chicagotribune--2020-10-27--Coronavirus in Illinois updates: Suburban Cook County under tougher restrictions starting Wednesday;

Coronavirus in Illinois updates: Suburban Cook County under tougher restrictions starting Wednesday; 4,729 new cases reported as seven-day average tops 4,500 for first time

Officials also reported 17 more fatalities Monday , bringing the death toll to 9,522 .
While the daily total was @ @ @ @ @ days , Illinois has been averaging 41 deaths per day over the past week , @ @ @ @ @ at the beginning of the month .
Based on the current trajectory , the state @ @ @ @ @ 11,000 deaths by the end of the year , officials said .

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CTU workers direct vehicles lined up for COVID-19 testing outside of the Chicago Teachers Union on Dec. 30, 2021, in Chicago. CPS starts back to school on Monday following their holiday break. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)
Suburban Cook County and the Metro East region outside St. Louis will come under stricter rules meant to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus on Wednesday, including a shuttering of indoor dining and bar service.
The two regions will join four other regions of the state under stricter rules that also include a smaller gathering cap of 25 people. As of Wednesday, roughly half of the state’s population will be living under the tighter restrictions.
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Meanwhile, state health officials on Monday announced 4,729 newly confirmed cases of COVID-19, bringing the seven-day average for new daily cases to 4,546. It’s the first time since the pandemic began the seven-day average has exceeded 4,500. The seven-day statewide positivity rate jumped to 6.3% from 6.1%.
Officials also reported 17 more fatalities Monday, bringing the death toll to 9,522. While the daily total was relatively low compared with recent days, Illinois has been averaging 41 deaths per day over the past week, up from 23 per day at the beginning of the month. Based on the current trajectory, the state is on pace to exceed 11,000 deaths by the end of the year, officials said.
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Here’s what’s happening Monday with COVID-19 in the Chicago area and Illinois:
8:40 p.m.: ‘Blindsided and heartbroken.’ Mood of restaurant, bar owners dismal as COVID rules are rolled back in suburban Cook
Suburban Cook County will soon join other communities living under stricter measures intended to slow the latest COVID-19 surge, Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced Monday, much to the dismay of bar and restaurant owners who have already endured a dismal year.
“All the progress we’ve made over the last two months is out the door now, and we have to start back from zero,” said Arnie Krause, owner of The Claim Company restaurant in Northbrook.
It was a widespread sentiment in the suburbs after Pritzker announced the latest round of restrictions as coronavirus cases began to creep higher. A week ago, only one of the 11 regions in the governor’s reopening plan was forbidden to have indoor dining, bar service and crowds of more than 25 people. By Wednesday, more than half of the state’s population will be living under the stricter rules.
Read more here. —Chicago Tribune staff
5:20 p.m.: Zanies in Rosemont is closed by stricter COVID rules
The Zanies Comedy Club Rosemont location has been closed by new COVID-19 regulations for suburban Cook County.
Stricter rules designed to help prevent the spread of the virus go into effect Wednesday, affecting Cook County as well as the Metro East region outside St. Louis, and include closing down indoor dining and bar service. According to an announcement Monday by Zanies, shows by psychic/comedian Karen Rontowski Oct. 29-31 at Zanies in Rosemont have been canceled; ticket holders can get more information at rosemont.zanies.com.
The downtown Chicago Zanies on Wells Street remains open, with show this weekend by Gabriel Rutledge.
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—Doug George
4:40 p.m.: WeatherTech, maker of car floor mats, switches gears to make COVID-19 face shields
WeatherTech owner and Trump megadonor David MacNeil is bucking the president with a new product line — plastic face shields to protect against COVID-19.
Eight months into the resurgent pandemic, the southwest suburban car floor mat manufacturer is getting into the personal protection equipment business in a big way, despite ongoing politicization over face masks.
“We have hundreds of thousands of them in stock, ready to go,” said MacNeil, 61.
The FaceShield Air, a sort of wearable sneeze guard, includes a comfort pad, headband and anti-fog lens. Priced at $24.95 for a three-pack, the reusable full-face device can be worn with or without a mask, according to the WeatherTech website.
Made in the same factory that turned Bolingbrook into the aftermarket vehicle floor mat capital of the U.S., WeatherTech’s latest addition to its eclectic catalog was months in development.
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When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, MacNeil reached out to the federal government, initially offering to produce ventilators. He then contacted Ford and GM, which had been enlisted to make ventilators by the White House under the Defense Production Act, as well as ventilator manufacturers, to see if WeatherTech could help.
No one accepted his offer, and MacNeil decided to shift gears and make plastic face shields using WeatherTech’s injection molding production line.
“We thought we could make a great face shield, right here in America, and not have those jobs exported overseas,” MacNeil said.
Read more here. —Robert Channick
3:35 p.m.: CPS has reported 228 coronavirus cases since March. Can the numbers stay low if schools reopen?
Chicago Public Schools on Monday reported the greatest number of COVID-19 cases tied to its 500 school buildings in any week since the pandemic closed them in March.
With only 228 total cases since the beginning of the pandemic – and buildings still closed to in-person classes -- the numbers have remained low, despite last week’s increase.
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Whether they can remain that way when schools reopen is another question, with lingering concerns about the safety of resuming in-person classes in the quarter starting Nov. 9, as CPS intends to do.
Read more here. —Hannah Leone
2:50 p.m.: Wisconsin surpasses 200,000 COVID-19 cases
Wisconsin health officials reported Monday that more than 200,000 people have contracted the coronavirus since the pandemic began in March, a disturbing milestone as the virus continues to surge unabated across the state.
The Department of Health Services reported 2,883, newly confirmed cases on Monday. While that’s the lowest daily tally since Oct. 11, it still brought the overall case count to 201,049.
The agency tweeted that it took seven-and-a-half months to reach 100,000 cases in Wisconsin and just 36 days to double that figure.
The department also reported that the virus was a factor in 10 more deaths, bringing the overall death toll to 1,788. In a bit of good news, only about 1% of all those infected have died.
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Read more here. —Associated Press
1:15 p.m.: Cook County to give direct payments to suburban residents hurt by COVID-19 pandemic: ‘What they need is cash’
Suburban Cook County residents who faced financial hardships during the coronavirus pandemic are eligible for a one-time cash payment of $600, officials announced Monday.
Using about $2.1 million in federal CARES Act money, the resident cash assistance program will accept applications until Nov. 6 and serve about 3,000 people, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle said at a news conference. The $600 will be transferred directly to selected applicants. Residents can apply at https://fund.uptogether.org/suburbancookcountyfund.
“Unfortunately, COVID-19 cases are on the rise and the pandemic is far from being over,” Preckwinkle said. “Many of our communities are facing layoffs, furloughs and the notion of living check-to-check is becoming less of a possibility. People are choosing between buying groceries or paying bills.”
To be eligible, residents must have made no more than 250% of the federal poverty level before March 1, or $65,500 for a family of four. They need to show documents proving they suffered unpaid leave, cared for sick or vulnerable relatives or lost wages from closures during the pandemic.
The application also requires either a government-issued identification with the applicant’s address or two alternative IDs. Money will be deposited into a bank, CashApp, PayPal or Chime account, or it will be delivered in a prepaid card, depending on the applicant’s preference.
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Read more here. —Alice Yin
1:10 p.m: Coronavirus deaths are rising again in the US and cases are climbing in nearly every state
Deaths per day from the coronavirus in the U.S. are on the rise again, just as health experts had feared, and cases are climbing in nearly every state, despite assurances from President Donald Trump over the weekend that “we’re rounding the turn, we’re doing great.”
With Election Day just over a week away, average deaths per day across the country are up 10% over the past two weeks, from 721 to nearly 794 as of Sunday, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. Confirmed infections per day are rising in 47 states, and deaths are up in 34.
Health experts had warned that it was only a matter of time before deaths turned upward, given the record-breaking surge in confirmed cases engulfing the country. Deaths are a lagging indicator — that is, it generally takes a few weeks for people to sicken and die from the coronavirus.
The virus is blamed for more than 8.6 million confirmed infections and over 225,000 deaths in the U.S., the highest such totals anywhere in the world, with a widely cited model from the University of Washington projecting about 386,000 dead by Feb. 1.
Read more here. —Associated Press
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12 p.m.: 4,729 newly confirmed cases and 17 new deaths reported; positivity rate climbs to 6.3%
Illinois public health officials Monday reported 4,729 newly confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 17 additional deaths.
It’s the first time since the pandemic began the seven-day average has exceeded 4,500. That brings the state’s total to 378,985 known infections and 9,522 fatalities.
There were 57,264 tests reported in the last 24 hours. As of Sunday, the share of positive coronavirus tests statewide was 6.3% on a seven-day average, up from 5.4% a week earlier and 3.5% at the beginning of October.
11 a.m.: State puts suburban Cook County under tougher coronavirus restrictions starting Wednesday that will prohibit indoor dining and bar service
Suburban Cook County and the Metro East region outside St. Louis will come under stricter rules meant to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus on Wednesday, including a shuttering of indoor dining and bar service.
The two regions will join four other regions of the state under stricter rules that also include a smaller gathering cap of 25 people.
The suburban Cook County region has had eight consecutive days of test positivity rate increases and seven days of increased hospital admissions. It is the first region to surpass the state-set thresholds in these two areas at the same time. The other regions that have triggered tougher rules have done so by reaching an 8% positivity rate threshold.
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“At the beginning of the pandemic, we were concerned about overwhelming our hospitals and we must take action now to prevent that possibility,” Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike said in a statement. “We are entering flu season and our hospitals are facing both COVID-19 and flu admissions.”
Read more here. —Jamie Munks
8 a.m.: Farm-fresh produce delivered to your door? Because of COVID-19, a growing number of services are offering just that.
The pandemic-driven decline in dining out has had a silver lining for home cooks: The high-quality produce and meats typically destined for restaurants are increasingly finding their way to people’s kitchen tables.
Now one of Chicago’s top restaurant produce distributors is using its muscle to deliver fresh foods to consumers' doorsteps, bringing a heavyweight to a growing movement to bypass grocery stores and give shoppers direct access to high-quality farm products.
Fresh Midwest, a company launched by the family that owns Midwest Foods and Edible Cuts, home-delivers fresh meat and produce as well as snacks prepared in-house and meals and meal kits developed in partnership with restaurants.
It serves ZIP codes located between Kenosha, Wisconsin, and Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood, but plans to expand throughout the region, south to Indiana, by the end of March.
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The pandemic has transformed how people buy food. A surge in online grocery shopping sent grocers scrambling to satisfy customers' expectations of convenience. Whole Foods last week announced free same-day pickup for Prime members and Jewel-Osco recently introduced temperature-controlled pickup lockers at its stores. Some grocers are operating customer-free “dark stores” dedicated to filling online orders.
There are also more ways for shoppers to forgo the grocery store altogether and buy fresh food direct from suppliers, as business disruptions drive farms and restaurants to seek new revenue streams.
Read more here. —Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz
7:10 a.m. Cook County officials to announce availability of COVID-19 cash assistance program for residents
Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and other county officials were scheduled Monday to launch a cash assistance program for people hit financially by the coronavirus pandemic.
Preckwinkle, several Cook County commissioners and officials with the Family Independence Initiative and the Community Economic Development Association of Cook County were scheduled to hold a news conference Monday morning to announce the county COVID-19 Recovery Resident Cash Assistance program.
The $1.2 million program is for suburban Cook County residents who have suffered financial setbacks because of “unpaid leave, care for vulnerable or infected relatives, or loss of wages due to business or school closures,” according to the website for the program. —Chicago Tribune staff
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chicagotribune--2020-10-27--‘Blindsided and heartbroken.’ Mood of restaurant, bar owners dismal as COVID rules are rolled back i

