chicagotribune--2020-11-14--Coronavirus in Illinois updates: 15,415 new COVID-19 cases reported Friday, the fourth straight day

Coronavirus in Illinois updates: 15,415 new COVID-19 cases reported Friday, the fourth straight day with record high; contact tracing data shows state still not reaching 90% target

The number of new confirmed and probable cases of the coronavirus in Illinois topped 15,000 for the first time Friday , setting a record for the fourth straight day .
The 15,415 cases state public health officials reported Friday are 2,713 more than the previous record set a day earlier .
Over the past week , the state is averaging 12,345 cases of COVID-19 per day .
The total number of known infections in Illinois now stands at 551,957 and the statewide death toll is 10,504 since the start of the pandemic , with 27 additional fatalities reported Friday .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ it posts related to contact tracing , which involves reaching out to people diagnosed with COVID-19 , urging them to isolate and asking them where they ’ ve been and whom they ’ ve seen during the two weeks prior to their positive test so those people can be asked to quarantine .
The data — covering the period from Aug. 1 to Nov. 7 — shows that the state is short of its goal of launching contact tracing for 90 % of cases , although some regions came very close .
Others @ @ @ @ @ @ @ example , in Region 4 in far southern Illinois , tracers reached out to 89 % of sick people , while in Region 10 , which is suburban Cook County , the figure was 17 % , according to the state .
And speaking of the suburbs , one day after Mayor Lori Lightfoot urged Chicago residents to stay home for the next month , suburban Cook County is doing the same .
The new advisory , similar to the city ’ s version , goes into effect on Monday and lasts for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ imposing a 10-person limit on weddings , birthday parties , funerals and some social events in Chicago starting Monday .
In the meantime , the mayor on Friday defended her appearance last weekend when she joined a crowd celebrating the presumptive win of Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden as COVID-19 cases surge .
6:30 p.m. : No one fined for violating Chicago ’ s travel order so far In the four months Chicago has had a mandatory travel quarantine order in place , only warning letters have gone out to people believed to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said Thursday .
No one has been fined so far under the city ’ s order , implemented by Mayor Lori Lightfoot over the Fourth of July weekend , which requires travelers from states with high coronavirus infection rates to quarantine for 14 days after returning to Chicago , city spokesman Andrew Buchanan said in a statement .
He said the city was not releasing information on how many letters have gone out .
Two suburban long-term care facilities where hundreds of residents and staff contracted COVID-19 and dozens died have been fined @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for coronavirus-related citations , according to the federal agency .
Under the new gubernatorial order , which runs through Dec. 12 , tenants must sign a form declaring that they meet certain qualifications , including an income limit of $ 99,000 for individuals or $ 198,000 for joint tax filers .
They also must attest that they are unable to make housing payments due to a COVID-19-related hardship and would likely be homeless or forced to live in close quarters if evicted .
Tenants also have to be making their “ best efforts @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as close to the full payment as the individual ’ s circumstances may permit.
” 4:05 p.m. : As surging COVID-19 cases collide with Thanksgiving food shopping , city warns of a crackdown on crowds at grocery stores Grocery shoppers making their Thanksgiving runs may encounter something they haven ’ t seen since the early days of the pandemic : Lines outside of stores as the city steps up enforcement of capacity limits during the holiday rush .
Chicago ’ s Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection plans to proactively investigate retail @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and other COVID-19 regulations , which carry fines up to $ 10,000 for violations , spokesman Isaac Reichman said .
Meanwhile , grocers expect bigger holiday crowds than usual given that restaurant closures , scuttled travel plans and calls by city officials to cancel family gatherings could result in smaller yet more Thanksgiving dinners cooked at home overall .
4:04 p.m. : Evanston issues stay-at-home advisory after reporting record-high number of new COVID-19 cases last two days On Thursday and Friday , city officials reported 43 and 60 confirmed new COVID-19 cases , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ since the pandemic began in March , according to a news release .
Evanston ’ s seven-day positivity rate now is 5.57 % , still lower than the 15 % in suburban Cook County , according to the release.Evanston ’ s advisory is in line with similar advisories already issued by the Cook County Department of Public Health , according to the release .
Like the Cook County advisory , Evanston ’ s will begin at 6 a.m. Monday and last for 30 days .
“ Our collective actions can reduce the rate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ being overwhelmed , and , ultimately , save lives , ” said Health and Human Services Director Ike Ogbo , in the release .
“ We are asking residents to take these necessary actions today to prevent more restrictive mitigation measures in the future.
” Evanston community centers remain open , but residents are encouraged to complete city business online .
Parks and Recreation camp programs will also continue running for the time being , according to the city .
Illinois driver services facilities will close temporarily for in-person business starting on Tuesday @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and Secretary of State Jesse White will again extend the expiration dates for driver ’ s licenses and ID cards , his office announced Friday .
The facilities are slated to reopen Dec. 7 .
The expiration date for driver ’ s licenses and identification cards has now been extended to June 1 , because of the coronavirus pandemic .
Anyone with a license that expires before the extended deadline will be considered to have a valid license until June 1 , though commercial driver ’ s license holders are excluded from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 3:20 p.m. : Officials want you to stay home for the holidays .
Still traveling ?
Here ’ s what to expect .
As COVID-19 cases rise and state and local officials urge residents to stay home as much as possible , fewer people are expected to board planes , trains and buses ahead of Thanksgiving .
AAA forecasts that 2.48 million people in Illinois , and 50.6 million nationally , are expected to travel for the holiday , with most people driving .
The number of travelers could fall further as consumers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ restrictions and guidance from health officials , AAA said .
Mayor Lori Lightfoot asked residents to avoid nonessential travel and cancel traditional Thanksgiving plans , and suburban Cook County followed up with a similar advisory Friday .
Gov .
J.B. Pritzker advised those choosing to travel to self-quarantine for two weeks before gathering .
Still , the desire to celebrate with family — even with a smaller group , or without a lengthy feast — could convince some who have been avoiding travel to make the trip.If you ’ re considering travel , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2:55 p.m. : Chicago has a lot of cold storage space .
But will it be cold enough to support a COVID-19 vaccine rollout ?
Yet the complexity of the vaccine rollout and unique facilities requirements mean Chicago ’ s sprawling network of warehouses — which includes more than 11 million square feet of freezer and cooler space — may not play a major role .
“ Nothing that we ’ re building can even get that cold , ” said Tony Pricco , president of Chicago-based developer Bridge Development Partners , which @ @ @ @ @ @ @ other warehouses throughout the country .
“ I don ’ t think it ’ s even feasible to keep a large space that cold .
This is not a conventional freezer type of use.
” No matter which vaccine emerges for mass distribution , the process of transporting and storing it could require a marshaling of public and private resources seen in only the rarest of instances .
The Cook County State ’ s Attorney ’ s office is urging its employees to stay at home , foreshadowing future “ COVID policy changes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ shutdown is looming , according to an internal email obtained by the Tribune .
As courtrooms began to reopen over the summer , more prosecutors returned to the office , sometimes on a rotating basis .
Now , employees designated as “ stay-at-home staff ” by their supervisors will need to get prior permission to come to the office .
The Friday morning memo did not mention a shift in the way staffers are informed of COVID cases within the office — which has been a common source of concern among rank-and-file staffers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Chief Judge ’ s office and the Clerk of the Circuit Court , circulate regular memorandums notifying employees when a staffer tests positive .
The memos include details about where the staffer worked and how many positive cases the offices have measured so far in the pandemic .
Due to an increasing number of COVID-19 cases throughout the region , Rush Oak Park hospital has again adopted its no visitor policy that had been in place earlier this year , and West Suburban Medical Center in Oak Park has also reinstated limits @ @ @ @ @ @ @ number of COVID cases could overwhelm the number of available hospital beds , that has not yet occurred at these two hospitals .
On Wednesday , the state reported a record number of COVID-19 hospitalizations , at 5,042 , compared with a previous high of 5,037 patients on April 28 .
Some area hospitals have begun adding beds in anticipation of a surge of COVID-19 cases and have delayed elective surgeries .
A pause on River Forest District 90′s return to in-person learning has been extended until at least the end of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in COVID-19 cases in the area .
At the end of October , District 90 began a “ blended in-person learning plan , ” which allowed for students to gradually return to classrooms while still taking some courses remotely .
The district began welcoming its pre-kindergarten and kindergarten students back to school buildings on Oct. 21 , but increasing COVID-19 cases caused the district to take an “ adaptive pause ” on the plan just one week later .
Officials had hoped to re-start its blended learning plan on Nov. 16 , however @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has caused administrators to extend that pause until at least Nov. 30 .
The state on Friday updated the data it posts related to contact tracing , which involves reaching out to people diagnosed with COVID-19 , urging them to isolate and asking them where they ’ ve been and whom they ’ ve seen during the two weeks prior to their positive test so those people can be asked to quarantine .
The data — covering the period from Aug. 1 to Nov. 7 — shows that the state is short of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 90 % of cases , although some regions came very close .
Others appear nowhere near that target .
For example , in Region 4 in far southern Illinois , tracers reached out to 89 % of sick people , while in Region 10 , which is suburban Cook County , the figure was 17 % , according to the state .
The data also shows outbreak locations , defined as places where there were five or more cases within 14 days , and exposure locations , or places that people with the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ before diagnosis .
The top three categories of outbreak locations over the past 30 days were day care operations , workplaces and factories , which have their own classification .
