chicagotribune--2020-11-06--Election 2020 live updates: Biden showing strength in key states, Trump pushing baseless claims of e

Election 2020 live updates: Biden showing strength in key states, Trump pushing baseless claims of electoral misconduct as vote counting continues

While Trump has insisted that ballot counting stop , it was unclear exactly what that included .
Counting for votes @ @ @ @ @ continuing , but roughly 20 states allow ballots to be counted if postmarked by Nov. @ @ @ @ @ days after .
In some states that is as long as nine days , or @ @ @ @ @ the deadline changes were made as a result of the pandemic , but others are @ @ @ @ @ election laws .
Trump has fixated on Pennsylvania , where the Supreme Court refused to @ @ @ @ @ ruling that allowed for a three-day extension .

Election signage in Times Square as ballots are still being counted in multiple states, on Nov. 6, 2020. (Todd Heisler/The New York Times)
President Donald Trump is testing how far he can go in using the trappings of presidential power to undermine confidence in this week’s election against Joe Biden, as the Democrat gained ground in tight contests in some key battleground states.
With his pathway to re-election appearing to shrink, Trump on Thursday advanced unsupported accusations of voter fraud to falsely argue that his rival was trying to seize power. It amounted to an extraordinary effort by a sitting American president to sow doubt about the democratic process.
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“This is a case when they are trying to steal an election, they are trying to rig an election,” Trump said from the podium of the White House briefing room.
The president’s remarks deepened a sense of anxiety in the U.S. as Americans enter their third full day after the election without knowing who would serve as president for the next four years. His statements also prompted a rebuke from some Republicans, particularly those looking to steer the party in a different direction in a post-Trump era.
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Neither candidate has reached the 270 Electoral College votes needed to win the White House. But Biden eclipsed Trump in Wisconsin and Michigan, two crucial Midwestern battleground states, and was inching closer to overtaking the president in Pennsylvania and Georgia, where votes were still be counted.
It was unclear when a national winner would be determined after a long, bitter campaign dominated by the coronavirus and its effects on Americans and the national economy. The U.S. on Wednesday set another record for daily confirmed cases as several states posted all-time highs. The pandemic has killed more than 233,000 people in the United States.
Biden spent Thursday trying to ease tensions and project a more traditional image of presidential leadership. After participating in a coronavirus briefing, he declared that “each ballot must be counted.”
“I ask everyone to stay calm. The process is working,” Biden said. “It is the will of the voters. No one, not anyone else who chooses the president of the United States of America.”
Biden’s victories in the upper Midwest put him in a strong position, but Trump showed no sign of giving up. He was back on Twitter around 2:30 a.m. Friday, insisting the “U.S. Supreme Court should decide!”
It could take several more days for the vote count to conclude and a clear winner to emerge. With millions of ballots yet to be tabulated, Biden already had received more than 73 million votes, the most in history.
A Constitution tattoo decorates the arm of Bob Lewis, left, while he argues with counter-protester Ralph Gaines as Trump supporters demonstrate outside the TCF Center in Detroit on Nov. 5, 2020. (David Goldman/AP)
Trump’s erroneous claims about the integrity of the election challenged Republicans now faced with the choice of whether to break with a president who, though his grip on his office grew tenuous, commanded sky-high approval ratings from rank-and-file members of the GOP.
Maryland GOP Gov. Larry Hogan, a potential 2024 presidential hopeful who has often criticized Trump, said unequivocally: “There is no defense for the President’s comments tonight undermining our Democratic process. America is counting the votes, and we must respect the results as we always have before.”
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But others who are rumored to be considering a White House run of their own in four years aligned themselves with the incumbent, including Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., who tweeted support for Trump’s claims, writing that “If last 24 hours have made anything clear, it’s that we need new election integrity laws NOW.”
Trump’s campaign engaged in a flurry of legal activity to try to improve the Republican president’s chances, requesting a recount in Wisconsin and filing lawsuits in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Georgia.
Judges in Georgia and Michigan quickly dismissed Trump campaign lawsuits there on Thursday.
Trump held a small edge in Georgia, though Biden was gaining on him as votes continued to be counted. The same was true in Pennsylvania, where Trump’s lead had slipped to about 22,000 votes — and the race is destined to get tighter.
One reason is because elections officials were not allowed to process mail-in ballots until Election Day under state law. It’s a form of voting that has skewed heavily in Biden’s favor after Trump spent months claiming without proof that voting by mail would lead to widespread voter fraud.
Mail ballots from across the state were overwhelmingly breaking in Biden’s direction. A final vote total may not be clear for days because the use of mail-in ballots, which take more time to process, has surged as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
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The Trump campaign said it was confident the president would ultimately pull out a victory in Arizona, where votes were also still being counted, including in Maricopa County, the state’s most populous area. The AP has declared Biden the winner in Arizona and said Thursday that it was monitoring the vote count as it proceeded. Several networks and news sites, such as The New York Times and CNN, were holding off on projecting Arizona for Biden.
“The Associated Press continues to watch and analyze vote count results from Arizona as they come in,” said Sally Buzbee, AP’s executive editor. “We will follow the facts in all cases.”
Trump’s campaign was lodging legal challenges in several states, though he faced long odds. He would have to win multiple suits in multiple states in order to stop vote counts, since more than one state was undeclared.
Some of the Trump team’s lawsuits only demand better access for campaign observers to locations where ballots are being processed and counted. A judge in Georgia dismissed the campaign’s suit there less than 12 hours after it was filed. And a Michigan judge dismissed a Trump lawsuit over whether enough GOP challengers had access to handling of absentee ballots
Biden attorney Bob Bauer said the suits were legally “meritless.” Their only purpose, he said “is to create an opportunity for them to message falsely about what’s taking place in the electoral process.”
Here are the latest 2020 election updates (all times EST):
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11:26 p.m.: Trump camp files new federal lawsuit over Vegas-area voting
The Donald Trump campaign filed a new federal lawsuit late Thursday in Nevada, alleging that ineligible votes were cast in the Las Vegas area, the biggest Democratic stronghold in an otherwise predominantly GOP state.
A complaint filed after-hours in U.S. District Court resurrected an effort the campaign abandoned just hours earlier in Nevada state court — a court order to stop the Clark County Registrar of Voters from using an optical scanning machine to process ballots and validate voter signatures.
The federal filing cites experiences of a woman who said Thursday she was turned away from voting in person because a mailed ballot had been cast with her signature and a political strategist TV commentator who said he was denied an opportunity to observe ballot counting late on election night.
Trump Nevada campaign co-chairman Adam Laxalt said the new filing “highlights ongoing voter fraud and voter disenfranchisement in Clark County.”
State Attorney General Aaron Ford called it “a Hail Mary” and “another opportunity to undermine the confidence in this election” while ballots are still being counted.
— Associated Press
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10:45 p.m.: Elections chief: Pennsylvania making good headway in count
Pennsylvania had hundreds of thousands of ballots left to count Thursday, a number that state officials expected to dwindle rapidly as Democrat Joe Biden and Republican President Donald Trump fought to the end for the White House.
“It’s very close in Pennsylvania, there’s no question,” said the state’s election’s chief, Kathy Boockvar. “So that means it’s going to take longer to actually see who the winner is.”
Some of the state’s most heavily populated locales, including Montgomery and Chester counties in the Philadelphia suburbs, reported finishing their tallies. The Trump campaign tried to stop the count in Philadelphia itself — alleging city officials were depriving their observers of meaningful access — but a federal judge refused to go along, instead urging the sides to forge an agreement. Speaking from the White House, Trump made unsupported allegations that Democrats in Pennsylvania and elsewhere were trying to steal the election.
Despite a flurry of legal action by Trump and the Republican Party over aspects of the count, counties across Pennsylvania headed toward the finish line of a massive tabulating effort that included millions of mail-in ballots. Pennsylvania remained the largest electoral prize yet to be called.
“We’re in a very good place with the mail-in and absentee ballots, but not quite there yet,” Boockvar, the secretary of state, said at a late-afternoon briefing. “What I’ve said all along is that the overwhelming majority of ballots will be counted by Friday. I still think we’re ahead of schedule.”
— Associated Press
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10:15 p.m.: Fact check: Trump fabricates election corruption
Citing “horror stories,” President Donald Trump unleashed a torrent of fabricated accusations Thursday in an audacious attempt to undermine the legitimacy of the U.S. election.
Standing behind the presidential seal, Trump used a White House setting symbolizing the power of his office to assail an election he portrayed as rife with fraud and corruption. One allegation after another had no basis in fact, such as his accusation that election officials in Pennsylvania and Detroit tried to ban election observers from polling stations.
A look at his remarks, coming as Democrat Joe Biden made progress toward the electoral votes needed to claim the presidency.
More of the story here. — Associated Press
9:44 p.m.: Fox News Meets Trump’s Fraud Claims With Skepticism
Nearly a decade ago, Donald Trump had a regular Monday slot on the Fox News morning show “Fox & Friends,” and it has been a reliably friendly venue for him throughout his presidency. But more recently, the show has been cool to his unsubstantiated claims of widespread vote fraud.
On Thursday’s episode, co-host Steve Doocy challenged Pam Bondi, a former attorney general of Florida and a Trump supporter, over her comment about “fake ballots that are coming in late.”
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“Pam, did you just say fake ballots?” Doocy asked.
“There could be. That’s the problem,” Bondi replied.
“Have you heard stories of ballots that are fake?” Doocy pushed back. “And if so, just tell us what you know.”
Bondi did not cite specific examples, instead saying, “We know that ballots have been dumped.”
The night before on Fox News, star opinion hosts Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity spoke ominously about the vote results — but stopped short of endorsing Trump’s dismissal of the election as “a fraud on the American public.”
Hannity expressed his doubts about the vote in a series of questions: “Do you trust what happened in this election? Do you believe these election results are accurate? Do you believe this was a free and fair election? I have a lot of questions.”
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More of the story here. — The New York Times
9:10 p.m.: Trump lets loose on integrity of election