‘Blindsided and heartbroken.’ Mood of restaurant, bar owners dismal as COVID rules are rolled back in suburban Cook

“ But that ’ s not the end of the story , ” she said .
“ The people who @ @ @ @ @ virus tomorrow has not been determined .
And that is where every one of us @ @ @ @ @ mask and our clean hands and our physical distancing , we can prevent exposure to @ @ @ @ @

Karen Ann Cullotta, Kaitlin Edquist, John Keilman, Robert McCoppin, Jamie Munks, Dan Petrella, Alice Yin

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)
Suburban Cook County will soon join other communities living under stricter measures intended to slow the latest COVID-19 surge, Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced Monday, much to the dismay of bar and restaurant owners who have already endured a dismal year.
“All the progress we’ve made over the last two months is out the door now, and we have to start back from zero,” said Arnie Krause, owner of The Claim Company restaurant in Northbrook.
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It was a widespread sentiment in the suburbs after Pritzker announced the latest round of restrictions as coronavirus cases began to creep higher. A week ago, only one of the 11 regions in the governor’s reopening plan was forbidden to have indoor dining, bar service and crowds of more than 25 people. By Wednesday, more than half of the state’s population will be living under the stricter rules.
“No matter where in Illinois you call home, as you go about your daily lives, remember that this is not over,” Pritzker said during his daily COVID-19 briefing in Peoria. “There seems to be a COVID storm on the rise, and we have to get prepared.”
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[ Suburban Cook County placed under tougher coronavirus restrictions starting Wednesday that will prohibit indoor dining and bar service ]
Suburban Cook County has had eight consecutive days of test positivity rate increases and seven days of increased hospital admissions. It is the first region to surpass the state-set thresholds for those two metrics at the same time.
The other regions have triggered tougher rules by reaching an 8% positivity rate threshold for three consecutive days. As of Friday, the rolling seven-day positivity rate for the Cook County suburbs was 7.7%.
Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike said the stricter rules are needed to slow the recent surge and prevent the state’s health care system from becoming overwhelmed as weather turns colder and flu season takes hold.
With hospitalizations already on the rise, health officials are concerned about the percentage of newly diagnosed patients who may soon end up in the hospital, in intensive-care units and on ventilators, Ezike said.
“But that’s not the end of the story,” she said. “The people who will get exposed to the virus tomorrow has not been determined. And that is where every one of us comes in. With our mask and our clean hands and our physical distancing, we can prevent exposure to this deadly virus.”
[ COVID-19 in Illinois by the numbers: Here’s a daily update on cases, positivity rate and hospital data in your area ]
Health officials say indoor restaurants and bars carry a higher risk because they have crowds of people socializing in confined areas for extended periods without masks. They note that outbreaks traced to restaurants and bars have occurred in other states.
But Orland Park Mayor Keith Pekau, who has frequently criticized Pritzker over his handling of COVID-19 measures, said the governor has created "a constantly moving bar” communities must meet to keep their restaurants open.
He pointed to the county’s hospitalization rate, which remains far below the peak in April and May, as evidence that new restrictions aren’t needed. He added that he doesn’t have the legal authority or the inclination to crack down on any restaurants that might ignore the new order.
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“Ask the governor how he’s going to enforce it,” he said. “He’s not going to make me go after my restaurants for trying to earn a living.”
State police have issued citations to four businesses and visited dozens of others to help enforce public health rules, spokeswoman Mindy Carroll said. Additional details about the citations were not immediately available.
[ COVID-19 cases in Illinois by ZIP code: Search for your neighborhood ]
Numerous restaurants across the suburbs have announced they plan to stay open regardless of the new restrictions, though Sam Toia, president of the Illinois Restaurant Association, said the group doesn’t support that move.
“We do not advocate any restaurant to disobey the governor’s orders,” he said. “We always care about the safety and health of our team members and guests.”
In far northwest suburban McHenry County, county board Chairman Jack Franks asked to apply mitigation restrictions only to businesses that flout mask and social distancing mandates.
As with prior COVID-19-related restrictions that were overturned, such as church openings or the limit of two people per boat, Franks said this blanket closure should end. He recommended enforcement tied to specific violators, rather than shuttering restaurants while retail businesses are allowed to operate with many more customers.
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That discrepancy also aggravated Jim Downing, manager of the 115 Bourbon Street entertainment complex in Merrionette Park.
“It’s hard to understand how every place can be open except bars and restaurants,” he said, noting he’s trying to figure out whether his establishment’s Saturday night Halloween party can proceed. “You go to Home Depot and Walmart and it seems to be no problem there.”
[ As second wave of COVID-19 roils Illinois, here are 5 updated ways doctors say you can stay healthy ]
In Rosemont, the village rents out space to restaurants in its entertainment district, and deferred rent payments and renegotiated leases after the spring ban on indoor dining. Despite those measures, Gene & Georgetti’s restaurant announced it was closing its location there.
Michelle Durpetti, part of the third generation of family that owns Gene & Georgetti, said the restaurant faced a $120,000 tax bill and was forced to close Sunday. Employees called her in tears, she said, asking what they could do now.
“I’d love for the governor to look my employees in the face and explain how they are, through no fault of their own, losing their livelihoods,” she said. “This sweeping decision is ruining the lives of so many people. It’s devastating.”
Winnetka-Northfield Chamber of Commerce President Terry Dason said two restaurants in the area — Spirit Elephant, a vegan eatery in Winnetka, and The Happ Inn, a bar and grill in Northfield — recently invested in new ventilation systems to ensure that customers could be safe dining indoors.
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That made the halt to indoor dining particularly frustrating, especially given the cost incurred for the improvements, she said.
“We’re all blindsided and heartbroken,” she said. “It’s upsetting and unfortunate for our residents, but it’s absolutely devastating to restaurant owners.”
In nearby Glencoe, Village Manager Phil Kiraly said the governor’s announcement puts in limbo the future of two new greenhouses erected in the village’s downtown business district to accommodate heated, outdoor dining.
“There isn’t real clarity from the state yet on how these structures will be treated, but from our perspective, it’s not any different than the enclosed outdoor dining they have by the wagonfuls and are allowing in Chicago,” he said.
Cook County Commissioner Sean Morrison, who is also leader of the county’s Republican Party, said Pritzker has gone overboard with his response to the pandemic.
“He seems to have a drunken sense of power that’s going on here because nobody’s taking into account all the bad things that are happening as a byproduct of COVID-19 and of these government shutdowns,” Morrison said, detailing the pervasiveness of unemployment, alcoholism, overdoses and suicide during the pandemic.
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But his colleague, Commissioner Larry Suffredin, D-Evanston, said caution should carry the day, citing the more than 500 people who have died of COVID-19 in his district.
“You can’t mess with this, so I’m sorry for the people who are having difficulty and are making really courageous decisions in running their businesses, but we’ve got to do this to protect everybody,” he said.


chicagotribune--2020-10-27--18-year-old Lyons Township grad, Dayton freshman remembered after dying of COVID-19; ‘It hurts that

18-year-old Lyons Township grad, Dayton freshman remembered after dying of COVID-19; ‘It hurts that I will not see him come back and visit’

`` I always like to bring up things from past bowlers to teach lessons , and last year for playoffs @ @ @ @ @ I will ) use .
.
.
for future bowlers .
While Michael was on @ @ @ @ @ he did not make the playoff roster , but that did not stop him from @ @ @ @ @ .
We were at regionals last year and not bowling so well after the morning @ @ @ @ @ team energy was low .
The team went out to our bus to eat lunch @ @ @ @ @ squad as all coaches would do and then left them alone to eat their lunch @ @ @ @ @ Michael got on the team bus after me and apparently really got the squad motivated @ @ @ @ @ this out until after we had won regionals .