The top three exposure locations were schools , businesses including retail operations and then restaurants and bars , which share a classification .
Pritzker ’ s shutdown of indoor service at restaurants and bars has become a matter of fierce debate , with Pritzker saying it ’ s just not safe right now and restaurateurs contending he can ’ t prove that .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ on outbreaks and exposures at schools , showing a smattering of outbreaks in six counties including McHenry , and exposures across central and northern Illinois , with many in Chicago and its suburbs .
1:13 p.m. : Indiana ’ s daily COVID-19 deaths near peak set in April surge ; Gary mayor clamps down on bars , restaurants and churches Indiana is averaging nearly as many coronavirus-related deaths now as it did during the spring ’ s initial surge of cases , with heath officials adding 50 more deaths to the state ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ deaths occurring over several days have pushed the state ’ s moving seven-day fatality average to 40 per day , just short of highest average of 42 a day recorded in late April .
Indiana ’ s COVID-19 deaths average has tripled since Gov .
Eric Holcomb lifted nearly all coronavirus-related restrictions in late September .
During that time , COVID-19 hospitalizations have gone up 200 % and the seven-day moving average of newly confirmed infections is six times higher .
12:30 p.m. : Daily coronavirus cases top 15,000 in Illinois for the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the fourth straight day The number of new confirmed and probable cases of the coronavirus in Illinois topped 15,000 for the first time Friday , setting a record for the fourth straight day .
The 15,415 cases state public health officials reported Friday are 2,713 more than the previous record set a day earlier .
Over the past week , the state is averaging 12,345 cases of COVID-19 per day .
State health officials also reported 27 more fatalities Friday , bringing the statewide death toll to 10,504 since the pandemic began .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ than in recent days , the state has averaged 61 deaths per day over the past week , up from 41 at the beginning of the month .
In all , there have been 551,957 known cases of COVID-19 in Illinois , according to state health officials .
For the week ending Thursday , the average number of cases as a share of total tests was 13.2 % , up from 8.1 % at the beginning of the month and 3.4 % at the beginning of October .
Hospitalizations , which are a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ spreading , also continue to surge .
As of Thursday night , 5,362 people were in the hospital with COVID-19 , 990 of them in intensive care and 488 on ventilators .
Over the past three days , there have been more coronavirus patients in the hospital each day than at any time during the first wave in the spring .
11:27 a.m. : Lightfoot on joining crowd celebrating Biden-Harris win as COVID-19 cases surge : ‘ There are times when we actually do need to have ... relief and come together ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the mayor was asked about joining revelers Saturday amid a spike in COVID-19 cases in Chicago and nationwide — a surge so bad that on Thursday she announced a stay-at-home “ advisory ” while Gov .
J.B. Pritzker warned a second statewide mandatory shutdown order could be coming .
The mayor nodded to the fact that crowds were taking to the streets across the country last weekend after news outlets declared Biden the winner in Pennsylvania , giving him the 270 electoral votes he needed to beat Republican President Donald Trump .
She @ @ @ @ @ @ @ packed crowd via bullhorn that was shared on social media .
10:56 a.m. : Following in Chicago ’ s footsteps , suburban Cook County issues stay-at-home advisory , urges holiday plans to be postponed One day after Mayor Lori Lightfoot urged Chicago residents to stay home for the next month , suburban Cook County is doing the same .
The suburban advisory , similar to the city ’ s version , goes into effect on Monday and lasts for 30 days , according a Friday news release from the Cook County Department of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ stop short of a mandatory stay-at-home order because they are intended to be a final attempt at curbing the coronavirus ' recent resurgence before more drastic measures are taken .
“ Now more than ever , we must come together to stay apart , ” Dr. Rachel Rubin , Cook County ’ s public health department ’ s senior medical officer , said in the release .
“ We know limiting gatherings with friends and family can be hard , but we also know that virtual celebrations will save lives.
” 9:38 a.m. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ COVID-19 patients , as health executive pleads with public to take precautions Aurora ’ s Rush Copley Medical Center and AMITA Health Mercy Medical Center both treated record high numbers of COVID-19 patients this week , as the virus continues to surge in the region and another layer of COVID-19 mitigation measures takes effect .
Mercy hospital , on Aurora ’ s near West Side , was treating 41 inpatients for COVID-19 Thursday , and another 11 people were under investigation for the virus , AMITA Health system spokesman Tim Nelson said .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ 24 inpatients who were positive for the virus and 15 people under investigation , he said .
Rush Copley , on the city ’ s Southeast Side , had 82 COVID-19 patients at one time in the past week , also marking the highest number it treated at once since the start of the pandemic , Chief Operating Officer Mary Shilkaitis said .
By Thursday afternoon the number of virus patients at the hospital was 77 .
That , too , amounted to more people than the hospital ever treated at once during @ @ @ @ @ @ @ March , April and May , Shilkaitis said .
8:59 a.m. : Number of COVID-19 cases and deaths climbing at Edward Hospital in Naperville The number of patients being treated and hospitalized for COVID-19 continues to climb at Edward Hospital , with a record 93 patients as of Thursday morning , hospital officials announced .
“ When you look at the first of October , we had 14 patients ( being treated ) .
By the end of the month it was 51 .
And two weeks later , we are now at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , things that happened practically overnight , ” said hospital spokesman Keith Hartenberger .
Students in general education were tentatively scheduled to return Nov. 6 , which was then delayed until Nov. 16 , but now officials say they will stick with remote learning until the region is no longer under COVID-19 mitigation measures .
“ We saw the positivity rates begin to rise , which prompted our ( initial ) announcement to delay that return , ” Superintendent Nick Polyak explained in a memo to parents .
“ Over the last couple @ @ @ @ @ @ @ see this positivity rate decrease .
Unfortunately , after leveling off slightly , our local positivity rate has continued to rise.
” Billboard reported this week that the ticketing juggernaut , which shares ownership with Live Nation — the world ’ s leading concert promoter — is discussing plans that would require patrons to provide either proof of a coronavirus vaccination or a recent negative Covid-19 test to gain entry to a concert .
This would be done through a combination of third-party entities : A fan would need to request that its @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to a health pass provider , such as CLEAR Health Pass or IBM ’ s Digital Health Pass , who would then verify the results to Ticketmaster , who would not store or have access to customers ' medical records , Billboard said .
Tingley said that , based on reports from contact tracing , there was little evidence that any of the cases resulted from students and staff contracting the virus in school buildings , and that most were traced back to social gatherings or family settings .
He said district officials @ @ @ @ @ @ @ able to attend school due to self-quarantine will rise as positivity rates increase in the suburbs the district serves , which include Frankfort and New Lenox .
“ There are simply too many students not able to attend in person learning at this point due to exposure or a close contact , ” Tingley said .
Homer 33C Superintendent Craig Schoppe told families Thursday that 64 staff and 224 students were quarantined due being symptomatic for the virus or having had close contact with someone who had tested positive .
There were 10 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ among district staff , and 9 positive and 10 probable cases among students , he said .
The district had “ reached a point where we will be unable to cover classrooms and bus routes next week , ” Schoppe wrote .
District 228 Superintendent Bill Kendall said Thursday that COVID-19 guidance from public health officials showing the schools are located in an orange warning zone prompted the move to remote learning .
“ We ’ re being cautious for our students , staff and community , ” he said .
Rising positivity @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , with schools in Blue Island , Oak Lawn and Palos Heights , to put off plans to bring students back on a limited basis , parents were told this week .
5 a.m. : Arbitrator rules against Chicago Public Schools in labor dispute over clerks , but district will still require them to work mostly in person , saying COVID-19 measures in place The Chicago Public Schools has indicated it will continue to require certain staff members to work in person , despite an arbitrator ’ s ruling Thursday that they should @ @ @ @ @ @ @ until CPS proves it ’ s minimized the risk of COVID-19 at each school .
Thursday ’ s ruling applies to clerks , technology coordinators and other select staff whom the independent labor arbitrator presumed should be permitted to work from home at least four days a week , except where duties can ’ t be performed remotely .
It also requires CPS to determine which schools pass certified hazard assessments and provide the union with all the information they need to confirm the district ’ s determination .
If a school is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , 100 % in-person work “ is appropriate , ” according to the arbitrator .
The ruling comes the week after CPS officials released an air quality and ventilation assessment that they said cleared most classrooms for students to return .
5 a.m. : One-third of Springfield firefighters in quarantine because of COVID-19 More than one-third of Springfield ’ s firefighters are in quarantine as a COVID-19 outbreak spreads through the department .
Seventy-three firefighters are quarantined , including 19 who have tested positive for the virus .
But two of the city @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be in operation until further notice , according to city officials .
The engines in question are each part of a multi-company station house .
“ While this is not ideal , it is our current reality with so many of our members who have been exposed , ” said Springfield Fire Chief Allen Reyne .
“ The department will begin working with our regional hospitals to determine if our methodology for quarantine , which we have used since day one , is still supported by CDC.
” The engines taken out of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Stevenson Drive , and Station 12 , 2925 S. Koke Mill Road .
The stations are also each home to one of the city ’ s three truck companies , which carry features like ladders and extrication equipment .
Reyne said the decision to take the engines out of operation were done due to the manpower shortage as well as a desire to better socially distance as the stations in question are both small .
So instead of two companies with six people present at each station , there will be one with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ taking those off and that brings down your manning level to alleviate individuals that are needed , ” said Springfield Mayor Jim Langfelder .
Here are five things that happened Thursday regarding COVID-19 :

