chicagotribune--2020-04-25--Coronavirus at Illinois long-term care facilities: Search for one near you

The Illinois Department of Public Health is releasing information on COVID-19 tied to long-term care facilities in Illinois .
The @ @ @ @ @ long-term care facilities in 24 counties reporting at least one case .
In all , @ @ @ @ @ can be tied to these facilities , with 625 deaths as of April 24 .
@ @ @ @

The Illinois Department of Public Health is releasing information on COVID-19 tied to long-term care facilities in Illinois. The data shows outbreaks have occurred at long-term care facilities in 94 counties. Of those, 1,003 facilities have an “active” outbreak, defined as a positive test result in the past 28 days. In all, 71,103 confirmed cases can be tied to long-term care facilities, with 9,263 deaths, as of Jan. 22.


chicagotribune--2020-04-25--Watch live: Gov. J.B. Pritzker and health officials provide update on coronavirus in Illinois

Gov .
J.B. Pritzker and state health officials are scheduled to provide an update on the coronavirus in Illinois at @ @ @ @ @ the latest updates here .

This website stores data such as cookies to enable essential site functionality, as well as marketing, personalization, and analytics. By remaining on this website, you indicate your consent.


chicagotribune--2020-04-25--Starting tonight, downtown Chicago buildings to light up in support of coronavirus first responders

Starting tonight, downtown Chicago buildings to light up in support of coronavirus first responders and essential workers

From Saturday through May 1 , upper portions of downtown buildings will be illuminated blue in support of essential workers @ @ @ @ @ 2 through May 5 , buildings will light up red in support of first responders @

Willis Tower and Chase Tower are lit in red on May 2, 2020. Many Chicago skyscrapers are lit in blue and red in honor of essential workers and first responders during the coronavirus pandemic. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
Downtown Chicago streets are eerily quiet amid the new coronavirus, but the city’s skyline is about to light up in recognition of those on the front lines of the pandemic.
Starting Saturday night, at least 19 downtown office properties will light up in support of essential workers and first responders, according to BOMA/Chicago. Participating buildings include some of the city’s most recognizable skyscrapers, including Willis Tower and the former John Hancock Center.
Advertisement
From Saturday through May 1, upper portions of downtown buildings will be illuminated blue in support of essential workers. Then, from May 2 through May 5, buildings will light up red in support of first responders.
It’s part of a worldwide effort to honor first responders and workers in the health care, janitorial, engineering, security property management and other fields, according to BOMA/Chicago, an association of 240 downtown buildings.
Advertisement
Buildings lit in downtown Chicago for the Light it Blue campaign to honor essential workers on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic on April 9, 2020. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
Technology limits how many buildings can display both colors. Some buildings have the capability to change colors with the flip of a switch, while others require hours of work.
Properties set to take part in both the blue and red lighting are Prudential Plaza, Chase Tower and buildings at 181 W. Madison St., 525 W. Monroe St., 1 N. Dearborn Ave., 120 N. LaSalle St., 555 W. Monroe St. and 540 W. Madison St.
Buildings planning to participate only in the blue lighting are the Merchandise Mart, Willis Tower, the former John Hancock Center (now known as 875 North Michigan Avenue), The Franklin, Chicago Board of Trade Building, Inland Steel Building and buildings at 200 W. Madison St., 311 S. Wacker Drive, 150 N. Michigan Ave., 900 N. Michigan Ave. and 300 E. Randolph St.
Other buildings could be added.
Some Chicago buildings already have created displays related to the coronavirus, including a large red heart on the facade of the Drake Hotel.
The effort comes amid a statewide stay-at-home order designed to stop the spread of the virus, which has killed 1,565 in Illinois and more than 46,000 nationally. Distancing measures have shut down waves of offices, restaurants, bars, shops and other businesses, leading downtown Chicago streets to become sparsely populated.
BOMA’s effort to recognize essential workers and first responders is an extension of the group’s Illuminate Chicago program. Participants light up their buildings in colors associated with civic and charitable causes, including National Safety Month, Pride Month and holidays such as Christmas, Independence Day, Memorial Day and Labor Day.
Downtown owners also frequently light up buildings for major sporting events.
Advertisement
rori@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @Ryan_Ori


chicagotribune--2020-04-25--Three Illinois meat plants closed in the past week as COVID-19 cases mount. It could mean higher mea

Three Illinois meat plants closed in the past week as COVID-19 cases mount. It could mean higher meat prices, fewer choices at supermarkets and for farmers, ‘some tough choices.’

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

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


chicagotribune--2020-04-25--Kane County Health Department orders closure of St. Charles meat processing plant

The St. Charles facility , a dry sausage plant that employs 325 people , already was in the process of @ @ @ @ @ ” according to a company news release earlier this month .
Before the health department @ @ @ @ @ s plan was to halt incoming raw materials from April 19 to May 2 , @ @ @ @ @ between April 22 to May 3 and close the final department from May 7 to @ @ @

Smithfield Foods in St Charles, a large pork processor, was closed by orders of Kane County health department due to COVID-19 outbreak. This is one of several Smithfield plants around the country shut down or having issues due to COVID-19. (Joe Biesk/Chicago Tribune)
The Kane County Health Department on Friday ordered a Smithfield meat processing plant in St. Charles to close due to “concerns about COVID-19.”
The order temporarily closes the facility to allow the health department to work with the company on “mitigation efforts” and “providing education relative to social distancing and employee safety relative to personal protective equipment,” according to a statement from the health department.
Advertisement
The health department on Saturday declined to say whether any workers there were diagnosed with COVID-19 or provide more information about the order.
Smithfield declined to say whether COVID-19 cases were diagnosed in the facility, but said the company is cooperating with the health department.
Advertisement
The order comes on the heels of a federal lawsuit filed Thursday by an anonymous worker and an advocacy group alleging unsafe working conditions in a Smithfield plant in Missouri.
The St. Charles plant is the latest closure for the Virginia-based company, which has halted work at facilities across the country where workers have become sick, including at another Illinois facility in downstate Monmouth.
The St. Charles facility, a dry sausage plant that employs 325 people, already was in the process of instituting “rolling closures,” according to a company news release earlier this month. Before the health department order, the company’s plan was to halt incoming raw materials from April 19 to May 2, close two of three departments between April 22 to May 3 and close the final department from May 7 to May 9.
The employees were to be paid during the rolling closure, according to the release.
The St. Charles closure order came on the same day that the company announced it was voluntarily closing its Monmouth plant after employees there tested positive for COVID-19.
The plant, located in Monmouth, about 200 miles southwest of Chicago, will shut down next week until further notice, according to a news release. Employees will be paid during the closure.
The company said a “a small portion” of the plant’s 1,700 employees tested positive for the virus.
The Monmouth plant produces about 3% of fresh pork supplies in the U.S., the release said.
Advertisement
The company stocks its facilities with personal protective equipment and has “implemented thermal scanning companywide and installed plexiglass and other physical barriers on production floors and in break rooms,” according to the release.
But social distancing is “particularly challenging” at meat processing plants because of the assembly line production, the company said.
The lawsuit, filed Thursday in a Missouri federal court, accuses Smithfield of creating a public nuisance at its Milan, Missouri, plant with unsafe working conditions, including requirements to stand shoulder-to-shoulder and go for long periods without breaks to wash hands.
According to United Food and Commercial Workers International, a union representing 200,000 food production workers, some 5,000 of its members at unionized meatpacking plants across the country have tested positive for COVID-19 or been exposed to someone who tested positive, and 10 members have died.
At food processing facilities, another 1,500 of its members have become sick and three have died, the union said.
In addition to the Monmouth plant, Smithfield has closed plants in South Dakota, Wisconsin and Missouri, raising concerns about how the pandemic will impact the nation’s meat supply.
Advertisement
mabuckley@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-04-25--Public health commissioner says Chicago’s COVID-19 curve is flattening but is ‘not on the way back d

Public health commissioner says Chicago’s COVID-19 curve is flattening but is ‘not on the way back down yet’

`` That 's working its way up , '' she said .
`` We want to see more than that @ @ @ @ @ more than that , but we are making progress . ''

Dr. Allison Arwady, director of the Chicago Department of Public Health, appears at a news conference to discuss COVID-19, at City Hall on March 26, 2020. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)
Chicago continues to flatten its coronavirus curve but is “not on the way back down yet” in terms of new COVID-19 cases among city residents, public health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said.
As of Saturday, the city had 16,200 lab-confirmed COVID-19 cases, along with 697 deaths, Arwady said during her daily question-and-answer session on social media. That marks an increase in Chicago of 801 cases and 36 deaths since Friday.
Advertisement
The city averaged about 2,100 tests per day over the past seven days, Arwady said.
"That's working its way up," she said. "We want to see more than that, and we will see more than that, but we are making progress."
Advertisement
Of those tested, about 30% are coming back with a positive result, Arwady said.
Also, Chicago’s COVID-19 deaths continue to more heavily impact older people, with 78% of all deaths in the city occurring among people over age 60, even though that group makes up fewer than 20% of the population.
The city hasn’t seen any COVID-19-attributed deaths to people under 17 years old. Of Chicagoans between 18 and 29, four people have died.
mabuckley@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-04-25--Chicago nurse told friend she was ‘scared to death.’  Within weeks, she and her son were dead from C

Chicago nurse told friend she was ‘scared to death.’  Within weeks, she and her son were dead from COVID-19, and her husband barely survived.

