chicagotribune--2020-07-06--After threats from Mayor Lightfoot over social distancing, Chicago fines five businesses and shuts d

After threats from Mayor Lightfoot over social distancing, Chicago fines five businesses and shuts down party boat

The city of Chicago fined five businesses for violating social distancing rules aimed at curbing the coronavirus over the weekend @ @ @ @ @ operator of a Lake Michigan party boat .

The Summer of George cruises on the Chicago River in June 2009. (Scott Strazzante / Chicago Tribune)
The city of Chicago fined five businesses for violating social distancing rules aimed at curbing the coronavirus over the weekend and also shut down the operator of a Lake Michigan party boat.
The measures followed threats Mayor Lori Lightfoot made Friday during a conference call with hundreds of local business owners to shut down bars that violated restrictions.
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The Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection issued 10 citations to five businesses “for failing to maintain social distancing over the weekend.”
But a city spokesman said “the majority of businesses heeded the warnings issued last week.”
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“I think they got the message,” Lightfoot said Monday during an unrelated news conference.
However, the city also issued “an immediate closure order to Chicago Lakefront Cruises for egregiously violating social distancing requirements,” according to the department.
Lightfoot said the marine unit brought a boat to shore Saturday night after almost 100 people were on the top deck. It was “outrageous,” Lightfoot said.
“That was unbelievably irresponsible, and there’s going to have to be consequences for them,” she said.
Chicago Lakefront Cruises, which according to its website operates the Summer of George party boat, did not immediately return a message seeking comment.
A Lightfoot spokesman did not identify the businesses that were cited.
gpratt@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-07-06--Coronavirus in Illinois updates: Here’s what happened July 3-5 with COVID-19 in the Chicago area

In an emergency clemency petition to the governor in early April , McDowell ’ s legal team at the Exoneration @ @ @ @ @ mushrooming allegations against former Chicago Detective Reynaldo Guevara , who has been accused by more @ @ @ @ @ manipulating witnesses , fabricating evidence and framing suspects in predominantly Hispanic West Side neighborhoods in @ @ @ @ @ to bolster their argument that McDowell is innocent .

