chicagotribune--2020-05-15--Woman and her 89-year-old mother both survive COVID-19: ‘I didn’t know if she was gonna live or die’

Magoch fell ill with the new coronavirus in late March and her mother , Betty Barrett , who lives with @ @ @ @ @ down with symptoms a short time later .
Magoch isn ’ t sure how she @ @ @ @ @ was wearing a mask and gloves regularly before she was sick .
Nurses think her @ @ @ @ @ .

Joann Magoch knew her 89-year-old mother was on the mend from COVID-19 when she got her attitude back.
“She’s getting back to her old self because she’s getting cocky with me,” Magoch said this week.
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Magoch fell ill with the new coronavirus in late March and her mother, Betty Barrett, who lives with her in Bloomgingdale, came down with symptoms a short time later. Magoch isn’t sure how she caught it, as she was wearing a mask and gloves regularly before she was sick. Nurses think her mother got it from her.
Thankfully, she said, both are now recovering, although neither feels at full strength.
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Joann Magoch, left, stands next to her mother, Betty Barrett, on the balcony of their condominium on May 14, 2020, in Bloomingdale. Both women had COVID-19 and are recovering. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)
“I was getting symptoms like the flu, a high fever. It started with the dry cough,” Magoch, 63, said.
Her fever passed 104 before breaking, then jumped back to 103, so she went to a hospital by ambulance. The hospital sent her home before her test results came back, and she it was after she was home in quarantine that she found out she had tested positive for COVID-19.
Magoch wore a mask and gloves at home and when she cooked for her mother, left the food out for her mother so they could keep distance from each other.
Then one day, she left out a plate of food that her mother didn’t retrieve. She went to her room and found her mother flat on her back on the floor.
“I started crying, I was scared,” Magoch said.
Barrett wound up in an intensive care unit.
“My mother’s a fighter. It was a nightmare,” she said. “I was still recovering. Nobody could see her.”
Magoch prayed. So much, she said, “I was talking to (Him) like He was right in front of me.”
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Her father died after he fell and broke his neck and she never said a proper goodbye, she said. She didn’t want to go through that with her mother.
“I can’t do this with my mom,” she recalled thinking. “I can’t lose both parents. I was hysterical. Then they said, listen, your mom got better. God’s listening, she got better.”
Two negative tests later, her mother was able to transfer to another hospital for rehabilitation. She was released May 8. Nurses played the song “Happy” for her as she left.
“My ma’s gonna be 90. Her birthday’s next month. I didn’t know if she was gonna live or die. We survived it, we’re lucky,” she said. “She’s been clear since May 2. April 13 for me. I’m just really grateful my mom survived this and I survived this. We’re lucky.”
pnickeas@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-05-15--Lightfoot delays demolition at site of Little Village coal plant that sent dust cloud into neighborh

Lightfoot delays demolition at site of Little Village coal plant that sent dust cloud into neighborhood

“ The disastrous Hilco smokestack demolition that occurred on April 11th has put all exposed residents at greater risk of @ @ @ @ @ later , history is teed up to repeat itself , ” Cardenas said in a @ @ @ @ @ administration not to go through with the demolition .
“ I can not stress this @ @ @ @ @ a respiratory pandemic .
Our most vulnerable residents live in Little Village .
”

Police officers stand guard as protesters stand across the street from Mayor Lori Lightfoot's home to bring attention to the demolition of the Crawford power plant in Little Village, carried out by a company named Hilco, on May 14, 2020, in Chicago. The mayor initially imposed a moratorium on the demolition after a partial implosion of the plant on April 11 created a potentially hazardous dust plume in Little Village, but residents were informed the city has allowed the demolition process to continue. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)
Mayor Lori Lightfoot has delayed a planned demolition at the site of a former coal-fired power plant in Little Village amid community concern that it could cause another dust cloud that would engulf the working-class immigrant neighborhood.
The former Crawford coal plant at 3501 S. Pulaski Road was the site of a disastrous implosion last month that sent massive dust clouds into the Southwest Side neighborhood. Northbrook-based Hilco Redevelopment Partners, the project’s developer, has acknowledged not following a dust mitigation plan it gave the city and was fined $68,000 last month, the Lightfoot administration previously said.
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But the controversy reignited early Thursday, when Lightfoot’s buildings department said it would authorize demolition of a turbine structure at the coal plant because it is unsound and needs to be removed immediately.
Activists and aldermen immediately raised concerns about the work being done at the site. Ald. George Cardenas, 12th, and Ald. Mike Rodriguez, 22nd, who represent parts of the neighborhood, said they did not support a demolition.
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“The disastrous Hilco smokestack demolition that occurred on April 11th has put all exposed residents at greater risk of poorer health. A month later, history is teed up to repeat itself,” Cardenas said in a statement imploring Lightfoot’s administration not to go through with the demolition. “I cannot stress this enough: we are fighting a respiratory pandemic. Our most vulnerable residents live in Little Village.”
Also criticizing the plan was Pilsen Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez, 25th, who joined protesters outside Lightfoot’s Logan Square home late in the evening.
In a statement, Lightfoot said building inspectors “have determined that the small building poses a public safety hazard because the building is structurally unsound and must be dismantled.”
But she’s delaying the demolition, Lightfoot said, in order to allow more discussions with the community “about the structurally dangerous condition of that small building.”
gpratt@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @royalpratt


chicagotribune--2020-05-15--Disgraced former Gov. Rod Blagojevich signs podcast deal

Also a former Illinois congressman , Blagojevich was convicted of crimes including the attempted sale of Barack Obama ’ s @ @ @ @ @ He was found guilty on 11 criminal counts related to the Senate seat and six @ @ @ @ @ a hospital executive and racetrack owner .
Five counts related to the Senate seat were @ @ @ @ @ His sentence , though , remained the same .

Former Gov. Rod Blagojevich arrives at Denver International Airport on Feb. 18, 2020, in Colorado after being released from prison earlier in the evening. 'I can't wait to get home' Blagojevich said at the airport after President Trump commuted the ex-Illinois governor's 14-year sentence. (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune)
Just in time for the next month of Illinois’ stay-at-home order, disgraced former Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich is getting a new platform.
Blagojevich, who exited federal prison earlier this year with the wave of a White House clemency wand and declared himself a Trumpocrat, will launch “The Lightning Rod” politics podcast on WLS-890 AM next Wednesday. That’s the same day the Illinois General Assembly reconvenes in Springfield after a pandemic hiatus.
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The former governor’s forthcoming podcast was announced in a news release from WLS parent company Cumulus Media and Marv Nyren, vice president/market manager of Cumulus Chicago.
“It will be messy, it will be raw and it will be Rod as you have never heard him before,” Nyren said.
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In a statement, Blagojevich also said: “After a long exile, I made it home. It’s a brand new day. I’m finally free and fired up to speak my mind, provide insights from the inside, and share what I’ve learned from the school of hard knocks.”
According to the news release, the show will “feature analysis about politics, government, trending stories and global issues, and will feature conversations with politicians, political experts, policymakers, celebrities and influencers about what’s worked, what hasn’t and who can make it better.”
This isn’t the first time Blagojevich has worked with WLS. In 2009, after he was arrested and charged in a public corruption case and the General Assembly booted him from office, Blagojevich filled in for a stint on the station’s morning show and another on Sunday afternoons.
President Donald Trump commuted Blagojevich’s 14-year sentence in February and released him from a Colorado federal prison four years early.
Also a former Illinois congressman, Blagojevich was convicted of crimes including the attempted sale of Barack Obama’s former U.S. Senate seat. He was found guilty on 11 criminal counts related to the Senate seat and six counts involving fundraising shakedowns of a hospital executive and racetrack owner. Five counts related to the Senate seat were later dismissed on appeal. His sentence, though, remained the same.
Lisa Donovan is host of The Spin, the Tribune’s politics newsletter. Sign up here to have it delivered to your inbox weekday afternoons.
ldonovan@chicagotribune.com
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chicagotribune--2020-05-15--Mostly sunny and warm Friday in the works following heavy storms

Earlier , the weather service warned that storms could bring large hail , possibly as big as pingpong balls , @ @ @ @ @ as strong as 70 mph , with a potential for severe weather throughout the area @ @ @ @ @ of Interstate 80 .