“ He was selfless , thoughtful and compassionate .
Also , he was really kind , ” Justin said .
@ @ @ @ @ before himself .
If you needed to talk or a shoulder to cry on .
@ @ @ @ @ best advice .
He impacted so many people .
If it was something personal or @ @ @ @ @ would be , they ’ d always go to him and he would always be @ @ @ @ @ and helpful .
’ ’

Josephine Tapiru, 56, with her husband, Luis Tapiru Sr., 59. She, along with their son, Luis Tapiru, 20, died of COVID-19 this month. Luis Tapiru Sr., 59, remains hospitalized, sickened by the virus. (Donna Oduca/Photo courtesy of Donna Oduca)
Josephine Tapiru had been pulling extra shifts, working from 9 a.m. until sometimes 11 p.m., because the North Side nursing home was getting more and more short-staffed as co-workers fell ill.
She kept a close watch on her temperature: still 98. Fine, she thought.
Advertisement
After clocking out on April 3 from Park View Rehab, Tapiru told a friend her throat was getting sore and she was coughing. She stopped at a drugstore, picked up a bottle of NyQuil and went to bed as soon as she got home.
Sometime that night, she slipped into a coma. The world’s novel coronavirus was beginning to take its terrible toll on her family.
Advertisement
Tapiru was taken to the intensive care unit at St. Francis Hospital in Evanston. Her husband would be admitted there within a week. Four days later, their 20-year-old son Luis Jr. was found dead on the couch of their home. Four more days passed and Josephine died, too, without coming out of her coma.
Friends and family waited nearly a week, when Luis Sr. was finally removed from a ventilator, to tell him about the deaths of his wife and son.
The couple’s lone surviving son watched the tragedy unfold from Ottawa, Canada, where most of his close friends and relatives live.
“I can’t be there right now, and that’s the toughest thing,’’ Justin Tapiru, 28, said Friday. “They were feeling fine. I haven’t had time to think or grieve.’’
His brother is one of the youngest people in Illinois to die from the disease. He had played football at Senn High School and seemed healthy, family and friends said. An autopsy found no underlying medical conditions that contributed to his death from COVID-19, a rare finding for someone so young.
Luis Tapiru, 20, and his mother, Josephine Tapiru, 56, both died of COVID-19 this month. (Photo courtesy Donna Oduca)
Josephine had suffered from endometrial cancer, and it was listed as a contributing factor in her death, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office. She was 56.
She and her husband had both worked as caregivers, in private homes and at long-term senior centers, though Luis Sr. had recently been working for a manufacturing company. Josephine Tapiru, a licensed practical nurse, worked at Park View Rehab in Edgewater, a short drive from the family’s high-rise apartment, according to the family.
Like nursing homes across the state, Park View has seen an outbreak of COVID-19 among its residents. Recent state data show at least 22 coronavirus cases there and three deaths, but the posted information is often old and sometimes unreliable.
Advertisement
It’s also unknown exactly how many health care workers in Illinois have died from COVID-19. Many of the deaths listed by the state do not give the occupation of the person. The state’s best estimate is that more than 2,500 workers have contracted the virus and at least eight have died.
“Good Jesus, it is really hard,” said Josephine Tapiru’s best friend, Joselyn Smith, crying. “I’m still denying it. But we have to move on. So we have to fight and move on. But it’s just hard. I feel like I’m in a trance, that this is not so true. It’s a big loss. It really happened so fast.’’
‘She was scared to death’
On March 21, Josephine Tapiru was looking forward to her regular weekend chat with Smith. Catching up after a busy week was always fun, but this time she shared some disturbing news.
“She was really so upset because one of her officemates was showing some symptoms of the virus,’’ Smith said. “She was mad.’’ Under state health guidelines, you were not supposed to work if you felt ill.
“She was scared to death,’’ said another close friend, Donna Oduca. Workers at the senior center wore masks, she said, but Tapiru was still worried.
While her main job was at Park View, she worked Saturdays at another nursing home. But most of her time was spent at Park View. “She was always there,’’ Smith said.
Advertisement
On April 1, Tapiru told friends that she was getting more and more worried as others on the staff called in sick and she was working longer hours. On the morning of April 4, her husband and son Luis Jr. went to work and assumed she was sleeping in because she had worked so late the night before.
They checked in later in the day, but Josephine didn’t pick up the phone. Sometime after lunch, Luis Jr. called his father and rushed home to check on her. “My mom won’t wake up,’’ he frantically told Oduca, also a nurse, who lives nearby.
“Call 911,’’ she told him as she headed to the Tapirus’ seventh-floor apartment in the 6800 block of North Kedzie Avenue. Using his CPR training from a job as a camp counselor, the son began chest compressions as Oduca walked in wearing “full PPE,’’ she said.
Josephine remained unconscious as she was taken to St. Francis Hospital. The next day, the hospital called to say she had tested positive for COVID-19 and was on life support. “That was so sad,’’ Oduca said.
[ 12 families, 24 victims: COVID-19 has been especially brutal on these Chicago families ]
‘They found him on the couch’
The father and son, not feeling any symptoms, went back home on April 5. But the elder Tapiru started feeling “weird,’’ he told Oduca. He had a sore throat but no cough. That Monday and Tuesday, he developed a “low-grade fever.”
“Hey, I’m not feeling better,’’ he told Oduca on April 10. Later that day, he was also taken to St. Francis and placed on a ventilator as he, too, tested positive for the virus.
Advertisement
Oduca and her husband, Cezar, along with other friends and relatives, kept in close contact with Luis Jr., who remained at the family’s home, and Justin. But they soon had trouble reaching Luis Jr. Normally, he would always text or call back.
On April 14, Oduca and her husband called 911. A few minutes later, police called back. “They just said they found him on the couch, and he passed on,’’ Oduca said.
Josephine’s uncle, Lope Santos, in his 80s, had also called 911 that morning and was on his way up to the Tapirus’ apartment to check on Luis Jr. when he saw the police officers, who would not let him in.
“They told me he’d already passed away,’’ Santos said quietly when reached by phone at a North Side senior center where he lives.
Four days later, on April 18, Josephine Tapiru was pronounced dead at St. Francis Hospital.
For days, family kept the news of the deaths from Luis Sr., who remained on a ventilator and was not allowed visitors. Terrified he would find out on his own, Justin said he broke the news to his father on Thursday via video hookup while his father was with a chaplain, a doctor and a nurse.
Advertisement
“He was in shock,’’ Justin said. As of Friday night, his father was doing a little better but was still hospitalized. “It’s really tough on his body.’’
A GoFundMe campaign organized by family friends has so far raised twice its goal.
‘Selfless, thoughtful and compassionate’
Justin says he will miss his little brother’s maturity. “He was more of a big brother to me,’’ he said. “When my mom got sick, I was sad and freaking out. I was in shock … and Luis said: ‘You know what? She’s going to pull through this. She’s the strongest woman we know.’
“He was selfless, thoughtful and compassionate. Also, he was really kind,” Justin said. “He always put others before himself. If you needed to talk or a shoulder to cry on. He’d give the best advice. He impacted so many people. If it was something personal or something sad, whatever it would be, they’d always go to him and he would always be there to listen. Thoughtful and helpful.’’
A devotee of video games such as “Call of Duty,” Luis Jr. also loved Twitch, a livestream platform for games. “He was really active in a lot of communities there, he streamed on there,’’ Justin said.
His dream was to become a full-time Twitch streamer. But he had a backup plan: He would get a degree in communications.
Advertisement
He loved pop music and electronic dance music. One of his favorite groups was Twice. He loved singing and even auditioned for “The Voice’’ a few times, Justin said. He would have turned 21 in June. The brothers never got the chance to make birthday plans.
‘We were like the Three Stooges’
Josephine and Luis Tapiru met in the Philippines and moved to Canada, where they both worked as caregivers. About 13 years ago, they moved to Chicago because “they wanted a better opportunity,’’ Donna Oduca said. Both were praised in local obituaries for the care they gave to the elderly.
Justin said one of his most treasured memories is of his mother when he was around 8. She took him downtown shopping, and they wound up in a Tommy Hilfiger store. “I really liked this shirt, and it was really expensive.’’
Over his dad’s reservations, his mom went ahead and treated him. Then while playing with friends, he spilled food all over it. “My mom laughed it off,’’ Justin recalled. “Oh, it’s OK, it’s fine, we’ll just put it in the washer. It’ll be fine.
“My mom is selfless,’’ he said, sobbing.
She always worked two jobs and only slowed down about a year ago while undergoing treatment for cancer. But she couldn’t wait to get on her feet again. A week or two later, she was back at work.
Advertisement
Smith said she was like a sister, watching out for her and Oduca. “We were like the Three Stooges,’’ she said.
Smith, 45, an accountant who is working from home these days, recalled the first few weeks of the stay-at-home order. Josephine would call her during her commute and say, “Be careful. Nobody’s out here. It’s scary outside. It’s like a ghost town.’’
[ Remembering the lives of those in Illinois who died from coronavirus ]


