chicagotribune--2020-11-20--New coronavirus restrictions: What is open, closed, different in Illinois starting today

With confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases on the rise , the following new targeted restrictions for the entire state of @ @ @ @ @ .
J.B. Pritzker and took effect at midnight on Friday , Nov. 20 .

With confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases on the rise, the following new targeted restrictions for the entire state of Illinois were announced by Gov. J.B. Pritzker and took effect at midnight on Friday, Nov. 20.
What’s open or allowed
(Jemal R. Brinson)
BARS AND RESTAURANTS
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(Including private clubs and country clubs)
May open no earlier than 6 a.m. and must close by 11 p.m.
No indoor service allowed. No dancing or standing indoors either. All indoor gaming terminals must suspend operations.
All patrons must be seated outside at tables that have a maximum capacity of six people and are spaced 6 feet apart.
Reservations required for each party with a maximum of one party per table.
No ordering or congregating at a bar. All stools should be removed to prevent seating at a bar.
(Jemal R. Brinson)
PERSONAL CARE SERVICES
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(Including hair and nail salons, and physical, occupational and massage therapy clinics)
Maximum capacity: 25 clients or 25% capacity, whichever is less.
Face coverings must be worn at all times by clients and service providers.
Facials, beard trims and all other services in which a face covering cannot be worn are suspended.
Appointments for physical, occupational and massage therapy as deemed necessary by a medical provider may continue, but appointments must be spaced by a minimum of 15 minutes in order to sanitize and circulate air in service rooms before and after each service.
Virtual consultations recommended.
(Jemal R. Brinson)
RETAIL
(Including service counters, general merchandise and convenience stores, “big box” stores offering groceries and pharmacy services)
Maximum capacity: 25%, but grocery stores and pharmacies may operate at up to 50%.
Customers should plan quick, efficient trips with consistent circulation when in-store shopping is necessary.
(Jemal R. Brinson)
HEALTH AND FITNESS CENTERS
Maximum capacity: 25%.
Reservations required.
Face coverings must be worn at all times.
No indoor group classes allowed.
Locker room areas closed.
(Jemal R. Brinson)
GROUP RECREATION
(Including sports and activity facilities)
Outdoor sports and recreation only, no indoor activities allowed.
Limited to 10 people or fewer with each required to wear face coverings at all times and observe social distancing.
Locker room areas closed.
(Jemal R. Brinson)
HOTELS
Maximum capacity per guest room: Number of individuals permissible per existing fire code.
Room occupancy limited to registered guests only.
Fitness centers closed or operated only on a reservation model with capacity limited to 25%.
Grab-and-go food allowed.
Event and meeting spaces closed.
(Jemal R. Brinson)
HOME GATHERINGS
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Home gatherings must be limited to household members.
(Jemal R. Brinson)
OFFICES
All employees who can work remotely should work remotely.
(Jemal R. Brinson)
MUSEUMS AND CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS
(Including theaters, performing arts centers and other amusements)
All indoor activities closed.
Livestreaming of performances is encouraged with social distancing of performers and minimum operational staff.
Outdoor activities allowed with a maximum capacity of 25%; activities limited to 10 people, all required to wear face coverings; and reservations required.
FUNERALS
Limited to 10 family members of the decedent, not including staff, per Illinois Department of Public Health guidance.
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What’s closed or not allowed
Casinos and gaming centers are closed.
Gatherings must not be held at meeting rooms, banquet centers, private party rooms, private clubs and country clubs.
No party buses.
All indoor group sporting and recreational activities including youth and adult recreational sports must pause, including park district and travel leagues.
How long will these mitigations be in place?
The Illinois Department of Public Health will monitor positivity rates and hospital capacity metrics throughout the state during 14-day increments to determine if mitigations can be relaxed, remain in place or if additional steps are required.
To move back to Tier 2, a region must fulfill each of the following requirements:
Less than 12% seven-day average COVID-19 test positivity rate for three consecutive days.
More than 20% available intensive care unit and hospital bed availability for three consecutive days.
Declining seven-day average COVID-19 hospitalizations for seven of the previous 10 days.
Check our tracker for daily metrics for each region.
Source: State of Illinois


chicagotribune--2020-11-20--Having trouble getting a COVID-19 test for your child? You’re not alone.

In line with state health guidance , the center requires any child showing symptoms to stay home for at least @ @ @ @ @ once those symptoms disappear .
Or , the child can come back with a doctor @ @ @ @ @ COVID-19 test wasn ’ t necessary because the child had a different diagnosis .
Or @ @ @ @ @ was negative , the child may come back as long as the symptoms have been @ @ @ @ @ hours , Bulava said .

Jack Finley, 7, receives a COVID-19 swab test from registered nurse Laura Williams at a drive-thru testing location in the indoor parking lot at Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago Outpatient Center on Nov. 19, 2020. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
Earlier this month, a school nurse sent Kim Zlatin’s 9-year-old daughter home after she complained that her stomach, head and body ached.
Zlatin, 42, of Northbrook, suspected greasy food from the night before was to blame, but her daughter needed to test negative for COVID-19 before she could return to class.
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Her pediatric practice didn’t do the tests, so she called half a dozen other places to find the soonest appointment available. Ultimately, Zlatin and her daughter headed to Arlington International Racecourse, a state-run site that offers tests without appointments. They waited in their car for two hours.
It took another four days to get the negative result.
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All told, her daughter missed all her in-person instruction that week — despite feeling better almost immediately after Zlatin picked her up from school.
“It was just frustrating,” said Zlatin, noting that the first time her daughter needed a COVID-19 test in September, it only took a couple of days to get a test and results.
Registered nurse Alexis Hoogendoorn grabs disposable gloves as people drive in for COVID-19 testing Nov. 19, 2020, in the indoor parking lot at the Lurie Children's Hospital outpatient center in the Lincoln Park neighborhood. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
For months, many Illinois parents have struggled to get the COVID-19 tests schools and day cares may require before a child can return after illness. They often face confusing obstacles and requirements: Many pediatricians won’t test kids for COVID-19, some testing sites have age restrictions and some day cares and schools only accept certain kinds of tests.
The situation has gotten worse amid the current COVID-19 surge in Illinois, which in many cases has lengthened wait times for testing. At a time when many parents are working from home or worried about keeping their jobs, the challenges surrounding testing adds another level of stress.
“It really puts parents in a tricky position,” said Dr. Allison Bartlett, an associate professor of pediatric infectious diseases at University of Chicago Medicine Comer Children’s Hospital. “It is absolutely a challenge.”
‘Demand has skyrocketed’
Many pediatricians don’t offer COVID-19 tests because of a lack of personal protective equipment, they don’t have relationships with labs that run the tests or they want to keep the virus out of their offices.
“I think most of the pediatrician offices don’t feel that comfortable with the infection control processes ... and prefer to send them to hospital,” said Dr. Michael Handler, chief medical officer of the northwest region for Amita Health.
Pediatricians often order tests for children at sites such as those run by Lurie Children’s Hospital, University of Chicago Medicine and Amita Health St. Alexius Medical Center Hoffman Estates. But those sites, along with most others, have seen more people seeking testing in recent weeks as the number of cases has ballooned, which can mean longer wait times.
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“The demand has skyrocketed,” Handler said. “We know that the numbers are huge, and unfortunately, it’s sometimes hard to keep up with that demand.”
Registered nurse Jerusha Steed prepares to give Patrick Callaghan, 13, a COVID-19 test on Nov. 19, 2020, in the indoor parking lot at the Lurie Children's Hospital outpatient center in the Lincoln Park neighborhood. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
Amy Rizman, 42, of Glenview, recently had to get a COVID-19 test for her 5-year-old daughter after she finished a course of antibiotics for strep throat but still felt ill.
Her pediatrician gave her an order to be tested by Lurie. She would have preferred Lurie’s Northbrook location, but she would have had to wait days for an appointment — keeping her daughter and 7-year-old son out of school while she waited.
She was told she might be able to get a test at a Northwestern Medicine site in Glenview, so she and her kids waited there in her car for 45 minutes only to be told that the Lurie order wasn’t in their system.
The next day, she drove to Lurie’s Lincoln Park location, where her daughter was tested while sitting in her car seat. “She cried for a second, but they were really good,” Rizman said.
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Rizman received a negative result the next morning on the hospital’s electronic portal, took a screenshot of it, and emailed it to her daughter’s school.
Rizman considers herself lucky that Lurie was able to test her daughter so quickly, even if it meant having to drive farther from home.
“It’s the right thing, but it’s a tough scenario for everyone,” Rizman said.
‘A bit frustrating’
Some parents are taking their kids to clinics that charge for testing in hopes of getting them back to school faster.
Federal law generally requires health insurance companies to cover COVID-19 tests at no cost to patients, but some people are being charged by providers because of certain exemptions and nuances in the law. Some of those providers are asking patients to submit receipts to their insurance companies themselves for reimbursement.
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Registered nurse Jerusha Steed rolls up a swab sample COVID-19 test Nov. 19, 2020, at the Lurie Children's Hospital outpatient center in the Lincoln Park neighborhood. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
State-run testing sites are offering free testing to everyone, without doctors’ orders, regardless of symptoms, though wait times can run as long as three hours. Chicago-run sites also offer testing to everyone, at no cost to patients.
Some other sites have age restrictions. CVS Health, for example, only tests children 10 and older. Walgreens recently lowered its COVID-19 testing age to 3.
At both Walgreens and CVS, parents and/or children have to administer the tests themselves, with guidance from pharmacy workers. They both use tests that involve sticking a swab about an inch up the nose, unlike some others that reach back farther. Parents must fill out online questionnaires to get appointments, and may have to wait depending on demand.
Further complicating matters, some schools and day cares only accept results of PCR tests, not rapid antigen tests, because PCR tests are considered more accurate.
The Cary Grove KinderCare day care, for example, accepts both antigen and PCR results when a child is experiencing symptoms, but will only accept a PCR result if the child has been in close contact with someone with COVID-19, said Rebecca Bulava, the center’s director.
In line with state health guidance, the center requires any child showing symptoms to stay home for at least 10 days, only returning once those symptoms disappear. Or, the child can come back with a doctor’s note saying a COVID-19 test wasn’t necessary because the child had a different diagnosis. Or, if a COVID-19 test was negative, the child may come back as long as the symptoms have been gone for at least 48 hours, Bulava said.
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Facebook and word-of-mouth
Once results come back, it can be a challenge to share those with a school or day care.
Many health systems have online portals where results are posted. Parents can print those results or email them to schools. Other sites, however, may first give results through a phone call.
Zlatin, whose 9-year-old daughter was tested at the Arlington Heights racecourse, knew from reading about other parents' experiences on Facebook that getting results to her school might be an issue.
“I told the whole family, ‘If you hear the phone ring, answer it,’” Zlatin said. When she got the call, she raced to grab an iPad to record the conversation and then emailed the recording to her daughter’s school nurse.
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She didn’t receive a physical letter with the negative result until eight days after the phone call.
Registered nurse Alexis Hoogendoorn gives a high-five to a child before giving her a COVID-19 test Nov. 19, 2020, at the Lurie Children's Hospital outpatient center in the Lincoln Park neighborhood. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
Rizman said it’s frustrating having to rely on word-of-mouth and social media for information about where and how to get children tested.
“It’s tricky to navigate, and I think I understand the workings more than most people,” she said, noting that she’s a physician assistant.
Many parents consider it part of the trade-off for the ability to keep their kids in school and day care.
Emily Loesche’s 18-month-old son has already had four negative COVID-19 tests: two that had to be done before undergoing a procedure, one when he was congested and another when she worried he might have been exposed to the illness.
Two of the tests were conducted at a Lurie site, and two were done at her pediatrician’s office. Each time went smoothly. At Lurie, he was tested while still strapped into his car seat, and at his doctor’s office, he sat on his mom’s lap.
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Still, she said, the whole experience has been difficult, from having to decide when and how to get him tested to worrying he might develop more symptoms and have to stay home from day care. She and her husband both work from home, in their two-bedroom condo in Logan Square.
“We barely have room for the two of us to be here working, much less watch a child who is very mobile,” Loesche said. “We have to have some sort of child care solution. Day care is our only option, and we really like our day care a lot. But it’s really stressful.”
lschencker@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-11-20--He trained agents on how to root out financial crimes. Now he’s accused of committing them — and lyi

