chicagotribune--2020-05-22--The Spin: Lightfoot dismisses Trump’s call for churches to reopen | Will the mayor get a casino win

The Spin: Lightfoot dismisses Trump’s call for churches to reopen | Will the mayor get a casino win in Springfield? | Rahm Emanuel’s talking to Joe Biden

Retired Illinois state Sen. John Cullerton ’ s Last Dance : Sending nearly $ 100,000 from a campaign fund he @ @ @ @ @ under federal investigation : In his final days in office , the one-time Senate president @ @ @ @ @ distant cousin Thomas Cullerton , who has pleaded not guilty to federal charges accusing him @ @ @ @ @ benefits for a no-show Teamsters job and another $ 60,000 to Martin Sandoval after he @ @ @ @ @ post and right before he pleaded guilty to bribery charges , write Chuck Neubauer and @ @ @ @ @ yet another deep dive in this Better Government Association piece .
While elected leaders can @ @ @ @ @ pay legal fees tied to their official office , even as reformers have pushed to @ @ @ @ @ story reveals and raises questions about these specific political relationships .

President Donald Trump speaks to the media in the briefing room at the White House on May 22, 2020 in Washington, DC. President Trump announced news CDC guidelines that churches and places of worship are essential and must reopen now. (Alex Wong/Getty Images North America/TNS)
Mayor Lori Lightfoot dismissed President Donald Trump’s demand for churches nationwide to reopen in states with shutdown orders as nothing more than “social pandering." Chicago police fined several churches after the mayor criticized religious leaders for holding services in violation of the state’s coronavirus-related shut-down order.
After Lightfoot said yesterday that restaurants wouldn’t reopen next week for al fresco dining — allowed beginning May 29 under Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s phased plan to slowly lift his stay-at-home order — I turned my attention to Illinois Restaurant Association lobbyist Sam Toia.
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Toia told the Tribune yesterday he’s “OK” with the mayor’s decision and says he expects Chicago restaurants to follow the state a few days “north” of May 29. Today the mayor came back and said that, indeed, Chicago will start to reopen slowly in early June.
And former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has been on the pundit circuit of late and said he’s been talking to fellow Obama administration alum Joe Biden on his Democratic presidential bid. The Biden team prefers not to chat about it.
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Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot talks to reporters after meeting with House Democrats for an hour at the state Capitol, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2019, in Springfield, Ill. Lightfoot is seeking a break on proposed taxes on a planned Chicago casino to attract developers and wants the Legislature's help on plugging a city budget hole. (AP Photo/John O'Connor)
During a news conference this afternoon, the mayor made it plain that she’s keeping tabs on the legislative session in Springfield, expressing some optimism that Chicago legislation is moving along.
“It’s my impression that there’s movement in the House and we’ll see if that happens,” Lightfoot told reporters.
The mayor wants to rework
The governor is backing the proposal and has his pen poised in hopes of signing into to law: “I was very clear yesterday about my support for the Chicago casino bill. I think it’s very important, not only for the city of Chicago, but for the state," he said, adding at one point. "I’m looking forward to signing that bill.”
Chicago would use its share of casino revenues to police and fire pensions that are, as Lightfoot said today, in “really bad shape.”
Asked about the city’s options for shoring up pension finances if the casino bill doesn’t pass, Lightfoot expressed optimism that the bill would move through the General Assembly.
“We don’t know until we know,” Lightfoot said, and added: “The downtown in the market has dramatically impacted their portfolio and without some substantive relief and new revenues, it’s going to be very, very difficult for them to be able to survive,” she said.
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Legislators OK bill that gives ‘essential’ workers stricken with COVID-19 better access to worker’s comp – The Tribune’s Jamie Munks has the story here.
Senate approves expanded voting-by-mail bill for Nov. 3 election, which now heads to the governor: Jamie Munks and Dan Petrella have the story here.
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A Chicago police officer blocks the road to the Adler Planetarium along Lake Michigan Thursday, March 26, 2020, in Chicago. Chicago Police began turning joggers and others away from the city's lakefront trails amid fears of the spread of the coronavirus, hours after Mayor Lori Lightfoot threatened to shut them down if people would not stop crowding the areas. (Charles Rex Arbogast/AP)
The Tribune’s Gregory Pratt and Bill Ruthhart write: "The city of Chicago is on pace to cautiously reopen and ease restrictions on certain activities in “early June,” with outdoor dining at restaurants, barber shops, non-lakefront park buildings and libraries slated to resume limited business, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Friday.
“But the mayor declined to announce specific rules for industries that might be allowed to reopen, saying she would do so next week. Lightfoot also warned the city’s planning is tentative and depends on residents continuing to follow social distancing orders to prevent a spike in cases.” Read the full story here.
Lightfoot, Pritzker respond to Trump’s demand that churches reopen amid shutdown orders: The Tribune’s John Byrne writes that the mayor today “rejected President Donald Trump’s call for the reopening of churches across the country, saying he’s ‘pandering to a base’ while running for reelection.’”
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He notes: “Lightfoot in recent days has toughened her stance against churches in Chicago that are flouting Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s COVID-19 stay-at-home order, which prohibits in-person worshipping at this point. The city fined three Chicago houses of worship $500 each this week after they held services last weekend.” Read the story here.
In a hastily called news conference today, the president said: “Today I’m identifying houses of worship — churches, synagogues and mosques — as essential places that provide essential services." He said if governors don’t abide by his request, he will “override" them, but Lightfoot said Trump can’t override local leaders on the in-person rules for houses of worship.
At his own afternoon news conference, Pritzker was more reserved: “We’re going to continue to operate on the basis of science and data. I’m as anxious as anybody to make sure that our churches or mosques or synagogues open back to where they were before COVID-19 came along. We’re gradually moving in that direction, but there’s no doubt, the most important thing is we do not want parishioners to get ill.”
Lake Michigan’s 'Playpen’ not opening this summer, Lightfoot says: The Tribune’s Gregory Pratt has the story here.
Lightfoot says decision on Lollapalooza music festival expected next week: Pratt has that story here.
‘Our residents are in crisis’: In state-run homes for adults with disabilities, COVID-19 spread quickly: The Tribune’s Jennifer Smith Richards and ProPublica Illinois’ Jodi S. Cohen have the details here.
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Salons, gyms desperate to reopen navigate complexities of Pritzker’s Illinois stay-at-home order: Read the Tribune story here.
Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle waits to speak about the coronavirus economic recovery plan on April 23, 2020, at the Historic Water Tower. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)
You might have missed it, but the normally buttoned down and frequently curt Toni Preckwinkle issued a series of PSAs via social media this week to send home the refrain of “physical distancing," channeling everyone from Michael Jordan to Taylor Swift — even seemingly poking fun at herself over that politically wounding failed soda tax while she was at it.
She’s one in a line of elected leaders who’ve issued similar campaigns in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. The marketing and political experts I asked to weigh in say that part of an overall strategy for politicians — especially executive branch officers — is to stay visible and look accessible amid a crisis in which the public is looking for answers or reassurance.
Lightfoot kicked things off with her own series of humorous “Stay home, Save Lives” PSAs. They came on the heels of viral memes showing a stern-faced Lightfoot showing up virtually everywhere people shouldn’t be in the midst of the stay-at-home order.
“In general, I think the main objective of a public servant is to be in the minds and eyes of the public — that’s the most important thing," Pradeep K. Chintagunta, a marketing professor at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business, tells The Spin. “I think by doing things (like PSAs) that are related to something current or in the mind of the public, I think they’re making sure that they communicate the fact they’re doing their jobs and they’re (communicating) it in a relatable way.”
Chris Mooney, a political science professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago, said politicians are all about branding and keeping their names out front. That’s why, over the years, governors and mayors put their names on road and other signs.
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Now “everybody wants a piece of the COVID,” Mooney said. “Everyone wants to say what they’re doing. It’s good for branding” he said, explaining, “It’s sort of like being able to answer that question, ‘What did you do during the war, Daddy?’ People will remember that — and if not, they can easily be reminded of it. But if they took a pass, an opponent in the next election could say, ‘Well, where were you?’”
Lighfoot’s out-of-the-gate strategy to embrace the memes that gently mocked her followed by some funny PSAs “worked very well for her, when she decided not to take these things too seriously, but go along for the ride,” U. of C.’s Chintagunta said. Those who came after, say Gov. Pritzker’s rather funny “social distancing” ad shot at Shedd Aquarium and now Preckwinkle’s series of photo PSAs, may pack less punch but are still effective at keeping their names out there.
For both Pritzker and Lightfoot, the regular news conferences, and the PSAs early on, offered the public a chance to get to know two first-time elected leaders, Chintagunta and Mooney say.
For Lightfoot, the public is getting to see a dry sense of humor they didn’t know about, Mooney adds. “This whole humor thing was spot on in allowing her image to be tough. Her brand is tough, no-nonsense, let’s get it done. That’s great. It’s a tough city. That’s why she got elected. But there’s a limit to how much people can take, but the humor makes her more human.”
Preckwinkle’s daily release of “physical distancing” images also seemed to play against type, including the county board president striking a Michael Jordan “Wings” pose and on another day Polaroids of the Cook County Board president standing and sitting 6 feet from a solitary cola can with some Taylor Swift breakup song lyrics written below it: “We are never ever, ever, ever getting back together. Like, ever.” A laugh and a clue she’s permanently distancing herself from that failed and politically radioactive soda tax proposal.
There are some things we will never go back to.😉
But soon enough we will get back together with our friends and family.
Until then, keep on physical distancing. pic.twitter.com/V54PFipbJY — Toni Preckwinkle (@ToniPreckwinkle) May 21, 2020
6 feet apart is the new 6 rings. Be a champion for your community. Keep on physical distancing. #TogetherApart #TheLastDance
Learn more ways to keep yourself and your community safe at https://t.co/D157CaNe9B pic.twitter.com/W95sfWCUO9 — Toni Preckwinkle (@ToniPreckwinkle) May 17, 2020
Rocio Acuna inspects a flooded area adjacent to her home on Hawthrone Lane in Des Plaines after a huge amount of rain fell over the course of a couple of days on May 20, 2020. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
The Tribune’s Patrick O’Connell and William Lee write that in a new report: “(S)cientists with the Illinois State Water Survey, in coordination with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources’ Office of Water Resources, sketch out in detail rainfall trends and amounts over time, underscoring how this month’s rains, and those that caused widespread flooding in the Mississippi River valley a year ago, are becoming the new normal.” Read the full story here.
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Bottom line: Federal, state and local officials have been offering buyouts to property owners in an effort to avoid repetitive loss, or repeat flood claims, O’Connell and Lee write.
Snapshot: “The Illinois Department of Natural Resources has purchased 11 properties, the Illinois Emergency Management Agency 33 and the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District 45 in recent years,” O’Connell and Lee note. “Earlier this year, FEMA awarded a $2.3 million grant to Des Plaines for the acquisition of 13 more flood-prone homes. Des Plaines officials said 68 properties in the city have been purchased in recent years, 95% of those in the Big Bend area. Two more rounds of buyouts are scheduled to begin soon.”
Retired Illinois state Sen. John Cullerton’s Last Dance: Sending nearly $100,000 from a campaign fund he controlled to two state senators under federal investigation: In his final days in office, the one-time Senate president transferred $32,000 to his distant cousin Thomas Cullerton, who has pleaded not guilty to federal charges accusing him of taking a salary and benefits for a no-show Teamsters job and another $60,000 to Martin Sandoval after he stepped down from his Senate post and right before he pleaded guilty to bribery charges, write Chuck Neubauer and Sandy Bergo, who do yet another deep dive in this Better Government Association piece. While elected leaders can use their campaign coffers to pay legal fees tied to their official office, even as reformers have pushed to end the practice, the story reveals and raises questions about these specific political relationships.
Vice President Joe Biden, from left, talks with Mayor Rahm Emanuel as Sen. Dick Durbin looks on as Emanuel and all 50 Chicago aldermen were sworn into office during a public ceremony at Millennium Park in 2011. (Nancy Stone/Chicago Tribune)
“Rahm Emanuel is having regular conversations with presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and his top advisers about economic policy, the selection of a running mate and the political machinations of taking on President Donald Trump,” the Tribune’s Bill Ruthhart writes.
Emanuel didn’t want to get into details when the Tribune reached him, nor did the Biden camp. But in a recent podcast with another former Obama White House staffer, David Axelrod, Emanuel raised concerns about Biden’s strategy vs. President Donald Trump, the presumptive GOP nominee, on economic recovery efforts as the nation emerges from a variety of shelter-in-place orders.
That expands more widely to all Democrats, Emanuel said on the podcast, adding that party leaders need to change the conversation in a way that puts the president and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on the defensive: “He’s (Trump) for reopening the economy, and we’re sitting there being reluctant and hesitant and hiding behind Dr. Fauci," the nation’s top infectious disease expert. "I think we should be for rebuilding America, and then have McConnell say, ‘Not so fast. Let’s slow down, etc.,'” Emanuel said, suggesting a major infrastructure program. Read Ruthhart’s full story here.
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Biden’s shortlist for VP is emerging, NBC News is reporting. But where’s U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth? The Hoffman Estates Democrat was supposedly going to interview to be Biden’s running mate, Illinois other U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin told reporters last week. Duckworth and her team have been coy when asked if she’s a contender.
But a new NBC report doesn’t mention her. It notes that Florida U.S. Rep. Val Demings has declared she’s on the shortlist, while a number of others are being vetted including Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who at one point was running for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination, and New Hampshire U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan. Earlier this week, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer told the “Today” show she was talking to the Biden camp.
Also mentioned: Stacey Abrams, the former minority leader of the Georgia state House; California Sen. Kamala Harris; Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren; Nevada Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto; and New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham. Read the story here.
Sen. Dick Durbin to deliver virtual commencement speech tomorrow at 3 p.m. via Facebook for Illinois Class of 2020 graduates.
Thanks for reading The Spin, the Tribune’s politics newsletter. Sign up here to have it delivered to your inbox weekday afternoons. Have a tip? Email host Lisa Donovan at ldonovan@chicagotribune.com.
Twitter @byldonovan