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Dontana Johnson races against his children, Damurious, 9, left, Kobe-Michael, 6, center, and Baby, 5, on the lawn of Millennium Park's Pritzker Pavilion while celebrating the 4th of July 2020. The family lives in North Lawndale. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune)
Illinois announced just six new deaths from COVID-19 Sunday, as the number of total deaths continues to trend downward this weekend.
Sunday’s death toll marked the lowest recorded in Illinois from coronavirus since March 26, when seven deaths were logged. Ten COVID-19 deaths were reported Saturday. The overall toll now stands at 7,020 deaths.
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While COVID-19 deaths continue to surge in some other states, Illinois recorded its highest daily number – 192 – on May 13.
Also Sunday, there were 639 additional COVID-19 reported cases Sunday, bringing the state’s total to 147,251. This news comes as Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot continues to crack down on bars and restaurants over the Fourth of July weekend, and warns travelers coming from states with high cases they will need to quarantine for 14 days after returning.
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[ How to assess your COVID-19 risk when going out in public: Use this chart ]
[ Phase four of Illinois’s COVID-19 reopening: Settle in, folks, we may be here a while ]
[ Illinois enters phase 4 of reopening plan. Here’s a guide to what’s allowed. ]
[ COVID-19 cases in Illinois by ZIP code: Search for your neighborhood ]
Here’s what’s happening this weekend regarding COVID-19 in the Chicago area and Illinois:
11:45 a.m.: Pritzker condemns cartoon comparing face mask order to Holocaust
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker said a political cartoon likening Kansas face mask requirement to the murder of Jews during the Holocaust a “disgusting display by ignorant Republicans.”
Pritzker, a lead fundraiser for the Illinois Holocaust Museum in Skokie, said in a Tweet condemning the cartoon that the museum was intended to “fight this kind of hate.” Read more here. – Jessica Villagomez
10:30 a.m.: 2 unnamed White Sox players test positive for COVID-19
Two unnamed Chicago White Sox players have tested positive for COVID-19, the team announced Sunday. Both players are asymptomatic and have been isolated in Chicago, according to the team.
They are being monitored by the Sox medical staff. Follow-up testing will take place in the coming days. The players can return after they have recorded consecutive negative tests and have passed COVID-19 protocols. Read more here. — LaMond Pope
9:35 a.m.: IHSA contact days go into effect Monday as state enters new phase for returning to play
The IHSA announced that its Phase 4 Return to Play guidelines were approved by the Illinois Department of Health, effective Sunday. It means contact days can begin on Monday, July 6.
Originally, the IHSA was calling this Stage 2, but changed its verbiage to Phase 4 to match the wording of Governor J.B. Pritzker’s Restore Illinois plan, which also will be entering Phase 4.
Phase 4 opens up sport-specific activities. Athletes have been limited to non sport-specific workouts over the past month, basically conditioning in groups of 10.
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Now, groups of 50 are allowed to work together. If outdoors, different groups of 50 must be 30 feet apart from each other. If indoors, there are to be no groups larger than 50, regardless of space. Read more here. — Paul Johnson
9:30 a.m. Sunday: Elgin libraries, museums to reopen beginning Monday, but ‘things will not look the same,’ officials say
The Gail Borden Public Library is to reopen to patrons Monday morning, more than three months after it last welcomed guests.
However, the revolving doors won’t be in use. Plexiglass partitions will divide employees from visitors. Several computers and pieces of furniture have been stored away. And yes, masks will be required.
Gail Borden is among the Elgin-area libraries and museums welcoming guests to their buildings for the first time since the start of the coronavirus pandemic in March. Officials advise visitors that the library and museum experience will look and feel entirely different.
The nearly 154,000 square-foot main building of Gail Borden is limiting occupancy to no more than 250 visitors at one time. Capacity reductions also will be in place at the smaller Rakow and South Elgin branches, Raleigh said. There will be capacity limits within some sections of the library as well. Read more here. — Rafael Guerrero
4:29 p.m. Saturday: 10 additional deaths from COVID-19, lowest daily total of deaths since the end of March
Illinois announced 10 new deaths from COVID-19 Saturday, the lowest daily total of deaths since March 30.
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Comparing March 30 with July 4 shows the outbreak at two distinct moments. On March 30, the state announced 461 new confirmed coronavirus cases. Saturday, Illinois announced 862.
True, that is nearly twice as many cases, but on March 30 the state only announced the results of 2,684 tests. That means on March 30, 17.2% of those tests came back positive. On Saturday, the state announced 33,836 test results — a positivity rate of 2.6. If you applied the March 30 positivity rate to the number of tests released Saturday that would mean more than 5,800 new cases.
—Chicago Tribune staff
4:26 p.m.: Evanston Independence Day celebration one of many to go online
After 98 years of top-ranked July Fourth traditions, the city of Evanston celebrated this year in an entirely new, virtual manner because of COVID-19.
Themed “Community United Cannot Be Divided,” the day’s celebration featured a 20-minute online behind-the-scenes look at the work that normally goes into the city’s Independence Day, a 45-minute virtual parade showing old videos of various organizations and a pre-recorded concert and fireworks show to conclude festivities at night.
Evanston’s usual Independence Day sights, including about 15,000 people gathered to watch the city’s parade on the streets, were replaced with about 120 online spectators watching pre-recorded visuals of past celebrations from home.
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”Since our organization has been active now for 99 years, we’re very good at doing a traditional celebration,” said Bruce Baumberger, Trustee Emeritus of Evanston’s Fourth of July Association. “… The virtual celebration was something new to us.”
Evanston’s budget was down about $20 million due to COVID-19, which led the association to look into other cost-efficient ways of hosting a celebration, Baumberger said. What normally took hundreds of volunteers to plan needed only “a few people mastering the technology” with the group’s updated plans this year.
”It’s been a great opportunity to build on and maximize this really great opportunity out of adversity,” Baumberger said.
Viewers from across America interacted with each other in the comments section and remarked on the various groups featured in Evanston’s virtual parade. “Born in the USA,” “I’m Proud to be an American” and other patriotic songs were synchronized with the show, which at one point showed a virtual rendition of the “National Emblem March,” a standard for military marching bands that salutes the American Flag.
”Love seeing this. Usually [I travel to] Evanston for the Fourth of July,” one Facebook commenter wrote during the morning livestream. “I am missing this for so many reasons!”
—Kelli Smith
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4:06 p.m.: Farrkhan delivers online speech regarding coronavirus
Minister Louis Farrakhan deliver a speech Saturday to address the current state of America, mentioning the COVID-19 pandemic and the unrest people of color are dealing with after the killing of George Floyd captured on video.
Farrakhan, the leader of the Chicago-based Nation of Islam, started the speech, titled the Criterion, by mentioning the death of one of the Nation of Islam’s student ministers, Abdul Hafeez Muhammad, who died from COVID-19 in April at age 53.
”He was a martyr like all who have lost their lives in this nation, Black and White and the colors in between,” Farrakhan said.
Later in the speech, he said the privileged in our country are being faced with a reckoning for their wrongdoing.
He also warned the Black community to stand clear of those oppressing them, so they won’t be touched by God’s wrath.
He encouraged everyone to remain decent during these times. At one point he told those listening to wear their masks and look into other therapies to treat the disease. He also called upon the world’s scientist and doctors to work together to solve COVID-19.
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In closing he thanked the Rev. Michael Pfleger, who he called his brother, and prayed to God for his protection as he continues to fight injustice in the Black community. He prayed for peace for all Americans and the world suffering from COVID-19.
—Deanese Williams-Harris
12:46 p.m.: Chosen Few DJs move annual House music fest online because of coronavirus
You can’t stop the House continues to be true in 2020 after the Chosen Few DJs moved their annual musical celebration online to bring the disco to Chicago on July Fourth.
The Chosen Few Old School Reunion Picnic has remained a family event over the years, and when COVID-19 struck, its organizers decided to continue the peaceful tradition, which draws hundreds of thousands to Jackson Park, to a virtual celebration.
At noon, the celebration was scheduled to kick off with guest DJ Deon Cole, an actor and comedian who’s a South Side native. The annual House music festival’s virtual party will continue until 9 p.m. and include the Chosen Few DJs, and guest singer and song writer Carla Prather and Byron Stingley of Ten City, officials said.
The virtual celebration can be viewed at www.chosenfewdjs.com.
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On the turntables throughout the day will be the Chosen Few DJs, Wayne Williams, Jesse Sanders, Tony Hatchett, Alan King, Terry Hunter and Mike Dunn.
—Deanese Williams-Harris
8:45 a.m.: Illinois opening more centers to support small businesses hit by coronavirus pandemic
Seven new state-run centers will open this summer to support Illinois small businesses.