He trained agents on how to root out financial crimes. Now he’s accused of committing them — and lying to get an informant paid nearly $100,000.

The deposits ranged from $ 1,200 to $ 8,501 , the indictment states .
Often there would be two deposits @ @ @ @ @ none for two or three months .
In all , Sabaini deposited about $ 251,000 @ @ @ @ @ way through 2018 , the indictment charges .
He is further accused of underreporting his @ @ @ @ @ five years .

A Homeland Security investigator from Naperville has been charged with hiding more than $250,000 from federal regulators, filing false tax returns for five years, and concealing information about an informant so the person could get paid nearly $100,000 by the government.
Anthony Sabaini, 38, has worked for the agency since 2009 and was assigned to an investigative unit in Oakbrook Terrace. In 2014, he started making deposits of less than $10,000 at more than 160 ATMs and banks, which allowed him to skip federal reporting requirements for large cash transactions, according to a federal indictment announced Thursday.
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The deposits ranged from $1,200 to $8,501, the indictment states. Often there would be two deposits in a month, then none for two or three months. In all, Sabaini deposited about $251,000 in a special account this way through 2018, the indictment charges. He is further accused of underreporting his income for each of those five years.
In a separate charge, Sabaini allegedly submitted false information to his Homeland Security supervisors so they would approve his use of a confidential informant in a criminal investigation.
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The indictment accuses Sabaini of repeatedly hiding information that could have disqualified the informant, including that he was a target of a federal drug investigation and had allegedly sold cocaine to another Homeland Security agent in 2017.
Federal officials authorized use of the informant twice and paid out a total of $95,000, according to the indictment.
The indictment does not say where Sabaini got the money that he deposited in the special account. And it makes no connection between his alleged financial crimes and his actions with the informant.
As a Homeland Security investigator, Sabaini had been trained on using confidential sources and on various aspects of money laundering, including structuring deposits and other transactions to avoid federal reporting laws, according to the indictment.
If convicted on each charge, Sabaini could face up to 25 years in federal prison.
kelsmith@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @KelliSmithNews


chicagotribune--2020-11-20--The battle for Lake Michigan: As beaches erode, millions of dollars have been poured into temporary

The battle for Lake Michigan: As beaches erode, millions of dollars have been poured into temporary solutions. Can anyone find a long-term fix?

As more precipitation falls on the upper Midwest and temperatures continue to rise , communities all around Lake Michigan have @ @ @ @ @ how to deal with a changing climate and an altered lakeshore .
On the western @ @ @ @ @ have begun to slip into the lake because of eroding coastal dunes , leading homeowners @ @ @ @ @ build waterfront barriers or move altogether .
Last winter , a home in Muskegon County @ @ @ @ @ In Chicago , city and federal officials have battled lakefront flooding with boulders and trail @ @ @ @ @ in Wisconsin , homes , piers and sewer systems need reinforcements from an encroaching lake @