chicagotribune--2020-05-22--Coronavirus in Illinois updates: Lightfoot says Chicago will begin cautiously reopening in early Jun

Coronavirus in Illinois updates: Lightfoot says Chicago will begin cautiously reopening in early June; Pritzker says child care facilities will be allowed to reopen as soon as next week

“ No restaurant I know of is going to be able to survive dependent upon what the weather is going @ @ @ @ @ particular day in Chicago , ” Lightfoot said .
“ I think having the opportunity @ @ @ @ @ alfresco on a larger scale , which is what we certainly are talking about , @ @ @ @ @ also need to be able to be inside as well , or economically I don @ @ @ @ @ work.
” Read more here .
—Gregory Pratt

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)
The city of Chicago is on pace to begin cautiously reopening and ease restrictions on certain activities in early June, with outdoor dining at restaurants, barber shops, non-lakefront park buildings and libraries slated to resume limited business, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Friday.
If safety measures can be put in place, Lightfoot also said the city could potentially reopen summer programs and allow private camps, religious services, gyms, museums and the lakefront later on in the summer. Schools, playgrounds, bars, stadiums and music venues will remain closed for now, she said.
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Lightfoot also rejected President Donald Trump’s call for the reopening of churches across the country, saying he’s “pandering to a base” while running for re-election. Later in the afternoon, Gov. J.B. Pritzker also did not seem inclined to follow Trump’s call.
Additionally on Friday, state health officials announced 2,758 new known infections of COVID-19 in Illinois and 110 additional confirmed deaths. That brings the statewide total to 105,444 cases and the death toll to 4,715 since the beginning of the outbreak.
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[ When can Illinois reopen? Check our daily charts on where each region stands. ]
[ How will Illinois reopen? Three charts breaking down Pritzker’s plan ]
[ COVID-19 cases in Illinois by ZIP code: Search for your neighborhood ]
[ As the coronavirus spreads, the Tribune is tracking Illinois cases here ]
Here’s what’s happening Friday with COVID-19 in the Chicago area and Illinois:
8 p.m.: Illinois stops providing historical data on COVID-19 in nursing homes, instead disclosing current outbreaks only
The state has stopped providing total numbers of novel coronavirus cases and deaths linked to long-term care facilities in Illinois, instead disclosing information only on homes with newer outbreaks.
The Illinois Department of Public Health changed its reporting criteria Friday to highlight nursing homes and other facilities that have had at least one new coronavirus case in the last 28 days. Information about homes that struggled with an outbreak earlier in the pandemic but haven’t had recent new cases no longer is being published.
For example, the Tribune reported May 15 that, for the first time, a nursing home outside the Chicago area had reported at least 20 deaths. That was Villa East in Sangamon County, which had 21 workers and residents die of the coronavirus.
But because Villa East had no new cases recently, it was excluded from this week’s reporting and those 21 deaths have disappeared from the public-facing data. The only downstate nursing home listed with 20 deaths now is Edwardsville Care Center in Madison County near St. Louis. It had one new COVID-19 case since the last public data release on May 15.
“Our priority is to focus on those facilities currently experiencing an outbreak, and also to provide to the public the current status of COVID-19 in Illinois,” department spokeswoman Melaney Arnold wrote in an email to reporters.
It’s at least the second significant change to the way the health department makes COVID-19 data related to long-term care facilities available to the public. Last Friday, the department stopped publicly reporting probable cases of COVID-19 tied to the facilities and counted only cases that had been confirmed in labs. Read more here. —Jennifer Smith Richards and Robert McCoppin
7:48 p.m.: Department of Justice declares its support of lawsuit challenging Pritzker’s stay-at-home order
The Department of Justice intervened Friday in support of a challenge to Illinois’ stay-at-home coronavirus order, calling for the case to be transferred back to state court.
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The U.S. attorney general’s office filed a statement of interest in the case of Downstate Republican state Rep. Darren Bailey, writing, “Plaintiff has set forth a strong case that the Orders exceed the authority granted to the Governor by the Illinois legislature.”
Bailey had won an initial ruling last month to be freed from Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s executive order shutting down most businesses and churches and requiring people to stay home except under limited circumstances. When Bailey asked to broaden that ruling to invalidate the order for all citizens statewide, the Illinois attorney general Thursday transferred the case to federal court, citing constitutional issues such as freedom of religion and due process.
The state was expected to have a better shot of protecting its lockdown order in federal court, where judges have ruled in several cases in favor of maintaining such orders in Illinois and elsewhere.
The case should be sent back to state court, the feds argued, because it raises claims only under state law, not the U.S. Constitution. Read more here. —Robert McCoppin
5:10 p.m.: Chicago, you’re probably not getting that haircut May 29
The coronavirus pandemic has been filled with uncertainty from the get-go. We didn’t know anything about this virus and quickly learned it’s safest to just stay at home. Almost three months into the stay-at-home-order, we still don’t have all of the answers.
According to phase three of Gov. J.B Pritzker’s plan to reopen the state, which is on track to happen at the end of next week, nonessential businesses, including hair salons, may open with capacity limits.
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In a press conference Friday afternoon, however, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Chicago is on track to carefully reopen in early June. The city will be providing guidelines early next week for businesses reopening, Lightfoot said.
Some salons have booked and rebooked clients throughout the stay-at-home order. But clients shouldn’t assume they will be going to a Chicago salon starting May 29, even if they have an appointment.
As we’ve seen in the past few weeks, policies can rapidly change, and nothing is set in stone in the state until we get closer to May 29 and see how the COVID-19 numbers look. Read more here. —Hannah Herrera Greenspan
5:05 p.m.: 8 residents, 6 employees of Juvenile Temporary Detention Center test positive for COVID-19, officials say
Eight residents of the Juvenile Temporary Detention Center have tested positive this week for COVID-19, officials announced Friday. Six employees of the detention center have tested positive as well, according to a release from the Office of the Chief Judge.
Five of the residents who tested positive live in the same housing pod in the detention center’s general population, officials said. This is the first time positive tests have been reported in that residential group.
The other three residents who tested positive were housed in a 14-day separation area for juveniles who are just arriving for detention at the facility.
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Consistent with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines, any juvenile in custody who tests positive is placed in medical isolation for 14 days in the medical unit, officials said.
A total of 21 employees and 14 residents have now tested positive for COVID-19 at the detention center. Officials have said any employee who tests positive must be medically cleared before returning to work.
With today’s announcement, there are a total of 38 employees who have tested positive for COVID-19 who work under the Office of the Chief Judge, according to the release.
4:15 p.m.: State unemployment office notifying more than 32,000 gig workers whose personal information was possibly exposed
The state’s unemployment insurance office said Friday it would start more than 32,000 gig workers whose personal information may have been viewed during a security breach.
The breach in the system built for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance payments was revealed last week, when a claimant reported that she had stumbled upon personal information for thousands of applicants on the state’s website, including names, addresses and Social Security numbers. The claimant told her state representative, Terri Bryant, a Murphysboro Republican, who reported it to the Illinois Department of Employment Security.
After working with Deloitte Consulting to investigate a glitch in the system, the state will send notices to people whose information may have been “unintentionally viewed" by a single individual. The state had hired Deloitte to help it deal with the large number of unemployment insurance claims — more than a million since the March stay-at-home order closed nonessential businesses and sent people home.
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The department said that computer records confirm that no one else viewed the personal information and there is no sign that any personal information “was, or will be, improperly used.”
“Out of an abundance of caution, the Department will notify 32,483 claimants whose information could have been possibly viewed to ensure full transparency,” the department said.
Claimants who get the notice will have the option to enroll in 12 months of free credit monitoring, a service offered by Deloitte, the state said. Read more here. —Mary Wisniewski
3:44 p.m.: Another Illinois prisoner has died from a COVID-19-related illness
Another Illinois prisoner has died from a COVID-19-related illness, marking the 13th inmate death statewide and the first fatality outside Stateville Correctional Center, officials confirmed Friday.
An elderly prisoner at Pontiac Correctional Center in downstate Livingston County died late Wednesday at an area hospital. The name of the man, in his 70s, was not immediately available Friday.
All but one of the 13 deaths were inmates at Stateville, near Joliet, the source of the main outbreak.