Michael J. Lang of La Grange, who graduated from Lyons Township High School in May, will be laid to rest Friday, but will remain in the hearts of his friends and family.
Lang, 18, who was a freshman at the University of Dayton in Ohio, died Thursday after contracting the coronavirus.
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Lang enjoyed sports, including fishing and golf, and caddied at the La Grange Country Club, according to his family.
He also was a member of LTHS' bowling team for three years and made a lasting impression on the varsity bowling coach, Gary Morrill.
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“Mike was a good bowler. He started as a sophomore, never having formally bowled before, and made it to varsity his second year,” Morrill said in an email.
In the beginning, he was quiet like many students new to the team, but by senior year he had become more open and outgoing, Morrill said.
"I always like to bring up things from past bowlers to teach lessons, and last year for playoffs, Michael created one (I will) use . . . for future bowlers. While Michael was on varsity his senior year, he did not make the playoff roster, but that did not stop him from letting his presence be known. We were at regionals last year and not bowling so well after the morning three games, and the team energy was low. The team went out to our bus to eat lunch and I talked to the squad as all coaches would do and then left them alone to eat their lunch. Unbeknownst to me, Michael got on the team bus after me and apparently really got the squad motivated. I did not find this out until after we had won regionals.
“That was the growth of a young man who happened to be a part of something bigger than himself and took charge when others might have just sat and watched. That is the story I will pass on to future bowling teams. Michael definitely left his mark for life with me. It really hurts to realize that I will not see him come back and visit as most of the bowling alums do. I love my bowling kids and this is so hard.”
“You can never tell your kids that there are any favorites, but Michael definitely held a special place in my heart,” Morrill said.
Friends of the Lang family spell out the message to Michael Lang, "Fly High ML," in the fence along 47th Street by the LTHS South campus in Western Springs. (Kimberly Fornek / Pioneer Press)
Lang arrived on the Dayton campus in early August, but by Labor Day he began to feel ill, family members said.
University officials stated, in a message to students, that Lang, who was in the College of Arts and Sciences, returned home to La Grange Sept. 13 to do remote learning.
He died after a “lengthy hospitalization,” the university said.
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Lang’s mother, Kathleen Lang, told ABC-TV news that her son had no pre-existing conditions that would have put him at greater risk from COVID-19. “He was a really, healthy young kid,” she said, who had yearly physicals.
As of Sunday, there have been 1,417 coronavirus cases on the Dayton campus since Aug. 10, the college reported.
Students moved in on campus prior to the start of classes on Aug. 25, though classroom learning was remote, according to a university spokesperson.
Lang had returned home before the college transitioned to a mix of in-person and remote learning on Sept. 24.
“The loss of Michael calls our campus community to honor his memory and support those who are affected by his passing,” the message read.
Friends of the Lang family tied red ribbons around trees on the Langs’ block and on streets throughout La Grange in memory of Michael. (Kimberly Fornek / Pioneer Press)
The university held a vigil in Michael’s honor Friday afternoon at the Chapel of the Immaculate Conception on campus. Friends and neighbors also tied red ribbons around trees near Lang’s home, his high school and the country club in his honor.
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Visitation for Michael Lang will be from 3 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 29 at Hallowell & James Funeral Home, 1025 W. 55th St., Countryside.
A funeral Mass will be said at 11 a.m. Friday at St. Francis Xavier Church, at 124 N. Spring Ave., La Grange.
Registration is required to attend the Mass. Register at http://www.signupgenius.com/go/409044DAAA72EA2F94-michael1.
Masks and social distancing are required at the funeral home and in church.
People also can watch the Mass via livestream on Chrome, from the St. Francis Xavier Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/SFXParish.LG.
Lang is survived by his parents, Paul and Kathleen Lang, his brother Matthew and his grandmother Jane Lettich. His obituary can be seen at https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/chicagotribune/obituary.aspx?n=michael-john-lang&pid=196988709&fhid=2043.
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For more information, call the funeral home at 708-352-6500 or look at the website, www.hjfunerals.com.


chicagotribune--2020-10-27--Coronavirus in Illinois updates: Pritzker orders tougher restrictions for Chicago; Florida added to

Coronavirus in Illinois updates: Pritzker orders tougher restrictions for Chicago; Florida added to city’s travel order; 4,000 new cases and 46 more deaths reported

“ If you have ever received a flu vaccine in your life , this is the year to do it @ @ @ @ @ about the possibility of co-infection with influenza and COVID , ” Taormina said .
“ @ @ @ @ @ see a lot of that in the spring because flu season was fizzling out .
@ @ @ @ @ to be entering months here where we absolutely are going to have these two illnesses @ @ @ @ @ ”