chicagotribune--2020-04-25--Alderman wants to buy protective masks directly from former Chicago mayoral candidate, businessman W

Alderman wants to buy protective masks directly from former Chicago mayoral candidate, businessman Willie Wilson

Far South Side Ald .
Anthony Beale , 9th , a Lightfoot critic , said he and four other aldermen @ @ @ @ @ their local ward funds to buy masks from Wilson .
The Lightfoot administration would need @ @ @ @ @ out of those accounts for the purchase , since the funds are usually used for @ @ @ @ @ street repaving , Beale said .

Air travelers with and without face masks use a moving walkway toward their gates at Midway International Airport in Chicago on April 19, 2022. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
An alderman wants to buy protective masks directly from businessman and former mayoral candidate Willie Wilson to distribute to Chicago residents, days after Mayor Lori Lightfoot said she refused to purchase masks from Wilson because he wanted an upfront cash payment.
Far South Side Ald. Anthony Beale, 9th, a Lightfoot critic, said he and four other aldermen want to use money from their local ward funds to buy masks from Wilson. The Lightfoot administration would need to approve taking the money out of those accounts for the purchase, since the funds are usually used for local infrastructure projects such as street repaving, Beale said.
Advertisement
Aldermen all over the city could do the same thing, Beale said. He wants to pay $60,000 from his menu account to buy 100,000 masks from Wilson for residents in his ward. Other aldermen could buy as many as they wanted, he said.
It’s unclear whether the plan will work.
Advertisement
The Lightfoot administration did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the idea, and whether the city budget director would approve moving the ward funds to make the purchases.
But Beale said with high coronavirus rates in many Chicago neighborhoods, and in particular among African American residents, the city’s priorities need to shift.
Ald. Anthony Beale, 9th, speaks during a City Council meeting in September 2019. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
“(Aldermen) can drop a street project or a curb-and-gutter project in their wards this year, and instead buy masks,” Beale said. “This is all about getting lots of masks to people as fast as possible. People need masks to go into grocery stores now. How are they supposed to operate, get necessities in their neighborhoods, if they don’t have masks?”
On Monday, Lightfoot accused Wilson of requesting millions of dollars from the city in upfront cash to help buy protective masks.
“The thing that really gave me personal pause was, as I understood it, Dr. Wilson’s requirement that we pay him all the money upfront and in cash,” Lightfoot said then. “Millions of dollars in cash is not something I’m ever going to do with taxpayer dollars.”
Lightfoot also said the city already had a “solid stockpile” of the masks Wilson was offering, and said it would have taken Wilson “weeks longer” than other providers to deliver the masks.
In response, Wilson denied wanting the money in cash and said the city didn’t get back to him about his proposal.
Wilson, who operates a medical supply business, on Saturday said that he should have millions of masks available within days, and individual aldermen could place orders with him. “I don’t want to get into the politics of it," Wilson said. “I just want to try to save people’s lives.”
Advertisement
jebyrne@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @_johnbyrne


chicagotribune--2020-04-25--Toilet paper, cleaning products and now, elastic? Mask makers cope with unexpected COVID-19-related

Toilet paper, cleaning products and now, elastic? Mask makers cope with unexpected COVID-19-related shortages as sewing machine demand jumps.

The organization , which started a month ago , has more than 150 members across the western suburbs and has @ @ @ @ @ for emergency personnel and health care workers , she said .
Most of the supplies @ @ @ @ @ to the group .
Elastic needed for masks is especially hard to find because it @ @ @ @ @ a quarter inch or narrower , she said .

Courtney Luken works on fixing a broken Singer Stylist sewing machine in her Wilmette basement on April 24, 2020. With the making of face masks increasing, people are looking to have their inherited sewing machines fixed. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
As shoppers scavenge to find toilet paper and other quarantine essentials, some crafters who are making protective masks said they struggle to find another necessary item: elastic.
With protection against COVID-19 spurring demand, hobbyists skilled in sewing have turned to making masks and are hunting down materials and sewing machines. That’s led to shortages of elastic and high demand for less pricey sewing machines and even the services of people who repair old machines.
Advertisement
The demand likely will jump even further after Gov. J.B. Pritzker required Illinois residents to wear masks when in public places where they can’t stay 6 feet away from other people. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which has some designs for simple masks, says that people should wear close-fitting masks and wash them frequently.
People across the city are pitching in to sew and donate masks made out of fabric and repurposed T-shirts, said Christine Baumbach, a member of the organization Chicago Mask Makers. The supply of elastic, the material used to secure the mask onto one’s face, has been quickly depleted within the last month, she said.
Advertisement
“We’re acutely aware of the shortage,” Baumbach said. “We save the elastic for masks for our health care professionals. Health care professionals appreciate elastic when they are wearing masks on their head for 12 hours straight.”
The organization, which started a month ago, has more than 150 members across the western suburbs and has made more than 6,500 masks for emergency personnel and health care workers, she said. Most of the supplies being used have been donated to the group. Elastic needed for masks is especially hard to find because it’s thin, about a quarter inch or narrower, she said.
Thicker elastic used to make waistbands, for example, is much easier to find in craft and sewing stores because it’s usually in higher demand, those in the industry say.
“Half of our wealth is sitting in the back of our closet, it’s amazing to see what people have dug up in their homes. But it is hard to get, it is very hard to get,” Baumbach said.
Karen Graham, owner of sewing studio Sew on Central in Evanston, said her stock of elastic has quickly disappeared. Before the pandemic, she estimates she had about 700 yards of elastic in stock and is now on her last 20 yards. Each mask requires about 12-14 inches of elastic, she said.
The thin elastic retails for about a dollar a yard, she added.
“Most of what is left is wider elastic so there’s been a huge run to get this particular size,” she said.
Graham buys her elastic wholesale through a company in France and is waiting up to two weeks for new shipments, she said.
Advertisement
Graham said many crafters continue to sew masks despite the shortage and are coming up with new ways to secure fabric masks, like using fabric bands or ties, for example.
“During the Depression, people would use every last piece of fabric, and we’re seeing the same thing now,” she said. “People are trying to repurpose everything and find and use what we have on hand. Sewing is taking its own life now.”
As more people seek to sew their own masks, Graham said she has seen retailers sell out of lower-end sewing machines as well.
“Finding an entry-level or beginner sewing machine is hard to track down right now, but there are a lot of sewing machines in storage that are coming out of retirement,” she said.
Helping those machines get a new lease on life is Courtney Luken of Wilmette, who has been fixing vintage sewing machines over the last four years. She’s seen an increase in customers looking to fix inherited sewing machines. Luken said she typically used to fixed about two to three machines in a given week. Last weekend, she fixed three machines in one day.
“They’re pulling out grandma’s sewing machine or mom’s machine,” Luken said. “People who aren’t sewing regularly got their machine out of storage or are coming back to sewing, and their skills are a little bit rusty.”
Advertisement
Luken said she has conducted a couple of video sessions with her customers to hold basic sewing refreshers like how to thread a machine, wind a bobbin or check the tension on their machines.
The crafting community is open to newcomers hoping to contribute or learn to sew, she said.
“Sewing is an art, it’s a skill I wish was valued more,” she said. “I wish we didn’t have to supply our first responders and health care workers with (personal protective equipment), but I’m glad our community has stepped up.”