For 40 hours, President Donald Trump fumed in private and tweeted his grievances in all caps.
When he at last emerged, it was to stand behind the presidential seal in the White House and deliver a diatribe most notable for his litany of false statements about the election and his attempt to cast doubt on the integrity of the Democratic process.
As votes continued to be counted and Democrat Joe Biden edged closer to victory, Trump lashed out Thursday evening in a performance that suggested he knew his prospects for a second term were slipping away.
“If you count the legal votes, I easily win. If you count the illegal votes, they can try to steal the election from us,” Trump claimed. In fact, there is no evidence that any votes cast illegally are being counted or that the process is unfair and corrupt.
The ballot-counting process across the country largely has been running smoothly with no evidence of widespread fraud or problems.
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Trump delivered his statement before reporters in the White House briefing room and left without taking questions. It came after Trump and his allies spent a second day watching and waiting with the rest of the nation as vote totals pushed further in Biden’s direction in some key battlegrounds.
With just a handful of states yet to be decided, Biden had a clear advantage over Trump, but the president still retained a narrow path to the 270 electoral votes needed to win reelection. The Associated Press has not declared a winner, and it could take several more days for the vote count to conclude and a clear winner to emerge.
As expected, many of the votes being counted last are mail-in ballots, which take longer to process and overwhelmingly favor Democrats. Trump’s voters were far more likely to vote in-person after the president spent months casting aspersions on mail-in voting.
— Associated Press
9:05 p.m.: Networks cut away from Trump’s White House address
ABC, CBS and NBC all cut away from President Donald Trump on Thursday as he spoke from the White House to make an unfounded accusation that the presidential election was being stolen from him.
Trump had tried to commandeer the nation’s airwaves at a time when the evening newscasts are shown on the East Coast, after a day when the slow drip of vote counting revealed his leads in Pennsylvania and Georgia dwindling.
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MSNBC’s Brian Williams also interrupted the president. Fox News Channel and CNN aired the president’s full address, after which CNN’s Anderson Cooper said Trump was “like an obese turtle on his back, flailing in the hot sun realizing his time was over.”
Network personalities had sharply criticized Trump after his angry, middle-of-the-night speech following Election Day but aired that talk in full. Trump was more subdued Thursday, yet offered a litany of complaints about “suppression” polls, mail-in voting and fraud that he never specified.
“We have to interrupt here, because the president has made a number of false statements, including the notion that there has been fraudulent voting,” said NBC’s Lester Holt. “There has been no evidence of that.”
— Associated Press
7:55 p.m.: Biden says ‘no one’ will take US democracy away
Democrat Joe Biden says, “No one is going to take our democracy away from us.” His comment came after President Donald Trump’s unfounded claims that Democrats were trying to “steal” the presidential election from him.
In a Thursday evening tweet, Biden says, “America has come too far, fought too many battles, and endured too much to let that happen.”
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The nation is waiting to learn whether Biden or Trump will collect the 270 electoral votes needed to capture the presidency. Biden’s victories in Michigan and Wisconsin have put him in a commanding position, but Trump has showed no sign of giving up.
Speaking earlier Thursday from the White House, Trump did not back up his claim about Democrats with any details or evidence. State and federal officials have not reported any instances of widespread voter fraud.
The ballot-counting process across the country has been running smoothly, and the count is ongoing in several battleground states.
— Associated Press
7:07 p.m.: Trump makes baseless claim on election status
The Associated Press has not declared a winner in the presidential race, with a number of battleground states still too early to call.
But President Donald Trump is renewing his unfounded claims that Democrats are trying to “steal” the election from him. He did not back up his claim with any details or evidence. State and federal officials have not reported any instances of widespread voter fraud.
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Trump spoke from the White House briefing room on Thursday, unleashing harsh criticism of pre-election polling that showed him trailing Democrat Joe Biden and claiming without evidence that the ballot-counting process is unfair and corrupt. He also renewed his criticism of widespread use of mail-in balloting in the pandemic.
The ballot-counting process across the country has been running smoothly, and the count is ongoing in several battleground states.
— Associated Press
6:38 p.m.: Election officials worried by threats and protesters
Election officials in several states said Thursday they are worried about the safety of their staffs amid a stream of threats and gatherings of angry protesters outside their doors, drawn by President Donald Trump’s baseless claims of widespread fraud in the race for the White House.
“I can tell you that my wife and my mother are very concerned for me,” said Joe Gloria, the registrar in Clark County, Nevada, which includes Las Vegas. He said his staff was bolstering security and tracking vehicles coming and going from the election offices.
But he added that he and others would not be stopped from “doing what our duty is and counting ballots.”
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Groups of Trump supporters have gathered at vote tabulation sites in Phoenix, Detroit and Philadelphia, decrying counts that showed Democrat Joe Biden leading or gaining ground.
While the protests have not been violent or very large, local officials were distressed and concerned by the relentless accusations.
More of this story here. — Associated Press
6:19 p.m.: Trump campaign’s Nevada legal effort is over
A legal effort in Nevada by President Donald Trump’s campaign and state Republicans to try to stop the count of mail ballots in Las Vegas is over.
A document submitted in an appeal pending before the state Supreme Court says the campaign, state GOP, Democrats and attorneys for the state have reached a settlement requiring Clark County election officials to supply “additional observation access” at a ballot processing facility in Las Vegas.
The state high court declined on Election Day to stop the count based on an appeal of a state judge’s decision not to stop processing mail ballots in Las Vegas and surrounding Clark County -- a Democratic stronghold in an otherwise red GOP state.
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In an order released Monday, Judge James Wilson Jr. in Carson City said he found neither the state nor Clark County had done anything to give one vote preference over another.
Nevada Democrats accuse Republicans of trying to suppress voting in the state’s most diverse area.
Trump campaign representatives said Thursday that they intended to file another complaint in U.S. District Court in Las Vegas to try to stop the counting of what state campaign co-chair Adam Laxalt called “improper votes.” That lawsuit was not immediately filed.
— Associated Press
6:01 p.m.: Trump campaign asks to join Arizona lawsuit
The Trump campaign and Republican National Committee have asked an Arizona judge to let them join a lawsuit that alleges vote tabulation equipment in metro Phoenix was unable to record a voter’s ballot because she completed it with a county-issued Sharpie pen.
They argued that anecdotal accounts of potential tabulation errors resulting from Sharpies demands further review and that they should be allowed to participate in the lawsuit because it will likely affect their interests in the tabulation of votes.
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The lawsuit seeks a court order for all Maricopa County voters whose ballots were rejected as a result of using a Sharpie to be given a chance to fix their ballots. It also asks for such voters to be able to be present while election officials count their ballots.
The Arizona Democratic Party earlier asked to join the lawsuit, arguing that Democratic voters could be disenfranchised if the woman who filed the lawsuit was able to challenge a voter’s intent in making ballot choices without knowing the applicable standards.
A judge is holding a hearing Thursday in Phoenix in the lawsuit by Phoenix-area voter Laurie Aguilera, who also alleged ink from the marker bled through the back side of her ballot and that poll workers refused her request for a new ballot.
— Associated Press
5:52 p.m.: Poll watchers emerge as a flashpoint in battle over ballots
Election officials in key battleground states pushed back on claims by the Trump campaign that Republican poll watchers were being improperly denied access to observe the counting of ballots, saying Thursday that rules were being followed and they were committed to transparency.
Tasked this year with monitoring a record number of mail ballots, partisan poll watchers are designated by a political party or campaign to report any concerns they may have. With a few reports of overly aggressive poll watchers, election officials said they were carefully balancing access with the need to minimize disruptions.
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“There were certainly a lot of eyes on the process in every absentee counting board all across our state,” said Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, a Democrat and the state’s top election official. “I’m proud of how transparent and secure our process has been. I know that the truth is on our side here.”
Poll watchers have been a central element of legal battles that have erupted in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Nevada. While counting was largely finished in Michigan, the work continued Thursday in Pennsylvania and Nevada where a narrow margin separated President Donald Trump and his Democratic challenger, Joe Biden.
More of the story here. — Associated Press
5: 35 p.m.: Republicans break with Trump over push to halt vote count
Some Republicans are breaking with President Donald Trump’s attempts to falsely declare victory in the election and halt vote counting in Pennsylvania and other states, leaving him without key voices of support as his reelection hangs in the balance.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Trump ally who won reelection Tuesday in Kentucky, told reporters that “claiming you’ve won the election is different from finishing the counting.” Sen. Marco Rubio, a Florida Republican who spoke at a recent Trump campaign rally, said in a tweet that “taking days to count legally cast votes is NOT fraud.” And Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, urged "everyone to be patient'' as results come in. "It is critical that we give election officials time to complete their jobs, and that we ensure all lawfully cast ballots are allowed and counted,'' she said in a statement.
Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., addressed Trump directly on Twitter: "Stop. Full stop,'' he wrote Wednesday in response to Trump’s claim that Democrats were trying to “steal” the election.
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"The votes will be counted and you will either win or lose,'' Kinzinger told Trump. "And America will accept that. Patience is a virtue.''
The comments by the Republican lawmakers and other GOP leaders were rare, public rebukes of Trump, who has demanded — and generally received — loyalty from fellow Republicans throughout his four-year term. Most in the GOP take pains to avoid directly criticizing Trump, even when they find his conduct unhelpful or offensive to their values and goals.
More of the story here. — Associated Press
4:57 p.m.: Biden feels ‘very good’ about election outcome
Democrat Joe Biden says he feels “very good” about the outcome of the presidential election and is telling his supporters to “stay calm” as votes continue to be counted.
