chicagotribune--2020-04-24--The Spin: Pull the plug on Trump live? | Cook County budget hole’s at least $200 million this year |

The Spin: Pull the plug on Trump live? | Cook County budget hole’s at least $200 million this year | Chicago City Council approves Lightfoot’s pandemic response order

Many have argued that in the age of social distancing , the president is using the briefings as a substitute @ @ @ @ @ says , “ the president abused the forum by playing a self-congratulatory video and spending @ @ @ @ @ of these briefings on issues that were not the latest information that news organizations would @ @ @ @ @ briefing .
Governors have stayed much more on message , especially at the top of @ @ @ @ @ those live sessions to be a key way they communicate with the public .
”

President Donald Trump speaks about the coronavirus in the James Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House, Thursday, April 23, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) (Alex Brandon/AP)
For weeks now, President Donald Trump has stood before the television cameras with public health officials and others for daily briefings that well exceed the 60-minute mark, ostensibly to deliver updates on the nation’s COVID-19 outbreak.
Opposition to airing them live seemed to crescendo after yesterday’s news conference when Trump suggested that researchers should study whether injecting disinfectants and utilizing ultraviolet light might be treatment options for COVID-19 patients, something the president now says was a bit of sarcasm.
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Two admired political journalists explain why television stations in particular should curb the live show.
Amid the pandemic, a federal judge in Chicago this week handed down a ruling that allows Green and Libertarian Party candidates to appear on the November ballot without having to gather required signatures on a petition. Might third-party candidates flood the election zone in the coming years, using this case as a way to bolster their argument that, pandemic or not, it’s difficult to gather thousands of signatures to get on the ballot.
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Cook County government is facing a budget shortfall of at least $200 million this fiscal year, thanks to the drastic loss of tax revenue because of the coronavirus pandemic, the Tribune’s Alice Yin reports.
Welcome to The Spin.
President Donald Trump talks with Bill Bryan, head of science and technology at the Department of Homeland Security, as he speaks about the coronavirus on Thursday, April 23, 2020, in the James Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House in Washington. (Alex Brandon/AP)
For Al Cross, a former president of the national Society of Professional Journalists and current political columnist and University of Kentucky journalism professor, Trump crossed a line yesterday that should prompt news outlets to stop carrying his daily briefings live. Cross says news outlets have a duty to ensure their viewers or readers are delivered accurate and fair information and exceptions shouldn’t be granted to elected leaders — even the POTUS.
“After what Trump did yesterday, saying that people ought to shoot up Lysol — and stupid things like that — that man is creating a public health risk and CNN ought to pull the plug and I think Fox ought to do the same, though I think we know Fox won’t,” Cross said. (Many newspapers also stream his briefings on their websites.)
Earlier this week, I asked Al Tompkins, a senior faculty member at the Poynter Institute in Florida, about the pros and cons of airing these controversial briefings. He told The Spin that the briefings are “timed to interrupt East Coast evening news broadcasts so the president is forcing the choice that in another part of the day might not have to be forced."
Many have argued that in the age of social distancing, the president is using the briefings as a substitute for campaign rallies: Tompkins says, “the president abused the forum by playing a self-congratulatory video and spending copious time at the front of these briefings on issues that were not the latest information that news organizations would stay for in a live briefing. Governors have stayed much more on message, especially at the top of their daily announcements and find those live sessions to be a key way they communicate with the public.”
‘Fake News’ factor: Regularly railing that the news media is inaccurate or delivering “fake news,” “the president ... spends a fair amount of time nearly daily attacking reporters, which he is free to do but newsrooms do not have to carry that live,” Tompkins said.
Bottom line: “There is no ethical standard that says anytime the president speaks radio, TV and online must take it live and uninterrupted,” Tompkins said. But neither he nor Cross are arguing to stop covering the briefings.
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Exceptions: “There are times when it would not be appropriate to interrupt the president in live coverage. The State of the Union address, for example, or an Oval Office emergency address to the nation,” Tompkins said.
Neither Tompkins nor Cross suggests journalists stop covering the news conferences. Cross said it’s on the shoulders of journalists in the briefings to press for details that show the veracity of a comment and to insist experts at the podium are fielding some of the questions.
Tompkins said in an email that the briefings “might be newsworthy but not necessarily “LIVEworthy. It is similar to how news organizations treat other campaign speeches from any candidate. Sometimes they are big news if they speak to a policy or a special response and sometimes they are just rah-rah sessions that have little news value.”
That means going to the event, fleshing out the details and facts and delivering it to readers and viewers.
Other news: Few Americans regularly look to or trust the president as a source of information on the pandemic, according to a new survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Confidence in Trump is higher among his supporters. Read the AP’s full story, on the poll here.
Gov. Pritzker, a Democrat who’s been sparring with the Republican president over COVID-19 aid to states, was asked about the comments and ripped Trump; “What the president suggested was dangerous,” Pritzker said, opining that the president didn’t at any way suggest he was being sarcastic. “I hope to God no one listened to him yesterday.”
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President signs $484 billion stimulus bill to aid employers and hospitals under stress from the coronavirus pandemic: Read The Associated Press story here.
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In this April 7, 2020, photo, Doug Milks disinfects voting booths at East High School in Madison, Wisconsin, after they were used in the state's primary election. (STEVE APPS/AP)
A federal judge in Chicago issued an order that allows Green Party and Libertarian presidential, vice presidential and U.S. Senate candidates on Illinois’ Nov. 3 general election ballot without the standard petition-gathering process deemed a “nearly insurmountable hurdle” amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the Tribune’s Rick Pearson writes.
U.S. District Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer also ruled that most other independent and third-party candidates for lower offices can collect signatures electronically and will need to get only 10% of the previously required signatures to get on the ballot; the order was agreed upon by the state and third-party and independent candidate representatives, Pearson notes.
Pallmeyer’s order says it “balances the state’s legitimate interests in ‘preventing voter confusion, blocking frivolous candidates from the ballot, and otherwise protecting the integrity of’ the upcoming election ... while also accommodating the significant restrictions on new party and independent candidates’ ability to collect signatures in light of the unprecedented limitations on public gatherings required to reduce the spread of COVID-19.”
Judge blocks new Illinois workers’ compensation rule that granted benefits to employees who contract COVID-19: Read The Associated Press story here.
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Local journalists maintain social distancing measures while covering Gov. J.B. Pritzker's daily press briefing about COVID-19 on April 1, 2020, at the Thompson Center in Chicago. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)
My colleague Dan Petrella writes: Gov. Pritzker on Friday announced the state conducted 16,124 tests for the new coronavirus during the previous 24 hours, topping his goal of 10,000 tests in a single day.
He called it a "a very important milestone, not only because it allows us to isolate more of those who are COVID positive so that they don’t spread the infection but also because it moves us in the direction of expanding our surveillance for outbreaks,” Pritzker said.
Officials also announced a daily high of diagnosed COVID-19 cases - 2,724; public health officials have attributed the recent spikes in cases in part to increased testing. There also were 108 more deaths announced Friday.
Pritzker says he wants to ensure that the trifecta of testing, contact tracing and treatment are in place as the stay-at-home restrictions are slowly lifted. As he announced yesterday, he extended his stay-at-home order through May with some modifications.
The governor said once the state hits its peak in cases — predicted for mid-May — then sees diagnoses fall 14 days in a row, more restrictions will be lifted, he said.
Here’s what he doesn’t know: Whether baseball fans will be able to see a game at the ballparks this season.
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Chicago police issued more dispersal orders on West Side in early days of stay-at-home order than other parts of the city, including the lakefront: My Tribune colleague Jeremy Gorner has the story here.
Southern Illinois lawmaker sues Pritzker for stay-at-home order: GOP state Rep. Darren Bailey of Xenia claims in the lawsuit filed in Clay County Circuit Court that Pritzker has exceeded his authority and is violating the civil rights of the state’s residents.
At an afternoon news conference, Pritzker blasted Bailey, saying “Frankly, I think a lawsuit about whether or not this is an emergency is — it’s a political maneuver at a time when we probably shouldn’t be dealing with politics but rather simply addressing the emergency.”
New executive order by Pritzker waives some graduation requirements for high school seniors, eighth graders: It suspends Illinois School Code requirements that 12th graders successfully complete “certain courses” in order to get a high school diploma, the Tribune’s Hannah Leone reports. And it applies specifically to students unable to finish the coursework because of suspension of in-person classes due to COVID-19.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot presides over a virtual meeting of the City Council from her office at City Hall in Chicago on Wednesday, April 22, 2020. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)
From the Tribune’s John Byrne and Gregory Pratt: Aldermen approved Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s emergency coronavirus spending ordinance Friday over the objections of critics who say she’s giving herself too much authority to make big purchases using public money without City Council oversight.
The vote was unusually tight for a signature mayoral initiative. The no votes came from progressive and conservative aldermen from all over the city, with members of the Black and Latino caucuses joining white aldermen in coming out against the plan.
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On Wednesday, the mayor had excoriated the five aldermen who stopped the vote as a small group of selfish obstructionists more interested in “preening in front of the press” than working to help their constituents who are in the grips of the COVID-19 pandemic. Read the story here.
But on Friday, Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa, 35th, said Lightfoot’s failure to include provisions in the ordinance guaranteeing equitable distribution of coronavirus funds to protect vulnerable Chicagoans made it unacceptable. “With this mayor, we’ve seen that you have to get it in writing,” Ramirez-Rosa said. Read their full story here.
City Council votes to pull horse-drawn carriages off the streets of Chicago by the end of the year - The Tribune’s Abdel Jimenez writes: For years, animal rights activists and some aldermen have tried to ban horse-drawn carriages, citing traffic congestion downtown, multiple citations from the city and animal welfare concerns. A carriage business owner said before the council meeting he didn’t think the vote should take place. Read the story here.
Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle waits to speak about the coronavirus economic recovery plan Thursday, April 23, 2020 at the Historic Water Tower. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune) (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)
From the Tribune’s Alice Yin: “Starting in May, Cook County’s forecast net revenue is expected to begin dropping and spark a substantial budget gap for the 2020 fiscal year, according to a projection from Chief Financial Officer Ammar Rizki. Plummeting sales tax revenue from restaurants and other sources could spell long-term damage to the budget as shopping and tourism numbers deflate amid the COVID-19 outbreak.Separate from the $200 million drop in tax revenue, Cook County Health and Hospital System, which operates Stroger and Provident hospitals, also has been seeing financial damage.”
Separately, Cook County Health and Hospital System, which operates Stroger and Provident hospitals, has seen a 43% decline in patient fees since mid-March, and the system is expected to lose about $60 million to $75 million from such revenues should the coronavirus’s economic pressure last through June. Much of the dramatic impact is from restrictions on elective surgeries due to the high influx of COVID-19 patients, although Gov. J.B. Pritzker will allow some soon.
Top Preckwinkle staffer gets seat on county health system board, expanding her influence on the body: From the Tribune’s Alice Yin: “The Cook County Board ushered in one of President Toni Preckwinkle’s top staff members to the board in charge of the county’s health and hospital system on Thursday, deepening her influence on the body.”
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In the county’s first virtual board meeting since the coronavirus pandemic started, commissioners voted 17-0 in favor of appointing Otis Story to a seat on the Cook County Health and Hospitals System board of directors. Story, Preckwinkle’s deputy chief of staff since February, previously was chief executive officer of East Orange General Hospital in East Orange, New Jersey, until 2017.
In February, Preckwinkle and Cook County commissioners gave themselves veto power over the health system’s next CEO after the board ousted CEO Dr. John Jay Shannon in December. County officials also will financially advise Cook County Health administrators each month.
After reported barbecues and picnic gatherings, parking lots at ‘too popular’ Cook County Forest Preserves to be closed on weekends, Preckwinkle says: Alice Yin has that story, too.
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


chicagotribune--2020-04-24--Higher meat prices, fewer choices at supermarkets as slaughterhouses close over COVID-19 cases. For

Higher meat prices, fewer choices at supermarkets as slaughterhouses close over COVID-19 cases. For farmers, ‘some tough choices’ ahead.

“ Our nation is going to suffer with higher food prices because our government is sitting on their thumbs when @ @ @ @ @ workers , ” Lauritsen said .
“ They deemed them essential , they need to @ @ @ @ @ PPE , and they need to take care of them with proper testing , so @ @ @ @ @ operating .
”

Piglets in one of the two barns at Leman Farms in Eureka, Illinois, on April 24, 2020. Farmer Chad Leman has seen a 75% drop in demand for his hogs since meat processing plants have started to close because of worker COVID-19 illnesses. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)
Chad Leman, a third-generation hog farmer in Eureka, Illinois, thinks he can hold out for two more weeks before he resorts to once-unthinkable measures.
With some of the nation’s largest slaughterhouses closed due to worker outbreaks of COVID-19, he can’t sell most of his market-ready hogs. But freshly weaned piglets continue to arrive, crowding his barns. He’s been shuffling pigs around, but there’s just not enough space.
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“We can do this for a couple weeks yet, but then we’re going to have some tough decisions," Leman said. "We are going to have to euthanize baby pigs because there will be nowhere for them to go.”
Hog farmer Chad Leman, third-generation owner of Leman Farms in Eureka, Illinois, with a piglet on April 24, 2020. (Jose M. Osorio/Chicago Tribune)
Outbreaks of COVID-19 among workers at major meatpacking plants are causing ripple effects across the supply chain, creating a backlog of livestock at farms in central Illinois and threatening to hike meat prices at supermarkets in Chicago.
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Smithfield on Friday announced that it will indefinitely shutter its pork plant in Monmouth, Illinois, after a “small portion” of its 1,700 employees there tested positive for COVID-19. The plant represents about 3% of U.S. fresh pork supplies, said the company, which nearly two weeks ago also closed its giant hog harvesting facility in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, which accounts for another 4% to 5% of the nation’s pork production.
Separately on Friday, the Kane County Health Department ordered the temporary shutdown of Smithfield’s meat processing plant in St. Charles, which employs 325 people, due to COVID-19 concerns. The closure allows the department to “work with the company in mitigation efforts as well as providing education relative to social distancing and employee safety relative to personal protective equipment (PPEs),” the health department said in a statement.
About a quarter of U.S. beef and pork production has been affected by slaughterhouse closures and slowed processing speeds, said Christine McCracken, animal protein analyst at Rabobank, an agricultural lender. Some factories have reduced capacity because of worker absenteeism or to create distance between workers on crowded production lines.
[ Meat inspectors are terrified their job is a coronavirus ‘death sentence’ ]
The shoulder-to-shoulder work involved in cutting and disassembling carcasses, designed to maximize efficiency, made workers vulnerable to catching and spreading the highly contagious coronavirus. According to United Food and Commercial Workers International, a union representing 200,000 food production workers, some 5,000 of its members at unionized meatpacking plants have tested positive for COVID-19 or been exposed to someone who tested positive, and 10 members have died.
At food processing facilities, another 1,500 of its members have become sick and three have died, the union said.
Consumers won’t find a shortage of meat at grocery stores, but they may not find all the cuts they are accustomed to as meat processors concentrate on certain lines, given the limited labor force.
“In these conditions you focus on your main products and try to put all resources into the products that are in the greatest demand,” said Peter Goldsmith, director of the food and agribusiness program at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Shoppers seeking boneless chicken thighs may be able to find only whole bone-in chicken legs, McCracken said. Or “you may go and just find a bag of chicken,” she said.
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With meat production down by about 20% compared with normal times, tight supply also is likely to drive up wholesale prices of meat, McCracken said. Retailers often absorb the cost rather than pass it on to customers, but some items that are particularly popular right now, such as ground beef, are likely to become more expensive, she said.
At Pete’s Fresh Market, Chief Operating Officer Joe Kolavo says wholesale meat prices have risen 15% to 20% just in the past week, and customers may see prices at the store inch up as a result. Vendors are telling him supply is down 50% from normal, with beef and pork particularly tight.
That’s a big shift from the start of the state’s stay-at-home order, when excess supply destined for restaurants, cafeterias and other food service establishments that could no longer operate drove prices down. Now with the plant closures, meat will be available but “very limited, and some of the variety may be difficult to maintain” through May and perhaps into June, Kolavo said.
That could mean fewer types of ground beef to choose from, or customers may have to wait a day or two to get a certain cut of pork, he said, so for consumers it’s not a crisis.
“There is no reason to panic buy and freeze,” Kolavo said. “It will help everybody if people don’t panic buy on these products.”
Some farmers, however, are facing financial devastation as slowed or halted production at slaughterhouses leave them without a market for their livestock.
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The pork industry is getting hit particularly hard as a flurry of pork plant closures disrupt the precise rhythm of hog farming. Illinois is the fourth-biggest pork producer in the country, sending 12 million hogs to slaughter every year at plants across the Midwest.
A Tyson Fresh Meats plant in Waterloo, Iowa. On Friday, April 17, 2020, more than a dozen Iowa elected officials asked Tyson to close the pork processing plant because of the spread of the coronavirus among its workforce of nearly 3,000. (Jeff Reinitz/AP)
A car with a sign calling for a safe and healthy workplace drives past Smithfield Foods Inc. in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, during a protest, April 9, 2020, on behalf of employees after many workers complained of unsafe working conditions due to the COVID-19 outbreak. (Erin Bormett/The Argus Leader)
Tyson Fresh Meats on Wednesday announced indefinite closures at its pork processing plants in Waterloo, Iowa, and Logansport, Indiana, which together employ 5,000 people, while workers undergo testing. The announcement came a day after the company reopened its pork plant in Columbus Junction, Iowa, on a limited basis after a two-week suspension. Two workers from that plant died of COVID-19.
Tyson, based in Springdale, Arkansas, said a combination of COVID-19 cases, worker absenteeism and community concerns drove its decision to close, and the timing of reopening will depend on test results.The company said it has been trying to balance its responsibilities to its workers and to the nation’s food supply.
“The closure has significant ramifications beyond our company, since the plant is part of a larger supply chain that includes hundreds of independent farmers, truckers, distributors and customers, including grocers,” Steve Stouffer, group president of Tyson Fresh Meats, said in a statement announcing the Waterloo closure. “It means the loss of a vital market outlet for farmers and further contributes to the disruption of the nation’s pork supply.”
JBS USA on Monday announced the indefinite closure of its pork plant in Worthington, Minnesota, which employs more than 2,000 people. Smithfield’s Sioux Falls facility, where more than 780 of its 3,700 employees have been diagnosed with COVID-19, on Thursday received guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on steps to take before it can reopen, including staggering shifts, physical spacing and better communication with workers, who speak 40 different languages.
In Illinois, Hormel’s Rochelle Foods plant, which makes bacon and deli hams but is not a slaughterhouse, was ordered closed by the Ogle County Health Department after the agency linked 24 COVID-19 illnesses to the facility. Testing of workers is finding additional positive cases, according to local authorities. The plant, which employs more than 800 people, agreed to suspend operations until May 4.
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Employees from Hormel’s Rochelle Foods are tested for COVID-19 at the plant on April 23, 2020, by KSB and Rochelle Community Hospital, in conjunction with the Ogle County Health Department, in Rochelle. (Zbigniew Bzdak/Chicago Tribune)
Two of Illinois’ largest pork packing plants — JBS in Beardstown and Rantoul Foods in Rantoul — have not shut down due to the coronavirus, said Jennifer Tirey, executive director of the Illinois Pork Producers Association, which represents 1,600 hog farmers in the state.
But the closures of packing plants in other states are creating a backup of livestock across markets as everyone tries to move their animals to those that remain open, she said.
The situation is creating a crisis for Leman, whose farm typically sends 90,000 to 100,000 hogs to market a year. Tyson, his main customer, canceled orders for 2,000 of his hogs over the past two weeks.
That doesn’t just create a cash flow problem, but a litany of logistical hurdles. Those market-ready hogs, grown for six months to weigh 280 to 300 pounds, now have to maintain their weights so that they don’t get too heavy for the meat processing equipment, which would reduce their market value. Leman has been working with veterinarians to create low-calorie, low-energy diets to slow their growth.
Meanwhile, the baby pigs that normally arrive to take the place of the departed hogs are sharing a barn with them, which throws off the disinfection schedule for the barn and isn’t ideal for either set of animals because they have different temperature requirements. Unlike cattle, hogs can’t be put out to pasture.
Leman is considering options he hopes to avoid, including a plan to haul piglets off-site to gas them with carbon dioxide if the markets for his hogs don’t improve.
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“I can’t imagine a happy ending to this as I sit here today,” he said. “I don’t see how we get through this backlog of pigs unless something miraculous occurs.”
Piglets in one of the two piglet-only barns at Leman Farms in Eureka, Illinois. The barns have a total capacity of 2,000 piglets. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)
The federal government promised $9.6 billion in direct payments to the livestock industry to cover some of their losses, with $1.6 billion designated for pork producers.
Tirey said the pork industry is “very disappointed” with the final payments and is lobbying for more.
Even before the processing plant closures, Illinois hog farmers were losing $30 million a month because of the drop in the demand for pork from the food service industry, which had represented half of the pork business, Tirey said. Rising demand from individuals cooking at home is not making up for the big trays of bacon served at hotel breakfast buffets.
“Some producers may go out of business,” Tirey said. "They just can’t afford to continue to lose money for so long.”
Cattle farmers have been affected as well, as their costs rise to feed cows they can’t sell, though they don’t face the same space and weight constraints as hog farmers. JBS’ large beef plant in Greeley, Colorado, which has more than 6,000 workers, opened Friday after a two-week closure and Tyson has announced the temporary closure of a beef plant in Pasco, Washington, that it says makes enough beef in one day to feed 4 million people.
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In Illinois, Aurora Packing, in North Aurora, shut down for two weeks earlier this month and Tyson’s beef facility in Joslin closed for five days, said Jill Johnson, executive vice president of the Illinois Beef Association.
Both reopened the week after Easter with new safety measures, including fewer people on the production line to create more distancing and plastic barriers to separate them, which has reduced capacity, she said.
The UFCW, on a conference call Thursday with reporters, commended employers for instituting a range of safety measures at processing plants, including the clear plastic barriers on production lines and at cafeteria tables. Some companies are checking workers’ temperatures, supplying and mandating face masks and staggering shifts and breaks to ease crowding. Others are awarding temporary bonuses as high as $5 an hour to those who continue to work through the pandemic.
It’s difficult to know if meat companies adjusted safety protocols fast enough once they understood the contagious nature of the virus, but they will be more prepared going forward, said Goldsmith of the University of Illinois
“It’s hard on the fly to get it right the first time,” Goldsmith said. “In hindsight it seems very obvious, but in foresight you wouldn’t already know.”
The union wants the federal government to do more to set national safety standards for food plants, including mandating social distancing. It is calling on state and federal authorities to prioritize food production workers for COVID-19 testing and access to personal protective equipment such as masks, which for months were difficult for the industry to acquire.
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The union, in a letter Thursday to Vice President Mike Pence, also said it wants the U.S. Department of Agriculture to stop issuing line speed waivers that allow plants to increase the pace of production. The agency has issued more waivers in the last two weeks than in all of 2019, the union said.
“Anytime the pace of production increases and you have to put more workers on that line, it can’t do anything but add to the ability for the virus to move about the plant,” said Mark Lauritsen, UFCW’s vice president for meatpacking.
On Monday, Illinois Sens. Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth joined 32 fellow Democratic senators in sending a letter to Pence, USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue and other administration officials, calling for plans to protect food supply chain workers, including farmworkers, to ensure the stability of the food supply. They also introduced legislation that would require the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to issue a temporary legal obligation for all workplaces to implement comprehensive infectious disease exposure control plans to keep workers safe during the pandemic.
The CDC has issued guidelines, not requirements. A federal lawsuit filed Thursday by a workers rights group seeks an injunction to require Smithfield to comply with CDC guidelines at a pork plant in Milan, Missouri, where the suit alleges workers aren’t given sufficient opportunities to wash their hands and aren’t scheduled in such a way that they can distance.
Some meat processing plants continue to operate, despite mounting COVID-19 cases. A JBS beef facility in Green Bay is linked to 147 cases, including employees and relatives who live with them, according to Brown County officials, but the union is pushing for the plant to get proper PPE and proper testing rather than shut down.
“Our nation is going to suffer with higher food prices because our government is sitting on their thumbs when it comes to these essential workers,” Lauritsen said. “They deemed them essential, they need to take care of them with PPE, and they need to take care of them with proper testing, so we can keep these plants operating.”
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aelejalderuiz@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-04-24--COVID-19 cases in Illinois by ZIP code: Search for your neighborhood

Search below by street address , ZIP code or city , then click on the map to see the number @ @ @ @ @ state is not providing data for any ZIP code with five cases or fewer .

Note: With Chicago and Illinois moving into phase 5, the Tribune is no longer updating this data. If the state moves back into bridge phase, the Tribune we reassess. Daily metrics on COVID-19, like cases, deaths and hospitalizations, can be found here. And Daily metrics on the vaccination effort can be found here. More on where the coronavirus stands nationally and around the world can be found here.
Illinois releases the number of positive COVID-19 cases by ZIP code daily. The map below shows the cumulative cases for each area as well as other analysis of the data.
• Check out the Tribune’s coronavirus coverage.
• Tracking daily Illinois coronavirus deaths, cases and tests.
Search below by street address, ZIP code or city, then click on the map to see the number of confirmed and probable cases. The state is not providing data for any ZIP code with five cases or fewer.
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Note: Because of a coding error this map was displaying the incorrect rates for new cases in the last 7 days per 100,000 people — the issue should now be resolved.. The Tribune adjusted the data shown on the map below to focus on new cases, those the state tracked in the last 7 seven days. The totals for the entire pandemic are still available, but in the pop-up after tapping or clicking on a ZIP.


chicagotribune--2020-04-24--Watch live: President Trump and members of the coronavirus task force hold a press briefing

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chicagotribune--2020-04-24--Are Lollapalooza, Pitchfork canceled? Everything we know about Chicago’s music festivals so far.

“ We ’ re used to putting on a show rather quickly .
You probably know that our first orchestra @ @ @ @ @ until June 9 , the day before we open .
So if we had to @ @ @ @ @ of May , which I doubt is going to happen — if it isn ’ @ @ @ @ @ like for the summer until the end of May , we could hold off 'til @ @ @ @ @ .
“ The biggest challenge for us is we have 31 players in the orchestra @ @ @ @ @ town .
... We ’ re looking at how we might manage that .
”

Update May 6: The Pitchfork Music Festival is canceled.
Update May 5: Gov. J.B. Pritzker revealed a five-phase plan to reopen Illinois. The final phase, which would occur when a novel coronavirus vaccine or highly effective treatment becomes widely available, would allow for festivals and conventions to resume. Spokespeople for Lollapalooza, the Pitchfork Music Festival and Riot Fest declined to comment. Park District representatives did not immediately respond to the Tribune about Taste of Chicago or the Air and Water Show. These festivals are still scheduled, as of Tuesday.
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Update May 4: The Grant Park Music Festival 2020 summer season is canceled.
Update May 1: Ravinia announced that it will cancel its entire 2020 summer season.
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Update April 24: Square Roots festival in Lincoln Square moves from July 10-12 to Aug. 28-30, 2020. Spring Awakening Music Festival, scheduled for June 12-14 in Union Park, is canceled for 2020.
Update April 21: The city announced it is canceling the Chicago Gospel Music Festival, Chicago Blues Festival and the Chicago House Music Conference & Festival.
Things were just starting to look up for the Hecks. The Chicago band’s sophomore album, “My Star,” was named one of the best albums of 2019 by Vice. Weeks later, the quartet was booked for its debut set at the Pitchfork Music Festival, which is slated to celebrate its 15th anniversary in July.
“We were really, really looking forward to it. It felt like such a win for us. We’d weathered some really hard years,” singer-guitarist Andy Mosiman told the Tribune.
The band is scheduled to play Pitchfork in Union Park on July 19 — as of now. The Chicago Gospel Music Festival, Taste of Chicago, Grant Park Music Festival, Chicago Air & Water Show and Chicago Jazz Festival are also still on for this summer. Lollapalooza organizers say they “continue to remain optimistic” they will hold their music fest, which is set for July 30-Aug. 2 in Grant Park.
The teams behind those events say they are monitoring the coronavirus crisis and following guidelines set by local officials. What’s unclear is when decisions to postpone, cancel or hold as scheduled the major events of Chicago’s festival season will be made — and local leaders are giving mixed messages.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who issued the Illinois stay-at-home order through April 30, said last week that organizers should “think carefully about canceling large summer events.” He later said his comment was simply a suggestion. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Wednesday she’s not in a position to discuss the summer calendar. Festival performers, sponsors and ticket holders, meanwhile, are left hanging until there’s clarity.
“We’re trying to focus on where we are in the short-term but obviously we have an eye towards what’s going to be happening in the summer and the fall and thinking already about what things we need to do for example to make sure the November election is done in a way that’s consistent with public health guidance so that we avoid some of the challenges that we saw with the March 17 primary,” Lightfoot said April 15.
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For their part, Lollapalooza representatives said they plan to have a “definitive decision” about the fate of this year’s festival by the end of May. Lollapalooza is not the first major event of Chicago’s festival season — but it is the crown jewel.
The four-day fest typically draws about 100,000 music fans each day to Grant Park to see more than 170 acts perform across eight stages. The Chicago Park District is said to have received $5.7 million from Lollapalooza last year, and the local economic effect is even greater with restaurants, hotels and trains packed with visitors.
Last year, the Lollapalooza lineup was revealed on March 20. This year’s lineup has not been announced, and tickets are not on sale. Festival details are scarce. BMI, the music rights management company, typically sponsors a stage at Lollapalooza. Samantha Cox, BMI vice president of creative in New York, said the company is in close contact with Lollapalooza promoter C3 Presents about this year’s event. The festival plays a “vital role” in connecting BMI songwriters with their fans, Cox said.
Grace Weber performs on the BMI stage at Lollapalooza on Aug. 4, 2018. (Kristan Lieb / Chicago Tribune)
“BMI’s top priority is the safety and health of our performing songwriters, employees and fans. We understand the severity of what’s happening all over the world right now and realize that these decisions are not made without careful consideration,” Cox said in an emailed statement.
Lollapalooza is unique in that C3 has a multi-year contract with the Park District, whereas organizers of other private outdoor festivals seek permission from the Park District each year to hold their events. The Lollapalooza contract, inked in 2012, covers everything from revenue payments to the Park District to clean-up responsibilities and festival hours of operation.
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Lollapalooza is supposed to take place the first August weekend each year, but the festival can occur on a different weekend if the Park District and C3 agree in writing on a new date, according to the contract. That move would require coordination with dozens of acts and a free weekend on Grant Park’s calendar. The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, held annually in California, was moved from April to October because of the coronavirus.
The Lollapalooza contract has a “force majeure” clause that says neither C3 nor the Park District are obligated to hold the festival “if performance is prevented by” events including a flood, fire, “act of God” or terrorist attack; or if there is an order from a public or military authority because of war, hostilities or economic or emergency controls that could not be foreseen.
Chicago entertainment and media lawyer Jeffrey Becker, who does not represent either side, said the force majeure clause would most certainly come into play if Lollapalooza is canceled because of a local stay-at-home order.
“If, however, the stay-at-home orders are lifted before August, and Grant Park reopens to the public, it becomes a more complicated question as to whether C3 would actually be ‘prevented’ from holding Lollapalooza due to a government order,” Becker, chairman of the Entertainment and Media Law Practice Group of Swanson, Martin & Bell, LLP, said in an email. “Thus, if C3 waits too long to make a decision as to whether it will cancel Lollapalooza, it could find itself seeking to do so in the absence of a force majeure event, which means it may remain on the hook financially under its contract with the Park District.”
The Lollapalooza contract, which is set to expire in 2021, outlines payment requirements if the event is canceled. C3 is on the hook to pay the Park District $1.5 million even if the festival doesn’t happen this year, unless it’s because of force majeure. In that case, C3 must pay $750,000. Becker said C3 may be able to argue force majeure if government officials restrict large events even after the stay-at-home order is lifted; or if the pandemic continues to loom into August as an “act of God,” Becker said, and it would be unreasonable for the Park District to compel the promoter to hold an event that would bring tens of thousands of people in close contact.
Pitchfork organizers, meanwhile, announced the festival’s lineup — which includes headliners the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Run the Jewels and the National — on Feb. 19. Tickets are on sale now. Union Park can hold about 19,000 attendees.
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Katie Callahan, 25, said she snagged her Pitchfork ticket at the end of January. She is looking forward to seeing Twin Peaks and Waxahatchee perform.
Pitchfork sent ticket holders an email on March 13 that read in part: “We will continue to monitor as the industry, city, and health officials update large-event procedures, and we will implement and communicate those procedures to ticket holders.” Pitchfork organizers promise if the festival is canceled, ticket holders will receive full refunds. When asked for an update, festival representatives pointed the Tribune to the same statement, which is posted on its website.
Callahan said she expects Pitchfork organizers to announce a decision about the festival no later than June, but the Pilsen resident said she has “kind of come to terms with the fact it’s probably not happening this summer.”
“It’s a great weekend,” Callahan said about Pitchfork. “It’s just kind of a different vibe altogether, and it draws a unique crowd.”
2020 was supposed to be the “Year of Chicago Music,” a city designation to celebrate and support the local music industry. Events on tap included the now-canceled annual Gospel Music Festival, scheduled for May 27–30; the June 5–7 Chicago Blues Festival; and the Aug. 28-Sept. 6 Chicago Jazz Festival. These events have been produced by the city Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events and were slated for Millennium Park.
The cultural affairs department previously canceled programming through May 15 because of the coronavirus. “Plans for summer programming and events remain under discussion,” a department spokesman said in a statement.
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The Grant Park Music Festival, a series of free concerts featuring the Grant Park Orchestra and Chorus, is scheduled to kick off on June 10 with Carlos Kalmar — the festival’s principal conductor and artistic director — leading a concert of music by Richard Wagner, Beethoven and Florence Price. Paul Winberg, festival president and CEO, said there’s still time before a decision about the season has to be made.
“We’re used to putting on a show rather quickly. You probably know that our first orchestra rehearsal isn’t even until June 9, the day before we open. So if we had to hold off to the end of May, which I doubt is going to happen — if it isn’t clear what it looks like for the summer until the end of May, we could hold off 'til then,” Winberg said. “The biggest challenge for us is we have 31 players in the orchestra that are from out of town. ... We’re looking at how we might manage that.”
Up in Highland Park, Ravinia Festival organizers have canceled public and private events through May 31. Welz Kauffman, Ravinia president and CEO, said contingency plans are being considered for events beyond that date.
“I won’t share the plans, because they’ll change as soon as we get off the phone,” Kauffman told the Tribune. “We’re working on how to buy more time. How do we continue to talk to artists about what might change? How do we inform audiences and ticket buyers?”
Mezzo-soprano Michelle DeYoung solos as conductor Marin Alsop leads the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in a tribute to Leonard Bernstein at Ravinia Festival in Highland Park on July 27, 2019. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune)
The Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s annual summer residency at Ravinia is scheduled for July 10-Aug. 16. “I’m in touch with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra,” Kauffman said. “I’ve talked to a bunch of conductors and orchestra leaders around the world. What they’re grappling with is: How do we set up on stage? Six feet between musicians? It’s (normally) six inches. And choruses?”
Festivals scheduled for the end of the season, like the annual World Music Festival (Sept. 11–27 at venues around the city) and Riot Fest (Sept. 11-13 in Douglas Park on the West Side), might be in the best position. Riot Fest organizers announced My Chemical Romance as headliner in January, and three-day passes are on sale now. Last year, the full Riot Fest lineup was revealed in late May.
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Dan Gibas, 37, said he purchased his Riot Fest ticket in December. He also has a Pitchfork pass. He said he’s been attending Pitchfork, Riot Fest and Lollapalooza for several years. He first realized his summer festival schedule may be in jeopardy when the Ultra Music Festival was canceled in March two weeks before it was supposed to take place in Miami. South by Southwest in Texas was canceled that same month.
“It’s a little disappointing, but at the same time, everybody’s health and safety is way more important,” said Gibas, of Hinsdale.
The Hecks’ breakout year has already stalled, even without a Pitchfork decision. The band had some of its shows with the Archers of Loaf canceled because of coronavirus. Mosiman said his bandmates are quarantining separately, while still paying rent for their practice space. If Pitchfork was postponed, the band would still play the festival in a heartbeat.
“We’re just really grateful to have been asked to do it at all. We’ve been a band for almost nine years now. You work really, really hard to just get things going for yourself. We had a record come out last year that Pitchfork reviewed for the first time, and we got a nice review from them. Just really had some good wind in our sails,” Mosiman said.
Chicago Tribune music editor Kevin Williams contributed to this report. This story has been updated.
tswartz@tribpub.com
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hreich@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-04-24--Prom plans paused for pandemic? TikTok to the rescue with virtual prom week

“ I know it ’ s not going to be the same , but if everyone is listening to music @ @ @ @ @ and makeup and has a good time , I think that could be a little @ @ @ @ @ right now , especially since things are so serious right now , ” she said @ @ @ @ @ hard to think of something as trivial as prom being canceled when so much is @ @ @ @ @ but it ’ s a big deal for a lot of people .
”

Ayden Donfris, 17, in her silver prom dress on April 15, 2020 in Tower Lakes. She is a senior at Cary Grove High School. Donfris said, "I loved the color, design, and that it was comfortable but still elegant and beautiful. It felt perfect when I put it on." (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)
TikTok is not letting those who’ve had their proms canceled or postponed miss out on the camaraderie that the rite of passage provides. To help teens celebrate, the short-form video social media app, is hosting a virtual prom Saturday for those who want to get in touch with their “Footloose” tendencies.
The event is the culmination of programming that was livestreamed all week to prepare for the planned party: Tuesday focused on Prom DIY, for those making outfits or accessories; Wednesday offered a beauty tutorial for those wanting to punch up their prom looks; and Thursday let users pick up tips and tricks from professional photographers on getting that perfect prom photo. (And yes, prom backdrops are available. TikTok partnered with John Krasinski’s SomeGoodNews to give users a retro backdrop to pose in front of while they make memories. The #VirtualProm effect will transport users to a classic prom setting complete with a high school gym venue and decorations.)
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Friday night, it’s all about the music playlist. Dance classes, tips and showcases on the site will help everyone get their moves right (a livestream from rap legends Lil Jon and Ludacris, and Ayo & Teo, @officialayoteo, will teach users a prom dance, and Michael Le, @justmaiko, will offer a live dance class of his own).
TikTok is hosting its first virtual prom this week. Saturday's livestreaming event will feature musical performances from guests like Diplo. (TikTok)
And prom night, Saturday, will feature performances from DJ Diplo joined by Dillon Francis. Patrick Starrr, @patrickstarrr, will be on before the partying to help everyone get dolled up. Users will be able to comment, interact and request songs from the artists and DJs. While everyone is online watching all the livestreams, money will be raised for MusiCares.
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Whitney Young High School senior Frances Harris thought doing something virtual would be fun, given the state of proms at the moment.
“I know it’s not going to be the same, but if everyone is listening to music and puts on their dress and makeup and has a good time, I think that could be a little bit of a lighter activity right now, especially since things are so serious right now,” she said. “It’s hard to think of something as trivial as prom being canceled when so much is happening in the world, but it’s a big deal for a lot of people.”
Whitney Young High School senior Frances Harris puts on makeup before showing off her prom dress at home in the Bridgeport neighborhood April 4, 2020. Harris bought her dress before COVID-19 forced schools to close statewide. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)
Seventeen Magazine created a whole plan for virtual prom. Lake Forest High School graduate and Executive Director of Seventeen Magazine Kristin Koch offered tips and advice for those prepping for their own virtual festivities.
“Prom is one of the biggest milestones in teens’ and high schoolers’ lives,” she said. “Arguably, it’s one of the biggest events, kind of red carpet-ish moments until your wedding, so kids are obviously really bummed out that prom has either been canceled or postponed. They still want to find ways to have their prom.
“TikTok is kind of the world’s dance floor right now, so what better place to celebrate prom? The nice thing about platforms like TikTok and Instagram is you can show off not only to your classmates, but to the world — friends and family all over.”
Koch offered some things to remember, noting that virtual prom is really prom your way, however you envision it.
You can wear your pajamas, you can wear a sparkly athleisure suit, you can wear whatever you want. Rent a prom dress, put together a cute suit or raid your parents’ closet and have a “decades prom.” “The most important thing is to feel your best on prom night — wear whatever feels good,” Koch said. “You can focus on your hair and makeup, and literally be in your pajamas, because with a lot of Skype and FaceTime, most people will be seeing you from the waist and neck up.”
As far as playlists go, Koch suggests putting that one music-focused friend in charge of it. Pick and choose songs that are right for your group, add some current and classic prom tunes that you and your friends are really into, and then send around the Spotify playlist to everyone — or at least the list of songs in the order that they should be played, so that everyone can be listening to the same music at the same time. “That makes you feel like you’re at the same event ... some pop-up tracks and some more prom-y music will make it feel more like a prom instead of just FaceTiming with your friends,” she said.
“The best part of having a virtual prom is it’s totally up to you how you put it together, who you do it with and what you wear,” Koch said. “I think there’s a lot less pressure that way, so it’s more about the people, the fun and the celebration. For TikTok, I think a lot of teens are having fun participating in that and feeling like there’s solidarity — it makes you feel less alone.”
Send your TikTok prom links and videos to drockett@chicagotribune.com. We will feature them in our Senior Week coverage.
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chicagotribune--2020-04-24--12 families, 24 victims: COVID-19 has been especially brutal on these Chicago families

“ My father ’ s biggest purpose in life was to teach and administer love , ” he said .
@ @ @ @ @ you want to give up , throw in the towel and get angry .
But @ @ @ @ @ is still a reason to celebrate .
... We have to love each other despite @ @ @ @ @ .
We have to draw upon that love to get to a better place .
@

We have lifted the paywall on this story. To support essential reporting, please consider becoming a subscriber .
Steve Kafkis, left, and his brother, Angelo Kafkis, clear the home of their parents, Peter and Helen Kafkis, in Chicago's Budlong Woods neighborhood April 22, 2020. The parents, both 91, died from COVID-19, days apart in the same Chicago hospital. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)
As John Nakawatase lay unconscious in a hospital bed, breathing with the help of a ventilator, his two oldest children caught one last glimpse of their father on a FaceTime call with the help of a compassionate nurse who used her own cellphone.
Their father was running out of time, another casualty of a furious pandemic that would rob the 62-year-old man of a chance to walk his only daughter down the aisle, to spoil his future grandchildren and to retire with the wife who still giggles at the thought of him dancing the Hokey Pokey at their wedding reception.
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Casey Yuriko Nakawatase, 27, recently lost her father, John, and grandmother Lillian to the coronavirus. (Raquel Zaldivar / Chicago Tribune)
“I know you’re tired,” his daughter, Casey Yuriko Nakawatase, a 27-year-old special education teacher, pleaded into her phone. “You may want to give up. Keep pushing. So many people are praying for you.”
Her hero died days later on April 1. But COVID-19 was not done with the Lincolnwood family.
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Four days later, John Nakawatase’s 88-year-old mother also succumbed to the virus, in the same hospital.
The disease’s devastating toll on a single family, while heartbreaking, is not unique. The swift-spreading virus has collected groups of victims in nursing homes, churches and multiple members of families across the country.
The Tribune identified at least one dozen Chicago-area families who suffered a double loss in the last several weeks. Their cases fit an overall pattern identified in the rapid advance of COVID-19: that it is particularly brutal to the elderly, African Americans and those with underlying health problems.
All but one of the 24 victims in the 12 families had a preexisting condition, according to public records, making them more vulnerable. The only exception in the records was a 20-year-old victim identified by the Tribune as one of the youngest overall in the state. He lost his life four days before the death of his mother, a nurse, earlier this month.
Fourteen of the victims in the group were black, including the first known COVID-19 fatality in Illinois. The virus’s cruel march began in the state with the March 16 death of that woman, a retired nurse. Nine days later, her sister lost her battle with the coronavirus.
Three days passed. On March 28, an elderly Skokie couple who emigrated decades earlier from Ukraine died hours apart. Then, April 1, a Chicago Ridge couple whom a friend likened to a real-life “Ozzie and Harriet” also died on the same day in the same hospital after nearly six decades of marriage.
Feliks Ogorodnik, 88, and his wife, Luiza, 84, of Skokie. The married couple died hours apart March 28 at Glenbrook Hospital due to COVID-19-related issues. (Family photo)
As the early weeks of the pandemic rolled on, the overall death toll rose rapidly, claiming two Chicago preachers and another member of each of their families.
A grim fact of COVID-19 is that many of its victims die without being surrounded by family due to restricted hospital access. Relatives are often quarantined at home, unable to embrace or be together in their collective loss.
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In the cases of families who have lost multiple members, that cruelty has been endured more than once. They were forced to confront tough questions. Many decided not to share news that one family member had died with the other hospitalized relative for fear he or she might lose the will to live.
‘A broken heart’
Five days before Greek Orthodox Easter, Angelo and Steve Kafkis stood alone at a cemetery.
The sparse service was nearly over. The brothers’ wives and children had taken shelter that chilly April afternoon back in their cars. But the brothers lingered a bit while taking in the surreal moment as their parents’ caskets were lowered into the ground.
Steve Kafkis, left, and his brother, Angelo Kafkis, clear the home of their parents, Peter and Helen Kafkis, in Chicago's Budlong Woods neighborhood April 22, 2020. The parents, both 91, died from COVID-19, days apart in the same Chicago hospital. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)
Helen and Peter Kafkis, both 91, died on April 3 and April 8, respectively.
Steve Kafkis recalled telling his older brother he felt, in a sense, like an orphan. He found solace in the fact their parents’ caskets were lowered into the same large hole rather than in two separate spaces. They were rarely apart in life.
The childhood acquaintances wed in a marriage arranged by their families in the small town of Filiatra in Messinia in 1961. They moved to Montreal, where their two sons were born, to find better opportunities than post-war Greece at the time offered.
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The couple immigrated to the United States by the late 1960s and later settled in on the top floor of a three-flat they shared with relatives near St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church on the city’s North Side.
Framed family photos of relatives hang on the wall at Peter and Helen Kafkis’s home, weeks after the Chicago couple died of COVID-19. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)
Helen Kafkis, an overprotective mother and great cook known for her Greek chicken and stuffed peppers, was the strict one. Her easygoing husband, Peter, adored her. The hardworking couple worked mostly factory jobs and didn’t have much extra money.
Still, with time, they achieved the American Dream. After their sons graduated college and began their own families, the couple bought their own home about three blocks away from the three-flat where they had lived for 25 years.
They spent their golden years gardening and enjoying their four grandchildren. The couple survived earlier bouts with cancer and still were self-sufficient. She still cooked three meals a day despite her age.
That changed in February after Helen Kafkis was hospitalized for pneumonia. She returned home, aided by a walker and oxygen, but she was never the same. Three weeks passed. She was hospitalized again March 21. Her husband followed six days later.
Steve Kafkis said his mother was in Room 2701 at Swedish Hospital in Chicago. His dad was nearby in Room 2707. The elderly couple’s conditions improved, then suddenly took a turn for the worse.
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Their strong-willed mother, the one who took personal offense if they did not devour her meals or call her the moment their flights landed, begged her boys to come take her home. They tried to reason with her.
Helen Kafkis went first. The brothers never told their dad his wife had died. They wanted to give him a fighting chance to regain his strength. But the virus proved unyielding.
“They pretty much said my dad’s heart gave out,” Steve Kafkis said. “I still somewhere deep inside feel he died of a broken heart. To lose both of them within days and not be able to say goodbye and hold their hand is definitely the toughest part of this.
“We knew they were older and their time was coming, but never in my wildest dreams did I think we would lose them this quick. It’s nightmarish. Unfathomable."
Angelo Kafkis views birthday cards given to his late father, Peter Kafkis, while clearing the home of his parents. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)
He and his brother spent a recent afternoon in their parents’ home sorting through a lifetime of memories. The brothers flipped through photo albums, including photographs capturing the day their parents were married in a small church in Greece. The couple also kept their grandchildren’s homemade birthday cards and other treasured mementos.
Steve Kafkis said he has to remind himself each time he pulls up to the house that his mother isn’t inside the kitchen waiting with a plate of chicken and potatoes that he dare not refuse.
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An unshakable faith
The coronavirus can rewrite a family’s history without warning.
One South Side family was particularly hard hit. The virus claimed its patriarch, his oldest daughter and hospitalized two younger relatives who fought their way back but still are recovering.
The Rev. Albert Stokes Sr., a retired preacher, 75, of Chicago, died April 11, 2020 of COVID-19. He is with his oldest daughter, Sherrell Stokes, 54, of Chicago, who died two days later, April 13, also of the virus. (Family photo)
But it did not rob the family of its deep faith.
In February, the Rev. Albert Stokes Sr. celebrated his 75th birthday with family at a favorite steakhouse. A pastor at the Greater Pisidia Missionary Baptist Church on the South Side, he retired after 25 years of service one year earlier.
A younger relative fell ill and was hospitalized that next month. By April, both the reverend and his daughter, Sherrell, 54, who lived with him, were sick with virus-related symptoms as well. She went to the hospital, but her father refused to leave his home, relatives said. He died in his sleep April 11.
After a week in one hospital, Sherrell Stokes was transferred to Rush University Medical Center, but doctors soon delivered the solemn news that she was not expected to live. The family watched on video April 13 as she drew her final breaths.
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Relatives said they are numb, stunned. It was just over a year ago that four generations of the family, donning white shirts, posed for a portrait in honor of the reverend’s 74th birthday. He is pictured seated near the center between his two minister sons, wearing a proud smile and holding a great-grandchild.
His oldest granddaughter, Kierra, said her “papa" knew before his death that his daughter likely was not going to make it. They did not tell her when he died. His granddaughter said the two in life were “stuck together like glue,” with her fun-loving aunt active in the church and serving as a volunteer in her daughter’s school when the girl was younger.
Connilus Stokes lost his father and a sister. Still, he said, the tragedy has not shaken the family’s love for God.
“My father’s biggest purpose in life was to teach and administer love,” he said. “Situations like this make you want to give up, throw in the towel and get angry. But even in death, there is still a reason to celebrate. ... We have to love each other despite what we may be feeling. We have to draw upon that love to get to a better place.”
An indomitable pair
Linda Veasley-Payne buried her mother and grandmother on Friday. Even in death, the virus haunts the Country Club Hills family.
Churches are closed, and so the Leak & Sons Funeral Home held both the visitation and funeral services. Mourners wore masks and repeatedly sanitized their hands. They resisted hugging, and no more than 10 at a time could gather. Others who wished to pay their respects watched livestreamed services on Facebook.
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Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 11 Caskets for Johnnie Veasley, 76, left, and her mother, Lela Reed, 95, at their funeral at Leak & Sons funeral home in Country Club Hills on April 24, 2020. Both died after contracting COVID-19. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune)
Johnnie Veasley, 76, died April 8 at a Hazel Crest hospital. Six days later, the family’s matriarch, 95-year-old Lela Reed, also succumbed to the virus.
There was no real goodbye. Veasley-Payne said she last saw her mother March 31 “when the ambulance took her.”
Veasley spent the early part of life living in Mississippi before Reed moved the two to Chicago when her daughter was 15. Reed was remembered as a feisty, strong-willed southern grandma who loved children.
Veasley married and had two daughters. She worked as a bus aide and, later, a teacher’s aide for the local school district before retiring, and was active in her church.
"My mother was a genuine person,” her daughter said. “There was nothing fake or phony about her. If she loved you, you knew she loved you.”
Their new ‘normal’
John Nakawatase had surgery last month to remove a cancerous tumor in his lung. He was home for less than a week before he was hospitalized again for labored breathing and a fever.
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One day later, his elderly mother who lived in the home also was admitted to Swedish Hospital. Lillian Nakawatase had lost her appetite and was too weak to get out of bed.
John Nakawatase and his mother, Lillian Nakawatase. Both died in early April 2020 of the coronavirus. (Family photo)
Both tested positive for COVID-19.
The family was forced to make tough decisions. A doctor phoned Mary Nakawatase asking her to encourage her husband to go on a ventilator. Her sweet husband, nicknamed “John John” as a child, feared he would never get off the machine.
The two met through friends at a Chicago bowling alley, married in 1987 and had three children. He coached them in sports, served as their Scout leader and crisscrossed the country to support his daughter’s prowess in softball.
His wife anxiously awaited the hospital’s updates. “That was hard waiting for that call every day," she said. "I just thought, ‘Oh, please don’t tell me he’s gone.’”
He was sedated and on a ventilator most of the time. But, with the hospital staff’s help, his wife and three children, Kyle, 30, Casey, 27, and 21-year-old Cory, whispered words of love and encouragement through the phone.
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His wife declined a nurse’s offer to see him on video, instead wanting to keep a visual picture of him with a smile, lounging in the home with their cats sprawled across his lap.
His oldest kids, though, saw their father one final time on the FaceTime call as he lay dying. Kyle said he could barely speak through his tears but mustered an “I love you, Dad.” He said his father lived his life in service to others.
“We all have to take this seriously,” he pleaded. “If we all do our part, we can get through this and hopefully no one else needs to lose someone before it is their time to go.”
The family did not tell Lillian Nakawatase when her son died. She had stopped asking about his condition, and so her only granddaughter assumes she somehow knew before she died four days after him.
Casey Yuriko Nakawatase’s middle name means “Lilly” in Japanese, in honor of her grandmother. Casey was her father’s princess but also a tomboy he taught to fish, pulling worms and leeches off hooks at the family’s Wisconsin lake house.
In her final communications, she thanked him, apologized for the times she was a brat and promised “because of him I would try to be better.” Days later, she began fulfilling her promise with the delivery of more than 100 nutritional care packages to the Swedish Hospital staff as a thank you.
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The daughter tries to imagine a future without her dad and grandmother. She is getting married next year to a man whose kindness reminds her of her father.
“It doesn’t feel real still," she said, echoing the other families who have suffered a double loss. "When everyone else goes back to normal, they’re still not coming back. It’ll never be normal for us again.”
Chicago Tribune’s William Lee contributed.
cmgutowski@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-04-24--We’ve lowered the paywall on this essential coronavirus coverage

As the scope of this pandemic came into focus , I started thinking about people living in assisted-living facilities and @ @ @ @ @ bound to experience .
I ’ ve spoken several times at assisted-living facilities around Chicago @ @ @ @ @ aspects of life for residents is the social interaction and the activities and entertainment the @ @ @ @ @ s largely gone now .
Worse yet , many facilities have had to limit or @ @ @ @ @ seniors stuck alone in their rooms or apartments .
So maybe there ’ s a @ @ @ @ @ at least that aspect of this crisis .
I tossed an idea out on Twitter @ @ @ @ @ the hashtag # PandemicPals , asking for thoughts and advice on how to network with @ @ @ @ @ where there might be seniors facing isolation .
Read more .

As a public service to our readers and community, we have lowered the paywall on some of our most critical stories so everyone can access this important information. We rely on the support of our subscribers to fund our journalism. If you’re not already signed up, we hope you will consider subscribing.
We are updating a daily live blog with the latest developments on the reopening of Chicago and Illinois. This is where you’ll find updates on the number of COVID-19 cases in our area, as well as the most up-to-date recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Department of Public Health, Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Mayor Lori Lightfoot.
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As summer nears, Chicagoans are desperate to get out and about — to have a summer picnic with family, to get back to work, to get a haircut. Here’s how and when you might be able to do those things.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced Tuesday a five-phase plan to get Illinois reopened as the COVID-19 pandemic slows its toll on health care providers. The plan, from “Rapid Spread” to “Illinois Restored,” splits the state up into regions and allows each region to open a different phase should the impact of the pandemic be different throughout the state. The plan also emphasizes that a region can move backward if the health metrics indicate enough risk. Read more.
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Testing for COVID-19 has greatly expanded in Illinois, with the state announcing more than 10,000 test results a day since April 24. The expansion has allowed the state to open up its guidance for who should be able to get a coronavirus test. The Illinois Department of Public Health is saying that testing is available without a doctor’s order to anyone with coronavirus symptoms or an underlying risk factor. Tests are also provided to people on the front lines of the pandemic, such as medical workers, first responders and employees of prisons or nursing homes. Search the map for coronavirus testing site near you.
All Illinois residents over age 2 must wear a face mask when they can’t maintain a 6-foot social distance in public. Studies show that the coronavirus can spread between people interacting in close proximity, including people who are not showing symptoms. Here’s where you can find them, what kind to get and how to make your own.
Americans are brainstorming with neighbors, posting questions on social media, and googling for tips and advice. The question at the center of all the hand wringing and head scratching: How do you thank the essential workers who remain out in the world, exposing themselves to greater risk of contracting the novel coronavirus, so that we can buy our groceries, receive our mail, travel by public transportation, and get health care if we need it? Here are some creative ideas to inspire you.
Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 68 (Chicago Tribune)
They were mothers and fathers, daughters and sons. Many were proud grandparents. Two were sisters from a tight-knit South Side family. All were loved, relatives say, and will be forever missed. As the number of deaths attributable to the coronavirus ticks upward, the Tribune is working to chronicle those who have lost their lives in the Chicago area or who have connections to our region. These are some of those victims.
Hundreds of Chicago restaurants have pivoted their operations to delivery, takeout or curbside pickup after Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced that all bars and restaurants in Illinois are closed for dining-in service through April 30. We’re collecting information on restaurants across the area that are still open for delivery or take out. Find a restaurant near you.
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A sign in the windows of Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, seen on March 11, 2020, reminds people to wash their hands. (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune)
You wake up with a sore, scratchy throat, and begin coughing and sneezing. It’s probably a run-of-the-mill cold, or it could be the beginning of a bout of seasonal flu. But with dozens of cases of the novel coronavirus surfacing in Illinois, some people are bound to wonder: Could this be the coronavirus? Here’s what experts advise for Illinoisans who fear they are showing signs of coronavirus.
The spread of the coronavirus pandemic has placed an extra burden on Chicagoland nonprofit organizations. Here is an evolving list of where you can make donations to organizations helping those in need.


chicagotribune--2020-04-24--Jerome Sutton died from COVID-19, but family wants him remembered for how he lived. ‘To know him was

Jerome Sutton died from COVID-19, but family wants him remembered for how he lived. ‘To know him was to love him. He could make anybody laugh.’

When her husband was transferred to Rush in Chicago , Hoskins-Sutton says she was also told he would be taken @ @ @ @ @ to aid patients on ventilators because of a shortage of the drug .
He was @ @ @ @ @ the day before his death , according to Hoskins-Sutton , but she did not know @ @ @ @ @ treatment .

There’s still a lot Precious Hoskins-Sutton wants to know about how her husband died of COVID-19, but for now she wants everyone to remember how he kept people laughing and always had a positive attitude, even as he began experiencing symptoms.
When Jerome Sutton entered the hospital March 31, he told his 4-year-old son he’d be back in just a few days — to make slime with him and play video games. “Those little things they liked to do together,” Hoskins-Sutton said.
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Jerome Sutton, 37. (Family photo)
His family believed him. Sutton was only 37, and while he had some underlying health issues, his condition stabilized once he was placed on a ventilator. But just four days later, Hoskins-Sutton said she received a call from her husband's doctor.
“He had a very eventful morning,” a doctor told her, then explained that her husband died after his ventilator became disconnected while he was being repositioned.
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“It's very devastating,” Hoskins-Sutton said.
Above all else, Hoskins-Sutton said her husband was a family man. He spent every night at home taking care of their son. “They were literally best friends,” she said. “Boys usually cling to their mother, but that was never my son. His daddy was his person.”
During his time off, Sutton took care of the older members of his family, running errands for his aunts or driving his grandmother to the bank. On weekends, he drove for Uber to bring in extra cash. “He was so much to so many people,” Hoskins-Sutton said
Sutton had a large group of friends. “To know him was to love him, simply,” said Hoskins-Sutton. “He could make anybody laugh.”
She said all his leisure time was spent at home, often playing cards with friends, his son at his side.
Hoskins-Sutton and her husband were together for 12 years. “We were one of those couples, we still went on frequent dates,” she said.
The couple made sure to have a big family outing with their son at least once a month. In March, they took a trip to Medieval Times. “He was beyond a great father,” Hoskins-Sutton said. “He would go above and beyond for his child, above and beyond for me, above and beyond for his family. He was everything for everybody.”
Sutton worked for a company that provided medical transportation. For the past year, he drove patients to and from doctor appointments. “He was hardworking, he was a good provider,” Hoskins-Sutton said.
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The day the stay-at-home order was announced in Illinois was the last time Sutton went to work. That Sunday, Sutton began exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19. “He woke up and was just like, ‘I don’t feel good,’ and ‘It feels like my body is fighting something,’ ” Hoskins-Sutton said.
It began with body aches, but Sutton was a tough guy and worked to push through the pain. A few days later, he got a fever and Hoskins-Sutton rushed home from work and took her husband to the hospital.
First, the couple went to West Suburban Medical Center but were told it was not equipped to see potential COVID-19 patients at the time. So they drove to Rush Oak Park Hospital, where Sutton tested positive for the coronavirus and was sent home to quarantine.
Sutton isolated himself in a room, separate from his wife and son. A few days later, Hoskins-Sutton went to check on her husband and noticed he was having trouble breathing.
Sutton drove himself back to the hospital in Oak Park the morning of March 31 and was told he would be placed on a ventilator. The hospital decided to transfer Sutton to Rush University Medical Center in Chicago for further treatment.
The last time Hoskins-Sutton spoke to her husband was during a video chat, just before they placed him on a ventilator. “We told him we would see him later, see him in a few days,” Hoskins-Sutton said.
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Early on April 3, about 1 a.m., Hoskins-Sutton called Rush to check on her husband. She said doctors told her he was stable and continuing to receive oxygen from the ventilator.
About 7 a.m. Rush called Hoskins-Sutton. She said they told her that during repositioning her husband’s ventilator fell out and he started to “crash,” adding “there was nothing they could do to save him.”
“Her (the doctor’s) exact words were, ‘He had a very eventful morning,’ ” Hoskins-Sutton said. “And she said, ‘He crashed, we got him back, but when we went to clean him up he crashed again.’ He was too fragile from everything.”
Sutton had been on his stomach while on the ventilator, according to his wife. Hoskins-Sutton says Rush told her this was the course of action taken for all patients with respiratory distress disorders.
When her husband was transferred to Rush in Chicago, Hoskins-Sutton says she was also told he would be taken off a paralytic medication used to aid patients on ventilators because of a shortage of the drug. He was placed back on the medication the day before his death, according to Hoskins-Sutton, but she did not know how this may have impacted treatment.
In the days following her husband’s death, Hoskins-Sutton says she heard nothing from the hospital, aside from the morgue asking which funeral home to send his body to. Weeks later, Hoskins-Sutton said Rush reached out and explained a ventilator falling out is a risk associated with the procedure.
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“It’s very unfortunate that a mishap like a ventilator slipping out happens and it can’t even be looked into because he had COVID-19,” she said. “No one is allowed in the hospital so I can literally only go off of what they told me.”
Rush would not discuss Sutton’s case with the Tribune, but in a statement said “we have had incredible success in saving the lives of those infected by this horrible disease.” West Suburban had no immediate comment.
Hoskins-Sutton says she is too traumatized to plan a memorial. And besides, Hoskins-Sutton said her husband’s immediate family is too large to gather under social distancing restrictions.
“He has siblings, his father’s still alive, his grandmother’s still alive,” Hoskins-Sutton said. “We would have to exclude people intentionally to have a proper celebration at this point, so I decided to postpone it.”
Hoskins-Sutton said she spent her entire adult life with her husband by her side. Now, she says, “I have to figure out adulthood from square one, with a toddler who every day is asking about his father.”
ssherry@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-04-24--Chicago police issued more dispersal orders on West Side in early days of stay-at-home order than ot

Chicago police issued more dispersal orders on West Side in early days of stay-at-home order than other parts of the city, including the lakefront

“ If you grow up never thinking you can do better in life , then there ’ s no reason @ @ @ @ @ Sampson said .
`` So when authority tells you , ‘ this is what you @ @ @ @ @ Screw that .
I can do what I want to do .
The worst thing @ @ @ @ @ is I ’ m going to jail.
’ Right now , that ’ s a @ @ @ @ @ ”

Chicago police broke up far more gatherings of people on the West Side than any other part of the city during the early days of Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s stay-at-home order to curb the spread of COVID-19, according to official police statistics.
More than half of the at least 930 reports where Chicago police dealt with “coronavirus loitering” across the city in an 11-day period from late March through early April occurred in just one of the city’s 22 police districts, the Harrison patrol district on the West Side, according to data on coronavirus dispersals obtained by the Tribune through an open records request.
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Of Harrison’s more than 500 reports, many generated by 911 calls, about a quarter of them occurred within Beat 1112, a four-by-four block area on the northern end of the district, the records show.
The Ogden district, which borders Harrison to the south and serves the Little Village and North Lawndale communities, and the the Austin district, located immediately to the west of Harrison, each recorded in the next highest number of dispersal incidents with about 100 a piece, according to the data.
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The fourth highest with about 40 reports was the South Side’s Wentworth district, which covers areas like Bronzeville, Washington Park and Hyde Park.
Harrison has long been known as one of Chicago’s high-crime districts, routinely producing among the highest numbers of homicides and total shootings in the city each year. And that trend has continued in 2020.
Overall crime in Harrison has dipped sharply since the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic led to Pritzker’s statewide public health order on March 21, though violence remains stubbornly high there.
Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 13 A Chicago police sergeant gives instructions to officers in the 4700 block of West Madison Street in the West Garfield Park neighborhood April 24, 2020. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)
The imbalance in dispersal orders suggests to some that police may be using them as a policing tactic that goes beyond concern over the coronavirus. It was images of people playing sports and congregating at the lake that grabbed headlines in the early days of COVID-19′s spread here, after all.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois raised concerns about the high number of apparent dispersals in Harrison, including whether the more frequent orders there increases the chances of unconstitutional policing. The ACLU has previously expressed concern over CPD checkpoints for the same reason.
"The concentration of the dispersals in one district raises questions about whether people are acting differently in that district, or if officers in that district are enforcing the health order in a different way than officers in other districts," said Karen Sheley, director of the police practices project for the ACLU of Illinois.
“We’d like the department to say that officers will assume that individuals who are walking or driving in their cars alone or in small groups are engaging in essential activity and not question or cite those people," she said.
William Sampson, an emeritus professor of public policy at DePaul University, said people from impoverished, high-crime neighborhoods that are predominantly African American or Latino are most likely to not trust the police and won’t heed their warnings to take the stay-at-home order seriously.
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"We know for sure about the virus that if people are close to each other, there's a very good chance of spreading," said Sampson. "If you don't grow up having trust in authority, you don't think the same way."
He also said a lot of these residents don't have access to health care and wouldn't know what to do if they get sick. Sampson said they're less likely than someone from a more stable background to be fully educated about the hazards of the disease.
The violence in the area remains entrenched. Through Sunday, Harrison had recorded 90 shootings this year, 20 more than a year earlier, official CPD statistics show.
Not only does Harrison lead the city in shootings this year, but it has seen twice as many as even the other most violent districts in the city, the statistics show. Harrison’s 21 homicides are just one more than last year, but it’s tops among all 22 districts in 2020.
The district, serving such communities as West Humboldt Park and West Garfield Park, is a regular focus of elite citywide units that conduct sensitive investigations related to city violence. FBI agents and other federal law enforcement also work on long-term cases there.
In areas of the district where open-air drug markets are rampant and prostitution remains a problem, people involved in that life could be especially vulnerable to the pandemic, said Sampson.
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“Part of that is the failure of our society to provide decent jobs at decent wages for a lot of these folks,” he said. “These folks, who a lot of the times don’t have the education, don’t have the training, don’t have the skills, don’t get jobs. So a lot of them are turning to the underground economy, and that requires people to be together.”
Dr. Michael Angarone, an assistant professor of medicine in infectious diseases at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, said drug addicts could be in danger of acquiring or spreading COVID-19 not only if they’re purchasing narcotics as part of a large group, but if they use IV-based drugs, they could be at a higher risk for infections, such as HIV, that weaken their immune systems.
Once that happens, he said, they could become more susceptible to COVID-19.
“They may fall into a risk group that we worry about getting sicker,” said Angarone.
Beyond the dispersal orders, citations and arrests for violations of the stay-at-home order have been few and far between for police, who aim more to educate the public about the importance of social distancing and staying home as much as possible during the pandemic. But there have been some less subtle police enforcement efforts to discourage large gatherings.
For instance, in late March, Chicago police temporarily closed down certain streets in Harrison “as part of a strategic and public health effort to disrupt the open-air drug market in the area and prevent excessive gatherings of people,” Chicago police said at the time. And in early April, three West Side liquor stores, including one in Harrison, agreed to shorten their hours to lessen the chance of congregating inside or outside those businesses.
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“Dispersal orders have proven to serve as an effective enforcement tool to ensure compliance with the (public health order), without having to resort to citations or arrests unless absolutely necessary.,” said Luis Agostini, a Chicago police spokesman. “While the (Harrison district) continues to experience high levels of congregation ... we remain committed to working closely with all community partners on ways to further engage our residents with the latest public health guidance, while also working to keep our neighborhoods safe.”
As for the concerns of the ACLU and others, Agostini said the department is acting with care.
“Public safety and constitutional policing are not mutually exclusive concepts,” he said. “Department leaders will continue assessing their approach toward enforcement to ensure the rights of individuals are always protected, regardless of where in Chicago they call home.“
At the Police Department’s request, officials said, the city’s Office of Emergency Management and Communications issued several wireless emergency alerts to residents’ cellphones in areas of Chicago with the most gatherings to get the message out about the stay-at-home order.
Since April 3, Chicago police have taken other steps to enforce the order while also trying to maintain a presence to curb the uptick in violence.
Officers set up checkpoints throughout the city to educate people about the stay-at-home order. Mayor Lori Lightfoot's office has worked closely with street outreach organizations in some high-crime neighborhoods to make sure they have the most current public health guidance to share with residents, officials said.
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On Wednesday night, Chicago police Superintendent David Brown started to order dozens of officers from North and Northwest Side districts to beef up patrols in high-crime areas of the South and West sides. The officers were moved from seven patrol districts that cover the northern end of Chicago — from the Rogers Park to Galewood neighborhoods — to the Harrison district and the Gresham, Englewood and Deering districts on the South Side.
High-crime patrol districts have experienced many surges in police resources over the years. But one police supervisor whose district had to give up officers to the latest surge said he’s never heard of such a large-scale effort to reallocate officers from safer areas of the city to those with more crime.
On Thursday night, officers were moved to the West Side’s Austin district, where numerous squad cars were seen patrolling the streets with their emergency lights or sirens on. In each instance, the surge of new cops lasted for just a few hours.
In Harrison on Friday morning, Chicago police met with workers from other city agencies near Madison Street and Springfield Avenue in West Garfield Park to ensure the community received various services, including repairs for pot holes and street lights, and tree trimming. The intersection has special significance after it was the subject of viral video on social media earlier this week showing some tense moments between numerous police officers and a large group of gatherers.
Sampson, the DePaul professor, said it’s possible the department could be over-policing in Harrison, but acknowledged dispersals are for the greater good if it’s for public health concerns. But he believes the police will have a difficult time trying to win over some in those neighborhoods.
“If you grow up never thinking you can do better in life, then there’s no reason to do right," Sampson said. "So when authority tells you, ‘this is what you need to do. ... Screw that. I can do what I want to do. The worst thing that can happen to me is I’m going to jail.’ Right now, that’s a dangerous place to be.”
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jgorner@chicagotribune.com