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The Illinois Department of Corrections has confirmed nonfatal virus cases in about 20 of its nearly four dozen facilities statewide since the pandemic began.
The problem at Stateville is particularly grim. The vast majority of the 167 staff and 212 inmates who have been infected statewide in Illinois prisons are located there.
All state prisons are under quarantine. But prison reform advocates have file lawsuits arguing the state has been too slow to respond, putting inmates and staff at further risk.
At Pontiac, seven staff members and two inmates, including the man who died Wednesday, have tested positive. Aside from him, another inmate in his 20s also is infected but his symptoms have not required hospitalization, officials said Friday. —Christy Gutowski
3:32 p.m.: Senate approves expanded voting-by-mail bill for Nov. 3 election, which now heads to the governor
The Illinois Senate voted along party lines Friday to approve a measure aimed at expanding voting by mail in November amid ongoing concerns about the coronavirus pandemic.
The measure, which was approved by the House on Thursday, would create an enhanced vote-by-mail plan for the Nov. 3 general election. The Senate approved the bill on a 37-19 vote, with all Republican members in opposition.
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It is now headed to Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who has said he’ll sign it.
The legislation would have vote-by-mail applications sent to everyone who voted in either the 2018 general election, the 2019 municipal election or this year’s March 17 primary, as well as to voters newly registered since the primary or who changed their addresses.
It would also make the day of the election, Nov. 3, a government and school holiday so schools can be used as polling places without risks to students and teachers. Read more here. —Jamie Munks and Dan Petrella
3:30 p.m.: Northwestern chemists working on antiviral treatment for face masks
Chemists at Northwestern University say they are working on a way to make any mask — no matter how simple the fabric — an effective virus-killing shield against the spread of the new coronavirus.
A fabric-treatment technology the university first developed with the Department of Defense to protect soldiers from deadly nerve agents — such as VX and sarin gases — may be useful in catching and killing viral cells when they contact a mask, said Omar Farha, a chemistry professor affiliated with Northwestern’s International Institute for Nanotechnology.
The university received a $200,000 rapid response research grant from the National Science Foundation to further develop and test the technology to combat the spread of COVID-19.
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Chemists have used metal-organic frameworks to create “programmable sponges” that can screen viral cells while letting air pass through so the wearer can still breathe normally. The composite material would include an active ingredient to kill the virus, Farha said.
The result could be a dip coating treatment that could be used to make any mask protective against coronavirus or any other virus that may emerge in the future, he said. “That’s the whole idea,” Farha said. “We want to make a material that is not just COVID-sensitive and not just COVID-specific.” —David Heinzmann
3 p.m.: Pritzker responds to Trump’s call for churches to be allowed to reopen
Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Friday did not seem inclined to follow President Donald Trump’s call for churches to be allowed to reopen as essential businesses.
“We’re going to continue to operate on the basis of science and data,” Pritzker said. “I’m as anxious as anybody to make sure that our churches or mosques or synagogues open back to where they were before COVID-19 came along. We’re gradually moving in that direction, but there’s no doubt, the most important thing is we do not want parishioners to get ill.” —Bill Ruthhart
2:54 p.m.: Pritzker says all child care facilities in Illinois will be allowed to reopen as soon next week
Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced Friday that all child care facilities in Illinois will be allowed to reopen as soon next week, when all regions of the state are expected to move into the next phase of reopening businesses.
To date, the state has been operating at roughly 15% of its child care capacity with 2,500 day care homes and 700 centers allowed open as emergency providers for essential workers.
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When the state is expected to move into the next reopening phase next Friday, Pritzker said some 5,500 child care providers that are not currently operating will be asked to reopen.
Operators will be limited to no more than 10 children per classroom. Smaller home-based day care facilities will be allowed to operate at their standard capacities.
Once day care facilities are able to operate safely for four weeks and get acclimated to new requirements, they will be allowed to expand to larger group sizes but not their full capacities, Pritzker said. Those new larger groups would be roughly 30% of capacity for most facilities.
“All of Illinois appears to be on track to move into phase three of ‘Restore Illinois’ next Friday, allowing hundreds of thousands of Illinoisans to go back to work in the industries that are eligible to reopen in the weeks ahead. But we can’t have a conversation about going back to work without talking about child care,” Pritzker said. “If we don’t have childcare, a large portion of the work force, especially women who too often bear a disproportionate burden, will be without any way to move forward without caring for their child themselves.” —Bill Ruthhart
2:44 p.m.: Lightfoot says Lake Michigan’s ‘The Playpen’ not opening this summer
Chicago’s infamous Lake Michigan party spot “The Playpen” will not be opening this summer, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said.
At a news conference announcing the city’s likely move into phase 3 of its reopening plan early next month, Lightfoot said the city lakefront will eventually reopen but wouldn’t give a date. She also laid out specific industries that will be allowed to open next month, including outdoor dining at restaurants and barbershops.
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But she cast doubt on a big party spot.
“Sorry folks the playpen will not be open this summer,” Lightfoot said. —Gregory Pratt
2:32 p.m.: 2,758 new known COVID-19 infections and 110 additional deaths
State health officials announced on Friday 2,758 new known infections of COVID-19 in Illinois and 110 additional confirmed deaths. That brings the statewide total to 105,444 cases and the death toll to 4,715 since the beginning of the outbreak.
2:23 p.m.: Sam Toia of the Illinois Restaurant Association is a Chicago guy who gets Chicago things done. Is he pushing too hard on reopening?
Sam Toia, based on appearances alone, looks more Lex Luthor than Superman. The guy is bald, bald, bald, rarely the tallest one in the room, though also baldly persistent, and full of charisma, able to leap tall bureaucracies in a relatively short period of time. But not without stumbles, of course. Toia is president and CEO of the Illinois Restaurant Association, and this week, after weeks of arguing that Gov. J.B. Pritzker was mishandling restaurant reopening, dooming the state’s largest private-sector employer, Toia stood on a podium beside his old friend and glumly pointed to “a glimmer of light.”
He’s not the type to hide dissatisfaction, to maintain a plastered smile. To slow the coronavirus, the governor wants our restaurants to reopen slowly, to offer just outdoor seating at first; a day later, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot paused even that baby step.
Toia wants to move faster.
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Too fast, some say.
Those who know and have worked with him, describe Sam Toia — who likely first came to the attention of many Chicagoans during the governor’s daily update on Wednesday and a press conference with Lightfoot May 8 — as the ball of energy, the consummate fixer, tirelessly tenacious, politically connected.
In other words, a classic Chicago character. Read more here. —Chris Borrelli
2:16 p.m.: Lightfoot rejects President Trump’s call to open churches
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Friday rejected President Donald Trump’s call for the reopening of churches across the country, saying he’s “pandering to a base” while running for re-election.
Lightfoot’s comments came a day after Trump said he considered churches essential and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention would be issuing guidance Friday for church openings.
“I think we have to realize that virtually everything he says has a political undertone and basis for it,” Lightfoot said. “Look, we are working with our faith community, just like we’re working with businesses to set up very specific guidelines to help them to be able to reopen safely.”
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The mayor noted Trump has had to “walk back” various proclamations he has made during the coronavirus crisis.
“He has said so many dangerous and foolish things. Add this to the list,” Lightfoot added.
Lightfoot in recent days has toughened her stance against churches in Chicago that are flouting Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s COVID-19 stay-at-home order, which prohibits in-person worshiping at this point. The city fined three Chicago houses of worship $500 each this week after they held services last weekend. Read more here. —John Byrne
2:06 p.m.: Legislators OK bill that gives ‘essential’ workers stricken with COVID-19 better access to worker’s compensation
In a bipartisan effort aimed at helping workers who become infected with COVID-19, the Illinois House on Friday overwhelmingly approved a measure that would increase access to worker’s compensation benefits.
The House voted 113-2 in favor of the legislation, which reflects a deal agreed to by organized labor and business groups. The bill workers considered “essential” under Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s statewide stay-at-home order who contract the new coronavirus to qualify for worker’s compensation benefits with the assumption that the virus was contracted on the job.
Employers could contest the claims by showing evidence an employee contracted the virus somewhere other than the workplace or that the employer was following state and federal public health guidelines.
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“If you’re doing the right thing, that presumption would be rebutted,” Democratic Rep. Jay Hoffman said Friday of the presumption the virus was contracted on the job.