chicagotribune--2020-04-25--Illinois Supreme Court to hear arguments via video

`` These are extraordinary times , but what we have found is that we can keep our traditions the same @ @ @ @ @ Burke said in a statement .
`` The Court has found that a lot of @ @ @ @ @ oral arguments – can be done remotely while still keeping people safe from COVID-19 .
@

The Illinois Supreme Court building is photographed on Tuesday, May 21, 2019, in Springfield. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune) (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — The Illinois Supreme Court will for the first time in its history hear oral arguments through videoconference because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The unusual procedure during May will allow the court's seven justices to observe social distancing, a practice which experts believe significantly limits transmission of the potentially deadly virus.
Advertisement
"These are extraordinary times, but what we have found is that we can keep our traditions the same," Chief Justice Ann Burke said in a statement. "The Court has found that a lot of our regular work – including oral arguments – can be done remotely while still keeping people safe from COVID-19."
The court is scheduled to hear 11 cases on May 12-14. Arguments begin at 9 a.m. each day.
Advertisement
Court personnel will have training sessions with lawyers involved in the cases so that they know what to expect from the virtual sessions.


chicagotribune--2020-04-25--Man found fatally wounded early Saturday morning in Washington Park neighborhood

Shortly after 4 a.m. , officers responded to ShotSpotter technology and found a victim in the middle of the street @ @ @ @ @ East 61st Street with a gunshot wound to the head .

A 29-year-old man was discovered fatally wounded, lying in the middle of the street early Saturday morning in the Washington Park neighborhood, Chicago police said.
Shortly after 4 a.m., officers responded to ShotSpotter technology and found a victim in the middle of the street in the 300 block of East 61st Street with a gunshot wound to the head.
Advertisement
He was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead, police said.
He was identified as Julius D. Gray of the 3500 block of South Rhodes Avenue, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.
Advertisement
A 28-year-old man was killed in another shooting in the same neighborhood Friday evening. That shooting happened shortly before 6:30 p.m. in the 300 block of East Garfield Boulevard, police said.
The victim was walking while he was shot and was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
Police were investigating.


chicagotribune--2020-04-25--At least 3 in moving truck try to make off with ATM machines at bank drive-thrus Saturday morning, p

At least 3 in moving truck try to make off with ATM machines at bank drive-thrus Saturday morning, police say

About an hour later , the crew tried again at a different bank in the 7100 block of West Grand @ @ @ @ @ another ATM machine .
It was unclear if any cash was taken , and detectives @ @ @

A group of three robbers in a moving truck attempted to take ATM machines in the drive-thrus at separate banks Saturday morning on the Northwest Side, Chicago police said.
The first incident happened about 1 a.m. at a bank in the 7100 block of West North Avenue. Three people in a moving truck placed chains around an ATM machine, attempting to pry open the machine, police said.
Advertisement
It was not clear if they were successful.
About an hour later, the crew tried again at a different bank in the 7100 block of West Grand Avenue, placing chains around another ATM machine. It was unclear if any cash was taken, and detectives were investigating.
Advertisement
No one was in custody.


chicagotribune--2020-04-25--Coronavirus mask material shortage

Coronavirus mask material shortage

While it ’ s tempting to order takeout or whip up a quick dinner using canned goods , the fresh @ @ @ @ @ to close in on their use-by date .
If you want to avoid your chicken @ @ @ @ @ wilting , the Food and Drug Administration provides a refrigerator and freezer storage chart so @ @ @ @ @ each food in your home is good for .

Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 6 Courtney Luken works on fixing a broken Singer Stylist sewing machine in her Wilmette basement on April 24, 2020. With the making of face masks increasing, people are looking to have their inherited sewing machines fixed. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
As more and more people make masks to guard against the spread of the coronavirus, mask-making materials are running low. It has also had an impact on the sewing machine service industry.


chicagotribune--2020-04-25--3 in custody after breaking into car dealership in Portage Park neighborhood

After a pursuit on foot , officers placed the burglars under arrest .
It was not immediately known if anything @ @ @

Three burglars were in police custody after breaking into a car dealership early Saturday morning in the Portage Park neighborhood, Chicago police said.
Shortly after 2 a.m., three males gained entry through a side window of a dealership and rummaged through several offices in the 5100 block of West Irving Park Road, police said.
Advertisement
After a pursuit on foot, officers placed the burglars under arrest. It was not immediately known if anything was taken.
Police were investigating.


chicagotribune--2020-04-25--One case? Or 38? Pandemic exposes inconsistent, incomplete data on COVID-19 cases in Illinois.

Health officials want to quickly learn as much as possible about each person infected with the new coronavirus — including @ @ @ @ @ age and race , and what they do for a living — to help figure @ @ @ @ @ spreading and who is most vulnerable .

On a busy stretch of Cermak Road in Cicero, a nine-story nursing home towers over a collection of shops and — by one measure — also looms as one of the state’s biggest hot spots for COVID-19.
Called City View Multicare Center, the massive nursing home by last Sunday afternoon had tallied at least 38 cases of COVID-19 among residents and employees, with six deaths. Cicero officials obtained the figures from the home and posted them on the town’s website.
Advertisement
But if residents had gone to the state’s online lookup tool for nursing homes to check on cases, they’d have seen a far different numbers for City View: just two deaths and — inexplicably — a single case.
Cicero Fire Chief Dominick Buscemi said he’s not sure why the state’s figures are so low. “It was a shock to us, too,” he said.
Advertisement
The disparity is a glaring example of a broad problem facing Illinois as it battles the pandemic: inconsistencies and omissions in the data it is collecting on COVID-19 cases.
A woman stands Friday at the entrance to City View Multicare Center nursing home in Cicero. As of April 19, local officials had determined there were 38 COVID-19 cases among residents and staff, with six deaths. The state's data at the time showed two deaths, from just one case. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
Health officials want to quickly learn as much as possible about each person infected with the new coronavirus — including where they live, their age and race, and what they do for a living — to help figure out how the disease is spreading and who is most vulnerable.
The state should be in a good position to carry out that kind of analysis. Illinois already has a system in place in which health care providers are required by law to report details on all kinds of diseases, from botulism to chlamydia.
But as the COVID-19 virus has spread rapidly, with tens of thousands of confirmed cases in Illinois, it’s become clear that the information the state has compiled on patients is far from complete.
For example, the race or ethnicity of the infected person is missing in a fourth of all entries — a gap in information that has especially frustrated Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot.
And although Gov. J.B. Pritzker has said one of his goals is to track infections among health care workers, the state has acknowledged that, for thousands of reported cases, the person’s occupation was not listed.
Meanwhile, the state’s new nursing home lookup tool — released a week ago — has presented figures that, at times, do not align with public statements from the nursing homes, local officials or even the state itself.
In a statement, an Illinois Department of Public Health spokeswoman acknowledged discrepancies exist but said that state and local health officials are doing the best they can using a strained collection system amid an unprecedented pandemic.
Advertisement
“While the data are important and we are collecting and tracking it, the priority is to stop the spread,” said agency spokeswoman Melaney Arnold.
At news conferences, state officials have pointed out that the data is provisional, or subject to change, and that the agency relies on doctors, hospitals, local health officials and others to input it.
“I know it sounds like it’s straightforward,” the agency’s head, Dr. Ngozi Ezike, told reporters Monday. “But it’s a little complex. ... The information that we pull out had to have been submitted.”
Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike at a daily press briefing about COVID-19 on April 1, 2020, in Chicago. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)
She added Friday: “We’re working with all of our partners to try to get as much data put in and updated in a timely basis.”
Pritzker offered a similar message Wednesday, when asked about an inconsistency.
“Again," he said, “it’s about the data in and data out.”
Advertisement
Part of the plan
In planning for a possible pandemic, the state envisioned that its robust system for collecting data on diseases could allow swift and sophisticated analysis to guide policymakers.
The data from the state feeds into a broader system created by the federal government, the National Electronic Disease Surveillance System or NEDSS. Illinois’ version is known as I-NEDSS. Even with no pandemic, it’s a 24-hour data workhorse, allowing state epidemiologists to track outbreaks ranging from Legionnaires’ disease to the West Nile virus.
State and local officials use other data systems to help gather information on infected residents, including systems for lab reports, deaths and hospital patient symptoms. But I-NEDSS is the primary one to log confirmed cases.
According to the state’s pandemic preparedness plan, it’s "specifically designed to handle outbreak situations, such as a ... pandemic event.”
The plan states that I-NEDSS can track, every 60 seconds, “case distribution by city, county and ZIP code; pregnancy status; hospitalization and emergency department admissions; deaths ... ; age, sex and race breakdowns; sensitive occupations, including health care workers; out-of-country travel histories; and laboratory confirmation by either CDC or IDPH.”
But it can’t crunch data that’s not entered.
Advertisement
Entries on cases are required by law to include a patient’s name, age, date of birth, sex, race, ethnicity, address, email address and telephone number, as well as any other relevant information the state seeks.
People familiar with the system say it relies largely on a variety of health care employees, working in hospitals, labs and other settings, to type the information into a secure, online database. But they don’t always fill out all the fields.
Local health departments are tasked by law with trying to fill in the blanks. In DuPage County, for example, 20% to 30% of cases can be missing fields, according to the county’s medical officer, Dr. Rashmi Chugh.
The department’s staff, while beefed up to help handle the pandemic, still must prioritize which missing information to chase down, as time allows, she said. The county employees also must cope with a rush of new forms, often faxed in, that document the results from ramped-up testing.
“A lot of times, all we’re getting is a fax report of a result that typically does not include a lot of the demographic information we need,” Chugh said.
The gaps don’t surprise Dr. Perry Smith, a retired New York state epidemiologist who’s worked with such systems and studied their challenges.
Advertisement
He said the systems rely on many workers to input and vet data. With sick or deceased patients, the families may not be reachable or may not have answers to all the questions. Or cases may have been entered twice, requiring a careful edit. And government health budgets have been cut.
“Unfortunately," he said, "over the decades, I think public health surveillance has fallen behind. I know it has.”
‘Not negotiable’
Earlier this month, journalists with WBEZ-FM reported that African Americans were dying at higher rates than other groups in Cook County. That report was based not on data from the state but on records kept by the Cook County medical examiner’s office.
The racial disparity raised an important question: If so many African Americans were dying from the disease, how many had tested positive? Reporters and public health officials realized that a lot of the cases being sent to the state didn’t list the race of the infected person.
Lightfoot, visibly frustrated, called on providers “not to skip over the boxes that provide us with the demographic information that’s essential” to understanding the virus’s spread.
She said the city would order it. She said it was “not negotiable.”
Advertisement
“We must understand the magnitude of the impact of this virus on all of our communities," she said.
That was April 6, when race or ethnicity entries were missing for nearly 1,300 Chicagoans who had tested positive, or 25%.
More than two weeks later, the problem appears worse, with such entries missing for more than 4,300 people — 27% of those testing positive. That’s roughly the same percentage seen statewide.
More missing data
On April 17, Ezike was asked how many health care workers had tested positive for the coronavirus, and how many had died.
According to the state’s pandemic plan, the answers should have been readily available. The plan noted that I-NEDSS system was programmed to capture such information.
“We have the occupational status for many of the cases that are in the database, but we haven’t broken it out like that,” Ezike responded.
Advertisement
That same day, her state agency provided the Tribune with the figures — such as they were. Out of more than 27,000 people who had tested positive at the time, occupations were specified for fewer than 4,000. That group included 1,717 health care workers, with six deaths.
Ezike was asked again Wednesday about the figures. At the podium, as she thumbed through pages in a white binder, she paused.
“So again, I have to remind all that the data that’s put into our electronic reporting systems is put in by someone else,” she said. “We’re not going into the hospitals to get it. ... So it may not be complete. Again, it’s what we have."
She then reported the number of infected health care workers had climbed above 2,500, with eight deaths.
Her agency later clarified to the Tribune that thousands of cases still didn’t include occupation information. Even when narrowing cases to people age 17 to 69 — the primary working years — occupations were missing for nearly half.
Inconsistencies
Perhaps the clearest gaps have been exposed in the state’s long-awaited tallies of cases related to nursing homes and other long-term care facilities — settings where experts long feared deadly outbreaks.
Advertisement
The Pritzker administration initially resisted calls to release statistics on cases and deaths tied to individual facilities before bowing to pressure for transparency.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Dr. Ngozi Ezike appear during a news briefing about the coronavirus pandemic on April 19, 2020, at the Thompson Center in Chicago. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)
Last Sunday, Ezike’s agency unveiled a website that listed cases and deaths tied to each long-term care facility. But reporters, and families monitoring homes, quickly found numbers that didn’t add up.
The total number of long-term care facilities on the site with at least one confirmed case was lower than the number the state had released days earlier: 186, down from 305.
The state’s new list also missed some cases that facilities themselves had publicly announced, such as those at the Lincoln Park facility for Little Sisters of the Poor. The group had told the Tribune it had 14 cases, with four deaths. Yet the Tribune could not find the home listed on the state website.
The inconsistencies aren’t just in Chicagoland. An Illinois Times reporter on Wednesday questioned why the state’s database didn’t list a Sangamon County nursing home where local officials had confirmed multiple cases, starting in March, and a death three days before the state’s list came out.
Public health officials cautioned that the data released by the state is not up to date. The state, for example, said the figures it published last Sunday were two days old.
Advertisement
But that still wouldn’t explain many discrepancies the Tribune and others found. Officials noted again that the state’s system relies on others to input the data.
Ezike on Monday said the state pulls data from its systems hourly. But she acknowledged challenges in getting data from "multiple reporting systems and a lot of players.”
The agency spokeswoman said Friday that the state’s priority, once a case is reported, is ensuring that homes take steps to stop the virus’s spread.
“Reporting numbers is not the most important function at this time and can wait while the facility and public health focus on resident safety and care,” Arnold said.
‘Hot spot’
In Cicero, town officials don’t wait for case numbers to roll in from local nursing homes. Buscemi, the fire chief, said a town official calls each of them at least once a day.
City View Multicare Center nursing home in Cicero. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
After all, he said, Cicero needs to know as soon as possible where the hot spots are. Police officers and firefighters might be going into those buildings.
Advertisement
The town also has made its findings public. For a month, Cicero has published updates on its website about a host of COVID-related topics.
The updates show the town was concerned about City View, which federal records show is the largest federally regulated nursing home in Illinois — with 485 beds — and has regulators’ lowest overall rating: one star out of five. Inspectors had cited the facility for health violations at nearly twice the average for Illinois homes.
City View administrators did not respond to an electronic message seeking comment. A reporter who called twice was transferred to two administrators whose voicemail boxes were too full to accept messages.
Buscemi said his crews rely on the town’s own figures to chart the virus’s spread, especially at City View.
“We knew the facility was going to be a hot spot,” he said.
Cicero’s updates show City View first told the town on April 1 that two of its residents had tested positive.
Advertisement
By April 17, the count was 38 residents and workers, with six deaths.
That was the day the state said it pulled data for its nursing home lookup, which it published online two days later. But the website showed City View had one case and two deaths.
The Tribune asked the state about the discrepancy hours after the data was posted. The state again said that it depends on accurate data input.
But within days, the state did update its online website to report one more case for City View, listing two cases, with two deaths.
By then, Cicero officials had logged a seventh death at the home.
Tribune reporters Morgan Greene, Gregory Pratt and Robert McCoppin contributed.
Advertisement
jmahr@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-04-24--Crazy to launch a restaurant during the pandemic shutdown? North Shore to-go spot stays on schedule

Crazy to launch a restaurant during the pandemic shutdown? North Shore to-go spot stays on schedule and finds success.

“ When people started to get news that we might be opening something there , there were plenty of Facebook @ @ @ @ @ time to be opening right now !
’ or , you know , ‘ not @ @ @ @ @ smartest move in the world , ’ ” said Walker , one of BWB ’ @ @ @ @ @ in our view , it may be the best time for us , as a @ @ @ @ @ ”

How do you host an opening during a mass closing?
That was the question facing Paul Bumbaco, Jeff Hoobler and Kris Walker, the group behind BWB Rocks, a new fast casual restaurant in North Shore, as they had already made plans to open before the coronavirus pandemic shut everything down.
Advertisement
The group pressed on, which elicited some surprise on social media.
Bruce Linderman wears a bandana over his face while looking up at order tickets as he talks to a customer over the phone at BWB Rocks Wednesday, April 22, 2020 in Highland Park. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)
“When people started to get news that we might be opening something there, there were plenty of Facebook posts saying, ‘strange time to be opening right now!’ or, you know, ‘not sure that’s the smartest move in the world,’” said Walker, one of BWB’s co-founders. “But in our view, it may be the best time for us, as a takeout and delivery concept.”
Advertisement
BWB is one of several restaurants in the Chicago area that have seen their grand openings disrupted by the COVID-19 restrictions. Other openings have included Miki’s Park, a Korean-inspired bar concept; Beautiful Rind, a cheese shop/restaurant in Logan Square; Bryn Mawr Breakfast Club and the upcoming Happy Monday Coffee Roasters, coming to an Uptown storefront.
The “BWB” in BWB Rocks stands for bowls, wings and burgers. The restaurant specializes in classic American fare with an accessible menu that’s “fast, fresh and local,” Walker said.
Serving that kind of need was the plan even prior to COVID, Walker said, but the shutdown and increased emphasis on locations offering carryout or delivery simply amplified that need.
Paul Bumbaco wears a mask over his face while placing an order inside customer Alec Ross' car outside BWB Rocks Wednesday April 22, 2020 in Highland Park. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)
BWB is located in Highland Park, next-door to Ravinia Brewing Co., and many of the staff — including Walker — work for Ravinia as well. Originally, the plan had been to use the BWB space as an overflow kitchen for Ravinia’s taproom, but the brewery only needed about a quarter of the space. Eventually, some staff decided to create a group and build out a separate dining concept in the space.
Then, when the taproom was forced to close, BWB’s opening plans were actually moved up.
“It just worked out like that. From (the closing), it was like, ‘how can we get this place open?’, especially from a staff perspective,” Walker said. “We haven’t been able to bring everybody back, but, knock on wood, we’ve been able to double the staff that we brought back since the opening.”
The approach fell into place. Since BWB’s soft opening last week, Walker said the support from the community has been fantastic. The biggest challenge has been disrupted supply chains, which is part of the reason BWB’s menu remains modest right now.
Guests can get the restaurant’s namesake food items, however. The bowls are customizable, with various protein and vegetable options. All of the ingredients, including sauces, are made in-house.
Advertisement
An order of wings is ready for packaged for delivery at BWB Rocks Wednesday, April 22, 2020. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)
In some ways, Walker said the manner in which the stay-at-home order has shaped our thinking about dinner — particularly dining out — has helped a burger-and-wings joint.
“What do you look forward to during the day, when you’re in this world of sameness?” he said, “I mean, 8 hours a day are always the same, and something people really get excited about is you know, ‘what can I do for dinner?’”
586 Roger Williams Ave., Highland Park, 847-748-8759, bwb.rocks


chicagotribune--2020-04-26--Father in custody after 5-year-old shot self in hand, police say

Bernard Shields , of Englewood , was arrested at 1:13 a.m. Friday in the 6100 block of South State Street @ @ @ @ @ the scene and tried to get rid of the gun , police said .
He @ @ @ @ @ armed habitual criminal and possession of a controlled substance , police said .

A South Side father of 10 is facing multiple charges after his 5-year-old son found his handgun and shot himself in the hand early Friday, according to Chicago police.
Bernard Shields, 36, of Englewood, was arrested at 1:13 a.m. Friday in the 6100 block of South State Street after he drove away from the scene and tried to get rid of the gun, police said. He is facing felony charges including armed habitual criminal and possession of a controlled substance, police said.
Advertisement
Before a judge on Sunday, prosecutors said Shields was at the home of the mother of his sons, ages 5 and 10, when the younger boy saw him in possession of a 9mm handgun. The boy later took the weapon into the home’s bathroom around midnight and shot himself, said Assistant State’s Attorney Marita Guzman.
Shields then fled the home with his 10-year-old son, leaving the wounded boy behind, and dumped the empty weapon in a field, authorities said. After he was arrested by police, Shields told police he panicked after the shooting and was afraid to losing his sons to state child welfare officials, Guzman said.
Advertisement
Shields has two prior drug felony convictions and is the subject of an order of protection filed by the boy’s mother, authorities said.
Judge John F. Lyke Jr., who lectured Shields for his recklessness, ordered Shields held on $500,000, with electronic home monitoring if he posts.
Shields is also facing misdemeanor counts of unlawful use of a weapon, possession of ammunition without a valid firearm owner’s identification card, violation of an order of protection and causing a child to be endangered, police said.
The boy was taken to Comer Children’s Hospital in good condition, police said.
The judge also barred him from seeing his sons pending any custody plan enacted by the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services.
William Lee contributed to this report.
pfry@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @paigexfry


chicagotribune--2020-04-26--Pedestrian dies after being hit by SUV in Little Village

The man , who was between 40 and 50 years old , was crossing the street around 8:30 p.m. Saturday @ @ @ @ @ West 31st Street in the Little Village neighborhood , police said .
A white SUV @ @ @ @ @ 31st Street hit the man and drove away .

A man died after he was struck by an SUV while he was walking across a crosswalk Saturday night, according to Chicago police.
The man, who was 40 to 50 years old, was crossing the street around 8:30 p.m. Saturday in the 4100 block of West 31st Street in the Little Village neighborhood, police said. A white SUV that was traveling east on 31st Street hit the man and drove away.
Advertisement
The man was taken in critical condition to Mount Sinai Medical Center, where he later died, police said.
The incident is under investigation, police said.
Advertisement
pfry@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @paigexfry


chicagotribune--2020-04-26--Newly released state figures show jump in COVID-19 deaths at some Illinois long-term care facilities

Symphony of Joliet continues to lead the state in the number of deaths tied to a facility , with 26 @ @ @ @ @ data .
Following , with 16 deaths each , are Glenview Terrace in Cook County @ @ @ @ @ in DuPage County .
The state reported Elevate Care North , in Chicago , has @ @ @ @ @ Wauconda Care and Willowbrook ’ s Chateau Center Nursing and Rehabilitation each having 11 deaths @

The state released figures this weekend that showed a dramatic jump in deaths of those linked to long-term care facilities — to 625, more than double reported a week ago.
The latest figures compiled by the state showed that, as of a Friday count, at least 278 facilities had 4,298 cases of residents or workers testing positive. Illinois Department of Public Health figures from the prior week reported 186 facilities, with 286 deaths out of 1,860 cases.
Advertisement
As of now, a third of all Illinois deaths from the virus have been tied to long-term care facilities.
Federal, state and local officials have long said they feared nursing homes could see deadly outbreaks from the virus, which has particularly affected older, more frail residents.
Advertisement
Advocates and workers had also complained many homes were short-staffed, with infection-control lapses before the pandemic. Workers also have complained they lacked enough protective gear, while homes have said they’ve provided gear while doing the best they could amid an unprecedented crisis.
In the past week, as the industry pushed for more testing, Illinois officials announced greater focus on testing residents and staff to find cases earlier — both at homes with no cases and others with outbreaks — to try to catch potential spreaders earlier.
It’s unclear how much the greater testing contributed to the big jump in figures for positive cases, because the Tribune had previously found inconsistent figures reported for homes. The state cautions on its website that its data may not be as up to date as those kept by local officials.
Symphony of Joliet continues to lead the state in the number of deaths tied to a facility, with 26, according to the state data. Following, with 16 deaths each, are Glenview Terrace in Cook County, and Windsor Park Manor in DuPage County. The state reported Elevate Care North, in Chicago, has had 13 deaths, with Wauconda Care and Willowbrook’s Chateau Center Nursing and Rehabilitation each having 11 deaths.
For total cases, three of those facilities also had among the highest in the state: Windsor Park Manor (94), Symphony of Joliet (93) and Elevate Care North (74). The facility with the highest number of confirmed cases was Alden Terrace of McHenry, with 99 cases, and three deaths.
A week ago, the state listed Alden Terrace of McHenry with just four cases.
Natalie Bauer Luce, spokeswoman for Symphony Care Network, said the rates of infection partly reflect that the Joliet facility was able to access testing supplies early on through a partnership with the Will County Public Health Department and IDPH.
“That has not been the case with all nursing homes — until earlier this week, public health authorities advised long-term care facilities to cease testing once a positive case was identified due to the severe shortage of testing supplies,” Bauer Luce said.
Advertisement
Symphony also has been advocating for universal testing, including calling in the National Guard to help, Bauer Luce said. On Monday, Symphony announced a partnership with University of Chicago Medicine to get better access to tests, and it has begun purchasing its own testing supplies from Abbott Labs and Alverno Laboratories. Initial results showed large numbers of asymptomatic or pre-symptomatic patients testing positive, according to Symphony, enabling isolation of infected patients.
“Testing is critical because the more you test, the more positives you are going to find, allowing us to isolate COVID-negative patients from positives in order to control the transmission rates,” Bauer Luce said. “We need to be able to implement these approaches across the board at long-term living facilities, but that starts with more testing made available to the industry.”
jmahr@chicagotribune.com
poconnell@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-04-27--Coronavirus in Illinois updates: Here’s what’s happening on Sunday with COVID-19 in the Chicago area

“ I want to remind everyone that by doing that , by standing together and not social distancing … you @ @ @ @ @ around you in danger .
They are putting you in danger .
And all of @ @ @ @ @ families and friends who are not there in danger , ” he said .

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)
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Sunday announced 2,126 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the state and 59 new deaths. That brings the state’s total to 43,903 cases and 1,933 deaths.
That’s the third time in recent days that the number of new daily cases has topped 2,000, with the peak on Friday with more than 2,700. But officials have cited the rate of new cases slowing in asserting that they are starting to “flatten the curve” of the pandemic’s local spread.
Advertisement
[ COVID-19 cases in Illinois by ZIP code: Search for your neighborhood ]
[ As the coronavirus spreads, the Tribune is tracking Illinois cases here ]
[ From closing schools to stay-at-home order, here's how Illinois' coronavirus response compares with other states ]
Here’s a recap of what happened on April 25-26 with COVID-19 in the Chicago area and Illinois:
7:19 p.m.: One model says Illinois might be able to ease restrictions by May 19
As Illinois enters another month with a modified stay-at-home order in place, easing up on social distancing guidelines — if an intensive containment strategy is in place — may be possible by late May, according to one team of modelers.
Advertisement
Projections from the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation mark May 19 as the point at which restrictions may be able to be relaxed in Illinois. But that’s dependent on a system of widespread testing, contact tracing, isolating cases and still limiting large gatherings.
The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation has regularly updated its projections, based on each state’s policies and demographics.
The dates represent the modelers’ best estimate of when the daily new infection rate in each state will drop below 1 per 1 million people. Read more here. — Chicago Tribune staff and Associated Press
3:57 p.m.: E-learning likely to continue in the future, whether or not classrooms reopen, governor says
Gov. J.B. Pritzker said schools need to make sure they have robust e-learning programs in place because, pandemic or not, students are likely to see more remote learning in the future.
In the nearer term, the governor said it’s “still unclear what things will look like over the summer and in the fall.”
“E-learning is an important thing for us to develop either way, and I think that we’ve seen that in this short period of time that we’ve been in this COVID crisis … is many, many schools are not ready for e-learning but should be.”
The state has funds to help schools “spin up e-learning,” which he said schools are likely to use more and more in the future. — Sophie Sherry
3:20 p.m.: Pritzker on video said to show Chicago house party: ‘You’re literally putting everyone around you in danger’
A video circulating online purports to show hundreds of people gathered at a crowded house party in Chicago, according to media reports.
Advertisement
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker addressed the video during his daily coronavirus press conference Sunday, saying such parties put at risk more than just those who attend.
“I want to remind everyone that by doing that, by standing together and not social distancing … you’re literally putting everyone around you in danger. They are putting you in danger. And all of those people are putting their families and friends who are not there in danger,” he said.
He adds that police ultimately have the ability to enforce stay-at-home order. They can charge individuals with reckless conduct if need be, although Pritzker says they have discouraged police from doing so.
The party was reported to have occurred Saturday night on the city’s West Side, according to online reports. Read more here. –Sophie Sherry
2:45 p.m.: Daily new COVID-19 cases again top 2,100, with 59 deaths in last 24 hours
Illinois Gov. J.B Pritzker announced 2,126 new confirmed cases, bringing the statewide total to 43,903.
That’s the third time in recent days that the number of new daily cases has topped 2,000, with the peak on Friday with more than 2,700. But officials have cited the rate of new cases slowing in asserting that they are starting to “flatten the curve” of the pandemic’s local spread.
Advertisement
Pritzker noted the numbers include many people who have already recovered from the virus.
The governor announced 59 more deaths in the last 24 hours, bringing the total to 1,933.
Pritzker also announced there were 13,335 new tests administered. As of midnight there were 4,595 COVID-19 patients in hospitals across the state. There are 1,267 patients in the ICU, and 772 of those ICU patients are on ventilators. –Sophie Sherry
11:50 a.m.: Coronavirus-related costs add up to about $23 million so far for Chicago Public Schools
Chicago Public Schools has spent about $23 million on coronavirus-related costs, including $16.5 million on technology.
That estimated amount comes in part from a $75 million emergency COVID-19 fund set up by the state’s largest school district and represents spending through April 10.
Among the anticipated technology spending is $6.5 million for 25,000 Chromebooks, $4.8 million for 5,000 Windows laptops, $2.6 million for 12,000 MiFi devices that work as hotspots, $2.5 million on 6,000 iPads and $113,000 on accessories and packaging. That’s part of an effort to provide internet access and devices to more than 100,000 students during the coronavirus school shutdown, which will continue for the rest of the school year.
Advertisement
Another $3.3 million is expected to cover educational materials including AP exams, packet printing, individualized education plans and literacy supplies.
The district also anticipated spending $2.5 million in premium pay for workers through April 10 and $900,000 on sanitizer, soap and facilities supplies, along with $19,000 on masks.
CPS has said it will start posting monthly updates online showing COVID-19 spending, purchase orders and any new contracts, but that hasn’t happened yet. The figures were provided to the Board of Education last week.
The $75 million measure passed in March requires CEO Janice Jackson to report money spent using that emergency authority. –Hannah Leone
11:45 a.m.: Indiana COVID-19 cases top 15K, 813 dead, officials say
The death toll in Lake and Porter counties rose to 76 in reporting Sunday from state and local health departments.
The Indiana State Department of Health and the Lake County Health Department said 69 deaths have been blamed on the COVID-19 pandemic while the Porter County Health Department is reporting seven deaths.
Advertisement
According to the state, more than 15,000 Hoosiers have tested positive for the virus and 813 have died. The number of local cases also continues to grow.
In Lake County, 1,533 people have tested positive while 219 have been diagnosed in Porter County. In statewide figures, Marion County, which includes Indianapolis, is reporting 4,796 COVID-19 cases and 259 deaths. Read more here. –Post-Tribune staff
Saturday, April 25
Here are five things that happened Friday that you need to know:
Breaking coronavirus news Stay up to date with the latest information on coronavirus with our breaking news alerts.
Friday, April 24
Here are five things that happened Friday that you need to know:
Thursday, April 23
Here are five things that happened Thursday that you need to know:
Wednesday, April 22
Here are five things that happened Wednesday that you need to know:
Advertisement
Tuesday, April 21
Here are five things that happened Tuesday that you need to know:
Monday, April 20
Here are five things that happened Monday that you need to know:


chicagotribune--2020-04-26--Video of crowded party said to be in Chicago prompts Gov. Pritzker to warn social distance violators

Video of crowded party said to be in Chicago prompts Gov. Pritzker to warn social distance violators: ‘You’re putting everyone around you in danger’

“ I have not seen the video though I did hear about it , ” he said Sunday during his @ @ @ @ @ First , I want to remind everyone that by doing that , by standing together @ @ @ @ @ many people not wearing masks , you ’ re literally putting everyone around you in @ @ @ @ @ you in danger and , very importantly , all of those people are putting their @ @ @ @ @ are not there with them in danger .
”

Angie Leventis Lourgos, Katherine Rosenberg-Douglas

Gov. J.B. Pritzker, shown April 19, 2020, admonished people for potentially putting themselves or family members at risk of contracting the coronavirus by attending a large party, purportedly held in Chicago. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
A viral video purporting to show a crowded house party in Chicago over the weekend prompted Gov. J.B. Pritzker to admonish the young partiers who appear to be standing shoulder to shoulder and flouting social distancing orders amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I have not seen the video though I did hear about it,” he said Sunday during his daily coronavirus briefing. “First, I want to remind everyone that by doing that, by standing together, not social distancing, many people not wearing masks, you’re literally putting everyone around you in danger. They are putting you in danger and, very importantly, all of those people are putting their families and their friends who are not there with them in danger.”
Advertisement
While the Tribune could not verify the authenticity of the video or the location of the large party, other media outlets reported that the footage was taken in Chicago. Some of the youths in the video were wearing Chicago sports paraphernalia; a few attendees appeared to be wearing masks, though none maintained the prescribed safe distance of 6 feet.
“The whole purpose of social distancing, of wearing masks, of staying at home in fact, is we don’t want to spread this to our loved ones or to others in the community,” Pritzker said. “So I would suggest that all of those people violated not only the intention of the order that we put out but also violated the trust of friends and family.”
Advertisement
This is not the first instance of reported social distance violations amid the pandemic. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said earlier this month that she personally broke up an underage drinking party on the Far North Side of the city. Viral images of St. Patrick’s Day revelers lining the sidewalks of Chicago and spring breakers along the beaches of Florida have incited rage over the last few weeks as the highly contagious virus spread.
Chicago police officials on social media acknowledged the footage of the party but said they could not verify the incident or location.
“We are aware of a video circulating on social media depicting a large house party inside of an alleged Chicago residence,” CPD said on Twitter. “While we cannot authenticate the nature or location of the gathering, we want to remind everyone of the social distancing requirements in place. CPD will disperse crowds in violation of social distancing requirements, and if necessary, issue citations or as a last resort, enforce via arrest.”
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Twitter also rebuked the people in the video, adding that residents can anonymously submit tips about house parties to Chicago police at http://cpdtip.com and authorities will shut them down immediately.
“I have seen the video which shows what appears to be a house party taking place inside a Chicago residence,” she said. “What was depicted on the video was reckless and utterly unacceptable.”
Pritzker last week extended a modified stay-at-home order through May. While the state has “the ability to enforce these things,” the governor said officials have largely chosen to “allow people to self-enforce, to do the right thing.”
“We obviously have asked the police and other law enforcement to remind people, when they see them and they’re not following the new social distancing norms and they’re not wearing a mask, that they need to do those things,” he said.
The governor added that if violators repeatedly refuse to follow social distancing practices, “there is the ability by the police officers to charge them with reckless conduct and take them into custody, though again, we have discouraged police from doing that because we believe that people will in general follow the rules.”
Advertisement
During Sunday’s news conference, Pritzker announced 2,126 new confirmed cases of COVID-19, bringing the statewide total to 43,903; there were also 59 new deaths, and thousands remain hospitalized with the virus.
That’s the third time in recent days that the number of new daily cases has topped 2,000, with the peak so far at more than 2,700 on Friday. This recent spike in positive cases comes amid a massive increase in testing for COVID-19 in Illinois, with more test sites launching across the state as well as a recent expansion of previously restrictive testing criteria.
eleventis@chicagotribune.com
kdouglas@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-04-26--COVID-19 cases in Illinois by ZIP code: Search for your neighborhood

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

Note: With Chicago and Illinois moving into phase 5, the Tribune is no longer updating this data. If the state moves back into bridge phase, the Tribune we reassess. Daily metrics on COVID-19, like cases, deaths and hospitalizations, can be found here. And Daily metrics on the vaccination effort can be found here. More on where the coronavirus stands nationally and around the world can be found here.
Illinois releases the number of positive COVID-19 cases by ZIP code daily. The map below shows the cumulative cases for each area as well as other analysis of the data.
• Check out the Tribune’s coronavirus coverage.
• Tracking daily Illinois coronavirus deaths, cases and tests.
Search below by street address, ZIP code or city, then click on the map to see the number of confirmed and probable cases. The state is not providing data for any ZIP code with five cases or fewer.
Data as of June 10.
The map search tool above works best in Chrome or Firefox and may not perform consistently in Internet Explorer.
Note: Because of a coding error this map was displaying the incorrect rates for new cases in the last 7 days per 100,000 people — the issue should now be resolved.. The Tribune adjusted the data shown on the map below to focus on new cases, those the state tracked in the last 7 seven days. The totals for the entire pandemic are still available, but in the pop-up after tapping or clicking on a ZIP.


chicagotribune--2020-04-26--Tracking Illinois coronavirus: 1,933 deaths, 43,903 confirmed cases, 214,952 tests, 27% ICU beds, 57

Tracking Illinois coronavirus: 1,933 deaths, 43,903 confirmed cases, 214,952 tests, 27% ICU beds, 57% ventilators open

As the coronavirus spreads and local , state and national governments work to contain and mitigate the outbreak , the @ @ @ @ @ .

Johns Hopkins University & Medicine tracked coronavirus cases, deaths and test totals from Jan. 22, 2020 through March 10, 2023, but is no longer providing this data. These charts will no longer be updated.
Check the Illinois Department of Public Health for the most up-to-date data for Illinois.
[ Remembering the lives of those in Illinois who died from coronavirus ]
Can’t see these charts? Go here.


chicagotribune--2020-04-26--2 people having their car towed on I-57 killed when they were struck by a passing vehicle, state pol

2 people having their car towed on I-57 killed when they were struck by a passing vehicle, state police say

Authorities were called about 4:30 a.m. to I-57 northbound near 138th Street .
A man and a woman were standing @ @ @ @ @ it was loaded onto a tow truck , when they were hit by a passing @ @ @ @ @ State Police , which handled the crash .

Two pedestrians were struck and killed by a car while standing near a tow truck on Interstate 57 early Sunday morning.
Authorities were called about 4:30 a.m. to I-57 northbound near 138th Street. A man and a woman were standing outside their car, as it was loaded onto a tow truck, when they were hit by a passing vehicle, according to Illinois State Police, which handled the crash.
Advertisement
The vehicle believed to have hit the pedestrians stopped after the collision, according to a news release from state police, then the occupants of that car took off running.
The man and woman who were killed had not yet been identified by the medical examiner’s office.
Advertisement
Troopers later determined the vehicle had been reported stolen, according to ISP.
All lanes of I-57 were closed following the crash, with traffic diverted off the interstate at 147th Street.
As of 10 a.m, all lanes had reopened. The investigation remains ongoing, officials said.


chicagotribune--2020-04-26--A Chicago man was arrested in a shooting at a Walmart in Indiana

Kokomo police said officers were sent to a Walmart around 3 p.m. Saturday and found a 29-year-old male with several @ @ @ @ @ inside the store .

KOKOMO, Ind. — A 30-year-old Chicago man has been arrested for a shooting inside a central Indiana Walmart that left another man injured, authorities said.
Kokomo police said officers were sent to a Walmart around 3 p.m. Saturday and found a 29-year-old male with several gunshot wounds following a fight inside the store.
Advertisement
The victim required surgery and was being hospitalized. Authorities didn't offer more details on his condition.
Police arrested Keith N. Terrell for aggravated battery, which is a level 3 felony.
Advertisement
A listed phone number for Terrell could not be located Sunday. He’s being held without bond at the Howard County jail.