Biden delivered brief remarks Thursday at a theater in downtown Wilmington, Delaware. He says, “It is the will of the voters — no one, not anyone else — who chooses the president of the United States of America.”
President Donald Trump’s campaign has pursued legal efforts to halt the vote counting in some states and is seeking a recount in Wisconsin.
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Biden says that “the process is working” and “we’ll know very soon” the outcome of the election. Biden and his top campaign officials have expressed confidence about the vote but have been careful to emphasize the need for every ballot to be counted.
Biden’s running mate, California Sen. Kamala Harris, stood next to him as he spoke.
The Associated Press has not called the presidential race yet because neither Biden nor Trump has secured the 270 Electoral College votes needed for victory. Several key states remain too early to call — Pennsylvania, Georgia, North Carolina and Nevada.
— Associated Press
4:27 p.m.: Georgia presidential count tightens in scan of last ballots
Vote counting continued in several Georgia counties on Thursday as Americans watched to see whether the state gives Democrat Joe Biden the electoral votes he needs to become president.
The Associated Press has not declared a winner in Georgia, because the race between President Donald Trump and Biden is still too early to call. With thousands of ballots still being tallied in counties that tend to vote blue, Democrats had reason for optimism.
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The secretary of state’s office announced that as of 2:40 p.m. there were about 47,277 votes remaining to be counted. Gabriel Sterling, who has overseen the implementation of Georgia’s new electronic voting system, said the secretary of state’s office has long said counting could take several days.
During an afternoon news conference in the state Capitol, Sterling did not offer an estimate for when he expected counties to finish tabulating their results. He said officials are working diligently and he emphasized his confidence in the legitimacy of the process.
“I think if anybody was going to try to rig a system they might have seen something a little less close than this,” Sterling said. “In this state in particular we take security very seriously. ... We’re going to have a recount for president more than likely and the people will see that the outcome will stay essentially the same.”
— Associated Press
4:12 p.m.: Pennsylvania anticipates quick progress on vote counting
Pennsylvania had hundreds of thousands of ballots left to count Thursday, but the state’s elections chief signaled the number was expected to dwindle rapidly as Democrat Joe Biden and President Donald Trump fought to the end for the White House.
Some of the state’s most heavily populated locales, including Montgomery and Chester counties in the Philadelphia suburbs, reported finishing their tallies. The counting continued in Philadelphia and in other counties throughout Pennsylvania two days after Election Day.
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“It’s looking like we are ahead of schedule,” Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar, an official in the administration of Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf, said on CNN Thursday. She added that “it is looking like we’ll have the overwhelming majority counted by today.”
The Trump campaign and the Republican Party mounted several legal challenges to aspects of the vote count, contending, for example, that GOP election observers were kept too far away from the tabulation in Philadelphia, that some Democratic-leaning counties unfairly allowed people to fix technical problems with their mail-in ballots, and that mail-in ballots arriving after Tuesday should not be counted.
Trump scored one legal victory as intermediate state appeals court on Thursday granted more access to party and candidate observers, allowing them to get closer — 6 feet away — to election workers processing mail-in ballots in Philadelphia.
— Associated Press
3:53 p.m.: Biden’s slim lead in Nevada grows as more results released
With the country turning its attention to Nevada’s vote count, Democrat Joe Biden’s slim lead over President Donald Trump grew slightly, to more than 11,000 votes, as more results were released Thursday.
In Clark County, which includes Las Vegas and three-quarters of the state’s population, election officials said workers are counting tens of thousands of mail-in ballots, and the bulk should be counted by the weekend. On top of that, tens of thousands of provisional ballots need to be counted, many of which were cast by people taking advantage of a new law allowing voters to register or update their registration at the polls.
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“Our goal here in Clark County is not to count fast. We want to make sure that we’re being accurate,” Clark County Registrar Joe Gloria said at a news conference in Las Vegas. “The results in the state of Nevada obviously are going to be very important to the entire country, and that is our number one goal.”
He said the large number of mail-in ballots is new to Nevada, so the counting process has taken longer than normal. The state mailed ballots to all active registered voters this year because of the coronavirus pandemic, a move that the Trump campaign has challenged, claiming it would lead to fraud.
Unlike some counties in the U.S. where election staff are counting ballots round the clock, Clark County employees are working shifts from 5:00 a.m. to 10:00 or 11:00 p.m. and counting and verifying mail-in ballots in planned stages, Gloria said.
“The work that comes through on the mail ballot process is very deliberate,” he said. “We’re not concerned with reading as fast as we can. We’re concerned with making sure that we’re accurate in what we report.”
— Associated Press
2:35 p.m.: No, ballots weren’t burned in Virginia Beach, officials say again after Eric Trump circulates misleading video
At 5 p.m. on Election Day, the city of Virginia Beach had a message for the public: No one has been burning up your vote.
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A concerned citizen had shared a video with the city “that ostensibly shows someone burning ballots,” officials wrote in a news release.
But have no fear. Those were sample ballots, not official ones, the city said.
The video showed someone setting on fire a plastic bag full of what looked like paper ballots, according to CNN. The person didn’t show their face but claimed the 80 ballots were “all for President Trump.” The location was not identified but the papers stated they were from Virginia Beach.
More of this story here. — Katherine Hafner, The Virginian-Pilot
1:33 p.m.: Michigan judge dismisses Trump campaign lawsuit
A Michigan judge has dismissed a lawsuit by President Donald Trump’s campaign in a dispute over whether Republican challengers had access to the handling of absentee ballots.
Judge Cynthia Stephens noted that the lawsuit was filed late Wednesday afternoon, just hours before the last ballots were counted. She also said the defendant, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, was the wrong person to sue because she doesn’t control the logistics of local ballot counting, even if she is the state’s chief election officer.
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The Associated Press called the Michigan presidential election for Democrat Joe Biden on Wednesday evening. Trump won the state in 2016.
The lawsuit claimed Benson, a Democrat, was allowing absentee ballots to be counted without teams of bipartisan observers as well as challengers. She was accused of undermining the “constitutional right of all Michigan voters ... to participate in fair and lawful elections.”
Benson, through state attorneys, denied the allegations. Much of the dispute centered on the TCF Center in Detroit where pro-Trump protesters gathered while absentee ballots were being counted.
— Associated Press
12:12 p.m.: Georgia judge dismisses Trump campaign lawsuit
A judge in Georgia has dismissed a lawsuit by the state Republican Party and President Donald Trump’s campaign that asked him to ensure a coastal county was following state laws on processing absentee ballots.
Chatham County Superior Court Judge James Bass did not provide an explanation for his decision Thursday at the close of a roughly one-hour hearing. The county includes the heavily Democratic city of Savannah.
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The suit had raised concerns about 53 absentee ballots that poll observers said were not part of an original batch of ballots. County elections officials testified that all 53 ballots had been received on time.
For more on the Trump campaign’s legal challenges, click here.
—Associated Press
A tweet from the president of the United States on Nov. 5, 2020, which has been flagged and partially restricted by Twitter for spreading false information about the election. Trump is calling for an end to ballot counting as authorities in states such as Georgia, Pennsylvania, Arizona and Nevada keep counting valid ballots.
10:52 a.m.: Trump demands vote-counting stop on Twitter — a baseless claim outside of his authority
With Joe Biden edging closer to unseating him from the White House, President Donald Trump says he wants to put a halt to vote counting.
The extraordinary statement by an incumbent president to voice support for ceasing the count of legally cast votes came in a Thursday morning tweet, saying only: “STOP THE COUNT!”
He later tweeted, falsely, that ballots that came in after Election Day would not be counted. Different states have different laws in America’s decentralized election system. Some legally allow votes to arrive after Nov. 3, as long as they are postmarked before the end of Election Day.
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False. In Illinois, if your ballot was postmarked by Nov. 3 and is received by Nov. 17, it WILL be counted. pic.twitter.com/5by58XtQZR — Dan Petrella (@PetrellaReports) November 5, 2020
Elections are run by individual state, county and local governments. Trump’s public comments have no impact on the tallying of votes across the country.
So far, the vote count across the country has been conducted efficiently and without evidence of any misconduct, despite Trump’s public complaints.
Trump’s comments come as his campaign has filed legal action in several states to try to stop vote counting, claiming a lack of transparency. Still, Trump’s campaign has held out hope that continued counting in Arizona could overcome a Biden lead in the state.
—Associated Press
10:46 a.m.: Arizona says 450,000 ballots still to be counted
Arizona state officials say there are about 450,000 ballots still to be counted in the Western battleground.
The AP says it is monitoring that vote count as it comes in. The AP has called the presidential race in Arizona for Democrat Joe Biden.
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AP executive editor Sally Buzbee says: “The Associated Press continues to watch and analyze vote count results from Arizona. We will follow the facts in all cases.”
Biden holds a 2.35 percentage point lead over Trump in Arizona, an advantage of about 68,000 votes.
The vast majority of the ballots yet to be counted are from Maricopa County, the most populous area of the state.
This entry has been corrected to show that 450,000 ballots are still to be counted, not 375,000
—Associated Press
10:02 a.m.: Fox News leads Trump-Biden election night coverage with a record audience
Fox News was the top choice among viewers for coverage of the 2020 election as President Donald Trump and his opponent, former Vice President Joe Biden, were in a tight battle for 270 electoral votes.
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But Nielsen data showed a lot fewer viewers turned to TV for presidential election coverage than in 2016, when Trump won the presidency in his race against Hillary Clinton.
Nielsen data showed Fox News, led by anchors Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum, averaged 13.8 million viewers, a record for cable news coverage of a presidential election, from 8-11 p.m. ET.
CNN finished second for the night (with 9.1 million viewers), followed by MSNBC (7.3 million), ABC (6.1 million), NBC (5.6 million), the Fox broadcast network (3.3 million), Fox Business (366,000) and CNBC (117,000).
Coverage also aired on WGN America, PBS, Telemundo, Univision and CNN en Espanol.