We have lifted the paywall on this story. To support essential reporting, please consider becoming a subscriber .
CTU workers direct vehicles lined up for COVID-19 testing outside of the Chicago Teachers Union on Dec. 30, 2021, in Chicago. CPS starts back to school on Monday following their holiday break. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Tuesday ordered new restrictions for Chicago that will prohibit indoor dining and bar service and limit gatherings to 25 as of Friday. The city has seen sustained increases in COVID-19 hospitalizations and its COVID-19 test positivity rate, a combination of factors that triggers a rollback of reopening under the governor’s plan.
Hours after Pritzker’s announcement, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot in a televised interview said she’s trying to convince him not to go through with his order, citing concerns about the economy.
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Meanwhile, Chicago added Florida to its travel ban and warned that Michigan could be added next week, public health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said Tuesday. That makes 31 states, as well as Puerto Rico, on the city’s list of places residents can’t travel to without quarantining.
Also on Tuesday, state health officials reported 4,000 newly confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 46 additional deaths. The seven-day statewide positivity rate ticked up to 6.4%.
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Here’s what’s happening Tuesday with COVID-19 in the Chicago area and Illinois:
6:30 p.m. (update): Pritzker orders tougher restrictions for Chicago starting Friday. Lightfoot says she’ll try to change his mind.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Tuesday clashed over his order for tighter restrictions that would prohibit indoor dining and bar service in Chicago, with the governor saying they’re needed to help stop the coronavirus spread and the mayor indicating she’ll try to change his mind.
Hours after Pritzker announced the rollback in Chicago starting Friday, citing increases in the city’s positivity rate and in hospital admissions for people with COVID-19 symptoms, Lightfoot in a televised interview said she’s trying to convince him not to go through with his order, citing concerns about the economy.
“Our restaurant industry, our bars, our gyms, indoor spaces, if the governor’s order goes into effect, it’s really effectively shutting down a significant portion of our economy at a time when those same businesses are really hanging on by a thread so we’re going to continue our engagement with the governor and his team,” Lightfoot said on PBS.
“But it’s not looking good and if we can’t convince him that some other metrics should apply, then the shutdown unfortunately is going to take effect starting Friday by state order,” she said.
The mayor did not attend Pritzker’s news conference and did not release a statement about the announcement for a couple of hours. Hinting at behind-the-scenes drama, Lightfoot’s statement began, “Communication is the key to navigating through this crisis.”
Pritzker’s office acknowledged he had not spoken to the mayor before issuing his order.
Read more here. —Dan Petrella, Jamie Munks and Gregory Pratt
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5:05 p.m.: Winter high school sports ‘put on hold’ by Pritzker and IDPH
Winter high school sports seasons in Illinois were “put on hold” Tuesday by Gov. J.B. Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Public Health.
Practice for boys and girls basketball seasons were expected to begin Nov. 16, with games to be played as early as Nov. 30.
But the IDPH moved basketball from medium risk to high risk on its website Tuesday, and under current conditions in the coronavirus pandemic, high-risk sports are allowed only no-contact practices.
Pritzker’s decision Tuesday was the second time he preempted the Illinois High School Association. The IHSA was expected to make an announcement Wednesday after a board meeting.
Read more here. —Daily Southtown staff
4 p.m.: Court allows FoxFire restaurant in Geneva to stay open for indoor dining despite Pritzker’s COVID-19 closure order
A steakhouse in Geneva served meals indoor legally Tuesday, despite COVID-19 closure orders, after a judge ruled the restaurant may stay open for business.
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FoxFire restaurant won a temporary court order Monday to continue indoor service, despite Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s executive order banning indoor dining in Kane, DuPage, Will, Kankakee and other counties.
In response to a lawsuit filed by the restaurant seeking to stay open, Kane County Judge Kevin Busch ruled that it would suffer irreparable harm from being closed, and scheduled an upcoming hearing to consider a permanent ruling on the issue, court records show. Owner K.C. Gulbro said the state is appealing the injunction.
Gulbro, who also works as a chef, said his establishment would continue to follow other health guidelines, including taking the temperature of customers and employees, requiring masks for workers and for customers going in or out and speaking with servers.
“If we had to close, we probably wouldn’t open our doors again,” he said.
Read more here. —Robert McCoppin
3:15 p.m. (update): Pritzker orders tougher restrictions for Chicago starting Friday: No indoor bar or dining service, crowds capped at 25
Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Tuesday ordered new restrictions for the city of Chicago that will prohibit indoor dining and bar service and limit gatherings to 25 as of Friday.
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The city has seen sustained increases in COVID-19 hospitalizations and its COVID-19 test positivity rate, a combination of factors that triggers a rollback of reopening under the governor’s plan.
The city is “averaging more than twice as many COVID-related hospital admissions per day as it was a month ago, with a positivity rate that has almost doubled since the beginning of October,” Pritzker said in a statement Tuesday, issued in advance of his daily coronavirus briefing.
The city will become the seventh of 11 regions in the state to come under stricter rules imposed by the state.
The rollback in Chicago follows Pritzker’s announcement Monday of the same tighter restrictions in suburban Cook County, which kick in Wednesday.
The city of Chicago, which is its own region in Pritzker’s reopening plan, had a 7.8% test positivity rate as of Oct. 24, the most recent data the Illinois Department of Public Health has released. The city’s positivity rate is up from 6.7% a week earlier.
Read more here. —Dan Petrella, Jamie Munks and Gregory Pratt
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1:25 p.m.: Chicago adds Florida to its travel quarantine order; Michigan could be next in line
The city of Chicago added Florida to its travel ban and warned that Michigan could be added next week as coronavirus cases continue to rise, public health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said Tuesday.
That makes 31 states, as well as Puerto Rico, on the city’s list of places residents can’t travel to without quarantining.
“This is the worst we are doing on COVID as a country since the beginning,” she said.
Chicago’s averaging nearly 800 new cases a day, Arwady said. To put it into perspective, she said 400 was a level of concern and 200 was the level the city wanted to stay under.
“It’s heading the wrong way,” she said.
Test positivity in Chicago is at 7.8%, according to Illinois public health guidelines, Arwady said. City officials wanted to be under 5% and was until just a few weeks ago, she said.
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Read more here. —Gregory Pratt
1:10 p.m.: Pritzker could announce tougher coronavirus restrictions in Chicago by Tuesday afternoon
Gov. J.B. Pritzker could announce new restrictions on businesses and gatherings in the city of Chicago as early as Tuesday afternoon, sources told the Tribune.
The city has seen sustained increases in hospitalizations and its COVID-19 test positivity rate, a combination of factors that triggers a rollback of reopening under the governor’s plan.
The move would follow Pritzker’s announcement Monday of tighter restrictions in suburban Cook County, which kick in Wednesday.
The restrictions in suburban Cook County prohibit indoor dining and bar services and reduce the cap on gatherings to 25 from 50.
Read more here. —Dan Petrella, Jamie Munks and Gregory Pratt
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12:55 p.m.: Scramble is on to get 320,000 Wisconsin absentee ballots turned in after Supreme Court refused to extend deadline to count them
Democrats and Republicans in the battleground state of Wisconsin were pushing Tuesday to get 320,000 outstanding absentee ballots returned by the close of polls on Election Day after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to extend the deadline to receive and count ballots, as Democrats had wanted.
“This is an all-hands-on-deck final push,” said Ben Wikler, who chairs the Wisconsin Democratic Party, which has been advocating absentee voting more aggressively than Republicans.
But the message is the same for Republicans who decided to mail in their ballots amid a surge in coronavirus cases in Wisconsin.
“If you do it absentee, do it now, do it quickly,” said Andrew Hitt, chairman of the Wisconsin Republican Party.
Democrats argued in a federal lawsuit that more time should be allotted for ballots to arrive by mail and be counted because of the challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic. Republicans countered that voters had plenty of options to vote on time and that the rules shouldn’t be changed so close to the election. The Supreme Court, in a 5-3 decision Monday along ideological lines, affirmed an appellate court ruling that had blocked the extended count.
Read more here. — Associated Press
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11:45 a.m.: Is it a cold, the flu or COVID-19? Get a flu shot and err on side of caution, experts say.
That tickle in the throat, cough, runny nose or run-down feeling in late October typically means grabbing some over-the-counter cold and flu relief and powering through a day of work or errands.
Not this year, said Dr. Mia Taormina, an infectious disease specialist with DuPage Medical Group.
“If you’re feeling sick at all, you should stay home,” Taormina said.
Because so many of the symptoms of COVID-19 are similar to those of influenza or a cold, it’s best to recuperate at home, Taormina said.
“We just can’t afford to continue spreading (the coronavirus). This is why we are where we are because we continue to go out and about feeling unwell,” she said.
The best defense against contracting influenza is a vaccine.
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“If you have ever received a flu vaccine in your life, this is the year to do it. We are very concerned about the possibility of co-infection with influenza and COVID,” Taormina said. “We didn’t really see a lot of that in the spring because flu season was fizzling out. But we’re going to be entering months here where we absolutely are going to have these two illnesses running side by side.”
Read more here. — Suzanne Baker
11:42: He’s 82, but the owner of Old Fashioned Donuts in Roseland has no plans to stop making the best apple fritters in Chicago
As leaves change color, and the weather turns cold, you may embrace the season. Apple picking plans may pop up, until you realize it’s too late for this year. It’s always apple fritter season, though, at Old Fashioned Donuts on the South Side of Chicago.
Owner and doughnut maker Buritt Bulloch, 82, hasn’t missed a day of work despite the pandemic. Through the dark early days, and now the second surge, he’s been there, and expects to stay there in the days to come.
“When I first started here, I wasn’t making the apple fritter,” Bulloch said at his shop in the Roseland neighborhood. The huge, fruit-studded fritters weren’t on the menu when he opened the business in 1972 with his wife, Mamie, who died in 2009. Daughters Tina Bulloch and Michelle Bulloch, and granddaughter Drejauna Bulloch all work at the shop now.
So how did the beloved apple fritters come to be?"I had a police friend who used to work out of the 5th District, but he’s retired now," Bulloch said. “He kind of coaxed me into making apple fritters.”
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Read the full story. — Louisa Chu
11:40 a.m.: Those attending large Thanksgiving celebration could reconvene for Christmastime funeral, state health director warns
To assure loved ones are around to celebrate Christmas, Dr. Ngozi Ezike, the director of the Illinois Department of Public Health, said it may mean forgoing a large in-person family get together for Thanksgiving.
“Do we want to sit with people at Thanksgiving, and weeks later attend their funeral?” Ezike said. “Then the funeral spreads the infection, and there are more funerals.”
Ezike spoke about the danger of large family holiday gatherings and other issues related to the coronavirus pandemic during a virtual discussion of the impact of the disease on the Hispanic and Black communities Monday sponsored by Mano a Mano Family Resource Center.
Rafael Malpica, the president of Mano a Mano’s board of directors, moderated the discussion where Ezike offered her ideas on those issues as well as traveling safely, deciding whether children should go to school remotely or in person, vaccine distribution and more.
Mark Pfister, the executive director of the Lake County Health Department who spoke after Ezike, offered his advice on holiday gatherings. He said anyone getting together with people living outside their household must know those persons very well.
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“Know your bubble,” Pfister said. “Do they wear masks, keep their distance and wash their hands. Do they go to bars? If they do, keep your distance. You don’t want your Thanksgiving to turn into a super-spreader event.”
Read more here. — Steve Sadin
10:55 a.m.: Zanies in Rosemont is closed by stricter COVID rules
The Zanies Comedy Club Rosemont location has been closed by new COVID-19 regulations for suburban Cook County.
Stricter rules designed to help prevent the spread of the virus go into effect Wednesday, affecting Cook County as well as the Metro East region outside St. Louis, and include closing down indoor dining and bar service. According to an announcement Monday by Zanies, shows by psychic/comedian Karen Rontowski Oct. 29-31 at Zanies in Rosemont have been canceled; ticket holders can get more information at rosemont.zanies.com.
The downtown Chicago Zanies on Wells Street remains open, with show this weekend by Gabriel Rutledge.
— Doug George
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10:30 a.m.: Dr. Ezike’s emotional plea gets national attention
A little-known state official before the coronavirus swept across the state last spring, Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike has attracted fans — and some outspoken detractors — locally as she’s stood beside Gov. J.B. Pritzker at news briefings throughout the pandemic.
But when she paused while talking about the latest resurgence of COVID-19 during Friday’s briefing after beginning to cry, she attracted national media attention — and more social media vitriol.
During an appearance on CNN on Tuesday morning, Ezike said that moment came upon her unexpectedly.
“It was a culmination of the pain and the fatigue, as well as the frustration and the anxiety that…history was repeating [itself] in this state,” Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike says about wiping away tears during a briefing. https://t.co/QPWZJeggC1 pic.twitter.com/g9Zo7GUOae — CNN Newsroom (@CNNnewsroom) October 27, 2020
“In retrospect … I’m surmising that it was the culmination of the pain and the fatigue as well as the frustration and the anxiety that history was repeating ourselves in this state,” she said. “And what we went through the first time was so traumatic to the entire state.”
Ezike said she was also feeling “the frustration of people not quite getting it because, in fact, there are things we could do that could history not repeat ourselves.”
Asked what she say if given 10 minutes with the winner of next week’s presidential election, she said, “I think it would start with (sending) the clear message from the top down to explain what we know about this virus, what mitigation strategies we know work.”
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From there, Ezike said she would recommend creating national testing and mitigation strategies.
“The sooner we have a unified approach, the sooner we can get this virus under control,” she said. — Dan Petrella
9 a.m.: COVID-19 spiking in Midwestern swing states as Trump insists nation is ‘rounding the turn’ in pandemic and slams media for coverage
The coronavirus pandemic is getting worse in states that President Donald Trump needs the most, at the least opportune time for him. New infections are raging in Wisconsin and elsewhere in the upper Midwest. In Iowa, polls suggest Trump is in a toss-up race with former Vice President Joe Biden after carrying the state by 9.4 percentage points four years ago.
Trump’s pandemic response threatens his hold on Wisconsin, where he won by fewer than 23,000 votes in 2016, said Marquette University Law School poll director Charles Franklin.
“Approval of his handling of COVID is the next-strongest predictor of vote choice,” behind voters' party affiliation and their overall approval of Trump’s performance as president, Franklin said. “And it’s not just a fluke of a single survey.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Sunday that among U.S. states, Wisconsin had the third-highest rate of new cases for the previous seven days. Iowa was 10th.
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Trump won Wisconsin’s heavily blue-collar Winnebago County, which includes Oshkosh, in 2016, after Democratic nominee Barack Obama had carried it in 2012. Today, Winnebago is among the top 10 counties where new Wisconsin COVID cases are being reported, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University and compiled by The Associated Press.
The trend is similar in Iowa. Blue-collar Dubuque County was among the state’s 10 counties with the fastest-growing number of cases per capita over the past two weeks. Trump won the county narrowly after Democrats had carried it since the 1950s.
Read more here. — Associated Press
6:54 a.m.: Elmwood Park District 401 makes plans to bring students back to school in hybrid learning model
Elmwood Park School District 401 students could be returning to the classroom this winter, with pre-K through second-graders, English language learners and those in special education returning as soon as Nov. 30.
District administrators presented plans for hybrid learning to the Board of Education at last week’s meeting, saying the details are still tentative.
With COVID-19 cases rising in suburban Cook County and new restrictions announced Monday by the state Department of Public Health, their plans could be delayed. However, administrators said they wanted to make sure a plan was in place. They also said they wanted an accurate count of students who would be returning in person, in order to better prepare for an eventual return to school.
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“The goal for tonight is to have an open conversation about the hybrid plan, and to leave here tonight with what our plan can be when it’s safe to bring our students back into the building,” Superintendent Leah Gauthier told board members at the Wednesday, Oct. 21 meeting.
Read more here. — Anna Kim
5 a.m.: Chicago jazz master Howard Levy forges through pandemic by ‘Looking Inward’ with piano improvisations
Everyone in jazz knows that Chicagoan Howard Levy commands a global reputation as a harmonica virtuoso.
Fewer realize that he’s also an uncommonly fluid jazz pianist. But even those familiar with his pianism may be surprised by “Looking Inward,” his new album of solo piano improvisations born of the pandemic.
“What was going on with the pandemic influenced the way I played – I felt really isolated and scared about what was going on,” says Levy, who recorded the music between April 20 and May 20, when the world was realizing the gravity of a still-escalating crisis.
“I actually had a great-grandmother who died in the 1918-19 pandemic, which was a story in our family, but I never really thought of it. It was a tragedy that happened, and it deeply affected my grandmother. She was traumatized by it forever, probably.”
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But Levy – like most of us – never expected such a scenario to roil our lives in the high-tech 21st century. With Levy’s schedule of constant global touring suddenly canceled, he found himself not only living through a pandemic of the kind that had scarred his family but also bearing the weight of too much time on his hands.
Read more here. — Howard Reich
Breaking coronavirus news Stay up to date with the latest information on coronavirus with our breaking news alerts.
In case you missed it
Here are six stories from Monday related to COVID-19:


chicagotribune--2020-10-27--Pritzker orders tougher restrictions for Chicago starting Friday. Lightfoot says she’ll try to chang

Pritzker orders tougher restrictions for Chicago starting Friday. Lightfoot says she’ll try to change his mind.

