chicagotribune--2020-12-11--Chicago’s homeless and area service providers prepare for 1st full pandemic winter: ‘What we have ri

Chicago’s homeless and area service providers prepare for 1st full pandemic winter: ‘What we have right now is this really unique opportunity’

Now , Illinois is reporting its highest number of new coronavirus cases since the pandemic began and is about to @ @ @ @ @ in the grasp of COVID-19 , and he is more concerned .
Selling StreetWise on @ @ @ @ @ for a decade has been hard .
The $ 2 magazine that he sells to @ @ @ @ @ was making his rent .
Mid-pandemic , he said , he ’ s barely getting @ @ @ @ @ week .
If he can ’ t pay his rent , he said , he @ @ @ @ @ Red Line between midnight and 5 a.m. to keep warm .

Kimbill Smith, left, receives hygiene supplies distributed by Ali Schram, right, Andrew Stevens, second from right, and Terra Orr-Byron, center, at an emergency shelter in Calumet City on Nov. 25, 2020. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune)
The last time we talked with StreetWise vendor Keith Hardiman, 59, it was mid-May. Then, he talked about how hard it had been since the start of the pandemic in March to make enough money to afford his $35 daily rent at a hotel.
Now, Illinois is reporting its highest number of new coronavirus cases since the pandemic began and is about to endure its first full winter in the grasp of COVID-19, and he is more concerned. Selling StreetWise on Lake Street and Michigan Avenue for a decade has been hard. The $2 magazine that he sells to customers? Prepandemic, he was making his rent. Mid-pandemic, he said, he’s barely getting rid of 15 copies a week. If he can’t pay his rent, he said, he foresees nights spent riding the Red Line between midnight and 5 a.m. to keep warm.
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“The people who don’t have anything, it’s even rougher on them,” he said about trying to stay afloat and housed in the pandemic. “Thirty-five dollars a day before the pandemic, that was no problem because I was doing about $60 to $120 a day. I just hope for the best, be prepared for the worst and do my best every day to make that day better than the day before.”
StreetWise has helped him keep a roof over his head, and when he doesn’t have anything to eat, he can go to the nonprofit’s State Street office and pick up food.
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Genea Moore, right, and John Perkins, second from left, prepare meals for residents at an emergency shelter in Calumet City on Nov. 25, 2020. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune)
According to a report by the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless, an estimated 76,998 people experienced homelessness in Chicago in 2018 (the latest year for which U.S. Census data is available). Doug Kenshol, executive director of South Suburban PADS in Cook County said that in a normal year, his organization would provide about 13,000 nights of shelter for those with housing instability. Given the pandemic, he is expecting more than a 100% increase — anywhere from 25,000 to 30,000 nights of shelter from July 2020 to June 2021.
“50,000 people, at the best of times, are just one calamity away from potentially becoming homeless because they’re living paycheck to paycheck,” he said. “There’s been a lot of extra instability for those kinds of reasons. But on the economic side, some of that impact right now has been a little bit hidden because of the eviction moratoriums. We expect a tsunami, a deluge of newly homeless people in January when the eviction moratoriums end.”
Shelters and community organizations that tend to homeless populations are preparing for this first full pandemic winter season in a variety of ways. Maura McCauley, Chicago Commissioner for Homeless Services, said her office is doubling down on its COVID-19 prevention and mitigation strategies. In spring, McCauley said the 50 shelters that the Department of Family and Support Services (DFSS) funds across the city followed Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines and spaced beds 6 feet apart. That will continue, alongside a DFSS rental assistance program that grew from three months to six months of assistance.
Each shelter will have a medical team/partner to help clients with primary and behavioral health care, and substance use needs with a focus on COVID-19 transmission control. According to McCauley, DFSS is also working with the Chicago Continuum of Care on an initiative that will house 2,500 residents most at risk of severe impacts from COVID-19 over the next 18 months, including those age 60 or older, those with underlying health conditions, families and youth.
Terra Orr-Byron, left, and Ali Schram, distribute meals at an emergency shelter in Calumet City on Nov. 25, 2020. Organizations including the South Suburban Public Action to Deliver Shelter, Aunt Martha’s, Sertoma Centre, the Alliance to End Homelessness and others are giving out hygiene supplies and distributing hot meals to those with housing instability. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune)
“They are partnering specifically with our shelters and with our street outreach team to identify individuals, families and young people who meet those criteria,” she said. “We’re very excited about having that housing strategy attached to what we’re doing, especially as we head into winter.”
The Chicago Lights Elam Davies Social Service Center turned its daytime drop-in center into a curbside model, where people can get immediate necessities, like hygiene and food pantry items as well as clothing. Jackie Harris, social service center director, said the organization is seeing many new faces since the stay-at-home order was lifted in the spring. Comparing the periods from March to May with June to October, the organization saw an 80% increase in guests on a daily basis during the latter months.
“It was like flipping a switch,” Harris said. “People are just trying to get the support where they can. We’re trying to figure out the best way to support folks through either a challenge that they’ve been experiencing for 10 to 20 years, or for the first time in their lives.”
The Primo Center, which provides 520 beds for homeless families, will be doing more COVID-19 testing at its three facilities this winter, according to Primo’s CEO, Christine Achre.
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The Night Ministry is working with the city on outreach to the homeless population that rides the trains to stay warm at night. The organization provides 61 shelter beds for homeless people ages 14-24 in housing programs that range from overnight stays to two years, according to Erin Ryan, senior vice president of the The Night Ministry. From offering meals in shifts to virtual meetings with case managers, the nonprofit limits the amount of contact people have in the facility but finds ways to keep clients connected, such as having a Nintendo gaming system on hand.
“We’ve seen lengths of stay in our shelters increase,” she said. “We need to find ways to keep facilitating moves into permanent housing as quickly as possible so that we make room for those who are going to be inevitably coming in.”
South Suburban PADS closed its church-based shelters in March and moved guests to local hotels for better self-isolation. According to Kenshol, hotel-based shelter as winter months approach is necessary to provide safety during the pandemic, but it is not sustainable.
“If there was ever a time when people’s awareness has been raised dramatically to the plight of homeless, it’s now,” he said. “There’s an opportunity to begin working on a longer term plan for permanent emergency shelters that would allow people to have a safe, secure platform that they could use to get back up on their feet.”
McCauley agrees. With a DFSS January assessment of Chicago’s sheltered and unsheltered people experiencing homelessness showing a 2% increase prepandemic, McCauley said she’s anticipating an uptick.
“What we have right now is this really unique opportunity with coronavirus relief funding to really bolster and sustain our shelter system,” she said.
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drockett@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-12-11--Illinois State University cancels spring break over COVID-19 concerns

As with other schools that have modified or canceled breaks , Dietz said in a message that the decision was @ @ @ @ @ of state officials ” out of concern that students traveling home and then coming back @ @ @ @ @ spread on campus and in the community .

NORMAL, Ill. — Illinois State University students won’t be getting a spring break next year after all because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
A couple of months after saying that the students at the campus in Normal would have be getting a break in the spring semester, ISU President Larry Dietz sent out a letter informing students and faculty about the change in plans.
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As with other schools that have modified or canceled breaks, Dietz said in a message that the decision was made “at the urging of state officials” out of concern that students traveling home and then coming back could cause the virus to spread on campus and in the community.
According to the school, the spring semester will begin Jan. 11. Then, the planned four-day break will give way personal days on March 9-10 and reading days for two days following the last day of spring classes on April 28.
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The school says a host of facilities will remain open during that time, including dining centers, residence halls, the Student Fitness Center, the Bone Student Center and Student Health Services. So, too, will other offices that provide university services and academic support units.


chicagotribune--2020-12-11--2 children killed, 4 family members injured in Ingleside house fire; ‘I hope they’re having a good t

2 children killed, 4 family members injured in Ingleside house fire; ‘I hope they’re having a good time in heaven together’

Crews then began spraying water on the flames to extinguish them until firefighters could return for the two remaining victims @ @ @ @ @ second-floor collapsed into the first , they were unable to re-enter the building until the @ @ @ @ @ firefighters were then sent into the home and found the girls .