Fox News has seen its ratings surge overall in 2020, some nights topping all other networks on cable and broadcast television. For the second presidential cycle in a row, the top-three finish of Fox News, CNN and MSNBC shows how cable news has become the main destination for politically engaged viewers, taking the mantle from broadcast networks, which have long used their presidential election night coverage to showcase their news operations.
While Nielsen has yet to release a total figure on viewers who watched election coverage in prime time, the early numbers indicate it will be down significantly from the 71.4 million viewers in 2016.
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The drop is likely a reflection of the overall decline in the usage of traditional television, especially among viewers under the age of 50. Many news outlets made streaming coverage of election results available on a wide range of platforms.
The live stream of CNN’s coverage had a peak 1.1 million concurrent viewers streaming at its peak on election night over a number of digital platforms. CBSN, the digital stream of CBS News, had 19.5 million unique visitors on Election Day, a new record for the service.
The TV number also may have dropped as it became apparent that no winner was going to be declared on the night.
—Stephen Battaglio, Los Angeles Times
Ramiro Collazo waves a Trump flag outside Versailles Cuban restaurant on Nov. 4, 2020, in Little Havana, Miami. (Wilfredo Lee/AP)
9:15 a.m.: Democrats wonder, ‘What went wrong in Florida?’
In Florida, a state famous for razor-thin margins, the size of former Vice President Joe Biden’s loss to President Donald Trump was humiliating for Democrats and sent many searching for answers to how they failed to close the deal with voters — again.
Democrats zeroed in on two clear explanations: Biden didn’t connect with the state’s Latino voters, performing particularly poorly with Cuban voters in South Florida. They also second-guessed the party’s decision to freeze in-person organizing during the worst of the pandemic, a decision that set them back in reaching voters.
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“Clearly, Biden was not able to capture the imagination of the Florida electorate and create the type of enthusiasm to go out and vote for Biden like Trump did with his base of supporters in the state,” said Fernand Amandi, a Miami-based Democratic pollster. “It’s an unacceptable record of futility. What makes it so vexing is that the problems that need to be fixed are so apparent. But they just don’t get fixed.”
Amandi focused on the Biden campaign’s struggles to connect with Hispanic voters in the state.
Trump and Republicans pummeled Biden for months with misleading claims suggesting he was a “socialist” and would cater to the left wing of the Democratic Party. The attacks carried added power with Cuban and Venezuelan Americans, who associate the labels with authoritarian and corrupt Latin American leaders.
Biden’s weakness was most evident in his underperformance in Miami-Dade County, which has the state’s deepest concentration of Hispanic voters, particularly Cuban Americans. Biden won the county, the state’s most populous, by just 7 percentage points — compared with Democrat Hillary Clinton’s 30-point victory margin four years ago against Trump.
AP VoteCast, a survey of the Florida electorate, found Trump won 58% of Cuban American voters statewide, while voters with South American heritage split evenly between Biden and Trump. The survey said Puerto Rican voters backed Biden by about 2 to 1.
The relatively poor showing in South Florida hurt other Democrats, as Republicans swept out two Miami-area congressional incumbents — Reps. Donna Shalala and Debbie Mucarsel-Powell.
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“When you look at Miami-Dade in particular, there was a lot of advertising on the other side of the aisle dealing with socialism and in some cases even the word communism,” said Democratic Rep. Charlie Crist, a former Republican governor who has held three statewide offices.
“I think that obviously had an impact,” Crist said. “When you’re attacked you need to fight back. I’m not sure how much of the fighting back occurred on our side.”
—Associated Press
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi talks to reporters about election results at the Democratic National Committee headquarters in Washington on Nov. 3, 2020. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP)
8:15 a.m.: No ‘blue wave’ appears for Democrats in Congress
The election scrambled seats in the House and Senate but ultimately left Congress much like it began, deeply split as voters resisted big changes despite the heated race at the top of the ticket for the White House.
It’s an outcome that dampens Democratic demands for a bold new agenda, emboldens Republicans and almost ensures partisan gridlock regardless of who wins the presidency. Or perhaps, as some say, it provides a rare opening for modest across-the-aisle cooperation.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi was on track to keep control of the Democratic House, but saw her majority shrinking and her leadership called into question. Control of the Senate tilted Republicans' way as they fended off an onslaught of energized challengers, though a few races remained undecided Wednesday.
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House Republicans picked up five seats, so far, deflating Pelosi’s plans to reach deep into Trump country by making rare gains with women and minority candidates. Republicans defeated several Democratic freshmen who delivered the House majority in 2018 in a backlash against Trump.
By evening, Pelosi had all but declared Democrat Joe Biden the winner, saying House Democrats “will now have the opportunity to deliver extraordinary progress” on party priorities — lowering health care costs, providing jobs through new infrastructure and others.
Most immediately, a COVID relief bill remains within reach, as the pandemic blazes through the states. GOP Leader Mitch McConnell said he would also like to negotiate a big spending bill to keep the government running past a mid-December deadline.
A handful of new progressives will be coming to Washington to join House Democrats, while Republicans will see new right-flank members, including Marjorie Taylor Greene, who has espoused unfounded QAnon conspiracy theories and won a vacant seat in northwest Georgia. Trump has called Greene a “future Republican star.”
One certainty is the upended projections will force a rethinking of polling, fundraising and the very messages the parties use to reach voters in the Trump era and beyond.
—Associated Press
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Poll challengers watch absentee ballots being processed at the TCF center in Detroit on Nov. 4, 2020. (Kimberly P. Mitchell/Detroit Free Press)
12:05 a.m.: Trump supporters converge on vote centers in Michigan and Arizona
Dozens of angry supporters of President Donald Trump converged on vote-counting centers in Detroit and Phoenix as the returns went against him Wednesday in the two key states, while thousands of anti-Trump protesters demanding a complete tally of the ballots in the still-undecided election took to the streets in cities across the U.S.
“Stop the count!” the Trump supporters chanted in Detroit. “Stop the Steal,” they chanted in Phoenix.
The protests came as the president insisted without evidence that there were major problems with the voting and the ballot counting, and as Republicans filed suit in multiple states over the election.
The Phoenix protesters filled much of the parking lot at the Maricopa County election center, where sheriff’s deputies were guarding both the outside of the building and the counting inside.
More on this story here. —Associated Press
Wednesday:
10:42 p.m.: Riot declared in Portland as protesters smash windows
A riot was declared in Portland, Oregon, and protesters took to the streets in Seattle on Wednesday as people demanded that every vote in Tuesday’s election be counted. Hundreds were protesting in both cities against President Donald Trump’s court challenges to stop the vote count in battleground states.
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The Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office at about 7 p.m. declared a riot after protesters were seen smashing windows at businesses. In the interest of public safety, Gov. Kate Brown activated the use of the state National Guard to help local law enforcement manage the unrest, according to the sheriff’s office.
Brown said previously she would keep state troopers, sheriff’s deputies and police officers under a unified command into Friday in Portland to handle protests amid uncertainty over the winner of the U.S. presidential election.
The Oregon National Guard had been on standby. Brown’s order places law enforcement agencies under the joint command of the Oregon State Police and Multnomah County Sheriff’s Department, which allows those agencies to use tear gas if necessary to quell unrest. Mayor Ted Wheeler, who is also police commissioner, banned the use of tear gas by Portland police earlier this fall after concerns about an overly aggressive response to the unrest.
More of the story here. —Associated Press
10:38 p.m.: Police: At least 20 arrests at post-election protest in NYC
At least 20 people were arrested Wednesday night at a post-Election Day protest in New York City after police say piles of trash were set on fire and bottles were hurled at officers.
The arrests happened after hundreds of marchers demanding the counting of every presidential election vote converged on Manhattan’s Washington Square Park, where a smaller group started rallying against police misconduct.
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Some of the people arrested were fighting with officers while others were blocking traffic, police said. The police department tweeted photos of several trash fires. Bystander video showed officers in helmets and tactical gear swarming protesters.
“We support everyone’s right to self-expression, but setting fires puts others at risk and will not be tolerated,” the NYPD’s tweet said. “We are working to de-escalate the situation... to prevent further damage from occurring.”
—Associated Press
10:30 p.m.: Protesters in Portland, Seattle: ‘Count Every Vote’
Protesters took to the streets in Portland, Oregon and in Seattle on Wednesday demanding that every vote in Tuesday’s election be counted. Hundreds of people were protesting in both cities against President Donald Trump’s court challenges to stop the vote count in battleground states.
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown said Wednesday she will keep state troopers, sheriff’s deputies and police officers under a unified command for an additional 48 hours in Portland to handle protests amid uncertainty over the winner of the U.S. presidential election.
More of the story here. —Associated Press
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10:24 p.m.: Fox’s Arizona call for Joe Biden flipped the mood at Trump campaign headquarters
With Florida looking red early on Tuesday night, President Donald Trump and his advisers thought they were witnessing a repeat of election night 2016, when a victory in Florida foreshadowed a victory overall.
Inside the East Room, the mood was upbeat as hundreds of people, including Cabinet secretaries, ambassadors and former officials who have remained loyal to Trump, mingled and dined on sliders and french fries. Officials who had been pessimistic about the president’s reelection chances suddenly started to picture four more years in power.
That mirage of victory was pierced when Fox News called Arizona for former Vice President Joe Biden at 11:20 p.m., with just 73% of the state’s vote counted.
More of the story here. —The New York Times
9:45 p.m.: Armed agents are allowed in ballot-counting locations around the country, Justice Dept. tells prosecutors
The Justice Department told federal prosecutors in an email early on Wednesday that the law allowed them to send armed federal officers to ballot-counting locations around the country to investigate potential voter fraud, according to three people who described the message.
The email created the specter of the federal government intimidating local election officials or otherwise intervening in vote tallying amid calls by President Donald Trump to end the tabulating in states where he was trailing in the presidential race, former officials said.
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More of the story here. —The New York Times
[ For earlier updates, click here. ]


