ran down the stairs from the porch.
After a couple of seconds, Angone saw Lamb running down the steps toward the car. Angone was yelling while trying to get Dajore’s mother away, telling her to let Lamb do CPR.
A woman kneels on the ground outside the University of Chicago Medicine's Comer Children's Hospital, where an 8-year-old girl was taken after being shot near the intersection of 47th Street and Union Avenue during the Labor Day weekend, Sept. 7, 2020, in Chicago. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)
Dajore wasn’t moving and didn’t appear to be breathing. Angone asked Lamb if she was calm enough to work on the girl, and she said she was. Angone guided Dajore’s mother away.
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Lamb had complete focus on the child. By the time she bent over the girl and started chest compressions. She thought that if she could at least get the little girl’s heart pumping, she may have a chance at survival.
As Angone guided the mother, she noticed a woman in the back seat who appeared near to passing out. Angone grabbed her arm and asked if she was OK.
“I think I was shot in my back,” she told Angone, who saw the burn holes in the woman’s T-shirt from where she had been shot.
In the front seat, D’Andre Wilson screamed and prayed. His leg was broken, he couldn’t move, and he craned his neck and body around to see where Lamb was trying to help Dajore.
“That’s my baby, I want my baby, is my baby OK?” D’Andre Wilson said to Angone. She told him that they were working on the baby, that she should be OK.
Dajore Wilson, 8, was shot on Union Avenue near 47th Street in the Canaryville neighborhood. (Family photo)
Lamb pleaded with the girl while she worked on her. She had never performed CPR on a child or a gunshot victim before, but in the moment she just moved to help.
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“Stay with your mom, listen to your mom’s voice, baby,” Lamb said. She’s not sure the girl heard her. But she tried.
A neighbor thought she was pressing too hard, and Lamb replied that she was trained. Police started to arrive, and someone told Lamb to stop, but she said she couldn’t unless someone was going to take over.
The woman in the back seat, shot in the back, started getting wobbly, and an officer asked for an ambulance. Angone told the officer the front-seat victim, the girl’s father, was also shot.
She waited with them until the ambulances arrived.
Dajore was taken away and died at Comer Children’s Hospital.
Wednesday morning, a half day before a scheduled vigil, Dajore’s 28-year-old uncle Reggie Ray sat alone against his car next to the memorial relatives built Tuesday night.
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He poured himself a small drink. He came here to grieve alone.
Balloons in shades of pink. Round, star-shaped, some mylar, some bearing the word “princess,” some tied to a wooden cross secured to the tree with ribbon.
Daija Neal and David Wilson attend a vigil for their cousin, Dajore Wilson, 8, on Sept. 9, 2020, near where she was killed Monday at 47th Street and South Union Avenue in the Canaryville neighborhood. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)
At the base stood extinguished candles and others lit by battery, and nylon and plastic flowers with pink and white butterflies.
Ray lay down flowers. An older couple passed. The man made the sign of the cross while looking down at the memorial and kissed his fingers without breaking stride.
“That was his heart,” Ray said of his brother’s daughter. “That was his only girl. She was stuck to him like glue. She was an angel.”
Dajore had a twin brother, and Ray said the two were always together. The fraternal twins had middle names of King and Queen, D’Andre Wilson said.
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“Her brother, they was always close. They’re all full of energy, all the kids. They all look alike, just happy kids, living a kid’s life.”
In the hospital Wednesday, her father struggled with the thought of talking to his other children about their sister’s death. He struggled with the idea of Chicago as thin ice, cracking everywhere he walks, and the weight of that now that his daughter is dead.
His baby, he said, was smart.
“So smart and caring and cute. She just loved me so much. She’d make her mom jealous,” D’Andre Wilson said.
She liked SpongeBob and Disney movies. Her favorite song was “Boomerang” by JoJo Siwa. She would dress up and dance, her father said. She liked the color pink.
She was a girly girl and loved fashion, including her Gucci purse and belt, he said. She pretended to be a model.
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“Of course she was spoiled,” her uncle said. “She was his only daughter.”
She wanted to be a teacher, and she loved school.
“All she wanted to do was schoolwork.” She was fine with remote school too. As long as she could be in school, D’Andre Wilson said.
She had a calm demeanor and never raised her voice.
“If I got worked up, she’d say, ‘Dad, calm down,'” D’Andre Wilson said. "I’ve got to calm down, she kept me sane. She kept me together.''
Tuesday night, a couple of relatives had a chance to thank Lamb for her care in Dajore’s last moments. They gave her big hugs and thanked her for trying.
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After the shooting, Lamb reached out to D’Andre Wilson through Facebook and expressed condolences.
“I would like to say I fought so hard to save your baby. I wanted her to live so bad and I’ll never forget her beautiful face. My thoughts and prayers are with you. I’m so very sorry.”
“I love you so much,” he replied. “(You) tried and I swear I love you. I saw it in yo face you wanted her to live. I could not move I can’t stop crying. But thank you.”
pnickeas@chicagotribune.com
rsobol@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-09-10--Coronavirus in Illinois updates: Here’s what happened Sept. 9 with COVID-19 in the Chicago area