Members of the Fox Lake Fire Department on Dec. 11, 2020, continue to put out hot spots and investigate a fatal fire that killed two young girls the previous night in the 35700 block of Hunt Avenue in northwest suburban Ingleside. Four adults were also injured in the fire. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)
An impromptu memorial sprouted Friday in front of the Ingleside home where two young girls were killed and four family members injured, three critically, Thursday night in a house fire which one fire department official called the worst fire-related tragedy he has ever seen.
“It was definitely a rough one,” said Ed Lescher, a deputy chief with the Fox Lake Fire Protection District. “An entire family was affected by it. This was tragic.”
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Balloons, ribbons, flowers and notes were affixed to a railing in front of the home at 35704 Hunt Avenue by early afternoon Friday. Several notes were left by Vivianna Paz, a Gavin Central School fourth-grader and a friend of the girls.
The sisters, Elizabeth, 8, and Autumn Evans, 5, died from smoke inhalation, according to a Lake County Coroner’s Office press release.
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Vivianna said she knew if she wrote the letters, the sisters would be able to read them from heaven. She put one on the railing, and returned 30 minutes later with another.
“I wrote a letter to them,” she said. “I wrote I hope they’re having a good time in heaven together.”
Raul Paz, Vivianna’s father, said initially he tried to shield his daughter from the news, but when she logged on to her virtual classroom at Gavin Central, the teacher wasn’t there to greet the students.
“That’s how she found out,” Paz said. “They were so cute, so innocent,” he added, talking about the Evans sisters.
Julie Brua, the superintendent of Gavin School District 37, wrote in an email to the school community Friday there was a loss and counselors would be available. Information for families was in the email.
A memorial started by neighbors appears in front of the house where two young Ingleside girls died in a fire. (Steve Sadin / Lake County News-Sun)
Anthony Falcone, a senior at Grant Community High School in Fox Lake, was also there contributing to the memorial. He said the girls’ teenage brother, who was injured in the blaze, was his best friend.
“This place is like a second home to me,” Falcone said. “I’m here all the time. Those girls had so much energy. They were fun to be around.”
Lescher said firefighters arrived at the house shortly after receiving a report of the fire at 10:45 p.m. They found two adults and the teenager on the front lawn suffering from burns and smoke inhalation, with the two-story home fully ablaze.
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Firefighters quickly rescued an adult trapped inside the house on the first floor, but Lescher said the flames were too intense to save two girls. Once the fire was extinguished, the 8-year-old was found in an upstairs bedroom and the 5-year-old in a hallway.
Lake County Coroner Jennifer Banek, who arrived on the scene shortly after 4 a.m., said the girls’ mother, the teenage brother and two grandparents survived. Lescher said the grandmother was the adult rescued. They all lived in the house.
When firefighters arrived, Lescher said the first thing they did was try to rescue those trapped inside. The flames were too intense to enter the through the front.
“We sent a crew to the back, where the flames weren’t as bad,” he said. “They were able to get in the back door, and found an adult 15 feet away. They rescued her, and brought her out of the house. By then, the whole house was engulfed in flames. They couldn’t re-enter.”
Crews then began spraying water on the flames to extinguish them until firefighters could return for the two remaining victims. When part of the second-floor collapsed into the first, they were unable to re-enter the building until the fire was out. Six firefighters were then sent into the home and found the girls.
The sounds of sirens late Thursday night brought many of the neighbors into the street, like Violet Czerwinski, a Grant junior who lives a few doors south of the home.
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“There were such flames,” Czerwinski said. “The whole house was burning. Everyone in the neighborhood was out watching.”
Gary Jeffers, who lives across the street from the home, said the loss is taking a toll on the entire neighborhood. He came outside when he heard the sirens, and was startled by what he saw.
“Everything was burning,” Jeffers said. “It was all engulfed. When I told a woman at work, she started crying and then I had a tear in my eye.”
The four survivors were transported to nearby hospitals, including some who were taken by helicopter to Loyola University Medical Center, which has the nearest burn unit.
Banek said the mother and grandparents were being treated Friday for their injuries at the Loyola Medical Center, while the teenager was at Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville.
On Friday, officials had not yet formally identified those injured in the blaze.
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Sgt. Chris Covelli of the Lake County Sheriff’s Office said Friday the mother and grandparents were in critical condition. The teenager was in stable condition. The girls’ father was not home at the time of the fire.
Lescher said the cause of the fire is still under investigation, but he ruled out arson.
“The fire is not suspicious,” he said.


chicagotribune--2020-12-11--Woman found dead in vacant lot in Bronzeville, signs of trauma to her face and body

Officers discovered the woman just before 5 a.m. in the 4900 block of South Prairie Avenue after someone called police @ @ @ @ @ or swelling to the head and body , and the woman was pronounced dead at @ @ @

An unidentified woman was found dead, with apparent trauma to her head and body, in a vacant lot in the Bronzeville neighborhood early Friday, Chicago police said.
Officers discovered the woman just before 5 a.m. in the 4900 block of South Prairie Avenue after someone called police. There was apparent bruising or swelling to the head and body, and the woman was pronounced dead at the scene.
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An autopsy will be conducted to determine the cause of death.


chicagotribune--2020-12-11--Two children die in Ingleside fire

Two children die in Ingleside fire

With everyone hunkered down at home during the pandemic , the tradition of decorating for the holidays has taken on @ @ @ @ @ .

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Members of the Fox Lake Fire Department on Dec. 11, 2020, continue to put out hot spots and investigate a fatal fire that killed two young girls the previous night in the 35700 block of Hunt Avenue in northwest suburban Ingleside. Four adults were also injured in the fire. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)


chicagotribune--2020-12-11--Planets to appear nearly aligned creating ‘Christmas star’ last widely visible 800 years ago

“ Conjunctions of Jupiter and Saturn happen every 20 years and most aren ’ t very close at all .
@ @ @ @ @ year is they ’ re right , right next to each other , ” said @ @ @ @ @ planets have never been this close in the sky for 400 years so no one @ @ @ @ @ s going to look like because it hasn ’ t happened since 1623 , in @ @ @ @ @ That kind of gives you a sense of the rarity of the event .
This @ @ @ @ @ event , this is a once-in-our-history since-we-built-the-telescope event .
”

Streaks of beacon and strobe lights from a passenger jet departing O'Hare International Airport pass Saturn and Jupiter as the two planets approach conjunction on Dec. 20, 2020, over Chicago. The Great Conjunction will occur Dec. 21, 2020. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)
When something inordinately rare or unexpected happens, it is said “the planets aligned.”
On Dec. 21, the winter solstice, Jupiter and Saturn will appear nearly aligned, resulting in an event so uncommon it’s befitting of the saying. At one time, astronomers may have felt it so closely resembled a Christmas miracle — or, perhaps, the star of Bethlehem — that they named the spectacle the “Christmas Star.”
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The event is called a conjunction, said Shane Larson, associate director of Northwestern’s Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astrophysics.
“Conjunctions of Jupiter and Saturn happen every 20 years and most aren’t very close at all. What’s special this year is they’re right, right next to each other,” said Larson. “These two planets have never been this close in the sky for 400 years so no one really knows what it’s going to look like because it hasn’t happened since 1623, in Galileo’s time. That kind of gives you a sense of the rarity of the event. This is not just a once-in-a-lifetime event, this is a once-in-our-history since-we-built-the-telescope event.”
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While catching a glimpse of either Jupiter or Saturn is relatively commonplace, Michelle Nichols, an astronomer at the Adler Planetarium, said the 1623 Christmas Star occurred so close to the sun, it’s possible it went largely unnoticed.
A star map of the night sky as seen on Dec. 21, 2020, shows the alignment of Saturn and Jupiter that will create a bright "Christmas star" on the southwest horizon. (TNS)
The last time the two gas giants were this close and easily seen? A cool 800 years.
“It’ll be closer than anybody on Earth has ever seen those two planets,” Nichols said.
She recently has been fielding questions at Adler about what the event will and won’t involve and said she’s encountered a great deal of misinformation. For one thing, she said, “nearly aligned” is not aligned.
“They’re coming close together, but they are not going to merge; they are not forming a single star. They will still appear as two distinct objects,” Nichols said. “The distance between them will appear as about one-fifth of the diameter of the full moon.”
And that’s just how close they’ll look. They’ll still be about half a billion miles apart.
“It’s a rare event that people should take advantage of to go take a look at, if they can,” said Adina Feinstein, a researcher in the University of Chicago’s astronomy and astrophysics department.
And timing is of the utmost importance, she said. The “star” will only be visible for about an hour shortly after sunset, which in Chicago should be at 4:23 p.m. on Monday. (The winter solstice is when the northern hemisphere has the fewest hours of daylight all year.)
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“Remember it won’t be the whole night. People wishing to see it will want to look to the horizon, in the southwest sky, or use an app that tells them where Jupiter is,” Feinstein said.
But Larson doubts an app will be necessary. He said to look near where the sun has set and make a fist, lining up the bottom with the horizon. The top should be about where Jupiter will be, and it will be the brightest star in the sky.
Saturn will be much less so, but within about 45 minutes of sunset, Nichols said, the Christmas Star should appear. It will “set” about 6:40 p.m. in Chicago.
“You’ve got about an hour of decent viewing. Whether or not you see it past that time depends on your local horizon and how far down to the horizon you can see,” she said.
Some good news for Chicago residents: Light pollution from the city isn’t likely to affect visibility. But remember the star will be low — more out than up. If the horizon is obscured by buildings or trees, it won’t be visible.
Stars shine in the sky as vegetation sits near a utility pole in the County Line Conservation area in the early hours of on Dec. 10, 2020, in Garden Prairie, Ill. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)
Nichols said one question she has not been able to answer is whether it’s possible the star of Bethlehem described in the Bible might have been a conjunction. There was a Jupiter-Saturn conjunction in 7 B.C., she said.
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“The answer is we have absolutely no idea,” Nichols said. “What people considered celestially significant then was very different from what people consider significant today, so it is extremely difficult to know what was being referred to.”
Larson encouraged everyone to get out and enjoy the night sky generally, and this event specifically. Although access to a backyard telescope isn’t necessary, it will magnify the experience.
“People have these kinds of moving experiences the first time they look at Jupiter and Saturn through a telescope because they will look just like they do in pictures. It’s really kind of remarkable in that way,” Larson said.
“Either way, go look. And just kind of appreciate the precise and very elegant clockwork of the universe that made this possible. For those of us who enjoy finding our place in the universe by staring into the sky, that is what this event is really most important for.”
kdouglas@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @312BreakingNews


chicagotribune--2020-12-11--Coronavirus in Illinois updates: Here’s what happened Dec. 10 with COVID-19 in the Chicago area