The Small Business Development Centers set to launch in July or already opened are in Chicago, Elgin and Joliet. The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Development said the $11.5 million effort brings the total of centers statewide to 42.
"With many Illinois businesses currently facing unprecedented burdens as a result of COVID-19 and recent civil unrest, our SBDC community partners can be a lifeline for businesses working to reopen safely," said Michael Negron, acting director of the department.
Business owners can get one-on-one confidential advice and assistance at the centers on many topics including education, training and business planning.
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The centers also have helped small businesses seek financial assistance during the coronavirus pandemic, which forced many to close or dramatically change day-to-day operations. — Associated Press
7:52 a.m.: Hundreds of Joliet nurses strike after hospital, union fail to reach contract
More than 700 nurses at Amita Health Saint Joseph Medical Center Joliet went on strike Saturday morning, after the nurses union and hospital failed to reach a contract agreement.
The nurses at Amita Health Saint Joseph Medical Center Joliet have been working without a contract since May 9 and have been in negotiations since February.
The nurses’ union, the Illinois Nurses Association, has not said how long the strike would last. The union said in a news release Saturday nurses would picket outside the hospital at 333 Madison St., in Joliet.
Amita Health, which has 19 hospitals in Illinois, has contracted with an agency to provide temporary nurses, according to spokesman Tim Nelson. Read the full story here. — Lisa Schencker
7:45 a.m. Saturday: Illinois regulators warn casinos to take virus precautions
Casinos that fail to follow guidelines aimed at limiting the spread of the coronavirus could be disciplined, including loss of their license, Illinois regulators warned this week.
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Illinois allowed video gaming businesses and casinos to begin reopening on Wednesday. Marcus Fruchter, administrator of the Illinois Gaming Board, reminded operators in a message released Thursday that they must follow state protocols for operating during the pandemic.
Requirements include face coverings in gaming establishments and casinos and social distancing along with regular hand washing, Fruchter said.
Failing to comply could result in discipline, including revoked licenses, he said.
“More importantly, disregard of such preventative measures and requirements could contribute to a resurgence of COVID-19 cases in Illinois and another potential suspension of gaming operations,” he said. “That is a result nobody wants. We urge you not to let it happen.” — Associated Press
3:08 p.m.: Chicago will rely largely on signs along highways and at airports as it orders self-quarantine for people who visit states where COVID-19 is surging
Chicago health officials said Friday they have no plan for enforcing the city’s abrupt quarantine order for people arriving from states where coronavirus cases are surging, but will rely largely on signs posted along highways and at the two airports.
“We do not have a plan to, for example, look for out-of-state license plates and pull people over,” the city’s public health commissioner, Dr. Allison Arwady, said at a news conference. “We do not have a plan to create a list of individuals who are traveling and try to track them down.”
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Arwady said the city’s main goal with the order is to emphasize travel risks during the pandemic. She said the city is also working with airlines to notify people booking Chicago destinations. “We want people to be thinking twice about whether now is a good time to travel,” she said.
Read more here. —Sydney Czyzon
2:45 p.m.: 868 new known COVID-19 cases, 18 additional deaths
The state announced 18 new deaths Friday from COVID-19, bringing the total toll of the virus to 7,005. Also announced were 868 new confirmed cases and the results of 34,318 tests.
In passing the 7,000 mark, Illinois has the fourth most deaths for any state behind New York with 31,836, New Jersey with 15,164 and Massachusetts with 8,132, according to New York Times data.
In Illinois, 2,628 of those deaths, a little over a third, were in Chicago, with 1,990 more in suburban Cook County. Among the collar counties, DuPage and Lake have the most coronavirus deaths with 474 and 421, respectively. Will is lower with 320, as are Kane with 274 and McHenry with 97. There have been coronavirus deaths in 59 of the state’s 102 counties.
—Chicago Tribune staff
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1:43 p.m.: Day after judge declares his executive orders void, Gov. J.B. Pritzker urges restaurants, bars to keep following safety guidelines
A day after a southern Illinois judge ruled that Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s executive orders aimed at slowing the spread of the new coronavirus are void, the Democratic governor and the state’s top health official are urging restaurants and bars and their customers to continue following safety guidelines heading into the Fourth of July weekend.
“The virus is not taking the holiday weekend off, and neither can we. Letting our guard down now would fly in the face of the progress we’ve made over many months,” Pritzker said in a statement Friday. “We have seen that mitigation measures have worked in our state and we’ve seen too many other states rapidly lose ground in the fight against the virus.”
Those measures include wearing masks in public, maintaining proper social distancing and abiding by capacity limits in restaurants, bars and other businesses.
Read more here. —Dan Petrella
1:20 p.m.: In a Chicago first, the Shedd Aquarium reopens to visitors. What’s different with COVID-19 practices in place?
The Shedd Aquarium officially reopened to the public Friday morning, admitting paying visitors for the first time since March after two days of members-only previews, the first of Chicago’s major museums to do so. Elsewhere on the Museum Campus, the Adler Planetarium and Field Museum have not announced reopening dates.
Inside its marble interior, the glass of the Shedd’s Caribbean Reef tank gleamed, signs and staff members directed foot traffic and the many varied species of fish and aquatic life swam, wide eyed and utterly aloof to visitors, as they always seem to do. Returning museum-goers will notice a one big if unsurprising difference from before — the lack of crowds and noise. For many Chicagoans and suburbanites with families, the metaphor of choice for sweaty overcrowding isn’t a train car, it’s summer at the Shedd.
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Read more here. —Doug George
8 a.m.: Zanies comedy clubs are reopening in Chicago, Rosemont
Call this a COVID-19 era first for comedy in Chicago. The two remaining Chicago-area Zanies comedy clubs have announced they will reopen in July — the downtown Zanies (1548 N. Wells St.; 312-337-4027) and Zanies in Rosemont (5437 Park Place at Parkway Bank Park; 847-813-0484).
Zanies in Chicago opens July 10 with headliner Vince Carone, who released the comedy album “Vincectomy” in March. Plus Ben Noble and host Jayson Cross. 9 p.m. July 10; 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. July 11; $30 plus a 2 item minimum. The following weekend will be Adam Burke with Sonal Aggarwahl July 17-18.
Zanies in Rosemont opens July 17 with headliner and Zanies favorite Pat McGann, who will debut a comedy special July 28 presented by Sebastian Maniscalso. (“When’s Mom Gonna Be Home?” will be via Comedy Dynamics.) McGann is performing July 17 at 9p.m., July 18 at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m.; $35 plus a 2 item minimum.
Tickets must be purchased in advance at www.zanies.com (no tickets at the door). Only 50 tickets will be sold for each show.
In addition, there will be six feet of separation between tables and the club will be disinfected between performances. The clubs are going paperless and cashless, with extra cleaning of barware health screenings for staff. Masks are required for entry and while patrons are not at their seats. More information about upcoming schedules and additional precautions at www.zanies.com.
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—Doug George
7:45 a.m.: Bars and restaurants find themselves at coronavirus crossroads for July Fourth: ‘It’s going to be a tough weekend’
Ahead of a summer holiday weekend that, in normal times, would mean packed patios and crowded bars, restaurant and bar owners are facing fines of up to $10,000 if COVID-19 restrictions are flouted.
It’s a tough line to toe for businesses just barely scraping by after nearly three months of being closed due to the pandemic. In Pilsen, La Vaca Margarita Bar has been open for outdoor dining for a few weeks, converting its parking lot into a patio with tables spaced 6 feet apart.
Read more here. —Josh Noel, Louisa Chu, Adam Lukach, Gregory Pratt and Grace Wong
7:30 a.m.: South Side hospital failed to properly triage a pregnant woman who later died, Illinois regulators find
A pregnant woman died after Roseland Community Hospital failed to triage her upon arrival and conduct a medical screening exam, the state health department found in a recent investigation.
The woman, who was 30 weeks pregnant, died at the South Side hospital in May after complaining of abdominal pain, dehydration and general malaise after she arrived at the hospital by ambulance. Her triage note was marked 2:54 p.m. — more than three hours after she arrived.
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The Illinois Department of Public Health found Roseland to be out of compliance on the requirement that hospitals meet the emergency needs of patients “in accordance with acceptable standards of practice.”
Read more here. —Lisa Schencker
Breaking coronavirus news Stay up to date with the latest information on coronavirus with our breaking news alerts.
Here are three things that happened Thursday related to coronavirus in Illinois:
A federal judge denied a GOP request to prevent Pritzker’s crowd limit rule from applying to political gatherings.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot and city officials threaten to shut down bars that don’t follow social distancing guidelines.
Wrigley Field rooftops reach agreement with city to open for Cubs games, rooftop manager says.