Ludington, Michigan — As the wind whipped across the top of the Big Sable Point lighthouse, one of the most famous and beloved on the Great Lakes, Jim Gallie pointed to the disappearing beach: “It’s been progressively getting worse.”
Every few seconds, a wave slammed into the breakwall protecting the base of the lighthouse, sending a silver splash high into the air, much to the delight of the photographers and young families there to take in the sights.
Hikers and beachcombers who trekked along the shoreline to the remote, historic lighthouse at Ludington State Park once had ample room between the pulsating waves and the metal breakwall.
Now the Michigan Department of Natural Resources is spending $130,000 to recap the seawall and place new stone barriers at its base. The hope is that the reinforcements will slow erosion, save the beach, protect the base of the lighthouse and preserve the low-lying dunes.
Visitors stand near crashing Lake Michigan waves at the Big Sable Point Lighthouse at Ludington State Park in Ludington, Michigan, on Sept. 30, 2020. A new seawall was put in place to protect the historic, still-active lighthouse. (Zbigniew Bzdak/Chicago Tribune)
“If it wasn’t for that seawall,” said Gallie, the park manager in Ludington, “those dunes would be gone.”
This series received financial support from the Pulitzer Center’s Connected Coastlines initiative.
From 112 feet above the beach on the deck of the 1867 lighthouse, the effects of a changing climate and a lake near historically high levels are clear: Increased precipitation, rising temperatures and human development across the Great Lakes basin have changed Lake Michigan and the lives of the millions who live, work and play along the coast in Michigan, Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin.
“It’s a system that’s really been whipsawed in many ways by a variety of factors, from climate change to non-native species, to the legacy of contaminants,” said J. Val Klump, dean and professor at the School of Freshwater Sciences at the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee.
As part of the series “Great Lakes, High Stakes,” the Tribune visited and reported from each of the lakes, exploring the environmental issues and how coastal communities are adapting to a warming world.
While Illinois is home to one of the most intensely engineered coastlines across the Great Lakes, Lake Michigan still has the sandiest shores and therefore draws the most visitors, experts say. Michigan alone has 275,000 acres of sand dune formations, the vast majority of which are on the shores of Lake Michigan.
The third largest Great Lake by surface area (second by volume) is an eclectic mix of dune bluffs, sandy beaches, rugged rocks, major Midwestern cities, tourist towns and marshlands. But it is also emblematic of the myriad issues facing all of the Great Lakes as the climate continues to change. Surging water levels have collapsed bluffs, swamped coastal dune lands, erased beaches and damaged homes, businesses, docks, trails, campgrounds and sewer systems.
Residents and officials are scrambling to find new solutions as stone barriers and beach replenishment are often too costly and ineffective over the long-term.
In Illinois, environmental officials, engineers and scientists are experimenting with offshore reefs and shoals with the idea of blunting the force of storm surges before they eat away at the sand, dunes and marshland habitats. Meanwhile in Chicago, residents have dealt with submerged beaches and waterlogged trails as officials pour millions into shoreline protections.
In Wisconsin, cities and towns up and down the coast are spending millions on projects such as stormwater sewer upgrades and pier stabilization. In Indiana, shoreline protection has been contentious, including a federal lawsuit filed by residents and officials of Ogden Dunes who claim dunes, roads and private homes are “in danger of total destruction” if current protections fail.
Jim Gallie, park manager at Ludington State Park, looks down from the Big Sable Point Lighthouse in Ludington, Michigan. It was built in 1867. (Zbigniew Bzdak/Chicago Tribune)
Back at Big Sable Point, the landscape looks a lot different today than it did several years ago. The water, and the wind, have been eroding so much of the near dunes, Gallie said, that rangers and visitors have been uncovering a trove of treasures once buried.
A picnic table believed to be from Wisconsin “suddenly emerged from a dune that was eroding,” Gallie said. More troubling, an abandoned Dow Chemical pipeline buried near the shore also became exposed.
“I didn’t see it changing so drastically in such a short period of time,” said Gallie, who has worked at the park for a decade. “I expected to just be managing sand, cleaning the parking lots, cleaning the paths. But I didn’t expect the water levels to be way up like they’ve been.”
Controlled retreat
As more precipitation falls on the upper Midwest and temperatures continue to rise, communities all around Lake Michigan have been hunting for solutions for how to deal with a changing climate and an altered lakeshore. On the western shores of Michigan, houses have begun to slip into the lake because of eroding coastal dunes, leading homeowners to stabilize their structures, build waterfront barriers or move altogether. Last winter, a home in Muskegon County tumbled into the lake. In Chicago, city and federal officials have battled lakefront flooding with boulders and trail repairs. To the north in Wisconsin, homes, piers and sewer systems need reinforcements from an encroaching lake.
In Orchard Beach State Park, north of Manistee, Michigan, park officials are planning to relocate the historic pavilion building that overlooks the lake because of the danger of erosion.
Doug Barry, unit supervisor at the park, described moving the entire structure, a massive 400-ton limestone building with a concrete foundation, two fireplaces, a picnic area and a protected hall, as “controlled retreat.”
Officials are planning to move Orchard Beach State Park’s 400-ton limestone pavilion at Manistee, Michigan. It was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps and opened in the 1940s, and is now in danger due to an eroding bluff. (Zbigniew Bzdak/Chicago Tribune)
The shoreline at the park has been losing 6 inches of soil per year, Barry said.
“There’s a lot of different erosion going on,” Barry said. “Wind, rainfall, the waves.”
With the 70-foot bluff eroding at a rapid rate, Barry and the park staff had a difficult decision to make regarding the historic pavilion with sweeping lake vistas that hosts weddings, picnics and parties. Ultimately, Barry said they decided to completely relocate the building, built by the Civilian Conservation Corps and opened in the 1940s.
Barry said DNR officials and consultants considered shoreline stabilization, including 5-ton boulders, but ultimately believed those were not only going to change the character of the beach, the park’s most popular attraction, but provide only brief relief.
“It’s a temporary fix,” Barry said, pointing to the beach and the bluff from the stairs that lead down to the lake, its entrance closed off for the year because high water levels have made it unsafe. “Lake Michigan is going to win.”
Barry saw an episode of “This Old House” in which crews relocated a house, and he began to explore the idea of moving the pavilion. While the process has taken three years of planning and the approval of federal and state agencies, he said, it “provides a long-term solution.”
“What’s the alternative?” Barry asked. “Let history fall into the lake? We’d still have to clean it up.”
Creative solutions
The movement of sand, and its effects on the shoreline and the underwater environment, is the focus of offshore projects at Illinois Beach State Park in Zion and the Fort Sheridan Forest Preserve in Lake County, north of Chicago.
There, a consortium of agencies, including the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, private researchers and the Lake County Forest Preserves, is working to install a series of offshore reefs and underwater natural breakwalls. The goal is to protect the shoreline, including the popular beaches at the state park, but also study whether reducing the flow of sand, sediment and crashing waves along the shore will alter the character of the lake itself, the nearshore habitat, the beaches and the unique marshlands beyond.
The underwater reefs in Lake Michigan are being installed at Fort Sheridan Forest Preserve in Lake Forest on Nov. 12, 2020. (Zbigniew Bzdak/Chicago Tribune)
The Army Corps, working with the Lake County Forest Preserve District and other local partners, has nearly finished a large-scale project at the Fort Sheridan Forest Preserve in Lake Forest.
The project is focused on coastal restoration and underwater habitat improvement. Out in the water, the underwater reefs, made of large limestone blocks, tree roots, small cobblestones and sand, may end up having two benefits: improving the aquatic habitat for fish and state-threatened mudpuppies while also protecting the shoreline and the nearshore lakeshore bed, said Jim Anderson, director of natural resources for the Lake County Forest Preserve District.
“We’re really hoping for them to break the power of the waves a little so when they hit the shoreline, they’re not as destructive,” Anderson said.
The reefs, constructed parallel to the shore about 100 to 300 feet out, were designed so that when the lake levels subside, they will still be underwater.
On land, preservation work on 1.5 miles of coastal bluffs, dunes and beach has involved the eradication of invasive plant species and seeding the soil, dunes and ravines with native plants.
“A lot of these areas suffered from development that depleted habitat,” said Nicole Toth, project manager with the Army Corps' Chicago District. “The goal of the project is to bring that back, to improve the habitat and to get these areas into more of a natural state.”
The project, authorized under the Great Lakes Fishery and Ecosystem Restoration program, costs an estimated $14 million, shared between the federal government, the Lake County Forest Preserve District, Openlands, the city of Lake Forest and Lake Forest Open Lands Association. Most of the federal share, about $9.1 million, was funded with Great Lakes Restoration and Initiative funds received from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The Army Corps’ Chicago District has been working on more than a dozen similar projects, mostly in urban areas along Illinois’ North Shore.
A few miles to the north, scientists are studying how the lake is interacting with the shore and exploring nature-based solutions to help protect the beach and the nearshore habitats; blunt the force of the waves, especially in record-high levels; and slow the movement of sediment and sand.
Jack Cox, a coastal engineer with Edgewater Resources who is a scientific consultant for lakeshore projects, including at Illinois Beach State Park, has been studying how waves act and react to the lake bed and the shore. Cox is using a giant physical model of the Lake Michigan coast at a facility in Wallingford, England. Cox and others built a model — so large you can enter it with waders — of the shoreline so they could see how waves form, react as they crash into the shore and affect the movement of sand.
But waves, even if people cannot see them from the shore, are also busy churning under the surface, scouring the lake bed when the water becomes shallow near the shore and carrying sand along with it.
Weather patterns have pushed sand and sediment southward for years. But as people built more harbors, piers, docks, breakwaters and paved over sections of the shoreline, sand has become trapped along the way by all of these structures, Cox said.
“Sand wants to move in one direction or the other,” Cox said. “All the sand or sediment wants to move south toward Gary. If we had never settled all of this, Gary, Indiana, would be the world’s greatest beach.”