Chicago , like many large cities across the country , was hit particularly hard by the coronavirus pandemic in the @ @ @ @ @ Illinois is experiencing is targeting a wider area of the state : By the end @ @ @ @ @ rules will be in place for Illinois ’ most densely populated neighborhoods , as well @ @ @ @ @ rural areas downstate , after those regions hit positivity rate thresholds that triggered tougher rules @

Jamie Munks, Gregory Pratt, Dan Petrella

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)
Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Tuesday clashed over his order for tighter restrictions that would prohibit indoor dining and bar service in Chicago, with the governor saying they’re needed to help stop the coronavirus spread and the mayor indicating she’ll try to change his mind.
Hours after Pritzker announced the rollback in Chicago starting Friday, citing increases in the city’s positivity rate and in hospital admissions for people with COVID-19 symptoms, Lightfoot in a televised interview said she’s trying to convince him not to go through with his order, citing concerns about the economy.
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“Our restaurant industry, our bars, our gyms, indoor spaces, if the governor’s order goes into effect, it’s really effectively shutting down a significant portion of our economy at a time when those same businesses are really hanging on by a thread, so we’re going to continue our engagement with the governor and his team,” Lightfoot said on PBS.
“But it’s not looking good, and if we can’t convince him that some other metrics should apply, then the shutdown unfortunately is going to take effect starting Friday by state order," she said.
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The mayor did not attend Pritzker’s news conference and did not release a statement about the announcement for a couple of hours. Hinting at behind-the-scenes drama, Lightfoot’s statement began, “Communication is the key to navigating through this crisis.”
Pritzker’s office acknowledged he had not spoken to the mayor before issuing his order.
“The governor and mayor were supposed to speak on Monday, but the mayor didn’t call the governor," the governor’s office said in a statement. "Staff were briefed on the metrics triggering mitigations.”
Pritzker’s order for the city puts it under the same rules as a broad stretch of suburbs and downstate regions amid a statewide coronavirus resurgence.
The city is “averaging more than twice as many COVID-related hospital admissions per day as it was a month ago, with a positivity rate that has almost doubled since the beginning of October,” Pritzker said Tuesday.
“For a time, late in the summer, Chicago seemed to have this more under control than other regions of Illinois,” Pritzker said. “But that’s no longer the case.”
As in other regions, the rollback in Chicago was met with dismay by restaurateurs already hard-hit by the pandemic.
“All I can say is that there are a lot of tears in this place,” said Rick Bayless, whose restaurant group includes Frontera Grill, Topolobampo and Bar Sótano.
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“Everybody on our team is ready to throw in the towel,” Bayless said. “We didn’t know if we could make it to the end of the year anyway, and now this will just about cinch it.”
The city will become the seventh of 11 regions in the state to come under the stricter, state-imposed rules, but is only the second to trigger the scaled-back reopening by reaching the combined hospital admissions and positivity rate thresholds. The first was suburban Cook County, which goes under the tighter restrictions Wednesday.
“The situation here in all of Cook County, city and suburbs alike, is bad, and it’s getting worse," Pritzker said at his daily coronavirus briefing, held Tuesday in suburban Hazel Crest.
Before taking to PBS to begin making her case against Pritzker’s order, Lightfoot issued a statement that said, "the Governor and I are aligned that we need residents to mask-up and follow the City and State’s health guidance in order to reverse these recent troubling trends, but we must remain in lock step when it comes to the rollout of new restrictions.”
In her TV interview, the mayor said, “we’ve got to be very surgical in the way that we impose these new restrictions."
“The truth is, where we’re seeing the greatest challenges is in people’s homes, in social settings that are not public,” she said. “That’s harder to regulate, to be sure, but that’s at least in Chicago where we’re seeing the challenges.”
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It doesn’t sound like the governor’s office is hearing appeals, however.
“Unfortunately, the virus doesn’t make exceptions, and it would be ill-advised to make exceptions to the rules we put in place as the best mitigations to stop the spread,” Pritzker spokeswoman Jordan Abudayyeh said in a statement.
The dispute over the upcoming restrictions marks Lightfoot’s most direct confrontation with her fellow Democrat Pritzker during the pandemic. In mid-March, Pritzker canceled classes statewide just hours after Lightfoot said she had no plans to do so at Chicago Public Schools.
The tougher rules, which take effect at 12:01 a.m. Friday, will deal another blow to restaurants and bars that struggled to make up for losses from the spring, when the entire state was living under a stay-at-home order, the most restrictive measure Pritzker’s administration has put in place during the pandemic so far.
“When (coronavirus restrictions) first happened, we were (saying), ‘Yeah, we’ll get through this,’” Bayless said. “I can say our team is feeling pretty hopeless right now. We’d hit break-even for about four weeks in a row, and now we’ll be back in the red, which we don’t have the wherewithal for.”
Chicago, like many large cities across the country, was hit particularly hard by the coronavirus pandemic in the spring. The fall surge Illinois is experiencing is targeting a wider area of the state: By the end of this week, stricter rules will be in place for Illinois’ most densely populated neighborhoods, as well as some of its most rural areas downstate, after those regions hit positivity rate thresholds that triggered tougher rules.
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Suburban counties including DuPage and Kane are already under the state’s stricter rules for businesses and gatherings, and Lake and McHenry counties may soon be joining the group given the latest metrics. Both recorded a rolling coronavirus positivity rate above 8% for the second straight day, state health officials reported Tuesday, putting them one day away from triggering the stricter rules.
The two counties had a combined test positivity rate of 8.4% as of Saturday, up from 8.1% a day earlier.
State health officials on Tuesday reported 4,000 newly confirmed cases of COVID-19, bringing the statewide total to 382,985 since the start of the pandemic. There also were 46 additional fatalities reported Tuesday, bringing the state-reported death toll to 9,568 over the course of the pandemic.
The statewide rolling positivity rate was 6.4% statewide as of Monday, up from 5.5% a week earlier and 4.5% two weeks earlier.
Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike on Tuesday called the rate of increase “very significant.”
“People want to poke holes in stats. You can’t deny people in the hospital, you can’t deny people who have died with it,” Ezike said.
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The city, which is its own region in Pritzker’s reopening plan, had a 7.8% test positivity rate as of Oct. 24, the most recent data the Illinois Department of Public Health has released, up from 6.7% a week earlier.
The state was reporting 43 new hospital admissions for COVID-19-like illnesses in Chicago on Oct. 24, up from 30 on Oct. 17.
In order to return to phase four rules under Pritzker’s plan and for the state to sanction indoor dining, bar service and crowd limits of up to 50 again, the city would need to reach a trio of thresholds.
The city must log, for a three-day period, an average positivity rate of 6.5% or lower, coupled with a decrease in hospital admissions for COVID-19-like illness. In addition, there must be adequate levels of available hospital and intensive care beds.
But if the city’s average positivity rate and hospital admissions for COVID-19-like illness continue to increase for seven out of 10 days, the state could impose more stringent rules.
The city joined the rest of the state in entering phase four of Pritzker’s reopening plan in late June, when restrictions on a wide array of activities, businesses and gatherings were loosened more than they had been since March. It was then that bars and indoor dining were permitted and limits on gathering sizes rose to 50.
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Last week, Lightfoot reinstated a ban on indoor service at traditional taverns and brewery taprooms without food licenses, and asked residents to cap any social gatherings at six people.
She also warned the city is on a path for much tougher restrictions heading into the holiday season if the virus doesn’t get under control.
Late last month, Lightfoot cited a decrease in COVID-19 cases as she allowed bars that don’t serve food to reopen for indoor drinking. She also eased rules on restaurants, gyms and other retailers, allowing them to increase capacity. The changes were Lightfoot’s attempt to ease the financial burden on Chicago businesses by lifting frequently criticized restrictions.
But they also came as the number of new COVID-19 cases per day was hovering around 300, well above the 200-case threshold the mayor set months ago as a goal before moderating restrictions.
Chicago now is averaging nearly 800 new cases a day, Arwady said. To put it into perspective, she said 400 was a level of concern and 200 was the level the city wanted to stay under.
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Also Tuesday, the city of Chicago added Florida to its travel quarantine order, and officials warned that Michigan could be added next week as coronavirus cases continue to rise, Arwady said.
That makes 31 states, as well as Puerto Rico, on the city’s list of places residents can’t travel to without quarantining.
The Tribune’s Phil Vettel contributed.
jmunks@chicagotribune.com
gpratt@chicagotribune.com
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dpetrella@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-10-27--Suburban Cook County ‘on pace’ to shatter all previous voting records in last week of election, cler

Suburban Cook County ‘on pace’ to shatter all previous voting records in last week of election, clerk says

Addressing another concern voiced by voters , James Nally , legal counsel for the Cook County clerk ’ s office @ @ @ @ @ concerned about the signature on their ballot disqualifying them .
He said the rejection rate @ @ @ @ @ , ” but “ a lot of those are going to end up getting validated @ @ @ @ @ opportunity to submit verification after they ’ ve been notified their ballot was rejected .

