chicagotribune--2020-11-15--Lost in translation: How language barriers can add anguish and complicate care for COVID-19 patients

Lost in translation: How language barriers can add anguish and complicate care for COVID-19 patients who don’t speak English

Hospitals use a variety of interpretation services to communicate with patients who speak different languages , including Spanish , Mandarin @ @ @ @ @ Russian , Korean , Arabic , Urdu and Hindi .
Many have certified interpreters on @ @ @ @ @ members who have tags that say they speak a specific language .
But depending on @ @ @ @ @ an in-person interpreter might not be available , and the patient may have to wait @ @ @ @ @ located .
Hospitals also use phone and video translation options .
Patients also have turned @ @ @ @ @ for help , often younger ones .

Even though Rodolfo Reyes' partner died of COVID-19 complications more than six months ago, he still buys her flowers almost every day.
Her remains are in a small off-white urn on the kitchen counter he turned into an altar. It is surrounded by some of her favorite red and white roses, and votive candles.
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“I think about her every single day, and I still can’t believe she is gone forever,” said Reyes in Spanish as he stared into the distance while sitting on a chair in the small dining room of the Little Village basement apartment he once shared with his life partner.
Rodolfo Reyes, 46, who lost his partner, Maria Isabel Alfaro, to COVID-19, has created a small memorial around her ashes at home in Little Village. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune)
Reyes promised her family that he would take care of her until her last breath. And he did, but he couldn’t save her from the deadly virus that has taken the lives of more than a million people across the globe.
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But his deepest pain, he said, is knowing that she died alone, unable to communicate with him, or anyone for that matter.
Maria Isabel Alfaro was 50. She did not speak English, and before her death, she shared the anguish and desperation she felt because she wasn’t able to understand or communicate with the medical staff, Reyes said.
[ Las barreras del idioma crean angustia y complican la atención a pacientes con covid-19 que no hablan inglés ]
Although the medical staff at the Chicago hospital where Alfaro was hospitalized provided interpreters when possible, “it wasn’t enough,” he said.
Reyes worries that his partner couldn’t communicate something that could have saved her life.
Patients, community leaders and health officials say language barriers are “an added burden” to those suffering from COVID-19 and their loved ones. They recognize the lack of bilingual medical staff and prevention resources in Spanish influenced the way the virus harshly hit the Latino community in Chicago and across the nation.
A small memorial with the urn of Maria Isabel Alfaro's ashes at the home of Rodolfo Reyes on Sept. 11, 2020. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune)
Facing a second coronavirus surge, hospitals will again see an influx of patients, including many who do not speak or understand English. Approximately 6 in 10 Latino adults have issues communicating with a health care provider due to language and or cultural barriers, according to a 2018 study by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
While officials and hospital staff have mobilized to provide bilingual resources on how the virus spreads, where to get tests and treatment, Pilar Guerrero, an emergency room doctor at Stroger Hospital, says it’s not enough.
“You don’t provide the patient with the ownership of their own health,” Guerrero said about medical staff who are not able to verbally communicate with non-English-speaking patients. “You’re kinda leaving them in the dark.”
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She said challenges go beyond the language barrier in the health care system.
Guerrero believes the messaging around safety and prevention has been culturally insensitive to populations disproportionately hit. Many Latinos are unable to stay home or isolate because they live in multigenerational households. Many don’t have a primary care doctor or health insurance. Recent Illinois Senate Public Health Committee hearings noted the need for more diverse medical staff, implicit bias training and cultural sensitivity to address these realities.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention noted the Latino community is at elevated risk of exposure for reasons including being essential workers, poor access to health care and that 25% live in multigenerational households. The agency also said in June that “The lack of reliable information in Spanish has impeded efforts to combat the spread of the virus in Hispanic communities." A July study in the Annals of Epidemiology journal found that monolingual Spanish speakers are at an elevated risk of getting infected.
In April, the city announced a Racial Equity Rapid Response team to launch a bilingual education campaign and town hall. On Thursday, the city’s stay-at-home advisory noted Black and Latino residents continue to be disproportionately impacted by the pandemic. According to the most recent city statistics, Latinos made up 38% of confirmed COVID-19 cases, despite being 29% of the population. They make up just 16% of those tested for the coronavirus in the city.
As patients with COVID-19 filled the city’s hospitals in the spring, language was “one of the biggest barriers,” said Sara Mirza, a Rush University Medical Center pulmonary disease and critical care medicine specialist. This has forced hospitals to confront interpretation capabilities and, in some cases, innovate or improve them.
At Northwestern, so many Spanish-speaking patients arrived that the hospital roomed them in the same area, to gather and utilize bilingual staff.
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Hospitals use a variety of interpretation services to communicate with patients who speak different languages, including Spanish, Mandarin, Cantonese, Polish, Russian, Korean, Arabic, Urdu and Hindi. Many have certified interpreters on staff or turn to staff members who have tags that say they speak a specific language. But depending on when a patient arrives, an in-person interpreter might not be available, and the patient may have to wait for care until one is located. Hospitals also use phone and video translation options. Patients also have turned to an English-speaking family member for help, often younger ones.
“I think about her every single day, and I still can’t believe she is gone forever,” said Rodolfo Reyes about his life partner, Maria Isabel Alfaro, who died of COVID-19 in April. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune)
When Reyes' partner became ill in March, the family was unclear about how to obtain information about her condition, despite calling and asking for help in Spanish, he said. It would sometimes take hours to get connected to medical staff or an interpreter who spoke Spanish.
“We were desperate to find out what was happening, and we felt impotent because for a few days we didn’t know anything about her and we also couldn’t go to the hospital (to visit),” Alfaro’s older sister Rosa Alfaro said in Spanish. Once they did speak to someone, they had trouble understanding the complex medical terminology, she said.
Distressed, Rosa Alfaro turned to her daughter, Janet Garcia, 26, for help. She speaks English and had served as her mother’s translator at school and at doctor visits.
Garcia, who lives in Tennessee, was designated the point of contact and called the hospital every day, sometimes multiple times a day, to ask about her aunt.
She would record every single call and take notes before calling her uncle and other family members.
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“I was afraid that I was going to miss something or tell my family the wrong information,” Garcia said. “I was terrified that if something bad happened to my aunt, it was going to be my fault."
Her aunt died on April 27. Garcia got the call from the hospital and shortly after broke the news to Reyes and the rest of the family.
“It was traumatic and painful,” she said.
Through the pandemic, children of immigrants who do not speak English continue to be the ones responsible for translating COVID-19 information to their parents, said Nury Ortega, president of Friends of Spry, an organization of Spanish-speaking parents founded at Little Village’s John Spry Community School.
Members who speak English began acting as advocates for those who don’t. They have since focused on sharing information in Spanish about COVID-19 prevention and care for patients who contract the virus.
“I have seen firsthand the frustration at the lack of, or insensitive information, about COVID-19 in our language and specifically keeping in mind the way our community lives,” Ortega said.
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Ortega criticized the response from the federal and local government to the pandemic and the initial lack of bilingual information.
“If our government doesn’t change the system that continues to abandon low-income, Spanish-speaking immigrant communities, we will always be left behind,” Ortega added. “We have been isolated, and we will continue to be isolated because of our language, the lack of health insurance, our immigration status and the color of our skin.”
Rosalio and Maria Espinoza with their children Elvin, 12, left, and Johnny, 6, at home in Chicago on Sept. 11, 2020. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune)
After refusing to go to the hospital for more than a week with COVID-19 symptoms in late April, Rosalio Espinoza, 57, a father of six, couldn’t resist anymore.
His 15-year-old daughter, Olivia Espinoza, called 911 after he had trouble breathing and then helped to translate when the paramedics arrived at their home in Little Village.
His wife, Maria Espinoza, begged the paramedics to let her go with him, but they said no, so she gave her husband the only cellphone they had.
For the first three days, Rosalio Espinoza would answer his family’s phone calls to let them know he was alive, he said. Suddenly, the phone calls wouldn’t go through anymore, his wife recalled. The phone battery had died.
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“I felt a deep anguish, and I asked my daughter to please call the hospital, but she told me she didn’t feel capable of doing it because she couldn’t understand what the doctors were saying,” Maria Espinoza said in Spanish.
Olivia Espinoza, 15, daughter of Rosalio and Maria Espinoza, attends online classes in the kitchen at their home in Chicago on Sept. 11, 2020. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune)
Rosalio Espinoza said he tried to focus on “trusting that doctors knew what they were doing."
“I just prayed that I would get better to see my children again,” he said.
When he was finally discharged a week later, despite getting the aftercare instructions in Spanish, all he understood was that he had to continue taking medicine, he said.
Eileen Johnson, Northwestern’s manager of interpretation services, said with a virus so little understood, clear communication has been vital. Especially during end-of-life conversations, she said, having a human presence is important.
“It’s really comforting to our patients and their families,” she said.
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At Sinai Health System, which serves predominantly Latino communities on the Southwest and West sides, there are 30 caregivers who are bilingual and bicultural professionals, said Raul Garcia, the director of community relations. They include interpreters, social workers, community health workers, family case managers and mental health professionals.
Despite the high number of infections, Garcia believes the help with translation has been sufficient, “but if we had more, it would be much better,” he said.
At Rush, staffers have treated COVID-19 patients speaking an estimated 60 languages. As a doctor who speaks multiple languages, Mirza knows the look of relief on patients' faces when they realize she speaks Urdu.
But she also knows the challenges when a language isn’t shared. One patient, for example, thought doctors were saying the patient was about to die. Instead, doctors were communicating that the patient would be put on a ventilator.
People might nod as if they understand, Mirza said, but once an interpreter is involved, they share more detail about their condition.
The Joint Commission, which offers accreditation to hospitals, requires hospitals to have interpretation services and provide information tailored to a patient’s language. This can include staffers or translation through phone or video.
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But first, patients must know they have this option. Hospitals vary on how they make clear to patients their language options. At Edward-Elmhurst Health system, staffers wear tags saying what languages they speak. At Advocate Health Care, each patient is asked whether they need an interpreter.
Guerrero said that while some patients are not comfortable communicating their symptoms through a third party, having someone who speaks their language still brings some level of comfort. “If they speak Spanish, it gives the patients ... a sense of security that even though it’s an unprecedented time, they are going to get them the help they need.”
In the neighboring town of Cicero, Irene Romulo made sure the community had information about COVID-19 in Spanish.
Residents turned to her publication, Cicero Independiente, which publishes articles in Spanish and English, to learn about the virus, where to get tested and where to get help. The publication has a number of stories that highlight the unique struggles of the Latino community.
In April, after her grandfather died of COVID-19 complications, Romulo wrote an editorial: No, It’s Not that Latinx People Don’t Care, It’s Our Governments That Don’t. It was a response to public officials suggesting that Latinos were being disproportionally affected by the virus because they were careless, she said.
“As a country, as a town, we could have been more prepared for this; to address the systematic factors that lead to this," Romulo said.
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“We shouldn’t have to wait for a pandemic to hit to realize how crucial it is to have resources and medical staff that speak Spanish."
larodriguez@chicagotribune.com
abowen@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-11-15--Bullied, badgered, publicly scorned: Suburban school boards feel the heat — and the hate — as they w