Cox said it can be helpful to imagine a zigzag pattern, where a wave comes in at an angle toward the shore, recedes, then zags back to land. At developed sections of the lake, with hardened landscapes of structures like Chicago, the waves bounce back more forcefully and can scour more powerfully.
At Illinois Beach, where there is 5 to 6 miles of natural shoreline, the goal of offshore, underwater barriers is to slow the scouring and the damage that waves can do to the beach and the unique marshlands beyond.
“And we want this to be as natural or as invisible as it can be,” Cox said.
The ideas range from underwater reefs, like to the south at Fort Sheridan, to offshore islands to underwater breakwaters. Success, Cox said, is a project that holds the shoreline so it does not retreat any farther. It may also have the added benefit of protecting onshore bird habitats and nesting grounds, and underwater fish habitats.
“It may be even able to cause a beach to be self-healing,” Cox said.
Lake vs. humans
In some communities like Saugatuck, Michigan, and the North Shore in Illinois, homeowners have put up their own barriers of boulders or breakwalls to hold back the lake. But officials are increasingly opposed to this piecemeal approach because it merely pushes erosion problems to neighboring properties or blocks public access to the lake.
With cotton clouds hanging low in the sky, whitecaps churned toward the shore of Oval Beach near Saugatuck, the southwestern Michigan town popular with many Chicagoans. The beach attracts tourists, walkers and bodysurfers to the white sand and sandy bluffs covered in dune grass.
Surfers Michael Christensen, left, and daughter Julia walk near a pile of boulders used for construction of a seawall in front of a new house near Oval Beach in Saugatuck, Michigan, on Sept. 29, 2020. (Zbigniew Bzdak/Chicago Tribune)
Here, the tug between nature and human protection efforts is on full display. To the south of the public beach, dozens of expensive homes have prime lakefront property. As the lake rises and the waves do their work, the beaches and bluffs have been eroding, forcing some homeowners to seek remedies such as seawalls or stone barriers.
At the spot where the public land ends and private property begins, a sign was staked into the ground with a notice from the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy, permitting 213 feet of large stones “to protect against lakeshore erosion.”
A steady stream of visitors gawked, some shaking their heads, and took photos of the sign and the giant boulders at the water’s edge.
Among them was Kathleen Johnson, a retired teacher who has lived in Saugatuck for 40 years.
“It looks terrible,” Johnson said. "It’s brutal. It changes the way the lake reacts.”
The new structures and breakwalls also prevent people from being able to walk along the beach, since Michigan law allows the public to access the lakeshore as long as they are right along the water’s edge.
Johnson’s beach-walking route has been altered by seawalls and stabilization efforts.
“That’s impossible now,” she said.
Kathleen Johnson, a retired teacher who has lived in Saugatuck for 40 years, at Oval Beach in Saugatuck, Michigan, on Sept. 29, 2020. (Zbigniew Bzdak/Chicago Tribune)
To the north, on the other side of the Kalamazoo River, a battle is ongoing over the future of land near Saugatuck Dunes State Park. Developers are eager to build homes and a marina on the riverbank, at a protected inlet not far from the lake. Others aren’t keen on the idea, including David Swan, president of the Saugatuck Dunes Coastal Alliance.
“The only thing wrong with Saugatuck Dunes State Park: It’s too small,” Swan said.
The coronavirus pandemic, he said, has only underscored the benefits of outdoors parks and preserves, as people search for safe places for exercise, fresh air and space away from other people.
“Our public lands are being threatened up to the line by proposed development,” Swan said. “We need these natural areas more than ever.”
An uncertain future
At an Environmental Law and Policy Center virtual event in early September, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot acknowledged that high lake levels, shoreline flooding and access to clean water are continual challenges for city officials as they look to a more sustainable future.
Lightfoot said the city needs to rethink how it approaches the lakefront, work with federal partners to secure funding for projects and make sure residents understand the dangers and risks of shoreline flooding.
A damaged section of Chicago's Lakefront Trail at South Lake Shore Drive and East Hyde Park Boulevard on Jan. 14, 2020. (Zbigniew Bzdak/Chicago Tribune)
Millions of dollars have been spent and allocated for beach repair, revetment work and shoreline protections along the city’s lakefront, from Juneway, Howard and Rogers beaches in the north to Promontory Point near Hyde Park and the shoreline to the south.
A group of Great Lakes mayors has estimated that in the last year alone, high water, flooding and erosion has caused $500 million worth of damage in cities throughout the region.
In January, Gov. J.B. Pritzker issued a state disaster proclamation for Cook and Lake counties that helped municipalities apply for federal funding.
Lake Michigan set a monthly high mean record for each month in 2020 from January through August. The lake was nearly 3 feet higher than usual for early summer, and levels came close to reaching the all-time high, recorded in October 1986, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which maintains the official records. This fall, lake levels have fallen, and the Army Corps forecasts that they will remain flat or drop until the spring, when levels typically rise during the thaw.
However, in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s winter forecast for the Great Lakes, there is an increased chance for above-normal precipitation and snow accumulation. If that occurs, it increases the chances for more runoff and flooding. NOAA also notes that the potential for more ice on the lake later in the winter, caused by colder than normal temperatures, may result in less evaporation from surface water, keeping lake levels high. When you combine those factors, Lake Michigan may be on the path to high lake levels again next year.
Last year was the second-wettest year on record in the United States, according to NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information. Chicago was pelted by 49.54 inches of precipitation, which ranks as the third wettest year on record and more than 12 inches greater than normal, according to the National Weather Service. Since Illinois meteorologists began collecting precipitation records in 1871, four of the top five wettest years in Chicago have occurred in the last decade.
Air temperatures are also on the rise. Last year was the second warmest year since records began to be collected in 1880, NOAA reported. The warmest was 2016, aided by El Nino events. Rising temperatures and increased precipitation are linked, scientists said.
Out of balance
As climate change contributes to the warming of Lake Michigan’s more shallow waters, scientists across the Midwest are studying how changes in air and water temperature are altering the water, aquatic life and the proliferation of invasive species.
Joel Petersen, a fourth-generation commercial fisherman and captain of the “Joy,” which uses Fishtown, the historic and functional fishing village in Leland, Michigan, as its home port, said invasive species like the quagga mussel have upset the bottom food chain, altering the fish species at the higher end. With tiny snails and shrimp populations dwindling, he said, chubs have vanished and whitefish are scarce.
Fishermen Darryl Herman, left, and Dryden Schade process a catch at Carlson's Fishery at Fishtown in Leland, Michigan, on Oct. 1, 2020. (Zbigniew Bzdak/Chicago Tribune)
“With the food web all screwed up, it takes the whitefish a lot longer to grow,” Petersen said. “It’s been decimated from top to bottom. The whole thing’s out of balance.”
University of Minnesota researchers Tedy Ozersky and Sergei Katsev have been studying the effect of the quagga mussels on the biology and chemistry of the lake.
What they have found is that the quagga mussels, an aquatic mollusk native to Ukraine that arrived in ballast water from transoceanic vessels in the early 1990s, have outcompeted zebra mussels — which two decades ago were the more prolific invasive mussel — in the deep, offshore regions of the lake bottom.
Their impact stretches beyond changing the bottom of the food web. Their proliferation has filtered the water and changed the chemistry of the sediment. When the researchers lowered a camera into the water, they were surprised at not just how many mussels they saw, but also how active they were.
“It looked like they were having a party,” Ozersky said.
South Haven, Michigan, homeowner Mike Sands and Leland commercial fisherman talk about the rising waters of Lake Michigan. (Chicago Tribune)
The invasives, he said, can filter 200 meters of lake in a matter of days, pulling the nutrients from the water, stealing them from other creatures that need them to survive.
For Petersen, the upending of that underwater interdependence has had a direct connection to how many fish he is able to catch. Peterson once caught 250 pounds of fish in the waters surrounding the Manitou islands, to the west of Leland. Now, it’s down to about 30 pounds a week.
“We don’t get very many,” he said.
The fish Petersen does catch he sells to Carlson’s Fishery, the popular shop in Fishtown. On an early fall weekday, the coronavirus a constant worry, the shop still had a line out the door during lunchtime.
Petersen is not sure how much longer he will be able to make a living out on the lake.
“You don’t want to stop,” he said. “But there might be a time when you have to. You never know what next year might look like.”
History endures
The recent high water levels also have ravaged Fishtown, where on a recent blustery day people bundled up in windbreakers and sweatshirts still flocked to the village on the fingertip Leelanau Peninsula. In bad weather, storm surges cause short-term flooding, swamping the wooden shanties, shops, pier, docks and walkway along the Leland River near where it empties into the lake.
The Fishtown Preservation Society has been working to raise the buildings and docks, many of which have been around since the early 20th century. The cost of all of the work will be at least $500,000, said Amanda Holmes, the society’s executive director.
“We keep having to add new projects,” Holmes said.
Amanda Holmes, executive director of the Fishtown Preservation Society, looks at shanties being raised in Leland, Michigan, on Oct. 1, 2020. The Fishtown Preservation Society is a nonprofit that is working to save this historic enclave of 19th-century Lake Michigan shanties. (Zbigniew Bzdak/Chicago Tribune)
But while high lake levels and river flooding have led to changes, Fishtown’s unique northern Michigan location is part of its appeal.
“It can be so mesmerizing to be in a place where you are able to be one with the weather,” Holmes said.
The effort, and cost, is worth it, Holmes said. The society receives donations from people in 46 states, and many of those who stroll the docks and check out the shops at Fishtown are repeat visitors from across the Midwest. One of the recent catchphrases is “Save Our Shanties.”
“This is a place,” Holmes said, “that people have loved for a very long time."
The challenge, she said, is to protect the buildings while maintaining and preserving their character.
“You just endure,” Holmes said.
poconnell@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-11-20--Coronavirus in Illinois updates: Here’s what happened Nov. 19 with COVID-19 in the Chicago area