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CTU workers direct vehicles lined up for COVID-19 testing outside of the Chicago Teachers Union on Dec. 30, 2021, in Chicago. CPS starts back to school on Monday following their holiday break. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)
The number of new confirmed and probable cases of the coronavirus in Illinois topped 15,000 for the first time Friday, setting a record for the fourth straight day.
The 15,415 cases state public health officials reported Friday are 2,713 more than the previous record set a day earlier. Over the past week, the state is averaging 12,345 cases of COVID-19 per day.
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The total number of known infections in Illinois now stands at 551,957 and the statewide death toll is 10,504 since the start of the pandemic, with 27 additional fatalities reported Friday.
Meanwhile, Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced Friday he was extending a host of coronavirus-related executive orders for another 30 days, including an extension of a moratorium on evictions.
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The state also updated the data that it posts related to contact tracing, which involves reaching out to people diagnosed with COVID-19, urging them to isolate and asking them where they’ve been and whom they’ve seen during the two weeks prior to their positive test so those people can be asked to quarantine.
The data — covering the period from Aug. 1 to Nov. 7 — shows that the state is short of its goal of launching contact tracing for 90% of cases, although some regions came very close. Others appear nowhere near that target. For example, in Region 4 in far southern Illinois, tracers reached out to 89% of sick people, while in Region 10, which is suburban Cook County, the figure was 17%, according to the state.
And speaking of the suburbs, one day after Mayor Lori Lightfoot urged Chicago residents to stay home for the next month, suburban Cook County is doing the same.
The new advisory, similar to the city’s version, goes into effect on Monday and lasts for 30 days. Additionally, Lightfoot is imposing a 10-person limit on weddings, birthday parties, funerals and some social events in Chicago starting Monday.
In the meantime, the mayor on Friday defended her appearance last weekend when she joined a crowd celebrating the presumptive win of Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden as COVID-19 cases surge.
Here’s what’s happening Friday with COVID-19 in the Chicago area and Illinois:
6:30 p.m.: No one fined for violating Chicago’s travel order so far
In the four months Chicago has had a mandatory travel quarantine order in place, only warning letters have gone out to people believed to have broken the rules, city officials said Thursday.
No one has been fined so far under the city’s order, implemented by Mayor Lori Lightfoot over the Fourth of July weekend, which requires travelers from states with high coronavirus infection rates to quarantine for 14 days after returning to Chicago, city spokesman Andrew Buchanan said in a statement. He said the city was not releasing information on how many letters have gone out.
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Read more here. —Alice Yin
6:03 p.m.: Suburban nursing homes issued coronavirus-related citations by OSHA
Two suburban long-term care facilities where hundreds of residents and staff contracted COVID-19 and dozens died have been fined by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration for coronavirus-related citations, according to the federal agency.
This month, OSHA issued citations to Bria of Geneva nursing home and Meadowbrook Manor in Bolingbrook.
Read more here. —Sarah Freishtat
4:30 p.m.: Pritzker extends moratorium on housing evictions
Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced Friday he was extending a host of coronavirus-related executive orders for another 30 days, including an extension of a moratorium on evictions.
Under the new gubernatorial order, which runs through Dec. 12, tenants must sign a form declaring that they meet certain qualifications, including an income limit of $99,000 for individuals or $198,000 for joint tax filers. They also must attest that they are unable to make housing payments due to a COVID-19-related hardship and would likely be homeless or forced to live in close quarters if evicted. Tenants also have to be making their “best efforts to make timely partial payments that are as close to the full payment as the individual’s circumstances may permit.”
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Read more here. —Dan Petrella
4:05 p.m.: As surging COVID-19 cases collide with Thanksgiving food shopping, city warns of a crackdown on crowds at grocery stores
Grocery shoppers making their Thanksgiving runs may encounter something they haven’t seen since the early days of the pandemic: Lines outside of stores as the city steps up enforcement of capacity limits during the holiday rush.
When announcing a stay-at-home advisory that starts Monday, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot warned businesses will face fines and potentially be shut down if they don’t follow social distancing rules or properly manage crowds.
Chicago’s Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection plans to proactively investigate retail stores to ensure compliance with capacity limits and other COVID-19 regulations, which carry fines up to $10,000 for violations, spokesman Isaac Reichman said.
Meanwhile, grocers expect bigger holiday crowds than usual given that restaurant closures, scuttled travel plans and calls by city officials to cancel family gatherings could result in smaller yet more Thanksgiving dinners cooked at home overall.
Read more here. —Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz
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4:04 p.m.: Evanston issues stay-at-home advisory after reporting record-high number of new COVID-19 cases last two days
Evanston officials Friday issued an advisory stay-at-home order for residents after the city reported its highest daily totals of positive COVID-19 cases since the pandemic started.
On Thursday and Friday, city officials reported 43 and 60 confirmed new COVID-19 cases, the city’s largest daily numbers since the pandemic began in March, according to a news release.
Evanston’s seven-day positivity rate now is 5.57%, still lower than the 15% in suburban Cook County, according to the release.Evanston’s advisory is in line with similar advisories already issued by the Cook County Department of Public Health, according to the release. Like the Cook County advisory, Evanston’s will begin at 6 a.m. Monday and last for 30 days.
“Our collective actions can reduce the rate of infections, prevent our hospitals from being overwhelmed, and, ultimately, save lives,” said Health and Human Services Director Ike Ogbo, in the release. “We are asking residents to take these necessary actions today to prevent more restrictive mitigation measures in the future.”
Evanston community centers remain open, but residents are encouraged to complete city business online. Parks and Recreation camp programs will also continue running for the time being, according to the city.
—Genevieve Bookwalter
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3:56 p.m.: State closing drivers services offices from Tuesday until Dec. 7 because of COVID-19
Illinois driver services facilities will close temporarily for in-person business starting on Tuesday due to the statewide resurgence of COVID-19, and Secretary of State Jesse White will again extend the expiration dates for driver’s licenses and ID cards, his office announced Friday.
The facilities are slated to reopen Dec. 7. The expiration date for driver’s licenses and identification cards has now been extended to June 1, because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Anyone with a license that expires before the extended deadline will be considered to have a valid license until June 1, though commercial driver’s license holders are excluded from the extension due to federal requirements.
Read more here. —Jamie Munks
3:20 p.m.: Officials want you to stay home for the holidays. Still traveling? Here’s what to expect.
As COVID-19 cases rise and state and local officials urge residents to stay home as much as possible, fewer people are expected to board planes, trains and buses ahead of Thanksgiving.
AAA forecasts that 2.48 million people in Illinois, and 50.6 million nationally, are expected to travel for the holiday, with most people driving. The number of travelers could fall further as consumers monitor rising case numbers, new travel restrictions and guidance from health officials, AAA said.
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Mayor Lori Lightfoot asked residents to avoid nonessential travel and cancel traditional Thanksgiving plans, and suburban Cook County followed up with a similar advisory Friday. Gov. J.B. Pritzker advised those choosing to travel to self-quarantine for two weeks before gathering.
Still, the desire to celebrate with family — even with a smaller group, or without a lengthy feast — could convince some who have been avoiding travel to make the trip.If you’re considering travel, here’s what to expect.
Read more here. —Lauren Zumbach
2:55 p.m.: Chicago has a lot of cold storage space. But will it be cold enough to support a COVID-19 vaccine rollout?
Chicago plays a key role in the nation’s supply chain, which is gearing up for the logistics challenge of a lifetime: mass distribution of a COVID-19 vaccine.
Yet the complexity of the vaccine rollout and unique facilities requirements mean Chicago’s sprawling network of warehouses — which includes more than 11 million square feet of freezer and cooler space — may not play a major role.
That’s because there’s a big difference between storing foods like hamburger patties, frozen peas and ice cream and preserving a promising Pfizer vaccine that must stay below Arctic-winter temperatures.
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“Nothing that we’re building can even get that cold,” said Tony Pricco, president of Chicago-based developer Bridge Development Partners, which builds and owns cold storage buildings and other warehouses throughout the country. “I don’t think it’s even feasible to keep a large space that cold. This is not a conventional freezer type of use.”
No matter which vaccine emerges for mass distribution, the process of transporting and storing it could require a marshaling of public and private resources seen in only the rarest of instances.
Read more here. —Ryan Ori and Lisa Schencker
2:46 p.m.: State’s attorney’s office reviewing coronavirus policy for staff, urging them to work from home
The Cook County State’s Attorney’s office is urging its employees to stay at home, foreshadowing future “COVID policy changes,” and hinting that another court shutdown is looming, according to an internal email obtained by the Tribune.
As courtrooms began to reopen over the summer, more prosecutors returned to the office, sometimes on a rotating basis. Now, employees designated as “stay-at-home staff” by their supervisors will need to get prior permission to come to the office.
The Friday morning memo did not mention a shift in the way staffers are informed of COVID cases within the office — which has been a common source of concern among rank-and-file staffers.
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Other county entities, such as the Chief Judge’s office and the Clerk of the Circuit Court, circulate regular memorandums notifying employees when a staffer tests positive. The memos include details about where the staffer worked and how many positive cases the offices have measured so far in the pandemic.
Read more here. —Megan Crepeau
2:44 p.m.: Oak Park hospitals restrict visitors as COVID-19 cases increase; haven’t overloaded capacity yet
Due to an increasing number of COVID-19 cases throughout the region, Rush Oak Park hospital has again adopted its no visitor policy that had been in place earlier this year, and West Suburban Medical Center in Oak Park has also reinstated limits. While public health officials worry the number of COVID cases could overwhelm the number of available hospital beds, that has not yet occurred at these two hospitals.
On Wednesday, the state reported a record number of COVID-19 hospitalizations, at 5,042, compared with a previous high of 5,037 patients on April 28. Some area hospitals have begun adding beds in anticipation of a surge of COVID-19 cases and have delayed elective surgeries.
Due to the increase, Rush Oak Park, 520 S. Maple Ave., has again implemented a “no visitor” policy in most of its inpatient and outpatient areas.
Read more here. —Steve Schering and Anna Kim
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2:04 p.m.: River Forest District 90 to remain on remote learning through end of November
A pause on River Forest District 90′s return to in-person learning has been extended until at least the end of the month as administrators respond to an increase in COVID-19 cases in the area.
At the end of October, District 90 began a “blended in-person learning plan,” which allowed for students to gradually return to classrooms while still taking some courses remotely. The district began welcoming its pre-kindergarten and kindergarten students back to school buildings on Oct. 21, but increasing COVID-19 cases caused the district to take an “adaptive pause” on the plan just one week later.
Officials had hoped to re-start its blended learning plan on Nov. 16, however, the continued rise in coronavirus cases has caused administrators to extend that pause until at least Nov. 30.
Read more here. —Steve Schering, Pioneer Press
1:25 p.m.: New contact tracing data shows state still not reaching 90% target
The state on Friday updated the data it posts related to contact tracing, which involves reaching out to people diagnosed with COVID-19, urging them to isolate and asking them where they’ve been and whom they’ve seen during the two weeks prior to their positive test so those people can be asked to quarantine.
The data — covering the period from Aug. 1 to Nov. 7 — shows that the state is short of its goal of launching contact tracing for 90% of cases, although some regions came very close. Others appear nowhere near that target. For example, in Region 4 in far southern Illinois, tracers reached out to 89% of sick people, while in Region 10, which is suburban Cook County, the figure was 17%, according to the state.
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The data also shows outbreak locations, defined as places where there were five or more cases within 14 days, and exposure locations, or places that people with the disease reported going in the 14 days before diagnosis.