Bullied, badgered, publicly scorned: Suburban school boards feel the heat — and the hate — as they weigh COVID-19 school closings

“ People care about their kids , and we may not always agree , but I have to be responsible @ @ @ @ @ the data , ” Begley said , adding : “ I ’ ve been viciously @ @ @ @ @ , ‘ Who the hell do you think you are telling me what my child @ @ @ @ @ just don ’ t think they get it that it ’ s not just about @ @ @ @ @ we ’ re making decisions for all 3,000 children of Deerfield . ''

When Brad Paulsen heads out on his regular walks through his Wheaton neighborhood these days, he dons his face mask, pulls on a golf cap and keeps his fingers crossed he will remain incognito.
Paulsen, an architect, father of two and school board president in Community Unit School District 200, is not typically antisocial. But since the district’s decision Wednesday that surging COVID-19 rates demanded a return to remote learning at the district’s middle schools and high schools, Paulsen has been bombarded with angry email messages from parents. One suggested if a student were to die by suicide, Paulsen and the school board would be to blame.
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Just a few weeks earlier, when schools reopened for in-person instruction, Paulsen’s LinkedIn account was hit with a menacing message from an anonymous sender warning if their relative, a District 200 teacher, died from COVID-19, it would be Paulsen’s fault.
Social media rants lambasting the superintendent and the school board are even worse, he says, especially when the ballistic comments are posted by parents in his own neighborhood.
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“I’m up for reelection in the spring, and people are saying, ‘We’re going to vote you out; you don’t believe in kids,' which has been really emotionally difficult for me, because I’m a volunteer, and all I wanted to do is make the school district better for kids, and give back to the community," Paulsen said.
While some parents, like these in Elmhurst, have rallied in favor of open schools, in other districts parents have written scolding emails to board members or publicly shamed them, board members said. But districts are also under sometimes equal pressure to keep schools closed. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)
Now, as the latest deadly surge of the virus is breaking records across the Chicago region, local school board members like Paulsen are being targeted by frustrated parents in towns including Wheaton, Deerfield and Naperville who are demanding that schools reopen and contending that the virus itself is far less dangerous to their kids than the devastating impact of shuttered schools.
While some parents have gone out of their way to show support and appreciation for their work, school board members are also getting pressure from teachers unions who feel in-person instruction places their members’ and members' families' health at risk.
“Parents are really interested in keeping students back in school, and the administration and school board seems to be doing everything they can to keep students out of school,” said Deerfield resident James D’Angelo, a father of two children.
“Deerfield (School District 109) has been one of the holdouts, even though (most) parents are in favor of reopening schools,” D’Angelo said. “But what’s different about us from our neighboring communities?”
Though elementary school districts in Wilmette and Winnetka still are offering some in-person instruction, several other north suburban districts made the call in recent days to move classes online through mid-January amid the current coronavirus surge.
D’Angelo said he is especially disappointed that buildings were not reopened earlier this fall, when the COVID-19 rates were low.
“We just lost all of that time when everything was relatively safer,” D’Angelo said. “The numbers are going up. But there’s mounting evidence that schools are a safe spot, where kids are following all of the rules. When everything’s remote, the kids are spending a lot of time hanging out with friends, without masks, which is much riskier.”
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In October, the Addison Teachers' Association held a rally seeking a return to remote learning. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)
Libertyville resident Evan Williamson said his mounting vexation with the COVID-19-related decisions made by School District 70 has prompted him to run with a slate of like-minded parents for seats on the school board in the April 2021 local elections.
While the district launched a hybrid plan in the past week that includes in-person, half-day instruction for students, Williamson said he remains concerned about the school board’s “flip-flopping.”
“All summer, we were told the plan was to start full steam ahead, but then the board reversed course,” Williamson said. “I’m running for the school board because I think parents should have had a choice. I’ve spent a lot of time gathering information, and the data and analytics pretty clearly articulate there is a low risk to the safety of students and teachers in schools."
Short of a state-ordered shutdown such as the one Gov. J.B. Pritzker issued in March, decisions related to school reopenings and closings are in the hands of local elected officials, alongside more mundane matters, including passing budgets, signing transportation contracts and purchasing laptops, said Ben Schwarm, deputy director of the Illinois Association of School Boards.
Naperville Central High School student athlete Ethan Pytlak, 16, center, departs with his family after speaking outside the DuPage County courthouse in October. A lawsuit was filed against the Illinois High School Association to reinstate athletics following COVID-19 restrictions. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)
Unlike some elected village or township board members, Schwarm said those who serve on school boards rarely view their position as a stepping stone to future political aspirations.
On the contrary, the state’s 6,000 school board members serving at 850 school districts across Illinois are by and large parents and other community residents who are already enthusiastic volunteers at their neighborhood schools and take on the role as a civic responsibility.
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And while issues such as attendance boundaries changes can certainly become heated, Schwarm said the pandemic marks the first time in recent U.S. history that local boards of education have been tasked with decisions of this magnitude.
“School board members are in a tough spot, and while it’s understandable that parents and teachers are voicing their opinions and having rallies, things can become really uneasy as the tensions escalate, especially with the whole social media aspect,” Schwarm said.
Some school board members have been so traumatized by the turmoil that they might opt out of running for another term, he said, while others may find their reelection bids are thwarted by newcomers.
“I think in the coming year, we’re going to see a lot of school board member turnover, and a fair amount of superintendents leaving, too, especially those who did not see eye-to-eye with the board,” Schwarm said.
Township High School District 214 board member Bill Dussling, 78, said the job has always been fraught with challenges, from facing the wrath of parents over the cancellation of a high school show choir to fending off a conservative group’s attempts in 2006 to ban classic American novels they considered too risqué for teenage readers.
But nothing in his more than two decades of service can compare to the critical decisions the Vietnam War veteran and his fellow school board members are making in the wake of the pandemic.
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“It’s a real struggle, because everyone — the school board, the superintendent, educators, parents and students — we all want kids to be back in school, but we have to look at the science, and follow the directions of the governor and the department of health,” Dussling said.
“People have come to the board meetings and gotten really vocal, and sometimes, even mean, but you can’t take it personally,” Dussling said. “Parents are stressed out, and they’re trying to care for their children while working out of the house. ... I feel sorry for them. I am just trying to stay positive, and hope the end of this will come very soon, and we can get a vaccine out to the people and get this behind us.”
After enduring the rage of those in the community who are critical of his positions on COVID-19-related school issues, Nick Begley, Deerfield School District 109 board president, said he has come to the conclusion that “there is not only no easy answer, quite frankly, there is not an answer.”
“A decision to reopen schools that may be right for a 24-year-old teacher might not be right for a 55-year-old teacher with a heart condition,” said Begley, a father of four who has served on the school board for 14 years. “There’s a lot of hyperbole and emotion, and I understand why people are upset. But this is not where any of us want to be.”
Nevertheless, Begley said he does not take the criticism personally, and instead, has become even more determined to lead his hometown school district through these dark times.
“People care about their kids, and we may not always agree, but I have to be responsible and follow the facts and the data,” Begley said, adding: “I’ve been viciously attacked by parents who say, ‘Who the hell do you think you are telling me what my child can do?’ I just don’t think they get it that it’s not just about their child, and that we’re making decisions for all 3,000 children of Deerfield."
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kcullotta@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @kcullotta


chicagotribune--2020-11-15--Boy, 13, questioned after 12-year-old shot in Roseland

A 13-year-old boy was “ handling ” a gun when it discharged , hitting another boy in the chest , @ @ @ @ @ Far South Side home Saturday night , Chicago police said .