Illinois on Thursday reported its highest number of new coronavirus cases in more than a week and the third-highest daily death toll since the pandemic began .
The high numbers come two weeks after the Thanksgiving holiday that health officials worried could be a COVID-19 superspreader event .
One day ’ s numbers aren ’ t enough to indicate whether those fear came true but public health officials have said we ’ re entering the period when a possible post-Thanksgiving surge would begin to show up in the data .
The 11,101 new confirmed and probable coronavirus cases reported Thursday @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cases were reported Dec. 1 .
It ’ s also the first time in six days that the case count topped 10,000 .
That ’ s partly attributable to the highest number of test results over the previous 24 hours since Dec. 1 .
The 196 fatalities reported Thursday bring the statewide death toll to 13,861 since March .
The only days with higher reported death tolls were Dec. 2 , with 238 , and Dec. 5 , with 208 .
The record-setting total on Dec. 2 was due in part to delayed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Meanwhile , a U.S. government advisory panel endorsed Pfizer ’ s coronavirus vaccine on Thursday , in a major step toward an epic vaccination campaign that could finally conquer the outbreak .
The Food and Drug Administration is expected to follow the recommendation issued by its expert advisers .
Here ’ s what the FDA approval will mean for Chicago and the rest of Illinois .
A day earlier , Chicago officials said they hope to vaccinate all city adults in 2021 as they laid out their plans to roll out the vaccine @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Richard ’ s Bar may be one of the most infamous taverns in Chicago , known for its rumored mob connections ( its owner is the sister of a supposed mob associate ) and its smoky atmosphere ( despite the city banning smoking indoors ) .
Now , it ’ s adding another item to that list : flouting city guidelines regarding coronavirus .
The bar reportedly was serving patrons inside as recently as Wednesday evening , according to Block Club Chicago , and had a sign posted on the door stating @ @ @ @ @ @ @ indoor service shutdown mandated by the state and city .
Chicago ’ s Department of Business and Consumer Protection confirmed that it is investigating the bar .
A new , hand-written sign reading “ Carry-Out Only ” on a piece of cardboard , was affixed to the door as of Thursday evening .
A U.S. government advisory panel has endorsed Pfizer ’ s coronavirus vaccine , in a major step toward an epic vaccination campaign that could finally conquer the outbreak .
The Food and Drug Administration is expected to follow the recommendation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The advisory group , in 17-4 vote with one abstention , concluded that the shot appears safe and effective against the coronavirus in people 16 and older .
A final FDA decision is expected within days .
Millions of shots would then ship to begin vaccinating health care workers and nursing home residents .
Widespread access to the general public is not expected until the spring .
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is hitting the brakes on emerging COVID-19 aid package from a bipartisan group of lawmakers , saying Republican senators won ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and local funds as part of a potential trade-off in the deal .
McConnell ’ s staff conveyed to top negotiators that the GOP leader sees no path to an agreement on a key aspect of the lawmakers ’ existing proposal — a slimmed-down version of the liability shield for companies and organizations facing potential COVID-19 lawsuits — in exchange for $ 160 billion in state and local funds that Democrats want .
1:30 p.m. : Column : Seth Arkin turned his friends ’ artwork and hobbies into customized coronavirus masks .
He @ @ @ @ @ @ @ He filled his years with the things he loved best and meticulously chronicled his adventures on his delightful blog , sethsaith.blogspot.com , where he also reviewed hundreds of albums , plays , concerts , movies and books .
His blog contained an impressive collection of lists — “ My 100 All-Time Favorite Artists of Popular Music — 2020 , ” followed immediately by “ The Next 30.
” The coronavirus pandemic pressed pause on just about every one of Arkin ’ s favorite pursuits , a reality he took in stride .
About @ @ @ @ @ @ @ new endeavor to occupy some of his free time .
He started ordering customized masks for dozens and dozens of friends and acquaintances , some of whom he hadn ’ t seen or worked with in years , based on their hobbies and interests .
Last Friday , Arkin ’ s sister Allison posted a note on his Facebook page , in and among the photos of the masks his friends had been sharing for the past few days .
“ My brother Seth has Covid and is on a ventilator in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Please keep him in your prayers.
” 1:24 p.m. : On Wednesday , COVID-19 killed more Americans than died in Normandy on D-Day Just when the U.S. appears on the verge of rolling out a COVID-19 vaccine , the numbers have become gloomier than ever : Over 3,000 American deaths in a single day , more than on D-Day or 9/11 .
One million new cases in the span of five days .
More than 106,000 people in the hospital .
The crisis across the country is pushing medical centers to the breaking @ @ @ @ @ @ @ health officials burned out and plagued by tears and nightmares .
All told , the crisis has left more than 290,000 people dead in the U.S , with more than 15 million confirmed infections .
The U.S. recorded 3,124 deaths Wednesday , the highest one-day total yet , according to Johns Hopkins University .
Up until last week , the peak was 2,603 deaths on April 15 , when New York City was the epicenter of the nation ’ s outbreak .
12:58 p.m. : Illinois reports 11,101 daily COVID-19 cases , highest @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 196 deaths , third most since pandemic began Illinois on Thursday reported its highest number of new coronavirus cases in more than a week and the third-highest daily death toll since the pandemic began .
The high numbers come two weeks after the Thanksgiving holiday that health officials worried could be a COVID-19 superspreader event .
One day ’ s numbers aren ’ t enough to indicate whether those fear came true but public health officials have said we ’ re entering the period when a possible post-Thanksgiving surge would begin to show @ @ @ @ @ @ @ new confirmed and probable coronavirus cases reported Thursday is the highest daily total since 12,542 cases were reported Dec. 1 .
It ’ s also the first time in six days that the case count topped 10,000 .
That ’ s partly attributable to the highest number of test results over the previous 24 hours since Dec. 1 .
The case positivity rate — the percentage of cases as a share of total tests — averaged 9.5 % for the week ending Wednesday , down from 10.6 % for the week ending Dec. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bring the statewide death toll to 13,861 since March .
The only days with higher reported death tolls were Dec. 2 , with 238 , and Dec. 5 , with 208 .
The record-setting total on Dec. 2 was due in part to delayed reporting over the long Thanksgiving weekend .
As of Wednesday night , there were 5,138 patients in Illinois hospitals with COVID-19 , 1,081 of them in intensive care and 606 on ventilators .
Those figures are all down from the start of the month .
12:22 p.m. : An @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 4 months without COVID-19 cases .
Then it had dozens .
While nursing homes and assisted living facilities have , in some cases , been a hotbed of coronavirus cases since the pandemic began in mid-March , The Birches Assisted Living in Clarendon Hills went more than four months without a positive case .
The Birches , 215 55th St. , had its first positive test , with a staff member , May 5 , following the state ’ s executive order to lock down on March 20 , said Jacqueline Sander , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ first case for a resident was May 7 , for someone who was asymptomatic .
Mass testing for all residents and staff began May 8 , Sander said .
She said there were eight residents and two staff members who tested positive during that first wave in the spring , and the last resident taken off of isolation occurred on June 16 .
There were no active cases again until Oct. 27 ; however , since that time about 40 of the 70 residents , along with about 20 staff members , have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is the second wave in senior living , and it is hitting most communities in the area four times harder than the spring , ” Sander said .
“ As the nation opened up over summer , senior living was still locked down and most of us in the industry had no cases.
” This story was corrected to reflect that The Birches Assisted Living in Clarendon Hills had cases of COVID-19 in May-June .
An earlier version of the story incorrectly reported The Birches had had no cases before October .
12:07 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ resume practice Thursday afternoon after closing Halas Hall in the morning because of a positive COVID-19 test The Chicago Bears paused all in-person activities and closed Halas Hall on Thursday morning after an individual tested positive for COVID-19 — the team ’ s fourth positive test this week — but were set to return to practice in the afternoon .
Players already had started trickling into Halas Hall early Thursday when the Bears received the positive result .
The individual who tested positive was notified and put into isolation , and the team @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an abundance of caution , ” coach Matt Nagy said .
He then held a virtual team meeting to notify them of the circumstances .
11:39 a.m. : COVID-19 pandemic relief set to expire in Illinois as Congress negotiates aid package .
Here ’ s what to know .
As Congress negotiates a fresh round of coronavirus relief , the clock is ticking on several forms of federal aid , but there is still help available in Illinois .
While several federal programs tied to the March package are set to expire later @ @ @ @ @ @ @ relief have been extended in Illinois .
11:15 a.m. : How COVID-19 is devastating household finances in the Chicago area and Illinois , in 5 charts The coronavirus pandemic has forced employers of all sizes to shrink their operations or shut down , temporarily or for good .
Laid-off workers in turn have less money to spend at other businesses .
The health crisis has sunk the nation ’ s economy into a recession , and despite promising news about vaccines , much remains uncertain .
Since mid-April , the U.S. Census Bureau @ @ @ @ @ @ @ households have been affected by the pandemic , both economically and socially .
The latest survey on the state of household finances shows continued worries about job security and illustrates who is bearing the brunt of the recession locally .
11:01 a.m. : Six Flags Great America adds drive-thru to Holiday in the Park Six Flags Great America has just created a new way to experience its third annual Holiday in the Park Lights .
Starting Wednesday and on select days through Jan. 18 , Great America will allow patrons to have , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ around inside the park , ” said the park ’ s president Hank Salemi .
It ’ s called Holiday in the Park Drive-Thru , and it will not overlap with the Holiday in the Park Lights walk-through experience , which opened Nov. 27 and runs on select days through Dec. 30 .
10:27 a.m. : ‘ Incredible landmark ’ : Advocate Aurora doctors excited as COVID-19 vaccine approval is closer to reality Doctors at Advocate Aurora Health System on Thursday morning expressed excitement at the possibility of an imminent emergency use authorization @ @ @ @ @ @ @ COVID-19 vaccine , and looked ahead to vaccine plans for the system ’ s 26 hospitals .
An FDA advisory committee was meeting Thursday to discuss the vaccine trial data before making a recommendation to the agency , which could issue an approval soon after the meeting .
The health system has hospitals in Illinois and Wisconsin , and is working with both states to obtain doses once the FDA approves emergency use .
Preliminary data of the Pfizer vaccine released on Tuesday looked promising .
Citronberg said he did not have final @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will initially get , and noted that Illinois and Wisconsin have different frameworks for distribution .
Still , the health system is in the process of prioritizing which staff members will be able to be immunized first , as the doses will be limited .
It will not be mandatory .