The top three categories of outbreak locations over the past 30 days were day care operations, workplaces and factories, which have their own classification. The top three exposure locations were schools, businesses including retail operations and then restaurants and bars, which share a classification.
Pritzker’s shutdown of indoor service at restaurants and bars has become a matter of fierce debate, with Pritzker saying it’s just not safe right now and restaurateurs contending he can’t prove that.
Finally, there’s also data on outbreaks and exposures at schools, showing a smattering of outbreaks in six counties including McHenry, and exposures across central and northern Illinois, with many in Chicago and its suburbs.
—Hal Dardick
1:13 p.m.: Indiana’s daily COVID-19 deaths near peak set in April surge; Gary mayor clamps down on bars, restaurants and churches
Indiana is averaging nearly as many coronavirus-related deaths now as it did during the spring’s initial surge of cases, with heath officials adding 50 more deaths to the state’s toll on Friday.
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The new deaths occurring over several days have pushed the state’s moving seven-day fatality average to 40 per day, just short of highest average of 42 a day recorded in late April.
Indiana’s COVID-19 deaths average has tripled since Gov. Eric Holcomb lifted nearly all coronavirus-related restrictions in late September. During that time, COVID-19 hospitalizations have gone up 200% and the seven-day moving average of newly confirmed infections is six times higher.
Read more here. —Associated Press
12:30 p.m.: Daily coronavirus cases top 15,000 in Illinois for the first time, setting a record for the fourth straight day
The number of new confirmed and probable cases of the coronavirus in Illinois topped 15,000 for the first time Friday, setting a record for the fourth straight day.
The 15,415 cases state public health officials reported Friday are 2,713 more than the previous record set a day earlier. Over the past week, the state is averaging 12,345 cases of COVID-19 per day.
State health officials also reported 27 more fatalities Friday, bringing the statewide death toll to 10,504 since the pandemic began. While there were fewer deaths reported Friday than in recent days, the state has averaged 61 deaths per day over the past week, up from 41 at the beginning of the month.
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In all, there have been 551,957 known cases of COVID-19 in Illinois, according to state health officials.
For the week ending Thursday, the average number of cases as a share of total tests was 13.2%, up from 8.1% at the beginning of the month and 3.4% at the beginning of October.
Hospitalizations, which are a key indicator of how the virus is spreading, also continue to surge. As of Thursday night, 5,362 people were in the hospital with COVID-19, 990 of them in intensive care and 488 on ventilators. Over the past three days, there have been more coronavirus patients in the hospital each day than at any time during the first wave in the spring.
Read more here. —Dan Petrella
11:27 a.m.: Lightfoot on joining crowd celebrating Biden-Harris win as COVID-19 cases surge: ‘There are times when we actually do need to have ... relief and come together’
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Friday defended her appearance last weekend when she joined a crowd celebrating the presumptive win of Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden.
During a morning interview on MSNBC, the mayor was asked about joining revelers Saturday amid a spike in COVID-19 cases in Chicago and nationwide — a surge so bad that on Thursday she announced a stay-at-home “advisory” while Gov. J.B. Pritzker warned a second statewide mandatory shutdown order could be coming.
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The mayor nodded to the fact that crowds were taking to the streets across the country last weekend after news outlets declared Biden the winner in Pennsylvania, giving him the 270 electoral votes he needed to beat Republican President Donald Trump. She delivered a celebratory message to a tightly packed crowd via bullhorn that was shared on social media.
“I will tell you in that big crowd a week ago, everybody was wearing masks,” the mayor told MSNBC anchor Stephanie Ruhle.
Read more here. —Lisa Donovan
10:56 a.m.: Following in Chicago’s footsteps, suburban Cook County issues stay-at-home advisory, urges holiday plans to be postponed
One day after Mayor Lori Lightfoot urged Chicago residents to stay home for the next month, suburban Cook County is doing the same.
The suburban advisory, similar to the city’s version, goes into effect on Monday and lasts for 30 days, according a Friday news release from the Cook County Department of Public Health. Both of the notices stop short of a mandatory stay-at-home order because they are intended to be a final attempt at curbing the coronavirus' recent resurgence before more drastic measures are taken.
“Now more than ever, we must come together to stay apart,” Dr. Rachel Rubin, Cook County’s public health department’s senior medical officer, said in the release. “We know limiting gatherings with friends and family can be hard, but we also know that virtual celebrations will save lives.”
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Read more here. —Alice Yin
9:38 a.m.: Aurora hospitals treating record numbers of COVID-19 patients, as health executive pleads with public to take precautions
Aurora’s Rush Copley Medical Center and AMITA Health Mercy Medical Center both treated record high numbers of COVID-19 patients this week, as the virus continues to surge in the region and another layer of COVID-19 mitigation measures takes effect.
Mercy hospital, on Aurora’s near West Side, was treating 41 inpatients for COVID-19 Thursday, and another 11 people were under investigation for the virus, AMITA Health system spokesman Tim Nelson said. One week prior, the hospital had 24 inpatients who were positive for the virus and 15 people under investigation, he said.
Rush Copley, on the city’s Southeast Side, had 82 COVID-19 patients at one time in the past week, also marking the highest number it treated at once since the start of the pandemic, Chief Operating Officer Mary Shilkaitis said.
By Thursday afternoon the number of virus patients at the hospital was 77. That, too, amounted to more people than the hospital ever treated at once during the first wave of the pandemic in March, April and May, Shilkaitis said.
Read more here. —Sarah Freishtat, The Beacon-News
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8:59 a.m.: Number of COVID-19 cases and deaths climbing at Edward Hospital in Naperville
The number of patients being treated and hospitalized for COVID-19 continues to climb at Edward Hospital, with a record 93 patients as of Thursday morning, hospital officials announced.
The Naperville hospital’s daily count this week changed from 72 on Monday, 82 on Tuesday, 85 on Wednesday, and up to 93 inpatients Thursday morning.
“When you look at the first of October, we had 14 patients (being treated). By the end of the month it was 51. And two weeks later, we are now at 93. Those are pretty dramatic spikes, things that happened practically overnight,” said hospital spokesman Keith Hartenberger.
Read more here. —Rafael Guerrero, Naperville Sun
8:29 a.m.: Leyden District 212 delays return to in-person learning due to rising COVID-19 cases
Leyden High School District 212 again delayed its planned return to in-person learning, citing rising cases of COVID-19 in the area.
Students in general education were tentatively scheduled to return Nov. 6, which was then delayed until Nov. 16, but now officials say they will stick with remote learning until the region is no longer under COVID-19 mitigation measures.
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“We saw the positivity rates begin to rise, which prompted our (initial) announcement to delay that return,” Superintendent Nick Polyak explained in a memo to parents. “Over the last couple weeks, we had been hoping to see this positivity rate decrease. Unfortunately, after leveling off slightly, our local positivity rate has continued to rise.”
Students in English language learning classes, special education services and those in the Bridge, Transition and LIFE programs began a four-day-a-week, hybrid learning plan on campus in early November.
Read more here. —Anna Kim, Pioneer Press
7:40 a.m.: Ticketmaster may require proof of coronavirus vaccination to attend future concerts
While the timing of live music’s return remains uncertain, Ticketmaster has already begun reimagining the future of concert safety.
Billboard reported this week that the ticketing juggernaut, which shares ownership with Live Nation — the world’s leading concert promoter — is discussing plans that would require patrons to provide either proof of a coronavirus vaccination or a recent negative Covid-19 test to gain entry to a concert.
This would be done through a combination of third-party entities: A fan would need to request that its vaccine or test provider send their results to a health pass provider, such as CLEAR Health Pass or IBM’s Digital Health Pass, who would then verify the results to Ticketmaster, who would not store or have access to customers' medical records, Billboard said.
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In lieu of a vaccine, a negative test would need to be produced approximately 24 to 72 hours before the event, according to the plan, which remains in developmental stages.
Read more here. —Syracuse.com
6 a.m.: Lincoln-Way and Bremen high school districts switch to remote learning Thursday and Homer Elementary District to do the same starting Monday as 100s of students quarantine
Lincoln-Way Superintendent R. Scott Tingley told families this week that as of Monday about 600 students in the district’s three schools were in quarantine due either to a positive test result for the coronavirus or being in close contact with someone who had tested positive.
Tingley said that, based on reports from contact tracing, there was little evidence that any of the cases resulted from students and staff contracting the virus in school buildings, and that most were traced back to social gatherings or family settings.
He said district officials expect the number of students not being able to attend school due to self-quarantine will rise as positivity rates increase in the suburbs the district serves, which include Frankfort and New Lenox.
“There are simply too many students not able to attend in person learning at this point due to exposure or a close contact,” Tingley said.
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Homer 33C Superintendent Craig Schoppe told families Thursday that 64 staff and 224 students were quarantined due being symptomatic for the virus or having had close contact with someone who had tested positive. There were 10 positive coronavirus cases and four probable cases among district staff, and 9 positive and 10 probable cases among students, he said.
The district had “reached a point where we will be unable to cover classrooms and bus routes next week,” Schoppe wrote.
District 228 Superintendent Bill Kendall said Thursday that COVID-19 guidance from public health officials showing the schools are located in an orange warning zone prompted the move to remote learning.
“We’re being cautious for our students, staff and community,” he said.
Rising positivity rates have led High School District 218, with schools in Blue Island, Oak Lawn and Palos Heights, to put off plans to bring students back on a limited basis, parents were told this week.
Read more here. —Mike Nolan, Daily Southtown
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5 a.m.: Arbitrator rules against Chicago Public Schools in labor dispute over clerks, but district will still require them to work mostly in person, saying COVID-19 measures in place
The Chicago Public Schools has indicated it will continue to require certain staff members to work in person, despite an arbitrator’s ruling Thursday that they should be allowed to work mostly from home until CPS proves it’s minimized the risk of COVID-19 at each school.
Thursday’s ruling applies to clerks, technology coordinators and other select staff whom the independent labor arbitrator presumed should be permitted to work from home at least four days a week, except where duties can’t be performed remotely.
It also requires CPS to determine which schools pass certified hazard assessments and provide the union with all the information they need to confirm the district’s determination. If a school is in compliance with health and safety requirements, 100% in-person work “is appropriate,” according to the arbitrator.
The ruling comes the week after CPS officials released an air quality and ventilation assessment that they said cleared most classrooms for students to return.
Read more here. —Hannah Leone
5 a.m.: One-third of Springfield firefighters in quarantine because of COVID-19
More than one-third of Springfield’s firefighters are in quarantine as a COVID-19 outbreak spreads through the department.
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Seventy-three firefighters are quarantined, including 19 who have tested positive for the virus.
All fire stations remain open and are providing service to residents.
But two of the city’s 12 fire engines will not be in operation until further notice, according to city officials. The engines in question are each part of a multi-company station house.
“While this is not ideal, it is our current reality with so many of our members who have been exposed,” said Springfield Fire Chief Allen Reyne. “The department will begin working with our regional hospitals to determine if our methodology for quarantine, which we have used since day one, is still supported by CDC.”
The engines taken out of operation are from Station 2, 2810 Stevenson Drive, and Station 12, 2925 S. Koke Mill Road.
The stations are also each home to one of the city’s three truck companies, which carry features like ladders and extrication equipment.
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Reyne said the decision to take the engines out of operation were done due to the manpower shortage as well as a desire to better socially distance as the stations in question are both small.
So instead of two companies with six people present at each station, there will be one with three.
“So they’re taking those off and that brings down your manning level to alleviate individuals that are needed,” said Springfield Mayor Jim Langfelder.
—Brenden Moore, the State Journal-Register, via Tribune Content Agency
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chicagotribune--2020-11-14--Column: This filmmaking program allows young women ‘cycle breakers’ to share what they see in the wo