Crime scene tape is seen in front of a home in the 700 block of East 105th Place, where a 12-year-old boy was shot on Saturday, Nov. 14, 2020. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune)
Chicago police determined the shooting of a 12-year-old boy Saturday night was accidental, and no charges will be filed against the 13-year-old who was playing with a gun at a home in the Roseland neighborhood on the city’s Far South Side.
The boy who was shot, an eighth grader, was enjoying video games with three other young boys, ages 13, 12 and 6, in an upstairs bedroom of a relative’s home in the 700 block of East 105th Place when the 13-year-old left momentarily and came back holding and “playing with” a .45-caliber blue steel handgun, police said.
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The boy told the 13-year-old not to point it at him and intentionally “bumped” into him to redirect the gun when it fired off, hitting the boy in the chest, according to a police report.
The boy told responding 5th District officers, “The kid with the mohawk shot me,” when they got there and found him sitting in a living room chair, the report said.
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An ambulance left the scene with the boy, who was in serious to critical condition, just after 7:45 p.m., Chicago Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford said.
He was taken to Comer Children’s Hospital, where a doctor treated him for a through-and-through gunshot wound to the right side of the chest, which exited under his right armpit, police said.
The boy’s mother was present at the home when the shooting happened, but it was not clear who the gun, which police confiscated at the scene, belonged to.
The 13-year-old was taken to the Area 2 police station for questioning. But as of Sunday, police determined the shooting was noncriminal and accidental, and no charges will be filed.
rsobol@chicagotribune.com
pfry@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-11-17--Aurora heroin dealer sentenced to 9 years in jail

Pabon must serve at least half the sentence before he is eligible for probation .
He was subject to extended-term @ @ @ @ @ history , which includes convictions for multiple drug and gun offenses , officials said .
@ @ @ @ @ days he spent in the Kane County jail .

An Aurora man was sentenced to nine years in prison for dealing heroin, officials said.
Jose A. Pabon, 51, of the 1400 block of South Glen Circle, was sentenced last week after he was convicted in September of possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver, unlawful delivery of a controlled substance and possession of heroin, court records show.
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Jose A. Pabon, 51, of Aurora - Original Credit: (Kane County States Attorney / HANDOUT)
Prosecutors alleged that Kane County detectives and Drug Enforcement Agency agents were investigating suspected drug sales on Nov. 7, 2016. Officials reported seeing Pabon sell .9 grams of heroin in a business parking lot in the 600 block of Montgomery Road in Montgomery, according to a news release from the Kane County state’s attorney’s office.
After Pabon drove away, officers followed and stopped him, finding 4.2 grams of heroin, officials said.
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Pabon must serve at least half the sentence before he is eligible for probation. He was subject to extended-term sentencing because of his criminal history, which includes convictions for multiple drug and gun offenses, officials said. He received credit for 70 days he spent in the Kane County jail.
mejones@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-11-17--Workers threaten to strike at 11 nursing homes in Illinois next week if wages and pandemic hazard pa

Workers threaten to strike at 11 nursing homes in Illinois next week if wages and pandemic hazard pay don’t increase

Statewide , nursing home residents have accounted for more than half of all deaths of people with COVID .
Union @ @ @ @ @ that if they go on strike , their patients would be cared for by managers @ @ @ @ @ but put the responsibility on Infinity to provide them with living wages and adequate protective @ @ @ @ @ expired June 1 .

Workers at 11 nursing homes in Illinois are threatening to go on strike next week unless they are given raises comparable to other long-term care workers in the state.
Nearly 700 members of SEIU Healthcare Illinois Indiana, part of the Service Employees International Union, voted to strike on Nov. 23 if Infinity Healthcare Management doesn’t meet their demands for higher base pay and pandemic hazard pay. Strike notices were delivered Thursday, the union said.
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Most of the workers are women, and many of them are Black or Hispanic.
Most of the 11 homes that would be affected by a strike are in the Chicago area. They include City View Multicare Center in Cicero, which had 249 coronavirus cases, and Niles Nursing & Rehabilitation in Niles, which had 54 COVID-related deaths, the most at any long-term care facility in the state.
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Certified nursing assistants, or CNAs, who do most of the hands-on work with patients at the homes, are seeking a starting rate of $15.50 statewide, while other workers such as housekeepers and laundry workers are seeking $14.50 an hour outside Chicago and $15 an hour in Chicago, union officials said.
Infinity facilities received nearly $13 million in COVID-related economic assistance from the federal CARES Act, the union reported, and are seeking more.
Infinity did not answer multiple calls and emails for comment. In general, nursing home administrators have said they are limited by low Medicaid payments, and need government help to weather the ongoing COVID pandemic.
Last year, state lawmakers increased Medicaid funding for nursing homes by up to $240 million — $70 million of which was targeted to address staffing needs.
Statewide, nursing home residents have accounted for more than half of all deaths of people with COVID. Union workers said they were concerned that if they go on strike, their patients would be cared for by managers and contracted outside workers, but put the responsibility on Infinity to provide them with living wages and adequate protective medical equipment. Their contract expired June 1.
“Front-line workers are heroes,” U.S. Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García said at a news conference Monday with the workers. “We must provide them with the wages, benefits and protection they deserve.”
rmccoppin@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-11-17--Illinois sounds warning again as hospitals pass spring highs for COVID-19 patients

“ This is a moment when the entire nation is seeing record highs in hospitalizations , more than at any @ @ @ @ @ .
That fact is more than a frightening backdrop , because it means that there @ @ @ @ @ to call in as reinforcements from other states , ” Pritzker said at a coronavirus @ @ @ @ @ .
“ It means that out-of-state nurses and nurses ' assistants who signed up to @ @ @ @ @ are busy in their own states .
”

Paca Kujtim of Arlington Heights self-administers a COVID-19 test in his car at the Arlington International Racecourse on March 31, 2021 in Arlington Heights. Kujtim was getting testing as a precaution for upcoming travel. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)
State officials on Monday continued to sound the alarm about rising COVID-19 hospital admissions this month, saying health care workers are being stretched to their limits while hospitals brace for a continued influx of patients.
Illinois had 5,581 people hospitalized for the coronavirus as of Sunday night — a nearly two-thirds increase over the 3,371 reported Nov. 1. The state also has surged past its spring peak set April 28, when 5,037 people were in the hospital for COVID-19.
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Gov. J.B. Pritzker said hospitals in the state could encounter difficulty if they seek “reinforcement” health care workers, because Illinois will be competing for workers with surrounding states that are seeing severe coronavirus surges of their own.
“This is a moment when the entire nation is seeing record highs in hospitalizations, more than at any prior time in this pandemic. That fact is more than a frightening backdrop, because it means that there are no health care workers to call in as reinforcements from other states,” Pritzker said at a coronavirus briefing in Chicago on Monday. “It means that out-of-state nurses and nurses' assistants who signed up to support Illinois in the spring are busy in their own states.”
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The number of COVID-19 patients in intensive care is up 58% since Nov. 1, and the number on ventilators is up 72%.
Hospitals are returning to spring strategies, including limiting elective surgeries and adding more beds. On Monday, one of the state’s largest hospital systems, Advocate Aurora Health, said it plans to delay half of its inpatient elective surgeries as the number of COVID-19 patients across Illinois skyrockets.
Cases have remained high too. On Monday, Illinois recorded 11,632 new and probable cases of COVID-19, the 11th consecutive day the count has surpassed 10,000. The state also reported 37 additional deaths of people with COVID-19. The seven-day average number of deaths currently stands at 81, a sharp increase from 41 as of Nov. 1.
To date, the state has reported 585,248 diagnosed and probable cases of COVID-19, and a death toll of 10,779.
The new cases reported Monday come out of a batch of 90,612 tests over the prior 24 hours. The seven-day rolling statewide positivity rate for cases as a share of total tests was 12.5% for the period that ended Sunday, up from 5.1% a month earlier and up from 8% as of Nov. 1.
Pritzker said he’s “taking some glimmer of hope in the idea that the cases that we’ve seen have seemed to flatten for a few days," but tempered that optimism with the possibility it’s a result of weekend-related delays in results.
“We look at everything on a one-week, seven-day rolling average. But I’m always looking for some hope here," he said. "Having said that, we know that over the weekends sometimes we see a moderation of cases and then you come to a Tuesday and you start to see the numbers spike.”
Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike continued to urge people to rethink their Thanksgiving plans and avoid in-person gatherings.
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“We can all see it; things are getting worse. And so those initial plans that you made several months ago, even several weeks ago, they may need to change,” Ezike said. “Do your plans include those who have medical conditions that put them at higher risk? Are some of your intended guests pregnant? You have to be thinking about all of these things before you bring additional people into your home.”
Pritzker himself was vague when asked about his Thanksgiving plans.
Last week, the Pritzker administration began urging people to cancel holiday gatherings and stay home voluntarily for the next three weeks. So far, officials stopped short of issuing a statewide stay-at-home order, the sweeping restriction aimed at curbing the spread of coronavirus that Illinois residents lived under for part of the spring.
That message urged residents to limit “nonessential” trips to public places and to work from home, if possible.
Also Monday, Pritzker said he did not plan to attend an Illinois High School Association board of directors meeting scheduled for Thursday. The association invited the governor’s office and public health staff after it announced last month that high school basketball season would go on a day after Pritzker said winter sports were being put on hold.
Pritzker has suggested schools that flout the state rules could potentially encounter liability issues.
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“We’ll certainly make available our staff for consultation and so on, but I think we’ve all been pretty clear on where we are with regard to winter sports," the governor said. “We relied on the best experts we could to come up with a plan for the winter, and by the way, since then, COVID has gotten a lot worse."
jmunks@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-11-17--Chicago’s health commissioner says there likely won’t be enough vaccine initially, urges people to ‘

Chicago’s health commissioner says there likely won’t be enough vaccine initially, urges people to ‘double down’ on existing methods to fight COVID-19 spread

“ This is a moment when the entire nation is seeing record highs in hospitalizations , more than at any @ @ @ @ @ .
That fact is more than a frightening backdrop , because it means that there @ @ @ @ @ to call in as reinforcements from other states , ” Pritzker said at a coronavirus @ @ @ @ @ .
“ It means that out-of-state nurses and nurses ' assistants who signed up to @ @ @ @ @ , are busy in their own states .
”