Online offerings will continue and can be found on the Park District ’ s website .
The Lakefront Trail and @ @ @ @ @ east of Lake Shore Drive , are open to the public .
Fieldhouses will also @ @ @ @ @ shelter during operating hours .
The Park District is reminding users to “ keep it @ @ @ @ @ , whether alone or with members of the same household , and wear masks .
@ @ @

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 public health officials reported 168 coronavirus-related deaths Thursday, the most in a single day since the height of the disease’s spring surge in mid-May.
With the latests fatalities, the state is now averaging 101 deaths per day over the past week, reaching a triple-digit average for the first time since May 20. Thursday’s death toll was the third-highest since the pandemic began, behind 192 fatalities reported May 13 and 176 on May 5.
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In all, there have been 11,178 COVID-19 related deaths since the pandemic began.
Health officials also reported 14,612 new confirmed and probable cases of the coronavirus, a huge spike from the 8,922 cases reported a day earlier and the second-highest daily count after the 15,415 reported last Friday. Over the past week, the state has averaged 12,120 daily cases. Overall, there have been 621,383 cases statewide.
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An analysis of data by the Associated Press shows an exponential spread of the virus during the past 12 weeks and prompted Gov. J.B. Pritzker to say that too many people still consider the pandemic a “hoax.”
According to the analysis of Illinois Department of Public Health data, the virus infected 300,000 people within the first 212 days. To double that number to the current 606,771 took just 46 days, including eight days to jump from 500,000 to 600,000.
Similarly, the death toll is rising at rates seen in the worst days of spring. The most recent 1,000 deaths occurred over less than two weeks.
The nearly 6,000 people hospitalized was another record, and is more than at the worst point last spring when officials scurried to set up field units to handle potential overflow.
Here’s what’s happening Thursday with COVID-19 in the Chicago area and Illinois:
7:31 p.m.: Chicago Park District suspends in-person programming
The Chicago Park District is suspending in-person programming as the state enters Tier 3 of its COVID-19 mitigation plan.
Effective Friday, all in-person programming will be suspended until further notice, according to a news release from the Park District.
During summer, the Park District offered day camps and other park programming. Limited in-person programming was offered for fall.
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Online offerings will continue and can be found on the Park District’s website. The Lakefront Trail and city parks, except those east of Lake Shore Drive, are open to the public. Fieldhouses will also remain open for restrooms or shelter during operating hours. The Park District is reminding users to “keep it moving” in outdoor spaces, whether alone or with members of the same household, and wear masks. — Morgan Greene
4:32 p.m.: More south suburban schools pause in-person classes, unable to maintain staffing levels with spike in COVID-19 cases, exposure
As he prepares to send his school district’s 3,300 students home for an extended period of learning remotely, Paul Enderle hopes for better news about COVID-19 in January.
The superintendent of Oak Lawn-Hometown School District 123 knows that doing so “puts a great deal of stress on families that need child care,” noting that many parents in his district work in health care and cannot work from home and supervise young children as they attend class virtually.
District 123 is joining the growing number of school districts in the south and southwest suburbs that have decided it’s unsafe to have students in classrooms amid rising numbers of COVID-19 cases and positivity rates.
His district, along with High School District 230 in Orland Park and New Lenox School District 122, have announced plans to, at least for the near term, keep students at home. That follows recent decisions by area districts such as Lincoln-Way 210 and Bremen 228 to hit the pause button on in-person learning.
District 123 students will be off next week for Thanksgiving break, and won’t have school Nov. 30 or Dec. 1 so teachers can prepare for teaching remotely. The district hopes to have students resume a hybrid model mixing in-person and remote learning by Jan. 19.
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In what it terms an “adaptive pause,” District 230, which operates Andrew, Stagg and Sandburg high schools, will shift Monday to remote teaching and potentially return to its hybrid model Dec. 7, according to Superintendent James Gay.
In a message to families Tuesday, New Lenox School District 122 Superintendent Lori Motsch said it has become nearly impossible to maintain adequate staffing levels due to teachers having to quarantine. The district has just under 5,600 students and staff.
There is no school scheduled after Thursday, with students off Friday to allow for remote instruction training for staff, followed by no classes Monday or Tuesday for parent/teacher conferences then a three-day Thanksgiving break. Read more here. — Mike Nolan/Daily Southtown
4:08 p.m.: Citi Foundation gives $15 million in PPP proceeds to 30 lenders serving lower-income communities, including two in Chicago
Citigroup’s philanthropic arm is giving two Chicago-based lenders serving low-income communities $500,000 each from proceeds the bank collected through the federal Paycheck Protection Program.
The funds are part of a $15 million donation from Citi Foundation to 30 community-based lenders in 10 states and D.C., and are drawn from proceeds on the origination fees New York-based Citibank collected processing PPP loans to small businesses early in the pandemic.
The groups receiving the money are Community Development Financial Institutions, which provide financing and assistance to small businesses owned by people of color and nonprofits that aren’t always able to access capital from traditional banks.
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The two Chicago-based recipients are IFF, which lends to nonprofits planning to build child care centers, clinics or schools in low-income communities, and Chicago Community Loan Fund, which provides loans to organizations focused on affordable housing, social services and economic development projects in underserved neighborhoods. Read more here. — Abdel Jimenez
3:31 p.m.: ‘Make yourself happy.’ Christmas trees go up earlier than ever as Chicagoans seek a mood boost amid coronavirus restrictions.
Who gets to say when a Christmas tree is placed too early?
Typically, Jessica Cabe would decorate her tree in late November. A few roommates had politely requested she wait until Thanksgiving, so she agreed.
This year, she is in her own apartment for the first time. So she knew she could indulge herself and put it up as early as she wanted. She planned for the week before Thanksgiving.
But as the 2020 stress mounted, she caved. Read more here. — Alison Bowen
2:04 p.m.: CDC strongly urges Americans to avoid travel for Thanksgiving
As the United States struggles with surging coronavirus cases and hospitalizations, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday urged Americans not to travel during the Thanksgiving holiday and to consider canceling plans to spend time with relatives outside their households.
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The new guidance states clearly that “the safest way to celebrate Thanksgiving is to celebrate at home with the people you live with,” and that gathering with friends and even family members who do not live with you increases the chances of becoming infected with COVID-19 or the flu or transmitting the virus.
Officials said they were strengthening their recommendations against travel because of a startling surge in infections in just the past week. As of Wednesday, the seven-day average of new cases across the country had surpassed more than 162,000 new cases, and more than 79,000 were hospitalized.
“Amid this critical phase, the CDC is recommending against travel during the Thanksgiving period,” said Dr. Henry Walke, COVID-19 incident manager at the agency, during a news briefing.
Read more here. —The New York Times
1:22 p.m.: Officials report 168 coronavirus deaths in Illinois, the highest one-day total since mid-May; daily case count of 14,612 is second highest of pandemic
Illinois public health officials reported 168 coronavirus-related deaths Thursday, the most in a single day since the height of the disease’s spring surge in mid-May.
With the latests fatalities, the state is now averaging 101 deaths per day over the past week, reaching a triple-digit average for the first time since May 20. Thursday’s death toll was the third-highest since the pandemic began, behind 192 fatalities reported May 13 and 176 on May 5.
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In all, there have been 11,178 COVID-19 related deaths since the pandemic began.
Health officials also reported 14,612 new confirmed and probable cases of the coronavirus, a huge spike from the 8,922 cases reported a day earlier and the second-highest daily count after the 15,415 reported last Friday. Over the past week, the state has averaged 12,120 daily cases. Overall, there have been 621,383 cases statewide.
The number of people in the hospital with COVID-19 surpassed 6,000 for the first time as of Wednesday night, just eight days after hospitalizations first exceeded 5,000. Of the 6,037 patients in the hospital Wednesday night, 1,192 were in intensive care and 587 were on ventilators. All three of those figures are on the upswing.
The high numbers come a day before new restrictions take effect statewide aimed at slowing the aggressive fall resurgence of the coronavirus.
—Dan Petrella
12:35 p.m.: Column: How did you get it? And what good are masks if they didn’t protect you? Answers to common reader questions about my COVID-19 ordeal.
On Monday I wrote about my October COVID-19 diagnosis and subsequent hospitalization, and hundreds of readers have reached out through email and social media with support, questions and a few criticisms.
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Thank you sincerely to everyone who wrote. Here, I’m going to try to answer the questions and criticisms that have come up most frequently, in the spirit of us all being in this together.
I’m not sharing my story to apply for sainthood. I’m sure I’ve made mistakes along the way. I’m sharing it so others can possibly learn from my particular experience. We simply will not make it through this without looking out for one another.
Read the full column here. —Heidi Stevens
12:08 p.m.: 14,612 new confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases and 168 additional deaths reported
Illinois health officials on Thursday announced 14,612 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 and 168 additional fatalities, bringing the total number of known infections in Illinois to 621,383 and the statewide death toll to 11,178 since the start of the pandemic. Officials also reported 113,447 new tests in the last 24 hours.
The seven-day statewide rolling positivity rate for cases as a share of total tests was 12% for the period ending Wednesday, up from 8% on Nov. 1.
—Chicago Tribune staff
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Chicago Marathon is preparing for 2021 after last year’s race was canceled because of COVID-19. And registration for 2020 deferred runners starts today.
The Chicago Marathon is working on plans to return for 2021 after this year’s race was canceled because of COVID-19 concerns.
The race is scheduled to take place on Oct. 10 with a tiered entry process to ensure registered runners who deferred — as well as charity fundraising runners — would be prioritized.
Registration began Thursday, with a second application window planned in January for the general public.
An event spokesperson said the race will be similar in size to past Chicago Marathons, which usually welcome about 45,000 participants.
Read more here. —Shannon Ryan
11:37 a.m.: For Chicago’s movie theaters, particularly the Music Box Theatre, ‘the gloom and doom has returned.’ Welcome to the club.
Like so much else in the early weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic, the two-screen 1929 landmark Music Box Theatre, on North Southport Avenue not far from Wrigley Field, closed down March 17, aka “the first time.”
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Theater owner William Schopf and general manager Ryan Oestreich reopened July 3, at a capacity of 50 maximum in the big house, which seats 748. The smaller screening venue reopened with an 18-person cap.
When the weather warmed up, in the Music Box’s adjoining outdoor beer garden, Oestreich and company added a 25-person screening option, with titles such as “Purple Rain” and “Best in Show.”
This fall, rather than canceling the annual Music Box of Horrors festival of thriller, horror and retro schlock delicacies, they took it outside. For 31 consecutive nights, at a 130-car capacity, the Halloween-themed festival drew faithful audiences with wheels to the most popular of Chicago’s 2020 pop-up drive-ins: the ChiTownMovies operation in Pilsen.
The ChiTownMovies outdoor venue remains open for business, by the way: You can catch a double feature of “Elf” and “Mean Girls” Friday night, Nov. 20. The website currently lists drive-in offerings through “The Santa Clause” on Dec. 1.
Read more here. —Michael Phillips
7 a.m.: Chicago will livestream lighting of Christmas tree in Millennium Park this evening
Citing COVID-19 safety concerns, the city of Chicago will livestream the lighting of the Christmas tree Thursday evening instead of staging the usual public event in Millennium Park.
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The “virtual holiday program” will begin at 6:30 p.m. and will be shown here as the Christmas tree is lit near Michigan Avenue and Washington Street. The 30-minute program will include remarks by Mayor Lori Lightfoot and music performances recorded at the Epiphany Center for the Arts featuring the Chicago Children’s Choir, Sones de México Ensemble and Percy Bady.
Under pandemic guidelines, the park is open every day from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. for groups of 10 or less “who practice physical distancing and wear face coverings,” the city said in a statement. The tree will remain on display until Jan. 7.
—Chicago Tribune staff
7 a.m.: Tighter restrictions begin overnight to curb spike in coronavirus cases. Theaters must close, stores must follow capacity limits and family urged to limit gatherings
Just after midnight tonight, Illinois will begin operating under tighter restrictions designed to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
Starting at 12:01 a.m. Friday, museums, casinos and theaters must close, while retail stores must adhere to new capacity limits, according to mitigation measures developed by the state. Additionally, big-box stores must operate at 25% capacity, while grocery stores can operate at a maximum capacity of 50%.
Schools and child care facilities can continue to operate as long as they adhere to guidelines from the Illinois State Board of Education and Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, according to the governor’s office.
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Gatherings should be limited to household members, according to the restrictions, and officials have urged residents to celebrate Thanksgiving virtually.
Gyms can operate at 25% capacity but cannot use reservation systems, must close their locker rooms and stop hosting group classes. All indoor youth and adult recreational group sports must temporarily stop, but outdoor sports and recreation can continue as well as individual training. Personal care services that require the removal of masks, such as facials and beard trims, are prohibited.
—Chicago Tribune staff
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chicagotribune--2020-11-19--Column: Wrigley Field national landmark listing will likely mean millions for the Cubs-owning Ricket