Column: This filmmaking program allows young women ‘cycle breakers’ to share what they see in the world

She ’ s talking about the DePaul/CHA Documentary Film Program for Girls , a collaboration between DePaul University ’ s @ @ @ @ @ the Chicago Housing Authority .
The program is built on two central ideas .
One @ @ @ @ @ the stories that get told — about Chicago and beyond — by cultivating a wider @ @ @ @ @ other is the need to expand the vision and experiences of young women living in @ @ @

Azalee Irving, 17, takes care of her nephew, Ja'King Jones, 4, at home in Chicago on Nov. 13, 2020. Irving made a three-minute film titled "Little Hands, Big Help" about taking care of her nephew. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune)
On Monday evening, Azalee Irving’s short documentary will be streamed by the Gene Siskel Film Center’s Black Harvest Film Festival. That would be an exciting honor for anyone. For Irving, it runs deeper than excitement.
Irving is 17, the youngest of seven siblings, and lives in a two-flat in Chicago’s Auburn Gresham neighborhood with her mother, her sister, her niece and the star of her three-minute film — her 4-year-old nephew, Ja’King Jones.
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“Being an African American female on the South Side of Chicago, I see a lot of violence, a lot of poverty,” she said when I called her the other day. “Living in the neighborhood with negatives can make you give up on what makes you positive.”
Irving is blunt about her long struggle to see the positive. As a child, she spent time in foster care. She took mood medications before discovering that therapy was more helpful.
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“I started flunking in school,” she said, recalling a time not long ago. “My behavior got bad. I just didn’t have anything that I saw to strive for. I lost interest for my creative spark. DePaul’s program really opened that door back up to me.”
She’s talking about the DePaul/CHA Documentary Film Program for Girls, a collaboration between DePaul University’s School of Cinematic Arts and the Chicago Housing Authority. The program is built on two central ideas. One is the need to expand the stories that get told — about Chicago and beyond — by cultivating a wider range of storytellers. The other is the need to expand the vision and experiences of young women living in CHA-subsidized housing.
Lemiya Clark, from left, Azalee Irving, Deonna West and My Linh Tran work on a documentary on Aug. 5, 2020, as part of the DePaul/CHA Documentary Film Program for Girls in Chicago's Ping Tom Memorial Park. (James Choi)
Liliane Calfee, who runs the program, calls these young women “cycle breakers.”
“They’re the ones going to raise the next generation,” she says. By encouraging the girls to make good choices, like pursuing education, she adds, you make change in a single generation.
The program has been around since 2016, but it’s different during the pandemic of 2020. Instead of meeting in person during the six-week filmmaking period this summer, the 15 girls convened on Zoom. In the first half of the program, using Apple iPad Pros on loan from the city’s Department of Family & Support Services, each girl made a three-minute film, usually involving life at home.
“My individual project was inspired by me trying to step out of the box,” Irving said. “Instead of having a film about bullying or racism — the classics — it was, what can I show others that I haven’t seen before?”
Her answer: her love for Ja’King.
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“I wanted to show everybody else how much my nephew means to me,” she said, “and show others what their younger relatives can mean to them.”
She recorded Ja’King dancing in the living room, laughing, flexing his bicep, lining up toy trucks on the front stoop. In her voice-over, she talked about helping make sure he was well-dressed and, above all, spared some of the “tough things” she’d been through.
“I got discouraged a couple of times,” she said, recalling the film process, “but the mentors pushed me. I’m glad that I got pushed to try my best.”
She gave her film a title: “Little Hands, Big Help.”
Her endurance paid off. One reward came when her film, along with others from the program, was selected to appear in an Apple showcase for young people. One Apple executive said that “Little Hands, Big Help” brought her to tears.
In the second half of the DePaul/CHA program, all the girls worked in teams. With pandemic precautions, they ventured into the wider world to tell bigger stories, like the lack of translators in hospitals.
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Irving worked on a project proposed by teammate Deonna West: that social media feeds materialism. It was West’s second year in the program, and she loved it despite the pandemic limitations.
“I like that it was an all girls thing,” said West, who’s 17. “It was just so nice to have a group of girls that relate to you. All of us were being very nice to each other. There was no hate.”
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And in August, when the work was done, the girls and their faculty mentors gathered — again, with precautions — for a graduation ceremony in Ping Tom Memorial Park in Chinatown. The world looked bigger and brighter to them than it had a few weeks earlier, including for Irving, who came to the celebration with a bandage on her belly.
She’d been stabbed in her neighborhood while trying to protect some younger kids from a guy she later learned lives in Waukegan. She was grateful he didn’t hit any organs and that no one else got hurt. She was determined to come and be part of her new community.
Starting at 6 p.m. Monday, Irving’s film and several others by her new friends will be streamed as part of the Black Harvest Film Festival.
She’s sad that because she’ll be on her first day of training to work at a UPS warehouse over the holidays she won’t be able to watch. But her family will, and they’ll be proud.
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“That’s me!” Ja’King said when he saw himself on film.
“Everybody loves you, dude,” she told him, and she knew that helping him to know he was loved was the biggest reward of all.
mschmich@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-11-14--Gov. J.B. Pritzker warns of widening Illinois budget deficit over next five years without action, sa

Gov. J.B. Pritzker warns of widening Illinois budget deficit over next five years without action, says cuts alone won’t be enough