chicagotribune--2020-11-06--There’s another election in Chicago this month — and it’s already caused its own controversy over ma

There’s another election in Chicago this month — and it’s already caused its own controversy over mail-in ballots

“ I don ’ t know if this is even practical , but in my idealistic mind , I feel @ @ @ @ @ involvement , I could figure out how to get our neighbors to engage and actively @ @ @ @ @ school so that we have a diverse school that mirrors our community , ” she @ @ @ @ @ ’ m not a teacher , I ’ m just a parent .
But there @ @ @ @ @ other schools , that I know our school is missing .
”

As mail-in ballots cast in the presidential election hold the nation’s attention, Chicago Public Schools says it will count ballots postmarked by election day for its local school council races.
The district initially said votes needed to be in by Nov. 18 for elementary schools and Nov. 19 for high schools, but now will allow ballots in the mail by those dates to count if they are received by Nov. 30, according to a letter responding to concerns from community groups.
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This year’s council elections — postponed from April because of COVID-19 — are competitive at some schools and wide open at others, with 5,910 candidates vying for 5,672 spots, and nearly 700 seats with no one running. That’s an improvement over the last election two years ago, when only 5,658 candidates ran for 5,730 seats.
The small elected bodies were in the spotlight when councils at 72 schools voted on whether to keep Chicago police officers stationed on campus, during a summer of protests in which the Chicago Board of Education approved another contract with the Chicago Police Department. With 55 schools keeping officers and 17 removing them, the issue also drew attention to how many of the groups had vacancies and lacked quorum.
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The district cited the policing issue as one of the reasons for the “renewed interest” in the school council elections, along with “a robust marketing strategy” that included email and social media campaigns, targeted ads and radio spots.
For first-time candidate Jo Etta Harris at Shoesmith Elementary in Kenwood, some of that rings true. Events over the summer, including the school police votes, opened her eyes to the kinds of decisions LSCs are responsible for.
First-time local school council candidate Jo Etta Harris with her children, Bronson Harris Shaw, 6, left, and Ophelia Harris-Shaw, 9, at their Chicago home. She's running for a seat at Shoesmith Elementary in Kenwood. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
“I saw how much money was set aside for cops to be in schools,” Harris said. “I thought, ‘Wow, so you get to vote on these things if you’re on the (council)?’ I know there are bigger things, but that got a lightbulb going off in my head.”
Her decision to run was further influenced by her first-grade son’s switch to Keller Regional Gifted Center, a selective enrollment elementary school in Mount Greenwood, while her fourth-grade daughter continued going to Shoesmith. “I’m pro-neighborhood school, but I was very curious what the selective enrollment, best-of-the-best schools in Illinois thing had to offer,'" Harris said.
In addition to more resources at Keller, parents seemed more involved, and she began to think about the school council at Shoesmith. Though Harris already volunteers there, she’d never seriously thought about the LSC before, with an impression they were sometimes steppingstones for people with political aspirations.
“I never really had my eye on the LSC,” she said. “It seemed like people drawn to it are trying to build up some type of name in the community."
Last time, there weren’t as many candidates as seats, and she wondered if she should have run. But up until filing papers were due in October, she wasn’t sure about it. While deliberating, Harris looked at what schools had the most openings.
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“I noticed that it was a lot of the West Side and South Side and schools with a predominantly Black demographic. … At a cultural level, a personal, level, I just thought you know, we as Black people have to do better for our kids too. We need to run. Not for political gain, just to be there as an advocate for not only my own children but also for other kids."
About 91% of Shoesmith students are Black, and Harris said that doesn’t reflect the diversity of her neighborhood.
“I don’t know if this is even practical, but in my idealistic mind, I feel like maybe that level of involvement, I could figure out how to get our neighbors to engage and actively send their kids to the school so that we have a diverse school that mirrors our community,” she said. “… I’m not a teacher, I’m just a parent. But there are things I see in other schools, that I know our school is missing.”
Harris said she is one of six Shoesmith parents running, along with three community members, two teachers and one other staff member.
Running her first campaign during a pandemic, Harris would like more guidance from CPS on how to reach out to other parents who aren’t usually engaged. The candidates had a virtual forum, but they were the only ones who logged in. Overall, though, Harris said she feels good about running.
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Seeking more opportunities for participation, LSCs.4.ALL, a coalition of parents and community groups, asked the district in a letter last week for more information about the upcoming elections.
“We appreciate the challenges CPS faces in conducting this election during a pandemic, but have serious concerns about whether these processes will meet CPS' constitutional obligations to ensure a free and equal LSC election," the letter states.
It outlined four primary concerns: the tight timeline for mail-in ballots, which CPS planned to send out this week; ballot security; access, particularly for families experiencing homelessness; and providing information on candidates to voters.
“We have heard concerns from many parents and community members about inconsistencies and confusion in CPS' distribution of information about candidates,” according to the letter.
This week, director of LSC relations Guillermo Montes De Oca responded, noting that the Illinois General Assembly had allowed CPS to modify its election process. The district implemented mail-in voting for parents and staff, who can also vote in-person or curbside, and there is online voting for high school students and in-person voting for community members.
LSCs at high schools can have one student member, and fellow high school students can vote for them.
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“We disagree that the LSC elections process, as laid out, violates the Constitution,” De Oca wrote. “However, based on your feedback and concerns, we have reassessed our election processes.”
In addition to counting ballots postmarked by the election dates, he wrote that on the day the groups sent their letter, the district extended the deadline for candidates to submit campaign literature.
When Harris told her daughter she planned to run, the fourth grader asked why.
“She thought it was pretty funny I put some corny picture of myself with a candidate statement,” Harris said. “... I explained to her, ‘I want to be involved and advocate for you and for your classmates.’”
Her son thought it was cool and wondered why she didn’t run at his school. “Your school, they’re covered,” Harris said.
hleone@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-11-06--Mayor Lori Lightfoot says she can’t yet put a date on Chicago Public Schools' reopening: ‘That’s sti

Mayor Lori Lightfoot says she can’t yet put a date on Chicago Public Schools' reopening: ‘That’s still very much a work in progress’

All four of the schools with the most cases this quarter were declared acceptable for re-occupancy in the district ’ @ @ @ @ @ though not every space in each building was cleared .
Nightingale had 94 rooms declared @ @ @ @ @ were not ready , with mechanical ventilation in 18 rooms needing repair or nonexistent .
@ @ @ @ @ and 11 not ready , with mechanical ventilation in 13 rooms needing repair or nonexistent @ @ @ @ @ ready and 19 not , with mechanical ventilation in 19 rooms needing repair or nonexistent @ @ @ @ @ ready and nine not , with mechanical ventilation in 35 rooms needing repair or nonexistent @

Thursday marked the final day of student attendance for the virtual fall quarter, and Chicago Public Schools has yet to publicly announce a date for a return to classrooms, beyond its plan to offer in-person learning to students in prekindergarten and special education clusters sometime before 2020 is over.
CPS also has not publicly released the outcome of intent-to-return surveys submitted by parents of eligible students.
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Regardless of rumors circulating, they won’t be going back on Monday, the first day of the second quarter, CTU President Jesse Sharkey said in an update to members Wednesday.
“Although some principals continue to tell staff otherwise, Chicago Public Schools officials told us during bargaining today that they do not plan to reopen school buildings to returning students and staff on Monday,” Sharkey wrote.
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CPS officials confirmed they aren’t bringing staff back Monday and all students will still begin the quarter remotely, but did not say when they will announce more details.
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Thursday revealed no new details but reiterated that any decision about schools will be based in public health guidance.
“That’s still very much a work in progress. I don’t want to put a specific date on it,” Lightfoot said during a news conference. “... We’re not going to do anything that puts kids in harms way, but we’ve got to start thinking about a path that gets those kids who are falling behind back into school and that’s precisely what’s happening.”
Asked what happened to the metrics CPS cited over the summer as thresholds for keeping schools closed, Chicago Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said since then, there has been a lot of new information about COVID-19 and schools.
“What we have seen broadly is that around the country, even around the world... school transmission has not been the major source of spread that we honestly expected that it would be,” Arwady said.
Though CPS hasn’t provided information on the parent surveys, last saying on Friday they were “currently being analyzed,” Sharkey said the union has information indicating that most parents said no.
“We’ve heard from school after school that parents surveyed by CPS overwhelmingly responded that they were not comfortable with their children returning for in-person learning,” Sharkey wrote. “Because CPS and the mayor know that buildings aren’t ready to be reopened, despite their claims in the press.”
Earlier Wednesday, the district released an assessment of ventilation and air quality showing 94% of school spaces and 99% of classrooms are cleared for students to return. A state-licensed industrial hygienist conducted an independent air quality assessment, while CPS did its own ventilation assessment. District leaders also said they will spend $8.5 million to buy air purifiers for classrooms used by students and staff spaces that don’t have mechanical ventilation.
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With the city’s seven-day rolling average for daily COVID-19 cases up to 1,395 and positivity rate at 10.9%, Sharkey called the air quality news “a red herring,” serving to distract from the rising cases, a labor arbitration dispute and “the mayor and CPS continuing to keep the results of the district’s parent survey a secret.”
“We suspect this last point is because the results are similar to the results from the summer, when CPS parents — Black and brown parents especially — refused in large numbers to send their children into unsafe school buildings,” Sharkey wrote.
He asked members to let their field representatives know if their administrators told them to report to work Monday.
While local public health officials and researchers in other cities have said transmission is rare in day cares and schools if proper precautions are taken, the district last week reported by far the greatest number of COVID-19 cases tied to its buildings in any week since the pandemic closed them in March, despite remote learning.
All 47 confirmed cases for the week ending Oct. 31 were adults, who were in a school building while likely contagious, according to CPS. The second-highest case total was reported the week before, with 29 adults testing positive.
Though students and most staff have been learning or working from home, a limited number of employees have been reporting to buildings, such as clerks, security officers, technology coordinators, cafeteria workers, custodians and administrators. Some schools have also hosted standardized testing or opened as regional “learning hubs” for a limited number of children to be supervised by CPS or a community-based organization during the remote school day.
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Of the 185 cases reported this quarter, most have been isolated, with 41 schools reporting two or more cases, and two cases among administrative staff members.
Four elementary schools — Edwards, Pulaski, Nightingale and Christopher — have each reported four cases. Eight schools — Brunson, Greeley, Hammond, Ogden and Yates elementaries and Hubbard High School, Lake View High School and Northside Prep — have each reported three cases, according to CPS data. Of the nine elementary school “learning hubs” listed by the district, Nightingale has reported four cases, Wadsworth has had two cases, Schubert and Jamieson have each had one case and the other five have reported no cases this quarter. Three additional learning hubs are at community sites.
All four of the schools with the most cases this quarter were declared acceptable for re-occupancy in the district’s air quality assessment, though not every space in each building was cleared. Nightingale had 94 rooms declared ready and 11 rooms that were not ready, with mechanical ventilation in 18 rooms needing repair or nonexistent. Edwards had 240 rooms ready and 11 not ready, with mechanical ventilation in 13 rooms needing repair or nonexistent. Pulaski had 71 rooms ready and 19 not, with mechanical ventilation in 19 rooms needing repair or nonexistent. And Christopher had 59 ready and nine not, with mechanical ventilation in 35 rooms needing repair or nonexistent.
Students will only return to rooms that have been cleared, according to CPS.
hleone@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-11-06--Pritzker says it’s time for House Speaker Michael Madigan to be replaced as head of Illinois Democra