Suburban Cook County has sent out all of its requested mail-in ballots to voters and is on pace to shatter all previous voting records in the final week to Election Day, local election officials said Tuesday.
Cook County Clerk Karen Yarbrough said her office has received more than 550,000 requests for mail-in ballots this election, which is five times greater the number requested in 2016.
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In addition, more than 230,000 suburban Cook County voters have cast an early ballot, which compares with about 161,000 at this point in 2016, she said. That’s out of more than 1.6 million suburban voters who registered to vote, which also set a record and represents more than a 5% increase since the March primary.
“I can tell you there’s a tremendous amount of energy and excitement out there,” Yarbrough said during a Tuesday afternoon news conference in the office’s election operations center in Cicero. “Voters are determined to make their vote count, they don’t mind standing in line to do so.”
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But the surge in new methods of voting and national discussions about potential voter fraud also have raised some election concerns.
Margarita Santoni drops off her mail-in ballot in a secured drop box at Truman College in Chicago on Oct. 14, 2020. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)
The clerk’s office has been fielding concerns from voters that their ballots weren’t showing online as being received by election authorities. Ed Michalowski, chief deputy of the clerk’s office, said about 267,000 voters have been notified through the website that their ballot was received, and 60,000 more are “in queue” to be done.
If mail-in ballots continue to arrive at the office at the same rate, the office should have “well over” 350,000 pieces of mail processed by Election Day, he added, though many requests were duplicates.
“We’re processing mail at most on a day-and-a-half basis after it comes in,” Michalowski said. “Mostly a day after it comes in.”
The office also is “having huge success” with the mail-in drop boxes, Michalowski said.
“We’re processing thousands and thousands and thousands of ballots through the drop boxes,” he said.
The extra cost of the additional machines and new methods used for this election is likely more than $3 million, compared with a usual election year, which has predominantly come from state funding and the federal government’s coronavirus relief package, Michalowski added.
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Addressing another concern voiced by voters, James Nally, legal counsel for the Cook County clerk’s office, said nobody should be concerned about the signature on their ballot disqualifying them. He said the rejection rate is “probably 2%,” but “a lot of those are going to end up getting validated” since voters have an opportunity to submit verification after they’ve been notified their ballot was rejected.
“We do train our judges on reviewing signatures,” Yarbrough said.
Election officials say voters who haven’t received confirmation their mail-in ballot was received and don’t feel confident it’s been received should “take it upon themselves” to cast a provisional ballot in person to ensure their vote is counted.
“Despite the tremendous challenges that COVID-19 has imposed on all of us, and I mean all of us, it’s clear to me that the voters are not going to allow this virus suppress their right to vote,” Yarbrough said.
kelsmith@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @KelliSmithNews


chicagotribune--2020-10-27--Court allows FoxFire restaurant in Geneva to stay open for indoor dining despite Gov. Pritzker’s COV

Court allows FoxFire restaurant in Geneva to stay open for indoor dining despite Gov. Pritzker’s COVID-19 closure order

Health officials say restaurants and bars differ from many other businesses since they have crowds of people socializing without masks @ @ @ @ @ spaces .
State officials say restaurants and bars were the second most common place people @ @ @ @ @ testing positive , and a study that found that people with COVID-19 were twice as @ @ @ @ @ restaurant .

Abraham Ramirez, left, serves water to Candy Hanslik, of Elgin, and Lois Perry, right, of Naperville, during lunch at FoxFire Restaurant in Geneva on Oct. 27, 2020. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune)
A steakhouse in Geneva served meals indoor legally Tuesday, despite COVID-19 closure orders, after a judge ruled the restaurant may stay open for business.
FoxFire restaurant won a temporary court order Monday to continue indoor service, despite Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s executive order banning indoor dining in Kane, DuPage, Will, Kankakee and other counties.
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In response to a lawsuit filed by the restaurant seeking to stay open, Kane County Judge Kevin Busch ruled that it would suffer irreparable harm from being closed, and scheduled an upcoming hearing to consider a permanent ruling on the issue, court records show.
K.C. Gulbro, owner and chef at FoxFire restaurant in Geneva. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune)
FoxFire owner K.C. Gulbro, who also works as a chef, said his establishment would continue to follow other health guidelines, including taking the temperature of customers and employees, requiring masks for workers and for customers going in or out and speaking with servers.
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“If we had to close, we probably wouldn’t open our doors again,” he said.
Pritzker ordered bars and restaurants to end indoor service recently in suburban counties where the seven-day average percentage of positive COVID-19 tests exceeded the state limit of 8% for three straight days. The restrictions are also in effect in the northwest and southern regions of Illinois, and may be extended to other areas if recent increases continue in the numbers of COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths.
Health officials say restaurants and bars differ from many other businesses since they have crowds of people socializing without masks for extended times in enclosed spaces. State officials say restaurants and bars were the second most common place people with COVID-19 had been before testing positive, and a study that found that people with COVID-19 were twice as likely to have visited a restaurant.
Restaurant owners say that doesn’t prove where people got infected. They’d like to see more specific data tracing to connect closings to specific outbreaks.
Illinois attorney general’s office spokeswoman Annie Thompson issued a statement that said the state would defend the “well-reasoned” closure order, especially as cases and hospitalizations rise.
“With 9,568 lives lost and half the counties in Illinois now at the Illinois Department of Public Health’s warning level, the need for these lifesaving measures could not be more evident,” she wrote. “As we have argued successfully in other Illinois courts that have considered these issues, the governor’s constitutional and statutory authority to protect Illinois residents during the pandemic is clear.”
The executive director of the Kane County Health Department, Barbara Jeffers, said she respects the judge’s ruling and was working with the county state’s attorney to determine the best course of action regarding the court case.
“We’ve had significant success working with our businesses to try to help them follow the guidelines,” she said. “We’re not there to shut people down if they’re following the guidelines.”
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The department pursues any complaints it gets but has not taken action to shut down any business due to COVID-19 restrictions, she said.
Following a suggestion from the business community, she said, she made a request to state regulators for restaurants to use igloolike plastic domes to allow diners to eat outside while staying warm and ventilated, as has been done in Chicago.
K.C. Gulbro, left, owner and chef of FoxFire, and employee Samantha Stancio sanitize the restaurant before lunch in Geneva on Oct. 27, 2020. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune)
FoxFire has an outside tent, but regulations require keeping half of the sides open. Propane heaters aren’t allowed by fire code, and electric heaters don’t heat a large enough area, so customers won’t dine outside in winter, Gulbro said.
The restaurant closed voluntarily for nearly a week recently when three employees tested positive. They were isolated at home, and the site reopened for business. Gulbro said the only guidance he got when he contacted the Kane County Health Department was to follow the same general guidelines issued in the spring.
State and county officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The next hearing in the case was set for Nov. 13.
Gulbro estimated that he lost about $35,000 by closing that week. He has to stay open, he said, to pay about $100,000 in monthly bills, and to keep about 50 employees working.
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Several other restaurant owners spoke to him about joining the suit, and may yet seek class-action status, he said. Numerous restaurants across the state continue to offer indoor dining despite the governor’s closure and without a court order.
“We’re doing this for everybody,” Gulbro said. “Hopefully other mom-and-pop restaurants can get something out of this.
“Restaurant are a nickel-and-dime business,” he said. “If you’re not making the dimes, you can’t pay the nickels.”


chicagotribune--2020-10-27--The Spin: Trump vs. Obama in closing days of election | Pritzker tightens restrictions on Chicago am

The Spin: Trump vs. Obama in closing days of election | Pritzker tightens restrictions on Chicago amid COVID-19 surge | More than 2 million early votes cast in Illinois

The story says that to erase the budget deficit the Chicago Transit Authority would be abolished and replaced with with @ @ @ @ @ will run train stations and bus stops .
The spoof even quotes the mayor as @ @ @ @ @ coffers will also benefit from a reduction in fare evasion , because anytime someone jumps @ @ @ @ @ ll have 200 to 300 cops waiting right there to deal with them.
” Read @ @ @ @ @