chicagotribune--2020-07-06--‘Dukes of Hazzard’ car, which has Confederate flag atop it, allowed to stay at Illinois auto museum

Since the museum acquired in 2005 what it says is the last surviving 1969 Charger from the first season of @ @ @ @ @ said nobody has complained .
And the museum has continued to hear from people supporting @ @ @ @ @ car as the push to rid the landscape of what is increasingly viewed as a @ @ @ @ @ said .

VOLO, Ill. — A northern Illinois auto museum has no plan to stop displaying a Dodge Charger from the “Dukes of Hazzard” television show with the Confederate battle flag painted atop the vehicle.
Statues of Confederate generals and soldiers are being taken down across the country, NASCAR has banned the flag from its races and the Confederate emblem is being removed from the Mississippi state flag.
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But the Volo Auto Museum about 50 miles northwest of Chicago says the famed “General Lee” from the first season of the TV show isn’t going anywhere, according to a weekend report in the Daily Herald of Arlington Heights, Illinois.
“We feel the car is part of history, and people love it,” museum director Brian Grams told the newspaper. “We’ve got people of all races and nationalities that remember the TV show and aren’t offended by it whatsoever. It’s a piece of history and it’s in a museum.”
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Since the museum acquired in 2005 what it says is the last surviving 1969 Charger from the first season of the television program, Grams said nobody has complained. And the museum has continued to hear from people supporting the decision to keep the car as the push to rid the landscape of what is increasingly viewed as a symbol of racism, Grams said.
“Several people have reached out with positive comments about us leaving it on display,” Grams said, “complimenting us for leaving it there and not having a knee-jerk reaction to remove it like a lot of places are.”
Grams says the General Lee is a piece of history and the museum would not remove it any more than it would think of removing the Nazi memorabilia displayed in parts of the museum’s military section.
“If we’re going to get complaints about the General Lee being here, we’ve got much worse items over in our military building,” he said.


chicagotribune--2020-07-06--16-year-old boy fatally shot, police looking for witness

According to the alert , Ortiz was walking with another male before he was shot .
Police are trying to @ @ @ @ @ with him , but did not say whether they believe him to be a witness @ @ @ @

Chicago police are asking for help finding people involved in the killing of a 16-year-old boy in the Burnside neighborhood Thursday.
A teen identified by the Cook County medical examiner’s office as Derrion Ortiz, 16, was shot several times by an attacker who got out of a black SUV in the 800 block of East 87th Place about 3:15 p.m. Thursday, according to a Chicago Police Department community alert. He was the first of at least 18 people shot to death over the violent holiday weekend.
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Ortiz, who the medical examiner’s office said lived in the 6300 block of North Oakley Avenue, was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center in critical condition, police said. He was pronounced dead at 6:01 p.m. Thursday, according to the medical examiner’s office.
According to the alert, Ortiz was walking with another male before he was shot. Police are trying to identify the man who was with him, but did not say whether they believe him to be a witness or a suspect.
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Photographs shared with the alert showed a smaller, dark-colored, four-door SUV, which police said may have been a Mazda.
The attacker who got out of the SUV was described as a Black man with a medium complexion, between the ages of 30 and 35, standing between 5-foot-8 and 6 feet tall and weighing about 150 to 190 pounds. The man was wearing red pants, a white shirt, a black White Sox baseball cap and a blue surgical mask when he shot Ortiz, according to police.
Police said no suspects were in custody. Calumet Area detectives were investigating.
Anyone with information was asked to contact Calumet Area detectives at 312-747-8271.


chicagotribune--2020-07-06--Fireworks placed in recycling bin on Fourth of July  ignite Naperville garage, officials say

Within 30 minutes , firefighters were able to extinguish the fire that had spread to the garage wall and spaces @ @ @ @ @ said .
It took another 90 minutes to extinguish smoldering materials and remove smoke from @ @ @

Fireworks disposed of in a recycling bin were the cause of a garage fire Saturday night, Naperville fire officials said.
Bureau Chief James Kubinski said in a press release Naperville firefighters responded at 10:39 p.m. to a call from a resident of a single-family home in the 300 Block of Leeds Court who reported a fire in the garage.
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Kubinski said an occupant of the home used a fire extinguisher, but smoke still was coming from an interior wall of the garage.
Within 30 minutes, firefighters were able to extinguish the fire that had spread to the garage wall and spaces above the garage, Kubinski said. It took another 90 minutes to extinguish smoldering materials and remove smoke from the residence.
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No injuries were reported, and the residents were able to return to the home.
subaker@tribpub.com


chicagotribune--2020-07-06--Truck driver suffers life-threatening injuries in Stevenson crash that closed lanes for hours Monday

A man who was a service-truck operator stopped to assist a truck with a flat tire parked in the right @ @ @ @ @ State Police .
The service-truck operator was standing in front of the truck when a @ @ @ @ @ rear-ended the truck , pushing it forward into the service-truck operator .