“ The governor believes that support for quality education , access to health care , and sufficient social services for @ @ @ @ @ hand to get back on their feet are all part of the essential functions of @ @ @ @ @ report said .
“ However , along with servicing our debt and meeting our pension @ @ @ @ @ up over 75 % of the budget .
Across-the-board cuts to state government spending means @ @ @ @ @ untouched .
”

Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker warned Friday the state faces a ballooning budget deficit and bill backlog over the next five years and said new revenue sources are being explored because cuts alone cannot resolve Illinois government’s structural spending imbalance.
Still smarting over the loss of his proposed graduated-rate income tax amendment and the revenue that would go with it, Pritzker restated expectations of a $3.9 billion deficit for the budget year that ends on June 30. A forecast from his budget office project deficits of $4.8 billion in the budget year that starts in July and continuing in the $4 billion range annually, including $4.2 billion for the 2026 budget year.
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At the same time, the projected backlog of bills for payments owed to state vendors, expected to reach $10.16 billion on June 30, will almost triple to $33.16 billion in the 2026 budget year, according to the most recent five-year forecast from the governor’s budget office.
That would double the bill backlog record set in 2017 amid the two-year period Illinois went without a budget during the tenure of one-term Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner.
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During the same time period, statutory pension obligations owed by the state to public employees will increase from $8.624 billion this budget year to $10.59 billion in the 2026 budget year. Illinois has the nation’s most severely underfunded public employee pension system.
The budget forecasts are based on current law and do not reflect the potential for federal pandemic assistance to state and local governments, which have seen revenue downfalls due to business restrictions and job losses.
Democrats pushing such relief in the U.S. House have been rebuffed by Republicans who control the U.S. Senate. It is uncertain if the ascension of presumptive President-elect Joe Biden may change the dynamics of the stalemate after the Democrat’s inauguration on Jan. 20.
In putting the state budget together, Illinois lawmakers authorized the borrowing of up to $5 billion from the Federal Reserve under its own COVID-19 relief regulations. Pritzker’s projections did not include any borrowing from the Fed and warned that a required three-year repayment would exacerbate the projected long-term deficits. But the report said borrowing from the Fed remains among the options.
“A structural deficit of the size that Illinois is facing cannot be addressed by spending cuts alone,” the governor’s budget forecast said.
“The governor believes that support for quality education, access to health care, and sufficient social services for when people need a helping hand to get back on their feet are all part of the essential functions of state government,” the report said. “However, along with servicing our debt and meeting our pension obligations, these costs make up over 75% of the budget. Across-the-board cuts to state government spending means these areas will not go untouched.”
Pritzker noted that his agency directors already have been asked to come up with 5% cuts in their current-year budgets — something that would translate to 10% cuts across a full year.
But the report said Pritzker believes “revenue adjustments need to be considered as well.” It said Pritzker will work with lawmakers to “identify corporate and business tax loopholes that can be closed and tax adjustments that can be made that will minimize the impact to lower- and middle-class families while ensuring that Illinois can meet its financial responsibilities.”
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Pritzker had counted on voter ratification of his proposed constitutional amendment that would have allowed Illinois to move from its currently mandated flat-rate income tax to a graduated-rate tax with a levy that increases along with wealth. A tax schedule that would have gone into effect Jan. 1 if the amendment passed would have raised an estimated $1.27 billion for the current budget year and $3.4 billion over the course of a year.
Supporters of the proposal warned that rejection of the amendment could lead to a 20% increase in the state’s current 4.95% personal income tax rate, taking it to 5.95%.
“Looking ahead to the fiscal year 2022 budget and recognizing that Illinois continues to face significant financial challenges, there are limited ways to address the structural deficit of the state budget in the absence of the tax rate structure flexibility that would have been provided under the changes in the proposed constitutional amendment,” the report said.
Pritzker had wanted lawmakers to consider the budget when they were scheduled to return to Springfield on Tuesday for their fall session. But Democratic leaders who control the General Assembly canceled the session due to spiking cases of the coronavirus throughout the state. Instead, Pritzker said he would reach out to legislative leaders in both parties to discuss budget alternatives.
“While we didn’t anticipate a pandemic, we must now grapple with the economic hardship it has created while also preserving the vital state services Illinoisans rely on,” Pritzker said in a statement. “I am committed to ensuring the state of Illinois returns to the path of fiscal stability we began to pave last year, while managing through this unexpected economic crisis responsibly.”
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chicagotribune--2020-11-14--No one fined for violating Chicago’s travel order so far

The order , which now covers travel to most of the U.S.‚ is generally not being enforced aside from signs @ @ @ @ @ they must self-quarantine .
There are no plans to add checkpoints at airports or other @ @ @ @ @ crack down on travelers ’ statuses , Buchanan said .
But violators are subject to @ @ @ @ @ $ 500 per day , up to $ 7,000 .

Dick DeGray, of Brattleboro, Vt., puts on his mask before going into the Municipal Building, in Brattleboro, as the town started to require visitors and staff to put their masks back on Aug. 11, 2021, due to COVID-19 virus numbers increasing in Windham County. (Kristopher Radder/The Brattleboro Reformer)
In the four months Chicago has had a mandatory travel quarantine order in place, only warning letters have gone out to people believed to have broken the rules, city officials said Thursday.
No one has been fined so far under the city’s order, implemented by Mayor Lori Lightfoot over the Fourth of July weekend, which requires travelers from states with high coronavirus infection rates to quarantine for 14 days after returning to Chicago, city spokesman Andrew Buchanan said in a statement. He said the city was not releasing information on how many letters have gone out.
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“The primary objective of Chicago’s Emergency Travel Order is to discourage non-essential travel and to educate the public about their role in ensuring our success at containing the virus,” Buchanan wrote.
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The order, which now covers travel to most of the U.S.‚ is generally not being enforced aside from signs and billboards telling people that they must self-quarantine. There are no plans to add checkpoints at airports or other passages into the city to crack down on travelers’ statuses, Buchanan said. But violators are subject to fines of $100 to $500 per day, up to $7,000.
A worker walks through a corridor connecting Terminal 2 and Terminal 1 at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago on Nov. 12, 2020. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)
Though that hasn’t happened yet, Chicagoans can still get caught violating quarantine after traveling out of state during the course of a city COVID-19 case investigation, Buchanan wrote. Those people could get a warning letter from the Chicago Department of Public Health and, if the case is “egregious,” be fined, he said.
But city officials first hope their pleas for safe traveling will be heard.
“First and foremost, though, we are relying on the public to adhere to the order and, similar to public health guidance on masking and social distancing, to help protect public health,” Buchanan wrote.
Earlier this week, Chicago Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady urged city residents to stay home this holiday season and even avoid the states not covered by the travel order, as the city buckles up for possibly the worst of the pandemic. She joined Lightfoot on Thursday to again warn about the virus’s resurgence, saying the city’s cases could reach 4,000 by Thanksgiving.
“If the possibility of 1,000 more people dying in the city in the next seven weeks doesn’t grab you by the throat as it did me when I started seeing that modeling, then there’s little we’re going to do to move you,” Lightfoot said while defending an optional stay-at-home advisory.
Chicago has recorded an average of 1,920 cases over the past seven days, up from 1,410 the week before, and the city’s rate of people testing positive has risen to 14%, Arwady said. Meanwhile, state officials reported 15,415 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 on Friday, topping the record of 12,702 set a day earlier.
ayin@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-11-14--Column: Amid a pandemic that isolates us, Chicago architecture awards recognize designs that build c

Column: Amid a pandemic that isolates us, Chicago architecture awards recognize designs that build community

Many of the winners are relatively small in scale compared with the attention-getting high-rises under construction downtown .
Modernist work @ @ @ @ @ , but it reflects how modernism has evolved since the 1960s to become more responsive @ @ @ @ @ to social and environmental issues .