Citronberg said the hospitals are working to identify the people who spend the most time working in areas where COVID-19 is present , particularly in intensive care units and on COVID-19 floors .
” The fact that this vaccine was able to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of time is one of the great scientific achievements of our time , ” he said .
Total undergraduate enrollment at Illinois colleges and universities is down by 7.2 % this fall compared to last year , worse than the national decrease of 4.4 % recorded as students returned to school during the coronavirus pandemic , according to state date presented this week .
While graduate enrollment climbed by 1.5 % at both public and private institutions , it wasn ’ t enough to offset undergraduate losses .
Overall post-secondary enrollment in Illinois @ @ @ @ @ @ @ data from the Illinois Board of Higher Education shows .
Blue Nose co-founder Jordan Isenberg said in an interview that he made the decision in late October , after the state ordered suburban Cook County bars and restaurants to close for indoor business for a second time to stem the spread of COVID-19 .
He kept the decision largely to himself while winding down the business , he said .
7 a.m. : The year that was in Chicago music was one that , because of a pandemic , was like no other @ @ @ @ @ @ @ if there are no shows .
That is the greatest lesson of Chicago music in 2020 .
In a year where culture as we ’ ve known it was seemingly shut down overnight , Chicago ’ s music scene continued to survive , albeit in a different manner than we ’ ve come to expect .
Despite the promise of our pre-pandemic world , the state of Chicago music was already in a confusing place .
Long simmering issues plagued the city ’ s music scene , from potential closures of independent music @ @ @ @ @ @ @ musicians seeking greater fame , fortune and opportunity on the coasts .
However , much like how the pandemic shined a light on society ’ s racial and economic troubles , it also revealed the fragility of the city and the country ’ s entertainment community as a whole .
One can not underestimate the social , economic and cultural ramifications of the COVID-19 pandemic on the city ’ s music scene .
Unlike restaurants and retail stores which found ways to bounce back ( however temporarily ) as lockdown restrictions eased in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ closed for the foreseeable future .
5 a.m. : Pandemic , civil unrest drive record-shattering increase in firearm permits , gun shopping in Illinois in 2020 Illinois residents shopped for more guns and applied for more firearm permits in 2020 than at any other time in history , according to statistics released Wednesday by state police .
With events during this unprecedented year driving the demand , there had been more than 500,000 serious inquiries to date about purchasing guns , authorities said , representing a 45 % increase over 2019 .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ applications for firearm owner ’ s identification cards as of November 2020 , a 167 % jump from the 166,649 applications in 2017 .
The Illinois State Police did not release numbers for any other years but said the 2020 applications “ blew past ” a previous surge in 2013 after concealed carry licenses were first offered .
“ It ’ s a reflection of the great deal of unease and a reflection of the tension we have in this state and across the country , ” Illinois State Police Director Brendan Kelly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” Read more here .
—Annie Sweeney and Stacy St. Clair 5 a.m. : Tenants ’ advocates , real estate industry gear up for clash over proposed Cook County residential tenant , landlord ordinance A simmering debate between tenants ’ advocates and the real estate industry in Cook County is set to boil this month when a Board of Commissioners panel is expected to vote on a proposal to toughen suburban renters ’ rights amid the pandemic-sparked housing crisis .
The proposal , dubbed the Residential Tenant Landlord Ordinance , brought by county @ @ @ @ @ @ @ would cement heightened landlord regulations throughout the suburbs , where about 245,000 households are renters not covered by such codes that only exist in three cities in the county : Chicago , Evanston and Mount Prospect .
It is based on the city of Chicago ’ s own code that has guided leases since 1986 , much to the ire of some landlords who say it overreaches and stifles the market .
During a virtual news conference on Tuesday , supporters of the proposed Cook County ordinance said while the need for suburban @ @ @ @ @ @ @ existed , the feared eviction wave from the coronavirus pandemic makes the stakes all the more drastic .
Here are five things that happened Wednesday related to 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)
For the latest updates, click here for Friday’s live blog.
Illinois on Thursday reported its highest number of new coronavirus cases in more than a week and the third-highest daily death toll since the pandemic began.
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The high numbers come two weeks after the Thanksgiving holiday that health officials worried could be a COVID-19 superspreader event. One day’s numbers aren’t enough to indicate whether those fear came true but public health officials have said we’re entering the period when a possible post-Thanksgiving surge would begin to show up in the data.
The 11,101 new confirmed and probable coronavirus cases reported Thursday is the highest daily total since 12,542 cases were reported Dec. 1. It’s also the first time in six days that the case count topped 10,000. That’s partly attributable to the highest number of test results over the previous 24 hours since Dec. 1.
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The 196 fatalities reported Thursday bring the statewide death toll to 13,861 since March. The only days with higher reported death tolls were Dec. 2, with 238, and Dec. 5, with 208. The record-setting total on Dec. 2 was due in part to delayed reporting over the long Thanksgiving weekend.
Meanwhile, a U.S. government advisory panel endorsed Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine on Thursday, in a major step toward an epic vaccination campaign that could finally conquer the outbreak. The Food and Drug Administration is expected to follow the recommendation issued by its expert advisers. Here’s what the FDA approval will mean for Chicago and the rest of Illinois.
A day earlier, Chicago officials said they hope to vaccinate all city adults in 2021 as they laid out their plans to roll out the vaccine.
Here’s what’s happening Thursday with COVID-19 in the Chicago area and Illinois:
6:15 p.m.: Chicago dive Richard’s Bar reportedly defies pandemic shutdown
As far as bad behavior goes, Richard’s Bar may be one of the most infamous taverns in Chicago, known for its rumored mob connections (its owner is the sister of a supposed mob associate) and its smoky atmosphere (despite the city banning smoking indoors). Now, it’s adding another item to that list: flouting city guidelines regarding coronavirus.
The bar reportedly was serving patrons inside as recently as Wednesday evening, according to Block Club Chicago, and had a sign posted on the door stating that it will not comply with the indoor service shutdown mandated by the state and city. Chicago’s Department of Business and Consumer Protection confirmed that it is investigating the bar. A new, hand-written sign reading “Carry-Out Only” on a piece of cardboard, was affixed to the door as of Thursday evening.
Read more here. —Grace Wong
(Updated): 4:41 p.m.: US panel endorses widespread use of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine
A U.S. government advisory panel has endorsed Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine, in a major step toward an epic vaccination campaign that could finally conquer the outbreak.
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The Food and Drug Administration is expected to follow the recommendation issued Thursday by its expert advisers. The advisory group, in 17-4 vote with one abstention, concluded that the shot appears safe and effective against the coronavirus in people 16 and older.
A final FDA decision is expected within days. Millions of shots would then ship to begin vaccinating health care workers and nursing home residents. Widespread access to the general public is not expected until the spring.
Read more here. —Associated Press
(Updated) 2:55 p.m.: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell signals no GOP support for emerging COVID-19 relief deal
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is hitting the brakes on emerging COVID-19 aid package from a bipartisan group of lawmakers, saying Republican senators won’t support $160 billion in state and local funds as part of a potential trade-off in the deal.
McConnell’s staff conveyed to top negotiators that the GOP leader sees no path to an agreement on a key aspect of the lawmakers’ existing proposal — a slimmed-down version of the liability shield for companies and organizations facing potential COVID-19 lawsuits — in exchange for $160 billion in state and local funds that Democrats want.
Read more here. —Associated Press
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1:30 p.m.: Column: Seth Arkin turned his friends’ artwork and hobbies into customized coronavirus masks. He died after being hospitalized with COVID-19.
Seth Arkin was a voracious world traveler, a faithful Cubs fan, a devoted patron of Chicago’s cultural offerings and a bit of a Bruce Springsteen groupie.
He filled his years with the things he loved best and meticulously chronicled his adventures on his delightful blog, sethsaith.blogspot.com, where he also reviewed hundreds of albums, plays, concerts, movies and books. His blog contained an impressive collection of lists — “My 100 All-Time Favorite Artists of Popular Music — 2020,” followed immediately by “The Next 30.”
The coronavirus pandemic pressed pause on just about every one of Arkin’s favorite pursuits, a reality he took in stride.
About a month ago, Arkin found a new endeavor to occupy some of his free time. He started ordering customized masks for dozens and dozens of friends and acquaintances, some of whom he hadn’t seen or worked with in years, based on their hobbies and interests.
Last Friday , Arkin’s sister Allison posted a note on his Facebook page, in and among the photos of the masks his friends had been sharing for the past few days.
“My brother Seth has Covid and is on a ventilator in the ICU,” she wrote. “Please keep him in your prayers.”
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On Tuesday, Arkin died. He was 52.
Read more here. —Heidi Stevens
1:24 p.m.: On Wednesday, COVID-19 killed more Americans than died in Normandy on D-Day
Just when the U.S. appears on the verge of rolling out a COVID-19 vaccine, the numbers have become gloomier than ever: Over 3,000 American deaths in a single day, more than on D-Day or 9/11. One million new cases in the span of five days. More than 106,000 people in the hospital.
The crisis across the country is pushing medical centers to the breaking point and leaving staff members and public health officials burned out and plagued by tears and nightmares.
All told, the crisis has left more than 290,000 people dead in the U.S, with more than 15 million confirmed infections.
The U.S. recorded 3,124 deaths Wednesday, the highest one-day total yet, according to Johns Hopkins University. Up until last week, the peak was 2,603 deaths on April 15, when New York City was the epicenter of the nation’s outbreak.
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Read more here. —Associated Press
12:58 p.m.: Illinois reports 11,101 daily COVID-19 cases, highest in more than a week, and 196 deaths, third most since pandemic began
Illinois on Thursday reported its highest number of new coronavirus cases in more than a week and the third-highest daily death toll since the pandemic began.
The high numbers come two weeks after the Thanksgiving holiday that health officials worried could be a COVID-19 superspreader event. One day’s numbers aren’t enough to indicate whether those fear came true but public health officials have said we’re entering the period when a possible post-Thanksgiving surge would begin to show up in the data.
The 11,101 new confirmed and probable coronavirus cases reported Thursday is the highest daily total since 12,542 cases were reported Dec. 1. It’s also the first time in six days that the case count topped 10,000. That’s partly attributable to the highest number of test results over the previous 24 hours since Dec. 1.
The case positivity rate — the percentage of cases as a share of total tests — averaged 9.5% for the week ending Wednesday, down from 10.6% for the week ending Dec. 1.