The Senate approved the bill Thursday, and it now goes to Pritzker. Read more here. —Jamie Munks
1:41 p.m.: Lightfoot says decision on Lollapalooza music festival expected next week
The city of Chicago will be making an announcement about Lollapalooza next week, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said.
The mayor again was asked about the popular summer festival during a news conference on Friday and said a decision would be announced sometime next week.
Last month, Lightfoot said it’s too soon to talk about July and August events. But she has canceled Gospel Fest and Memorial Day events set for May and June. Lollapalooza is scheduled for July 30-Aug. 2.
The coronavirus pandemic has upended most plans for the foreseeable future, though officials are starting to ease up rules/ Read more here. —Gregory Pratt
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1:15 p.m.: President Trump calls on governors to reopen churches, declares them essential services
President Donald Trump on Friday said he has deemed churches and other houses of worship “essential" and called on governors to allow them to reopen this weekend despite the threat of the coronavirus.
“Today I’m identifying houses of worship — churches, synagogues and mosques — as essential places that provide essential services," Trump said during a hastily arranged press conference Friday. He said if governors don’t abide by his request, he will “override" them, though it’s unclear what authority he has to do so. Read more here. —Associated Press
1 p.m.: Chicago will cautiously reopen in early June, begin easing restrictions on some businesses and activities, Lightfoot says
The city of Chicago is on pace to begin cautiously reopening and ease restrictions on certain activities in early June, with outdoor dining at restaurants, barber shops, non-lakefront park buildings and libraries slated to resume limited business, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Friday.
If safety measures can be put in place, Lightfoot also said the city could potentially reopen summer programs and allow private camps, religious services, gyms, museums and the lakefront later on in the summer.
Schools, playgrounds, bars, stadiums and music venues will remain closed for now, she said.
Though the city announced a general timeline, officials said they will be releasing more information next week about industry-specific rules and regulations for reopening.
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Still, the news is likely to be a welcome relief for restive residents and business owners who want to return to some degree of normalcy, even with restrictions.
Under Lightfoot’s reopening timeline, childcare centers, park facilities outside of the lakefront, libraries, office-based jobs, professional and real estate services, hotels and outdoor attractions including some boating and non-lakefront golf courses will be allowed to open, the city said.
Non-essential retail stores, hair salons, barbershops and tattoo parlors also will be able to open.
Social gatherings will still be limited to fewer than 10 people, however, and the city still encourages residents to stay 6 feet apart and wear a face covering.
On Thursday, Lightfoot said restaurants won’t be allowed to reopen as soon as next week but she expects it to have outdoor seating. Lightfoot also wants restaurants to have indoor dining options, which she acknowledged would need approval from the state.
“No restaurant I know of is going to be able to survive dependent upon what the weather is going to be like on a particular day in Chicago,” Lightfoot said. “I think having the opportunity to do it and dine alfresco on a larger scale, which is what we certainly are talking about, is important, but they also need to be able to be inside as well, or economically I don’t think the numbers work.” Read more here. —Gregory Pratt
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11:37 a.m.: With Park District planting hampered by COVID-19, nonprofit supporting Garfield Park Conservatory sells surplus flowers in fundraiser
The Garfield Park Conservatory Alliance was selling flowers this week originally meant to be planted in Chicago parks that couldn’t be used because of a lack of seasonal employees due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Five days before the online sale was supposed to end, most individual flowers were already sold out, according to the website for the alliance, a nonprofit that supports the conservatory.
“Each year, Chicago Park District staff and contractors grow flowers over the winter to plant in gardens throughout the city,” the park district said on the alliance’s website. “In 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are unable to hire the seasonal staff and contractors that would normally plant and care for these flowers in the summer.”
The sale was scheduled to go through Wednesday, with scheduled in-person pickup of flowers from Thursday through May 31, according to the park district.Information about the sale is on the nonprofit’s website. —Chicago Tribune staff
9:40 a.m.: Hydroxychloroquine linked to deaths, heart risks in COVID study
Antimalaria drugs that President Donald Trump has touted for treatment of COVID-19 were linked to an increased risk of death and heart ailments in a study.
Hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine didn’t benefit patients with the coronavirus, either alone or in combination with an antibiotic, according to the study published Friday by The Lancet medical journal.
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Researchers are searching through available options to treat the coronavirus, which has killed more than 330,000 people, including drugs like the antimalarials that are also already approved to treat lupus and rheumatoid arthritis. Trump’s endorsement has led many people to take the medications without scientific proof of their benefit.
The study looked at the records of 15,000 people who had been treated with the antimalarials and one of two antibiotics that have sometimes been paired with them. Treatment with any combination of the four drugs was associated with a higher risk of death than seen in 81,000 patients who didn’t receive them. Read more here. —Bloomberg News
9:10 a.m.: How to make a living in Chicago sex work amid a pandemic? More hours, less pay and a good internet connection.
Like a lot of people in these months of quarantine, E.B. Cotenord is having a tough time making ends meet. COVID-19 has made it too risky to pursue her profession as she normally does, so she’s working from home, putting in crazy hours and making a fraction of her former earnings.
What’s different about Cotenord is her job.
She is a full-service sex worker, otherwise known as an escort, whose services normally command $500 an hour. She stopped seeing clients shortly after Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced the first stay-at-home order in March, switching her business model almost overnight to subscription video and phone sex. Read more here. —John Keilman
6:55 a.m.: Chicago officials to release updated information on ‘reopening framework’ for city
Mayor Lori Lightfoot and city Health Commissioner Dr Allison Arwady were scheduled to release an update on Chicago’s “reopening framework” Friday afternoon, according to the mayor’s office.
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State officials have said that every region of Illinois carved out under Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s stay-at-home order is on track to move to the next phase of reopening at the end of next week, Phase 3, under which nonessential retail businesses can reopen with capacity limits. But until Pritzker announced a softening of restrictions on restaurants that would allow them to reopen for outdoor dining, restaurants weren’t included in that phase of the plan.
And, with the state law allowing cities to restrict reopening further, Lightfoot said Thursday that Chicago restaurants won’t be reopening as early as establishments in the rest of the state.
Details of the updated Chicago plan were expected to be released in a news conference Friday afternoon. —Chicago Tribune staff
5 a.m.: ‘Our residents are in crisis’: In state-run homes for adults with disabilities, COVID-19 spread quickly
While much of the attention related to COVID-19’s impact on vulnerable populations has focused on deaths at nursing homes, infection rates are remarkably high in another kind of residential setting: state-operated centers for adults with cognitive or behavioral disabilities.
As of Thursday, more than 1 in 5 people living in these developmental centers had tested positive for the novel coronavirus, state data shows. That’s more than double the infection rate seen in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities, where confirmed cases account for about 7% of residents, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health.
Of about 1,650 people who live in the seven developmental centers, which are scattered throughout the state, at least 355 have tested positive, or 21.5%. Eight residents have died, as have four workers. Read the full story, a collaboration between the Chicago Tribune and ProPublica Illinois, here. —Jennifer Smith Richards and Jodi S. Cohen
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5 a.m.: Salons, gyms desperate to reopen navigate complexities of Pritzker’s Illinois stay-at-home order
Depending on whom you ask, salons that offer hair extensions can open in Illinois despite Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s stay-at-home order. Those that don’t, can’t. Similarly, gyms in hotels can open, while independent ones aren’t supposed to yet, although at least five already have.
Tom DeVore, a downstate lawyer who has filed several lawsuits against the governor over the stay-at-home order, advised the owner of a Springfield hair salon to reopen despite what he calls intimidation tactics by the state. Although the executive order provides broad strokes about what’s essential, what businesses may open often is determined by the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.
A spokeswoman for Pritzker said hair salons should not reopen until phase three of the reopening plan, “which all of Illinois is on track to meet in just over a week,” but a department spokeswoman clarified that hair restoration and extension providers may open. Read more here. —Katherine Rosenberg-Douglas
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chicagotribune--2020-05-22--Chicago, you’re probably not getting that haircut May 29