Shifting its awards program online for the first time, the Chicago chapter of the American Institute of Architects on Friday will present honors for a wide range of buildings, many of which encourage a sense of community at a time when the coronanavirus pandemic has forced people apart.
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Among the winners are a colorful North Side building that combines a public library and public housing, by John Ronan Architects; the headquarters of the Chicago Architecture Foundation, by Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture; and a renovation that transformed the Chicago Transit Authority’s Garfield elevated station into a gateway for its South Side neighborhood, by EXP.
“This year’s entries represented a return to community-first ideas, spurred by the lessons this tumultuous year has quite uncompromisingly taught,” the awards jury said in a news release, an apparent reference to the COVID-19 pandemic and the unrest that followed the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police.
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The awards typically are presented in gala ceremonies at Navy Pier, but the health crisis has forced the event, called the Design Excellence Awards, to go online for the first time in its 65-year history.
Juries of architects winnowed 212 entries down to 39 projects that were recognized in three categories: distinguished building, interior architecture, and divine detail, which honors a specific aspect of a project. While the honored buildings are all designed by Chicago architects, some are in other cities.
Many of the winners are relatively small in scale compared with the attention-getting high-rises under construction downtown. Modernist work dominates the list of winners, but it reflects how modernism has evolved since the 1960s to become more responsive to its urban surroundings and to social and environmental issues.
In the distinguished building category, four projects are receiving an honor award, the highest form of recognition.
They are the Ronan firm’s Independence branch of the Chicago Public Library, which is combined with housing for senior citizens; the Columbia College Student Center, by the Chicago office of Gensler; the Wolcott School Arts and Athletics Center, by Lothan Van Hook DeStefano Architecture; and the University of Cincinnati Health Services Building, by Perkins and Will.
Independence Library, 4000 block of N. Elston Avenue in Chicago, Aug. 21, 2019. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
Twelve projects are winning a citation of merit, the next level of recognition, in the distinguished building category.
They include the Hotel Julian at 168 N. Michigan Ave., by Hirsch MPG; the remake of the North Side’s former Julia Lathrop public housing project, by a team led by JGMA; the Vue53 apartment high-rise in Hyde Park by Valerio Dewalt Train Associates; and the McDonald’s Disney flagship in Orlando, Florida, by Ross Barney Architects.
A mural of the building's original architect, Benjamin Marshall, in the ground-floor restaurant of Hotel Julian on Oct. 11, 2018 in Chicago. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)
EXP’s transformation of the Garfield elevated station, which turned the historic portion of the station into a community-based arts facility and renovated the transit portion of the station, is winning an honor award for interior architecture and special recognition honors in the distinguished building category.
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Chicago artist Nick Cave was part of the design team.
“It’s beautiful and durable, an understanding of how public architecture, high-use infrastructure and art can coexist as one,” an awards juror commented.
The Chicago Architecture Center, located in the base of the riverfront office building at 111 E. Wacker Drive, is receiving a citation of merit in the interior architecture category, as are Gensler’s Columbia College Student Center and the Northtown branch library and apartments, by Perkins and Will.
Outside buildings reflected on a window at the Chicago Architecture Center in Chicago on Aug. 28, 2018. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
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Wheeler Kearns Architects is being recognized with an honor award and a citation of merit in the divine detail category as well as a citation of merit in the distinguished building category for its Bernard Zell Anshe Emet Day School expansion on the North Side.
A lifetime achievement award is being presented to Phillip Johnson, co-founder of Johnson & Lee Architects/Planners. The firm’s designs include the boathouse at Ping Tom Park in Chinatown.
The winners are on view at this link.
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Blair Kamin is a Tribune critic.
bkamin@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @BlairKamin


chicagotribune--2020-11-13--Daily coronavirus cases top 15,000 in Illinois for the first time, setting a record for the fourth s

Daily coronavirus cases top 15,000 in Illinois for the first time, setting a record for the fourth straight day: ‘What are we going to do? — What are you going to do?’

Under the new order , tenants must sign a form declaring that they meet certain qualifications , including an income @ @ @ @ @ individuals or $ 198,000 for joint tax filers .
They also must attest that they @ @ @ @ @ payments because of a COVID-19-related hardship and would likely be homeless or forced to live @ @ @ @ @ .
Tenants almost have to be making their “ best efforts to make timely partial @ @ @ @ @ to the full payment as the individual ’ s circumstances may permit .
”

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)
With Illinois reporting more than 15,000 new confirmed and probable cases of the coronavirus for the first time Friday, the state’s top public health official urged residents to “step up” and take personal responsibility for slowing the spread of the virus.
“If we keep doing everything we’re doing and not changing, no measure that we can do at the state level is … going to allow us to have an effect,” Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike said during a daily COVID-19 briefing.
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“Everybody’s saying, 'What are we going to do?’ — What are you going to do?” Ezike said. “Individuals need to take the responsibility to control this virus. And I’m really looking for people to step up and stop looking for somebody else to do the job that we individually have the power to do.”
The state reported 15,415 COVID-19 cases Friday, setting a record for the fourth straight day and jumping by more than 2,700 cases, or more than 21%, from Thursday. Over the past week, the state is averaging 12,345 cases of COVID-19 per day.
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The staggering number of new cases comes after Gov. J.B. Pritzker, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Cook County public health officials all have urged residents to stay home except for essential trips, such as grocery shopping or going to the pharmacy.
Pritzker warned Thursday that the state could be headed for another mandatory stay-at-home order if the current surge of the virus doesn’t come under control.
“They’re awful,” Pritzker said of Friday’s numbers.
“We are at a crisis level,” he said. “I’ve said that for some time now.”
Pritzker and Ezike repeated their daily admonishments for people to wear masks in public, keep their distance from others and wash their hands regularly. The governor also reiterated his criticism of local officials who are not enforcing or are actively encouraging people to disregard his orders prohibiting indoor restaurant and bar service and other safety measures.
“That is the conspiracy that is working against the people of the state of Illinois,” Pritzker said.
State health officials also reported 27 more fatalities Friday, bringing the statewide death toll to 10,504 since the pandemic began. While there were fewer deaths reported Friday than in recent days, the state has averaged 61 deaths per day over the past week, up from 41 at the beginning of the month.
Ezike gave a disclaimer on Friday’s death toll, noting that a technical delay in data reporting made it artificially low. “Tomorrow we will have additional numbers from today as well was tomorrow’s total,” she said.
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In all, there have been 551,957 known cases of COVID-19 in Illinois, according to state health officials.
For the week ending Thursday, the average of cases as a share of total tests — the case positivity rate — was 13.2%, up from 8.1% at the beginning of the month and 3.4% at the beginning of October.
Hospitalizations, which are a key indicator of how the virus is spreading, also continue to surge. As of Thursday night, 5,362 people were in the hospital with COVID-19, 990 of them in intensive care and 488 on ventilators. Over the past three days, there have been more coronavirus patients in the hospital each day than at any time during the first wave in the spring.
Chicago-area hospitals have not yet reached the levels they saw in the spring, but other regions already are at or above their spring peaks, Ezike said.
“Everyone is heading in the wrong direction,” she said. “Everyone’s trying to make plans on how we’re going to brace for that and be able to have care for not just the COVID patients, but if someone has a heart attack tomorrow, that person is also going to want to have a bed in a hospital.”
Late Friday afternoon, Pritzker extended a host of coronavirus-related executive orders for another 30 days, through Dec. 12. He also issued a modified order extending a moratorium on evictions.
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Under the new order, tenants must sign a form declaring that they meet certain qualifications, including an income limit of $99,000 for individuals or $198,000 for joint tax filers. They also must attest that they are unable to make housing payments because of a COVID-19-related hardship and would likely be homeless or forced to live in close quarters if evicted. Tenants almost have to be making their “best efforts to make timely partial payments that are as close to the full payment as the individual’s circumstances may permit.”
Pritzker called the extension “the right thing to do to protect our most vulnerable residents.”
“But landlords and property owners are a crucial part of Illinois' housing cycle, just as much as renters, and they deserve protection too,” he said. “So with input from smaller landlords and property owners, this new moratorium will ensure that the rents are paid by tenants who may have been taking advantage of the eviction moratorium but who are in, fact, able to make their monthly rent payments.”
Since the moratorium began in the spring, opponents have argued that the blanket approach was creating financial hardship for small landlords.
“We are grateful that Gov. Pritzker has fine-tuned his residential eviction moratorium rules so landlords are not taken advantage of by tenants who withhold rent payments without cause or demonstrated financial losses due to COVID-19,” Michael Mini, executive vice president of the Chicagoland Apartment Association, said in a statement Friday. “In tens of thousands of instances, landlords are working with tenants in offering extended grace periods and manageable payment plans.”
The state on Friday updated the data it posts related to contact tracing, which involves reaching out to people diagnosed with COVID-19, urging them to isolate and asking them where they’ve been and who they’ve seen during the two weeks before their positive test so those people can be asked to quarantine.
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The data — covering the period from Aug. 1 to Nov. 7 — shows that the state is short of its goal of launching contact tracing for 90% of cases, although some regions came very close. Others appear nowhere near that target. For example, in the 20 counties in far southern Illinois, tracers reached out to 89% of sick people, while in suburban Cook County, the figure was 17%, according to the state.
The data also shows outbreak locations, defined as places where there were five or more cases within 14 days, and exposure locations, or places that people with the disease reported going in the 14 days before diagnosis.
The top three categories of outbreak locations over the past 30 days were day care operations, workplaces and factories, which have their own classification. The top three exposure locations were schools, businesses including retail operations and then restaurants and bars, which share a classification.
Pritzker’s shutdown of indoor service at restaurants and bars has become a matter of fierce debate, with Pritzker saying it’s just not safe right now and restaurateurs contending he can’t prove that.
Finally, there’s also data on outbreaks and exposures at schools, showing a smattering of outbreaks in six counties including McHenry, and exposures across central and northern Illinois, with many in Chicago and its suburbs.
dpetrella@chicagotribune.com
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hdardick@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-11-13--The Spin: In interview, Duckworth says she’d consider a Biden Cabinet spot if offered | Lightfoot on

The Spin: In interview, Duckworth says she’d consider a Biden Cabinet spot if offered | Lightfoot on COVID-19 orders and mixed messages | Illinois at ‘crisis level’ with virus, Pritzker says

She then pulled back again , saying : “ But really I ’ m very happy in the Senate .
@ @ @ @ @ great job there representing my home state , and I think I can be an @ @ @ @ @ Senate just as well as I can in the Cabinet.
” Asked to clarify whether @ @ @ @ @ Duckworth said vaguely , “ depends on the job , but I certainly would take @ @ @ @ @ at it , and you know it ’ s really about where can I best @ @ @ @ @ if Joe Biden , you know , calls me up and says , ‘ Hey @ @ @ @ @ think you should be driving convoys delivering supplies for our troops and I , you @ @ @ @ @ long , hard look at doing that.
’ ” Watch the interview here .