Chicago’s health care workers will be first in line to receive coronavirus vaccines but there likely won’t be enough initial doses to go around, the city’s public health commissioner said Monday.
Dr. Allison Arwady said she expects at first Chicago would probably get about 150,000 doses, a figure that would not cover all health care workers in the city.
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“The problem is right at the beginning, there’s not going to be enough vaccine for you and I and friends and family to get it,” Arwady told CNN. “We’ll be starting with health care workers. We’ll be starting with people in long-term care facilities, some of the highest-risk folks.”
When a vaccine is available, health care workers will get it first, Chicago Dept. of Public Health’s Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady says, adding that there won’t be enough for the entire public in the beginning.https://t.co/ojrfTBQ7Cl pic.twitter.com/CYCVV7EMwd — CNN Newsroom (@CNNnewsroom) November 16, 2020
That news came as state officials on Monday continued to sound the alarm about rising COVID-19 hospital admissions this month, saying health care workers are being stretched to their limits while hospitals brace for a continued influx of patients.
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Illinois had 5,581 people hospitalized for the coronavirus as of Sunday night — a nearly two-thirds increase over the 3,371 reported Nov. 1. The state also has surged past its spring peak set April 28, when 5,037 people were in the hospital for COVID-19.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker said hospitals in the state could encounter difficulty if they seek “reinforcement” health care workers, because Illinois will be competing for workers with surrounding states that are seeing severe coronavirus surges of their own.
“This is a moment when the entire nation is seeing record highs in hospitalizations, more than at any prior time in this pandemic. That fact is more than a frightening backdrop, because it means that there are no health care workers to call in as reinforcements from other states,” Pritzker said at a coronavirus briefing in Chicago on Monday. “It means that out-of-state nurses and nurses' assistants who signed up to support Illinois in the spring, are busy in their own states.”
The number of COVID-19 patients in intensive care is up 58% since Nov. 1, and the number on ventilators is up 72%.
Hospitals are returning to spring strategies, including limiting elective surgeries and adding more beds. On Monday, one of the state’s largest hospital systems, Advocate Aurora Health, said it plans to delay half of its inpatient elective surgeries as the number of COVID-19 patients across Illinois skyrockets.
Cases have remained high too. On Monday, Illinois recorded 11,632 new and probable cases of COVID-19, the 11th consecutive day the count has surpassed 10,000. The state also reported 37 additional deaths of people with COVID-19. The seven-day average number of deaths stands at 81, a sharp increase from 41 as of Nov. 1.
At an unrelated news conference, Mayor Lori Lightfoot echoed Arwady and sounded a note of caution about vaccines, saying a mass-produced vaccine won’t be available until sometime deep into next year and most residents won’t see one until mid-2021.
Moderna announced Monday that its COVID-19 vaccine appears to be 94.5% effective, according to preliminary data. Pfizer Inc. previously announced its own vaccine appeared similarly effective, and both companies in the coming weeks could be on track to seek permission for emergency use in the U.S.
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Arwady said that the city could accept “any amount of vaccine” that would be available, but added that it likely would take “a number of months” before the vaccines are widely available.
“Which is why, right now, we need people to double down on the things that we know work — the masking, the social distancing, the staying home when you can, … not having people over to your home, and at least here in Chicago, we have recommended canceling a traditional Thanksgiving,” Arwady said.
Also urging people to avoid in-person Thanksgiving gatherings was Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike.
“We can all see it; things are getting worse. And so those initial plans that you made several months ago, even several weeks ago, they may need to change,” Ezike said. “Do your plans include those who have medical conditions that put them at higher risk? Are some of your intended guests pregnant? You have to be thinking about all of these things before you bring additional people into your home.”
Pritzker himself was vague when asked about his Thanksgiving plans.
Last week, the Pritzker administration began urging people to cancel holiday gatherings and stay home voluntarily for the next three weeks. So far, officials stopped short of issuing a statewide stay-at-home order, the sweeping restriction aimed at curbing the spread of coronavirus that Illinois residents lived under for part of the spring.
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That message urged residents to limit “nonessential” trips to public places and to work from home, if possible.
To date, the state has reported 585,248 diagnosed and probable cases of COVID-19, and a death toll of 10,779.
The new cases reported Monday come out of a batch of 90,612 tests over the prior 24 hours. The seven-day rolling statewide positivity rate for cases as a share of total tests was 12.5% for the period that ended Sunday, up from 5.1% a month earlier and up from 8% as of Nov. 1.
Pritzker said he’s “taking some glimmer of hope in the idea that the cases that we’ve seen have seemed to flatten for a few days,” but tempered that optimism with the possibility it’s a result of weekend-related delays in results.
“We look at everything on a one-week, seven-day rolling average. But I’m always looking for some hope here,” he said. “Having said that, we know that over the weekends sometimes we see a moderation of cases and then you come to a Tuesday and you start to see the numbers spike.”
Also Monday, Pritzker said he did not plan to attend an Illinois High School Association board of directors meeting scheduled for Thursday. The association invited the governor’s office and public health staff after it announced last month that high school basketball season would go on a day after Pritzker said winter sports were being put on hold.
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The Associated Press contributed.
gpratt@chicagotribune.com
jmunks@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-11-17--Man injured at South Side rail yard sues Norfolk Southern, claiming it intentionally puts workers at

Man injured at South Side rail yard sues Norfolk Southern, claiming it intentionally puts workers at risk

“ He ’ s constantly going through pain , he ’ s constantly crying and there ’ s nothing we @ @ @ @ @ , ” she said .
“ All that we can do is to be with @ @ @ @ @ pray with him on a constant basis .
But overall it ’ s totally devastating @ @ @ @ @ our whole world has been ripped apart .
”

A Chicago man severely injured at a South Side rail yard is suing Norfolk Southern, claiming the railway company intentionally puts workers at risk by openly disregarding safety rules.
Ernest Staggers Jr., 31, contends supervisors at the rail yard on East 63rd Street did not offer proper training and regularly instructed workers to ride on heavy equipment used to load rail cars even though it was against company policy.
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Ernest Staggers Jr., before he was hospitalized when a crane rolled over him Sept. 24, 2020, at Norfolk Southern's rail yard on Chicago's South Side. (Family photo provided Herbert Law Firm)
He also says supervisors used code words such as “fried chicken” over walkie-talkies to warn workers when safety directors showed up. His attorney, Dan Herbert, noted that most of the workers at the yard are Black and there about six supervisors who are white.
“I don’t think anyone is alleging that they wanted to see Ernest get hurt, that they wanted to see any of the Black employees get hurt,” Herbert said Monday as the suit was filed. “But the fact remains that they were certainly treated with little disregard because of who they were.
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“They were Black frontmen and they were essentially treated with less care and respect for their safety because they were simply the grunt people,” he said.
In a statement, Norfolk Southern said Stagggers and his supervisors worked for a contractor hired by the rail company. “We adamantly and specifically deny any allegation that our company treated people in a discriminatory or unsafe manner,” it said.
According to the lawsuit, Staggers was climbing on a side loader crane — used to load containers onto rail cars — on Sept. 24 when he slipped, on possibly grease, and fell to the ground. The crane then rolled over him, crushing his pelvic area as he lay screaming in a “sea of blood.”
Staggers was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where he has undergone 16 surgeries and is scheduled to have his leg amputated next week, Herbert said.
His mother, Michelle Staggers, said he was on life support for about three weeks after the accident. A single father who weighs about 130 pounds, Staggers worries that he’ll never be able to work again, she said.
“He’s constantly going through pain, he’s constantly crying and there’s nothing we can do to help him,” she said. “All that we can do is to be with him to support him and pray with him on a constant basis. But overall it’s totally devastating, it’s like our whole world has been ripped apart.”
Herbert said Staggers will have “massive amounts of medical bills” for the rest of his life to pay for ongoing treatment. “We have reached out to the railroad, and essentially the railroad has told us this is not their problem,” he said.
This was the second time Staggers has been injured at the rail yard, according to the lawsuit. On his fourth day on the job, he got six stitches after suffering a gash to his face while unlocking train units.
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Michelle Staggers said the aim of the lawsuit is for the company to recognize the consequences of violating safety rules.
“No parent should ever have to go through this with their child, no loved one should have to go through this with their loved one ever,” she said. “It’s just very, very horrific.”
kelsmith@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @KelliSmithNews


chicagotribune--2020-11-17--The Spin: Pritzker coy on his Thanksgiving plans | U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos tests positive for COVID-1

The Spin: Pritzker coy on his Thanksgiving plans | U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos tests positive for COVID-19 | City’s public health doc says initially there won’t be enough vaccine to go around

Her comments come as Moderna announced today its COVID-19 vaccine is proving highly effective in a major trial , a @ @ @ @ @ the global race for a shot to tame the resurgent virus that is now killing @ @ @ @ @ day worldwide , The Associated Press reports .
A week ago , competitor Pfizer Inc. @ @ @ @ @ similarly effective — news that puts both companies on track to seek permission within weeks @ @ @ @ @ U.S. Bloomberg takes a look at how each of the vaccines stack up .