“ We ’ ve been watching the news every week , ” he says , “ waiting for these announcements @ @ @ @ @ are looking for a little more guidance from the state .
Hopefully that comes out @ @ @ @ @ of what procedures and precautions we need to take .
Obviously , we have an @ @ @ @ @ .
… But without basic universal guidelines , we ’ re not really going in @ @ @ @ @ .
”

The coronavirus pandemic has been filled with uncertainty from the get-go. We didn’t know anything about this virus and quickly learned it’s safest to just stay at home. Almost three months into the stay-at-home-order, we still don’t have all of the answers.
According to phase three of Gov. J.B Pritzker’s plan to reopen the state, which is on track to happen at the end of next week, nonessential businesses, including hair salons, may open with capacity limits.
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In a press conference Friday afternoon, however, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Chicago is on track to carefully reopen in early June. The city will be providing guidelines early next week for businesses reopening, Lightfoot said.
Some salons have booked and rebooked clients throughout the stay-at-home order. But clients shouldn’t assume they will be going to a Chicago salon starting May 29, even if they have an appointment.
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As we’ve seen in the past few weeks, policies can rapidly change, and nothing is set in stone in the state until we get closer to May 29 and see how the COVID-19 numbers look.
Alberto Murillo, owner of Antonia’s Beauty Salon in Bridgeport says he’s excited about reopening the salon, which was founded by his mother, Antonia, in the 1970s.
Murillo closed the salon following the stay-at-home-order and luckily didn’t have to furlough any employees because he owns the building where the salon is located and no longer has a mortgage. He acknowledges that this has not been the case for many salons, which have had to continue rent payments despite being closed. And that will continue to have an impact on them as long as they are operating at reduced capacities.
“We’ve been watching the news every week,” he says, “waiting for these announcements and tracking everything. We are looking for a little more guidance from the state. Hopefully that comes out in the next few days of what procedures and precautions we need to take. Obviously, we have an idea on our own end. … But without basic universal guidelines, we’re not really going in with a clear game plan.”
With all of this uncertainty from the state level, hair stylists are left wondering if a 10-person limit in salons is the standard or if capacity is determined by square footage, as some salons are larger than others. This is all still up in the air.
Murillo has tentatively scheduled the salon’s reopening for June 1. He says he hasn’t officially announced this to clients, as he is waiting until next week.
When Antonia’s Beauty Salon can reopen, he says, stylists and clients will wear masks and have their temperatures taken before entering the salon. Clients will also be asked to sign a waiver stating that they have not tested positive for COVID-19 and have not had any symptoms in the past 20 days.
Bow and Arrow salon owner Riley Craig-Shaffer colors the hair of client Maggie Smith on May 21, 2020, in Springfield, Ill. (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune)
The salon has also extended its hours because of the limited number of stylists allowed in the salon at one time.
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Murillo says providing haircuts and color services with masks can be a challenge, because of the straps behind the ears. He noticed that salons in Florida and Georgia used medical tape on the sides of masks to help secure them to clients’ faces, instead of using straps.
Laura Boton, owner of Sine Qua Non Salon, with locations in Lakeview, Andersonville and West Town, has taken similar precautions as Antonia’s Beauty Salon. She hopes to reopen the salons June 2.
“Our clients are definitely ready,” she says. “We’ve been sending out newsletters and updates once a week to let clients know that we are on top of our sanitation. ... I am surprised how many clients want to get their hair done, no matter what.”
Currently, all three locations are completely booked for the month of June.
“Clients will call us before they walk in so we can control the flow of people in the salon,” Boton says, “We’ve got touchless pay. Everything is marked out where people can sit and wait, which we are trying to avoid. We have room dividers between each station; every other station will be empty. Sterilization stations will be set up in the empty stations with everything the stylists will need.”
She says there will be no drinks or magazines, and if clients purchase products, the salon’s staff will grab the product for them to reduce points of contact.
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In cosmetology school, hair stylists are extensively trained for months on sanitation measures and practices, Boton says.
Sine Qua Non Salon will only shampoo and blow dry if absolutely necessary to limit the time clients spend in the salon.
For Deb Pahl, going to the hair salon is a luxury. The Lakeview resident, who works in advertising, has a hair appointment scheduled for the end of June at Exsalonce in Roscoe Village.
Though her hair has gotten long and she’s lost her highlights, Pahl says she is not sure whether she will keep her appointment or reschedule for a later date.
“A lot of it depends on if Chicago is even going to be open at that time,” she says. “I know the governor has said they can reopen May 29. But it sounds like Lori Lightfoot is saying that might not be the case for all of Chicago. So I’m not even sure the salon will be open, and I am not sure I am going to be ready to break social distancing at that time.”
Pahl says she is a bit nervous about catching COVID-19. “I don’t know what my stylist has been exposed to, or the other people in his salon,” she said. “Have they been socially distancing or not? You can’t really control what other people are doing, and that can make you nervous.”
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She says she requested an appointment for June 4, but the earliest the salon could schedule her was for the end of the month, because of the high demand from clients eager to get their hair done.
“I really want to do everything to support my stylist,” Pahl says, “I love him, and he’s great. But at the same time, I also heard salons may not be allowed to blow dry your hair, and for me, a whole trip to the salon is a little bit of a luxury. You go there to kind of get pampered. And if part of that is going to be missing, what’s the point in going?"
She also noted that the stay-at-home order is not likely to be completely lifted for a while. “Nobody is really going to see me. So that’s why I am thinking of pushing it back a month or two to when things stabilize a little bit more.”
hgreenspan@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-05-22--Hecky Powell, Evanston barbecue master and community booster, dies at 71 of COVID-19

“ The outside world knew Hecky as a successful business owner and philanthropist in the Evanston community , ” a @ @ @ @ @ .
“ However , we knew him best as the most generous and greatest father @ @ @ @ @ son , cousin , friend and mentor anyone could ask for .
We are so @ @ @ @ @ had him in our lives and being the bedrock of our family .
”

Hecky Powell pictured at his restaurant, Hecky's BBQ in Evanston, in 2005. (David Trotman-Wilkins / Chicago Tribune)
It seems everyone in Evanston has a Hecky Powell story.
The community stalwart and owner of Hecky’s Barbecue, 1902 Green Bay Road, was a tireless presence around town, spearheading programs aimed at boosting opportunities for local youth from his famed eatery.
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Powell, a lifelong Evanston resident, died early Friday morning of complications related to COVID-19, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office. He was was 71.
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“The outside world knew Hecky as a successful business owner and philanthropist in the Evanston community,” a statement from his family reads. “However, we knew him best as the most generous and greatest father, husband, brother, son, cousin, friend and mentor anyone could ask for. We are so lucky and grateful to have had him in our lives and being the bedrock of our family.”
Hecky’s Barbecue will be closed for the near future, according to the Powell family.
He was an Evanston cheerleader, community booster and former Evanston-Skokie District 65 school board member, among many other positions. Powell’s death leaves a hole in the community, fellow residents said. He was beloved for his work employing youth, advocating for local nonprofits and speaking out on local community matters he agreed with — or maybe more importantly, disagreed with.
“This is a tough day for Evanston,” said Mayor Steve Hagerty. “How can one person have affected so many lives in such a positive way? And he did.”
Hagerty called Powell the “unofficial mayor of Evanston," and said it was necessary to meet with Powell when running for the official mayoral post.
“Have Hecky drive you around the 5th Ward and tell you how it used to be,” Hagerty said.
He was the founder of the Forrest E. Powell Foundation, which was named after his father and awarded scholarships to teens seeking technical training.
He also founded the Evanston Work Ethic Program, which provides paid internships, mentorships, training and tuition stipends to local students going into tech or trade fields after high school, according to the Hecky’s Barbecue and Evanston Work Ethic Program websites.
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Powell recently served as the face of Evanston’s mask campaign, asking residents to cover their faces when doing business during the COVID-19 pandemic. The city poster reads “No Mask, No Sauce,” a play on his longtime Hecky’s Barbecue slogan, “It’s the sauce!”
Former 5th Ward Ald. Delores Holmes said she remembered Powell from his days as a student at Evanston Township High School.
She called him “the example of what it means to give back to your community without expecting anything in return.”
Customers leave flowers outside of Hecky's Barbecue in Evanston after owner Hecky Powell died May 22, 2020. (Karie Angell Luc / Pioneer Press)
Holmes recalled designating the street in front of Hecky’s Barbecue, which opened in 1983, as Hecky Powell Way in 2014.
City staff members were debating what to call the roadway and they decided on Hecky Powell Way “because he always does it his way,” Holmes chuckled.
She also remembered talking about old Evanston with Powell, and said “we were going to try to pull together old Evanston stuff to share with young people” before his death.
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At Unity on the North Shore spiritual center in Evanston, senior Minister Kurt Condra said Powell and his family had been members for decades.
Condra described Powell as “a man of incredible faith. Beyond condition.” And while Powell himself had faced health challenges in the past — he was a liver transplant recipient — he always focused more on how he could serve and help others instead of what others could do to help him.
Powell had a “sense of warmth in his heart that rose out of a belief in the power of good and the power of love,” Condra said.
Even if Powell was critical or disagreeing with someone, there remained an "amazing sense of warmth in the room."
He “had an ability to shine light, no matter what,” Condra said.
Pastor Michael Nabors, with Evanston’s Second Baptist Church and president of the Evanston/North Shore NAACP, said he met with Powell, a past NAACP branch president, when Nabors arrived in town a few years ago.
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“I’m so happy to walk in his footsteps at NAACP,” Nabors said. “He was a champion of our community, there’s no doubt he loved it.”
“The thing I remember most was his love of young people,” Nabors said, especially those who might not be heading to college. “He really fought for kids going to vocational schools” to secure well-paying jobs in the community.
Carl La Mell stands outside Hecky's Barbecue in Evanston near a memorial that has sprung up after his close friend Hecky Powell died May 22, 2020. (Karie Angell Luc / Pioneer Press)
U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Evanston, issued a statement expressing her thoughts on Powell’s death, calling him a longtime friend and “a brightly shining light” in Evanston.
“Hecky was involved in pretty much every aspect of life in Evanston, and never hesitated to express his strong opinions about everything from politics, to schools ... " Schakowsky wrote. "But above all, Hecky dedicated himself to the youth of our community. He mentored untold numbers of young people, hired them, and he gave them scholarships through his foundation named for his father. There is no one like Hecky Powell and he will be deeply missed.”
Holmes said she hopes Powell’s death reminds folks to take precautions to protect themselves and others during the pandemic.
“I wish people would take this virus seriously,” Holmes said. “People are dying.”
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Nabors echoed her sentiments: “this really brings it home. He was as popular as anyone in the whole town.”
Powell is survived by his wife, Cheryl Judice, his children and grandchildren.
Services have not yet been finalized.
gbookwalter@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-05-22--Column: An exclusive look at the reborn Cook County Hospital: Once facing the wrecking ball, the Wes