The 196 fatalities reported Thursday bring the statewide death toll to 13,861 since March. The only days with higher reported death tolls were Dec. 2, with 238, and Dec. 5, with 208. The record-setting total on Dec. 2 was due in part to delayed reporting over the long Thanksgiving weekend.
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The state has average 148 deaths per day over the past week.
As of Wednesday night, there were 5,138 patients in Illinois hospitals with COVID-19, 1,081 of them in intensive care and 606 on ventilators. Those figures are all down from the start of the month.
—Dan Petrella
12:22 p.m.: An assisted living facility in Clarendon Hills went 4 months without COVID-19 cases. Then it had dozens.
While nursing homes and assisted living facilities have, in some cases, been a hotbed of coronavirus cases since the pandemic began in mid-March, The Birches Assisted Living in Clarendon Hills went more than four months without a positive case.
The Birches, 215 55th St., had its first positive test, with a staff member, May 5, following the state’s executive order to lock down on March 20, said Jacqueline Sander, executive director of The Birches. The first case for a resident was May 7, for someone who was asymptomatic. Mass testing for all residents and staff began May 8, Sander said.
She said there were eight residents and two staff members who tested positive during that first wave in the spring, and the last resident taken off of isolation occurred on June 16.
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There were no active cases again until Oct. 27; however, since that time about 40 of the 70 residents, along with about 20 staff members, have tested positive for virus.
“This is the second wave in senior living, and it is hitting most communities in the area four times harder than the spring,” Sander said. “As the nation opened up over summer, senior living was still locked down and most of us in the industry had no cases.”
Read more here. — Chuck Fieldman, Pioneer Press
This story was corrected to reflect that The Birches Assisted Living in Clarendon Hills had cases of COVID-19 in May-June. An earlier version of the story incorrectly reported The Birches had had no cases before October.
12:07 p.m.: Chicago Bears are set to resume practice Thursday afternoon after closing Halas Hall in the morning because of a positive COVID-19 test
The Chicago Bears paused all in-person activities and closed Halas Hall on Thursday morning after an individual tested positive for COVID-19 — the team’s fourth positive test this week — but were set to return to practice in the afternoon.
The Bears conducted meetings virtually in the morning and rescheduled their 1:10 p.m. practice for 2:30 p.m.
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Players already had started trickling into Halas Hall early Thursday when the Bears received the positive result. The individual who tested positive was notified and put into isolation, and the team sent players and staff home “with an abundance of caution,” coach Matt Nagy said. He then held a virtual team meeting to notify them of the circumstances.
Read more here. —Colleen Kane
11:39 a.m.: COVID-19 pandemic relief set to expire in Illinois as Congress negotiates aid package. Here’s what to know.
As Congress negotiates a fresh round of coronavirus relief, the clock is ticking on several forms of federal aid, but there is still help available in Illinois.
While several federal programs tied to the March package are set to expire later this month, other forms of pandemic relief have been extended in Illinois.
Here’s the help that’s still available.
Read more here. —Robert Channick, Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz, Abdel Jimenez, Ryan Ori, Lauren Zumbach
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11:15 a.m.: How COVID-19 is devastating household finances in the Chicago area and Illinois, in 5 charts
The coronavirus pandemic has forced employers of all sizes to shrink their operations or shut down, temporarily or for good. Laid-off workers in turn have less money to spend at other businesses. The health crisis has sunk the nation’s economy into a recession, and despite promising news about vaccines, much remains uncertain.
Since mid-April, the U.S. Census Bureau has routinely surveyed adults to see how households have been affected by the pandemic, both economically and socially.
The latest survey on the state of household finances shows continued worries about job security and illustrates who is bearing the brunt of the recession locally.
Read more here. —Mary Ellen Podmolik and Jonathon Berlin
11:01 a.m.: Six Flags Great America adds drive-thru to Holiday in the Park
Six Flags Great America has just created a new way to experience its third annual Holiday in the Park Lights.
Starting Wednesday and on select days through Jan. 18, Great America will allow patrons to have, ’'an extremely rare opportunity to drive around inside the park,” said the park’s president Hank Salemi.
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It’s called Holiday in the Park Drive-Thru, and it will not overlap with the Holiday in the Park Lights walk-through experience, which opened Nov. 27 and runs on select days through Dec. 30.
Vehicles are allowed to drive through the park up to 3 mph following a designated route.
Read more here. — Sheryl DeVore
10:27 a.m.: ‘Incredible landmark’: Advocate Aurora doctors excited as COVID-19 vaccine approval is closer to reality
Doctors at Advocate Aurora Health System on Thursday morning expressed excitement at the possibility of an imminent emergency use authorization by the FDA of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine, and looked ahead to vaccine plans for the system’s 26 hospitals.
An FDA advisory committee was meeting Thursday to discuss the vaccine trial data before making a recommendation to the agency, which could issue an approval soon after the meeting.
”This is an incredible landmark,” said Dr. Robert Citronberg, executive medical director of Infectious Disease and Prevention at Advocate Aurora Health. “It’s the ticket out.”
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The health system has hospitals in Illinois and Wisconsin, and is working with both states to obtain doses once the FDA approves emergency use. Preliminary data of the Pfizer vaccine released on Tuesday looked promising.
Citronberg said he did not have final numbers on how many doses each hospital will initially get, and noted that Illinois and Wisconsin have different frameworks for distribution.
Still, the health system is in the process of prioritizing which staff members will be able to be immunized first, as the doses will be limited. It will not be mandatory.
Citronberg said the hospitals are working to identify the people who spend the most time working in areas where COVID-19 is present, particularly in intensive care units and on COVID-19 floors.
”The fact that this vaccine was able to be developed in such a short period of time is one of the great scientific achievements of our time,” he said.
—Madeline Buckley
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9:50 a.m.: Illinois colleges and universities suffer enrollment losses after pandemic disruptions
Total undergraduate enrollment at Illinois colleges and universities is down by 7.2% this fall compared to last year, worse than the national decrease of 4.4% recorded as students returned to school during the coronavirus pandemic, according to state date presented this week.
While graduate enrollment climbed by 1.5% at both public and private institutions, it wasn’t enough to offset undergraduate losses. Overall post-secondary enrollment in Illinois dropped by 5.4% this year, data from the Illinois Board of Higher Education shows.
Community colleges suffered the most, with a 13.7% reduction in students, and new freshman and transfer student populations dropped significantly.
But not all the news was bad.
Read more here. —Elyssa Cherney
9:54 a.m.: Suburban Blue Nose Brewery closing ‘when the beer runs out’ due to coronavirus pandemic economic toll
Small southwest suburban Blue Nose Brewery is closing due to the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic, its co-founder said this week.
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Blue Nose co-founder Jordan Isenberg said in an interview that he made the decision in late October, after the state ordered suburban Cook County bars and restaurants to close for indoor business for a second time to stem the spread of COVID-19. He kept the decision largely to himself while winding down the business, he said.
Read more here. —Josh Noel
8:10 a.m.: FDA meeting on vaccines today is ‘important day for America,’ commissioner says
Commissioner Stephen Hahn says Thursday’s meeting of the Food and Drug Administration’s vaccine advisory panel is “an important day for all of America.”
The FDA head hopes it will lead to the beginning of the end of the pandemic and a return “to a more normal and healthy life.”
Read more here. —Associated Press
7 a.m.: The year that was in Chicago music was one that, because of a pandemic, was like no other
The show must go on, even if there are no shows. That is the greatest lesson of Chicago music in 2020. In a year where culture as we’ve known it was seemingly shut down overnight, Chicago’s music scene continued to survive, albeit in a different manner than we’ve come to expect.
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Despite the promise of our pre-pandemic world, the state of Chicago music was already in a confusing place. Long simmering issues plagued the city’s music scene, from potential closures of independent music venues to a mass exodus of young musicians seeking greater fame, fortune and opportunity on the coasts. However, much like how the pandemic shined a light on society’s racial and economic troubles, it also revealed the fragility of the city and the country’s entertainment community as a whole.
One can not underestimate the social, economic and cultural ramifications of the COVID-19 pandemic on the city’s music scene. Unlike restaurants and retail stores which found ways to bounce back (however temporarily) as lockdown restrictions eased in the summer months, music venues remain closed for the foreseeable future.
Read more here. —Britt Julious
5 a.m.: Pandemic, civil unrest drive record-shattering increase in firearm permits, gun shopping in Illinois in 2020
Illinois residents shopped for more guns and applied for more firearm permits in 2020 than at any other time in history, according to statistics released Wednesday by state police.
With events during this unprecedented year driving the demand, there had been more than 500,000 serious inquiries to date about purchasing guns, authorities said, representing a 45% increase over 2019.
The state also has received a record 445,945 applications for firearm owner’s identification cards as of November 2020, a 167% jump from the 166,649 applications in 2017. The Illinois State Police did not release numbers for any other years but said the 2020 applications “blew past” a previous surge in 2013 after concealed carry licenses were first offered.
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“It’s a reflection of the great deal of unease and a reflection of the tension we have in this state and across the country,” Illinois State Police Director Brendan Kelly said. “It’s undeniable.”
Read more here. —Annie Sweeney and Stacy St. Clair
5 a.m.: Tenants’ advocates, real estate industry gear up for clash over proposed Cook County residential tenant, landlord ordinance
A simmering debate between tenants’ advocates and the real estate industry in Cook County is set to boil this month when a Board of Commissioners panel is expected to vote on a proposal to toughen suburban renters’ rights amid the pandemic-sparked housing crisis.
The proposal, dubbed the Residential Tenant Landlord Ordinance, brought by county commissioners Scott Britton and Kevin Morrison, would cement heightened landlord regulations throughout the suburbs, where about 245,000 households are renters not covered by such codes that only exist in three cities in the county: Chicago, Evanston and Mount Prospect.
It is based on the city of Chicago’s own code that has guided leases since 1986, much to the ire of some landlords who say it overreaches and stifles the market.
During a virtual news conference on Tuesday, supporters of the proposed Cook County ordinance said while the need for suburban renters to have such protections always has existed, the feared eviction wave from the coronavirus pandemic makes the stakes all the more drastic.
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Read more here. —Alice Yin
Breaking coronavirus news Stay up to date with the latest information on coronavirus with our breaking news alerts.
In case you missed it
Here are five things that happened Wednesday related to COVID-19:


chicagotribune--2020-12-12--At least 3 wounded in overnight shootings on South, West side

About 2:15 a.m. , a 37-year-old man was shot in the Chatham neighborhood in the 7200 block of South Champlain @ @ @ @ @ victim was standing outside of his vehicle when someone approached him on foot and fired @ @

At least three men were wounded in separate shootings overnight on the South and West sides, Chicago police said.
Most recently, a 19-year-old man was walking when someone inside a passing car opened fire, striking him twice in the leg about 3 a.m in the 4000 block of West Ogden Avenue in the Lawndale neighborhood.
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The victim was driven by a friend to Stroger Hospital, where he was listed in fair condition, police said.
Earlier, a 37-year-old man was standing outside his vehicle in the 7200 block of South Champlain Avenue in the Chatham neighborhood when someone approached him on foot and fired shots about 2:15 a.m.
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The man was hit several times in the leg and he went to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where he was listed in serious condition, police said.
A 53-year-old man was grazed by a bullet when he exited a convenience store in the 100 block of West 119th Street in the West Pullman neighborhood about 9:30 p.m. Friday.
The gunman, in a passing vehicle, fired shots in his direction and the bullet grazed the man’s forehead. The man refused medical treatment at the scene and police said he was in good condition.
No one was in custody for any of the shootings, and detectives were investigating.
dawilliams@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-12-12--Pritzker put on defensive by COVID-19 outbreak  that tore through LaSalle VA home with terrifying sp

Pritzker put on defensive by COVID-19 outbreak  that tore through LaSalle VA home with terrifying speed

In response to an internal question about whether family members were asking about anything else , Mehlbrech wrote : “ @ @ @ @ @ but always they seem to border on a ‘ how did this happen ?
!
@ @ @ @ @ I have done my best to explain that one small mistake can mean you get @ @ @ @ @ just spreads so quickly before you even know it ’ s there .
Now they @ @ @ @ @ we have a plan to continue even if we are very low on staff .
@