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker wears a mask during a daily press conference regarding the coronavirus pandemic and other issues Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2020, at the Thompson Center in Chicago. (Erin Hooley/Chicago Tribune) (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune)
Legal weed smokers, pat yourselves on the back: Your efforts may have helped save 350 city of Chicago jobs. Over the weekend, Mayor Lori Lightfoot took the layoffs off the table, with her budget team citing higher-than-expected sales tax revenues on cannabis. It probably, helped, too, that aldermen and public employee unions were pushing back on the job cuts.
The mayor’s working to close a staggering $1.2 billion budget hole in next year’s city government budget — the most controversial proposals had been the layoffs and a property tax hike. The latter is still in play. Lightfoot has had some testy exchanges with aldermen — 26 of whom she needs to approve her 2021 spending plan — that have spilled into the public view and show a seeming lack of trust between the legislative and executive branches.
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Fresh off a reelection victory, U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos, of Moline and representing the state’s 17th Congressional District, is the latest elected leader to test positive for COVID-19. She announced today on Twitter that she was experiencing mild symptoms and was quarantining at home here in Illinois while continuing to work remotely.
And Gov. J.B. Pritzker and the state’s top public health officer, Dr. Ngozi Ezike, have encouraged people to rethink traditional holiday plans that involve large gatherings of people from different households and to stay home and celebrate with those who live under the same roof. But the governor, after saying he was downsizing his own tradition, seemed to get coy about where he is planning to spend the holiday.
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A Chicago resident, he was asked whether he would abide by Mayor Lightfoot’s travel advisory. He initially said he didn’t know the details of the advisory, which asks but does not mandate Chicagoans to forgo nonessential travel.
After some back-and-forth, NBC 5′s Mary Ann Ahern asked whether he’d stay in Chicago. “That is my hope, but I will let you know.”
Welcome to The Spin.
Chicago Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady talks during a news conference with Mayor Lori Lightfoot at City Hall in Chicago on Oct. 19, 2020. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)
From the Tribune’s Gregory Pratt: Chicago’s health care workers will be first in line to receive coronavirus vaccines but there likely won’t be enough initial doses to go around, the city’s public health commissioner, Dr. Allison Arwady, said in an interview with CNN this morning.
She expects Chicago at first would probably get about 150,000 doses, a figure that would not cover all health care workers in the city. Read the full story here.
Her comments come as Moderna announced today its COVID-19 vaccine is proving highly effective in a major trial, a second ray of hope in the global race for a shot to tame the resurgent virus that is now killing more than 8,000 people a day worldwide, The Associated Press reports. A week ago, competitor Pfizer Inc. announced its own vaccine appeared similarly effective — news that puts both companies on track to seek permission within weeks for emergency use in the U.S. Bloomberg takes a look at how each of the vaccines stack up.
Last month, Pritzker said the first doses of the vaccine would be given to front-line health care workers, first responders who treat COVID-19 patients, as well as the staff and residents in long-term care facilities. Read the NBC 5 story here.
Timing: Today, Mayor Lightfoot said at an unrelated news conference that the public shouldn’t expect to see a vaccine until mid-2021.
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No one fined for violating Chicago’s travel order so far: The Tribune’s Alice Yin has the details here.
Chicago and Cook County’s stay-home advisories kicked in today. They’re not mandatory but as cases rise, officials are pleading with residents to stay home as much as they possibly can. Details here.
Data points: The state announced 11,632 newly confirmed and probable cases today along with an additional 37 deaths.
Congresswoman Bustos, after announcing on social media that she’d tested positive for the virus, also tweeted: “I will be working remotely from my home in Illinois until cleared by my physician. All individuals that I had been in contact with have been notified. Across the country and the Congressional District I serve, COVID case numbers are skyrocketing.”
She advised her constituents in Northwestern Illinois and elsewhere to “wear a mask, practice social distancing, get your flu shot and wash your hands.”
I have tested positive for the COVID virus. I am experiencing mild symptoms, but still feel well.
I have been in contact with my medical provider and, per CDC guidance, am self-isolating. — Rep. Cheri Bustos (@RepCheri) November 16, 2020
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Mayor Lori Lightfoot presides over the City Council meeting as Jeff Levine, attorney with the City's Law Department, left, and Mark Flessner, corporation counsel, right, look on at the start of a virtual meeting of the City Council from her office at City Hall in Chicago on April 22, 2020. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)
Over the weekend, City Hall announced that hundreds of proposed layoffs had been pulled off the table as the mayor tries to close a gaping $1.2 billion budget hole, the Tribune’s Gregory Pratt reports. The mayor’s budget team said cannabis sales tax revenue would cover the $13 in savings that would have resulted from layoffs — a drop in the bucket when you think about a $1.2 billion-plus budget hole.
But she’s doubling down on an unpopular proposal to hike property taxes, Gregory Pratt writes. During a private meeting with the City Council Latino Caucus on Sunday, the mayor told members they’ll have to pass a hike either this year or closer to the 2023 election, aldermen said.
Lightfoot also reiterated that she plans to link her budget with changes to the city’s sanctuary city ordinance even though the Latino Caucus opposes tying them together.
Reminder: The mayor is counting on the $94 million property tax increase, a 3-cent gas tax hike and lots of borrowing, among other things, to help close a $1.2 billion deficit next year, so finding areas of compromise will be key to closing the deal.
Last week, the mayor had an at-times contentious call with the City Council Black Caucus. Lightfoot told the group “don’t come to me for s--- for the next three years” if they don’t support the budget, two aldermen recalled. Read Pratt’s full story here.
An employee tax aimed at online giant Amazon and other big retailers is among the proposals progressive aldermen introduced to balance next year’s budget, the Tribune’s John Byrne writes. The proposed $16-per-employee-per-month tax would apply only to logistics operations with more than 50 employees such as Target, Walmart and the recently opened Amazon delivery warehouse in the Far South Side’s Pullman neighborhood. Read the full story here.
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City Council to consider capping delivery app fees charged to Chicago restaurants by third-party delivery companies such as Grubhub and Uber Eats during the coronavirus pandemic, the Tribune’s John Byrne, Phil Vettel and Gregory Pratt write.
Under Cook County budget proposal, sheriff’s office faces 4% budget cut, but activists who support less funding for law enforcement say that’s “not enough,” the Tribune’s Alice Yin writes.
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker speaks during a news conference regarding the coronavirus pandemic and other issues on Nov. 4, 2020, at the Thompson Center in Chicago. (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune)
Still smarting from voters sinking his graduated income tax proposal on the Nov. 3 ballot, Gov. Pritzker’s budget office forecasts through 2026 show deficits soaring to $4.8 billion next year and continuing in that $4 billion range through the 2026 budget year, the Tribune’s Rick Pearson reports.
That’s on top of the projected backlog of bills for payments owed to state vendors, expected to triple to $33.16 billion in the 2026 budget year, plus pension obligations owed by the state to public employees that will jump from $8.624 billion this budget year to $10.59 billion in 2026, according to the most recent five-year forecast from the governor’s budget office.
Across-the-board spending cuts are expected, the budget forecast notes. Pritzker also believes “revenue adjustments need to be considered as well,” the forecast notes, and will work with lawmakers to “identify corporate and business tax loopholes that can be closed and tax adjustments that can be made that will minimize the impact to lower- and middle-class families while ensuring that Illinois can meet its financial responsibilities.”
Hanging in the balance is whether the federal government can cobble together a relief bill that sends aid to state and local governments who’ve seen sales tax and other revenues dry up amid COVID-19 shutdown orders. Read the full story here.
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Fraternal Order of Police President John Catanzara arrives at a rally for President Donald Trump on Nov. 1, 2020, at Firewater Saloon in the Mount Greenwood neighborhood of Chicago. (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune)
The conservative-leaning Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 7 may have backed the losing candidate in the Cook County state’s attorney’s race, but its outspoken president, John Catanzara, said the organization representing rank-and-file officers is gearing up for the 2022 governor and 2023 mayoral races, the Tribune’s Alice Yin writes.
The union will try to recruit candidates from police, firefighter, Streets and Sanitation and other city worker backgrounds to take out aldermen it feels aren’t supportive of law enforcement causes, Catanzara said. And the FOP’s board voted to siphon part of the dues from its 12,000 or so members for its political action committee. Read the full story here.
Then-Vice President Joe Biden and then-Mayor Rahm Emanuel attend event celebrating the opening of a domestic violence shelter in Chicago on Nov. 25, 2013. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)
From the Tribune’s John Byrne: “When former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s name quickly surfaced as a possible transportation secretary in a Joe Biden administration, it came as little surprise to those in the political-media ecosystem. If the longtime Beltway insider didn’t float his own name for a Cabinet spot, he has plenty of friends up to the task.”
Former Peoria congressman Ray LaHood, a Republican and onetime Transportation Secretary who like Emanuel served in the Obama-Biden administration, points to the former mayor’s accomplishments in the transportation arena during his time at City Hall.
Nationally and here at home, the centrist has been bumping up against the more progressive wing of the Democratic Party. New York U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez told The New York Times he would be a “divisive” pick; in response to WTTW’s Heather Cherone’s tweet on the matter, Ocasio-Cortez threw his dirty laundry out there all at once: “We must govern with integrity and accountability. Laquan McDonald’s life mattered.”
Emanuel’s second term as mayor was dogged by allegations he sought to keep the now-infamous police dashcam video of the police killing of McDonald, shot 16 times by a police officer sent to prison over it, under wraps until after he won reelection in 2015. Read the full story here.
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Twitter @byldonovan


chicagotribune--2020-11-16--Claims of anti-Semitism at University of Illinois prompt federal investigation by Department of Educ

Claims of anti-Semitism at University of Illinois prompt federal investigation by Department of Education

“ We deplore anti-Semitic incidents on campus , including those that demonize or delegitimize Jewish and pro-Israel students or compare @ @ @ @ @ said the statement , which was issued with the parties that brought the complaint .
@ @ @ @ @ double standards that are not applied to others .
All Jewish students , including those @ @ @ @ @ Jewish campus organizations , should be able to participate in campus activities aimed at fighting @ @ @ @ @ .
”