Column: An exclusive look at the reborn Cook County Hospital: Once facing the wrecking ball, the West Side landmark  is about to reemerge, beautifully remade

Ultimately , however , the meaning of this project is civic as well as personal .
Its rebirth strikes a @ @ @ @ @ architectural , historical , medical , and cultural .
Chicago ’ s great buildings , @ @ @ @ @ found in the neighborhoods , not just in its downtown .
And this is a @ @ @ @ @ beauty of its design , the humane values it communicates and the stirring stories it @ @ @

The exterior of the former Cook County Hospital in Chicago on May 21, 2020. The hospital, originally completed in 1916, has been converted into a Hyatt House hotel and an extended-stay Hyatt House, food hall and a medical office. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
The renovation and reinvention of the old Cook County Hospital is a triumph of historic preservation, one that should resonate far beyond the walls of the beloved Beaux-Arts landmark on Chicago’s Near West Side.
Not only does it give new life to an ornate, more-is-more work of architecture that Cook County leaders, unconscionably, had in their demolition crosshairs 17 years ago.
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It preserves a powerful symbol of compassionate care for the poor, serendipitously coming amid a pandemic that has seen doctors, nurses and other medical professionals battle heroically against the deadly coronavirus.
The project is the anchor of a much-needed, multiphase $1 billion redevelopment that promises to enliven Chicago’s vast but dull Illinois Medical District with new housing, offices and restaurants.
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The biggest part of the $140 million hospital revamp, a Hyatt Place hotel and an extended-stay Hyatt House, is scheduled to open July 1. An eight-station food hall is expected to debut Aug. 1, though the state’s coronavirus restrictions could delay that. Cook County medical offices likely will open later in August.
Long hallways with artwork for guests in the hotel inside the former Cook County Hospital. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
It is always risky to review a building before it is 100% complete. But after a preview Wednesday, I came away impressed with both the meticulous restoration of the old hospital’s sumptuous classical exterior and the creative redesign of its once-crumbling interior, where mold, moss, ferns and trees once grew and squatters covered the walls with graffiti.
For those of us who questioned the wisdom of tearing down the building at 1835 W. Harrison St., without a vigorous public debate, as former Tribune reporter Patrick T. Reardon and I did in 2003, the project represents a remarkable turn of events.
In 2003 when then-Cook County Board President John Stroger aimed to demolish the old hospital after a new one named for him opened to the south, it seemed like Chicago would repeat the civic barbarity it committed in the early 1970s when it allowed the destruction of Dankmar Adler and Louis Sullivan’s Chicago Stock Exchange Building.
There was every reason to fight Stroger’s plan, and not only because the old hospital had embedded itself in the public consciousness as the inspiration for the medical TV drama “ER” or because its illustrious medical history included the world’s first blood bank.
Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 39 Betty Gregorio, 21, a graduate nurse, reads one of the charts at the end of a patient's bed March 18, 1947, at Cook County Hospital. Gregorio and another nurse cared for 87 beds in their ward. (Steve Marino / Chicago Tribune)
Completed in 1916, largely to the design of Cook County architect Paul Gerhardt, the old hospital stood out from the monolithic modernism of the medical buildings around it.
The iconic columns on the Harrison Street facade of the former Cook County Hospital. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
Its proud but dilapidated Harrison Street facade, which featured pairs of three-story Ionic columns as well as faces of lions and cherubs, powerfully communicated the idea that the building represented a source of strength and succor to the poor and sick.
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Such was the hospital’s devotion to caring for indigent African Americans and Hispanics who had migrated to Chicago that it was called Chicago’s “Ellis Island,” even though it was not, strictly speaking, an immigration portal.
Exterior detail of the former Cook County Hospital. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)
This spirit of inclusion was exemplified by the words affixed to a monument to the French medical researcher Louis Pasteur in a park across Harrison Street. “One doesn’t ask of one who suffers: What is your country and what is your religion? One merely says, you suffer, this is enough for me, you belong to me and I shall help you.”
We should be thankful that Cook County Commissioner Larry Suffredin and the advocacy group Landmarks Illinois mobilized a successful charge against Stroger’s misguided plan and that County Board President Toni Preckwinkle backed the renovation of this treasure, which is both an official Chicago landmark and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The renovation was worth every cent of the $27 million in historic preservation tax breaks the developers will receive. Credit for the project goes to the Civic Health Development Group, which is led by Murphy Development Group and includes Walsh Investors, MB Real Estate, the Plenary Group and Granite Cos.
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill of Chicago, led by designer partner Brian Lee and managing partner Adam Semel, headed the architectural team. The Chicago firm KOO designed the hotel’s interiors.
Their combined work has the building’s exterior, made of granite, brick, limestone and terra cotta, looking sharper and cleaner than it has in decades.
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The exterior of the former Cook County Hospital on May 20, 2020. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
More than 4,500 pieces of terra cotta have been replaced — roughly 2,800 more than anticipated. (The developers had enough in their contingency fund to pay for the extras.) Naturalistic details, including sculpted versions of grapes, emerge as if we’ve never seen them before. Metal window frames match the profile of the wood originals.
The replacements have been handled with such skill that there is little evidence of patchwork.
A clunky blue and white entrance canopy is gone, replaced by a sliver-thin canopy of steel and glass that disappears, with appropriate modesty, as you look as the building head-on.
As strong as the restored exterior along Harrison is, the real revelations come inside where, for the first time in years, we can see firsthand that the building’s beauty is more than skin deep.
The main lobby, once chopped into a single-story entrance, has been restored to its original two-story height, complete with elegant classical details and a stylish staircase of gray Tennessee marble. Ultrawide, superlong corridors, no longer dark and dreary, retain their dimensions and their handsome terrazzo tile floors.
The renovated lobby of the former Cook County Hospital is seen May 20, 2020. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
In these and other interior spaces, KOO’s Jackie Koo has successfully introduced playful contemporary light fixtures, wall coverings and artwork to send the message that hotel guests are entering a freshened piece of history, not a stodgy museum or a sterile medical facility.
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No one is going to mistake this for an ordinary chain hotel.
New lighting inside the lobby of the former Cook County Hospital. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
The interior is brightened — literally — by the way Skidmore, Owings & Merrill took advantage of the old hospital’s remarkably thin footprint. It measures 550 feet long by just 80 feet wide, the result of four original wings being removed years ago. With walls that blocked windows removed, the building no longer seems cavernous.
Koo and the Skidmore team have carefully threaded 210 hotel rooms into the building’s forest of structural columns. The rooms, some of which have quirky layouts, are outfitted with smart contemporary decor and easy-to-clean surfaces, a plus for a hotel that will open during a pandemic. Thick insulation blocks out the rush of vehicles barreling down the nearby Eisenhower Expressway.
My favorite rooms, on the eighth floor, are former skylit operating rooms with high, slanted ceilings and bands of windows that overlook the United Center to the north and the downtown skyline to the east. Still to be renovated, but teeming with architectural possibility, are the even more impressive tiered operating theaters at the ends of the same floor. A use for them has yet to be determined.
The operation theater, neglected for many years, still awaits renovation at the former Cook County Hospital. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
To be sure not everything is perfect. Metal panels on the building’s rear, which cover the “scars” that were created when the original wings were removed, respect the proportions and facade organization of the original design, but they’re no prize winners.
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In the long run, the panels may be concealed by residential buildings, geared to medical workers, the developers plan to construct behind the old hospital. They also plan high-rises on the flanks of the park across Harrison Street, which will leave the center of the park open, preserving the view of the old hospital’s main facade.
The rear exterior of the former Cook County Hospital. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)
The care that went into the project reflects the development team’s awareness that they were working on a civic treasure, one that had personal meaning for John T. Murphy, who heads Murphy Development Group.
He’s naming the food hall for his great-uncle, the renowned Chicago surgeon John B. Murphy, who is credited with numerous medical innovations and treated Theodore Roosevelt after the former president was shot by a would-be assassin in 1912. In addition, Murphy’s father and grandfather both did their residencies at the old hospital.
Ultimately, however, the meaning of this project is civic as well as personal. Its rebirth strikes a chord on many levels: architectural, historical, medical, and cultural. Chicago’s great buildings, it reminds us, are found in the neighborhoods, not just in its downtown. And this is a great one — for the beauty of its design, the humane values it communicates and the stirring stories it still tells.
Blair Kamin is a Tribune critic.
bkamin@chicagotribune.com
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Twitter @BlairKamin


chicagotribune--2020-05-22--Placentas in COVID-positive pregnant women show injury with blood circulation and clotting

“ Fetal growth is one of our good measures of how well the placenta is working in terms of giving @ @ @ @ @ baby , ” said Miller , “ so if the growth is OK , that @ @ @ @ @ Normally in pregnancy , we use a measuring tape to measure how tall the uterus @ @ @ @ @ not be accurate enough in these settings because the risk might be higher .
”