Pritzker says it’s time for House Speaker Michael Madigan to be replaced as head of Illinois Democrats

“ This is now a question for lots of other folks to answer .
Come January we will have to @ @ @ @ @ speaker and I ’ ve already made clear I have no intention of voting for @ @ @ @ @ have a fair number of others and I expect we ’ ll start to hear @ @ @ @ @ to be able to move forward as we head into a session where we ’ @ @ @ @ @ problems to solve , ” she said .

After the defeat of his signature policy initiative at the polls this week, Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Thursday said Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan should no longer be in charge of the state Democratic Party.
The powerful Southwest Side Democrat was quick to respond, issuing a statement saying that he’s not going anywhere.
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Although Pritzker previously has said Madigan should answer questions about Commonwealth Edison’s admission that it engaged in a yearslong bribery scheme to try to win the speaker’s favor, the governor has stopped short of questioning his party chairmanship.
Pritzker’s comments came after U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin told WTTW-Ch. 11 in an interview Wednesday that he believes both the governor’s graduated-rate income tax proposal and down-ballot Democratic candidates suffered on Tuesday because of Madigan’s continued role as party chairman.
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As they have in every election in recent memory, Illinois Republicans ran campaigns up and down the ballot painting Madigan as the real opponent. While the strategy hasn’t always paid off, the ongoing federal corruption probe circling Madigan — who has not been charged and denies any wrongdoing — may have given their argument new resonance with voters this year.
With some observers anticipating Democrats could add to their 74-44 majority in the Illinois House, unofficial results suggest the GOP may make a net gain of two seats.
“Candidates who had little or no connection with him whatsoever were being tarred as Madigan allies who are behind corruption and so forth and so on,” said Durbin, who won a fifth term on Tuesday. “It was really disconcerting to see the price that we paid on that. I hope he takes that to heart and understands that his presence as chairman of our party has not helped.”
While Durbin didn’t directly call for Madigan to resign, Pritzker was asked at his daily coronavirus briefing Thursday whether he agrees “with Sen. Durbin that we need new leadership at the party.”
“Yes,” Pritzker said.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker, left, and House Speaker Michael Madigan appear together in Springfield in 2019. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune / Chicago Tribune)
Pritzker sidestepped an initial question about whether Madigan’s leadership and his role in the federal investigation contributed to the defeat of the graduated income tax.
“Opponents were able to tap into voters' concerns about corruption and their lack of trust in government," said Pritzker, a billionaire heir to the Hyatt Hotels fortune. “The Republicans and the billionaires that sided with them were effectively able to use the speaker as their foil, and that hurt our ability, our state’s ability, to get things done.”
Madigan has been under fire from many within his own party since federal prosecutors in July released a deferred prosecution agreement in which ComEd admitted awarding jobs, payments and contracts to Madigan associates in an attempt to win his support for favorable legislation.
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Prompted by a petition from House Republican leader Jim Durkin of Western Springs, the chamber convened a special committee to investigate Madigan’s role and whether he should face potential discipline. Republicans on the committee have accused Democrats of stonewalling, and a hearing scheduled for Thursday was canceled.
Last month, Democratic state Rep. Stephanie Kifowit of Oswego said she would run to replace Madigan as House speaker.
She is among a handful of House Democrats who have called for Madigan to resign as party chairman, speaker or both, though no legislators have publicly supported Kifowit as their choice to replace him. Some Democrats in the state Senate and other offices also have called for Madigan to step down.
Democratic state Rep. Kelly Cassidy of Chicago, one of the members of Madigan’s caucus who have called for him to step down from both his legislative and political leadership posts, said she agreed that the speaker had a negative impact on Democratic candidates and initiatives on Tuesday and that a change was needed.
“The reality is in his dual roles as both speaker and party chair, it’s become a distinction without a difference, right? He is the face of our party. He is the face of our caucus. And that has been used effectively against a lot of folks that unfortunately did, as Sen. Durbin put it, paid a very heavy price,” Cassidy told Illinois Public Radio’s “The 21st” show.
“This is now a question for lots of other folks to answer. Come January we will have to vote for our choice for speaker and I’ve already made clear I have no intention of voting for him as speaker again as have a fair number of others and I expect we’ll start to hear from more who want us to be able to move forward as we head into a session where we’ve got a lot of problems to solve,” she said.
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Madigan, who has been speaker for all but two years since 1983 and was elected without opposition to his 26th term in the House on Tuesday, said he has no plans to step aside.
“I am proud of my record electing Democrats who support workers and families and represent the diversity of our state,” he said in a statement. "Together, we have successfully advanced progressive policies that have made Illinois a strong Democratic state with supermajorities in the legislature.
"Illinois is the anchor in the ‘blue wall’ that has been reconstructed in the Midwest, and I look forward to continuing our fight for working families as chairman of the Democratic Party of Illinois.”
Republicans weren’t rushing to welcome Pritzker to their cause. Illinois GOP Chairman Tim Schneider, who has regularly pushed the Democratic governor to issue a stronger response about Madigan, called Pritzker’s comments a “cop-out.”
Schneider said a Madigan departure as Democratic chairman would be a “superficial and political demotion” that does nothing to “end Madigan’s reign of corruption as speaker of the House.”
dpetrella@chicagotribune.com
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chicagotribune--2020-11-06--Sangamon County judge dismisses lawsuits challenging Pritzker’s coronavirus orders

But all 11 regions of the state are back under restrictions that shuttered indoor dining and bar service and lowered @ @ @ @ @ people , and some restaurant and bar owners and local elected officials have said they @ @ @ @ @ rules .
The state reported 7,538 newly diagnosed cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday , the @ @ @ @ @ has seen , just behind the 7,899 new diagnoses reported on Saturday .

Springfield — A judge in central Illinois this week dismissed a group of lawsuits that challenged J.B. Pritzker’s coronavirus orders by alleging that a public health emergency does not exist in the plaintiffs’ counties.
Sangamon County Circuit Court Judge Raylene Grischow dismissed lawsuits but gave the plaintiffs until Thanksgiving to refile, writing that she “cautions counsel to set forth facts to support conclusions.”
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The plaintiffs used “just three factual allegations” in support of their theory that a public health emergency doesn’t exist in their respective counties: “the total number of people who have been tested for, contracted and died from COVID-19 in each of their counties,” Grischow wrote in her ruling, issued Wednesday.
The judge ruled that those allegations are not sufficient to prove the plaintiffs' claim that COVID-19 does not fit the legal definition of public health emergency in their counties.
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Several lawsuits with near-identical arguments were filed earlier this year by attorney Tom DeVore and consolidated in Sangamon County by the Illinois Supreme Court. A separate lawsuit challenging Pritzker’s authority to issue successive pandemic-related orders and restrictions brought by Republican state Rep. Darren Bailey, of Xenia, was also added to that group. Grischow told Bailey to follow the same requirements as the plaintiffs in the other six cases, for filing an amended complaint.
DeVore said Thursday he plans to file amended complaints and said the goal of the consolidated cases is to have a judge answer the question: “Do we even have a disaster that rises to the level under the law for the governor to have any authority, regardless to what extent he might have?”
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker speaks during a daily news conference regarding the coronavirus pandemic and other issues on Nov. 4, 2020, at the Thompson Center in Chicago. (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune)
Pritzker has been facing increasing pushback for recent rule-tightening on every region of the state. Many of the restrictions in place during the state’s first surge this spring were eased over the summer, as the state reached bench marks set in Pritzker’s reopening plan that allowed for indoor dining to resume, bars to reopen and gatherings of up to 50 people to be sanctioned.
But all 11 regions of the state are back under restrictions that shuttered indoor dining and bar service, and lowered the gathering cap to 25 people, and some restaurant and bar owners and local elected officials have said they plan to flout the state-imposed rules. The state reported 7,538 newly diagnosed cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, the second highest-daily total the state has seen, just behind the 7,899 new diagnoses reported Saturday.
Bailey initially sued the governor in April, challenging his authority under the state’s Emergency Management Agency Act to extend beyond 30 days the statewide stay-at-home order that was then in place.
A Clay County judge ruled that Bailey, but only Bailey, could disregard the order. He then withdrew and refiled an amended lawsuit in the southern Illinois court, and the same judge, Michael McHaney, in early July ruled on Bailey’s lawsuit, declaring void Pritzker’s orders aimed at curbing the spread of the coronavirus.
The state attorney general’s office asked the Illinois Supreme Court to intervene, and it ultimately opted to consolidate Bailey’s suit with others in Sangamon County.
jmunks@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-11-06--Pritzker warns of potential statewide crackdown as COVID-19 death toll surpasses 10,000 and daily ca

Pritzker warns of potential statewide crackdown as COVID-19 death toll surpasses 10,000 and daily case count sets another new high

“ Ultimately , the decision to travel or to have an event or to have a large Thanksgiving feast is @ @ @ @ @ I want to make sure that you can ’ t say you didn ’ t @ @ @ @ @ the knowledge that COVID-19 is a serious disease , it ’ s led to millions @ @ @ @ @ thousands of deaths worldwide , '' Ezike said .