Column: Wrigley Field national landmark listing will likely mean millions for the Cubs-owning Ricketts family

But the Cubs will not have free rein at Wrigley .
The ballpark already is an official Chicago landmark , @ @ @ @ @ changes must be approved by the Commission on Chicago Landmarks .

Wrigley Field in Chicago on Friday, Oct. 14, 2016, a day before the Cubs opened game 1 of the NLCS. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune)
It’s not quite like winning the World Series, but getting listed as a National Historic Landmark, as Wrigley Field was Thursday, is pretty sweet stuff.
There are only about 2,600 National Historic Landmarks, including Mount Vernon and Pearl Harbor. The National Park Service, which administers the list, says it is reserved for “historic places that hold national significance.”
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Soldier Field used to be a National Historic Landmark. Then the Bears dropped a flying saucer of a seating bowl on the multicolumned lakefront stadium and the federal government stripped it of that status in 2006.
In contrast, tens of thousands of historic sites are on the better-known but less-selective National Register of Historic Places, which includes both National Historic Landmarks and properties that are of state and local significance.
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For the Cubs’ owners, the Ricketts family, Wrigley’s designation as a National Historic Landmark represents a vindication of their sometimes controversial, roughly $1 billion renovation of the 106-year-old ballpark, the second oldest in the major leagues.
It is all but certain to make the owners, who were denied public subsidies by former Mayor Rahm Emanuel, eligible for millions of dollars in historic preservation tax credits.
When the Cubs completed the renovation last year, team spokesman Julian Green said the Rickettses could be expected to receive between $100 million and $125 million in tax credits once federal and state officials certified that the work met national historic preservation standards.
The listing “could be very beneficial long-term to them financially,” said Ward Miller, executive director of Preservation Chicago, a local advocacy group.
And it appears unlikely to tie the Cubs’ hands if they want to make more changes to Wrigley.
National Historic Landmark status cannot prevent demolition or substantial alteration “if that work is being done with private money or without federal agency approval,” Elizabeth Blasius, a Chicago architectural historian and preservation consultant, said Thursday.
She cited Detroit’s Tiger Stadium, which was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989, but was demolished in 2008 and 2009.
But the Cubs will not have free rein at Wrigley. The ballpark already is an official Chicago landmark, which means any significant design changes must be approved by the Commission on Chicago Landmarks.
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In addition, state and federal officials will review future design proposals if the Cubs seek additional tax credits, according to Rachel Torbert, deputy director of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, which includes the state historic preservation office.
Originally designed by Zachary Taylor Davis, Wrigley has undergone numerous renovations over the decades. The renovations added such iconic features as the ivy-covered outfield walls, the art deco marquee at the corner of Clark and Addison streets, and the hand-operated center field scoreboard.
Some of the Ricketts-sponsored changes, like large outfield video boards, upset traditionalists who preferred the park’s pastoral atmosphere.
But the Ricketts-backed work restored Wrigley’s exterior with decorative features that adorned the ballpark in the late 1920s, upgraded concessions facilities and added spacious locker rooms.
Boston’s Fenway Park, the oldest major league ballpark, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2012. It served as a model for the Cubs’ renovation of Wrigley.
Chicago Tribune Opinion Weekdays Read the latest editorials and commentary curated by the Tribune Opinion team. By submitting your email to receive this newsletter, you agree to our Subscriber Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy >
In naming Wrigley a National Historic Landmark, federal officials cited the fact that it is the only remaining ballpark linked to the Federal Baseball League, a one-time rival to the National and American leagues. They also noted legendary events have taken place at Wrigley, including Babe Ruth’s supposed “called shot” during the 1932 World Series.
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“The historical significance of Wrigley Field is interwoven into our nation’s story and a key part of what has become America’s beloved pastime for over a century,” U.S. Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt said in a statement announcing the listing.
Blair Kamin is a Tribune critic.
bkamin@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @BlairKamin


chicagotribune--2020-11-21--Can harm reduction, the philosophy that stems HIV transmission and heroin overdoses, help curb a Tha

Can harm reduction, the philosophy that stems HIV transmission and heroin overdoses, help curb a Thanksgiving COVID-19 meltdown?

“ But a harm reduction approach will also acknowledge not just what we hope people can do , but what @ @ @ @ @ she said .
“ It ’ s clear that many people are going to gather @ @ @ @ @ , and that many people are going to travel .
It ’ s already happening @ @ @ @ @ to cancel their Thanksgiving is missing an opportunity to give them risk mitigation strategies for @ @ @ @ @ travel .
”

Millions of Americans appear set to defy government guidance to stay home this Thanksgiving, disregarding the growing peril of COVID-19 to gather with distant loved ones. To Erica Ernst, it is a familiar scenario.
She is president of the Chicago Recovery Alliance, a group that tries to minimize the odds of HIV transmission and drug overdose through harm reduction, which aims to minimize the danger of risky behavior rather than try to stop it altogether.
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Ernst said this phase of the pandemic reminds her of the early days of the HIV crisis, when people lapsed into denial, fatalism or exhaustion instead of taking simple steps to protect themselves.
“A lot of people died,” she said. “Older folks in harm reduction or older gay men can tell you they lost their whole social group. We forget these things. We push them aside. But the messaging just needs to keep going out and keep getting pushed.”
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The messaging, in the case of the pandemic, should be about minimizing risk, Ernst and other harm reduction experts said. Some people will gather no matter what, they said, so government officials should talk more about how to do it in the safest possible manner.
Daniel Weinstock, a law professor at McGill University in Montreal who has written about harm reduction and COVID-19, said experience has amply demonstrated the ineffectiveness of trying to eradicate risky behavior through shame or government mandates.
“As we know from abstinence campaigns in the area of sex or drugs, it just doesn’t work,” he said.
He said harm reduction is an alternative to prohibition, especially when prohibition is impossible to achieve. Insisting on perfect adherence can lead to “unregulated noncompliance,” he said, which can produce the worst outcomes.
Harm reduction attempts to stem that by presenting alternatives. For HIV prevention, those include condom use and less risky sexual practices. For reducing overdoses, advocates distribute the overdose-reversing medication naloxone and encourage people not to use drugs alone.
Weinstock said the key to success in any harm reduction plan is to make people feel like they have a role to play.
“Everything we do that allows one fewer unprotected contact to occur, that’s a measurable contribution to the task of limiting the number of transmissions,” he said.
“Emphasizing that we can all be agents in the fight against the virus rather than being subjected to the harsh hand of the state — that conforms pretty well with what I’ve always understood to be at the heart of harm reduction.”
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Dr. Eric Kutscher, an internist at NYU Langone Health in New York who has written about “safer socializing” during the pandemic, said the strict lockdowns of the spring reminded him of efforts to close bathhouses in the 1980s to prevent the spread of HIV.
In both cases, he said, risky behavior was just transferred to private spaces.
“What we’re seeing (with COVID-19) is that the peaks of transmission are happening in small gatherings,” he said. “Part of that is we don’t have venues created where people can follow social distancing at a wide scale. So instead, people are creating their own environments that don’t actually have any regulations in place and are probably more risky.”
Jacob Watson, a former sex educator who has advocated for harm reduction principles to be used against the COVID-19 pandemic, is seen on the North Side of Chicago on Thursday, Nov. 19, 2020. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)
Aside from government directives that are often ignored, the pandemic has featured plenty of shaming aimed at people who don’t wear masks or who party in close quarters. Jacob Watson, a Chicago artist and educator, wrote an essay over the summer saying that approach was futile, only to get pushback from his friends and family.
“They said, ‘Don’t you think it’s good to shame people doing something harmful?’” he recalled.
His response, he said, was that authorities need to appeal to people’s moral side.
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“These mandates are not especially enforceable,” he said. “People will follow them if they want to. I think it’s really important to create conditions that incentivize and encourage that.”
Julia Marcus, an infectious disease epidemiologist at Harvard Medical School and the author of several essays about using harm reduction techniques against COVID-19, said there is no doubt the pandemic is more dangerous now than it has ever been, and people contemplating travel should understand that the safest course is to stay home.
“But a harm reduction approach will also acknowledge not just what we hope people can do, but what people will do,” she said. “It’s clear that many people are going to gather with others outside their household, and that many people are going to travel. It’s already happening. So just telling people to cancel their Thanksgiving is missing an opportunity to give them risk mitigation strategies for when they do gather or travel.”
Suggesting anything but total fidelity to stay-at-home advisories is a touchy matter; Marcus pointed to a Friday column by New York Times journalist Farhad Manjoo that unleashed a torrent of social media scorn after he wrote that he planned to visit his parents for a socially distanced, backyard Thanksgiving meal.
But for those who insist on traveling, Marcus said, creative approaches can reduce risk, such as eschewing dinner in favor of an activity in which everyone can stay masked.
Ernst said indoor festivities could be made safer with open windows, or with family members eating in separate rooms. An outdoor pastime, such as flying a kite, could be another alternative.
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“Something that’s not a contact sport,” she said. “I know folks like to go out and play some football. Maybe not that.”
jkeilman@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @JohnKeilman


chicagotribune--2020-11-21--Daywatch special edition: Everything you need to know before Thanksgiving