Workers clean up a crash after two people were injured in an accident on I-55 near Cicero Avenue in the early hours of July 6, 2020. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
One person suffered life-threatening injuries in a collision Monday morning involving a pedestrian on the Stevenson Expressway near Cicero Avenue, according to Illinois State Police.
The right two lanes of I-55 northbound at Cicero were closed for several hours following the collision, according to Trooper Elizabeth Clausing, a police spokesperson.
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A man who was a service-truck operator stopped to assist a truck with a flat tire parked in the right lane, according to Illinois State Police. The service-truck operator was standing in front of the truck when a car traveling north on I-55 rear-ended the truck, pushing it forward into the service-truck operator.
Two people were taken to a local hospital, including one with life-threatening injuries, according to Clausing.
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The right two lanes were closed for traffic investigation about 3:20 a.m. and reopened about 8:15 a.m.
Check back for updates.


chicagotribune--2020-07-06--Aurora man dies in shooting, two others wounded

Just after 4 a.m. , police dispatch received a call of a person shot in the 100 block of Trask @ @ @ @ @ a news release .
When officers arrived , they found Figgures suffering from gunshot wounds @ @ @ @ @ a local hospital .

An Aurora man died after he was injured in a shooting that also wounded two others early Sunday on the city’s East Side, officials said.
Michea Figgures, 26, of the first block of Westgate Drive, died early Monday, Aurora police said.
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Just after 4 a.m., police dispatch received a call of a person shot in the 100 block of Trask Street, police said in a news release. When officers arrived, they found Figgures suffering from gunshot wounds and paramedics took him to a local hospital.
A short time later, a 28-year-old man and 18-year-old woman also arrived at an Aurora hospital with gunshot wounds. The 28-year-old man was treated and released from the hospital while the 18-year-old woman remains hospitalized in serious, but stable, condition.
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Anyone with information regarding the shooting or details surrounding the incident are asked to call the department’s Investigations Division at 630-256-5500 or Aurora Area Crime Stoppers at 630-892-1000.
mejones@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-07-06--Column: We don’t deserve dogs, yet they accept and adore us. Then they leave, always far too soon.

I had to say farewell to a good dog last week , on a pantingly hot July 3 afternoon .
@ @ @ @ @ was nothing we could do these past couple of months except love her and spoil @ @ @ @ @ a million behind-the-ear scritches and wait until she let us know it was time to @ @

These cute pups were actually bred to seek out vermin—and their trademark whiskers actually serve a purpose. The fur would mat together to prevent rats and other small animals from biting them while they were on the hunt.
- 2019 registration rank: #97 highest of 193 breeds - Change in rank from previous year: -8 in popularity These cute pups were actually bred to seek out vermin—and their trademark whiskers actually serve a purpose. The fur would mat together to prevent rats and other small animals from biting them while they were on the hunt. (Divedeeper // Wikimedia Commons)
If I had to choose between spending time with one good dog or five good people, I’d pick the dog every day of the week and twice on Sundays.
That may sound anti-social, but it’s a pragmatic choice, driven by data.
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People, even the good ones, have more flaws than dogs. People, even the good ones, struggle to love without conditions. And dogs, at least the ones I’ve known, talk less than humans while managing to say more.
We bipedal ape-descendants don’t deserve dogs, yet they accept and adore us. Then they leave, always far too soon. And we are stuck with our dumb human flaws, and a dog-sized hole in our day-to-day.
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I had to say farewell to a good dog last week, on a pantingly hot July 3 afternoon. She had cancer and there was nothing we could do these past couple of months except love her and spoil her and give her approximately a million behind-the-ear scritches and wait until she let us know it was time to go.
There are far more important things happening in the world right now than the death of a newspaper columnist’s dog. I know that. But here I am, writing about the dog who was near me, often with her head on my arm, as I wrote most of the columns you’ve read over the years.
She even guest-wrote a column in 2018, a letter to President Donald Trump complaining about his tendency to call certain humans “dogs,” as if that word could ever be an insult.
She wrote: “I think you are calling people dogs because you think that makes them less than human. My human says that’s something that ‘fascists’ do. I don’t know what that means, but it makes me think you are not being a good boy.”
Hers was a brief but spectacular writing career.
Zoe was about 6 months old when we got her. She had a boulder-sized head with batlike ears, four pie-sized paws and a more traditionally puppy-esque body, making her look like something had gone tragically wrong at the dog factory six months earlier. Her body was largely white but her head was dark brown, like she had dunked her noggin in a vat of chocolate syrup.
But she was sweet and already house-trained, and her eyes revealed an intelligence that we bet would easily compensate for any head/body/paw proportionality issues.
She grew and grew, then grew some more and finally reached a robust 95 pounds. She was weirdly beautiful, and people often admired her and asked what breed she was.
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“I’m not exactly sure,” I’d say, “but I believe she’s part cow.”
Zoe never took offense.
Tribune columnist Rex Huppke's dog, Zoe. Rex Huppke/Chicago Tribune (Rex Huppke / Chicago Tribune)
Her life story is that of any good family dog. Long walks. Fun times romping in the snow. Ample barking at delivery people and passing dogs.
In her later years she developed a strange relationship with a rabbit living in our backyard. They seemed to have reached a nonaggression pact that gave the rabbit unfettered access to all grass and plants while still allowing Zoe to occasionally save face by chasing the rabbit for about 6 feet before giving up and pretending she had better things to do.
Whatever ancestral wolf DNA she possessed had been fully overwhelmed by laziness or a tender heart, or possibly both. And that was fine. We had no need for a wolf. All we needed was Zoe.
And that’s what’s amazing about the creatures we’re lucky enough to have in our lives. They are, wholly and completely, themselves. Sure, we train them and help them adapt to our ways of living. But they train us to understand and appreciate them as beings unencumbered by the annoying complexities of humanness.
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That’s what binds us so tightly, I think. Zoe’s inherent goodness made the people who loved her better by helping us see that her way of living — Love people! Love playing! Love food! — almost always made more sense than our own.
That’s a gift, one that remains long after our noble beasts have gone.
And it’s worth it. Even for the pain that comes on a hot July day, when you look at your friend and writing partner and know it’s time for her to go. And you hold her as her sweet soul leaves her body, and the humans left behind cry so hard their faces hurt.
It’s worth it, pain and tears and all.
My arm feels lighter as I write this, and notably less draped in slobber. There isn’t a bark when the doorbell rings, and there’s a 95-pound space in our family that won’t be easily filled.
We don’t deserve dogs. But we have them.
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For that, I’m forever grateful.
rhuppke@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-07-06--Des Plaines man critically injured after lightning strike on Florida beach

Authorities said the men were leaving the beach because of the storms and were about halfway between the waterline and @ @ @ @ @ were struck .