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)
Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Thursday said he will again impose tougher statewide restrictions if the latest resurgence of the coronavirus, which has now claimed more than 10,000 lives in Illinois, continues to escalate.
Pritzker’s warning of a potential statewide order is a departure from his messages in recent weeks that the state will stick to cracking down only on regions in his reopening plan when they reach state-set bench marks.
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“If the current trajectory continues, if our hospitals continue to fill up, if more and more people continue to lose their lives to this disease, we’re going to implement further statewide mitigations, which nobody, and I mean nobody, wants,” Pritzker said during a particularly bleak daily coronavirus briefing.
Officials on Thursday reported 97 additional deaths over the latest 24-hour period, raising the number of deaths statewide since the pandemic began to 10,030, while the daily number of new known cases again hit a new high of 9,935.
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All 11 regions of the state in Pritzker’s reopening plan are already under tightened rules that include a prohibition on indoor dining or bar service and limits on crowds to 25 people. Pritzker has faced mounting pushback to those restrictions, including from some business owners and local elected officials who have openly flouted the rules.
Pritzker on Thursday put the onus on local leaders to enforce the state’s coronavirus orders and said if “high-risk industries” don’t comply and people don’t put off their gatherings, “we’re heading down a very dark, dark path toward where we were last spring.”
Pritzker didn’t specify exactly what additional statewide restrictions would include or give a timeline for when they could be implemented, but said “all the things we looked at and did over the last six months are things that are under consideration for what those new mitigations might look like.”
As recently as Monday, Pritzker said he wasn’t considering implementing another statewide stay-at-home order, the furthest-reaching pandemic measure he’s taken to date. The order took effect March 21 and was in place through part of the spring, until the state entered another phase of his reopening plan where restrictions were loosened.
“If the numbers keep going in the wrong direction, we will need to impose further mitigations,” Pritzker said. “I think we all remember what phase three looked like, what phase two looked like. Those are all things that are under consideration.”
The second phase of Pritzker’s regional, five-phase reopening plan allowed “nonessential” retail stores to reopen for curbside pickup and delivery, and for outdoor activities like golf and boating to resume. The third phase allowed for manufacturing, retail, offices, and salons and barbershops to reopen with capacity limits and physical distancing between people. Gatherings were limited to 10 people.
The entire state entered the fourth phase of Pritzker’s reopening plan in late June, when bars and restaurants were able to reopen for indoor service and gatherings of up to 50 were allowed.
Thursday was the first time the state’s single-day death toll has surpassed 90 since June 11, when it was 91. The record of newly diagnosed cases raised the known statewide case total to 447,491. The previous high was 7,899 on Saturday.
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Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike continued to urge people to make alternative plans for holidays, “COVID-style, and that means virtual.
"We’ll have to stay at home and forgo the large gatherings so that we will have future events that we can be with our friends and family.”
“Ultimately, the decision to travel or to have an event or to have a large Thanksgiving feast is yours to make, but I want to make sure that you can’t say you didn’t have all the information and the knowledge that COVID-19 is a serious disease, it’s led to millions of hospitalizations and hundreds of thousands of deaths worldwide," Ezike said.
Ezike earlier this week warned of a potential hospital bed shortage in parts of the state outside of Chicago and the collar counties, and Pritzker on Thursday called the rise in cases and hospitalizations “unsustainable.”
Colette Hornsby registers people arriving at the Illinois Department of Public Health COVID-19 testing site on West 79th Street in Chicago, Nov. 5, 2020. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)
As of Wednesday night, 3,891 people were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19, with 772 patients in intensive care units and 343 patients on ventilators.
With 86,015 tests conducted over a 24-hour period, the seven-day statewide positivity rate for new cases as a share of the total tests conducted was 9.1% for the period ending Wednesday, up from 7.3% a week earlier and up from 3.5% on Oct. 1.
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Pritzker got some good news this week when a judge in central Illinois ruled a group of lawsuits contending that no public health emergency related to COVID-19 exists in their counties didn’t contain enough facts to support that claim.
Sangamon County Circuit Court Judge Raylene Grischow dismissed the lawsuits and gave the plaintiffs until Thanksgiving to refile, writing that she “cautions counsel to set forth facts to support conclusions.”
In their lawsuits, the plaintiffs used “just three factual allegations” in support of their theory that the legal definition of public health emergency doesn’t exist in their respective counties: “the total number of people who have been tested for, contracted and died from COVID-19 in each of their counties,” Grischow wrote in her ruling to dismiss the claims.
The judge ruled that those allegations are not sufficient to prove the plaintiffs' argument that COVID-19 is not a public health emergency in their counties.
Several of the lawsuits with near-identical arguments, all filed by attorney Tom DeVore, were consolidated in Sangamon County Circuit Court earlier this year. A lawsuit challenging Pritzker’s authority to issue successive pandemic-related orders and restrictions brought by Republican state Rep. Darren Bailey, of Xenia, was also added to that consolidated claims.
DeVore said Thursday he plans to file amended complaints and said the goal of the consolidated cases is to have a judge answer the question: “Do we even have a disaster that rises to the level under the law for the governor to have any authority, regardless to what extent he might have?”
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jmunks@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-11-06--Coronavirus in Illinois updates: State’s COVID-19 death toll surpasses 10,000 as daily case count se

Coronavirus in Illinois updates: State’s COVID-19 death toll surpasses 10,000 as daily case count sets new record high at 9,935 and Pritzker warns of potential crackdown

Though the mural will feature an image of Pedro Duarte and a few other community members who have died , @ @ @ @ @ be of people who are alive .
At the center will be a phoenix holding @ @ @ @ @ that morphs into a border wall and detention cages .
At the top left corner @ @ @ @ @ group of kindergartners playing with Legos in the shape of the city of Chicago .
@ @ @ @ @ portraits of some essential workers from the neighborhood .