A short time ago, Gov. J.B. Pritzker ordered new COVID-19-related restrictions for Chicago, prohibiting indoor dining and bar service and limiting gatherings to 25 as of Friday.
It follows similar moves Downstate and in the suburbs, leaving businesses already reeling from earlier shutdown orders and elected leaders on both sides of the aisle pushing back over the orders.
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In the final seven days of a long election season, a closing battle is taking shape between Republican President Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden’s top surrogate — former President Barack Obama.
Obama ramped up the rhetoric today in the key battleground state of Florida, where he said at an outdoor drive-in rally that Trump is “jealous of COVID’s media coverage” — a reference to the president complaining that journalists are focused on the pandemic. Trump fired back at Obama on Twitter, writing in part, “Now @FoxNews is playing Obama’s no crowd, fake speech for Biden, a man he could barely endorse because he couldn’t believe he won.”
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And just over 2 million Illinoisans have voted early either in person or by mail, a state election official tells The Spin. That exceeds the 1.9 million early ballots cast in the run-up to November 2016 election. We won’t know until Election Day whether voter participation is up or if more people opted to avoid crowds and vote early or by mail.
Welcome to The Spin.
Mayor Lori Lighfoot and Gov. J.B Pritzker, shown July 23, 2020. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
Chicago is just the latest in a string of suburban and downstate Illinois communities to see restrictions reimposed as COVID-19 cases surge. The governor said during a news conference today that he talked with Mayor Lightfoot about the restrictions as cases rise. Read the latest, including data, from the Tribune’s Dan Petrella, Jamie Munks and Gregory Pratt here.
Experts predicted the U.S. would see a winter spike, but this came early. Chicago’s top public health official talked about the rising cases in Chicago and the steep toll it could take on people’s health, along with the economy.
“This is going to be a difficult winter for everybody,” Arwady said, telling those who have the means to support local businesses to consider making an extra effort to do so.
RELATED: Chicago adds Florida to its travel quarantine order; Michigan could be next in line - The Tribune’s Gregory Pratt has the story.
Suburban mayors vs. Pritzker on bar, restaurant closings: Starting tomorrow, suburban Cook County will be living under stricter measures announced by Gov. J.B. Pritzker and intended to slow the latest COVID-19 surge. But it isn’t just restaurateurs bearing the brunt of those orders pushing back. So, too, are elected leaders in those communities, including some who have said that rather than shutting down all restaurants, simply ticket those not adhering to mask and social distancing rules. Read more here.
Opening of Navy Pier hotel is postponed, the latest blow to Chicago’s reeling hotel market: The Tribune’s Blair Kamin has the details here.
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President Barack Obama and President-elect Donald Trump shake hands following their meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, Thursday, Nov. 10, 2016. (Pablo Martinez Monsivais / AP)
Biden is leading Trump right now, according to forecasting models at “Sabato’s Crystal Ball” at University of Virginia’s Institute of Politics. But Kyle Kondik, a top analyst there, says nothing’s set in stone until the final votes are counted.
That said, Kondik tells The Spin, “I’d rather be Biden than Trump right now.”
What to expect: Biden will have a full campaign schedule, but it’s Obama who may end up being the biggest voice on the campaign trail, says Alvin Tillery, a Northwestern University professor and expert in presidential politics. The aim is to keep gaffes on Biden’s part at a minimum, he said.
“I don’t think there’s any better closer in current U.S. politics than Barack Obama,” Tillery says of one of nation’s most popular Democrats. He also said he thinks Trump is expected to continue pushing the theme of potential voter fraud in order to make a case for a possible court challenge.
That means Trump vs. Obama, who’s stepped up appearances on the campaign trail in the last week, could grow more heated, with the two recently trading insults over leadership.
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That’s especially true considering Obama’s key talking points on the campaign trail: He calls Trump a failed leader and says Democrats need to vote for Biden.
Kondik said Obama, who cut his political teeth in Chicago, may be an appealing figure to Democrats who see him stumping for Biden, but he doesn’t think the former president will convert Republican voters or otherwise change the election’s course.
“I don’t think surrogates on either side are that important or that impactful,” Kondik said.
Kondik says his team is keeping a close eye on three congressional races in Illinois, including the Downstate 13th District race pitting incumbent GOP U.S. Rep Rodney Davis against Democrat Betsy Dirksen Londrigan; she narrowly lost to him in 2018. Kondik says Davis could pull off a victory, but if Democrats turn out in big numbers, they may not only hand Londrigan a win, but Biden too.
Yet another Downstate race is on the radar: incumbent U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos, the Democrat from Moline and chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the party’s House campaign arm, who is being challenged by Republican Esther Joy King, a lawyer and Army Reserve officer from East Moline. Bustos is favored to win in the 17th Congressional District, but the race could be tight, he said.
Another one Kondik is closely watching is the face-off between first-term U.S. Rep Lauren Underwood, a Democrat, and Republican state Sen. Jim Oberweis in the west suburban and exurban 17th Congressional District.
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New Florida poll shows Biden with 50% and Trump at 48%: Track the race for president in key battleground states: Read the Tribune story here.
Column: This election isn’t just about Donald Trump and Congress. Pay attention to those judges on the ballot too. Tribune columnist Dahleen Glanton weighs in here.
Chicago election officials still trying to find homes for 7 precincts where voters can cast their ballots: The Tribune’s Kelli Smith has the details here.
A woman with an "I voted" sticker on her face mask leaves after early voting Oct. 22, 2020, at Prairie State College in Chicago Heights. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
Much has been made about the early voting and vote-by-mail numbers nationwide. In Illinois, that number stands at 2.4 million.
The average turnout for presidential elections from 1976-2016 was 73%, said Matt Dietrich with the Illinois State Board of Elections. Turnout in 2016 was just under 71%.
“If we maintain the 40-year average, we can expect turnout between and 70-75%, which would be about 6 million votes,” he wrote in an email.
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He says the more than 2 million votes cast is 33% of a typical presidential election vote total to date. But keep in mind that it could soar, with the final week of early voting typically seeing a surge of voters. Also, there are 1.2 million unreturned vote-by-mail ballots, he says.
“The question is whether our increase in voting by mail and early voting will be offset by a decline in voters on Election Day,” Dietrich notes. Stay tuned.
“Will County Republicans are raising questions about how mail-in ballots are being counted, claiming some envelopes containing ballots were delivered open and that poll watchers aren’t being given proper notice of when such ballots are processed each day,” Alicia Fabbre writes in the Daily Southtown.
Judge Amy Coney Barrett is sworn in as a Supreme Court associate justice by Justice Clarence Thomas as her husband, Jesse Barrett, and President Donald Trump look on during a ceremony Oct. 26, 2020, on the South Lawn of the White House. (Yuri Gripas/Abaca Press/TNS)
Amy Coney Barrett, who had served on the federal appellate court based in Chicago, was formally sworn in last night as the Supreme Court’s ninth justice, and her first votes on the nation’s highest court could include two big topics affecting President Trump, who appointed her, The Associated Press writes.
The court is weighing a plea from Trump to prevent the Manhattan district attorney from acquiring his tax returns. It is also considering appeals from the Trump campaign and Republicans to shorten the deadline for receiving and counting absentee ballots in the battleground states of North Carolina and Pennsylvania.
It’s not certain Barrett will take part in any of these issues, but she will make that call.
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The Senate confirmed Barrett yesterday in a 52-48 virtual party line vote in the Republican-controlled chamber. Two of those “no” votes came from Illinois Democratic Sens. Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot announces reforms to the School Resource Officer Program during a press conference at City Hall, Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2020. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
The satirical online publication managed to poke fun at the the mayor’s biggest headache of the day: Closing a 1.2 billion budget gap.
The story says that to erase the budget deficit the Chicago Transit Authority would be abolished and replaced with with teams of police officers who will run train stations and bus stops. The spoof even quotes the mayor as saying: “Our city coffers will also benefit from a reduction in fare evasion, because anytime someone jumps a turnstile, we’ll have 200 to 300 cops waiting right there to deal with them.” Read the full piece here.
Thanks for reading The Spin, the Tribune’s politics newsletter. Sign up here to have it delivered to your inbox weekday afternoons. Have a tip? Email host Lisa Donovan at ldonovan@chicagotribune.com.
Twitter @byldonovan


chicagotribune--2020-10-27--Winter high school sports ‘put on hold’ by Gov. Pritzker and Illinois Department of Public Health

“ We know this virus is of most concern when people are indoors with high contact , especially in vigorous @ @ @ @ @ breathing , like in wrestling , hockey and basketball .
Life in a pandemic is @ @ @ @ @ it ’ s hard for all of our kids , whether or not they play @ @ @ @ @ t make it any easier , but we really are all in this together .
@

Homewood-Flossmoor’s Christian Meeks, center, takes the ball to the basket against Thornton during a game in Harvey on Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2020. (Gary Middendorf / Daily Southtown)
Winter high school sports seasons in Illinois were “put on hold” Tuesday by Gov. J.B. Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Public Health.
Practice for boys and girls basketball seasons was expected to begin Nov. 16, with games to be played as early as Nov. 30.
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But the IDPH moved basketball from medium risk to high risk on its website Tuesday, and under current conditions in the coronavirus pandemic, high-risk sports are allowed only no-contact practices.
Pritzker’s decision Tuesday was the second time he preempted the Illinois High School Association. The IHSA was expected to make an announcement Wednesday after a board meeting.
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It was similar to what happened for the fall season. Although Pritzker emphasized in a news release that nothing has been “canceled” for the winter season, the IHSA responded to his decision in August by moving football and several other sports to the spring.
“As with sports in the fall, nothing is ‘canceled,’ just put on hold until we’re through the thick of this pandemic,” Pritzker said. “We adapt as we learn. That has been our mantra throughout this pandemic.
“We know this virus is of most concern when people are indoors with high contact, especially in vigorous situations that bring about heavy breathing, like in wrestling, hockey and basketball. Life in a pandemic is hard for everyone, and it’s hard for all of our kids, whether or not they play sports. That doesn’t make it any easier, but we really are all in this together.”
Craig Anderson, the executive director of the IHSA, was pleased that cheerleading and dance were moved to low risk but also sounded disappointed in the decision.
“About 15 minutes prior to Gov. Pritzker’s press conference today, we were alerted that the Illinois Department of Public Health has elevated the sport of basketball from a medium-risk level to a high-risk level,” Anderson said. “We remain considerate of the recent rise in positive COVID-19 cases in our state.
“However, in our meeting with IDPH on Friday (Oct. 23), we felt that we presented multiple options that would allow for basketball to be conducted safely by IHSA schools this winter, many of which are being utilized in neighboring states who plan to play high school basketball.”
Anderson said the IHSA still will hold its board meeting Wednesday to “provide direction on the other winter sports, as well as discuss the IHSA sports schedule for the remainder of the 2020-21 school year.”


Corrections and clarifications

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· A photo caption on the front page of Tuesday’s Arts & Entertainment section failed to make clear that a file photograph of the late Abner Mikva was taken in 2008.
The Tribune regrets the error.
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Publishing information quickly and accurately is a central part of the Chicago Tribune’s news responsibility and a value shared in all our publications. Our editorial code of principles governs professional behavior and journalism standards. Everyone in our newsroom must agree to live up to this code of conduct. Download the file.
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chicagotribune--2020-10-27--As Evanston stares down major budget deficit, the town’s financial ties to Northwestern University b

As Evanston stares down major budget deficit, the town’s financial ties to Northwestern University become even more apparent

“ It ’ s been challenging for us and everybody in the hospitality industry , but we ’ re seeing @ @ @ @ @ the tunnel , ” Weprin told the Chicago Tribune .
“ We ’ re faring @ @ @ @ @ are for our urban hotels .
”