Storms should be on their way out of northern Illinois by early morning, and forecasters say a “mostly sunny’’ Friday awaits, with temperatures near 74 degrees.
Still, a 30% chance of showers and storms before 7 a.m. persists, and a severe thunderstorm watch remains in effect until 1 a.m. Friday, according to the National Weather Service.
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But daytime Friday is shaping up to be mostly sunny, with a high near 74 and winds from five to 10 miles an hour, the NWS said.
Earlier rounds of storms had mostly subsided as of 8:30 p.m., forecasters said, after warning of the potential for windy, rainy weather with serious hail, lighting and “torrential downpours.’’
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The worst of the scattered storms moving through Illinois were expected from about 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. Thursday, south of the Chicago area, according to the National Weather Service.
However, flood advisories and a flash flood watch remains in effect until 7 a.m. Friday for much of northern Illinois and northwest Indiana.
The flood advisories exist for parts of the Des Plaines River near Des Plaines and the east branch of the DuPage River near Bolingbrook, as well as parts of the Kankakee and Illinois rivers.
Earlier, the weather service warned that storms could bring large hail, possibly as big as pingpong balls, as well as wind gusts as strong as 70 mph, with a potential for severe weather throughout the area, but most likely south of Interstate 80.
Winds could knock out power lines or tree limbs, and flash flooding was possible in areas such as Ottawa, Kankakee or Bloomington, officials said earlier.
[7:00 AM CDT 5/14/2020] Several waves of storms are likely today with downpours and frequent lightning. This evening, storms may become severe with damaging winds, large hail, and flash flooding possible. Stay up to date on the forecast! #ilwx #inwx pic.twitter.com/WTWiWqU95L — NWS Chicago (@NWSChicago) May 14, 2020
Visit the Tribune’s weather page for more information. Check back for updates.
kdouglas@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @312BreakingNews


chicagotribune--2020-05-15--COVID-19 hits Chicago ZIP code with high gun violence

Longtime Chicago TV news reporter Nancy Loo listed her Fox River Grove home in April before announcing she will relocate @ @ @ @ @ WGN America 's `` News Nation . ''

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Sylvia Hardy keeps a face mask lowered while standing in her front porch in the 700 block of South Kilbourn Avenue on May 9, 2020, in Chicago. Hardy's grandson, 15-year-old Demetrius Hardy, was fatally shot at the front porch on April 8, 2020, and her youngest son, Dennis Glover, 28, was also fatally shot at the front of the home on Dec. 26, 2013. The 60624 ZIP code, where she lives, has among the city's highest reported cases of COVID-19 and rates of gun violence. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)


chicagotribune--2020-05-15--Graduations make the big screen as McHenry drive-in offers alternative end-of-year ceremonies in COV

Graduations make the big screen as McHenry drive-in offers alternative end-of-year ceremonies in COVID-19 era

Less than half the capacity of 750 cars were allowed in , so cars were spread out in every other @ @ @ @ @ required to stay in their cars except for going to the rest rooms , and @ @ @ @ @ face masks , which were passed out on site .

With disco light aglow, this family from Round Lake Beach — Kayla Jimenez, 14, from left, Hugo Jimenez, Gio Jimenez, 6, Scarlett Serna, 10, and Vanessa Gutierrez — watch a movie at the McHenry Outdoor Theater on May 8, 2020 in McHenry. This was the first time they've ever gone to a drive-in. Drive-in owner Scott Dehn estimates 350 cars with over 1,300 guests attended opening night. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)
Graduation ceremonies — a last hurrah for students that were effectively banned in Illinois this year under coronavirus restrictions ― now are going on the big screen for some schools.
Building on its reopening last week showing full-length movies, McHenry Outdoor Theater is set to open for virtual graduations and award ceremonies, with special precautions to guard against the pandemic.
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As the last remaining drive-in picture show in operation in the Chicago area, the McHenry opened last weekend to sold-out crowds. Previously, the theater had been prohibited from opening this year due to Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s closure of theaters as nonessential businesses.
But after owner Scott Dehn took steps to enforce social distancing at his business, the state’s revised guidelines allowed him to open for the season with those guidelines in place. Those restrictions include keeping everyone in their vehicles, requiring them to wear masks to go to the rest rooms, and delivering food to their cars.
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The first school event to be held at the theater will be an awards night for the tiny class of 25 at St. Mary Catholic grade school in Woodstock.
The theater will project a video featuring speeches from teachers and administrators at the school, as well as the names and pictures of the graduates, parent organizer Jessica Arnow said.
Parents had wanted to hold the graduation ceremony at the theater, Arnow said, but were told the Diocese of Rockford did not authorize it under the state’s closure rules.
The graduation will instead be held Tuesday online, but parents wanted something more personal for their kids.
“They’ve been together since kindergarten,” Arnow said.
Due to the coronavirus, she said, “They’ve lost many things — their last dance and their confirmation. They’re disappointed. They don’t know what they’re missing, but they’re missing it.”
Families will decorate their cars for the awards night, but will be able to see each other one last time before they leave for high school.
“We’re calling it a celebration ceremony,” Arnow said. “Everyone seems really excited about it.”
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Dehn will donate the use of his theater to the schools at no charge, which Arnow called “amazing.”
At Big Hollow School District 38 in Ingleside, officials commissioned a video combining speeches from administrators and top students with pictures of each graduate in cap and gown. The 45-minute video will be shown Tuesday on the silver screen, with families staying in their cars.
“I think people are just itching to get out of their houses,” Superintendent Bob Gold said. “We’ve gotten a really good response. It should be a great night. People can enjoy seeing each other a little, even if it’s just in cars.”
McHenry High School’s two campuses are too big to hold joint graduations at the drive-in, but they will hold their annual senior class honors night at the theater May 27.
The event will honor Distinguished Warriors — students who have met requirements for measures such as grades, attendance and community service hours, as well as honors students including scholarship recipients and high-achieving pupils in different subjects.
“This is not how we anticipated the end of senior year,” McHenry High School East Campus Principal Jeff Prickett said. “They missed their senior prom, all the pomp and circumstance. So we’re trying to make it special regardless.”
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A northwest suburban photographer speculates that such videos may become new traditions for graduates.
When teachers talked about students getting a bum deal this year, Corey Clark, owner of E.D. Clark Photography in Gages Lake, realized he had already taken cap and gown photos of most of his client schools earlier this year, and could put them together for virtual graduations. He worked with Mellenhead Productions in Mundelein, which put the material together into videos.
It’s all part of the innovation that businesses must make to adapt to the new constraints caused by the coronavirus lockdown. He speculated that graduation videos may become a new tradition.
“The choice is to shut it down and put your head under the covers,” Clark said, “or reinvent and jump in to do some new things.”
rmccoppin@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @RobertMcCoppin


chicagotribune--2020-05-16--State says COVID-19 testing expanded to include many workers who aren’t exhitibing symptoms

“ As we open up more testing sites and as we make available more materials for testing , I think @ @ @ @ @ much better place , '' Pritzker said Friday in response to a question about how @ @ @ @ @ reaching that level of testing capacity .
`` So we ’ re making a lot @ @ @ @ @ like we ’ re on a path to being in that spot as needed for @ @ @ @ @ .
”

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)
State officials on Friday announced a further expansion of COVID-19 testing in Illinois, with testing now open to a range of front-line workers and employees at essential businesses and new testing sites opening across the state over the next week.
Along with first responders and front-line workers in health care and other fields, employees of grocery stores, pharmacies, restaurants and gas stations can now seek COVID-19 tests whether or not they’re exhibiting symptoms.
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Also on that list are people who have been exposed to someone who has a confirmed case of COVID-19, state and local government employees and people with compromised immune systems or chronic medical conditions.
More widely available testing is one of the primary bench marks that each of the four regions defined in Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s reopening plan must meet in order to advance to the next phase.
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Right now, all four regions are meeting the positive-test rate set by Pritzker’s reopening plan in order to move to the next phase of his plan, which could start May 29 at the earliest.
The seven-day average of positive coronavirus cases in the Northeast region, which includes the Chicago area, fell below 20% as of Monday. The 14-day average statewide positivity rate is under 14%, Pritzker said.
To move forward the share of people testing positive for the coronavirus must be at or under 20% and increase no more than 10 percentage points over a 14-day period.
“The positivity rate can be an indication of how widespread COVID-19 infections are among our population,” Pritzker said. “We all want the positivity rate to come down, which would indicate a declining number of people getting sick from the virus.”
Officials announced 2,432 new known cases of coronavirus Friday, pushing the statewide total of known cases to 90,369. Another 130 deaths were reported Friday, for a statewide total of 4,058 deaths since the pandemic began.
To date, 538,602 COVID-19 tests have been performed in the state, with officials on Friday reporting 26,565 tests conducted during a 24-hour period. Illinois was one of many states that struggled to expand testing earlier this year, amid a national shortage of supplies and testing kits.
In early April, the state fell short of a goal Pritzker set to conduct 10,000 tests per day in Illinois. At that time, around 75,000 tests had been conducted in the state.
The state for the first time surpassed 10,000 tests per day on April 24, and over the past week has conducted an average of 20,000 daily tests.
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In the third phase of Pritzker’s reopening plan, gatherings of up to 10 people are allowed, and offices, manufacturing and salons and barbershops are among the types of businesses that can reopen, with precautions in place aimed at preventing the spread of coronavirus.
Once a region moves into another phase, the time period in which it must reach all of the bench marks to advance to the next phase starts anew.
To reach the fourth phase, when schools, child care centers, restaurants and bars could reopen and gatherings of up to 50 people would be allowed, the plan calls for testing to be widely available regardless of whether someone is exhibiting symptoms, among other metrics.
“As we open up more testing sites and as we make available more materials for testing, I think we’re in a much better place," Pritzker said Friday in response to a question about how close the state is to reaching that level of testing capacity. "So we’re making a lot of progress, I feel like we’re on a path to being in that spot as needed for every region in the state.”
New drive-thru testing sites are set to open on Chicago’s South Side on Saturday and Rolling Meadows on Wednesday. There are now 251 sites in the state offering free testing, Pritzker said.
Pritzker for the first time Friday acknowledged that his wife and daughter were in Florida before Illinois’ statewide stay-at-home order took effect in March, and just recently returned to Chicago.
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He said he was being “very private and very reserved” about his family “because there are threats to my safety and to their safety.
“You have seen that there are people that stand outside the Thompson Center and stand outside the Capitol in Springfield, holding, I mean, hateful signs that reference me personally and that suggest, if not say, but suggest the potential for violence,” he said.
On April 29, Pritzker testily responded to a question about a Patch.com report that his wife and family had gone to Florida amid the governor’s stay-at-home orders. “My official duties have nothing to do with my family. So, I’m not going to answer that question. It’s inappropriate and I find it reprehensible,” he said of stories about his family.
That response prompted an outcry from Republican and right-leaning groups that the Democratic governor’s own wife wasn’t heeding the mandates of Pritzker’s stay-at-home order, though Pritzker never imposed an outright travel ban for residents.
“If his family can’t even heed the guidance of his own stay at home order, how does he expect Illinois voters to do the same?” said a May 4 email from the Republican National Committee with the subject line: “Governor Pritzker can’t take the heat.”
Pritzker said he hoped that an unnamed Republican super political action committee “that’s pushing stories like this about my family, would stop doing it because they are putting my children and family in danger.”
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But on Friday, Pritzker acknowledged his family had only recently left Florida, where they had been staying since at least early March, before his stay-at-home order was issued. He owns an equestrian farm there.
Pritzker owns a horse farm in Racine, Wisconsin, and he indicated his family was there. “I just will say we have a working farm. They’re there now. There are animals on that farm, that it’s an essential function to take care of animals at a farm, so that’s what they’re doing,” he said.
A Pritzker spokeswoman later clarified that the family is at home in Chicago and have visited the farm but haven’t stayed there.
On April 19, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services issued guidance for Illinois residents and others who have a seasonal or second home in the state, urging them not to travel or face 14 days of self-quarantine.
“You should bring your own groceries and essentials as self-quarantine does not permit shopping at local stores for supplies,” the agency said.
jmunks@chicagotribune.com
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chicagotribune--2020-05-16--Coronavirus in Illinois updates: Certain essential workers can now seek testing whether or not they

Coronavirus in Illinois updates: Certain essential workers can now seek testing whether or not they have COVID-19 symptoms, governor says, as death toll tops 4,000

State officials announced four new free COVID-19 testing sites Friday , and also said that certain workers considered essential under Gov .
J.B. Pritzker ’ s statewide stay-at-home order can now seek testing whether or not they have symptoms of the illness .
Officials encourage anyone with symptoms to seek testing .
Health care workers , first responders , correctional workers , local and state government employees , grocery store workers and people who have been exposed to confirmed COVID-19 patients are among those who can seek tests whether they have symptoms or not .
7:12 p.m. : Coronavirus deaths @ @ @ @ @ @ @ week , but still account for nearly half of overall state total The latest data , released Friday , offers a small consolation : The most recent number of weekly deaths was lower for the first time , with 471 deaths of residents and staff recorded a week before .
But the figures reinforce how entrenched the virus has become in long-term care facilities : still accounting for nearly half the state ’ s deaths .
The weekly data release comes amid increasing calls for the Pritzker administration to do more to lower @ @ @ @ @ @ @ population considered the most vulnerable , even as Illinois expands previously scarce testing for residents and staff at the roughly 1,200 facilities across the state .
There are now at least 16 facilities with at least 20 deaths , and , for the first time , one is downstate : The Villa East in Sangamon County , with 20 deaths .
But metro Chicago facilities continue to post the worst numbers , led by Meadowbrook Manor of Bolingbrook and Center Home for Hispanic Elderly , each with 26 deaths .
They are followed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( 25 ) and Elevate Care Chicago North , Villa at Windsor Park , Woodbridge Nursing Pavilion and Manorcare Hinsdale ( 24 ) .
Meadowbrook Manor had previously released a statement addressing the high toll , blaming it on the virus ’ s ability to infect people without causing symptoms , allowing its spread .
While noting most residents were safe , facility officials said they take “ each loss to heart.
” Read more here .
—Joe Mahr Facing pushback from community activists and elected officials over a planned demolition at the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in Little Village , Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Friday she will personally ensure that it doesn ’ t lead to another dust cloud engulfing the working-class immigrant neighborhood .
Lightfoot on Thursday delayed a planned demolition at the former Crawford coal plant at 3501 S. Pulaski Road where an implosion last month sent massive dust clouds into the Southwest Side neighborhood .
Northbrook-based Hilco Redevelopment Partners , the project ’ s developer , has acknowledged not following a dust mitigation plan it gave the city and was fined $ 68,000 last month , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ residents and officials objected Thursday when Lightfoot ’ s buildings department said it would authorize demolition of a turbine structure at the coal plant because it is unsound and needs to be removed immediately .
Following protests , Lightfoot said she would delay the demolition while her administration does more outreach .
Asked whether she can assure residents that a dust cloud won ’ t migrate over the neighborhood again if the demolition occurs , Lightfoot said , “ I ’ m going to make damn sure that it doesn ’ t. ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ holes in the airports ’ budgets as the rent goes uncollected would be plugged using federal Coronavirus Aid , Relief , and Economic Security Act money specifically earmarked for the air travel network , Aviation Commissioner Jamie Rhee said .
Local tax money will not be used , she said .
The City Council Aviation Committee adopted the Lightfoot ordinance despite questions from some aldermen who want more assurances that workers at the airports will continue to receive health care and other benefits from the concessionaires that get city help .
Rhee said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , which oversees concessions , to try to make sure various subcontractor businesses are extending benefits .
The ordinance does require that the businesses keep workers on the payroll .
The airport concession help was originally included in an emergency order Lightfoot brought forward to give her more authority to make decisions during the pandemic without needing City Council support .
But she pulled it out of that package after council members balked at giving her such broad powers .
—John Byrne The mayor made the comments during a wide-ranging interview with the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will “ be in a position to see some form of summer life start in June.
” Asked to elaborate , Lightfoot said , `` I see a world in which restaurants can reopen cautiously in June .
I see a world over the course of the summer where people can sit outside and enjoy music and theater and other outdoor activities .
I think we ’ re going to come up with some very creative ways in which those things can happen.
” “ I know people are anxious to get back @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we ’ re learning around why being outside is much better than being cooped up inside … so I am pressing my team and the people that we ’ re in conversation with , the recovery task force , to really think expansively about opportunities to do that , ” Lightfoot said .
—Gregory Pratt During a visit to Stroger Hospital on the Near West Side , Durbin announced Illinois will get $ 473 million to uplift testing across the state .
Over 600,000 testing swabs will arrive this month .
The funding @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and Prevention after President Donald Trump in April signed the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act , which allows for a total $ 25 billion to boost testing across states .
Durbin said that is not enough — despite President Donald Trump ’ s boasts this week that the U.S. leads the world in testing and the nation has “ prevailed ” against the coronavirus .
“ We absolutely , positively need to have even more , ” Durbin said .
“ When the president stands up and says we have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is just flat out wrong .
… We have not prevailed .
This is still a battle that we have to win.
” Read more here .
— Alice Yin He said he was being “ very private and very reserved ” about his family “ because there are threats to my safety and to their safety .
“ You have seen that there are people that stand outside the Thompson Center and stand outside the Capitol in Springfield , holding , I mean , hateful signs that reference me personally and that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ suggest the potential for violence , ” he said .
“ My official duties have nothing to do with my family .
So , I ’ m not going to answer that question .
It 's inappropriate and I find it reprehensible , ” he said of stories about his family .
“ If his family can ’ t even heed the guidance of his own stay at home order , how does he expect Illinois voters to do the same ?
” said a May 4 email from the Republican National Committee @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Pritzker can ’ t take the heat.
” Pritzker said on Friday he hoped that an unnamed Republican super political action committee “ that ’ s pushing stories like this about my family , would stop doing it because they are putting my children and family in danger.
” But he also acknowledged his family had only recently left Florida , where they had been staying since at least early March , before his stay-at-home order was issued .
He owns an equestrian farm there .
“ I just will say we have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ there now .
There are animals on that farm , that it ’ s an essential function to take care of animals at a farm , so that ’ s what they ’ re doing , ” he said .
The proposed new Sept. 30 deadline will be decided by commissioners during the board ’ s May 21 virtual meeting .
It comes as Preckwinkle ’ s current emergency declaration , approved mid-March , is set to expire at the end of this month .
“ I 've come to the conclusion that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ better it 's going to be for being able to have continuity of recovery , ” Suffredin said .
“ If you do everything in 30-day increments , you 're going to hamstring some of the planning that 's necessary.
” Employees are getting used to helping customers choose shoes from a distance , while customers stay within blue tape on the floor corralling them in the center of the store , away from merchandise that must be disinfected if they touch it .
With nonessential businesses closed to in-store customers since mid-March @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the closest most Illinois shoppers have come to casually browsing a favorite shop in weeks has been scouring grocery store shelves for disinfecting wipes or yeast .
But in northwest Indiana , businesses are starting to reopen .
And scenes at stores in Indiana provide a sense of what Illinois consumers can expect when the state moves to the next phase of Gov .
J.B. Pritzker ’ s reopening plan , which would allow more businesses to reopen with capacity limits — something that could happen as early as the end of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Zumbach State officials announced four new free COVID-19 testing sites Friday , and also said that certain workers considered essential under Gov .
J.B. Pritzker ’ s statewide stay-at-home order can now seek testing whether or not they have symptoms of the illness .
Officials encourage anyone with symptoms to seek testing .
Health care workers , first responders , correctional workers , local and state government employees , grocery store workers and people who have been exposed to confirmed COVID-19 patients are among those who can seek tests whether they have symptoms @ @ @ @ @ @ @ can mimic or cover up coronavirus symptoms , and some people who have the illness are asymptomatic , so symptom screening is not enough , Ezike said .
—Jamie Munks A federal judge in New York has once again rejected R. Kelly ’ s request for release pending trial , stating that his diagnosis of prediabetes is not enough to put him at high risk of contracting COVID-19 behind bars .
The embattled singer has been seeing medical professionals in the downtown Chicago jail where he is being held , and they have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ That should be enough to manage his condition , U.S. District Judge Ann M. Donnelly wrote in a ruling Friday .
2:49 p.m. : US begins ‘ warp speed ’ push for coronavirus vaccine President Trump hopes will be ready by the end of the year President Donald Trump vowed to use “ every plane , truck and soldier ” to distribute COVID-19 vaccines he hopes will be ready by year ’ s end — even as the country ’ s top scientists gear up for a master experiment to rapidly tell if @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to have 300 million doses in stock by January , a huge gamble since a vaccine never has been created from scratch so fast — and one that could waste millions if shots chosen for the production line do n't pan out .
As the manufacturing side gets into place , the National Institutes of Health is working in parallel to speed the science .
At least four or five possible vaccines “ look pretty promising ” and one or two will be ready to begin large-scale testing by July with others to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ told The Associated Press .
Read more here .
—Associated Press “ In order to prepare for the eventual transition , Chicago Public Library has asked staff to return to work on May 20 to safely begin the extensive work necessary for services to ultimately resume , '' the Lightfoot statement said .
“ Absolutely no date has been set to open libraries to the public , and any re-opening decision would be consistent with public health guidance and dependent on where our data is at that time.
” Staff who return to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the coming weeks will be provided with “ appropriate PPE , and facilities will accommodate social distancing requirements to ensure the safety of all employees , ” the mayor ’ s office said .
“ We ’ re very disturbed by this announcement , which came with no prior notice to the union nor any opportunity for input on measures to protect library employees and the public , ” Lindall said .
“ In the wake of the news , the city did reach out to AFSCME and we hope to be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ concerns.
” Read more here .
—Gregory Pratt “ The financial stability and success of our residents is key to getting Illinois ’ economy back on its feet , ” Gov .
J.B. Pritzker said at his daily news briefing Thursday .
“ Illinois won ’ t be restored until our workers and families have the opportunities and resources they need to build and fill their lives.
” More than a decade of aggressive building in Chicago has altered the skyline and emboldened developers to draw up some of the most ambitious real @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Now the coronavirus pandemic leaves in doubt whether megaprojects like The 78 and Lincoln Yards can continue , if they ’ ll be pushed into the next construction cycle , or worse , go the way of the never-built Chicago Spire and Miglin-Beitler Skyneedle .
Among the obstacles developers face : a wrecked economy , companies cutting back their office space needs and fewer financing sources .
Projects that move forward will have to weigh which design changes are here to stay and which are short-term concerns that will pass when the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ plans may never move off the drawing board , at least in this development cycle .
And those that are built risk sitting empty for a while if they ’ re not fully leased in advance .
Despite difficult months or years to come , the top-tier megaprojects are more likely to be delayed than wiped out , experts say .
What they ’ ve got going for them is they are conceived by large developers with deep-pocketed investors .
Read more here .
—Ryan Ori In Michigan , hundreds of protesters , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at the state Capitol in a drenching rainstorm .
The state closed the building in advance and canceled the legislative session , rather than risk a repeat of an April protest in which angry protesters carrying long guns crowded inside .
The response to the coronavirus in those three states , which determined the 2016 presidential election and could strongly influence the one in November , is becoming a confused and agitated blend of health guidance , protest and partisan politics — leaving residents to fend for themselves .
Read more here .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ She was about to give birth when she learned she had COVID-19 .
Here ’ s what happened next .
12:38 p.m. : New data suggests the COVID-19 test used daily on President Trump may return false negatives .
Despite the findings , the White House is still confident in its accuracy .
The head of the Food and Drug Administration said Friday his agency has provided new guidance to the White House after data suggested that the test used by President Donald Trump and others every day may be inaccurate and provide @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Laboratories is used daily at the White House to test Trump , key members of his staff as well as any visitor to the White House complex who comes in close proximity to the president or Vice President Mike Pence .
Azar commented after the FDA said late Thursday it was investigating preliminary data suggesting the 15-minute test can miss COVID-19 cases , falsely clearing infected patients .
Read more here .
—Associated Press After reopening , the Chicago facilities will be open 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday , 7:30 a.m. to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a.m. to noon Saturday .
All employees will wear face coverings , and the secretary of state ’ s office is urging customers to do the same .
The five Republicans in Illinois ’ U.S. House delegation said Friday they want Congress to block Democratic Gov .
J.B. Pritzker and other state chief executives from being able to withhold federal coronavirus relief aid from municipalities that disobey stay-at-home orders .
“ We write to you with deep concern over the recent threats issued by Gov .
J.B. Pritzker to possibly withhold federal aid @ @ @ @ @ @ @ any local government that reopens its economy in accordance with federal health guidelines but ahead of Gov .
Pritzker ’ s own arbitrary timetable , ” the five congressmen wrote .
Read more here .
—Rick Pearson DeVos has used $ 180 million of that money to encourage states to create “ microgrants ” that parents of elementary and secondary school students can use to pay for educational services , including private school tuition .
She has directed school districts to share millions of dollars designated for low-income students with wealthy private schools @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2.5 % of higher education funding , about $ 350 million , set aside for struggling colleges , to bolster small colleges — many of them private , religious or on the margins of higher education — regardless of need .
The Wright Graduate University for the Realization of Human Potential , a private college in Wisconsin that has a website debunking claims that it is a cult , received about $ 495,000 .
Read more here .
—The New York Times 11:13 a.m. : DePaul says it will offer in-person classes in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ question for other Illinois universities DePaul University plans to hold “ limited in-person learning ” in the fall and will work to reduce density in its campus dorms , President A. Gabriel Esteban announced Friday as other colleges debate whether students should be invited back for the new academic year .
“ Though some classes will be held fully on-campus , more classes than usual will continue to take place at least partially online , ” Esteban said in a message to the DePaul community .
“ Indeed , DePaul ’ s plans @ @ @ @ @ @ @ options for how they take classes.
” DePaul plans to use social distancing and some degree of remote learning as it works to reduce density in its dorms and campus buildings , Esteban said .
Though Esteban said he will release more details about DePaul ’ s plans for the fall in short order , much of the final decision will hinge on what public health officials in Illinois allow .
Also on Friday , the Illinois Board of Higher Education said it has convened a new committee to examine how colleges might @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fall .
The committee consist of leaders from public universities , private colleges and community colleges , according to a new release .
DePaul ’ s announcement comes a day after two students filed a federal class-action lawsuit against the Catholic university , seeking a portion of tuition to be refunded this year .
The suit argues that online classes are less valuable than what DePaul provided on campus .
—Elyssa Cherney 10:10 a.m. : Naperville Park Board votes to take legal action to make its own decisions on reopening The Naperville Park @ @ @ @ @ @ @ its facilities on its own schedule , rather than the governor ’ s , and plans to bring employees back and relaunch some programs starting June 1 .
In a 4-3 vote Thursday night , the Naperville Park Board directed its lawyer to seek an emergency court hearing to allow the district to make reopening decisions that “ are in the best interest of the community .
“ The action came after discussion , and a closed session , in which board commissioners who favored taking legal action argued that Naperville should be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ when it comes to the governor ’ s five-phase plan to reopen the state region-by-region.
“ No one ’ s suggesting we force people to use our parks or put kids their in our programs , ” Commissioner Josh McBroom said .
“ It ’ s called freedom .
People should have the freedom to choose whether they ’ re willing to accept risk in their lives . ''
Read more here .
—Erin Hegarty 9:36 a.m. : ‘ It ’ s like a hurricane came and leveled the entire economy ’ : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ record U.S. retail sales tumbled by a record 16.4 % from March to April as business shutdowns caused by the coronavirus kept shoppers away , threatened the viability of stores across the country and further weighed down a sinking economy .
The Commerce Department ’ s report Friday on retail purchases showed a sector that has collapsed so quickly that sales over the past 12 months are down a crippling 21.6 % .
The severity of the decline is unrivaled for retail figures that date back to 1992 .
The monthly decline in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of 8.3 % — set just one month earlier .
“ It ’ s like a hurricane came and leveled the entire economy , and now we ’ re trying to get it back up and running , ” said Joshua Shapiro , chief U.S. economist for the consultancy Maria Fiorini Ramirez .
Shapiro suggested that retail sales should rebound somewhat as states and localities reopen their economies .
But he said overall sales would remain depressed `` because there is going to be a big chunk of the lost jobs that don @ @ @ @ @ @ @ here .
—Associated Press 6:33 a.m. : ‘ Everything we did was to predict the next outbreak.
’ Yet scientists at Northwestern and elsewhere weren ’ t prepared for COVID-19 .
Why ?
But its work was sporadic — a boom when epidemics like MERS hit , a bust when they were under control .
Some promising drugs never made it out of the laboratory as funding waned .
Now , researchers with the Center for Structural Genomics of Infectious Diseases are rushing to find an effective treatment for COVID-19 , making up @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has already killed about 300,000 people around the world , including around 86,000 in the United States .
“ I think we ’ re making substantial strides , ” said Karla Satchell , director of the center who is a professor of microbiology-immunology at Northwestern ’ s Feinberg School of Medicine .
“ Drug discovery is a slow process , and our hope is that we can do something in time to help this round of the pandemic .
But at the very least , we can do enough that this won ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
—Grace Wong 6 a.m. : COVID-19 hitting hardest in Chicago ZIP codes already struggling with deadly threat of gun violence On a recent Saturday morning at Springfield Avenue and Wilcox Street , residents wearing masks walked dogs past blooming red tulips .
A family stepped onto their porch with laundry bags stuffed with clothes to start a day of chores , just as a neighbor across the street arrived home with sacks of groceries .
Even with a blue and white Chicago police squad car idling nearby , it was hard to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that the neighborhood is at the crossroads of two massive public health crises .
By the end of April , gun violence and the COVID-19 pandemic had claimed nearly the same number of lives in the West Side ZIP code .
Eight men and one teenage boy had been shot and killed , while 11 others , mostly men , had suffered deaths blamed on the coronavirus .
A Tribune analysis of crime and COVID infection data by ZIP code over roughly a month showed the highest rates of infection are happening in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ crime and violence , such as Garfield Park , Austin , West Englewood and Lawndale .
Read more here .
—Annie Sweeney , Joe Marh and Jeremy Gorner 5 a.m. : StreetWise vendors face empty streets and empty pockets amid COVID-19 : ‘ Things are hard for everybody .
Think how hard it is for those in the streets to survive.
’ Cubs games were always a solid bet for StreetWise vendor Danny Davis , who could usually walk away with up to $ 400 from selling papers outside Wrigley Field .
Working @ @ @ @ @ @ @ games was a little less profitable , but decent .
Still , nothing paid out like a certain blockbuster musical downtown .
“ I tell you something I really miss , ” he said .
“ The ‘ Hamilton ’ show .
I ate off that show for 2 ½ years .
If I worked two shows , I was guaranteed at least $ 400 a day.
” Davis , 57 , reminisced this week about the entertainment venues and the customers they drew for StreetWise vendors like him , before the coronavirus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been selling the Chicago news magazine , which provides a source of work and income for people experiencing homelessness or other financial difficulties , for 19 years .
He knows the business — or at least , he did .
5 a.m. : Woman and her 89-year-old mother both survive COVID-19 : ‘ I didn ’ t know if she was gon na live or die ’ Magoch fell ill with the new coronavirus in late March and her mother , Betty Barrett , who lives with her in Bloomgingdale , came down @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Magoch isn ’ t sure how she caught it , as she was wearing a mask and gloves regularly before she was sick .
Nurses think her mother got it from her .

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Paca Kujtim of Arlington Heights self-administers a COVID-19 test in his car at the Arlington International Racecourse on March 31, 2021 in Arlington Heights. Kujtim was getting testing as a precaution for upcoming travel. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)
State officials announced four new free COVID-19 testing sites Friday, and also said that certain workers considered essential under Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s statewide stay-at-home order can now seek testing whether or not they have symptoms of the illness.
Officials encourage anyone with symptoms to seek testing. Health care workers, first responders, correctional workers, local and state government employees, grocery store workers and people who have been exposed to confirmed COVID-19 patients are among those who can seek tests whether they have symptoms or not.
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Officials announced 2,432 new known cases of coronavirus Friday, pushing the statewide total of known cases to 90,369. Another 130 deaths were reported Friday, for a statewide total of 4,058 deaths since the pandemic began.
[ COVID-19 cases in Illinois by ZIP code: Search for your neighborhood ]
[ How will Illinois reopen? Three charts breaking down Pritzker’s plan ]
[ As the coronavirus spreads, the Tribune is tracking Illinois cases here ]
Here’s what happened May 15: with COVID-19 in the Chicago area and Illinois:
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7:55 p.m.: Dentists in Illinois can now fully reopen, with extra COVID-19 precautions. But there’s a major PPE shortage.
After weeks of only treating emergencies, dentists in Illinois can now resume offering routine dental care, though there will be changes to office visits to limit the spread of COVID-19.
Yet many dentists say they’re struggling to find adequate personal protective equipment amid a national shortage — a potential roadblock to fully reopening.
“N95 masks and gowns are extremely hard to get, as are suitable face shields,” said Dr. Terri Tiersky, president of the Chicago Dental Society, who practices in north suburban Skokie. “We are all trying very hard to return to our patients, but we must do so safely, and we cannot do that without access to adequate amounts of the proper PPE.”
Dentists and hygienists are exposed to “as much or more aerosol spray than any other health care professional, but we seemingly haven’t been considered essential when it comes to obtaining vitally necessary PPE," she added.
The Illinois Department of Public Health issued a new guidance permitting dentists to resume full dental care starting last Monday, while recommending extra precautions to limit potential exposure to COVID-19. The health department said further delaying nonemergency dental treatments could result in exacerbated health problems like “patient complications, poorer prognoses, as well as the need for more complex and costly corrective oral and dental care.”
Although the state has permitted dental offices to stay open throughout the pandemic, dental work had been limited to emergencies and urgent oral health issues — such as an infection or a knocked-out tooth — in part to avoid these cases from contributing to overcrowding at local hospitals. Read more here. —Angie Leventis Lourgos
7:12 p.m.: Coronavirus deaths at long-term care facilities dip in past week, but still account for nearly half of overall state total
In the past week, Illinois recorded an additional 422 coronavirus deaths tied to long-term care facilities, bringing the tally of such deaths to nearly 2,000 since the pandemic began, according to state data.
The latest data, released Friday, offers a small consolation: The most recent number of weekly deaths was lower for the first time, with 471 deaths of residents and staff recorded a week before. But the figures reinforce how entrenched the virus has become in long-term care facilities: still accounting for nearly half the state’s deaths.
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The weekly data release comes amid increasing calls for the Pritzker administration to do more to lower the virus’s spread among a population considered the most vulnerable, even as Illinois expands previously scarce testing for residents and staff at the roughly 1,200 facilities across the state.
There are now at least 16 facilities with at least 20 deaths, and, for the first time, one is downstate: The Villa East in Sangamon County, with 20 deaths.
But metro Chicago facilities continue to post the worst numbers, led by Meadowbrook Manor of Bolingbrook and Center Home for Hispanic Elderly, each with 26 deaths. They are followed by Glenview Terrace and Symphony of Joliet (25) and Elevate Care Chicago North, Villa at Windsor Park, Woodbridge Nursing Pavilion and Manorcare Hinsdale (24).
Meadowbrook Manor had previously released a statement addressing the high toll, blaming it on the virus’s ability to infect people without causing symptoms, allowing its spread. While noting most residents were safe, facility officials said they take “each loss to heart.” Read more here. —Joe Mahr
7:04 p.m.: Lightfoot says she will personally ensure dust cloud doesn’t follow Little Village demolition
Facing pushback from community activists and elected officials over a planned demolition at the site of a former coal-fired power plant in Little Village, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Friday she will personally ensure that it doesn’t lead to another dust cloud engulfing the working-class immigrant neighborhood.
Lightfoot on Thursday delayed a planned demolition at the former Crawford coal plant at 3501 S. Pulaski Road where an implosion last month sent massive dust clouds into the Southwest Side neighborhood. Northbrook-based Hilco Redevelopment Partners, the project’s developer, has acknowledged not following a dust mitigation plan it gave the city and was fined $68,000 last month, the Lightfoot administration previously said.
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But residents and officials objected Thursday when Lightfoot’s buildings department said it would authorize demolition of a turbine structure at the coal plant because it is unsound and needs to be removed immediately. Following protests, Lightfoot said she would delay the demolition while her administration does more outreach.
In an interview with the Tribune, Lightfoot said she’s weighing public concerns alongside the need to knock down the building.
Asked whether she can assure residents that a dust cloud won’t migrate over the neighborhood again if the demolition occurs, Lightfoot said, “I’m going to make damn sure that it doesn’t.” Read more here. —Gregory Pratt
5:30 p.m.: Lightfoot plan to give O’Hare, Midway airport businesses rent breaks advances
Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s plan advanced Friday to give rent breaks to businesses at O’Hare International and Midway airports that have seen their revenue plummet because people are reluctant to fly during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The holes in the airports’ budgets as the rent goes uncollected would be plugged using federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act money specifically earmarked for the air travel network, Aviation Commissioner Jamie Rhee said. Local tax money will not be used, she said.
The City Council Aviation Committee adopted the Lightfoot ordinance despite questions from some aldermen who want more assurances that workers at the airports will continue to receive health care and other benefits from the concessionaires that get city help.
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Rhee said she would work with Westfield Concession Management, which oversees concessions, to try to make sure various subcontractor businesses are extending benefits. The ordinance does require that the businesses keep workers on the payroll.
The airport concession help was originally included in an emergency order Lightfoot brought forward to give her more authority to make decisions during the pandemic without needing City Council support. But she pulled it out of that package after council members balked at giving her such broad powers. —John Byrne
5:13 p.m.: Lightfoot says Chicago restaurants may reopen in June, sees hope for outdoor music and theater
Chicago restaurants might be able to reopen in June and residents may be allowed to sit outside enjoying music, theater, and other outdoor activities, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said on Friday.
Lightfoot also told the Tribune she will eventually reopen the lakefront, though it’s too soon to say when.
The mayor made the comments during a wide-ranging interview with the Tribune during which she said the city will “be in a position to see some form of summer life start in June.”
Asked to elaborate, Lightfoot said, "I see a world in which restaurants can reopen cautiously in June. I see a world over the course of the summer where people can sit outside and enjoy music and theater and other outdoor activities. I think we’re going to come up with some very creative ways in which those things can happen.”
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In making any decisions, Lightfoot said the city will be guided by the public health metrics her administration announced earlier this month “but we’re trending in the right direction.”
“I know people are anxious to get back outside and there’s a lot we’re learning around why being outside is much better than being cooped up inside … so I am pressing my team and the people that we’re in conversation with, the recovery task force, to really think expansively about opportunities to do that,” Lightfoot said. —Gregory Pratt
4:55 p.m.: Durbin, Preckwinkle visit Stroger Hospital as more coronavirus testing funds roll into Illinois
U.S. Senator Dick Durbin on Friday touted a fresh influx of federal funding for coronavirus testing in Illinois, while stressing the need for more support to combat the deadly disease.
During a visit to Stroger Hospital on the Near West Side, Durbin announced Illinois will get $473 million to uplift testing across the state. Over 600,000 testing swabs will arrive this month. The funding comes from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention after President Donald Trump in April signed the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act, which allows for a total $25 billion to boost testing across states.
Durbin said that is not enough — despite President Donald Trump’s boasts this week that the U.S. leads the world in testing and the nation has “prevailed” against the coronavirus.
“We absolutely, positively need to have even more,” Durbin said. “When the president stands up and says we have prevailed over (COVID-19), he is just flat out wrong. … We have not prevailed. This is still a battle that we have to win.” Read more here. — Alice Yin
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4:50 p.m.: Pritzker acknowledges family members have been in Florida and Wisconsin during shutdown
Gov. J.B. Pritzker for the first time Friday acknowledged his wife and daughter were in Florida before Illinois’ statewide stay-at-home order took effect in March and just recently returned to Chicago.
He said he was being “very private and very reserved” about his family “because there are threats to my safety and to their safety.
“You have seen that there are people that stand outside the Thompson Center and stand outside the Capitol in Springfield, holding, I mean, hateful signs that reference me personally and that suggest, if not say, but suggest the potential for violence,” he said.
On April 29, Pritzker testily responded to a question about a Patch.com report that his wife and family had gone to Florida amid the governor’s stay-at-home orders.
“My official duties have nothing to do with my family. So, I’m not going to answer that question. It's inappropriate and I find it reprehensible,” he said of stories about his family.
That response prompted an outcry from Republican and right-leaning groups that the Democratic governor’s own wife wasn’t heeding the mandates of Pritzker’s stay-at-home order, though Pritzker never imposed an outright travel ban for residents.
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“If his family can’t even heed the guidance of his own stay at home order, how does he expect Illinois voters to do the same?” said a May 4 email from the Republican National Committee with the subject line: “Governor Pritzker can’t take the heat.”
Pritzker said on Friday he hoped that an unnamed Republican super political action committee “that’s pushing stories like this about my family, would stop doing it because they are putting my children and family in danger.”
But he also acknowledged his family had only recently left Florida, where they had been staying since at least early March, before his stay-at-home order was issued. He owns an equestrian farm there.
Pritzker owns a horse farm in Racine, Wisconsin, and he indicated that his family was there.
“I just will say we have a working farm. They’re there now. There are animals on that farm, that it’s an essential function to take care of animals at a farm, so that’s what they’re doing,” he said.
A Pritzker spokeswoman later clarified that the family is at home in Chicago and have visited the farm but haven’t stayed there. —Rick Pearson and Jamie Munks
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4:36 p.m.: Preckwinkle’s Cook County disaster proclamation could extend to Sept. 30
The Cook County Board will vote next week on whether to extend President Toni Preckwinkle’s disaster proclamation in response to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic by 120 days.
The proposed new Sept. 30 deadline will be decided by commissioners during the board’s May 21 virtual meeting. It comes as Preckwinkle’s current emergency declaration, approved mid-March, is set to expire at the end of this month.
“Cook County is still responding to, and in the midst of, this historic crisis,” Preckwinkle spokesman Nick Shields wrote in a statement. “This extension falls in alignment with our recently released Cook County COVID-19 Response Plan.”
Commissioner Larry Suffredin, D-Evanston, said he sponsored the proposal because the health and financial devastation from the coronavirus does not appear to ebb anytime soon.
“I've come to the conclusion that the more time we give, the better it's going to be for being able to have continuity of recovery,” Suffredin said. “If you do everything in 30-day increments, you're going to hamstring some of the planning that's necessary.”
The resolution allows Preckwinkle to make “necessary” decisions without the board’s direct approval, such as issuing executive orders, moving money around and procuring essential supplies such as personal protective equipment, Suffredin said. Read more here. —Alice Yin
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3:41 p.m.: Quarantined returns. No guarantees you’ll get a fitting room. Northwest Indiana shows how shopping will look when stores reopen.
For the first time in weeks, customers at specialty running store Fleet Feet in Schererville, Indiana, can walk inside and try on a pair of shoes.
But first, they’ll need an appointment. To encourage social distancing, the shop just across the Illinois border can only handle about three fittings at a time.
Employees are getting used to helping customers choose shoes from a distance, while customers stay within blue tape on the floor corralling them in the center of the store, away from merchandise that must be disinfected if they touch it.
“That’s the hardest thing, just getting people used to not going where they want to go,” said manager Paul Jellema.
With nonessential businesses closed to in-store customers since mid-March to slow the spread of COVID-19, the closest most Illinois shoppers have come to casually browsing a favorite shop in weeks has been scouring grocery store shelves for disinfecting wipes or yeast. But in northwest Indiana, businesses are starting to reopen.
And scenes at stores in Indiana provide a sense of what Illinois consumers can expect when the state moves to the next phase of Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s reopening plan, which would allow more businesses to reopen with capacity limits — something that could happen as early as the end of the month. Read more here. —Lauren Zumbach
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2:54 p.m.: 2,432 new known COVID-19 cases and 130 additional deaths
State officials announced four new free COVID-19 testing sites Friday, and also said that certain workers considered essential under Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s statewide stay-at-home order can now seek testing whether or not they have symptoms of the illness.
Officials encourage anyone with symptoms to seek testing. Health care workers, first responders, correctional workers, local and state government employees, grocery store workers and people who have been exposed to confirmed COVID-19 patients are among those who can seek tests whether they have symptoms or not.
Officials announced 2,432 new known cases of coronavirus Friday, pushing the statewide total of known cases to 90,369. Another 130 deaths were reported Friday, for a statewide total of 4,058 deaths since the pandemic began.
Drive-through sites are opening on Chicago’s South Side on Saturday, in Champaign on Tuesday, Rolling Meadows on Wednesday and drive-through and walk-up services in Peoria May 23.
Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike on Friday urged health care providers to test pregnant women for COVID-19 when they’re admitted to the hospital for delivery.
Symptoms associated with labor can mimic or cover up coronavirus symptoms, and some people who have the illness are asymptomatic, so symptom screening is not enough, Ezike said. —Jamie Munks
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2:52 p.m.: R. Kelly again denied release from federal jail after raising COVID-19 concerns
A federal judge in New York has once again rejected R. Kelly’s request for release pending trial, stating that his diagnosis of prediabetes is not enough to put him at high risk of contracting COVID-19 behind bars.
The embattled singer has been seeing medical professionals in the downtown Chicago jail where he is being held, and they have recommended he lose weight and exercise. That should be enough to manage his condition, U.S. District Judge Ann M. Donnelly wrote in a ruling Friday.
It was Kelly’s third bid for release and his third rejection. Read more here. —Megan Crepeau and Jason Meisner
2:49 p.m.: US begins ‘warp speed’ push for coronavirus vaccine President Trump hopes will be ready by the end of the year
President Donald Trump vowed to use “every plane, truck and soldier” to distribute COVID-19 vaccines he hopes will be ready by year’s end — even as the country’s top scientists gear up for a master experiment to rapidly tell if any really work.
Trump on Friday declared the vaccine program he calls “Operation Warp Speed” will be “unlike anything our country has seen since the Manhattan Project.”
The goal is to have 300 million doses in stock by January, a huge gamble since a vaccine never has been created from scratch so fast — and one that could waste millions if shots chosen for the production line don't pan out. As the manufacturing side gets into place, the National Institutes of Health is working in parallel to speed the science.
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At least four or five possible vaccines “look pretty promising” and one or two will be ready to begin large-scale testing by July with others to follow soon, NIH Director Francis Collins told The Associated Press. Read more here. —Associated Press
2:37 p.m.: Contradicting library commissioner, Lightfoot’s office says libraries not looking to reopen by June 1
Staff at Chicago libraries are being asked to return to work next Wednesday but the city has no plans to reopen on June 1, a spokeswoman for Mayor Lori Lightfoot said.
The Lightfoot statement contradicts an email from libraries Commissioner Andrea Telli to staff on Thursday asking them to return to their normal work sites on May 20 in preparation for a potential June 1 reopening.
“In order to prepare for the eventual transition, Chicago Public Library has asked staff to return to work on May 20 to safely begin the extensive work necessary for services to ultimately resume," the Lightfoot statement said. “Absolutely no date has been set to open libraries to the public, and any re-opening decision would be consistent with public health guidance and dependent on where our data is at that time.”
Staff who return to work to prepare for facilities to open in the coming weeks will be provided with “appropriate PPE, and facilities will accommodate social distancing requirements to ensure the safety of all employees,” the mayor’s office said.
Lightfoot’s office backtracked shortly after the Tribune and Book Riot reported on Telli’s email.
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AFSCME Local 31 spokesman Anders Lindall in a statement said the union was not included in discussions before Telli’s announcement.
“We’re very disturbed by this announcement, which came with no prior notice to the union nor any opportunity for input on measures to protect library employees and the public,” Lindall said. “In the wake of the news, the city did reach out to AFSCME and we hope to be able to meet immediately to address our concerns.” Read more here. —Gregory Pratt
2:36 p.m.: As coronavirus unemployment soars, Illinois rolls out new website to connect job seekers and employers
Job seekers and employers can connect through a new website Illinois introduced this week as the state deals with record unemployment applications because of the coronavirus pandemic.
“The financial stability and success of our residents is key to getting Illinois’ economy back on its feet,” Gov. J.B. Pritzker said at his daily news briefing Thursday. “Illinois won’t be restored until our workers and families have the opportunities and resources they need to build and fill their lives.”
Get Hired IL provides an interactive search option for both workers and employers and can be found at www2.illinois.gov/GetHired/Pages/default.aspx. Read more here. —The Belleville News-Democrat
2:22 p.m.: Coronavirus chaos — wrecked economy, less office space demand, scarce financing — challenges Chicago’s megadevelopments
More than a decade of aggressive building in Chicago has altered the skyline and emboldened developers to draw up some of the most ambitious real estate plans ever seen in the city.
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Now the coronavirus pandemic leaves in doubt whether megaprojects like The 78 and Lincoln Yards can continue, if they’ll be pushed into the next construction cycle, or worse, go the way of the never-built Chicago Spire and Miglin-Beitler Skyneedle.
Among the obstacles developers face: a wrecked economy, companies cutting back their office space needs and fewer financing sources. Projects that move forward will have to weigh which design changes are here to stay and which are short-term concerns that will pass when the pandemic does.
Some of the biggest plans may never move off the drawing board, at least in this development cycle. And those that are built risk sitting empty for a while if they’re not fully leased in advance.
Despite difficult months or years to come, the top-tier megaprojects are more likely to be delayed than wiped out, experts say. What they’ve got going for them is they are conceived by large developers with deep-pocketed investors. Read more here. —Ryan Ori
1:42 p.m.: In 3 key states that elected Trump, bitter divisions over reopening
In Wisconsin, residents woke up to a state of confusion Thursday after the conservative majority on the state Supreme Court sided with the Republican majority in the Legislature on Wednesday night, overturning a statewide stay-at-home order by Gov. Tony Evers, a Democrat.
In Michigan, hundreds of protesters, many of them armed, turned out at the state Capitol in a drenching rainstorm. The state closed the building in advance and canceled the legislative session, rather than risk a repeat of an April protest in which angry protesters carrying long guns crowded inside.
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In Pennsylvania, some Republican lawmakers urged defiance of the Democratic governor’s orders to keep nonessential businesses closed, and President Donald Trump flew to Allentown for a politically charged visit to a medical supply facility.
The response to the coronavirus in those three states, which determined the 2016 presidential election and could strongly influence the one in November, is becoming a confused and agitated blend of health guidance, protest and partisan politics — leaving residents to fend for themselves. Read more here. —The New York Times
1:03 p.m.: She was about to give birth when she learned she had COVID-19. Here’s what happened next.
Parnit Faber knew what was about to happen, as she labored with her third child, breathing heavily through a face mask.
But knowing didn’t make the experience any easier.
After Faber gave birth to a boy, a nurse held up the infant for Faber to see, announced his weight — and then carried him out of the room.
Her son Lucas was healthy. But Faber, of Darien, had tested positive for COVID-19 while giving birth at Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital in Downers Grove, so the baby was taken to neonatal intensive care as a precaution.
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Faber didn’t get to touch her child. It would be 12 days before she could hold him. Read more here. —Lisa Schencker
12:38 p.m.: New data suggests the COVID-19 test used daily on President Trump may return false negatives. Despite the findings, the White House is still confident in its accuracy.
Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said Friday the White House still has confidence in a rapid COVID-19 test it has been using despite new data suggesting the test may return false negatives.
The head of the Food and Drug Administration said Friday his agency has provided new guidance to the White House after data suggested that the test used by President Donald Trump and others every day may be inaccurate and provide false negatives.
The test by Abbott Laboratories is used daily at the White House to test Trump, key members of his staff as well as any visitor to the White House complex who comes in close proximity to the president or Vice President Mike Pence. Azar commented after the FDA said late Thursday it was investigating preliminary data suggesting the 15-minute test can miss COVID-19 cases, falsely clearing infected patients. Read more here. —Associated Press
12:34 p.m.: Secretary of State’s office reopens seven facilities for drive-thru only
The Illinois secretary of state’s office is reopening seven driver services facilities beginning Tuesday for drive-thru vehicle registration sticker transactions only.
After reopening, the Chicago facilities will be open 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday, 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 7:30 a.m. to noon Saturday. All employees will wear face coverings, and the secretary of state’s office is urging customers to do the same.
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The reopening Chicago facilities are: Chicago North, 5401 N. Elston Ave; Chicago South, 9901 S. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr.; and Chicago West, 5301 W. Lexington St.
The other four facilities are in Rockford, Macomb, Springfield and Tilton.
The limited reopening is the first step toward a more comprehensive reopening plan, according to Secretary of State Jesse White’s office.
Drivers can still renew their vehicle registration stickers online at cyberdriveillinois.com. Expiration dates for driver’s licenses, identification cards and vehicle registrations have been extended at least 90 days after driver services facilities reopen. —Dan Petrella
11:56 a.m.: Illinois’ 5 GOP House members want Congress to block Pritzker from withholding federal aid to municipalities that disobey his stay-at-home order
The five Republicans in Illinois’ U.S. House delegation said Friday they want Congress to block Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker and other state chief executives from being able to withhold federal coronavirus relief aid from municipalities that disobey stay-at-home orders.
In a politically calculated counter to Pritzker, the five said Congress should consider prohibiting federal state aid to Illinois for “raising income taxes on small businesses” if it adopts a graduated-rate income tax to replace the state’s constitutionally mandated flat-rate income tax.
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In a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell and the two minority leaders, the five called Pritzker’s threat to use the withholding of federal funding to enforce his executive orders “unconscionable.”
“We write to you with deep concern over the recent threats issued by Gov. J.B. Pritzker to possibly withhold federal aid provided through the state of Illinois from any local government that reopens its economy in accordance with federal health guidelines but ahead of Gov. Pritzker’s own arbitrary timetable,” the five congressmen wrote. Read more here. —Rick Pearson
11:25 a.m.: Education Secretary Betsy DeVos funnels millions in coronavirus relief funds intended primarily for public schools to private, religious schools
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos is using the $2 trillion coronavirus stabilization law to throw a lifeline to education sectors she has long championed, directing millions of federal dollars intended primarily for public schools and colleges to private and religious schools.
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, signed in late March, included $30 billion for education institutions turned upside down by the pandemic shutdowns, about $14 billion for higher education, $13.5 billion to elementary and secondary schools, and the rest for state governments.
DeVos has used $180 million of that money to encourage states to create “microgrants” that parents of elementary and secondary school students can use to pay for educational services, including private school tuition. She has directed school districts to share millions of dollars designated for low-income students with wealthy private schools.
And she has nearly depleted the 2.5% of higher education funding, about $350 million, set aside for struggling colleges, to bolster small colleges — many of them private, religious or on the margins of higher education — regardless of need. The Wright Graduate University for the Realization of Human Potential, a private college in Wisconsin that has a website debunking claims that it is a cult, received about $495,000. Read more here. —The New York Times
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11:13 a.m.: DePaul says it will offer in-person classes in the fall as new committee takes up question for other Illinois universities
DePaul University plans to hold “limited in-person learning” in the fall and will work to reduce density in its campus dorms, President A. Gabriel Esteban announced Friday as other colleges debate whether students should be invited back for the new academic year.
“Though some classes will be held fully on-campus, more classes than usual will continue to take place at least partially online,” Esteban said in a message to the DePaul community. “Indeed, DePaul’s plans for fall quarter provide students with more options for how they take classes.”
DePaul plans to use social distancing and some degree of remote learning as it works to reduce density in its dorms and campus buildings, Esteban said. Though Esteban said he will release more details about DePaul’s plans for the fall in short order, much of the final decision will hinge on what public health officials in Illinois allow.
Colleges nationwide are weighing how to approach the fall semester – whether they should open dorms and courses to students on campus or continue to offer online classes in case a second wave of coronavirus infections emerge.
Also on Friday, the Illinois Board of Higher Education said it has convened a new committee to examine how colleges might be able to reopen safely in the fall. The committee consist of leaders from public universities, private colleges and community colleges, according to a new release.
“Keeping our students on track to post-secondary attainment remains our primary focus and I am confident that together these leaders will help enable continued success in that effort,” IBHE Chair John Atkinson said in a statement.
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DePaul’s announcement comes a day after two students filed a federal class-action lawsuit against the Catholic university, seeking a portion of tuition to be refunded this year. The suit argues that online classes are less valuable than what DePaul provided on campus. —Elyssa Cherney
10:52 a.m.: Lightfoot urges Chicago faith leaders to observe stay-at-home order
In a letter to Chicago faith leaders, Mayor Lori Lightfoot again urged houses of worship to continue following Illinois’ stay-at-home order despite growing resistance and said she remains “resolute” about taking action against those who disobey the rules.
“Yes, limiting services and other important religious convenings like funerals, baptisms, bat and bar mizvahs, breaking fasts and weddings is hard,” Lightfoot wrote in the letter, released by her office. “But it remains every bit as important now as ever.”
In the letter, Lightfoot refers to COVID-19 as a “life-threatening menace” and says she is “resolute” about enforcing Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s stay-at-home order.
“To be fair to all, I simply cannot look away from non-compliance no matter the source or the intention,” Lightfoot said.
Lightfoot also noted that the coronavirus pandemic has disproportionately affected Chicago’s black and brown communities.
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"When you look across your congregations, do you see the elderly, or people with underlying medical conditions like asthma, diabetes, heart disease or upper respiratory ailments — the kinds of underlying conditions that make each individual, old or young, significantly more vulnerable to COVID-19?
Earlier in the week, Lightfoot said the city is prepared to enforce the stay-at-home order against houses of worship that continue holding in-person services. Read more here. —Gregory Pratt
10:10 a.m.: Naperville Park Board votes to take legal action to make its own decisions on reopening
The Naperville Park District will take legal action to reopen its facilities on its own schedule, rather than the governor’s, and plans to bring employees back and relaunch some programs starting June 1.
In a 4-3 vote Thursday night, the Naperville Park Board directed its lawyer to seek an emergency court hearing to allow the district to make reopening decisions that “are in the best interest of the community.
“The action came after discussion, and a closed session, in which board commissioners who favored taking legal action argued that Naperville should be considered separate from Chicago and Cook County when it comes to the governor’s five-phase plan to reopen the state region-by-region.“
No one’s suggesting we force people to use our parks or put kids their in our programs,” Commissioner Josh McBroom said. “It’s called freedom. People should have the freedom to choose whether they’re willing to accept risk in their lives." Read more here. —Erin Hegarty
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9:36 a.m.: ‘It’s like a hurricane came and leveled the entire economy’: Retail sales fall 16.4%, a record
U.S. retail sales tumbled by a record 16.4% from March to April as business shutdowns caused by the coronavirus kept shoppers away, threatened the viability of stores across the country and further weighed down a sinking economy.
The Commerce Department’s report Friday on retail purchases showed a sector that has collapsed so quickly that sales over the past 12 months are down a crippling 21.6%. The severity of the decline is unrivaled for retail figures that date back to 1992. The monthly decline in April nearly doubled the previous record drop of 8.3% — set just one month earlier.
“It’s like a hurricane came and leveled the entire economy, and now we’re trying to get it back up and running,” said Joshua Shapiro, chief U.S. economist for the consultancy Maria Fiorini Ramirez.
Shapiro suggested that retail sales should rebound somewhat as states and localities reopen their economies. But he said overall sales would remain depressed "because there is going to be a big chunk of the lost jobs that don’t come back.” Read more here. —Associated Press
6:33 a.m.: ‘Everything we did was to predict the next outbreak.’ Yet scientists at Northwestern and elsewhere weren’t prepared for COVID-19. Why?
More than a decade ago, a center was founded at Northwestern University as a rapid-response operation against infectious disease.
But its work was sporadic — a boom when epidemics like MERS hit, a bust when they were under control. Some promising drugs never made it out of the laboratory as funding waned.
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Now, researchers with the Center for Structural Genomics of Infectious Diseases are rushing to find an effective treatment for COVID-19, making up for lost time against a disease that has already killed about 300,000 people around the world, including around 86,000 in the United States.
And they hope they’ll be ready for whatever comes next.
“I think we’re making substantial strides,” said Karla Satchell, director of the center who is a professor of microbiology-immunology at Northwestern’s Feinberg School of Medicine. “Drug discovery is a slow process, and our hope is that we can do something in time to help this round of the pandemic. But at the very least, we can do enough that this won’t happen again.” Read more here. —Grace Wong
6 a.m.: COVID-19 hitting hardest in Chicago ZIP codes already struggling with deadly threat of gun violence
On a recent Saturday morning at Springfield Avenue and Wilcox Street, residents wearing masks walked dogs past blooming red tulips. A family stepped onto their porch with laundry bags stuffed with clothes to start a day of chores, just as a neighbor across the street arrived home with sacks of groceries.
Even with a blue and white Chicago police squad car idling nearby, it was hard to tell in that still, quiet moment that the neighborhood is at the crossroads of two massive public health crises.
By the end of April, gun violence and the COVID-19 pandemic had claimed nearly the same number of lives in the West Side ZIP code. Eight men and one teenage boy had been shot and killed, while 11 others, mostly men, had suffered deaths blamed on the coronavirus.
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A Tribune analysis of crime and COVID infection data by ZIP code over roughly a month showed the highest rates of infection are happening in communities that also have high rates of crime and violence, such as Garfield Park, Austin, West Englewood and Lawndale. Read more here. —Annie Sweeney, Joe Marh and Jeremy Gorner
5 a.m.: StreetWise vendors face empty streets and empty pockets amid COVID-19: ‘Things are hard for everybody. Think how hard it is for those in the streets to survive.’
Cubs games were always a solid bet for StreetWise vendor Danny Davis, who could usually walk away with up to $400 from selling papers outside Wrigley Field.
Working outside United Center for Bulls or Blackhawks games was a little less profitable, but decent. Still, nothing paid out like a certain blockbuster musical downtown.
“I tell you something I really miss,” he said. “The ‘Hamilton’ show. I ate off that show for 2 ½ years. If I worked two shows, I was guaranteed at least $400 a day.”
Davis, 57, reminisced this week about the entertainment venues and the customers they drew for StreetWise vendors like him, before the coronavirus pandemic shut them down. He has been selling the Chicago news magazine, which provides a source of work and income for people experiencing homelessness or other financial difficulties, for 19 years. He knows the business — or at least, he did.
But those guarantees are no more, thanks to COVID-19. Read more here. —Darcel Rockett
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5 a.m.: Woman and her 89-year-old mother both survive COVID-19: ‘I didn’t know if she was gonna live or die’
Joann Magoch knew her 89-year-old mother was on the mend from COVID-19 when she got her attitude back.
“She’s getting back to her old self because she’s getting cocky with me,” Magoch said this week.
Magoch fell ill with the new coronavirus in late March and her mother, Betty Barrett, who lives with her in Bloomgingdale, came down with symptoms a short time later. Magoch isn’t sure how she caught it, as she was wearing a mask and gloves regularly before she was sick. Nurses think her mother got it from her.
Thankfully, she said, both are now recovering, although neither feels at full strength. Read more here. —Peter Nickeas
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chicagotribune--2020-05-16--Dentists in Illinois can now fully reopen, with extra COVID-19 precautions. But there’s a major PPE

Dentists in Illinois can now fully reopen, with extra COVID-19 precautions. But there’s a major PPE shortage.

While many dental workers are eager to fully reopen , procuring protective gear remains a challenge .
In a recent @ @ @ @ @ 10 dentists reported not having any supply of N95 or KN95 masks , more than @ @ @ @ @ no face shields and more than 25 % said they had no supply of gowns @ @ @ @ @ Dental Association .
The association also has appealed to Congress for help in obtaining appropriate @ @ @ @ @ .

After weeks of only treating emergencies, dentists in Illinois can now resume offering routine dental care, though there will be changes to office visits to limit the spread of COVID-19.
Yet many dentists say they’re struggling to find adequate personal protective equipment amid a national shortage — a potential roadblock to fully reopening.
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“N95 masks and gowns are extremely hard to get, as are suitable face shields,” said Dr. Terri Tiersky, president of the Chicago Dental Society, who practices in north suburban Skokie. “We are all trying very hard to return to our patients, but we must do so safely, and we cannot do that without access to adequate amounts of the proper PPE.”
Dentists and hygienists are exposed to “as much or more aerosol spray than any other health care professional, but we seemingly haven’t been considered essential when it comes to obtaining vitally necessary PPE," she added.
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The Illinois Department of Public Health issued a new guidance permitting dentists to resume full dental care starting last Monday, while recommending extra precautions to limit potential exposure to COVID-19. The health department said further delaying nonemergency dental treatments could result in exacerbated health problems like “patient complications, poorer prognoses, as well as the need for more complex and costly corrective oral and dental care.”
Although the state has permitted dental offices to stay open throughout the pandemic, dental work had been limited to emergencies and urgent oral health issues — such as an infection or a knocked-out tooth — in part to avoid these cases from contributing to overcrowding at local hospitals.
In March, the Chicago-based American Dental Association and the Illinois State Dental Society recommended that dentists suspend elective procedures to help keep workers and patients safe, as well as preserve PPE that’s been in short supply across the country.
But after monitoring the virus for weeks, state health officials now anticipate a “decrease in the burden of COVID-19 illness” toward the end of May, according to the agency’s most recent guidance for dentists.
While many dental workers are eager to fully reopen, procuring protective gear remains a challenge. In a recent nationwide survey, more than 17% said they had no face shields and more than 25% said they had no supply of gowns, according to the American Dental Association. The association also has appealed to Congress for help in obtaining appropriate protective gear for dental practices.
Dr. Stacey Van Scoyoc, vice president of the Illinois State Dental Society, said a visit to the dentist might be very different during the pandemic. Her practice in Bloomington has begun screening patients for COVID-19 symptoms by phone a day or two before the appointment; then there’s a second patient screening the day of the appointment, which includes a temperature check, she said.
Her waiting room is now empty — no chairs or magazines — and patients are asked to wait in their cars until the appointment begins. Everyone in the office must wear a mask, including the patient, except when work is being done in the patient’s mouth.
She added that no relatives or friends are allowed to accompany the patient.
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“We’re keeping as many people out of our office as possible,” she said.
While Van Scoyoc said she has a backlog of patients seeking care, she’s initially prioritizing those with more immediate dental concerns. Regular cleanings will resume in June when her practice’s hygienists, who now have child care constraints due to school closures, are expected to return to work.
“We’re starting with patients with a higher need — sometime patients who chipped a tooth or a filling fell out, but it wasn’t painful or an urgent need,” she said.
The Illinois dentist’s group said its experts have been working with the state health department on the new guidance, noting that patients likely have been forgoing typical dental care for weeks, “which may cause their oral health to deteriorate.”
eleventis@chicagotribune.com