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CTU workers direct vehicles lined up for COVID-19 testing outside of the Chicago Teachers Union on Dec. 30, 2021, in Chicago. CPS starts back to school on Monday following their holiday break. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)
The COVID-19 related death toll in Illinois surpassed 10,000 on Thursday and the daily number of new known cases again hit a new high as the resurgence of the virus continues to escalate.
The state reported 97 additional deaths over a 24-hour period, raising the number of deaths statewide since the pandemic began to 10,030. It was the first time the state’s single-day death toll has surpassed 90 since June 11, when it was 91.
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The daily number of newly diagnosed cases was 9,935, also a new high. That raised the known statewide case total to 447,491. The previous high was 7,899 on Sunday. The seven-day statewide positivity rate jumped from 8.5% to 9.1%.
Additionally, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said he will again impose tougher statewide restrictions if the latest resurgence continues to escalate. Pritzker’s warning of a potential statewide order is a departure from his messages in recent weeks that the state will stick to cracking down only on regions in his reopening plan when they reach state-set bench marks.
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Here’s what’s happening Thursday with COVID-19 in the Chicago area and Illinois:
7:20 p.m.: Lightfoot says she can’t yet put a date on Chicago Public Schools' reopening
Thursday marked the final day of student attendance for the virtual fall quarter, and Chicago Public Schools has yet to publicly announce a date for a return to classrooms, beyond its plan to offer in-person learning to students in prekindergarten and special education clusters sometime before 2020 is over.
CPS also has not publicly released the outcome of intent-to-return surveys submitted by parents of eligible students.
Regardless of rumors circulating, they won’t be going back on Monday, the first day of the second quarter, CTU President Jesse Sharkey said in an update to members Wednesday.
“Although some principals continue to tell staff otherwise, Chicago Public Schools officials told us during bargaining today that they do not plan to reopen school buildings to returning students and staff on Monday,” Sharkey wrote.
CPS officials confirmed they aren’t bringing staff back Monday and all students will still begin the quarter remotely, but did not say when they will announce more details.
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Thursday revealed no new details but reiterated that any decision about schools will be based in public health guidance.
“That’s still very much a work in progress. I don’t want to put a specific date on it,” Lightfoot said during a news conference. “... We’re not going to do anything that puts kids in harms way, but we’ve got to start thinking about a path that gets those kids who are falling behind back into school and that’s precisely what’s happening.”
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Read more here. —Hannah Leone
6:30 p.m.: Pritzker warns of potential statewide crackdown
Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Thursday said he will again impose tougher statewide restrictions if the latest resurgence of the coronavirus, which has now claimed more than 10,000 lives in Illinois, continues to escalate.
Pritzker’s warning of a potential statewide order is a departure from his messages in recent weeks that the state will stick to cracking down only on regions in his reopening plan when they reach state-set bench marks.
“If the current trajectory continues, if our hospitals continue to fill up, if more and more people continue to lose their lives to this disease, we’re going to implement further statewide mitigations, which nobody, and I mean nobody, wants,” Pritzker said during a particularly bleak daily coronavirus briefing.
Read more here. —Jamie Munks
5:55 p.m.: New Trier High School’s COVID-19 reopening plans too fast for teachers, too slow for some parents
A plan to reopen New Trier High School for in-person instruction next week is being criticized by teachers and described as insufficient by some parents.
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The decision to reopen for some in-person learning comes just as the state and the region are experiencing a sharp uptick in the number of new COVID-19 cases. A representative of the teachers union sees that as reason to back away from the plan. At the same time, some parents are demanding an even more expansive return to on-campus learning.
At a Wednesday night special meeting, the New Trier High School Board of Education voted unanimously to resume hybrid, on-campus learning Nov. 10 for students with last names beginning with F through K. That would be followed by another group of students later in the week. Over the course of the following weeks, additional groups of students will be brought back until all students have experienced some in-person learning, according to the plan.
The high school’s campuses in Winnetka and Northfield reopened briefly under a hybrid learning plan in early October before shutting down again after just one week due to COVID-19 concerns.
The decision to reopen the high school next week was made as officials launch a new COVID-19 saliva screening program, as stated in a Thursday letter to parents posted on the high school’s website. School officials announced last month that they will pay up to $1.3 million to conduct COVID-19 saliva screenings for students and staff.
Read more here. —Karen Ann Cullotta
4:25 p.m.: Counties with the worst COVID-19 surges overwhelmingly voted for Trump, analysis shows
U.S. voters went to the polls starkly divided on how they see President Donald Trump’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, with a surprising twist: In places where the virus is most rampant now, Trump enjoyed enormous support.
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An Associated Press analysis reveals that in 376 counties with the highest number of new cases per capita, the overwhelming majority — 93% of those counties — went for Trump, a rate above other less severely hit areas. Most were rural areas in Montana, the Dakotas, Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa and Wisconsin.
Read more here. —Associated Press
3:13 p.m.: Chicago’s travel order to undergo changes next week, Lightfoot says
Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s travel ban will undergo some changes next week, though city officials declined to specify what they would be.
Lightfoot and public health commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said they would not be canceling the order, however.
“Obviously we’re very much aware of what the percent positivity is and other expansion of cases in states certainly in our surrounding area and across the country so we are looking at what makes the most sense and we’ll make an announcement about that soon,” Lightfoot said.
Public health commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady also said there would be “some adjustments” to the travel order, but didn’t specify.
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—Gregory Pratt
1:44 p.m.: Taste of Chicago, Air Show funding not in city 2021 budget
Summertime 2021 is a distant mirage in Chicago, but if you’re making warm weather plans to help you get through the winter, don’t put Taste of Chicago or the Air and Water Show in your calendar.
With the COVID-19 pandemic expected to continue making large public gatherings dangerous for the foreseeable future, the city has not budgeted next year to run either of the big summer events that draw huge crowds to the lakefront.
Special Events Commissioner Mark Kelly told aldermen during his annual budget hearing Thursday that Taste and the Air Show haven’t been canceled yet. But the $9 million or so it takes to run them haven’t been included in his department’s spending plan.
Taste and the Air Show were both canceled this year, as Mayor Lori Lightfoot responded to the coronavirus by clearing the docket of nearly all the major events in Chicago’s downtown and Grant Park.
Taste usually takes place for a week in mid-July in Grant Park, and the Air Show takes over the lakefront for a weekend in mid-August.
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—John Byrne
1:02 p.m.: Illinois COVID-19 death toll surpasses 10,000, daily case count sets new high
The COVID-19 related death toll in Illinois surpassed 10,000 on Thursday and the daily number of new known cases again hit a new high as the resurgence of the virus continues to escalate.
The state reported 97 additional deaths over a 24-hour period, raising the number of deaths statewide since the pandemic began to 10,030. It was the first time the state’s single-day death toll has surpassed 90 since June 11, when it was 91.
The daily number of newly diagnosed cases was 9,935, also a new high. That raised the known statewide case total to 447,491. The previous high was 7,899 on Sunday.
As of Wednesday night, 3,891 people were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19, with 772 patients in intensive care units and 343 patients on ventilators.
Read more here. —Jamie Munks
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1 p.m.: Mayor Lori Lightfoot announces $10 million grant program for bars and restaurants struggling with COVID-19 shutdown
Mayor Lori Lightfoot is announcing Thursday a $10 million federally funded grant program to help independent Chicago bars and restaurants struggling with shutdowns brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.
Under Lightfoot’s plan, eligible businesses could get up to $10,000 each in grant funds.
In addition, the mayor will propose a cap on the fees that third-party delivery apps can charge restaurants, which will need to be approved by the City Council, and launch a web portal, ChiServes.com, to help hospitality workers find workforce development resources, she said.
Lightfoot has attempted to position herself as a friend to bars and restaurants after Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker shut down indoor service due to a spike in COVID-19 cases. She criticized Pritzker’s plan and said she would try to change his mind before dropping her opposition a day later.
But Lightfoot also has faced criticism for stricter rules on liquor sales, which she’s since rescinded, and her own anti-coronavirus measures.
Read more here. —Gregory Pratt
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Noon: Chicago Bears send players and coaches home after Cody Whitehair reportedly tests positive for COVID-19
The Chicago Bears closed their facilities Thursday as they deal with a potential COVID-19 outbreak ahead of Sunday’s game against the Tennessee Titans.
NFL Network reported center Cody Whitehair tested positive for COVID-19, a revelation that comes two days after it was revealed swing tackle Jason Spriggs tested positive. Right guard Germain Ifedi has been in quarantine as a close contact with Spriggs.
And the Tribune’s Brad Biggs reports Whitehair might not be the only new addition to the COVID-19 list, which is for players who either test positive or have been in close contact with someone who has. Whitehair didn’t practice Wednesday because he has a calf injury, but was present during the portion of practice open to the media.
Read more here. —Colleen Kane
10:58 a.m.: Sangamon County judge dismisses lawsuits challenging Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s coronavirus orders and restrictions
A judge in central Illinois this week dismissed a group of lawsuits challenging Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s authority in issuing pandemic-driven orders and restrictions, calling the arguments in those actions “devoid of facts to support the conclusions.”
The Illinois Supreme Court earlier this year moved to consolidate several lawsuits with near-identical challenges to the governor’s emergency actions, including one filed by a Republican state lawmaker, to Sangamon County Circuit Court.
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In their lawsuits, the plaintiffs used “just three factual allegations” in support of their theory that Pritzker overstepped his authority: “the total number of people who have been tested for, contracted and died from COVID-19 in each of their counties,” Sangamon County Circuit Judge Raylene Grischow wrote.
The judge ruled that those allegations are not sufficient to prove the plaintiffs' claim that COVID-19 is not a public health emergency in their counties. Grischow said she “cautions counsel to set forth facts to support conclusions.” Her ruling was issued Wednesday.
Read more here. —Jamie Munks
9:22 a.m.: Pilsen mural features residents, including essential workers: ‘It mirrors the community’s resilience’
Though the mural will feature an image of Pedro Duarte and a few other community members who have died, most of the faces will be of people who are alive. At the center will be a phoenix holding in its mouth a serpent that morphs into a border wall and detention cages. At the top left corner, there will be a group of kindergartners playing with Legos in the shape of the city of Chicago. The mural will also include portraits of some essential workers from the neighborhood.
“The wall is a reflection of who we are and it mirrors the community’s resilience,” Serrano said. “We also want to encourage others to acknowledge each other’s presence, power and strength.”
So far, there are about 15 faces on the wall, including one of a mother without legal immigration status carrying her child and a street musician holding a guitar. Zapata has taken photo portraits of all the living subjects.
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Read more here. —Laura Rodríguez Presa
7:15 a.m.: Red Cross appeals for blood donations, plasma to fight coronavirus
The American Red Cross on Thursday appealed for donors to ward off a seasonal slump in donations that the nonprofit often sees in the fall and early winter, while asking anyone who’s had the novel coronavirus to consider donating plasma for COVID-19 patients.
“The traditional slump in blood donations between Thanksgiving and New Year’s comes as the blood supply already faces challenges created by the coronavirus pandemic,” the Chicago-area branch of the Red Cross said in a news release. “Required medical treatments and emergencies don’t pause for the holidays or a widespread coronavirus outbreak.”
When someone donates, the Red Cross is testing blood, platelet and plasma for COVID-19 antibodies.
“The test may indicate if the donor’s immune system has produced antibodies to this coronavirus, regardless of whether an individual developed COVID-19 symptoms,” according to the release. “Red Cross antibody tests will be helpful to identify individuals who have COVID-19 antibodies and may now help current coronavirus patients in need of convalescent plasma transfusions”
The Red Cross has many blood drives lined up in the Chicago area for the next few weeks. For dates and times, check the agency’s website. People can also use the Red Cross Blood Donor App, call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767) or use the Blood Donor Skill on any Alexa Echo device. — Chicago Tribune staff
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6 a.m.: State driver facilities in West Chicago, Aurora to reopen Thursday after closing because of coronavirus case
Two driver services facilities will reopen Thursday in West Chicago and Aurora after COVID-19 reached the buildings and forced two-week closures.
The West Chicago Commercial Driver’s License at 1280 Powis Road and the Aurora Driver Services facility at 339 East Indian Trail closed in late October after an employee tested positive for COVID-19.
Employees at both buildings were quarantined for 14 days and the facilities have since been “thoroughly cleaned and disinfected,” according to a press release from the Illinois Secretary of State’s office.
State officials encouraged people to go online to www.cyberdriveillinois.com for services such as renewing license plate stickers, obtaining replacement driver’s licenses/ID cards and safe driver renewals. Expiration dates for driver’s licenses and identification cards were extended until Feb. 1 because of the pandemic.
—Kelli Smith
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