Bat 17 in Evanston tends to fill up during home football games at Northwestern University. Given the coronavirus pandemic, the restaurant could lose out on significant money this football season. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)
As the pandemic drags on and Evanston contends with a projected $2 million end-of-year budget deficit, city officials are realizing just how closely their balance sheet is tied to Northwestern University.
As the city and the educational institution cope with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, decisions made both on and off campus have a large influence over the city’s financial health.
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“We are quickly learning as a community how tied to Northwestern University we truly are,” said Paul Zalmezak, Evanston’s economic development division manager, at an Evanston City Council meeting last month.
In a memo to the council, Zalmezak wrote that Northwestern’s undergraduate student body of about 8,000 and an estimated 10,000 full-time and part-time faculty and staff "creates a dynamic that is arguably underappreciated by local residents.”
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For example, hotels are reporting significant drops in revenue as meetings and college athletic events are canceled or the number of spectators is greatly curtailed, Zalmezak said. Hotel demand is down 80-90% over 2019, in large part due to canceled Northwestern activities.
While hotels have helped house the homeless during the pandemic, they have done so at below-market rates, Zalmezak wrote.
Parents and football fans aren’t spending money at hotels and restaurants. Students aren’t studying in coffee shops and local eateries. Families aren’t visiting Target or World Market for those last-minute move-in purchases, Zalmezak said. The loss of those tax dollars all adds up, officials say.
Evanston is still waiting to see the effect on the city’s housing market as Northwestern’s freshmen and sophomore classes continue learning from home to reduce the spread of COVID-19, Zalmezak said.
“Students, faculty, and staff shop, eat, and get haircuts on Noyes and Downtown. Evanston and graduate students pervade vintage apartments and coffee shops a mile south of campus in the Main Dempster Mile,” Zalmezak wrote.
In addition, “Northwestern University’s presence creates demand for office space, creating essentially an Evanston office sub-market — no other community has this level of office demand so close to the global city center Chicago (Loop) office market,” Zalmezak wrote.
According to the proposed 2021 city of Evanston budget, 2021 revenue is expected to drop by $8 million compared to that of 2020, according to a presentation at the Oct. 19 city council meeting.
Major losses are expected due to the ongoing pandemic and its effects on the city’s hotel tax, athletic contest tax, amusement tax, parking tax and real estate transfer tax. Most of those coffers previously were filled largely by people attending Northwestern events.
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Meanwhile Evanston’s projected 2020 revenue shortfall is $12 million, or 10% of the projected general fund. While expense reductions and new revenue covered $8.3 million of that, the city still expects to end 2020 with a $2.1 million deficit, according to the presentation.
But the news isn’t all bleak.
The lobby at Graduate Hotel in Evanston on Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2020. (Youngrae Kim / Chicago Tribune)
Chicago-based Graduate Hotels, part of AJ Capital Partners opened its 28th hotel Oct. 16 in Evanston. The hotel is walking distance from Northwestern University and will cater to alumni and parents visiting campus.
Rates are higher at the hotels than many college students can afford, but lower than traditional room rates, said founder and CEO Ben Weprin. Through its semester-long package, Graduate expects to have 27,000 room nights from students this fall across its portfolio.
“It’s been challenging for us and everybody in the hospitality industry, but we’re seeing light at the end of the tunnel,” Weprin told the Chicago Tribune. “We’re faring better with Graduate than we are for our urban hotels.”
And some businesses hope they have figured out how to hunker down for the long haul.
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A mask hangs from a sign on the Northwestern University campus in Evanston on Sept. 26, 2020. (Olivia Obineme/The New York Times)
At Stacked and Folded Social House in Evanston, general manager Chris Rimer said a year ago the place was packed with football fans watching the Northwestern vs. Ohio State game. The restaurant opened in May 2019 on Noyes Street, blocks from campus.
This year, he said, they’ve eliminated indoor dining and hope new fire pits on the patio will extend outdoor seating into December.
“We’re really nervous. We have our budgets and sales we know we have to make,” Rimer said. “We can do it if we manage our costs.”
Aside from the patio, Rimer said the business has shifted to delivery and carry-out only. It wasn’t a hard transition, as the restaurant’s original location in Winnetka only does pickup and to-go orders.
Now, Rimer said, they’re catering to locals and have a growing market of friends and family members picking up food while loved ones have procedures done at Evanston Hospital.
“We thank our lucky stars every day, man. if it wasn’t for the community, we wouldn’t be here right now,” Rimer said.
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In downtown Evanston, Cupitol Coffee & Eatery was a popular spot for students and downtown workers alike to grab coffee or lunch, park with friends or read and study.
Now, owner Sellia Georges said she has adjusted the broad menu to eliminate less-popular items. She added more grab-and-go options, and removed half of the tables in the cafe.
Georges said she’s concerned, but optimistic about her business surviving through the pandemic.
“Of course I’m worried. But I’m doing what I can to survive and for my employees to be employed. I’m trying to stay open for everyone,” Georges said.
Even during a pandemic, “people still need coffee, right?”
gbookwalter@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-10-27--Hammond gang member gets life in prison for 1999 double slaying; also accused of assaulting singer R

Hammond gang member gets life in prison for 1999 double slaying; also accused of assaulting singer R. Kelly at Metropolitan Correctional Center

Shortly before 11:45 a.m. June 25 , 1999 , Hammond police were sent to the 5100 block of Calumet Avenue @ @ @ @ @ men , identified as Lowry and Siegers , found on the ground inside a garage @ @ @ @ @ according to court records .
The two died of “ extensive ” head injuries due @ @ @ @ @ according to the government .

A gang member was sentenced in federal court Tuesday to life imprisonment for a 1999 Hammond double slaying where the two victims were fatally beaten with a small sledgehammer.
Jeremiah Farmer, now 39, of Hammond was charged in the killings June 25, 1999, of Marion Lowry, 74, and Harvey Siegers, 67, who were beaten at their business, Calumet Auto Rebuilders.
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During the hour-plus sentencing, Farmer represented himself. He appeared combative, argumentative and occasionally profane. At times, he raised his voice and frequently interrupted U.S. District Court Judge Phillip Simon of the Northern District of Indiana in Hammond.
In one exchange, Farmer, a Latin Kings member, appeared to threaten the federal judge.
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Farmer was convicted in July 2019 of conspiracy to commit racketeering activity and conspiracy with possession with intent to distribute cocaine, marijuana and Xanax, according to court records. He faced a mandatory life sentence.
More recently, Farmer is also accused of beating singer R. Kelly on Aug. 26 at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Chicago. He was transferred to a federal facility in Michigan after the alleged attack on Kelly.
When the sentence was read, Farmer appeared to show no emotion.
Shortly before 11:45 a.m. June 25, 1999, Hammond police were sent to the 5100 block of Calumet Avenue for a report of two men, identified as Lowry and Siegers, found on the ground inside a garage at Calumet Auto Rebuilders, according to court records. The two died of “extensive” head injuries due to blunt force trauma, according to the government.
A postal worker, who found the men in the auto shop, said she was delivering mail in the area when she “saw a guy running through the back parking lot behind the cleaners” at “full speed” with “something in his hand,” court records state.
Throughout the proceeding in Hammond, Farmer proclaimed his innocence for the murders and characterized detectives, prosecutors and the judge as “corrupt.”
During court, he looked directly to the court’s other end, apologizing to the victims' families, saying they would get “closure on this case with an innocent man.”
Farmer spent at least 30 minutes going back over the case. Simon said the case had already been decided by a jury and Farmer needed to use the time to make the argument for a lighter sentence.
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“It doesn’t matter,” Farmer said later. “You guys are all corrupt. There’s no justice in this court. I’m done.”
Later, he briefly stood, before being told to sit down by a bailiff.
“Thank you for the two life sentences you are going to give me,” he said. “Throw in another murder.”
Farmer was talking about “government corruption” when Simon reminded him again that he needed to focus on the sentencing and wrap up his comments.
“The best thing you can do is die,” Farmer retorted.
Those words drew a muted gasp in court. Two other witnesses, including a bailiff, confirmed he appeared to threaten the judge, characterizing the exchange as him wishing Simon was dead.
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Farmer later objected as Siegers' daughter, Nancy Van Drunen, 64, approached to read her victim impact statement.
“I didn’t kill anybody, I don’t have the right to listen to this,” he said.
Simon told Farmer he would have to be kicked out if he interrupted her.
Van Drunen said her father lived for a few more days before he died on his 67th birthday in 1999. At the hospital, he had extensive brain damage and his hands showed signs he tried to fight back.
Watching him die was “gut-wrenching,” she said.
“I don’t want to pray for God’s mercy on Jeremiah’s soul, (but I must),” Van Drunen said. “The struggle is worth it, because my faith has sustained me.”
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She asked for the maximum sentence. The Lowry family had their impact letter read in court.
“This is not a close one,” Assistant U.S. Attorney David Nozick said. “He clearly and richly deserves two consecutive life sentences.”
In the past decade, with numerous federal gang cases, the 1999 double murder stood out “as brutal and savage and shocking as we’ve seen,” he said.
In court, Farmer admitted he beat Kelly, saying he wanted the “media help to prove his innocence” on his murder case.
Simon cited other criminal history, including a different case, where Farmer allegedly broke into a woman’s house demanding drugs, then shot her twice in the stomach, leaving her unable to bear children.
Lowry and Siegers - who had fed police information - were “trying to run a business in a community overrun with gang violence,” Simon said. “Their reward was this incredibly violent attack.”
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The Lake County prosecutor’s office charged Farmer in 2001 in the double homicide. That case was later dismissed “after critical witnesses recanted their statements to police following threats and intimidation,” prosecutors said.
The shop where Farmer was accused of killing Lowry and Siegers was located within what the Latin Kings considered to be their neighborhood “and employees of the business had repeatedly had conflicts with members of the Latin Kings,” an indictment stated.
Sometime between 1999 and 2001, Farmer “tattooed his own face with two teardrops, to commemorate having killed” the two, according to the indictment.
Recently, his behavior in custody, alluding to Kelly, was “deplorable,” Simon said.
“Child molester!” Farmer said in response.
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Farmer had some mitigating factors including “serious mental health issues,” substance abuse history, a 7th-grade education and rough upbringing including the suicide of his mother in recent years. He also had “no work history at all,” living off Social Security benefits, Simon said.
Farmer “showed absolutely no remorse” for the slayings, Simon said.
Afterwards, both families asked a reporter not to include the R. Kelly assault, saying it took the focus off the murders.
“We didn’t ever know if this day would come,” said Lowry’s daughter, Kelly, outside court, who declined to give her last name.
Van Drunen thanked the Hammond detectives, federal prosecutors and the judge that stayed with the case.
“Twenty years is a long time,” she said afterwards. “God will be the eternal judge.”
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The Chicago Tribune contributed.