CLEARWATER, Fla. — Lightning struck two people on Sunday afternoon as a line of storms from the Gulf of Mexico moved onto Clearwater of Beach, police said.
Gacek Arkadiusz, 37, of Des Plaines, was unconscious and not breathing when police arrived at the scene around 2:15 p.m., media outlets reported. An officer began CPR until lifeguards arrived and took over medical treatment.
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He was taken to the hospital in critical condition, Clearwater police said.
Sav Keomany, 43, Pickerington, Ohio, who was a few feet away, was taken to the hospital in stable condition, media outlets reported.
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Authorities said the men were leaving the beach because of the storms and were about halfway between the waterline and the sand dunes when they were struck.


chicagotribune--2020-07-07--Daywatch: How Illinois compares as COVID-19 cases spike in US, charges filed in July 4 killing of 7-

Daywatch: How Illinois compares as COVID-19 cases spike in US, charges filed in July 4 killing of 7-year-old and thousands of Chicago businesses got PPP loans of at least $1 million

Mayor Lori Lightfoot said she wants “ all of us to feel this loss ” after another weekend of violence @ @ @ @ @ a toll on the city ’ s children , including the killing of a 7-year-old @ @ @ @ @ were filed in that case Monday , a slaying police said was the result of @ @ @

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Good morning, Chicago. Here’s the coronavirus news and other top stories you need to know to start your day.
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Illinois announced six new deaths from COVID-19 on Monday and 614 new confirmed cases. Meanwhile, two Chicago-area counties reached milestones.
The state’s Northeast region — which includes Chicago and its suburbs — has a 4.2% positivity rate. Here’s where each region stands on key COVID-19 metrics.
With a host of new public activities now available, how do you figure out how much risk is safe for you to take? Use this COVID-19 risk assessment chart.
The Fulton Market area of Chicago is no longer the ghost town it was during the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown. As restrictions on restaurants are eased, a worker takes a woman's temperature before she can enter Federales restaurant on Morgan Street on July 1, 2020. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)
Across the country, states have either delayed reopening or reimposed restrictions amid surges in COVID-19 cases that have begun packing hospitals. Waiting on the sidelines, at least for now, is Illinois, where health officials are watching daily statistics uneasily as the state continues to allow its residents more freedom to travel, visit and shop.
Those statistics offer some good news for Illinoisans, at first blush: We’re far below peak case levels, and not even close to being as bad as the most struggling states. The bad news: Illinois’ big drops of late May and early June are history — and some daily metrics are increasing.
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The city of Chicago fined five businesses for violating social distancing rules over the weekend and also shut down the operator of a Lake Michigan party boat.
Elizabeth Perry gets a hug during a vigil for her 7-year-old granddaughter Natalia Wallace, who was shot in the head and killed as her family gathered to celebrate the holiday Saturday night in Chicago's South Austin neighborhood. (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune)
Mayor Lori Lightfoot said she wants “all of us to feel this loss” after another weekend of violence in Chicago yet again took a toll on the city’s children, including the killing of a 7-year-old girl. The first charges were filed in that case Monday, a slaying police said was the result of gang violence.
A family with face masks poses beside an animatronic ankylosaurus and Brookfield Zoo lion sculptures as Brookfield Zoo reopens during a members-only preview on July 1, 2020. Only outdoor areas were open and face masks were required. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
From museums and restaurants to law firms and supermarkets, nearly 4,000 Illinois businesses and nonprofits were approved for PPP loans worth $1 million or more, according to data released by the Small Business Administration.
The Brookfield Zoo, Cubs’ sponsor Sloan Valve, Willow Creek Church and Baird & Warner are among the 255 Illinois organizations with PPP loans between $5 million and $10 million — the most allowed under the program. Here’s a look at other prominent Chicago-area companies that received at least $1 million in PPP loans.
27,412 Illinois companies got PPP loans of more than $150,000: Search our database
Gabriel Lopez, right, and his son Gabriel Lopez Jr. are buying fireworks at Uncle Sam's Fireworks store in Hammond on Monday, June 22, 2020. (Zbigniew Bzdak/Chicago Tribune) (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune)
Officially, the city’s Fourth of July festivities were canceled due to COVID-19 social distancing considerations. Unofficially, numerous illegal fireworks displays exploded over the Chicago skyline Saturday night.
Continuing a trend seen throughout the summer, the city received an unusually high number of emergency calls for fireworks disturbances leading up to and during the holiday weekend. As of Sunday, the city had received a total of 19,925 fireworks-related calls this year, compared with 4,612 calls by the same date last year — a 332% increase.
Sex in times of COVID-19. (japatino / Getty Images / Getty Images)
In Chicago, many lockdown restrictions have lifted and we’re settling into a new phase. Naturally, more people will want to date and have sex, and with this comes new questions on how to navigate those safely.
Two experts answer some of the most pressing questions around sex and dating while the risk of contracting COVID-19 persists, but the state lockdowns loosen.


chicagotribune--2020-07-07--COVID-19 cases are spiking in states across the country. How does Illinois compare?

On the other hand , when you look at whether bed counts are going up or down , Illinois is @ @ @ @ @ But this measure by its nature is based in part on older data .
( @ @ @ @ @ average of hospital beds used with the average from a week prior . )
And @ @ @ @ @ Illinois ’ past achievements , its hospitalizations appear to have leveled off .