The U.S. Department of Education is moving forward with an investigation into allegations of anti-Semitism at the state’s largest public university, officials confirmed Monday.
The department’s Office for Civil Rights notified the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign on Friday, school spokeswoman Robin Kaler said.
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The allegations, filed with the department in a complaint this spring, describe “an alarming increase in anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism” at the U. of I. over the past five years. The department evaluates all complaints it receives but doesn’t pursue investigations in every instance.
The complaint, drawing on experiences of two Jewish students, lists a number of alleged offenses, including the defacement of religious ornaments, depictions of swastikas drawn on campus property and tense interactions between Jewish students and a student group advocating for liberation and self-determination of the Palestinian people.
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The campus of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where students groups have complained about a rise of anti-Semitism. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)
In one such interaction in April 2019, the complaint alleges, members of Students for Justice in Palestine antagonized students staffing a pro-Israel booth, calling one a “Nazi,” a “white supremacist” and a “colonialist.”
SJP President Sofia Sinnokrot said she didn’t recall that incident and that actions from people outside her group are sometimes wrongly attributed to SJP. She called graffiti of swastikas “horrible and serious acts of anti-Semitism” and said that no one from SJP should refer to Jewish students in derogatory terms.
“The university has a history of silencing and demonizing pro-Palestine advocacy on campus,” said Sinnokrot, 21, a senior. “This conflation of anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism, I believe, is part of a larger campaign to suppress pro-Palestine organizing.”
The complaint was filed by a law firm representing the Washington-based Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law in conjunction with the Jewish United Fund of Chicago and Hillel International.
The U. of I. released a statement Monday condemning anti-Semitism and laying out additional steps it will take to combat it on campus.
Before the spring 2021 semester, the school will create an advisory council on Jewish and campus life to work with the chancellor and university leadership, according to the statement. The council will consist of undergraduate and graduate students, staff, faculty, alumni and representatives from the Jewish community, the statement said.
“We deplore anti-Semitic incidents on campus, including those that demonize or delegitimize Jewish and pro-Israel students or compare them to Nazis,” said the statement, which was issued with the parties that brought the complaint. “This subjects them to double standards that are not applied to others. All Jewish students, including those who identify with Israel or Jewish campus organizations, should be able to participate in campus activities aimed at fighting racism and achieving social justice.”
echerney@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-11-16--Coronavirus in Illinois updates: 11,632 newly confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases and 37 deaths re

Coronavirus in Illinois updates: 11,632 newly confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases and 37 deaths reported; teachers union calls on Pritzker to close school buildings again

Despite the high-risk nature of the surgery , some transplant centers around the country have begun performing the operation .
@ @ @ @ @ Chicago hospital has considered doing the procedure , though the transplant surgeon warned of its @ @ @ @ @ from across the country continue to come for Northwestern , which has performed more of @ @ @ @ @ than any other hospital in the world , Bharat said .

We have lifted the paywall on this story. To support essential reporting, please consider becoming a subscriber .
CTU workers direct vehicles lined up for COVID-19 testing outside of the Chicago Teachers Union on Dec. 30, 2021, in Chicago. CPS starts back to school on Monday following their holiday break. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)
Chicago’s health care workers will be first in line to receive coronavirus vaccines but there likely won’t be enough initial doses to go around, Chicago’s public health commissioner said Monday.
Dr. Allison Arwady, in an interview with CNN, said she expects Chicago at first would probably get about 150,000 doses, a figure that would not cover all health care workers in the city.
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“The problem is right at the beginning, there’s not going to be enough vaccine for you and I and friends and family to get it,” Arwady told CNN. “We’ll be starting with health care workers. We’ll be starting with people in long-term care facilities, some of the highest risk folks.”
Meanwhile, Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s non-mandatory stay-at-home advisory for Chicago takes effect today. Residents are encouraged not to leave their homes except to work, attend school, seek medical care, shop for groceries or pick up takeout food. Those who do go out are encouraged to wear a face mask at all times.
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Lightfoot also is imposing a 10-person limit on weddings, birthday parties, funerals and some social events in Chicago starting today.
Another advisory, similar to the city’s version, goes into effect on today in suburban Cook County and lasts for 30 days. Evanston officials issued an advisory stay-at-home order that begins today as well. Here’s everything you need to know about the advisories.
Illinois public health officials on Monday reported 11,632 newly confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19, as well as 37 additional fatalities.
There were 90,612 tests in the previous 24 hours. The seven-day statewide positivity rate is 14.7%.
That brings the state’s totals since the pandemic began to 585,248 cases and 10,779 deaths.
Here’s what’s happening Monday with COVID-19 in the Chicago area and Illinois:
5:10 p.m.: U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos says she’s tested positive for coronavirus
Democratic U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos of Moline said Monday she had tested positive for COVID-19 and is isolating at home with mild symptoms.
Bustos, 59, who survived a closer-than-expected bid for re-election to a fifth term earlier this month, announced her diagnosis on Twitter, saying she has been in contact with her medical provider and is self-isolating based on guidance from the Centers for Disease Control.
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“I am experiencing mild symptoms, but still feel well,” Bustos, who represents northwestern Illinois' 17th Congressional District, tweeted.
Read more here. —Rick Pearson
5:07 p.m.: Statewide teachers union wants governor to shut down schools
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker should shut down schools again and the state should develop a specific metric for when it’s safe for them to reopen, the head of one of the Illinois' largest teachers union said Monday.
Citing the surge in COVID-19 cases, the Illinois Federation of Teachers also wants districts to stop requiring teachers to provide remote lessons from school buildings.
Pritzker was asked about the proposal at his daily coronavirus briefing.
Read more here. —Karen Ann Cullotta
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3:42 p.m.: Indiana COVID-19 hospitalizations at new record high; Lake County tops state with 598 new cases
Indiana’s hospitals were treating the largest number of COVID-19 patients on Sunday since the state began releasing public reports on coronavirus hospitalizations last spring, state health officials said.
Indiana had 2,768 coronavirus hospitalizations as of Sunday, a number that surpasses the previous peak of 2,634 COVID-19 hospitalizations reported Friday, the Indiana State Department of Health said in its daily statistics update.
The state’s coronavirus hospitalizations as of Sunday marked a 103% jump in Indiana’s COVID-19 patients during the past month, the data show.
The state’s District 1, which includes, Lake, Porter, LaPorte, Newton and Jasper counties, reported 476 hospitalizations, according to the state, with 34.8% of ICU beds in use.
Read more here. —Associated Press
3:26 p.m.: Chicago singer Jeremih’s condition is improving amid COVID-19 battle, 50 Cent says
Singer Jeremih is “responsive and doing a little better” after being hospitalized with COVID-19, according to rapper and frequent collaborator 50 Cent.
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In a Sunday Instagram and Twitter update, 50 Cent thanked his followers for “praying for my Boy” Jeremih, who was previously admitted to an intensive care unit in Chicago during his ongoing battle with the illness.
The Grammy winner was among multiple music luminaries who wrote well wishes to the “Don’t Tell 'Em” hitmaker on social media after his condition worsened over the weekend.
Read more here. —Los Angeles Times
2:52 p.m.: Chicago’s health commissioner says there likely won’t enough vaccine initially, urges people to ‘double down’ on existing methods to fight COVID-19 spread
Chicago’s health care workers will be first in line to receive coronavirus vaccines but there likely won’t be enough initial doses to go around, Chicago’s public health commissioner said Monday.
Dr. Allison Arwady, in an interview with CNN, said she expects Chicago at first would probably get about 150,000 doses, a figure that would not cover all health care workers in the city.
“The problem is right at the beginning, there’s not going to be enough vaccine for you and I and friends and family to get it,” Arwady told CNN. “We’ll be starting with health care workers. We’ll be starting with people in long-term care facilities, some of the highest risk folks.”
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At an unrelated news conference, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot echoed Arwady and sounded a note of caution about vaccines, saying a mass-produced vaccine won’t be available until sometime deep next year and most residents won’t see one until mid-2021.
Read more here. —Gregory Pratt
12:10 p.m.: Advocate Aurora Health, one of the state’s largest hospital systems, to delay half of elective surgeries amid COVID-19 surge
One of the state’s largest hospital systems, Advocate Aurora Health, plans to delay half of its inpatient elective surgeries as the number of COVID-19 patients across Illinois skyrockets.
The system, which has 12 hospitals in Illinois, aims to reduce elective surgeries by 50%, for patients needing overnight care, starting later this week, said Dr. Jeff Bahr, chief Aurora Medical Group officer, during a call with reporters Monday. The hospitals will look at the urgency of procedures and how many resources would be needed to do them, among other things, in deciding which should be delayed. Cancer treatments will not be postponed.
“Any urgent or emergency surgeries that without doing would result in loss of life ... those would go on without delay,” Bahr said.
The system, which also has hospitals in Wisconsin, had 1,118 hospitalized COVID-19 patients Monday — a higher number than the system ever had in the spring. Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn had 162 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 on Monday.
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Advocate joins a number of other hospital systems in Illinois that have also started to delay some elective surgeries, including NorthShore University HealthSystem and Memorial Health System in central Illinois.
Read more here. —Lisa Schencker
12 p.m.: 11,632 newly confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases, 37 deaths reported
Illinois public health officials Monday reported 11,632 newly confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19, as well as 37 additional fatalities.
There were 90,612 tests in the previous 24 hours. The seven-day statewide positivity rate is 14.7%.
That brings the state’s totals since the pandemic began to 585,248 cases and 10,779 deaths.
11:40 a.m.: MCA to close temporarily due to COVID spread while other museums remain open
MCA Chicago announced Monday it is closing down again for two weeks as COVID-19 rates climb rapidly in Illinois and across the country.
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“The MCA’s building is temporarily closed for two weeks to support the city of Chicago’s efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19,” the museum’s website says. “We plan to reopen on Friday, December 4. Until then we invite you to access our digital offerings, including our featured exhibition ‘The Long Dream.’”
Other museums sampled, including the Art Institute and Museum of Science and Industry, were not immediately planning to close again, officials said.
Read more here. —Steve Johnson
11:10 a.m.: ‘Immersive’ Van Gogh exhibit coming to new North Side venue in February, with COVID-19 precautions
A new North Side attraction will aim to place visitors inside the imagery of Dutch artist Vincent Van Gogh, following on successful runs for the concept in Paris and Toronto.
“Immersive Van Gogh,” slated to open in February in a renovated former social club on Clark Street, will use digital projection and animation to envelop people in Van Gogh’s sunflowers, his nighttime stars and his bedroom in Arles.
In Toronto, the exhibition was able to open during the COVID-19 pandemic by at first making a drive-in experience into the building and then also mounting the show separately for visitors on foot in a different room.
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The Chicago February 11 debut will come as, apparently, vaccines are expected to be starting to be administered in the U.S. But at the outset it will feature circles projected onto the floor delineating safe social distances and it will require visitors to wear masks.
Read more here. —Steve Johnson
11 a.m.: Loyola men’s basketball team pauses activities after positive COVID-19 cases
Loyola men’s basketball team announced Monday it has paused team activities after positive COVID-19 tests among team personnel.
The start of the Ramblers season start will be delayed. They were scheduled to tip off Dec. 3 against Drake at Gentile Arena.
Loyola did not disclose how many positive tests or identify those infected. The team said the positive tests were among the “team’s personnel, which consists of student-athletes, coaches, managers and staff.”
Read more here. —Shannon Ryan
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10:17 a.m.: Chicago City Council to consider capping delivery app fees
Delivery fees charged to Chicago restaurants by third-party delivery companies such as Grubhub and Uber Eats would get capped at 10% of the order’s cost while indoor dining capacity is set at below 40% during the coronavirus pandemic under a proposal introduced to the City Council Monday.
Restaurants for months have been complaining that delivery apps are cutting deeply into their bottom lines with fees that can top 30% of the order costs. With state rules banning indoor dining at restaurants, the delivery services are booming while restaurants struggle mightily to make ends meet.
Read more here. —John Byrne and Gregory Pratt
9:17 a.m.: Column: I took a COVID-19 test as a precaution. A week later, I was hospitalized.
I got the call on a Tuesday that my COVID-19 test came back positive, and my mind raced to two places: my kids and my heart.
My kids because I feared they, too, were infected. (How could they not be? I work from home, they school from home. Laughing, singing cheek-to-cheek dance parties are standard in our kitchen.)
The positive test was a shock. We’ve avoided crowds and restaurants and we always wear masks when we leave the house. My daughter and I got tested together because we planned to host three of her friends from school for a birthday celebration, on the condition that her friends got tested and we got tested. Neither of us had symptoms.
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Her test came back negative, but I worried it was false — that her viral load hadn’t reached a detectable level yet. I assumed my son, who was getting tested the next day, would also be positive. I assumed my husband, who was tested the day after my daughter and I were, was also infected.
But those tests, and two subsequent rounds, were all negative.
So I isolated in a spare bedroom, donning a mask and covering my hands in newspaper bags when I needed to emerge. My symptoms grew a little worse each day. My whole body ached. My head throbbed and my eyeballs pulsated. I would lose my train of thought mid-sentence and forget simple words.
Read more here. —Heidi Stevens
7:45 a.m.: Wisconsin has critical need for blood plasma from recovered COVID-19 patients
There is a critical need for blood plasma from recovered coronavirus patients in Wisconsin, according to officials.
Convalescent plasma has been shown to be effective in treating the most seriously ill coronavirus patients, but the demand is far greater than the supply.
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Versiti Blood Center of Wisconsin’s chief medical officer, Dr. Thomas Abshire, said the need for convalescent plasma in Wisconsin is about double the number of donors giving plasma.
Advocate Health Care transplant director Dr. Ajay Sahajpal says Wisconsin has already needed to import plasma from other states, but that might not continue as the shortage of donors continues elsewhere.
“For convalescent plasma, specifically, it’s a critical shortage,” he said.
Sahajpal is worried that as the holidays approach, fewer people will donate blood and that it could lead to a crisis across several medical fronts, the Journal Sentinel reported.
—Associated Press
6:50 a.m.: Chicago, Cook County, Evanston stay-home advisories go into effect
Stay-at-home advisories go into effect Monday in Chicago, suburban Cook County and Evanston, on top of a three-week advisory issued by the state last week.
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Chicago residents are encouraged not to leave their homes except to work, attend school, seek medical care, shop for groceries or pick up takeout food. Those who do go out are encouraged to wear a face mask at all times.
“If the possibility of 1,000 more people dying in the city in the next seven weeks doesn’t grab you by the throat as it did me when I started seeing that modeling, then there’s little we’re going to do to move you,” Lightfoot said last week.
Lightfoot also is imposing a 10-person limit on weddings, birthday parties, funerals and some social events in Chicago starting Monday.
Another advisory, similar to the city’s version, goes into effect on Monday in suburban Cook County and lasts for 30 days. Evanston officials issued an advisory stay-at-home order that begins Monday as well.
—Chicago Tribune staff
6:11 a.m.: Moderna says its COVID-19 vaccine proves 94.5% effective in ongoing study
For the second time this month, there’s promising news from a COVID-19 vaccine candidate: Moderna said Monday its shots provide strong protection, a dash of hope against the grim backdrop of coronavirus surges in the U.S. and around the world.
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Moderna said its vaccine appears to be 94.5% effective, according to preliminary data from the company’s still ongoing study. A week ago, competitor Pfizer Inc. announced its own COVID-19 vaccine appeared similarly effective — news that puts both companies on track to seek permission within weeks for emergency use in the U.S.
Dr. Stephen Hoge, Moderna’s president, welcomed the “really important milestone” but said having similar results from two different companies is what’s most reassuring.
“That should give us all hope that actually a vaccine is going to be able to stop this pandemic and hopefully get us back to our lives,” Hoge told The Associated Press.
Read more here. —Associated Press
6 a.m.: Double lung transplants at Northwestern Memorial are allowing seriously ill patients to survive COVID-19′s ‘bomb blast’
At a dark moment over the summer, Rodney Wegg was forced to consider removing his wife from life support.
After testing positive for COVID-19 in July, Kari Wegg, a previously healthy nurse, worsened until she was placed on a ventilator and given a grim outlook for survival.
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“Give me some more time,” Wegg’s doctor told her husband, offering him and their two young sons a glimmer of hope.
Their perseverance paid off when, months later, Wegg, a 48-year-old neonatal intensive care unit nurse, awoke as the sixth COVID-19 patient at Northwestern Memorial Hospital to receive a groundbreaking lung transplant surgery, free of the disease and breathing with two new lungs.
The double lung transplant surgery for critical COVID-19 patients, which was first performed in the U.S. at Northwestern in June, has now been done seven times at the Chicago hospital by Dr. Ankit Bharat, chief of thoracic surgery and surgical director of the Northwestern Medicine Lung Transplant Program, and a team of surgeons. The surgery is considered more difficult than other lung transplants because of the damage COVID-19 has done to the organ, Bharat said.
Despite the high-risk nature of the surgery, some transplant centers around the country have begun performing the operation. And at least one other Chicago hospital has considered doing the procedure, though the transplant surgeon warned of its difficulties. Meanwhile, calls from across the country continue to come for Northwestern, which has performed more of these surgeries at this point than any other hospital in the world, Bharat said.
Read more here. —Madeline Buckley
5:45 a.m.: Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer issues new COVID-19 restrictions, banning indoor restaurant dining
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s administration on Sunday ordered high schools and colleges to stop in-person classes, closed restaurants to indoor dining and suspended organized sports — including the football playoffs — in a bid to curb the state’s spiking coronavirus cases.
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The restrictions will begin Wednesday and last three weeks. They are not as sweeping as when the Democratic governor issued a stay-at-home order last spring but are extensive. They were announced as Michigan faces surging COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations statewide and rising deaths.
“The situation has never been more dire. We are at the precipice and we need to take some action,” Whitmer said at an evening news conference.
An order written by the state health department prohibits high schools, colleges and universities from offering in-person instruction. K-8 schools can continue with on-site classes due to lower transmission rates, though — as before — it is not required. Restaurants, now operating at 50% capacity, must halt dine-in service inside.
Read more here. —Associated Press
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chicagotribune--2020-11-16--U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos says she’s tested positive for coronavirus

“ Consistent with medical advice , I will be working remotely from my home in Illinois until cleared by my @ @ @ @ @ I had been in contact with have been notified , ” she said .
“ @ @ @ @ @ congressional district I serve , COVID case numbers are skyrocketing .
We must all continue @ @ @ @ @ public health best practices : wear a mask , practice social distancing , get your @ @ @ @ @ hands .
”

Democratic U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos of Moline said Monday she had tested positive for COVID-19 and is isolating at home with mild symptoms.
Bustos, 59, who survived a closer-than-expected bid for reelection to a fifth term earlier this month, announced her diagnosis on Twitter, saying she has been in contact with her medical provider and is self-isolating based on guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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“I am experiencing mild symptoms, but still feel well,” Bustos, who represents northwestern Illinois' 17th Congressional District, tweeted.
“Consistent with medical advice, I will be working remotely from my home in Illinois until cleared by my physician. All individuals that I had been in contact with have been notified,” she said. “Across the country and the congressional district I serve, COVID case numbers are skyrocketing. We must all continue to be vigilant in following public health best practices: wear a mask, practice social distancing, get your flu shot and wash your hands.”
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I have tested positive for the COVID virus. I am experiencing mild symptoms, but still feel well.
I have been in contact with my medical provider and, per CDC guidance, am self-isolating. — Rep. Cheri Bustos (@RepCheri) November 16, 2020
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At least two other members of Illinois' 18-member delegation to the U.S. House previously tested positive for coronavirus — Republican Reps. Rodney Davis of Taylorville in August and Mike Bost of Murphysboro in October.
Bustos has been chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the campaign arm of House Democrats. She announced she would not seek another term in the post following elections in which Republicans picked up seats in contrast to the significant gains that House Democrats had expected.
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Twitter @rap30


chicagotribune--2020-11-16--Running list of Chicago-area closings and cancellations because of coronavirus

With more than 10,000 deaths and more than 500,000 known cases reported in Illinois , event organizers , businesses and @ @ @ @ @ to the local transmission of the virus .
Starting Nov. 16 , Chicago and Cook @ @ @ @ @ , and more restrictions could be coming at the state level , as Pritzker has @ @ @ @ @ headed for another general shutdown .