U.S.Senator Tammy Duckworth speaks to the media before faith leaders and politicians participate in the Juneteenth faith led peaceful demonstration on Columbus Drive in Grant Park. The march is a show of solidarity to celebrate Juneteenth in Chicago, Friday June 19, 2020. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune)
In a CNN interview this afternoon, Illinois U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth said she’d "take a long, hard look” at a spot in presumptive President-elect Joe Biden’s Cabinet if offered a job there.
And, Mayor Lori Lightfoot has drawn some criticism over joining a triumphant crowd on the streets of Chicago last weekend to mark Democrat Biden’s projected victory over Republican President Donald Trump.
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Partisan snark and practical questions followed: Why is she doing this amid a pandemic where we’ve called out Trump for doing the same at the White House and on the campaign trail? There is a difference, she said, when asked about it this morning on MSNBC: Everyone had on a mask, something a video her team posted on social media shows. And, the Democratic mayor who has been in a verbal war of words with Trump said people wanted to come together and let off some steam.
Fresh from a Nov. 3 victory, incoming Chicago-area U.S. Rep.-elect Marie Newman told the gun-control group Moms Demand Action this week she thinks the National Rifle Association “is nervous” as the organization gains political muscle. A onetime spokeswoman for the group, Newman, a Democrat, vowed to focus on gun safety and equity legislation during her first term in office.
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And former President Barack Obama, who cut his political teeth in Chicago, is now doing the media rounds for his new memoir. In an excerpt from his “60 Minutes” interview scheduled to air Sunday, he blasted Trump for making unsubstantiated claims about election fraud, but says he’s “more troubled” by Republican allies who seem to be “humoring” him. Obama says the effort to delegitimize a Biden presidency has the domino effect of eroding democracy.
Welcome to The Spin.
Sen. Tammy Duckworth speaks at a health care rally on June 21, 2017, at the West Front Lawn of the U.S. Capitol. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)
Asked on CNN this afternoon whether she’d join presumptive President-elect Joe Biden’s Cabinet — that is, if he asked — Illinois' junior U.S. senator, Tammy Duckworth, stopped short of saying “yes.”
Duckworth, at one point a contender to be Biden’s running mate, was asked, “will you say yes” if asked to join Team Biden-Harris? Duckworth said: “I would take a long, hard look,” adding it would be a hard choice “because I love being in the Senate. I really love being in the Senate.”
Making a glancing reference to serving as an assistant secretary of veterans affairs in President Barack Obama’s administration, Duckworth, a Hoffman Estates Democrat, said: I’ve served at the pleasure of a president before and that’s a great honor. So, of course I would be honored to serve in the Biden administration."
She then pulled back again, saying: “But really I’m very happy in the Senate. I’ve got a great job there representing my home state, and I think I can be an ally for him in the Senate just as well as I can in the Cabinet.” Asked to clarify whether that was a yes, Duckworth said vaguely, “depends on the job, but I certainly would take a long, hard look at it, and you know it’s really about where can I best serve 100%, and if Joe Biden, you know, calls me up and says, ‘Hey, you know, I think you should be driving convoys delivering supplies for our troops and I, you know, would take a long, hard look at doing that.’” Watch the interview here.
In the wake of that interview, Gov. Pritzker was asked at an afternoon news in conference in Chicago about who he might pick to replace her. He chuckled and said “boy that is highly speculative,” before adding “I have no idea.”
But he did praise Duckworth, an Army veteran who was wounded in the Iraq War in 2004, as “a terrific person, a real American hero and somebody who’s been highly effective in her job as a U.S. senator. I would hate to lose her as a U.S. but gaining her on the national the national level would be a benefit to the entire country.”
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Mayor Lori Lightfoot puts on her mask after speaking during a post-election drive-up celebration at the 87th Street shopping center in the West Chatham neighborhood. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)
During a Friday morning interview on MSNBC, Lightfoot was asked about joining revelers Saturday on the streets of Chicago celebrating the Biden-Harris win amid a spike in COVID-19 cases here and nationwide — a surge so bad that yesterday she announced a non-mandatory stay-at-home “advisory” in the city while Gov. J.B. Pritzer warned of a mandatory shut-down order statewide if the wave continues.
“I will tell you in that big crowd a week ago, everybody was wearing masks,” the mayor told anchor Stephanie Ruhle on MSNBC. Read my full story here.
As the pandemic wears on and fatigue over restrictions turn to anger, critics are quick to single out mixed messages from political leaders.
Ace transportation writer John Greenfield, questioned Lightfoot’s impending “stay home advisory” save for essential trips to the doctor or grocery store, but allowing folks to gather at restaurant’s outdoor dining venues (read: tents — it’s November in Chicago). But in the opening lines of his latest Streetsblog Chicago piece, he offers a message of empathy we should take to heart: “Running a city or state in the thick of a terrifying airborne respiratory is a difficult balancing act. How do you help keep your constituents safe from transmission without killing off vulnerable small businesses and contributing to economic devastation?”
Illinois sees another record day of new cases: "We are at a crisis level,” Gov. Pritzker said a short time ago. The number of new confirmed and probable cases of the coronavirus in Illinois topped 15,000 for the first time today, setting a record for the fourth straight day, the Tribune’s Dan Petrella and Hal Dardick report.
More math: Over the past week, the state is averaging 12,345 cases of COVID-19 per day.
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Perspective: The staggering number comes after Gov. Pritzker, Mayor Lightfoot and Cook County public health officials all have urged residents to stay home except for essential trips, such as grocery shopping or going to the pharmacy. The governor has said that if case numbers continue to spike, a statewide stay-home order — enacted and lifted earlier this year — could be in our near future.
Trump trumpets progress in the race for a coronavirus vaccine in his first public remarks since since the election: The president “offered a rosy update on the race for a vaccine for the resurgent coronavirus as he delivered his first public remarks since his defeat by Joe Biden," Associated Press reporters Aamer Madhani and Zeke Miller write. “He still did not concede the election.” Read the full story here.
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See Wong in 2009. (Warren Skalski/for the Chicago Tribune)
From the Tribune’s Jason Meisner: A Chinatown developer who wore a wire on former Chicago Ald. Daniel Solis and helped the FBI break open a sweeping political corruption probe pleaded guilty Friday to wire fraud related to a South Side condominium project.
See Y. Wong began cooperating with the FBI in May 2014 after he was caught up in the fraud scheme and agreed to secretly record Solis in hopes of receiving a reduced sentence once he was charged, according to a federal search warrant affidavit unsealed in 2019.
Wong’s cooperation helped lead Solis in turn to wear a wire for the FBI for two years, recording numerous conversations with then-powerful Ald. Edward Burke, the Tribune has previously reported. Burke is facing public corruption charges for allegedly trying to shake down business owners seeking help at City Hall.
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A search warrant affidavit filed in 2016 revealed that Wong also secretly recorded a meeting in August 2014 with Solis, House Speaker Michael Madigan and representatives of a Chinatown hotel project at Madigan’s law firm, Madigan & Getzendanner, which specializes in real estate tax appeals. Read the full story here.
Then-Democratic 3rd District Congressional candidate Marie Newman addresses a forum at Hope Covenant Church in Orland Park on Jan. 11, 2020. (Jesse Wright / Daily Southtown)
With a more liberal platform, Marie Newman ended a political dynasty in Illinois' 3rd Congressional District, a collection of southwest suburbs and Chicago’s Southwest Side, in the Democratic primary. She beat U.S. Rep. Dan Lipinski, a social conservative from Western Springs who inherited the seat from his father.
After besting a Republican candidate in last week’s election, Newman, of La Grange, joined leaders from Moms Demand Action, whose formation was inspired by the 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, to talk about how the organization has become a political “force” both in helping candidates for public office and in helping write legislation.
Newman, who was once a spokeswoman for the organization, said, "I think that’s why not just the NRA is very nervous about Moms Demand Action, but many organizations see us as a policy force around addressing the roots of violence in our nation, because that’s really one of the critical reasons why we have gun issues in our nation right now.”
More than a year ago, the U.S. House passed the bipartisan HR 8, which would expand background checks to cover all private firearm sales, including those at gun shows, conducted online or through classified ads. But the Republican-controlled Senate has mothballed he measure. While Newman said she’ll make an effort to push senators in the other chamber to pass the measure, she said there are other gun control avenues to pursue and reminded listeners that it is a key part of fighting gun violence.
“Let me also say that I view my role is to not just fight for HR 8 in the next Congress, but to fight for every gun safety law ... on the books. I believe that we can get to a point where we’re addressing both sides of the equation — that we’re addressing gun violence from two points — from the root cause of violence, which are racial inequity, economic inequity and health care inequity, and all of those pieces. Once we can get those addressed, alongside of some of these measurements like HR 8, I think we’re going to be in a much better position in this country, and my tenure in Congress will be dedicated to making sure that inequity is addressed, as well as gun violence in this nation.”
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President Barack Obama meets with then-President-elect Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Nov. 10, 2016. (Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP)
The CBS News magazine “60 Minutes” released a snippet of Scott Pelley’s interview with former President Obama scheduled to air Sunday night. Pelley asks him what “these false claims of widespread election fraud (are) doing to our country right now?”
Obama says: “They appear to be motivated in part because the president doesn’t like to lose and never admits loss. I’m more troubled by the fact that other Republican officials who clearly know better are going along with this, are humoring him in this fashion. It is one more step in delegitimizing not just the incoming Biden administration, but democracy generally. And that’s a dangerous path.”
Thanks for reading The Spin, the Tribune’s politics newsletter. Sign up here to have it delivered to your inbox weekday afternoons. Have a tip? Email host Lisa Donovan at ldonovan@chicagotribune.com.
Twitter @byldonovan