This year has taken many things from us — birthday celebrations , live concerts and simply hugging the people we @ @ @ @ @ not take our holiday season .
The Tribune staff has gathered lists of the best @ @ @ @ @ list , even if you will be hosting your holiday parties over Zoom .
From @ @ @ @ @ your grandma to a tea set for your teacher , this year ’ s guide @ @ @ @ @ little easier .

Good morning, Chicago.
We are five days from a unique and challenging Thanksgiving holiday. No matter how you are choosing to celebrate this year, we have everything you need to know to navigate the upcoming week.
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Many people’s plans to eat turkey outside will hinge on the famed gamble that is Chicago weather. Right now, this is what the weather models are predicting for November 26.
Amid surging COVID-19 cases, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this week recommended against traveling for Thanksgiving, leading to tough conversations and decisions for Chicago-area families. Those who will decide to celebrate Thanksgiving afar are also left with choices regarding quarantining and getting tested before gathering around a table with family and friends.
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Though it all can seem overwhelming, our robust guide to planning for the 2020 holiday season can be a great place to start. First up, make sure to reference our complete Thanksgiving dinner guide, featuring all of our turkey day recipe offerings. If no one in your family has the energy to cook this year, we rounded up 57 Chicago area restaurants offering takeout. Is Thanksgiving dinner all set but you’re in need of dessert inspiration? We have a handy list of 26 Chicago spots to pick up pies. Oh, and while you’re out, make sure to check out all the different holiday cocktails you can pick up to-go along the way.
Lastly, while you’re hopefully taking some time off work this week and decompressing from this long year, take a look at our 2020 holiday entertainment guide for Chicago. There is still some virtual fun to be had this holiday season.
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Travelers make their way through Terminal 1 at Chicago O'Hare International Airport on Nov. 20, 2020 in Chicago. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)
Rising COVID-19 case counts and new warnings against travel and traditional Thanksgiving celebrations are forcing people to have tough conversations about whether it’s smart to gather. Some are reluctant to commit amid fast-changing conditions, leaving airlines and other travel companies to react to last-minute changes.
Experts say the number of Americans traveling this year for Thanksgiving will be the smallest in four years. Chicago airports are expected to handle 60%-70% fewer travelers this Thanksgiving, but there’ll still be crowds and precautions to take.
Should you get tested for COVID-19 before your Thanksgiving gathering? Here’s what the experts say.
The "Cathedral of Light" installation is part of the Chicago Botanic Garden's Lightscape holiday event Monday, Nov. 9. (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune)
Here’s all you need to know to plan for the holidays, including health and travel considerations, the weather forecast, entertainment, recipes and takeout options.
What will happen to all the classic Chicago holiday experiences this year? Here is how to celebrate the holidays Chicago-style during a pandemic.
Roasted Turkey
With less than a week until the big event, organization is key at this point. So here, in one place, are all of our Thanksgiving recipe offerings this year. We’ve got turkey recipes a plenty, a cornucopia of sides, and tons of tips — including carving the bird, whipping potatoes and making gravy.
Craving cocktails: Get your drinks to go for the holidays from these 19 Chicago restaurants
Where to order Thanksgiving pies — 26 Chicago spots to get your pumpkin, pecan or sweet potato fix
Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 184 (Chicago Tribune)
This year has taken many things from us — birthday celebrations, live concerts and simply hugging the people we love. But COVID-19 cannot take our holiday season. The Tribune staff has gathered lists of the best gifts for everyone on your list, even if you will be hosting your holiday parties over Zoom. From finding a mask fit for your grandma to a tea set for your teacher, this year’s guide will help make 2020 a little easier.
Many millennials won't travel home for Thanksgiving. Here are a few tips on how to celebrate alone. (Marko Geber / Getty Images)
Like almost every event in 2020, Thanksgiving will look different this year. With a record-breaking number of coronavirus cases across the country and the CDC encouraging Americans not to travel and spend time with relatives outside their households during the Thanksgiving holiday, many millennials have decided to not go home.


chicagotribune--2020-11-21--Rise in COVID-19 statewide leading to alarming surge in nursing home cases and deaths, health offici

Rise in COVID-19 statewide leading to alarming surge in nursing home cases and deaths, health officials say

The increases jumped noticeably in October , and have taken off this month .
The latest statistics released by the @ @ @ @ @ on Friday show 3,547 new cases in long-term care facilities , the largest increase in @ @ @ @ @ in May .
There were also 289 deaths , more than double the number from @ @ @ @ @ the most since June .

An increase in COVID-19 across Illinois is leading to an alarming new surge in cases and deaths among its most vulnerable victims in nursing homes, health officials say.
Just as residents of long-term care facilities were the hardest-hit group in the spring, and make up about half of all deaths statewide, they remain especially susceptible to the spread of the virus from the general population, officials warn.
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The increases jumped noticeably in October, and have taken off this month. The latest statistics released by the Illinois Department of Public Health on Friday show 3,547 new cases in long-term care facilities, the largest increase in a week since the peak in May. There were also 289 deaths, more than double the number from two weeks ago, and the most since June.
Illustrating the breadth of the new wave, just in the past week, the number of active outbreaks went from 722 to 832 facilities.
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A Tribune analysis of state data found that downstate long-term care facilities, which once had much lower rates of COVID cases and deaths than Chicago-area homes, now far surpass the metropolitan area in both categories But Cook and the collar counties have all seen increases this month, with especially sharp ones in Kane and Lake.
The director of the Illinois Department of Public Health, Dr. Ngozi Ezike, warned this week that the elderly, who are often frail and have underlying medical problems, are particularly susceptible to severe cases of COVID.
“It is very hard to keep any establishment COVID-free in the midst of a COVID storm,” Ezike said. “And so as rates go up in the communities, the staff that live in these communities that go to work in these facilities are falling victim to infection.”
The devastating wave of deaths at nursing homes in the spring was blamed in part on a lack of personal protective equipment, or PPE, such as masks, gloves and gowns, along with a shortage of workers and a lack of COVID tests. Since then, health officials and facility administrators say they have worked to ensure a better supply of equipment and tests.
Unfortunately, research by University of Chicago professor Tamara Konetzka found that the changes don’t appear to have stopped recent increases in COVID among the general population from spreading to nursing homes again.
Konetzka found the prevalence of COVID-19 in the community was the strongest predictor of COVID-19 cases and deaths in nursing homes, though an increase in the amount of hours that nurses and aides work might have an impact. Despite nursing home improvements, Konetzka said, “Trying to protect nursing home residents without controlling community spread is a losing battle.”
Nationwide, nursing homes cited a record number of new COVID cases the week of Nov. 1, topping 10,000, according to data from Johns Hopkins University and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Almost half of those cases were in the Midwest, which saw the number of weekly cases double since infection rate in the general community began rising in September.
To survive the latest onslaught, industry officials warn that they need more federal financial help and more frequent, faster testing. At the same time, state lawmakers are poised to enact new rules to improve transparency and accountability to maintain adequate staffing, which advocates say is crucial to protecting residents.
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The latest rise has hit especially hard in two Illinois veterans homes, in LaSalle and Manteno.
Twenty-six veterans were reported to have died at the home in LaSalle just this month, with 196 case reported, leading lawmakers to call for hearings into the matter.
The veterans home in Manteno reported 15 residents and 31 staff members there have tested positive, and two have died, since Aug. 21.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Friday that state workers are testing everyone who goes in or out of the home in LaSalle, and testing staff and residents regularly. “That’s the best thing we can do to protect the people in the veterans home,” he said. He also called on local leaders and prosecutors around the state to enforce closure orders.
Ezike blamed more than 160 new cases at one unnamed facility in part on co-workers gathering too closely for breaks without masks, and warned against complacency and fatigue.
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The latest warnings come after a devastating first wave, mostly centered in the Chicago area, that led to most of the state’s early fatalities. The experience fueled debate over the IDPH’s oversight of a mostly for-profit industry, during which the Tribune found it cut back inspections, at times breaking state law, as the virus raced through facilities.
IDPH forced out two top administrators and announced it had hired a consulting firm to conduct a “top to bottom review” of its oversight practices. That was four months ago. The Tribune filed a public records request Sept. 4 to obtain any reports from the consultants. IDPH said it would respond by Sept. 22 but hasn’t. The Tribune has appealed to the attorney general’s office.
To reduce the impact of COVID at nursing homes, health officials urge the public to take basic precautions to minimize infections in the community by wearing masks, washing hands and keeping distance.
Jean Mack, a certified nursing assistant, at home in Chicago holding a picture of her mother, Barbara Mack, Nov. 19, 2020. Her mother is a resident at at Southpoint Nursing and Rehabilitation and last saw her daughter through a glass door. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)
As the pandemic drags on, relatives are missing and worrying about their loved ones in nursing homes, where indoor visits generally have been banned by the state since March.
Michelle Bain’s mother is a 64-year-old quadriplegic who lives at Alden Estates of Naperville. Previously, the facility had an outbreak with 103 cases and 21 deaths, but currently the state reports zero cases and no recent deaths there.
Bain wrote in an email to the Tribune that her mother has lost a great deal of weight since the outbreak, and her leg and backside are covered with bed wounds from not being moved. Bain checks on her mom frequently through the window of her room, and said the home doesn’t have enough staff, cleaning materials or food.
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“We need help and someone to get these residents the assistance they need,” she wrote. “Every day I live in fear that they are letting my mom die…”
In response, Janine Schoen, a spokeswoman for Alden Management Services, issued a statement that she could not comment specifically about the situation, but that the allegations were unfounded.
She wrote that the facility follows infection control policies of federal, state and local health departments, and wrote, “Ensuring the safety and dignity of our residents is our greatest concern.”
Southpoint Nursing and Rehabilitation, on West 95th Street in Chicago, is shown Nov. 19, 2020. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)
At Southpoint Nursing and Rehabilitation, in the Brainerd neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago, there have been 81 cases and 11 deaths of residents who had COVID, state records showed, but no cases in the past 28 days, as of Friday.
One resident of the home, 83-year-old Barbara Mack, last saw her daughter Jean through a glass door. Barbara Mack was wearing a mask to prevent the spread of COVID, and asked her daughter why she was wearing a mask and gloves.
“It’s affecting her real bad, because she’s used to seeing me visit,” Jean Mack said. “She wants to know why I can’t come to see her. I’m just hoping and praying she never contracts this virus from a worker coming in, that’s my only concern.”
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In response to the surge, the Health Care Council of Illinois announced Friday that it is launching an advertising campaign to ask people to wear masks to help protect nursing home residents.
The council’s COVID-19 response director, Pat Comstock, said the campaign is called “Do It for Grandma & Grandpa,” and called wearing a mask “a lifesaving courtesy.”
“Despite tremendous progress with testing, stockpiling PPE and increased infection control measures,” she said, “we are devastated by this new surge and have launched an education campaign to motivate our neighbors to do their part.”
The Associated Press contributed.