Illinois health officials Thursday announced 1,953 new known cases of COVID-19 and 28 additional fatalities , bringing the total number of known infections in Illinois to 255,643 and the statewide death toll to 8,242 since the start of the pandemic .
Also Thursday , Gov .
J.B. Pritzker joined local officials in Rockford to announce a nearly $ 17 million effort to connect roughly 1,300 people who are unemployed amid the coronavirus pandemic with training and jobs , including temporary jobs assisting with the response to COVID-19 .
Two federal grants totaling $ 16.6 million will be distributed to a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to help train and employ out-of-work residents for jobs such as contact tracing , building sanitation , temperature screening , and food preparation and distribution .
Priority will be given to applicants who have lost their jobs during the pandemic .
Meanwhile , after 1,044 students and 26 employees tested positive for the virus since Aug. 6 , according to data from the University of Wisconsin-Madison , the school is now moving all classes online and quarantining students in two of its largest dorms .
The city-county public health department said there are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to UW-Madison .
4:45 p.m. : Money for $ 300 unemployment boost is about to run out , with no extension in sight The temporary $ 300-a-week unemployment insurance boost implemented by President Donald Trump is about to end , with no extension in sight .
The Federal Emergency Management Agency said Thursday in an email to The Associated Press that it has distributed $ 30 billion of the $ 44 billion it had set aside for the benefit .
The agency said the fund was enough to cover six weeks of additional @ @ @ @ @ @ @ unemployed workers won ’ t receive any more after this week .
FEMA emphasized that all eligible recipients will get the $ 300 boost to cover six weeks , a period that ended Sept. 5 .
4:25 p.m. : CTA expands tool to let passengers know when buses and trains get too crowded Starting Thursday , CTA passengers can see how crowded trains are before boarding to allow for social distancing measures recommended to minimize the spread of the coronavirus .
The CTA has seen a slight uptick in passengers in June since @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
J.B. Pritzker ’ s five-phase reopening plan , spokeswoman Catherine Hosinski said .
Still , ridership has been down by about 70 % since the start of the pandemic , she said .
Initially for bus routes , the CTA launched its ridership information dashboard on its website as a way to help passengers avoid buses that are too crowded .
The addition of the rail dashboard provides a range for the average number of seats taken at each station , with an icon depicting three people to show typical crowding levels @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a high level of ridership on trains , all three people icons are filled in for a station , showing that 20 seats or more are taken .
For lower levels of ridership , one of the three people icons are filled in for a station , showing up to 10 seats being occupied per rail car .
And for medium levels of ridership , two of the three people are filled in for a station , showing that between 10 to 20 seats are occupied per rail car .
The percentage of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ downward in Illinois after rising for much of the summer , but state officials remain concerned about stubbornly high positivity rates in certain regions as well as rising hospitalizations .
“ We can ’ t outrun this virus .
It hasn ’ t gone away , ” Gov .
J.B. Pritzker said Thursday during a news conference at the James R. Thompson Center in the Loop .
“ We can ’ t pretend that we can fully restore our economic vitality as long as it ’ s here without any way to temper @ @ @ @ @ @ @ PPP loans kept many small businesses afloat this summer .
Without more funds , experts say a wave of bankruptcies is coming .
For six months , small businesses have relied on PPP loans , operational pivots and no small measure of hope to keep their doors open during the pandemic .
More than 225,000 Paycheck Protection Program loans worth nearly $ 23 billion were approved in Illinois alone .
Without additional federal relief , some experts project a flood of small business bankruptcies this fall as the PPP money runs dry .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ months into a pandemic : more pressure , less sex Divorce is hard .
Add a global pandemic and it may cause you to rethink some things .
That was the reality for three couples whom attorney Susan Myres counseled on divorce .
At the beginning of the pandemic , they all decided to step back and reconsider going through with separating in the midst of a global crisis .
“ I think COVID , for people with a kindness and generosity in their heart , made them kind of sit up straight @ @ @ @ @ @ @ really what I want to do ?
’ , ” said Myres , president of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers , which is based in Chicago .
About six months into COVID-19 , many people are working from home , meaning they may be spending a lot more time with their significant others .
But regardless of if you ’ re just dating or thinking of starting a family , many relationships are under significant stress .
“ We don ’ t know if it is ( transverse myelitis ) , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ being done now as part of the follow-up.
” Senate Democrats scuttled a scaled-back GOP coronavirus rescue package on Thursday , saying the measure shortchanged too many pressing needs as the pandemic continues its assault on the country .
The mostly party-line vote capped weeks of wrangling over a fifth relief bill that all sides say they want but are unable to deliver .
The bipartisan spirit that powered earlier aid measures has given way to election-season political combat and name-calling .
The 52-47 vote fell well short of what was needed to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ end hopes for coronavirus relief before the November election .
12:20 p.m. : Gov .
J.B. Pritzker announces funding to connect 1,300 unemployed residents with training and jobs , some in coronavirus response Gov .
J.B. Pritzker joined local officials in Rockford on Thursday to announce a nearly $ 17 million effort to connect roughly 1,300 people who are unemployed amid the coronavirus pandemic with training and jobs , including temporary jobs assisting with the response to COVID-19 .
Two federal grants totaling $ 16.6 million will be distributed to a dozen local @ @ @ @ @ @ @ train and employ out-of-work residents for jobs such as contact tracing , building sanitation , temperature screening , and food preparation and distribution .
Priority will be given to applicants who have lost their jobs during the pandemic .
12:05 p.m. : 1,953 new known COVID-19 cases and 28 more deaths reported Illinois health officials Thursday announced 1,953 new known cases of COVID-19 and 28 additional fatalities , bringing the total number of known infections in Illinois to 255,643 and the statewide death toll to 8,242 since the start of the pandemic .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , gyms and more , COVID-19 has upended how we think our living spaces should work Your home is working overtime during the pandemic .
For many , what was once just a dwelling has become classroom , office , restaurant , gym , movie theater and more .
COVID-19 has not only kept most of us confined to our quarters for the past six months — it has also altered the very definition of home .
As homebuyers increasingly seek out pandemic-friendly features like home offices and expansive outdoor space , Chicago-area @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are helping them find the features they need to live in this new normal .
9:39 a.m. : Trump ’ s own words in Bob Woodward book refocus attention on his handling of the coronavirus In April , the president tried to shift the public ’ s focus to the economy .
In July , to defending the country ’ s “ heritage.
” In September , to enforcing “ law and order.
” But all along the way , the death toll from the coronavirus continued to mount .
And now , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ attention to his handling of the pandemic when he can least afford it — less than two months before Election Day .
8:04 a.m. : From speedier Wi-Fi to new bikes : As the pandemic drags on , companies paying for work-from-home perks beyond the basics Six months into the coronavirus pandemic and with no return to the office in sight , Chicago-area employers are realizing that working remotely through a global health crisis requires more than helping employees pay for a comfy office chair .
They are investing in intangibles that can @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , online tutoring for kids , or sessions with a life coach .
Not every company is pouring money into their employees ' remote work setups .
In the midst of an economic downturn and an ongoing unemployment crisis , the investments are a luxury not all can afford .
The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits was unchanged last week at 884,000 , a sign that layoffs are stuck at a historically high level six months after the viral pandemic flattened the economy .
The latest figure released by the Labor @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who sought benefits in any week on record before this year .
7 a.m. : State to announce new support for Illinois residents who have lost jobs because of COVID-19 Gov .
J.B. Pritzker was scheduled to be in Rockford on Thursday to announce “ investments to expand job opportunities ” for people in Illinois who have lost their jobs because of the coronavirus .
Pritzker was scheduled to make the announcement at a federal- and state-taxpayer funded center , The Workford Connection , which is one of 22 local state-chartered boards designed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ those seeking workers and provide job training .
6 a.m. : 10 things science has learned about COVID-19 in less than a year It ’ s been only nine months since the world learned of a new coronavirus that would trigger a pandemic declaration in March and ultimately disrupt billions of lives .
That ’ s little more than a blink of the eye when it comes to understanding a novel disease , and the advice from scientists and doctors is still evolving as they accumulate experience with COVID-19 .
But there are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ — so far — about the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus and the disease it causes , including the benefits of wearing a face mask and that sometimes 6 feet of social distance isn ’ t enough .
Here are five stories from Wednesday related to COVID-19 .