Chicago Tribune staff, Katherine Rosenberg-Douglas

We have lifted the paywall on this story. To support essential reporting, please consider becoming a subscriber .
Paca Kujtim of Arlington Heights self-administers a COVID-19 test in his car at the Arlington International Racecourse on March 31, 2021 in Arlington Heights. Kujtim was getting testing as a precaution for upcoming travel. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)
In the months since Gov. J.B. Pritzker lifted the state’s coronavirus stay-at-home order, Chicagoans and other residents of Illinois have seen a gradual tightening of restrictions as COVID-19 cases spiked well past levels seen in the spring.
Pritzker in the spring issued a stay-at-home order that was in effect into June, but the state has never fully reopened, and officials have continued to require people to practice such precautions as wearing a face mask covering both nose and mouth when going out in public. On Tuesday, state officials announced a rollback to a Tier 3 mitigation plan, closing many types of public gathering places and further limiting many businesses' capacity, although state officials are still allowing local school districts to decide, in consultation with local health authorities, whether to remain open.
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With more than 10,000 deaths and more than 500,000 known cases reported in Illinois, event organizers, businesses and religious institutions here have reacted to the local transmission of the virus. Starting Nov. 16, Chicago and Cook County went under stay-at-home advisories, and more restrictions could be coming at the state level, as Pritzker has warned the state could be headed for another general shutdown.
Here are Chicago-area cancellations, closings and modifications prompted by the pandemic:
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Events
There are many holiday events planned for November and December in the suburbs, all of them adapted to deal with the coronavirus.
Chicago’s Christkindlmarket and many other events have been canceled or moved online this year, including the city’s Christmas tree-lighting ceremony and the Magnificent Mile Lights Festival.
Theaters, performing arts centers and amusement centers were to close under Tier 3, effective Friday, Nov. 20.
Roman Catholic churches in the Archdiocese of Chicago are still holding services under limited-capacity guidelines put in place in June and the archdiocese in November advised parishes, agencies and its main offices to reinforce current work-at-home advisories, while limiting non-worship gatherings to 10 people.
The annual festival for the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe at the Our Lady of Guadalupe Shrine in Des Plaines has been canceled.
Many other places of worship also remain open, with restrictions, but many are streaming their services.
“Meeting rooms, banquet centers, private party rooms, private clubs and country clubs may not host gatherings” under Tier 3 restrictions, according to the state.
Funerals are limited to 10 family members, not including funeral home staff.
The
Many Chicago-area 12-step recovery meetings were suspended or moved because of coronavirus-related precautions, according to the websites of the local affiliates of Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous.
Museums, parks and sports
All museums in Illinois were ordered closed as of Friday, Nov. 20, under Tier 3 mitigation measures.
The Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago had announced it was closing down for two weeks as COVID-19 rates climb rapidly in Illinois and across the country and the Shedd Aquarium announced that it was closing again effective Nov. 18, with a target reopening date of Jan. 2.
Indoor recreation centers were ordered closed effective Nov. 20 under Tier 3 measures.
All indoor group sporting and recreational activities, including youth and adult recreational sports as well as park district programs and travel leagues, were ordered halted as of Nov. 20 under Tier 3 measures, although individual training may continue, with facility reservations.
Outdoor sports and recreation involving 10 people or fewer, with social distancing and face masks, are allowed under Tier 3 measures.
The Garfield Park Conservatory has had its outdoor grounds open, but the Lincoln Park Conservatory has remained fully closed. Although the Chicago Park District has had online and some in-person programs, its offerings have been limited.
Government
Hospitals
Many Chicago-area hospitals are again restricting visitors because of the spread of the coronavirus, after relaxing rules over the summer.
On Nov. 16, Advocate Aurora Health said it was delaying half of elective surgeries because of surging COVID-19 cases.
Businesses
Under the state’s coronavirus plan, restaurants throughout the state are limited to outdoor dining, carryout or delivery, with limited hours. Bars have limited hours and can’t have indoor service.
Under Tier 3 measures, all Illinois bars and restaurants must close at 11 p.m. and reopen no sooner than 6 a.m. the next day, effective Nov. 20.
All workers who can work remotely should work remotely under the Tier 3 measures.
Chicago is limiting the hours of what it deems nonessential businesses, requiring they stay closed between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. Taverns and restaurants must stop serving alcohol at 11 p.m. and businesses that sell packaged alcohol must stop selling at 9 p.m.
All gaming and casinos will close as of Friday, Nov. 20, under Tier 3 measures.
Grocery stores and pharmacies can operate at 50% capacity.
Health and fitness centers — including at hotels, where reservations are required — retail stores other than groceries and pharmacies, personal care services such as salons and fitness centers can operate at 25% capacity starting Nov. 20 under Tier 3 measures.
The Tribune is keeping a running list of restaurants that have permanently closed because of the pandemic.
Schools
Schools may remain open under Tier 3 measures effective Nov. 20, but state officials say many are choosing to go to remote learning.
Chicago’s public schools remain on remote learning. CPS has talked about starting in-person learning for some groups of students, but that may be derailed by spiking cases.
The Archdiocese of Chicago’s schools remain open for in-person instruction, with a portion of students choosing online instruction. Archdiocese school officials have said they are allow schools to switch to online learning between Thanksgiving and Christmas—all Catholic schools in the archdiocese will be remote the first two weeks of January—but only about 20% of schools are expected to close after Thanksgiving.
Many colleges and universities are following a hybrid model, with some students on campus and others at home, along with some classes in-person and others remote.
Models for suburban schools vary from district to district, and many have been pulling back from in-person instruction, as school boards feel heat from people on both side of the debate over whether to hold in-person classes. Some of the districts' decisions include:
Check back for updates.
kdouglas@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @312BreakingNews


chicagotribune--2020-11-16--Illinois teachers union calls on Gov. Pritzker to close school buildings again because of COVID-19 s

Illinois teachers union calls on Gov. Pritzker to close school buildings again because of COVID-19 surge

“ There are plenty of superintendents and school boards that would like to call it , but they ’ re @ @ @ @ @ s reaction , ” Montgomery said .
“ I think the majority of people want @ @ @ @ @ right , and having clear metrics can be an inducement .
”

Officials with one of the state’s largest teachers unions on Monday urged Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, the state’s board of education and local school districts to take immediate action to close school buildings because of the surge in COVID-19 cases across the state.
The teachers union is also asking the governor, the Illinois Department of Public Health and the Illinois State Board of Education to establish and enforce clear metrics for school districts to guide them for any future closures, Dan Montgomery, president of the Illinois Federation of Teachers said.
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Students wear face masks to protect against coronavirus as they walk through a bridge connecting two buildings at Latin School of Chicago in October. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
“There are plenty of superintendents and school boards that would like to call it, but they’re worried about the public’s reaction,” Montgomery said. “I think the majority of people want to do what’s right, and having clear metrics can be an inducement.”
While a growing number of school districts across the state have halted in-person student instruction in recent weeks because of the soaring number of COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths, Montgomery said many school districts in Illinois are still requiring teachers to deliver remote lessons from their classrooms.
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“It’s a very common thing teachers are facing right now, where some districts have stopped in-person instruction for kids, but they still want the adults in the building, even though we know that a number of people have gotten sick,” Montgomery said.
At his daily COVID-19 briefing on Monday, Pritzker said of the IFT’s request that school buildings be closed: “We’re always thinking about our schoolchildren and the parents and the teachers.”
“We’ve made sure to set parameters that are safe, and we need schools to follow those parameters, and most are,” Pritzker said, adding that roughly 60% of Illinois students are receiving strictly remote instruction, with around 30% engaged in some form of hybrid learning.
“It’s not ideal by any means, but we have a COVID storm that’s hitting, and I think that school districts are doing the best they can,” Pritzker said.
Short of an order from the governor, like the statewide schools shutdown in March, COVID-19 decisions continue to be made by school districts, in consultation with local public health departments, which monitor metrics and advise districts on the need to implement additional mitigation, a spokeswoman for the Illinois State Board of Education said.
But Montgomery said that varying interpretations of the health department’s recommendations among school districts has inadvertently led to, “a mishmash, with no uniformity.”
“You can have nine different scenarios happening at nine school districts that are right next to each other,” Montgomery said. “Most school districts want to do the right thing, but they’re getting no clear direction.”
kcullotta@chicagotribune.com
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