The placentas of multiple women who tested positive for COVID-19 showed signs of injury, according to a new Northwestern Medicine study published Friday.
The two major findings about the placenta injuries include an increase in maternal vascular malperfusion, a medical term that means the blood circulation on the maternal side of the placenta is abnormally delivering the same amount of oxygen to the fetus, and blood clotting within the placenta.
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“That’s really concerning because we see that same placental finding in a lot of disease states, like fetal growth restriction, preterm birth, preeclampsia or even stillbirth,” said Dr. Emily Miller, a co-author of the study and a Northwestern Medicine obstetrician. “Seeing this, even acutely in the setting of SARS-CoV-2 infection, makes us worried that this virus may be affecting the placenta.”
Miller said there have been a lot of reports of blood clots during COVID-19 with the general population of patients, and finding clots in the placenta “is kind of the placenta version of that same phenomenon.”
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The placenta, which develops alongside the fetus to support ongoing and safe growth, acts as the kidneys and the lungs of the fetus while it’s inside the uterus, explained Miller. The placenta supplies all of the baby’s oxygen, breathes off all the carbon dioxide, supplies all of the baby’s nutrients, and eliminates all metabolic waste.
Because the placenta plays such an integral part in healthy fetus development, studying it in pregnant women who had COVID-19 can help determine if the virus can cause certain outcomes.
There have been many epidemiological reports of pregnant women who tested positive for COVID-19 and had pregnancy complications, like preterm birth or preeclampsia. It’s hard to know if COVID-19 was the cause of those conditions though because they’re so common, explained Miller.
A study published by Northwestern Medicine revealed placentas in pregnant women who tested positive for COVID-19 can be injured. (Orbon Alija / Getty Images)
“We often will see some changes in the placenta that can lead ultimately to these clinical manifestations,” said Miller. “Trying to look at this intermediate piece, and decide if that intermediate piece is affected, gives us some more support to say, ‘These pregnancies in women who are infected with SARS-CoV-2 might be at risk.’”
The study examined the placentas of 16 women who tested positive for COVID-19. Ten of the women received their positive diagnosis when arriving for labor and delivery, and the others got their positive COVID-19 results one to five weeks prior to giving birth, according to the study.
Fourteen patients gave birth at full-term, and one patient delivered prematurely. One patient had a stillbirth at 16 weeks, but doctors can’t say if COVID-19 was a cause. All of the babies who were born tested negative for COVID-19 and were normal, healthy weights, the study said.
All of the women gave birth at Northwestern Medicine Prentice Women’s Hospital, and their placentas were examined immediately after delivery.
Miller, who is also an assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Feinberg, emphasized not wanting to overstate the findings since the study is small. “It’s super preliminary,” she said.
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Yet, she and her co-authors felt it was important to get the information out. The findings could point to a potential need for more surveillance of pregnancies that are impacted by COVID-19, she said. Miller says that looks like monitoring a fetus’ growth more closely as a pregnancy progresses.
“Fetal growth is one of our good measures of how well the placenta is working in terms of giving oxygen and nutrients to the baby,” said Miller, “so if the growth is OK, that might give us reassurance. Normally in pregnancy, we use a measuring tape to measure how tall the uterus is, but that may not be accurate enough in these settings because the risk might be higher.”
Miller and her colleagues have been extremely discerning in the best ways to practically move forward at Prentice with this new information. They don’t want to cause more harm than good, she said, so she and her colleagues have been examining various potential risks.
“Our group has decided that we are going to do growth ultrasounds because their risk of a false positive result, with all the additional things we can do, is pretty low,” said Miller. “Then we would use that to inform if we need to change anything else with respect to monitoring the baby.”
Women who are pregnant and diagnosed with COVID-19 should speak with their obstetrician and consider additional monitoring to ensure the health of their baby, Miller said.
“That’s being extremely conservative and acting quicker on findings than we typically do, but unfortunately we’re not in a situation where we have any time to spare,” said Miller. “So while there’s no formal guidelines that recommend this overtly, hopefully this (study) will contribute to other bodies potentially reconsidering and going ahead and recommending additional surveillance.”
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chrjohnson@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-05-22--State unemployment office notifying more than 32,000 gig workers whose personal information was poss

State unemployment office notifying more than 32,000 gig workers whose personal information was possibly exposed

The state encourages applicants to try to fill out claims online first , but many people have run into problems @ @ @ @ @ office at 800-244-5631 for help .
Some applicants have said they ’ ve called dozens @ @ @ @ @ try to find help , though the Illinois Department of Employment Security said it has @ @ @ @ @ in call centers to assist claimants .

This photo illustration shows a person filing out an application for unemployment benefits in 2020. (OLIVIER DOULIERY / AFP via Getty Images)
The state’s unemployment insurance office said Friday it would start more than 32,000 gig workers whose personal information may have been viewed during a security breach.
The breach in the system built for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance payments was revealed last week, when a claimant reported that she had stumbled upon personal information for thousands of applicants on the state’s website, including names, addresses and Social Security numbers. The claimant told her state representative, Terri Bryant, a Murphysboro Republican, who reported it to the Illinois Department of Employment Security.
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After working with Deloitte Consulting to investigate a glitch in the system, the state will send notices to people whose information may have been “unintentionally viewed" by a single individual. The state had hired Deloitte to help it deal with the large number of unemployment insurance claims — more than a million since the March stay-at-home order closed nonessential businesses and sent people home.
The department said that computer records confirm that no one else viewed the personal information and there is no sign that any personal information “was, or will be, improperly used.”
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“Out of an abundance of caution, the Department will notify 32,483 claimants whose information could have been possibly viewed to ensure full transparency,” the department said.
Claimants who get the notice will have the option to enroll in 12 months of free credit monitoring, a service offered by Deloitte, the state said.
The department received 74,515 claims under the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program to aid the self-employed in the first week since the state’s system went live May 11, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
The program to provide unemployment benefits to self-employed workers is part of the $2.2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act. Applicants must first apply for regular unemployment and be rejected before they can apply for the new benefits.
The state encourages applicants to try to fill out claims online first, but many people have run into problems and then must call the office at 800-244-5631 for help. Some applicants have said they’ve called dozens of times a day to try to find help, though the Illinois Department of Employment Security said it has doubled the number of workers in call centers to assist claimants.
mwisniewski@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-05-22--Teenage boy among shooting victims on West, South sides

The boy was standing on the sidewalk in the 1800 block of South Avers Avenue when he heard shots , @ @ @ @ @ was shot in the chest , and was taken to Mount Sinai where his condition @ @ @ @ @ .

A 17-year-old boy was shot in the chest Friday afternoon on the West Side in the Lawndale neighborhood, Chicago police said.
The boy was standing on the sidewalk in the 1800 block of South Avers Avenue when he heard shots, then felt pain. He was shot in the chest, and was taken to Mount Sinai where his condition was stabilized, police said.
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Earlier Friday, four gunmen wearing mask in a Chevy Malibu shot a 41-year-old man who was entering an apartment building in the Back of the Yards neighborhood, police said.
Shortly after 11 a.m., the man was going into a building in the 4500 block of South Hermitage Avenue when four gunmen riding in a gray Chevy Malibu opened fire, striking him in the left leg, police said.
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The victim was taken to Holy Cross Hospital where he was listed in good condition.
Police said the shooters were wearing disposable mask.
No one was in custody for either shooting, and detectives were investigating.


chicagotribune--2020-05-22--Senate approves expanded voting-by-mail bill for Nov. 3 election, which now heads to the governor

Sen. Julie Morrison , D-Deerfield , listens to questions from the Republican side of the aisle during debate on SB1863 @ @ @ @ @ vote by mail and other changes for the 2020 election , on the floor of @ @ @ @ @ at the Illinois State Capitol , May 22 , 2020 , in Springfield , Ill. @ @ @ @ @ AP )

Illinois state Sen. Julie Morrison, D-Deerfield, listens to questions from the Republican side of the aisle during debate on SB1863, a bill dealing with vote by mail and other changes for the 2020 election, on the floor of the Illinois Senate during session at the Illinois State Capitol on May 22, 2020, in Springfield. (Justin L. Fowler / AP)
Illinois lawmakers late Friday decided they needed more than the special legislative session’s originally allotted three days to reach an agreement on a budget that’s been blown apart by the coronavirus-induced economic downturn.
The decision to reconvene Saturday and push budget negotiations past a deadline returned a small semblance of normalcy to late May in Springfield during a special session when the Illinois House is meeting on the floor of a downtown convention center and lawmakers are debating legislation through masks.
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“When committing ourselves to this session, we acknowledged that the work before us would take at least three days," House Speaker Michael Madigan said in a statement Friday evening. "We must continue our work to provide relief and support to all Illinois communities and the people of Illinois affected by this unprecedented crisis.”
The Senate also will resume its session on Saturday.
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In another hallmark of late May in Springfield, an eleventh-hour proposal emerged Friday, this time for a bill that would help a long-discussed Chicago casino become a reality. The legislation encapsulates several changes that Mayor Lori Lightfoot has been pushing, but it was unclear whether lawmakers would take up the measure before they leave Springfield.
Both the House and the Senate on Friday approved a measure allowing the state to borrow up to $5 billion from the federal government to offset state revenue losses as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. The 71-45 House vote cut largely along partisan lines. The Senate also voted along party line, 37-19, with all Republicans opposed.
The proposed borrowing is a key component of efforts to address a hole in the budget that Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s office has estimated is at least $6.2 billion. Funds borrowed from the U.S. Federal Reserve would be deposited into a new special emergency fund in the state treasury.
The state expects to repay the borrowing through anticipated direct federal aid to the states, though there’s no certainty when, if or how much could be coming from a politically polarized Washington.
Earlier Friday, a House committee voted to send a budget plan to the House floor that would keep spending essentially flat from the current budget year, and give Pritzker increased leeway to manage the budget as the state continues to grapple with the financial toll of the coronavirus pandemic.
That spending proposal was created with the knowledge that any future coronavirus-related aid from Washington “will come in long after we have left here,” House Democratic leader Greg Harris said during a House Executive Committee hearing on Friday.
“We’re trying to pick the best of a bunch of bad options to propose, and on top of that, we have the uncertainty right now that many, many of the items and many of the facts we need to really do thorough budget-making and effective budget-making, we will not know enough, and we will not know it by the time our new fiscal year begins,” Harris said.
Deputy GOP leader Tom Demmer of Dixon raised concern over “delegating very broad and emergency rule authority over hundreds of millions or billions of dollars.”
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“I would encourage the body to really consider, is it appropriate to, with no other legislative guidance or intent or parameters, allow for emergency rule to control the appropriation of what will be a very, very significant sum of money in the upcoming year?” Demmer said.
Despite going into extra time, lawmakers did accomplish several items on their agenda in the first three days.
Earlier Friday, the Senate voted along party lines to approve a measure aimed at expanding voting by mail in November amid ongoing concerns about the coronavirus pandemic.
The measure, which was approved by the House on Thursday, would create an enhanced vote-by-mail plan for the Nov. 3 general election. The Senate approved the bill on a 37-19 vote, with all Republican members in opposition. It is now headed to Pritzker, who has said he’ll sign it.
The legislation would have vote-by-mail applications sent to everyone who voted in either the 2018 general election, the 2019 municipal election or this year’s March 17 primary, as well as to voters newly registered since the primary or who changed their addresses.
It would also make the day of the election, Nov. 3, a government and school holiday so schools can be used as polling places without risks to students and teachers.
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The measure’s Senate sponsor, Democratic state Sen. Julie Morrison of Lake Forest, said the bill is an example of the state fulfilling its responsibility to plan and prepare during the pandemic, something that wasn’t possible ahead of the March primary.
In response to criticism from Senate Republicans in a committee hearing a day earlier, Morrison introduced a companion bill that would require ballot drop boxes set up by election authorities to be secure, and would make it easier for a three-person panel of election judges to reject mail-in ballots that lack signatures.
The changes weren’t enough to win support from any GOP senators, all of whom voted against the companion bill, which also was approved 37-19. The House also approved the changes Friday.
Voting by mail in the coronavirus era has been a point of partisan tension nationally, with President Donald Trump going so far as to threaten to withhold federal aid to Michigan for expanding vote-by-mail applications. Trump submitted a mail-in vote to cast his ballot in the March Florida primary from the White House.
In Illinois, Republicans have opposed an expansion of the state’s already liberal vote-by-mail laws. They have contended existing law is sufficient for anyone who wants to vote by mail to get a mail-in ballot.
Sen. Steve McClure, a Springfield Republican, described the bill as “the voter fraud legalization act.”
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“After this, ‘vote early and vote often’ won’t be a joke anymore because it’ll be codified into our law,” McClure said.
But Democrats countered that the legislation will ensure people are able to vote in November without fear of contracting the coronavirus.
“What’s a fraud is that people that I represent and people that you represent couldn’t vote in the primary because they felt like they would be exposed to a disease,” said Sen. Andy Manar, a Democrat from Bunker Hill.
While partisan tensions flared at times, Republicans and Democrats came together on several issues, including an effort aimed at helping workers who get sick with COVID-19.
The House voted 113-2 in favor of the legislation, which reflects a deal agreed to by organized labor and business groups. Under the bill, workers considered “essential” in Pritzker’s statewide stay-at-home order can qualify for worker’s compensation benefits with the assumption that the virus was contracted on the job.
Employers could contest the claims by showing evidence an employee contracted the virus somewhere other than the workplace or that the employer was following state and federal public health guidelines.
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The Senate approved the bill Thursday, and it now goes to Pritzker.
jmunks@chicagotribune.com
dpetrella@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-05-22--Emergency lights activated in Willis Tower, but full power not yet on at skyscraper

CW affiliate WCIU-Ch .
26 on Friday was still working to restore the full signal for The U ( 26.2 @ @ @ @ @ ) , Heroes & Icons ( 26.4 ) , Bounce ( 26.5 ) and Decades @ @ @ @ @ to a statement , though some viewers are able to tune in with an over @ @ @ @ @ and most other cable and satellite viewers were not impacted .

The Willis Tower, formerly known as the Sears Tower, sits in darkness on May 20, 2020, after heavy rain caused flooding in its lower levels and killed the power. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)
Light glimmered from Willis Tower for the first time in days Friday morning, but full power had not yet been restored to the skyscraper, officials said.
Crews with ComEd have activated the building’s emergency lighting system, which will allow them to finish turning back on the power for the entire building, according to Micaeh Johnson, a ComEd spokeswoman.
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“There is not full power for the whole building,” Johnson said.
“We expect to restore initial power over the weekend,” Johnson said in a later email.
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“Crews are continuing to work on-site and, until we complete our assessment and the building is deemed safe to reenter, it will remain closed to nonessential personnel,” she said.
The skyscraper has been closed for several days after heavy rain over the weekend and Monday caused massive flooding throughout the Chicago area and swelled the Chicago River to its highest level in more than 60 years.
Floodwater from the overflowing river gushed into Lower Wacker Drive and downtown parking garages Sunday and early Monday, knocking out a ComEd substation that serves Willis Tower.
Crews initially couldn’t safely access the flooded underground vault to restore power, but by Thursday, water had been removed and crews were able to inspect the equipment and perform maintenance.
A representative for EQ Office, which manages Willis Tower, on Thursday said significant flood repair progress had been made.
“We have successfully removed the water from the building, and ComEd is conducting a full and thorough assessment," David Moore, senior vice president of EQ Office, said. “We expect to restore initial power over the weekend.”
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A representative on Friday had no further update.
Several television stations were still working to restore their broadcast signals after the Willis Tower outage.
CW affiliate WCIU-Ch. 26 on Friday was still working to restore the full signal for The U (26.2), MeTV (26.3), Heroes & Icons (26.4), Bounce (26.5) and Decades (26.6), according to a statement, though some viewers are able to tune in with an over the air antenna. Comcast and most other cable and satellite viewers were not impacted.
WCIU CW26 has been made available over the air at 26.1 or 66.6, but a rescan may be needed.
In a Friday morning update, WBBM-Ch. 2 said it is still working to restore its broadcast signal. Signal has been restored for RCN, WOW, Charter, DirecTV and Dish Network.
WTTW is also still off the air for over-the-air and some cable/satellite viewers due to flooding at Willis Tower, the station said in a statement. Some viewers can continue to watch WTTW live via Comcast and RCN.
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[ Social media users react to eerie sight as Willis Tower goes dark at night: It ‘fits 2020’ ]
The Willis Tower sits in darkness on May 20, 2020, after its electricity was shut down following heavy rains and flooding. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)
mabuckley@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-05-22--Chicago’s top cop announces a ‘summer operations center’ in time for long holiday weekend and the ex

Chicago’s top cop announces a ‘summer operations center’ in time for long holiday weekend and the expected spike in violence

“ The SOC will be keeping an eye on the city ’ s network of cameras and will even add @ @ @ @ @ we anticipate there might be trouble , ’ ’ Brown said .
This will allow @ @ @ @ @ “ redeploy ” officers to “ address developing situations .
”

CPD Superintendent David Brown talks about the city's all-hands-on-deck public safety strategy in preparation for Memorial Day weekend at Olive Park on May 22, 2020. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)
Facing his first long holiday weekend in Chicago and the usual spike in violence, police Superintendent David Brown on Friday announced the launch of a “summer operations center” to reduce shootings, and enforce social distancing and other pandemic guidelines.
Brown said patrols will be stepped up, and “Chicago police will be visible in all neighborhoods.” He would not say how many extra officers will be deployed.
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Last year, at least seven people were killed and 36 others wounded over the Memorial Day weekend as 1,200 extra officers patrolled the streets. The worst recent year was 2016, when at least six people were killed and 61 others wounded.
This year, Brown said a new summer operations center will make its debut in time for the long weekend with “the goal of reducing murders and shootings this summer.”
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“The SOC will be keeping an eye on the city’s network of cameras and will even add some pop-up camera areas where we anticipate there might be trouble,’’ Brown said. This will allow the department to more easily “redeploy” officers to “address developing situations.”
The center will involve other city agencies, including the Park District, the CTA, and Streets and Sanitation, and will operate every weekend through the summer.
With the stay-at-home order still in effect, Chicago police will also be “on the lookout for large gatherings” that are not allowed because of the pandemic. Officers will initially issue warnings but will “take enforcement action when necessary” against those who “promote large gatherings.”
Officers will patrol the lakefront and adjacent parks, which remain closed, while the department’s marine unit will watch for boaters who violate the order.
The work of the police will be supplemented with hundreds of outreach workers from violence prevention groups whose mission “mirrors that of CPD. We both want to keep people safe.’’
Chris Patterson, a director with the Institute for Nonviolence Chicago, said the groups work on the ground every day in these neighborhoods. “We can further foster positive relationships with residents and ensure they have resources and supports they need to stay safe,” Patterson said in a statement.
“Violence is not only a public safety issue but a public health issue,’’ he added.
Norman Kerr, the city’s director of violence reduction, said officials will also rely on a violence reduction dashboard online that will use “real-time’’ crime data to reduce further violence.
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Brown ended his remarks at Olive Park by urging residents to “remain vigilant.”
“Nobody knows their neighborhood better than the people that live there,” he said. “That’s how we’re going to reduce violence. It will be a group effort. Memorial Day did not sneak up on us.”
rsobol@chicagotribune.com