We have lifted the paywall on this story. To support essential reporting, please consider becoming a subscriber .
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 health officials Wednesday announced 1,337 new known cases of COVID-19 and 30 additional fatalities, bringing the total number of known infections in Illinois to 253,690 and the statewide death toll to 8,214 since the start of the pandemic.
Meanwhile, the Chicago Public Schools on began the school year Tuesday with remote learning. Most educators were teaching from their homes, although some streamed lessons from their school classrooms.
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Many suburban school districts have already resumed classes, with teachers giving lessons remotely from their school classrooms. Some private schools, including the Archdiocese of Chicago’s students, already went back to school in person.
Also Tuesday, the city of Chicago added Kentucky to its mandatory quarantine order and removed California and Puerto Rico, officials announced.
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Here’s what’s happening Wednesday with COVID-19 in the Chicago area and Illinois:
9:05 p.m.: No COVID-19 relief package before the election? Top GOP senators make pessimistic predictions.
Top Republican senators made pessimistic predictions Wednesday about securing a bipartisan coronavirus relief package before the November election, signaling instead they will just try to pass legislation that would avoid a federal shutdown as lawmakers head home to campaign.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said he was “optimistic” that Republicans would deliver strong support for the GOP’s $500 billion slimmed-down COVID-19 rescue package in a test vote Thursday. But he declined to say whether his majority would be fully on board. Democrats have indicated they will shelve the Republican measure as insufficient, leaving lawmakers at an impasse.
There’s no indication yet that bipartisan talks that crumbled last month will restart. Lawmakers closely tracking recent efforts to strike a deal that could pass before the November election said they saw little reason for hope.
“Unless something really broke through, it’s not going to happen,” said Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee.
The stalemate is politically risky for all sides heading into the fall election that will decide not only the presidency, but also control of Congress.
Read more here. —Associated Press
7:45 p.m.: Half of Chicago households report serious financial problems during the COVID-19 pandemic, NPR-Harvard poll finds
Half of Chicago households, many of them Black and Latino families, reported facing serious financial problems caused by the coronavirus pandemic, according to a poll of more than 3,400 respondents in four major U.S. cities published Wednesday.
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The poll was conducted from July 1 through Aug. 3 in New York City, Los Angeles, Houston and Chicago by NPR, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
During the pandemic, many Chicago residents have struggled to pay bills, rent and utilities, as well as afford medical care and child care. Many have also depleted their savings, according to the study.
The poll found 69% of Black households, 63% of Latino households and 59% of households making less than $100,000 annually in Chicago reported serious financial problems.
Read more here. —Abdel Jimenez
6:30 p.m. (update): COVID-19 vaccine by Nov. 3? Halted study explains just how unlikely that is.
The suspension of a huge COVID-19 vaccine study over an illness in a single participant shows there will be “no compromises” on safety in the race to develop the shot, the chief of the National Institutes of Health told Congress on Wednesday.
AstraZeneca has put on hold studies of its vaccine candidate in the U.S. and other countries while it investigates whether a British volunteer’s illness is a side effect or a coincidence.
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“This ought to be reassuring,” NIH Director Dr. Francis Collins said before a Senate committee. “When we say we are going to focus first on safety and make no compromises, here is Exhibit A of how that is happening in practice.”
—Associated Press
4:30 p.m.: Lightfoot says she doesn’t expect ‘mass crowds of trick or treating’ this Halloween
On what should have been an epic year for Halloween lovers, with the annual celebration of costumes and candy falling on a Saturday, it seems the coronavirus will be playing the final trick on those seeking treats in Chicago.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot said the city’s looking at how to best celebrate the holiday and doesn’t expect it to look like years past. Lightfoot said the city is working on plans to recognize and celebrate Halloween, but in a way that’s “consistent with the public health guidance.”
“I don’t expect to see mass crowds of trick or treating like we have in years past,” she said. “It’s not safe for the children. It’s not safe for the adults.”
The announcement isn’t a surprise in a city that’s discouraged large social gatherings while urging people to be careful about who they come into contact with, though it’s unclear how the city would enforce trick or treat bans.
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—Gregory Pratt
3:45 p.m.: CPS clerks must continue to work in person for now, but unfair labor complaint prompted by COVID-19 will be heard
Chicago Public Schools employees who say the risks of COVID-19 make their buildings unsafe must continue to show up for in-person work for now.
Illinois education labor board denied a request from the Chicago Teachers Union for emergency relief for clerks and other school employees who’ve been asked to work in person but say CPS has not bargained with them in good faith over working conditions.
Despite the outcome of Wednesday’s hearing, the board has agreed to advance the case.
Read more here. —Hannah Leone
1:43 p.m.: United, pilots union reach tentative deal to avoid furloughs
United Airlines and the union representing its pilots have reached an agreement that would spare almost 3,000 pilots from furloughs next month.
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The Chicago-based airline last week warned that it planned to furlough 2,850 of its 13,000 pilots, along with more than 13,500 employees in other roles, amid a steep decline in air travel during the coronavirus pandemic.
Most of those furloughs are scheduled to start Oct. 1. Airlines that accepted federal aid this spring agreed to avoid layoffs before that date.
Read more here. —Lauren Zumbach
1:41 p.m.: Positive COVID-19 test at Hinsdale Central High School
Hinsdale High School District 86 has launched its contract tracing procedure as someone at Hinsdale Central High School has had a positive COVID-19 test.
District officials notified families Wednesday morning about the positive test, but did not say when the person was tested or when the individual was in the school.
Students have been doing remote learning since the start of school last month, so students are not attending classes in person at Hinsdale Central or Hinsdale South high schools.
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Students could be at the school campus participating in one of the fall sports, which include girls and boys cross country, girls tennis and girls swimming and diving.
Read more here. —Kimberly Fornek
1:04 p.m.: Impact of COVID-19 seen on enrollment numbers at Illinois universities
The number of freshmen and international students are down at many Illinois universities as the impact on the coronavirus on fall enrollment begins to come into view.
At the University of Illinois, the number of undergraduate students enrolled is down about 350 from last year’s high. The freshman class is also down about 1.8%, and the number of students who chose to defer enrollment was nearly five times higher than in a typical year, officials said.
For more on fall enrollment at UIUC and other Illinois colleges, read more here. —Elyssa Cherney
12:24 p.m.: ‘I wanted to always play it down’: President Trump admits to downplaying the threat of coronavirus in new Bob Woodward book
President Donald Trump acknowledged to journalist Bob Woodward that he had knowingly played down the coronavirus earlier this year even though he was aware it was “deadly” and vastly more serious than the seasonal flu.
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“This is deadly stuff,” Trump told Woodward on Feb. 7 in one of a series of interviews he conducted with the president for his upcoming book, “Rage.”
The Washington Post and CNN were given advance copies of the book and published details Wednesday.
“You just breathe the air and that’s how it’s passed,” Trump said. “And so that’s a very tricky one. That’s a very delicate one. It’s also more deadly than even your strenuous flu.”
That was a vastly different story than what Trump was telling the public.
“I wanted to always play it down,” Trump told Woodward on March 19. “I still like playing it down, because I don’t want to create a panic.”
Read more here. —The New York Times
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12:05 p.m.: 1,337 new known COVID-19 cases, 30 additional deaths reported
Illinois health officials Wednesday announced 1,337 new known cases of COVID-19 and 30 additional fatalities, bringing the total number of known infections in Illinois to 253,690 and the statewide death toll to 8,214 since the start of the pandemic.
—Chicago Tribune staff
11:22 a.m.: NIH: Halted vaccine study shows there will be ‘no compromises’ on safety
AstraZeneca’s suspension of final testing of its potential COVID-19 vaccine while it investigates a volunteer’s illness shows there will be “no compromises” on safety in developing the shots, the chief of the National Institutes of Health told Congress on Wednesday.
“This ought to be reassuring,” NIH Director Dr. Francis Collins said before a Senate committee. “When we say we are going to focus first on safety and make no compromises, here is Exhibit A of how that is happening in practice.”
Late Tuesday, AstraZeneca announced its final-stage studies are on temporary hold while the company looks into whether a test subject’s illness is a side effect of the shot or a coincidence. The company gave no details on the illness, but Collins said it involved a “spinal problem.”
Read more here. —Associated Press
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10:22 a.m.: Tamale Guy restaurant reopens today in Chicago as owner remains in ICU
Tamale Guy Chicago reopens today in the Ukrainian Village neighborhood. The namesake restaurant of Claudio Velez was closed for nearly two weeks after he tested positive for COVID-19, just two weeks after a grand opening with 10 block long lines, two hour waits and selling out of thousands of tamales. Prior to the coronavirus mandated closures, Velez was best known for his red cooler full of warm tamales, sold bar to bar on the North Side of the city.
Velez remains hospitalized on a ventilator in ICU with his condition improving. His business partners, longtime chef and friend Pierre Vega and his wife Kristin Vega, will continue operations. All staff tested negative for the coronavirus. They also have cleaned and disinfected the takeout-only restaurant according to CDC guidelines, said Velez’s son, Osmar Abad.
A GoFundMe for Velez’s medical expenses has raised more than $56,000 to date. Last week Abad said the family planned to close the campaign, but it’s still open. “We will leave the funds there until my dad is able to wake up and make his own decisions,” said Abad.
—Louisa Chu
9:24 a.m.: Dr. Anthony Fauci sticks with 2021 prediction for coronavirus vaccine
Dr. Anthony Fauci said he’s sticking with his projection that a safe and effective coronavirus vaccine may be ready in early 2021. He said it’s possible it could be sooner, but “unlikely.”
The White House adviser on the coronavirus told "CBS This Morning “the more likely scenario is that we will know by the end of this calendar year and hopefully we’ll be able to start vaccinations in earnest as we begin early 2021.”
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Fauci said it’s routine for late-stage vaccine studies to be put on hold because of side effects. A study by AstraZeneca of a potential coronavirus vaccine was recently paused for safety reasons after an illness from a shot in a recipient in Britain.
Read more here. —Associated Press
7:15 a.m.: JPMorgan Chase says some customers and employees misused PPP, other stimulus programs
JPMorgan Chase said Tuesday that a number of its employees and customers may have abused the Paycheck Protection Program and other coronavirus stimulus programs.
The New York-based bank said it is working with law enforcement in some cases, although in a memo sent to employees it did not state how many employees may have unethically misused the programs, or what exactly they did. The bank declined to comment beyond the memo.
“Unfortunately, we’ve also seen conduct that does not live up to our business and ethical principles — and may even be illegal,” the memo said.
Read more here. —Associated Press
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7 a.m.: Pritzker to attend Springfield memorial service for those who died from COVID-19
After census event in Normal in the morning, Gov. J.B. Pritzker was scheduled to attend a memorial service in Springfield Wednesday evening for people who have died from the coronavirus, according to his office.
Pritzker was scheduled to attend a memorial service at the First Presbyterian Church in Springfield “to honor those who have lost their lives to coronavirus … and their families,” according to his press office. Further details weren’t immediately released.
—Chicago Tribune staff
6:45 a.m.: Parents, students at Wheaton rally call for in-person learning and the early return of high school sports
Could Illinois be next on the list for an early return of high school sports?
That was an idea behind a large gathering Tuesday night in Wheaton.
Wheaton businessmen Dave Ruggles and Eric Brown helped form a “We Stand for the Students” rally at Memorial Park. More than 1,000 people showed up for two purposes — bringing back fall sports in its regular form as well as in-person learning to schools.
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On Sept. 3, Michigan government officials lifted an order restricting organized sports. The Michigan High School Athletic Association then reinstated football and other fall sports.
The next day, the Louisiana High School Athletic Association announced football will resume in that state on Oct. 8. Colorado is considering doing the same for football and other fall sports.
Read more here. —Jeff Vorva
Breaking coronavirus news Stay up to date with the latest information on coronavirus with our breaking news alerts.
In case you missed it
Here are five stories from Tuesday related to COVID-19.


chicagotribune--2020-09-10--Default judgment awards damages to former Evanston Township High School student who alleges sexual a

Default judgment awards damages to former Evanston Township High School student who alleges sexual abuse by security guard in civil suit

Andrew M. Stroth , the attorney representing the teen and her family in the lawsuit , declined to comment on @ @ @ @ @ to collect such a sum from the defendant but said he views the judgment as @ @ @ @ @ overall case against the school district and city .

A federal judge this week granted a judgment of $3 million in damages to a family whose daughter alleges she was sexually abused by a security guard at Evanston Township High School.
The civil case against Evanston Township High School and the city of Evanston is still ongoing, according to court records.
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A default judgment against Michael Haywood, 35, of Evanston, was granted Tuesday by U.S. Judge Rebecca R. Pallmeyer, and awards $2 million in compensatory damages and $1 million in punitive damages, according to court records.
A default judgment is issued when a defendant fails to appear or enter a plea. According to court documents, Haywood “failed to appear and answer or otherwise plead.”
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Haywood, a former security guard at the high school, was charged in February 2019 with sexually assaulting a student in November 2018 in a separate case, according to court records. That student is not involved in this civil suit. Haywood has pleaded not guilty in that case and is currently on home electronic monitoring, according to court records.
He has not been criminally charged in the incidents described in the separate civil lawsuit.
An attorney representing Haywood in the criminal case declined to comment on the civil suit. Haywood could not immediately be reached for comment.
Michael Haywood. (Cook County sheriff's office)
Andrew M. Stroth, the attorney representing the teen and her family in the lawsuit, declined to comment on the probability of being able to collect such a sum from the defendant but said he views the judgment as a positive development for the overall case against the school district and city.
The federal lawsuit, which was filed in August 2019, alleges that Haywood “used his position of authority to engage in sexual conduct” with the student. According to court documents Haywood “engaged in over 40 sexual acts or other contacts with (the student) while she was a minor and a student at ETHS.”
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Molly Thompson, an attorney for Evanston Township High School District 202, emphasized that the default judgement was issued solely against Haywood and not the other defendants in the lawsuit.
“The Board of Education of Evanston Township High School District 202 and the other defendants, besides Haywood, filed motions to dismiss plaintiffs' First Amended complaint, which are currently pending,” Thompson said in a statement.
Patrick Deignan, a spokesman for the city of Evanston, said the city does not comment on pending litigation.
kcullotta@chicagotribune.com
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Twitter @kcullotta


chicagotribune--2020-09-09--Orland Hills fires police chief after social media post on personal Facebook page

“ We hold all of our public officials to the highest standards in their personal and professional lives , ” @ @ @ @ @ This social media post is in incredibly poor taste .
It does not reflect the @ @ @ @ @ our community , and we will not tolerate such behavior from any of our public @ @ @

Orland Hills on Wednesday fired its longtime police chief after a social media post the village described as being “in incredibly poor taste.”
The post had been on Thomas Scully’s personal Facebook page for about a week and was brought to the attention of village officials Wednesday, said Brian O’Neill, village administrator.
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O’Neill said he spoke with Scully about the post but declined to discuss details of the conversation.
In a two-paragraph statement, the village said that Mike Blaha, deputy chief, had been named as interim chief until a replacement can be found.
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“We hold all of our public officials to the highest standards in their personal and professional lives,” the statement reads. “This social media post is in incredibly poor taste. It does not reflect the values of the people of our community, and we will not tolerate such behavior from any of our public officials.”
Scully previously was police administrator for the department before being named chief in late September 2007. He previously served as police chief in Crestwood, leaving that post in September 2005.
Scully could not immediately be reached for comment.
mnolan@tribpub.com


chicagotribune--2020-09-09--Aurora-area election officials confident they can handle hike in mail-in voting

All the county clerks said they have systems in place to winnow out any multiple ballots someone might send in @ @ @ @ @ that while their offices mailed out applications for mail-in ballots , so have political organizations @ @ @ @ @ means people might have gotten more than one application for a mail-in ballot .

A woman wearing gloves drops off a mail-in ballot at a drop box in New Jersey in July. The pandemic is causing an increase in the number of people asking for mail-in ballots, something Aurora area election officials say they are prepared to deal with in the fall election. (Seth Wenig/AP)
Aurora’s election administrators are ready to handle an increase in mail-in voting in the fall election, they said during a Wednesday online event.
The county clerks of Kane, DuPage, Kendall and Will counties said they have procedures set up that will make sure mail-in ballots are secure, counted and counted only once. All four spoke on an online panel with Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin.
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“In our office we have a strict chain of custody,” said DuPage County Clerk Jean Kaczmarek.
All four county clerks said they have a panel of judges, which includes a representative of both major parties, that will look at mail-in ballots and decide on their legitimacy.
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Will County Clerk Lauren Staley Ferry said offices will have drop boxes for people to drop off their mail ballots because “people are concerned about the Postal Service.”
Kendall County Clerk Debbie Gillette. (Kendall County / HANDOUT)
In Kendall County, Clerk Debbie Gillette has one drop box near the Kendall County Building in Yorkville, and DuPage County has two drop boxes, one outside the county administration building in Wheaton and one inside the building too.
Kane County Clerk John Cunningham said he will have three drop boxes, one outside the clerk’s offices in Aurora and Geneva, and one in Elgin, most likely at City Hall. He said there are security cameras 24 hours on each drop box.
Still, Cunningham said he has “complete faith” in the post office after talking with officials there.
Kane County Clerk John Cunningham. (Jack Cunningham / Handout)
“It shouldn’t be any tougher than tax time, or Christmas time,” he said of handling mail-in ballots. “I think that’s been overblown.”
He did say that people should make sure when they mail their ballot, it is postmarked by at least election day itself. He said if people mail their ballot too late on election day, at some places it might not get postmarked until the next day.
All the county clerks said they have systems in place to winnow out any multiple ballots someone might send in. They all pointed out that while their offices mailed out applications for mail-in ballots, so have political organizations or candidates themselves, which means people might have gotten more than one application for a mail-in ballot.
But within the clerks' offices, they go through the requests and make sure everyone gets only one actual ballot mailed back to them, they said. And no one gets a mail-in ballot in Illinois unless they apply for it, Kaczmarek said.
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She said DuPage County has gotten more than 130,000 applications for mail-in ballots for the fall election, and expects to get as many as 150,000 by the end of September. The county has 625,000 registered voters.
Cunningham said he has received about 90,000 applications for the ballots.
There are other ways to vote in Illinois, too, besides mail ballots. Early voting starts Oct. 19, and a thing called in-person absentee voting starts Sept. 24. For early voting, people can go to the polling places set up by each county election jurisdiction. Each county sets up an in-person absentee voting place.
For early voting, Will County will have three sites most convenient for Aurora residents who live in Will County. One is at Naperville City Hall, the second is at the 95th Street Naperville Library building and another is at Village Hall in Plainfield.
Kendall County will have three remote locations, having added the Oswego Public Library this year, Gillette said. Other locations are Oswego Village Hall and Plano Village Hall.
DuPage County has 18 early voting sites, all of which are listed on the DuPage County Clerk’s website. Kane County will have 24 sites, some of them permanent and some set up at certain dates. The county also has two vote-mobiles, which set up at different sites throughout the county.
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In addition, there is grace period voting for anyone who has failed to register but wants to vote. That can be done at election jurisdiction offices for 30 days before the election.
Irvin pointed out that voting on election day itself “is a great American tradition,” and some people still like to vote on that day.
All four clerks said their polling places on election day will have masks, gloves and sanitizer for the judges, and will have shields installed. They also will observe social distancing.
The clerks said they cannot require voters to wear masks, but they will encourage it. In DuPage, Kaczmarek said they will have masks available if voters get there and want to wear one.
“We’re hoping everyone will wear a mask,” Kaczmarek said.
All four clerks said they will need election judges, who are paid between $150 and $260 for a day of work. Judges work a full day, from about 5 a.m. until after 7 p.m. on election day. People can contact their county clerk’s office if interested in becoming an election judge.
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slord@tribpub.com


chicagotribune--2020-09-09--5-year-old boy dies after table falls on him at wedding reception at Oak Brook hotel

As the children were getting up , leaving the area , the boy began to slide off the sofa table @ @ @ @ @ top , and held the edge with his fingers to slow his fall .
As @ @ @ @ @ it fell on top of his head , causing significant injury , police said .

A 5-year-old Glenview boy died from an injury suffered while attending a family wedding reception at the Drake Hotel in Oak Brook. (Chuck Fieldman / Pioneer Press)
A 5-year-old Glenview boy died Friday after sustaining a traumatic head injury while at a family wedding reception at an Oak Brook hotel, Oak Brook police said.
Police and fire department personnel responded about 10 p.m. Friday to a 911 call at the Drake Hotel, 2301 N. York Road and found the boy unresponsive.
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Immediately upon arrival, police department personnel assisted an emergency medicine physician in attendance for the reception performing CPR on the boy. Oak Brook Fire Department paramedics transported the boy to Elmhurst Memorial Hospital where he was pronounced dead by the attending physician, police said.
Upon preliminary investigation while reviewing video from the hotel, the child was seen lying perpendicular across a sofa table directly behind a sofa in an open area where other children in the party were sitting.
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As the children were getting up, leaving the area, the boy began to slide off the sofa table, which had a granite top, and held the edge with his fingers to slow his fall. As he dismounted the table, it fell on top of his head, causing significant injury, police said.


chicagotribune--2020-09-11--Rare flowers are sprouting in Cook County’s forest preserves: ‘It was like a dead zone and now it’s

Rare flowers are sprouting in Cook County’s forest preserves: ‘It was like a dead zone and now it’s come alive'

The land restoration work is part of a Cook County plan to restore 30,000 acres of prairie , woodlands , @ @ @ @ @ to good ecological health in 25 years .
The plan also calls for expanding the @ @ @ @ @ from their current 69,000 .
Throughout the county , crews are restoring natural prairie after @ @ @ @ @ and later , the Forest Preserve District planted trees on the land .

Kristin Pink, ecologist with the Cook County Forest Preserve District, looks at swamp thistle as she visits restoration sites at Palos preserves near Palos Park on Sept. 10, 2020. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune)
An almost tropical-looking pink flower in the hibiscus family grows tall at the edge of a wetland in the Cook County forest preserves near Palos Park.
The flower, a swamp rose mallow, is a rare sight in the Chicago area because its habitat has been damaged by development and generations of settlers who brought nonnative plants to the area from Europe and Asia, experts say.
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But the swamp rose mallow and other rare flowers are increasingly returning to county forest preserves as crews work to restore the habitats that allow such plant life to grow. Ecologists have identified dozens of them over this summer.
A swamp rose mallow in the Cook County forest preserves near Palos Heights. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune)
“It was like a dead zone and now it’s come alive,” said Kristin Pink, a resource ecologist with the Cook County Forest Preserve District.
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In the Palos preserves, dense thickets of invasive brush open into grassy lands with tall wildflowers growing on the edge of wetlands, creating a stark dividing line between the renewed natural areas and the acres that are still plagued by the weeds.
Crews with the Forest Preserve District have been cutting down the invasive brush since 2013. These plants have no natural predators or diseases in the area, so they grow unchallenged and choke out native plants.
The land restoration work is part of a Cook County plan to restore 30,000 acres of prairie, woodlands, savanna and other natural space to good ecological health in 25 years. The plan also calls for expanding the forest preserves to 90,000 acres from their current 69,000. Throughout the county, crews are restoring natural prairie after settlers brought in invasive plants and later, the Forest Preserve District planted trees on the land.
Kristin Pink, right, and Becky Collings, ecologists with the Cook County Forest Preserve District, visit restoration sites at Palos preserves. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune)
White lettuce wildflower is shown at the restoration site at Palos preserves near Palos Park. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune)
In the Palos preserves, the area is a mix of woodlands, savanna and wetlands. In the next couple of years, ecologists will be working to finish restoring the area around the wetlands, said Rebecca Collings, a senior resource ecologist for the district.
A Forest Preserve District spokeswoman said it would cost about $42,000 to finish clearing the area. The funds are earmarked in the county budget, but the district is always looking for grant money to supplement the work.
“As a public agency, we are limited with resources,” she said. “The amount of restoration we do is determined by how much money we get.”
Ecologists suspect the rare flowers were in the area before but couldn’t flower under the brush that shut out most of the sunlight. Now, as the habitats are returned to their original states, the flowers are able to thrive.
Near the swamp rose mallow, on the edge of a large pond, the swamp thistle flourishes, another new and rare sight. The spiky purple flower needs the groundwater near the edges of wetland to grow.
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“This plant is uncommon basically because its habitat has been destroyed,” Pink said. “We’ve really destroyed a lot of our wetlands.”
Though wetlands themselves are federally protected, any development around wetlands can affect the groundwater, and therefore the ability of flowers like the swamp thistle to grow, Pink said.
The rebirth of plant life in the area is also key for the animal life in the area, ecologists say. The cardinal flower, a bright red flower, was growing near one trail in the Palos preserves. It provides a thick, sugary nectar for the ruby-throated hummingbirds, which need it in order to feed their fast metabolisms.
“We want everyone’s children to be able to see these things,” Pink said. “Future generations depend on us to restore these ecosystems now so the plants and animals will be there in the future.”
mabuckley@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-09-11--Column: Have you become obsessed with bugs or hummingbirds? In the pandemic, you’re not alone.

Before the pandemic , he said , many people spent their days in offices .
Now they ’ re home @ @ @ @ @ ’ s happening outside .
For years , Stotz has made lists of birds he @ @ @ @ @ Chicago ’ s western suburbs .
Now that he ’ s home , his lists @ @ @ @ @ s seen more species than ever .
He ’ s spotted more hawks soaring over @ @ @ @ @ he says , because there are more hawks , but because they fly at hours @ @ @ @ @ somewhere else .

In the midst of the grief, confusion and anger of the past few months, many Americans have developed a new obsession with the creepy little things in life, by which I mean bugs.
I’ve never heard so many people talking about bugs as I have through this spring and summer, never seen so many social media posts dedicated to tiny critters that buzz and crawl and sting.
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I have a friend who routinely posts about the spider who entertains her through the window of her home office. Another recently posted about a cicada that landed on her computer keyboard while she worked on her deck. In the infested world of Facebook, I’ve seen dragonflies, butterflies, praying mantises, roly-polys, caterpillars, bulbous beetles and nameless bugs so weird their photos stir comments like “Ewww” and “Yuck” and “Yikes!” and “What is THIS???!”
In this same period, I’ve noticed a similar, if less creepy, phenomenon with birds, most notably hummingbirds. During the pandemic, one of every three Americans, by my totally unscientific count, has developed a hummingbird fetish.
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But are there really more birds and bugs than usual? Or are we just noticing them more because we’re cooped up? Or maybe this whole birds-and-bugs phenomenon is the invention of my pandemic-addled imagination. I decided to take my questions to the experts.
“We might have a metric to help you,” said May Berenbaum, who heads the department of entomology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Berenbaum — who, incidentally, inspired an “X-Files” character named Dr. Bambi Berenbaum — runs BeeSpotters, a website that encourages “citizen-scientists” to take and submit photos of bees. The goal is to document the population of these important and threatened pollinators.
So when I put my bugs question to Berenbaum, she checked with the BeeSpotters webmaster. His report? While photos of bees were up only slightly for this year, the number of individuals submitting bee photos was up 13%. Her deduction from that fact?
“To me,” she said, “that looks like people had more time and interest in looking for, or at, bees and participating in citizen science.”
In other words, “It’s not that bumblebees are more abundant, it’s that more people are noticing them.”
I asked Berenbaum if she had any sense of how the pandemic may have changed the bug world.
“We’re not through the lockdown,” she said. “2020 is, sad to say, still with us, with all its dreadful manifestations, so it’s not clear what the reduced level of human activity might have on insect populations.”
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Which brings us to birds.
Not only have I sensed more people posting about birds on social media, I’ve heard more people talking about them. Are there more birds than usual? Are they louder? They seem louder.
“I think it’s mostly that more people have the opportunity to look,” said Doug Stotz, a senior conservation ecologist at the Field Museum. “Even birdwatchers are spending more time looking.”
Before the pandemic, he said, many people spent their days in offices. Now they’re home and likelier to notice what’s happening outside. For years, Stotz has made lists of birds he spots in his yard in Chicago’s western suburbs. Now that he’s home, his lists are longer and he’s seen more species than ever. He’s spotted more hawks soaring over his house — not, he says, because there are more hawks, but because they fly at hours he’d usually be somewhere else.
And what about the hummingbird obsession?
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“I suspect because people are stuck in their houses, one of the things they’ve thought is ‘Hey, I saw a hummingbird, so let me put up a feeder to create the opportunity for them,’” he said.
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The feeders feed the obsession.
As for all that bird song? The birds are easier to hear because the world has been quieter, Stotz said, but there’s more to it.
“There’s evidence that birds adjust their singing in response to the noise of the city,” he said. “With less noise, their song bouts tend to be longer, and there’s some evidence they have higher pitches.”
We’ve lost so much during this pandemic that it can be hard to take account of what we’ve gained. One of those gains is the chance to notice the bugs and birds we live with.
As Berenbaum puts it: “Entomologists know there is an inexhaustible world of entertainment out there. If you’re locked down almost anywhere within the continental United States, you can find insects just outside the front door, and they will be interesting.”
mschmich@chicagotribune.com