As a young man in the Army Air Forces during World War II, Jerome Liesse flew around the globe, delivering supplies to far-flung U.S. troops, his granddaughter said.
Because of the coronavirus, Liesse, 95 and no longer capable of getting around on his own, spent much of this year confined to his room at a state-run veterans home in LaSalle, a few miles from Starved Rock State Park.
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Like other long-term care facilities across the state, the LaSalle Veterans’ Home shut down indoor, in-person visits in an effort to keep the deadly virus outside its walls. Liesse was only able to see Evelan, his wife of more than 40 years, twice during those eight months — once separated by plexiglass — and held her hand just one time, in August after she had a stroke, granddaughter Jill Funfsinn said.
“He was just so scared of getting it,” said Funfsinn, a Chicago nurse who visited him several times.
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For months, the state was largely successful in its efforts to keep Liesse and the other veterans in its care at LaSalle safe. Through late October, only one resident and five staff members at the home tested positive for the coronavirus, according to the Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs. All six recovered.
Jill Funfsinn holds a photo of her grandfather, Jerome Liesse, a World War II Army Air Forces veteran, on Dec. 8, 2020. Liesse was one of veterans who died in an coronavirus outbreak at the state-run veterans home in LaSalle. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)
But beginning Oct. 31, as the coronavirus pandemic was surging once again across the state, including in LaSalle County, an outbreak tore through the home with terrifying speed, infecting more than 200 residents and staff members and killing at least 33 veterans, including Liesse.
The fallout has been equally swift. Initial federal and state inspections identified myriad problems at the home, including lax use of personal protective equipment and poor social distancing. State legislators have set hearings, and an investigation by a state inspector general has been launched.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who in his 2018 campaign for governor was highly critical of his Republican predecessor Bruce Rauner’s handling of a deadly Legionnaires’ disease outbreak at another state veterans home, is now on the defensive over his own VA home crisis.
“The governor owns this. This is his job,” said state Rep. Jim Durkin of Western Springs, the Illinois House Republican leader. “It’s the state’s job to provide for the care of the men and women who live and also work within that facility.”
Pritzker’s response accelerated Dec. 7, when he fired the home’s administrator. But the outbreak raged on, with the 33rd fatality announced on Thursday. Three staff members and 38 of 93 veterans, more than 40% of the facility’s population, were testing positive for COVID-19 as of late in the week of Dec. 6.
Asked Friday if he bore any moral responsibility for deaths at LaSalle, the governor said, “I bear the responsibility of leadership of the state and that means that everything that happens across state government, to some degree or another, lands on my shoulders.”
“These things can happen,” he added. “And I think most importantly, the question is: At the time that people become aware on site of what’s happening, what are their reactions? How do they care for people there and make sure that they’re safe? And then what do we learn from that, very importantly, to carry on elsewhere to make sure that we’re keeping all of our veterans safe?”
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Internal emails show growing concern
The first sign of the outbreak among residents appeared on Halloween, when a LaSalle veteran sent to a hospital for another ailment was found to be positive for COVID-19.
All residents were then screened for symptoms of COVID-19, and some were found to be newly symptomatic. Results from a round of routine surveillance tests conducted days earlier returned, with positive results for two staff members and 22 residents, according to a report issued by federal and state infection-control specialists.
That triggered campuswide testing, which showed eight positive staff members and 48 positive residents. By Nov. 9, three of the LaSalle veterans who tested positive for COVID-19 had died.
Internal emails among state Department of Veterans’ Affairs officials and the LaSalle home’s then-administrator reveal a growing sense of concern over the outbreak’s severity. The emails, obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request, were heavily redacted by the state.
On Nov. 9, Angela Mehlbrech, who was the LaSalle VA home’s administrator, referred to the number of staff members who had become infected in an email to the state agency’s chief of staff and spokeswoman. Mehlbrech wrote that “the main theme of questions from family right now is, how are we continuing to take care of our residents when we have lost so many staff members?”
In response to an internal question about whether family members were asking about anything else, Mehlbrech wrote: “Not that I am hearing but always they seem to border on a ‘how did this happen?!’ kind of question. I have done my best to explain that one small mistake can mean you get the virus and then it just spreads so quickly before you even know it’s there. Now they seem to want assurance that we have a plan to continue even if we are very low on staff.”
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On Nov. 10, the day before Pritzker appeared at a Veterans Day event — and as agency officials were preparing for questions from reporters about the outbreak — Mehlbrech wrote an email to the agency’s spokeswoman Bridget Dooley and chief of staff Tony Kolbeck that said, “For tomorrow … unfortunately the number of deaths might be higher by morning.”
Early on Veterans Day, Mehlbrech emailed Dooley under the subject line “press today” and sought to draw attention to the lack of known coronavirus cases connected to the home before the outbreak.
“I would really like people to remember that we kept the virus out of here for 8 months and only when our community numbers skyrocketed did we have an outbreak,” Mehlbrech wrote.
Federal VA visit finds numerous lapses
A report following a Nov. 13 visit by an infection control manager with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs identified a number of lapses that could have contributed to the virus entering the home and spreading. Those included lax social distancing among staff members and dispensers throughout the facility containing an alcohol-free hand sanitizer with a main ingredient that isn’t considered an effective agent against the highly contagious virus.
In multiple instances, the report urged staff members to avoid social gatherings outside of work, and to stagger their breaks and to avoid smoking together either inside or outside of personal vehicles.
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs declined through a spokeswoman a request for an interview with Infection Control Manager Amelia Bumsted, who authored the site visit report. A LaSalle County Health Department spokeswoman said the department would not release findings of contact tracing efforts related to home employees who tested positive.
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Flags fly at the Illinois Veterans’ Home in LaSalle on Dec. 3, 2020. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
According to the federal VA report, staff members in full protective gear including gloves, gowns and bootees were observed walking through administrative areas, while three staffers were seen in the facility’s kitchen with their masks around their chins, eating less than 6 feet from one another. Some staff members were seen wearing gloves and touching patients and multiple surfaces without changing the gloves or washing their hands.
The site visit report also flagged ventilation concerns in the facility and noted that doors were left open with COVID-positive patients inside, which staff members said was due to the need to observe patients at risk for falls.
No one was stationed at the staff entrance at the time of the site visit to perform temperature monitoring, the report stated.
A follow-up site visit was conducted on Nov. 17 by an Illinois Department of Public Health infection control coordinator, who noted in a report “opportunities for transmission among some staff may have occurred due to reported laxity of masking and social distancing while off duty and also during break periods while on duty. Increased monitoring has been initiated.”
By then, 74 of the 103 residents of the facility at that time had tested positive for COVID-19, according to the IDPH report.
A federal VA representative has been “on the ground at LaSalle” following up on pandemic concerns and protocols, and the Illinois National Guard has been called in to help the staff with screening, testing and data tracking, Pritzker said last week. The National Guard is expected on Monday at veterans homes in Manteno and in Quincy — where 22 staff members and 32 of 293 residents have tested positive.
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‘Worst-case scenario’ becomes reality
Pritzker initially declined to say if anything specific led to Mehlbrech’s firing on Dec. 7. He later said it was “an accumulation of things” that were “just unacceptable,” such as the use of hand sanitizer lacking virus-killing alcohol at the facility.
“The worst-case scenario that I have tried every day to prevent is now our reality in LaSalle,” Pritzker said. “What I know is that our job right now is to make sure we do everything to protect the people who are at the LaSalle Veterans’ Home. We’ve been trying to do that all along.”
In making the Legionnaires’ outbreak at the Quincy VA home a core issue of his campaign for governor, Pritzker blasted Rauner for “fatal mismanagement.”
The two outbreaks have both parallels and differences, but the deaths of any veterans in state care becomes a powerful political issue where nuance and explanation quickly give way to criticism and attack.
Pritzker has sought to differentiate the two situations, in part by noting that Legionnaires’ disease is spread through the mist of contaminated water sources, while coronavirus is passed through the air by those who are infected. Legionnaires’ is “extraordinarily preventable,” Pritzker said Friday.
The initial 2015 outbreak at Quincy killed a dozen veterans, and subsequent annual outbreaks through 2018 led to at least two additional deaths and dozens more patients, family and staff members being sickened. Ultimately, the post-Civil War-era home’s water supply system was to blame, and the state is constructing a virtually new Quincy home.
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While Legionnaires’ disease is relatively rare, the deaths at LaSalle fall into the larger picture of the global COVID-19 pandemic, which has grown so widespread despite governmental mitigation efforts that many people know someone who has tested positive for coronavirus, may have been hospitalized or even died.
But there’s another significant difference between Quincy and LaSalle. The Quincy issue surfaced long after the initial 2015 outbreak in reports by WBEZ-FM and drew attention because of the Rauner administration’s attempts to contain information about it.
“I think that some of the big anger in the Quincy issue was the Rauner administration didn’t want people to know and they didn’t want people to realize that they had made a mistake,” said state Sen. Tom Cullerton of Villa Park, a Democrat who chairs the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee.
Unlike Quincy, LaSalle is happening in real time, Cullerton said, and the questions are about “people trying to solve the problems whereas with Quincy it was everybody just hiding the whole thing.”
Differences from Quincy VA outbreak
One parallel between Quincy and LaSalle is the insistence by the Rauner and Pritzker administrations that they responded quickly to outbreaks.
Rauner, who dodged the question three years ago when he was asked if he bore moral responsibility for the deaths at Quincy, said his administration had “done everything” that national experts including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had recommended from the beginning of the outbreak to dealing with subsequent annual outbreaks.
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Symbolizing the political concerns, Rauner briefly moved into the Quincy home during his reelection campaign and invited Ivan Jackson, a resident, as a guest to his State of the State address. But Jackson later was diagnosed with Legionnaires’ and died in May 2018.
An auditor general’s investigation found public health and Veterans’ Affairs officials in Rauner’s administration sought to downplay the potential seriousness of the Quincy outbreak in 2015 to residents, their families and staff.
An email to Quincy staff by veterans home officials on the outbreak’s fifth day assured they would not be put at risk if there was “an issue with Legionella” and urged them to “not panic and do not discuss this with residents” to prevent them from getting “worried and upset.”
In addition, then-state Public Health Director Nirav Shah waited to call in the CDC, the audit said. By the time the agency arrived on-site in Quincy, the outbreak was in its 12th day and had killed seven people and caused 37 others to become ill. Even then, some changes recommended by the CDC were not implemented. With Quincy becoming a major liability to Rauner’s reelection, his director of veterans’ affairs, Erica Jeffries, stepped down in April 2018.
A criminal investigation into Quincy was launched under then-Attorney General Lisa Madigan, a Democrat. On Monday, a spokeswoman for Madigan’s successor, Democrat Kwame Raoul, said the investigation was closed after determining there was not a sufficient basis to bring criminal charges.
Like Rauner, Pritzker has insisted his administration was on top of the LaSalle outbreak from the start. He said the state has tried to do “everything to protect the people” at the home and that “since the moment we found out there was an outbreak, there’s been a lot of effort that’s been made to evaluate the problems at the home and to mitigate those problems.”
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Pritzker’s decision to make personnel changes quickly, firing Mehlbrech and placing the LaSalle director of nursing on paid administrative leave pending the results of the investigation, reflected a proactive move by the administration.
Cullerton said state laws passed as a result of the Quincy outbreaks have led to more transparency in letting veterans home residents, their families and staff members know more quickly about disease outbreaks.
“I think the governor knows this looks bad. I think (Veterans’ Affairs Director Linda) Chapa LaVia knows this looks bad,” Cullerton said. “But I also know from the multiple conversations I’ve had, she’s trying to figure out the best way she can to stop it and make sure it doesn’t happen in the other homes as well.”
On Tuesday, in what could become a test of the Pritzker administration’s transparency, Cullerton and ranking Republican on the veterans’ committee, Sen. Paul Schimpf of Waterloo, sent letters requesting all documents mentioning COVID-19 and the LaSalle home involving Pritzker and top administration staff as well as Public Health Director Ngozi Ezike and Chapa LaVia. The House Veterans’ Affairs committee is scheduled to hold its first hearing on the issue next week.
While the administration didn’t make Chapa LaVia available for this story, she testified at a recent Senate hearing that she did not directly notify Pritzker of the outbreak despite the known potential for deaths among the elderly in congregate settings. She said he was informed through his staff.
At that hearing, Chapa LaVia said it was “no coincidence” that COVID-19 cases in the home began to rise as they did so, dramatically, in the surrounding community.
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“For eight months, the dedicated staff and administration at the LaSalle home rose above the abysmal infection rates of most of our long-term care facilities across the state,” she said.
In the week ending Oct. 4, LaSalle County had 109 new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents. By the beginning of November, the rate was up to 390 cases per 100,000 residents, and it peaked at 961 cases during the week ending Nov. 15.
But LaSalle County was far from alone in seeing such a surge during the fall. In Kankakee County, home to a state-run veterans home in Manteno, there were 95 cases per 100,000 residents in the week ending Oct. 4. The rate peaked at 1,369 cases per 100,000 residents during the week ending Nov. 15.
From Aug. 21 through Thursday, 18 residents and 33 employees at the Manteno home had tested positive for the coronavirus, and two veterans had died.
The story was similar in Adams County, where the Quincy home is located. The county surged from 192 cases per 100,000 residents in the week ending Oct. 4 to 1,225 cases during the week ending Nov. 22. Despite the ongoing outbreak at Quincy, there had yet to be any fatalities as of Thursday.
State Sen. Sue Rezin, a Morris Republican whose district includes the LaSalle home, takes issue with how long it took for an infection control visit.
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“The administration waited 12 days, which, when you have a massive, rapid spread of a deadly disease within a very vulnerable population, the Department of Public Health should have sent a team out immediately to assess the situation and correct any deficiencies.”
She said she has continued to receive calls from LaSalle Veterans’ Home employees who said the facility lacked the basic quality control measures to ensure that the residents and employees were working and living “in a safe, protective environment,” she said.
“I’ve heard from the administration that the changes have been made to make sure that the proper procedures are in place now, from this point forward, to protect the veterans,” Rezin said. “I’m not convinced. I still hear from people that work in the home, and I have serious concerns about, to this day, breaches that are happening in protocol.”
Schimpf, the top Republican on the Senate veterans committee, said those issues point to the likely explanation for the LaSalle outbreak — a safety protocol breakdown.
“The thing that we will never know is if IDPH had sent a team out there as soon as they knew about the outbreak … would the changes that they made, would those have saved any lives?” Schimpf asked.
‘Sad, scared, without human touch’
For Jill Funfsinn and others whose family members have died while in the state’s care, the answers to those questions are important because they could help prevent future deaths at LaSalle and other veterans homes. But at this point, it would do little to ease the pain of their loss.
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Funfsinn has questions of her own.
Staff members at the home often spent time with her grandfather in his room, she said, playing cards or helping him do puzzles. After his death, she’s been left wondering if that’s how he came into contact with the virus.
“He lived his last days depressed, sad, scared, without human touch, not being able to see and hold his wife ... for what?” Funfsinn wrote to Pritzker in an email she sent via the Department of Public Health. “If the staff there were not going to be diligent in protecting these heroes, which also includes protecting themselves, what was all of this for?”
Funfsinn’s last visit with her grandfather through his window was Nov. 11. Three days later, his family learned he’d tested positive for the virus.
By then he was unresponsive, but Funfsinn was able to see her grandfather and touch him one last time during a Nov. 16 compassionate care visit, a privilege extended to residents who’ve tested positive for the virus. She left about 10 p.m. He died less than three hours later.
“Even though he was 95 and lived a full life, he just didn’t deserve to go in the way he did,” Funfsinn said. “He was at their mercy, and he trusted them to protect him. He didn’t have a choice.”
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chicagotribune--2020-12-12--Doctors to answer reader questions about COVID-19 vaccinations Dec. 14 and 16 on Facebook Live