chicagotribune--2020-11-21--Coronavirus in Illinois updates: 11,891 new confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases and 127 additional

Coronavirus in Illinois updates: 11,891 new confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases and 127 additional deaths reported Saturday

Illinois health officials on Saturday announced 11,891 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 and 127 additional fatalities , bringing @ @ @ @ @ infections in Illinois to 646,286 and the statewide death toll to 11,430 since the start @ @ @ @ @ also reported 120,284 new tests in the last 24 hours .

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 health officials Sunday announced 10,012 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 and 76 additional fatalities, bringing the total number of known infections in Illinois to 656,298 and the statewide death toll to 11,506 since the start of the pandemic.
Meanwhile, the state moved back into more strict coronavirus restrictions Friday, entering Tier 3 mitigation levels designed to slow the spread of COVID-19.
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The measures close most businesses and public places designed for people to congregate, such as theaters, museums and banquet halls, as well as banning indoor dining and closing bars except for outdoor service. The rules limit at-home gatherings to household members, decrease legal capacity at retail stores, personal care service businesses like salons and health and fitness centers.
The crackdown comes as the state continues to see an explosion in COVID-19 cases and a return to high numbers of deaths, coming close to numbers seen in the spring.
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Here’s what’s happening Friday with COVID-19 in the Chicago area and Illinois:
Sunday
10,012 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19, 76 deaths reported
Illinois health officials Sunday announced 10,012 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 and 76 additional fatalities, bringing the total number of known infections in Illinois to 656,298 and the statewide death toll to 11,506 since the start of the pandemic.
There were 92,437 tests reported in the previous 24 hours. The seven-day statewide positivity rate stands at 13% and the statewide positivity rate for cases as a percent of total test is 11.3%.
First COVID-19 vaccines could begin on Dec. 12, says US official
The head of the U.S. effort to produce a coronavirus vaccine says the first immunizations could happen on Dec. 12.
A Food and Drug Administration advisory committee is set to meet Dec. 10 to discuss Pfizer Inc.’s request for an emergency use authorization for its developing COVID-19 vaccine.
Dr. Moncef Slaoui, head of the Operation Warp Speed, the coronavirus vaccine program, says plans are to ship vaccines to states within 24 hours of expected FDA approval.
Slaoui told CNN he expects vaccinations would begin on the second day after approval, Dec. 12.
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Read more here. —Associated Press
Saturday
FDA grants emergency authorization of experimental antibody treatment given to Trump after COVID-19 diagnosis
The Food and Drug Administration has granted emergency authorization for the experimental antibody treatment given to President Donald Trump shortly after he was diagnosed with COVID-19, giving doctors another option to treat COVID-19 patients as cases across the country continue to rise.
The treatment, made by the biotech company Regeneron, is a cocktail of two powerful antibodies that have shown promise in early studies at keeping the infection in check, reducing medical visits in patients who get the drug early in the course of their disease. A similar treatment, made by Eli Lilly, was given emergency approval earlier this month.
Read more here. —The New York Times
What 635 epidemiologists are doing for Thanksgiving
The family of one epidemiologist plans to celebrate Thanksgiving in a garage, with tables 10 feet apart and the doors rolled up. Another epidemiologist’s family is forgoing a traditional meal for an outdoor hot cider toast with neighbors. A third is dining in an outdoor tent, with a heater, humidifier and air purifier running.
And, according to an informal survey of 635 epidemiologists by The New York Times, the large majority are not celebrating with people outside their household. Public health experts from a range of backgrounds answered our questionnaire. Not all of them study COVID-19, but all have professional training about how to think about disease spread and risk.
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Read more here. —The New York Times
In-person entrance exams for Chicago’s selective high schools bring high anxiety about COVID-19 risk
To have a shot at getting into their favorite Chicago public high school, many eighth graders need to take a three-hour test, a process causing even more anxiety than usual amid an uncontrolled pandemic and after COVID-19 cases were tied to college admissions testing earlier this fall.
Some parents worry that proceeding with in-person testing for Chicago’s 11 selective-enrollment high schools may benefit families willing to take an unnecessary risk, even with all the health and safety measures available.
Read more here. —Hannah Leone
Midwestern governors urge residents to wear masks during Thanksgiving, shrink gathering sizes: ‘We know what will happen’
Coronavirus infections are ravaging South Dakota, where more than half of tests have come back positive for weeks.
Republican Gov. Kristi Noem won’t issue a mask mandate but suggests smaller gatherings “may be smarter this year.”
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Some governors who for months echoed President Donald Trump’s criticism of measures to control the coronavirus are now relenting, including North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, who recently ordered the use of masks statewide.
Republican and Democratic governors from several Midwestern states issued a joint video urging people to say home for Thanksgiving and wear masks to slow the spread of the virus until a vaccine is widely available.
Hospitals in many states are running out of beds and are short on nurses, including in the states where governors are reluctant to act.
“We know what will happen. We know that three to four weeks from Thanksgiving, we will see an exacerbation of the outbreaks,” said Dr. Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association.
CDC scientists believe about 40% of infected people don’t have obvious symptoms but can still spread the virus.
The U.S. leads the world with 11.9 million cases and more than 254,000 deaths.
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—Associated Press
11,891 new confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases and 127 additional deaths reported
Illinois health officials on Saturday announced 11,891 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 and 127 additional fatalities, bringing the total number of known infections in Illinois to 646,286 and the statewide death toll to 11,430 since the start of the pandemic. Officials also reported 120,284 new tests in the last 24 hours.
The seven-day statewide rolling positivity rate for cases as a share of total tests was 11.5% for the period ending Friday, up from 8% on Nov. 1.
—Chicago Tribune staff
Can harm reduction, the philosophy that stems HIV transmission and heroin overdoses, help curb a Thanksgiving COVID-19 meltdown?
Millions of Americans appear set to defy government guidance to stay home this Thanksgiving, disregarding the growing peril of COVID-19 to gather with distant loved ones. To Erica Ernst, it is a familiar scenario.
She is president of the Chicago Recovery Alliance, a group that tries to minimize the odds of HIV transmission and drug overdose through harm reduction, which aims to minimize the danger of risky behavior rather than try to stop it altogether.
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Ernst said this phase of the pandemic reminds her of the early days of the HIV crisis, when people lapsed into denial, fatalism or exhaustion instead of taking simple steps to protect themselves.
“A lot of people died,” she said. “Older folks in harm reduction or older gay men can tell you they lost their whole social group. We forget these things. We push them aside. But the messaging just needs to keep going out and keep getting pushed.”
The messaging, in the case of the pandemic, should be about minimizing risk, Ernst and other harm reduction experts said. Some people will gather no matter what, they said, so government officials should talk more about how to do it in the safest possible manner.
Read more here. —John Keilman
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