The Fulton Market area of Chicago is no longer the ghost town it was during the depths of the COVID-19 virus pandemic shutdown. As restrictions on restaurants are eased, a worker takes a woman's temperature before she can enter Federales restaurant on Morgan Street on July 1, 2020. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)
Across the country, states have either delayed reopening or reimposed restrictions amid surges in COVID-19 cases that have begun packing hospitals.
Waiting on the sidelines, at least for now, is Illinois, where health officials are watching daily statistics uneasily as the state continues to allow its residents more freedom to travel, visit and shop.
Those statistics offer some good news for Illinoisans, at first blush: We’re far below peak case levels, and not even close to being as bad as the most struggling states. For example, Arizona’s rate of new cases, relative to the state’s population, is more than seven times Illinois’.
The bad news: Illinois’ big drops of late May and early June are history — and some daily metrics are increasing. As the state continues to uncover hundreds of new cases a day, at least one researcher said the state should consider adding more restrictions until it’s clear what’s going on.
People wait in line at a free COVID-19 testing site provided by United Memorial Medical Center on June 28, 2020, at the Mexican Consulate, in Houston. Confirmed cases of the coronavirus in Texas continue to surge. (David J. Phillip / AP)
“It’s (at) a level of concern that, if we didn’t change what we’re doing now, that we could be headed toward a Texas or Arizona sort of situation,” Jaline Gerardin, a Northwestern University assistant professor of preventive medicine who works on virus modeling, said in an interview Thursday.
She offered that assessment even before numbers rolled in from the holiday weekend that further cemented a rise in the number of Illinois’ daily cases. State and local officials have said they’re monitoring all the data but haven’t announced major rollbacks to reopening.
Nearly four months into the pandemic, authorities cannot say, with relative certainty, how much and how quickly the virus has spread. Researchers say we don’t have the type of widespread and frequent (and expensive) testing that could best tell us just how deeply the virus has invaded different communities, and whether it’s dying out or coming back.
Here’s some information to help gauge how the state is doing:
Where are we on ‘the curve’?
For months, officials were all about bending the curve, typically defined as slowing the growth in case counts. It took a while, but it happened, to the point that new daily cases dropped even as more people took tests.
That was a great sign the virus was in retreat in Illinois. But now, daily case numbers are slowly rising again. That’s true even when those figures are averaged over seven days, which is a way to smooth out daily ups and downs so overall trends are easier to see.
The average rose from 598 on June 20 to 772 on July 3 — the most recent day an average could be computed from Illinois Department of Public Health figures.
And, if you dig deeper into June’s numbers, it appears they are increasing across the state, which makes this rise different than the first one, which was almost entirely fueled by cases in the Chicago area. As of July 3, nearly as many cases a day were added downstate (202 on average) as in Chicago (217).
Chicago measures its cases differently than the state. (The state counts a confirmed case on the date the test results come back. Chicago counts it on the date the test was taken, no matter how long the results take.) But even Chicago’s own case curve, also based on a seven-day average, shows a small uptick in late June.
How do Illinois cases compare?
Illinois’ boost in cases can leave researchers and officials feeling uneasy. But the state still appears in far better shape than some parts of the country.
One way to compare states is by taking the average number of new cases over seven days and converting that figure into a rate, such as the average per 100,000 residents. (That way, bigger states can be more fairly compared with smaller states.)
By that measure, Illinois’ rate of daily cases — 6.3 per 100,000 residents — puts it among the lower half of states. Ten states have rates above 20. And the worst states, Arizona and Florida, have rates more than six times as high as Illinois'.
These figures were computed with the help of data collected from the COVID Tracking Project, a national volunteer group. A separate compilation, from a coalition of researchers including the Harvard Global Health Institute, shows similar results for Illinois. Those researchers put Illinois in the second best of four groups of states. (That website also offers county case metrics, as does a separate website run by the Illinois Department of Public Health that displays older but more comprehensive data.)
Illinois excels on positivity rate
When case rates jump, a natural question follows: Is it just because we’re testing more? After all, the White House has argued that case figures are up across the country merely because people are taking more tests.
That argument can be addressed by another metric, the positivity rate. In essence, out of everyone tested, it’s the percentage testing positive. (So if 100 people are tested, and 10 test positive, the positivity rate is 10%.)
As a pandemic is brought under control, researchers say the positivity rate should drop even as more people are tested. The World Health Organization recommends a rate below 5% (among other metrics) for a region to consider loosening restrictions on movement. Researchers from the University of Illinois have said a 3% rate or lower suggests a region likely has the spread under control.
Here’s where the recent spikes across the country alarm researchers. Not only are case counts going up, but so is the positivity rate. For example, the states now with the highest rate of new cases — Arizona and Florida — have also seen massive jumps in the proportion of tests coming back positive since May: from 4% to 19% in Florida, and 6% to 26% in Arizona.
But this also is where Illinois stands out, for now. It’s one of 17 states with a positivity rate below the 3% threshold.
And Illinois’ good showing can be found across the state. Downstate Illinois’ positivity rate remains well under 3%, and the suburbs and Chicago have hovered close to 3% since mid-May. In essence, at least in Illinois, case counts have gone up, but the positivity rates have remained flat.
Still, this metric doesn’t end the debate. That’s because testing, in general, is not based on robust, random samples, which — while expensive — could offer more accurate predictions on the virus’s spread.
Illinois officials recognize this. A team from the University of Chicago and Northwestern University has suggested a slimmed-down plan to spot outbreaks sooner by testing small groups continuously, such as women giving birth. The state said it wants to incorporate the concept into a broader testing boost.
But for now, either people choose to get tested or it’s a condition of employment. Both of these factors can obscure the pandemic’s true trends. (Just ask Cass County, the only place pegged as worrisome in a recent state scorecard. Its figures jumped because the residents and workers at a nursing home were tested.)
Hospitalizations level off
Thankfully, most infected people aren’t sick enough to need to be hospitalized. But hospital data offers a consistent barometer of the unlucky number who have.
The state tallies the number of patients each day in a hospital who either have tested positive for the virus or are suspected of having it. The average COVID-19 bed count dropped from a high of 4,822 on May 1 to 1,448 on July 2.
But the way it has dropped has fueled concern. Much like the case data, the trends have begun to flatten in the last couple of weeks.
Northwestern’s Gerardin has access to more detailed and timely state data, as part of her role helping the state develop virus forecasts.
She said last week that some parts of Illinois were showing upticks that, while not severe, concerned her, particularly with the increase in positive tests. That’s because Illinois, even after new cases had dropped considerably, was never really able to squelch the virus so only a handful of cases remained.
“If we saw the same uptick, but we had eight cases and not 800, then I would feel differently,” she said. “A 10% increase from eight cases would not be as alarming as a 10% increase in 800 cases. That’s more transmission from a lot of COVID (cases) than more transmission from a tiny bit of COVID.”
And, when looking at hospitalizations, Illinois does not compare as favorably with other states, at least by one measure. When averaging COVID-19 bed counts in the seven days ending July 5, the most recent comparable data, Illinois is among the highest third of states, even after adjusting for population.
Illinois’ rate, at 11.5 beds occupied per 100,000 residents, is not much lower than those in other states in the headlines now, such as California at 17, though it is still far less than Arizona’s 40. One caveat: Three states haven’t consistently reported hospitalization data, including Florida, which is seeing a major surge in reported cases.
On the other hand, when you look at whether bed counts are going up or down, Illinois is among those showing declines. But this measure by its nature is based in part on older data. (It compares the most recent average of hospital beds used with the average from a week prior.) And we know that, whatever Illinois’ past achievements, its hospitalizations appear to have leveled off.
Still, many other states saw increases last month, including neighboring Missouri, where the figure rose roughly 24% from week to week. Even steeper spikes were seen in 10 other states, including Georgia (42%) and Texas (53%). (Again, Florida is among three states without data to report.)
Comparing the curves
One more way to look at Illinois’ place in the pandemic is to chart its case curve against those of other large states: California, Florida, Pennsylvania, New York and Texas.
Illinois has the country’s sixth-biggest population, and (as noted above) is seeing its rolling average of new cases trend slightly upward. But its case curve has evolved far differently than the other states.
Early in the pandemic, New York was the epicenter of new cases. When New York bent its curve downward, Illinois briefly led this group of states on number of cases, before beginning its own drop.
Three other states, however, couldn’t contain their case growth. By late May, California passed Illinois on average daily count. A week later, so did Texas and, days later, Florida.
Now those three states have average daily case counts more than eight times Illinois’ average cases.
California, Texas and Florida are among the 15 states that Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot cited when she required travelers from those places to quarantine for two weeks, starting Monday.
Ultimately, Illinois’ fate in this pandemic remains murky.
Because of the lag time between someone getting infected, then tested, then receiving lab results and (potentially) becoming ill enough to be hospitalized, Gerardin said Thursday that the statistical upticks Illinois is seeing now may be attributed to the tail end of the third phase of reopening, with even more, yet-to-be-recorded cases likely resulting from the eased restrictions in phase four.
When asked if there was reason for concern, she offered a quick and resolute answer: “absolutely.”
“The big picture is that we’re not out of the woods,” she said.
jmahr@chicagotribune.com
jsberlin@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-07-07--Coronavirus in Illinois updates: 614 new COVID-19 cases and 6 additional fatalities reported; Chicag

Coronavirus in Illinois updates: 614 new COVID-19 cases and 6 additional fatalities reported; Chicago fines businesses for violating social distancing rules, shuts down party boat

The Centers for Disease Control still recommends that people wear cloth face coverings when they are in public and around @ @ @ @ @ with , particularly when it ’ s difficult to stay at least 6 feet from @ @ @ @ @ outdoors .
Following the guidelines helps to stop the spread of the coronavirus , which @ @ @ @ @ inhalation of droplets from an infected person , the CDC warns .