Landon leads the University of Chicago ’ s academic health system ’ s infection control and prevention efforts .
As @ @ @ @ @ High-Consequence Pathogen Preparedness Program , she has helped steer University of Chicago Medicine and its @ @ @ @ @ .
In addition to her current pandemic work , Landon is a medical ethicist at @ @ @ @ @ Medical Ethics and a researcher who focuses on the appropriate use of antibiotics and other @ @ @ @ @ the best ways to protect patients from health care-associated infections .
Since the start of @ @ @ @ @ routinely spoken about COVID-19 at press events and has advised businesses and government officials on @ @ @ @ @ the global crisis .

We have lifted the paywall on this story. To support essential reporting, please consider becoming a subscriber .
Hospitals around the world are getting ready to begin their own COVID-19 vaccination campaigns at the same time Illinois health officials announced more than 9,000 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 and surpassing more than 14,000 deaths. As people volunteer for local COVID-19 vaccine clinical trials, many concerns keep rising: Is taking the vaccine early an acceptable risk? If I’m predisposed to allergic reactions, should I avoid the Pfizer vaccine?
The Chicago Tribune is partnering with the University of Chicago to answer your questions about COVID-19. University of Chicago's Dr. Emily Landon will answer queries during a Facebook Live event on Dec. 14. (University of Chicago)
The Chicago Tribune is partnering with the University of Chicago to answer readers’ questions with a Facebook Live event on Monday, Dec. 14. Chicago Tribune editor Ariel Cheung will be asking those questions to University of Chicago Medicine infectious diseases expert Dr. Emily Landon.
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Landon leads the University of Chicago’s academic health system’s infection control and prevention efforts. As the medical specialist for the High-Consequence Pathogen Preparedness Program, she has helped steer University of Chicago Medicine and its affiliates through the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to her current pandemic work, Landon is a medical ethicist at the MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics and a researcher who focuses on the appropriate use of antibiotics and other antimicrobials, as well as the best ways to protect patients from health care-associated infections. Since the start of the pandemic, Landon has routinely spoken about COVID-19 at press events and has advised businesses and government officials on how to best respond to the global crisis.
On Wednesday, Dec. 16, reporter Darcel Rockett will talk with twin physicians Dr. Brittani James (family practitioner) and Dr. Brandi Jackson (psychiatrist) in another Facebook Live event — one that will focus on COVID-19 vaccinations and the Black community, from health inequities to the mistrust that exists between the community and the health care industry. Both events will take place at 12:30 p.m.
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Dr. Brandi Jackson, left, and her twin sister, Dr. Brittani James, in Chicago on Friday, Dec. 11, 2020. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)
James is an assistant professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Illinois Hospital and Health Sciences System. Jackson is the director of Integrative Behavioral Health at Howard Brown Health Center, the largest provider of LGBTQ-focused health care in the Midwest. She oversees Howard Brown’s mental health division and also serves as an adjunct professor of psychiatry at Rush University Medical College. The twins are also co-founders of The Institute for Antiracism in Medicine, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the abolition of racism in the medicine field.
The link to the Facebook Live stream will go live on our Facebook page Dec. 14 and 16 at 12:30 p.m. Our written Q&A is continuously updated and the Tribune’s COVID-19 Information Facebook Group has an ongoing collection of COVID-19 articles. You can submit questions for the doctors at chicagotribune.com/ask.
drockett@chicagotribune.com