We have lifted the paywall on this story. To support essential reporting, please consider becoming a subscriber .
The Fulton Market area of Chicago is no longer the ghost town it was during the depths of the COVID-19 virus pandemic shutdown. As restrictions on restaurants are eased, a worker takes a woman's temperature before she can enter Federales restaurant on Morgan Street on July 1, 2020. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)
The city of Chicago fined five businesses for violating social distancing rules aimed at curbing the coronavirus over the weekend and also shut down the operator of a Lake Michigan party boat.
The measures followed threats Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot made on Friday to shut down bars that violated restrictions during a conference call with hundreds of local business owners.
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On Monday, Lightfoot’s order requiring people who have spent more than 24 hours in 15 high-risk states to self-quarantine for 14 days after entering Chicago went into effect. The states are Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Nevada, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Utah.
Health officials said there are no plans to enforce the order. The city will rely largely on signs posted along highways and at the two airports.
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Illinois health officials Monday reported 614 new known cases of COVID-19 and 6 additional confirmed fatalities, bringing the total number of known cases to 147,865 and the confirmed death toll to 7,026.
[ How to assess your COVID-19 risk when going out in public: Use this chart ]
[ Phase four of Illinois’s COVID-19 reopening: Settle in, folks, we may be here a while ]
[ Illinois enters phase 4 of reopening plan. Here’s a guide to what’s allowed. ]
[ COVID-19 cases in Illinois by ZIP code: Search for your neighborhood ]
Here’s what’s happening Monday regarding COVID-19 in the Chicago area and Illinois:
8:17 p.m.: Health officials fear Fourth of July crowds could fuel worsening COVID-19 outbreak in US
Hospitals rapidly approached capacity across the Sunbelt, and the Miami area closed restaurants and gyms again because of the surging coronavirus Monday, as the U.S. emerged from a Fourth of July weekend of picnics, pool parties and beach outings that health officials fear could fuel the rapidly worsening outbreak.
The seesaw effect — restrictions lifted, then reimposed — has been seen around the country in recent weeks and is expected again after a holiday that saw crowds of people celebrating, many without masks.
“We were concerned before the weekend and remain concerned post-holiday, as anecdotal stories and observed behavior indicate that many continue to disregard important protective guidance,” said Heather Woolwine, a spokeswoman for the Medical University of South Carolina.
Confirmed cases are on the rise in 41 out of 50 states plus the District of Columbia, and the percentage of tests coming back positive for the virus is increasing in 39 states.
Read more here. —Associated Press
7:45 p.m.: Here’s what to know about sex and dating in phase four
In March, we got real. We talked about how we knew you all were having a lot of quarantine sex even though you were supposed to be social distancing (because what else was there to do after watching Tiger King?). And the best part? The experts weren’t even mad about it.
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“If you have someone you’re quarantined with — your spouse, your partner, or whoever — I don’t think there is any problem with having sex because you’re face-to-face all day anyway,” Dr. Lauren Streicher, founder and medical director of the Northwestern Medicine Center for Sexual Medicine and Menopause, said in March.
But there are always a few who don’t follow the rules.
Everlywell, maker of at-home lab testing kits, recently conducted a national survey examining the sexual behaviors of young adults in the U.S. during quarantine after seeing an “explosion” in sales of its at-home sexually transmitted disease tests.
Of the young adults surveyed in Chicago, 53% broke quarantine to have a sexual encounter compared with 25% of the respondents in Los Angeles and 17% in New York City. These three cities made up nearly a third of the more than 500 people ages 20-31 who were surveyed across the United States. The survey asked about their sexual behavior between April 2-30.
Now, more than three months later, many lockdown restrictions have lifted and we’re settling into a new phase. Naturally, more people will want to date and have sex, and with this comes new questions on how to navigate those safely.
Read more here. —Christen A. Johnson
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6:57 p.m.: New ICE guidelines say international students must leave US if their school offers classes entirely online
International students will be forced to leave the U.S. or transfer to another college if their schools offer classes entirely online this fall, under new guidelines issued Monday by federal immigration authorities.
The guidelines, issued by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, provide additional pressure for universities to reopen even amid growing concerns about the recent spread of COVID-19 among young adults. Colleges received the guidance the same day that some institutions, including Harvard University, announced that all instruction will be offered remotely.
President Donald Trump has insisted that schools and colleges return to in-person instruction as soon as possible. Soon after the guidance was released, Trump repeated on Twitter that schools must reopen this fall, adding that Democrats want to keep schools closed “for political reasons, not for health reasons.”
“They think it will help them in November. Wrong, the people get it!” Trump wrote.
Under the updated rules, international students must take at least some of their classes in person. New visas will not be issued to students at schools or programs that are entirely online. And even at colleges offering a mix of in-person and online courses this fall, international students will be barred from taking all their classes online.
It creates an urgent dilemma for thousands of international students who became stranded in the U.S. last spring after the coronavirus forced their schools to move online. Those attending schools that are staying online must “depart the country or take other measures, such as transferring to a school with in-person instruction,” according to the guidance.
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The American Council on Education, which represents university presidents, said the guidelines are “horrifying” and will result in confusion as schools look for ways to reopen safely.
Read more here. —Associated Press
6:05 p.m.: Ordinance to require more COVID-19 help for residents of large Chicago senior buildings sent to City Council for vote
In March, 75-year-old Davetta Brooks became worried when staff at her Chicago senior apartment building did not wear masks or gloves.
That was around the same time Gov. J.B. Pritzker issued a stay-at-home order to guard against the spread of COVID-19. Brooks soon heard that staff members had been diagnosed with the coronavirus.
“No type of wellness tests or testing came after that,” Brooks said Monday at a City Council hearing. “We were just left to fend for ourselves.”
Brooks shared her experience with members of the Committee on Health and Human Relations. The committee recommended Monday the full council approve an ordinance aimed at protecting residents of buildings for older Chicagoans from the pandemic.
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“It pains me to know that you all know and the management knew the impact of this COVID-19 on seniors,” Brooks told committee members. “Some of this could’ve been prevented. … We don’t know what’s going on. All we hear are the ambulances.”
Read more here. —Sydney Czyzon
5:15 p.m.: Snapshot of reopening in Naperville: Alfresco dining popular, few walkers downtown wearing masks
The atmosphere in downtown Naperville the Thursday heading into the July 4 long weekend appeared relaxed and untroubled, not unlike a typical weekend evening in the city’s central business district.
People dined alfresco with groups of friends as masked servers and hosts greeted them, though rarely were the faces of those walking around on downtown sidewalks and the Riverwalk path covered with masks despite the coronavirus pandemic.
The Centers for Disease Control still recommends that people wear cloth face coverings when they are in public and around people they do not live with, particularly when it’s difficult to stay at least 6 feet from others, whether inside or outdoors. Following the guidelines helps to stop the spread of the coronavirus, which can be spread through the inhalation of droplets from an infected person, the CDC warns.
Naperville and other Illinois towns are in the fourth of a five-phased Restore Illinois plan, which allows indoor and outdoor seating under restrictions at restaurants and bars, gatherings up to 50 people, and some reopening of movie theaters, zoos and museums.
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Restaurants and bars throughout Naperville’s downtown offered varying degrees of precautions to ensure employees and patrons are safe and healthy.
Read more here. —Erin Hegarty
4:11 p.m.: Beaches won’t open ‘any time soon,' Lightfoot says
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Monday said the city’s beaches won’t be opening up “any time soon” due to coronavirus concerns.
”We don’t see the beaches opening up any time soon,” she said at an unrelated news conference.
Beaches and swimming pools are ripe for congregate gathering and not social distancing, Lightfoot said, and the city’s not going to take steps that could “tip us backwards.”
—Gregory Pratt
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4:04 p.m.: From museums and restaurants to law firms and supermarkets, thousands of Chicago-area business got PPP loans worth $1 million or more
The Small Business Administration released the names Monday of businesses approved for federal payroll protection loans, and there are a lot of prominent Chicago-area companies that made the list.
From museums and restaurants to law firms and supermarkets, nearly 4,000 Illinois businesses and nonprofits were approved for PPP loans worth $1 million or more, according to SBA data, which was published online.
The Brookfield Zoo, Cubs’ sponsor Sloan Valve, Willow Creek Church and Baird & Warner are among the 255 Illinois organizations with PPP loans between $5 million and $10 million — the most allowed under the program.
Other well-known Chicago-area companies approved for at least $1 million in PPP loans include Rosebud Restaurants, Pete’s Fresh Market, Steppenwolf Theatre and Encyclopaedia Britannica.
Read more here. —Robert Channick
[ 27,412 Illinois companies got PPP loans of more than $150,000: Search our database ]
2:40 p.m. (updated 3:35 p.m.): 614 new known COVID-19 cases, 6 additional fatalities
Illinois announced six new deaths from COVID-19 on Monday and 614 new confirmed cases. Additionally, the state announced 21,134 new test results.
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Two Chicago-area counties hit or passed milestones Monday: Lake County with 10,007 confirmed cases and Kendall County with 1,000.
Comparing cases per capita, the city of Chicago is higher than suburban counties, with 1,983 cases per 100,000 people. Suburban Cook with 1,581, Kane with 1,474 and Lake with 1,428 are the next highest. The lowest are McHenry with 687 cases per 100,000 people, Kendall with 782 and DuPage with 1,008.
—Chicago Tribune staff
2:37 p.m.: After threats from Lightfoot over social distancing, Chicago fines five businesses and shuts down party boat
The city of Chicago fined five businesses for violating social distancing rules aimed at curbing the coronavirus over the weekend and also shut down the operator of a Lake Michigan party boat.
The measures followed threats Mayor Lori Lightfoot made on Friday to shut down bars that violated restrictions during a conference call with hundreds of local business owners.
The Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection issued 10 citations to five businesses “for failing to maintain social distancing over the weekend.”
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But a city spokesman said “the majority of businesses heeded the warnings issued last week.”
”I think they got the message,” Lightfoot said on Monday during an unrelated news conference.
Read more here. —Gregory Pratt
2:18 p.m.: Woman charged with battery after altercation over wearing mask at Home Depot in McHenry, police say
A woman involved in a dispute over facial coverings at Home Depot in far northwest suburban McHenry was charged with misdemeanor battery, police said Monday.
The dispute was over a mask intended to be used to prevent spread of the coronavirus, police said, and occurred after one woman took off her mask and the other was not comfortable with that, said Officer Patrick Polidori, a McHenry police spokesman.
Read more here. —Robert McCoppin
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12:29 p.m.: Chicago police superintendent addresses recruits
Standing in front of a group of Chicago police recruits, Superintendent David Brown wanted to ensure that the soon-to-be police officers understood the gravity and importance of their chosen career.
“This country needs you,” he said, pointing to the crowd.
Brown addressed the recruits Monday morning at the Police Academy at 1300 W. Jackson Blvd. The recruits resumed their training at the facility this week with social distancing and safety precautions in place.
In March, CPD canceled all of the training at the academy in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, sending more than 200 recruits to other police facilities to help distribute shipments of tens of thousands of bottles of hand sanitizer and hand wipes, and disinfect the inside of squad cars.
Brown lauded the recruits for choosing to protect and serve during a time where law enforcement officers are under “hyper scrutiny.”
”No one would volunteer to make a split-second decision, and if it’s wrong, risk being fired and prosecuted. No one raises their hand and volunteers for that except for the few brave and courageous people like you,” Brown said in his remarks.
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”If no one else says it, your superintendent told you ‘thank you.’ I appreciate your coming into the profession.”
Brown reassured the recruits that despite the groundswell of criticism law enforcement have received, their service is needed now more than ever. And he had one piece of advice for the recruits: to keep their non-police friends.
”They keep you normal,” he said. “If you don’t, you are likely to start thinking the world is like everything you experience on a 911 call or an arrest, or a protest ... that’s a small slice of the world’s opinion.”
Brown ended his remarks by encouraging the recruits to “stay humble, stay human, and use their discretion.”
”And you stay alive young lady, young man, you stay alive and make it home to your family,” he told them.
—Javonte Anderson
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11:18 a.m.: Treasury identifies 650,000 small businesses that received Paycheck Protection Program loans
The Treasury Department on Monday released the names of more than 650,000 companies that received funds from the government's small business lending program, a massive effort intended to support the economy as states shut down in April to contain the viral outbreak.
Treasury identified just a fraction of the total borrowers, naming only those companies that got more than $150,000. Those firms made up less than 15% of the nearly 5 million small companies that received loans.
The average loan amount for the entire program was $107,000, the Treasury Department said in a broad summary of the program. The government handed out $521 billion through the paycheck protection program, a crucial piece of the government’s $2 trillion rescue package. The loans can be forgiven if the businesses mostly use the money to continue paying their workers.
Read more here. —Associated Press
11:06 a.m.: 239 experts with 1 big claim: The coronavirus is airborne
The coronavirus is finding new victims worldwide, in bars and restaurants, offices, markets and casinos, giving rise to frightening clusters of infection that increasingly confirm what many scientists have been saying for months: The virus lingers in the air indoors, infecting those nearby.
If airborne transmission is a significant factor in the pandemic, especially in crowded spaces with poor ventilation, the consequences for containment will be significant. Masks may be needed indoors, even in socially distant settings. Health care workers may need N95 masks that filter out even the smallest respiratory droplets as they care for coronavirus patients.
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Ventilation systems in schools, nursing homes, residences and businesses may need to minimize recirculating air and add powerful new filters. Ultraviolet lights may be needed to kill viral particles floating in tiny droplets indoors.
Read more here. —The New York Times
9:38 a.m.: COVID-19 is hastening a cash-free culture. People ‘don’t want to have to touch anything.’
On a typical Sunday, patrons at Julien Cornu’s cheese shop used to load up on Camembert and chèvre for the week, with about half the customers digging into their pockets for euro notes and coins.
But in the era of the coronavirus, cash is no longer à la mode at La Fromagerie, as social distancing requirements and concerns over hygiene prompt nearly everyone who walks through his door to pay with plastic.
“People are using cards and contactless payments because they don’t want to have to touch anything,” Cornu said, as a line of mask-wearing shoppers stood 3 feet apart before approaching the register and swiping contactless cards over a reader.
While cash is still accepted, even older shoppers — his toughest clientele when it comes to adopting digital habits — are voluntarily making the switch.
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Read more here. —The New York Times
7:21 a.m.: Lobbyists tied to Trump helped clients secure more than $10 billion in COVID-19 federal aid, report says
Forty lobbyists with ties to President Donald Trump helped clients secure more than $10 billion in federal coronavirus aid, among them five former administration officials whose work potentially violates Trump's own ethics policy, according to a report.
The lobbyists identified Monday by the watchdog group Public Citizen either worked in the Trump executive branch, served on his campaign, were part of the committee that raised money for inaugural festivities or were part of his presidential transition. Many are donors to Trump’s campaigns, and some are prolific fundraisers for his reelection.
Read more here. —Associated Press
6:45 a.m.: Chicago Police Training Academy reopens following coronavirus shutdown
The Chicago Police Department was scheduled to reopen its Training Academy on Monday, “with social distancing and safety precautions in place,” according to a news release from the department.
Police Superintendent David Brown was scheduled to greet police recruits at the academy, 1300 W. Jackson Blvd., Monday morning with Chief of Detectives Chief Brendan Deenihan. The academy has been closed since the coronavirus shutdown in March,
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After meeting with recruits Brown was scheduled to speak to reporters about violence over the July Fourth holiday weekend. — Chicago Tribune staff
6 a.m.: Long imprisoned, man wins early release amid pandemic, but efforts to clear his name continue
Nearly 23 years after the fateful night that he lost his freedom, Antonio McDowell walked out of a state prison last month a free man eager to put his past behind him and committed to proving he was wrongfully convicted.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker commuted McDowell’s sentence to time served June 22 in another round of executive clemency decisions amid the coronavirus pandemic. Since March, the governor has either pardoned or commuted the prison sentences of 33 men and women convicted of crimes that date to 1978 and range from cannabis possession to murder.
In an emergency clemency petition to the governor in early April, McDowell’s legal team at the Exoneration Project in Chicago cited the mushrooming allegations against former Chicago Detective Reynaldo Guevara, who has been accused by more than four dozen people of manipulating witnesses, fabricating evidence and framing suspects in predominantly Hispanic West Side neighborhoods in the 1980s and 1990s, to bolster their argument that McDowell is innocent.
They also argued his continued confinement was akin to a death sentence given an autoimmune disorder that affects his ability to breathe. At least 13 Illinois inmates have died since March of COVID-19 complications, including 12 at Stateville Correctional Center, where McDowell was housed.
Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx did not object to his possible release, based on his medical condition, but prosecutors still maintain evidence points to his guilt. Read more here. — Christy Gutowski
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Here are five things that happened this weekend related to coronavirus in Illinois: