chicagotribune--2020-05-15--Coronavirus deaths at long-term care facilities dip in past week, but still account for nearly half

Coronavirus deaths at long-term care facilities dip in past week, but still account for nearly half of overall state total

The death tally at long-term care facilities has continued to account for a greater share of Illinois deaths as the @ @ @ @ @ figures were first released April 17 , those deaths were 25 % of all those @ @ @ @ @ time .
By last week , they ’ d grown to 48 % , and @ @ @ @ @ of all deaths , as of Friday .

In the past week, Illinois recorded an additional 422 coronavirus deaths tied to long-term care facilities, bringing the tally of such deaths to nearly 2,000 since the pandemic began, according to state data.
The latest data, released Friday shows the most recent number of weekly deaths was lower for the first time, with 471 deaths of residents and staff recorded a week before. But it appears the state, without notice, tightened the criteria for what counts as a coronavirus case in the figures, making it difficult to compare the latest figures with past weeks.
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The latest figures — even with the tighter reporting criteria — reinforce how entrenched the virus has become in long-term care facilities: still accounting for nearly half the state’s deaths.
The weekly data release comes amid increasing calls for the Pritzker administration to do more to lower the virus’s spread among a population considered the most vulnerable, even as Illinois expands previously scarce testing for residents and staff at the roughly 1,200 facilities across the state.
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There are now at least 16 facilities with at least 20 deaths, and, for the first time, one is downstate: The Villa East in Sangamon County, with 20 deaths.
But metro Chicago facilities continue to post the worst numbers, led by Meadowbrook Manor of Bolingbrook and Center Home for Hispanic Elderly, each with 26 deaths. They are followed by Glenview Terrace and Symphony of Joliet (25) and Elevate Care Chicago North, Villa at Windsor Park, Woodbridge Nursing Pavilion and Manorcare Hinsdale (24).
Meadowbrook Manor had previously released a statement addressing the high toll, blaming it on the virus’s ability to infect people without causing symptoms, allowing its spread. While noting most residents were safe, facility officials said they take “each loss to heart.”
The death tally at long-term care facilities has continued to account for a greater share of Illinois deaths as the pandemic has lingered. When figures were first released April 17, those deaths were 25% of all those recorded in Illinois at the time. By last week, they’d grown to 48%, and now account for 49% of all deaths, as of Friday.
The Elisabeth Ludeman Developmental Center is shown April 9, 2020, in Park Forest. It has the most cases COVID-19 cases of 268. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)
As for confirmed cases, the Chicago area — which has had much of the boosted testing — also leads the rest of the state, according to the state’s updated online list.
The most cases ― 268 — have been recorded at the Elisabeth Ludeman Developmental Center in Park Forest, a sprawling state-run facility for adults with developmental disabilities. It’s followed by 242 cases at City View Multi-Care Center in Cicero, which has been embroiled in a lawsuit filed by Cicero officials alleging health directives weren’t being followed.
Behind them are Woodbridge Nursing Pavillion, with 204 cases, Meadowbrook Manor of Bolingbrook, with 184 cases, and Symphony at Midway and Symphony of Morgan Park, both with 177 cases
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The state cautions the data may not be up to date or complete. A previous Tribune investigation showed the challenges in collecting data in real time.
In its latest installment of data, the state — for reasons not explained on its website — changed the criteria for how it counts cases.
In the prior week, the state health department stated that it counted not only lab-confirmed cases, but also ones “meeting the CDC outbreak case definition (clinically compatible and epidemiological linked with or without a confirmed test).” Friday’s release states the figures include only lab-confirmed cases, leaving out other cases not formally confirmed by a lab.
That left some facilities, from one week to the next, actually seeing their cumulative pandemic counts drop. For example, in the prior week, Bickford of Aurora, in Kane County, was reported to have had 35 cases so far that led to eight deaths. But on Friday, the state reported the same facility had just 28 cases to date, with just seven deaths.
The facility was among seven that saw cumulative death counts drop from one week to the next, and among 70 that saw case counts drop, under the tightened criteria. That included three places in McHenry County that saw the biggest drops: The Fountains at Crystal Lake, from 67 to 35; Alden Terrace of McHenry, from 123 to 60; and Sheltered Village, from 121 to 41.
This story has been changed to note that the state tightened the criteria for what counts as a coronavirus case in the figures it released this week.
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jmahr@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-05-15--Mayor Lori Lightfoot says she will personally ensure dust cloud doesn’t follow Little Village demoli

Mayor Lori Lightfoot says she will personally ensure dust cloud doesn’t follow Little Village demolition

“ Living on the edge of a postindustrial site with all the ramifications that that carries has been traumatizing and @ @ @ @ @ and rightfully so , where people in that community have felt over the years that @ @ @ @ @ or worse , has exacerbated their problems , ” Lightfoot said .
“ I ’ @ @ @ @ @ that .
I think it ’ s incumbent upon me as the mayor and the @ @ @ @ @ understand that history , understand that trauma and how that implosion has exacerbated those feelings @ @ @ @ @ reality .
Now I have to balance all of that against a real public hazard @ @ @ @ @

Police officers stand guard as protesters stand across the street from Mayor Lori Lightfoot's home to bring attention to the demolition of the Crawford power plant in Little Village, carried out by a company named Hilco, on May 14, 2020, in Chicago. The mayor initially imposed a moratorium on the demolition after a partial implosion of the plant on April 11 created a potentially hazardous dust plume in Little Village, but residents were informed the city has allowed the demolition process to continue. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)
Facing pushback from community activists and elected officials over a planned demolition at the site of a former coal-fired power plant in Little Village, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Friday she will personally ensure that it doesn’t lead to another dust cloud engulfing the working-class immigrant neighborhood.
Lightfoot on Thursday delayed a planned demolition at the former Crawford coal plant at 3501 S. Pulaski Road where an implosion last month sent massive dust clouds into the Southwest Side neighborhood. Northbrook-based Hilco Redevelopment Partners, the project’s developer, has acknowledged not following a dust mitigation plan it gave the city and was fined $68,000 last month, the Lightfoot administration previously said.
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But residents and officials objected Thursday when Lightfoot’s buildings department said it would authorize demolition of a turbine structure at the coal plant because it is unsound and needs to be removed immediately. Following protests, Lightfoot said she would delay the demolition while her administration does more outreach.
The former Crawford coal plant in Little Village on May 14, 2020. (Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune)
In an interview with the Tribune, Lightfoot said she’s weighing public concerns alongside the need to knock down the building.
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Asked whether she can assure residents that a dust cloud won’t migrate over the neighborhood again if the demolition occurs, Lightfoot said, “I’m going to make damn sure that it doesn’t.”
“There’s a dust mitigation plan that’s been signed off on by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, the (attorney general) that’s brought suit, our people and if I have to stand with a fire hose myself while that thing is being brought down, we’re going to do everything conceivable to minimize any dust let alone one that would migrate off-site,” Lightfoot said.
Lightfoot said she understands the concerns expressed by Little Village residents and other activists.
“Living on the edge of a postindustrial site with all the ramifications that that carries has been traumatizing and there were many instances, and rightfully so, where people in that community have felt over the years that the government has abandoned them or worse, has exacerbated their problems,” Lightfoot said. “I’m very well aware of that. I think it’s incumbent upon me as the mayor and the government that I lead to understand that history, understand that trauma and how that implosion has exacerbated those feelings and be respectful of that reality. Now I have to balance all of that against a real public hazard on that site.”
She added: "God forbid it fall and someone is injured or killed, whether it’s a worker on site or somebody who is trespassing on that site. If that happens, that’s on me. I know that. So I have to mitigate that harm. But I’ve got to do it in a way that brings people in the community along on the journey that is transparent and that demonstrates my sincere passion for doing everything that I can to minimize the harm to them that’s been done.”
The mayor didn’t indicate when the demolition would happen.
Lightfoot was quick to condemn the botched demolition that sent a dust cloud into Little Village last month but has been under fire for allowing it to occur in the first place.
Rodriguez and Ald. George Cardenas, 12th, have expressed opposition to demolishing the building, citing the coronavirus pandemic.
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Pilsen Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez, 25th, also joined protesters outside Lightfoot’s Logan Square home late Thursday.
Asked about Sigcho-Lopez joining the protesters, Lightfoot said, “I think there are lines that shouldn’t be crossed. That’ll be for him to have to deal with. He’s chosen to exercise himself in ways that I don’t understand, but that’s why we have elections.”
gpratt@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-05-15--The Spin: A Biden-Duckworth ticket? |  Pritzker gets personal about 'threats to my safety,’ family |

The Spin: A Biden-Duckworth ticket? |  Pritzker gets personal about 'threats to my safety,’ family | Lightfoot says Chicago restaurants may reopen in June

Tackling the problem : `` He is considering starting a citywide unit devoted to stopping flare-ups in violence and other @ @ @ @ @ that has come and gone in the department in recent years , ” Gorner writes @ @ @ @ @ plans on building on CPD ’ s recent reorganization , engineered by interim police Superintendent @ @ @ @ @ violence by giving deputy chiefs and patrol commanders in charge of neighborhood-based crime strategies more @ @ @ @ @ investigators , as well as detectives .

Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., arrives for a briefing on the coronavirus outbreak, on Capitol Hill in Washington on March, 12, 2020. (Carolyn Kaster/AP)
Tribune scoop: U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth is going to interview for the post of former Vice President Joe Biden’s running mate, fellow Democratic Illinois U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin said Friday. It comes as she’s seemingly stepped up cable news and talk show appearances — and sidestepped the question of whether she’s being vetted for the job each time.
And Mayor Lori Lightfoot offered some hope on a day when flooding rains gave way to sunny skies and 70-degree temperatures:. She thinks restaurants - closed during the pandemic - could reopen as soon as June and she’s holding out hope for outdoor music festivals. The jury’s still out on the lakefront reopening.
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Gov. J.B. Pritzker acknowledged today that his family members have been in Florida and Wisconsin during Illinois’ coronavirus shutdown, saying that he doesn’t share a lot of about their whereabouts “because there are threats to my safety and to their safety.”
Pritzker and Lighfoot have warned everyone from businesses to churches about defying the state’s stay-at-home order that has shuttered all but essential businesses in the name of stemming the spread of COVID-19. The governor even warned that he may withhold federal relief money that passes through the state to local municipalities that ignore the order.
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Yet, it’s not clear whether their threats have real teeth.
While the governor has said businesses could face losing their licenses, WBEZ-AM 91.5 reporter Tony Arnold dug in and took a look at what some of the state regulatory agencies have done. He found, for instance, that while the Illinois Liquor Control Commission sent dozens of cease-and-desist letters to bars and the like, no liquor licenses have been pulled.
For her part, Lightfoot has warned the city “will take action” against churches flouting the order and holding Sunday services. But she penned a letter this week with a softer statement of “I simply cannot look away from non-compliance" following earlier statements: “We’re not going to send in the police to arrest parishioners.” Read the letter here.
Welcome to The Spin.
U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth speaks at the Illinois Democratic County Chairs’ Association’s annual brunch on Aug. 14, 2019, in Springfield. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)
Pundits and journalists across the country — “The View” and “Morning Joe” — have been asking U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth whether she’s being vetted to be Joe Biden’s running mate. She’s not given a clear answer to date.
But U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin let the cat out of the bag Friday morning when the Tribune’s Alice Yin asked him after a news conference this morning in Chicago whether he thought Duckworth was a realistic possibility to be Biden’s VP pick. Durbin indicated she was under consideration. Read the full story here.
“I support Tammy Duckworth. She’s spectacular, a great colleague, and I hope that she fares well in this interview, which I think is going to take place soon," Durbin said outside Stroger Hospital after he visited a COVID-19 testing facility. "And I’m totally in support of her.”
A Biden official declined to provide any additional details. A Duckworth spokesman did not immediately respond to questions about it.
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While Biden has vowed to pick a woman for the ticket, Yin and Bill Ruthhart also note that "Duckworth is lesser-known on the national stage than some of the other potential picks that frequently have been mentioned, including fellow U.S. Sens. Amy Klobuchar, Kamala Harris and Elizabeth Warren. Also often mentioned are former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Nevada Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto and Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms.”
Gov.-elect J.B. Pritzker and his wife, M.K., and their children, Teddi and Donny, walk to the center of the stage to take the oath as the state's 43rd governor during the Illinois inaugural ceremony at the Bank of Springfield Center in Springfield, Ill., Monday, Jan. 14, 2019. (Rich Saal/The State Journal-Register via AP) (Rich Saal/AP)
Pritzker for the first time today “acknowledged his wife and daughter were in Florida before Illinois’ statewide stay-at-home order took effect in March and just recently returned to Chicago,” the Tribune’s Rick Pearson and Jamie Munks write.
During a news briefing today he was asked about his wife family’s whereabouts. He said he was being “very private and very reserved” about his family “because there are threats to my safety and to their safety." Read the full story here.
Pritzker said on Friday he hoped that an unnamed Republican super political action committee “that’s pushing stories like this about my family, would stop doing it because they are putting my children and family in danger.”
But he also acknowledged his family had only recently left Florida, where they had been staying since at least early March, before his stay-at-home order was issued. He owns an equestrian farm there. Pritzker said his family also also traveled to Wisconsin amid the shut-down where they have a horse farm.
Pilsen Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez, 25th, joins protesters outside Mayor Lightfoot’s home late in the evening: They’re concerned about demolition plans at a one-time coal plant in Little Village coal plant that sent a dust cloud into the neighborhood. Read the story here.
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Mayor Lori Lightfoot. Gov. J.B. Pritzker and others walk away from the podium after they provide an update on COVID-19 at the Office of Emergency Management and Communications in Chicago on March 11, 2020. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)
It’s a real question as to what might happen Sunday if a handful of churches hold religious services in violation of Gov. Pritzker’s stay-at-home order.
As Gregory Pratt reports, Mayor Lori Lightfoot sent Chicago faith leaders a letter asking them to observe the stay-at-home order. She said she will take action “if we have to.”
The mayor also told reporters in a conference call today that, according to Pratt, she is trying to dissuade “a small handful of churches” that are seeking to violate stay-at-home rules. “We’re hopeful that we will not have to take any kind of enforcement action, but if we have to we will,” Lightfoot said.
Exactly what the consequences might be, however, remains to be seen.
Separately, the state has ways to go after businesses that flout Pritzker’s stay-at-home order.
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“The state has its own tools to punish scofflaws,” WBEZ’s Tony Arnold writes. He notes that “the state seems to be using its regulatory bureaucracy to go after those who ignore the stay-at-home edicts.”
While Pritzker has said businesses that ignore his order could have their licenses pulled by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, Arnold checked in with the agency licensing anyone from doctors to roofers about any warnings or citations issued and wasn’t given any data to that end. Read the WBEZ story here.
Not all businesses require a state license, so enforcement falls in the hands of local jurisdictions: My colleague Katherine Rosenberg-Douglas wrote this week about a St. Louis-area lawyer who “has become the go-to guy for businesses in the south and west parts of the state chafing at the stay-at-home rules.”
While he’s filed a lawsuit on behalf of a hairdresser and two Republican elected officials, he’s also written letters on behalf of other businesses notifying local authorities that each intends to reopen. She writes: “most of the businesses that don’t require special state licenses have already reopened, seemingly trying to force local or state officials to do something about it.”
Illinois’ 5 GOP House members want Congress to block Pritzker from withholding federal aid to municipalities that disobey his stay-at-home order: During his daily news briefing this afternoon, the governor said he believed the five had “the best interests of their constituents at heart” but were “missing the point” of his orders. Read the full story here.
Preckwinkle’s Cook County disaster proclamation could extend to Sept. 30: ‘The more time we give, the better’: It allows Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle to make “necessary” decisions without the board’s direct approval, such as issuing executive orders, moving money around and procuring essential supplies such as personal protective equipment, said Cook County Commissioner Larry Suffredin. The Tribune’s Alice Yin has the dispatch here.
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Durbin, Preckwinkle visit Stroger Hospital as more coronavirus testing funds roll into Illinois: The Tribune’s Alice Yin has the details here.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot wears a mask as she prepares to speak about the coronavirus at the Historic Water Tower in Chicago. Lightfoot has at times personally enforced the Chicago social-distancing orders. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune / Chicago Tribune)
Here’s what Lightfoot told the Tribune’s Gregory Pratt about restaurants reopening - and even taking in a concert under the sun or stars: "I see a world in which restaurants can reopen cautiously in June. I see a world over the course of the summer where people can sit outside and enjoy music and theater and other outdoor activities. I think we’re going to come up with some very creative ways in which those things can happen.”
Pratt writes: "In making any decisions, Lightfoot said the city will be guided by the public health metrics her administration announced earlier this month “but we’re trending in the right direction.”
Contradicting library commissioner, Mayor Lightfoot’s office says libraries not looking to reopen by June 1, the Tribune’s Gregory Pratt and John Byrne write.
This comes the same day as the mayor offered a mysterious tweet that nodded to our collective cabin fever: “People are itching to get outside. Businesses are looking at creative ways to serve customers. The key is how we do it. Stay tuned for some changes to our streets and sidewalks. Transportation is more than just cars. We’ll show how Chicago can be safer and easier to get around.”
People are itching to get outside. Businesses are looking at creative ways to serve customers. The key is how we do it. Stay tuned for some changes to our streets and sidewalks. Transportation is more than just cars. We'll show how Chicago can be safer and easier to get around. — Mayor Lightfoot #StayHomeSaveLives (@chicagosmayor) May 15, 2020
Lightfoot plan to give O’Hare, Midway airport businesses rent breaks amid pandemic advances: The Tribune’s John Byrne has the details here.
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As experts talk about the future of public transit, Trump tweets CTA ‘has big federal resources heading its way’: Reading my Tribune colleague Mary Wisniewski’s piece about how public transit could change in the age of coronavirus I could almost feel my wallet getting lighter.
The detail about the economic fallout with ridership tanking got me: “While agencies grapple with a path forward, they are dealing with the severe economic consequences of lost ridership."
The CTA, Metra and Pace could see almost $1 billion in revenue losses this year, according to the Regional Transportation Authority, the agency that oversees transit budgets.”
A large chunk of the relief money is going to the Chicago Transit Authority. And President Donald Trump seemingly sought to capitalize on that on Twitter this morning, writing: “Chicago’s @CTA has big federal resources heading its way to keep the transit system operational and to keep people moving where they need to go. $817M will aid in the economic recovery – buy Made in the USA!”
Chicago’s @CTA has big federal resources heading its way to keep the transit system operational and to keep people moving where they need to go. $817M will aid in the economic recovery — buy Made in the USA! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 15, 2020
As the legislature prepares to reconvene next week Lightfoot has her eye on casino legislation, other revenue generators but won’t be traveling to Springfield - One of the mayor’s top priorities remains her push to overhaul the state and city tax structure for a proposed Chicago casino after a study showed it was so “onerous” that investors may decide it isn’t feasible to open a gambling hall. Finding revenue streams is the name of the game amid a pandemic that has shuttered businesses and spooked consumers, resulting in a drop in all manner of tax revenues.
Amid the pandemic, the mayor’s been talking by phone with legislative leaders in the house and senate as well as the party caucuses in hopes of shoring up a deal, said mayoral spokesman Michael Crowley.
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“Advancing the Chicago casino is still a top priority for the administration, and we continue to work diligently to ensure that legislation becomes a reality as quickly as possible,” Crowley said in an email to The Spin. “While the mayor does not have plans to travel to Springfield, we look forward to working with state lawmakers next week on not only the gaming bill but also additional revenue measures to bring resources to the City.”
Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown speaks during an interview with the Chicago Tribune on Wednesday, May 13, 2020. NOTE: THIS STORY IS EMBARGOED UNTIL 3 P.M. ON FRIDAY, MAY 15, 2020. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune)
During an interview with the Chicago Tribune’s Jeremy Gorner, newly minted Chicago Police Supt. David Brown says the violence plaguing the city “is really a bit shocking” and “pretty in your face” but had braced himself for the challenge before taking the job.
Tackling the problem: "He is considering starting a citywide unit devoted to stopping flare-ups in violence and other crime, a controversial idea that has come and gone in the department in recent years,” Gorner writes. And he said he plans on building on CPD’s recent reorganization, engineered by interim police Superintendent Charlie Beck to help reduce violence by giving deputy chiefs and patrol commanders in charge of neighborhood-based crime strategies more control over narcotics and gang investigators, as well as detectives.
Brown also did not deny reports that he has told command staff he thinks Chicago could see under 300 homicides in a given year, which would be a record low, Gorner notes.
"I believe (Chicago) can be the safest city in the country,” Brown said. “And if you don’t believe it, it won’t happen.” Read the full story here.
Trivia: the 59-year-old Dallas native attended high school with former Chicago Bulls star Dennis Rodman.
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Twitter @byldonovan


chicagotribune--2020-05-15--She was about to give birth when she learned she had COVID-19. Here’s what happened next.

In these situations , the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that the mother stay 6 feet away from the child @ @ @ @ @ possible , the academy recommends moms wear masks and make sure their hands are clean @ @ @ @ @ .
Those precautions should be taken until the mom has been free of fever for @ @ @ @ @ seven days have passed since her symptoms first appeared , or she ’ s tested @ @ @ @ @

Parnit Faber knew what was about to happen, as she labored with her third child, breathing heavily through a face mask.
But knowing didn’t make the experience any easier.
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After Faber gave birth to a boy, a nurse held up the infant for Faber to see, announced his weight — and then carried him out of the room.
Her son Lucas was healthy. But Faber, of Darien, had tested positive for COVID-19 while giving birth at Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital in Downers Grove, so the baby was taken to neonatal intensive care as a precaution.
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Faber didn’t get to touch her child. It would be 12 days before she could hold him.
Faber was devastated, but she understood.
“It was just disheartening because what could I do?” said Faber, 39. “All I kept thinking was, I just want to make sure he’s OK. I wanted him to be safe.”
Chicago-area hospitals, and others across the country, are recommending that mothers with COVID-19 be separated from their newborns right after birth, in line with guidance from the American Academy of Pediatrics. They are often apart in the hospital for at least 24 hours, until the baby can go home with the parents — including the mom, who’s advised to keep her distance — or other family members.
Parnit Faber with husband Aaron holding their infant son, Lucas, and daughters Brynn, 3, left, and Alana, 2, at their home in Darien on May 5, 2020. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
If it’s not possible to put the baby in a separate room after birth or a mom wants to keep the baby in her room, the academy suggests making sure the newborn stays at least 6 feet from the mother. Many hospitals are recommending that women with COVID-19 pump breast milk to be fed to their babies by a healthy caregiver; according to the academy, no studies have detected the virus in breast milk.
“It’s hard because in all these circumstances, we don’t know what the right thing is, but right now, while there’s so much uncertainty, we’re being very conservative,” said Dr. Emily Miller, a maternal fetal medicine physician at Northwestern Medicine Prentice Women’s Hospital, where babies born to mothers with COVID-19 are being sent to specially designated nursery rooms.
Hospitals are also navigating issues such as whether to allow partners in delivery rooms of moms with COVID-19, and testing of mothers about to deliver.
At both Prentice and Amita Health, which has 19 hospitals in Illinois, partners are generally not allowed in the delivery room if a woman tests positive. NorthShore University HealthSystem, with five Illinois hospitals, and Mount Sinai Hospital are allowing partners if they wear personal protective equipment.
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“This is all new territory for all of us,” said Tracie Shelton, assistant chief nursing officer at Sinai Health System, which so far has had at least eight COVID-19-positive moms deliver at Mount Sinai, on the city’s West Side.
Prentice, Mount Sinai and Amita hospitals are testing all women for COVID-19 if they are about to have babies, and NorthShore plans to begin doing so Monday.
Dr. Ngozi Ezike, director of the Illinois Department of Public Health, said at a Friday news briefing that all pregnant women admitted to hospitals for delivery should be tested. Illinois hospitals that have already been testing all women about to deliver have found the virus in anywhere from 3% to 12% of cases, she said. Women with COVID-19 may be at further risk for complications after giving birth, she noted.
“Knowing if a woman giving birth has COVID-19 will help inform the medical plan, help inform medical decisions that need to be made, including those surrounding the use of the appropriate personal protective equipment,” Ezike said. “That will help protect not only the pregnant woman but also her health care providers and, in fact, her newborn baby as well.”
The pediatrics academy recommends that babies born to COVID-19-positive moms be tested for the illness 24 hours after birth and then again at 48 hours after birth. If an infant tests positive but does not show symptoms, the academy recommends caregivers stay in frequent contact with health care providers for 14 days after birth — through calls, telemedicine or office visits. Prentice, NorthShore, Sinai and Amita have not, so far, had any newborns test positive for COVID-19.
NorthShore has cared for nearly 30 pregnant women with COVID-19, though most were far from their due dates when they were diagnosed, said Dr. Richard Silver, chairman of obstetrics and gynecology. So far, the system’s Evanston Hospital has had three COVID-19-positive moms give birth, he said. Amita has had 11 women with COVID-19 deliver babies. Prentice declined to give a number.
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“The emotional toll this has had on pregnant moms and their families is not trivial,” Silver said.
Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital, where Faber gave birth, is now testing all women about to deliver for COVID-19. But that wasn’t the case when Faber delivered at the hospital in late March.
Before Lucas was born, Faber suspected she had COVID-19 but wasn’t sure. A nurse at University of Illinois Hospital, she had developed a fever, chills and aches after caring for a man she believes may have had the illness.
It was so early in the pandemic that not all hospital patients were being tested for coronavirus. And Faber wasn’t wearing a mask when she drew blood from the man’s chest port or gave him a breathing treatment. Not until after Faber had cared for the man did she learn doctors wanted to test him for COVID-19.
The University of Illinois Hospital declined to comment on Faber’s case, citing privacy issues. But Dr. Susan Bleasdale, the hospital’s acting chief quality officer, said in a statement that the hospital has “always followed the latest scientific guidelines from local and national public health officials, which have changed rapidly over the last few months.” The hospital began requiring all staff and patients to wear masks March 27, and began testing all patients for COVID-19 upon admission on April 16, she said.
Faber started feeling ill three days after she cared for the patient. She was then 39 weeks pregnant. She isolated herself in her bedroom at home, asking her husband to care for their daughters, ages 2 and 3, so she wouldn’t spread her sickness.
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Her 2-year-old, Alana, would come to the bedroom door and call “Mommy,” not understanding why her mother wouldn’t come out.
Then she’d hear Alana’s sister, Brynn, explaining: “Mommy’s sick."
Faber also missed most of Alana’s 2nd birthday, which occurred during her self-imposed isolation.
“I came out real quick in my mask and said, ‘Happy birthday,’ ” Faber said. “It was tough.”
During that time, Faber was tested for COVID-19 but didn’t receive the results quickly. Her doctor had planned to induce labor on March 21, given her risk factors, which included advanced maternal age and gestational diabetes. But she and her doctor decided to push back the date a couple days in hopes of getting the test results.
By March 23, there was still no answer, and Faber and her doctor decided it was time to move ahead with the induction. Faber had started to feel better, but when she arrived at Good Samaritan she received another COVID-19 test, in hopes of more rapid results. The nurses caring for her donned full personal protective equipment in case she had the illness.
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In midafternoon, the results of her first test finally came back: negative. Faber was elated, and the nurses caring for her removed their layers of protective equipment.
Faber’s husband, Aaron, remembers being surprised at the negative result, given how sick his wife had been.
Parnit’s labor continued to progress normally. And then, about 10:30 p.m., the second test result came back. It was positive.
“My OB walked in, and she was gowned up, in the full gear,” Parnit said. “I looked at her and I was like, ‘What happened?’ and she said, ‘Your test here came back positive,’ and I was just shocked.”
As a nurse herself, Parnit felt terrible for the nurses who had cared for her without protective equipment. She also knew the result meant that she wouldn’t be able to hold her baby once he was born. She and her doctor, Colleen Skay, had discussed earlier that week what would happen if Faber were positive for COVID-19.
Parnit wanted to do the right thing for Lucas, but she missed “the bonding with the baby and being with the baby. That was really hard for my husband and myself.”
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She cried as Lucas was carried out of her room.
“It’s heartbreaking to think about a mom not being able to spend the time she deserves with her newborn,” Skay said. “We all know how very valuable that experience is for a mom and baby.”
Doctors decided to keep Lucas in the NICU for about two days, just to be safe. Every day, Parnit would use FaceTime to talk with the neonatal nurses and get glimpses of her son.
“I would just cry every time, and the nurses were like, ‘Oh, he’s doing great,’ " Parnit said.
“It was just so hard, because I missed my son,” she said.
Lucas wasn’t tested for COVID-19, but he never developed any symptoms and seemed healthy.
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When Lucas was discharged from the hospital, the Fabers made the difficult decision to send him home with Aaron’s brother and his family. Many Illinois hospital systems continue to recommend that babies born to moms with COVID-19 be released into the care of a relative — or, if they go home with their parents, remain mostly separated from their mothers — for a time.
In these situations, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that the mother stay 6 feet away from the child. If that is not possible, the academy recommends moms wear masks and make sure their hands are clean when caring for the infant. Those precautions should be taken until the mom has been free of fever for three days and at least seven days have passed since her symptoms first appeared, or she’s tested negative for COVID-19 twice.
“That was just like the worst day for us,” Parnit said of the day Lucas was discharged but couldn’t go home. “For the safety of the baby, we can’t have him come home and expose him.”
The day after Lucas was discharged, Parnit started feeling worse again. Her oxygen levels dropped and she found herself gasping for air. She had developed pneumonia. Still in the hospital, Parnit was put on oxygen and sent to the COVID-19 unit.
“All I could think was, ‘I have to push through this. I have to be strong. My kids needs me. My family needs me. I can’t let this virus get me,’ ” Parnit said.
The worst of the illness soon passed. After about a day and a half, Parnit no longer needed oxygen and was discharged from the hospital. She went back into self-isolation in her bedroom.
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Five days passed before it was deemed safe for Lucas to come home.
Aaron Faber hadn’t been tested for COVID-19, but he seemed healthy, other than one day, about a week before Lucas was born, when he ran a fever. Their two young children also had felt ill for about a day, weeks earlier, but had been fine since. Given the lack of widespread testing at the time, no one else in the family was tested for COVID-19.
Aaron finally carried Lucas across the threshold of the family’s home when the boy was 9 days old. But Parnit still kept her distance, scared of harming him.
Her husband, wearing a mask, cared for Lucas. She could occasionally hear Lucas crying from her bedroom.
“I just kept telling myself: This is for him. This is for his safety,” she said. “I couldn’t live with myself if something happened to him.”
Three days later, she was able to, at last, hold her baby.
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He was 12 days old.
“It was just the best feeling in the world to hold him, to just finally be with him,” she said. “I just didn’t want to let him go.”
So far, everyone in the family has remained healthy. Lucas is now 7 weeks old, gaining weight and sleeping well. Parnit doesn’t have to go back to work until July.
Still, Parnit can’t help but feel a lingering anxiety every time she coughs.
lschencker@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-05-15--Lightfoot plan to give O’Hare, Midway airport businesses rent breaks advances

The airport concession help was originally included in an emergency order Lightfoot brought forward to give her more authority to @ @ @ @ @ without needing City Council support .
But she pulled it out of that package after @ @ @ @ @ her such broad powers .

Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s plan advanced Friday to give rent breaks to businesses at O’Hare International and Midway airports that have seen their revenue plummet because people are reluctant to fly during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The holes in the airports’ budgets as the rent goes uncollected would be plugged using federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act money specifically earmarked for the air travel network, Aviation Commissioner Jamie Rhee said. Local tax money will not be used, she said.
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The City Council Aviation Committee adopted the Lightfoot ordinance despite questions from some aldermen who want more assurances that workers at the airports will continue to receive health care and other benefits from the concessionaires that get city help.
Rhee said she would work with Westfield Concession Management, which oversees concessions, to try to make sure various subcontractor businesses are extending benefits. The ordinance does require that the businesses keep workers on the payroll.
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The airport concession help was originally included in an emergency order Lightfoot brought forward to give her more authority to make decisions during the pandemic without needing City Council support. But she pulled it out of that package after council members balked at giving her such broad powers.
jebyrne@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @_johnbyrne


chicagotribune--2020-05-15--U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth to interview soon for Joe Biden’s VP pick, Dick Durbin says

“ I want Joe Biden in the White House , and I trust that he ’ s got a process @ @ @ @ @ team to help him do that from the vice president on down to the cabinet @ @ @ @ @ .
“ I personally have always answered the call when my country has asked me @ @ @ @

U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth is going to interview soon for the post of former Vice President Joe Biden’s running mate, her fellow Illinois U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin said Friday.
Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee for president, has said he will select a woman as his running mate and announced a vice presidential search committee late last month. In recent days, speculation about Duckworth as a possibility has steadily increased as the senator has been more visible on television in recent weeks and participated in virtual events for the Biden campaign.
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Asked Friday morning in Chicago about whether he thought Duckworth was a realistic possibility as Biden’s VP pick, Durbin indicated she was under consideration.
“I support Tammy Duckworth. She’s spectacular, a great colleague and I hope that she fares well in this interview, which I think is going to take place soon," Durbin said outside Stroger Hospital after he visited a COVID-19 testing facility. "And I’m totally in support of her.”
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Durbin did not elaborate on the nature of the interview.
A Biden official said the campaign would run a “vigorous vetting process,” but declined to provide any additional details. A Duckworth spokesman did not respond to questions about whether the senator from suburban Hoffman Estates had an interview scheduled or whether she had submitted vetting materials to the campaign.
[ Joe Biden’s choice of running mate may have huge implications for Democrats. Here’s why. ]
In a recent appearance on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” Duckworth was asked whether she had received vetting materials or questions from Biden’s campaign. She sidestepped the question.
“I want Joe Biden in the White House, and I trust that he’s got a process for putting together the right team to help him do that from the vice president on down to the cabinet members,” Duckworth said. “I personally have always answered the call when my country has asked me to serve.”
Duckworth is a Thai American veteran of the Iraq War who lost both of her legs after the Black Hawk helicopter she was piloting was shot down by a rocket-propelled grenade. She was elected to a northwest suburban congressional district in 2012 and defeated then-U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk for his seat in 2016.
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Duckworth is lesser-known on the national stage than some of the other potential picks who frequently have been mentioned, including fellow U.S. Sens. Amy Klobuchar, Kamala Harris and Elizabeth Warren. Also often mentioned are former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Nevada Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto and Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms.
Throughout her public career, Duckworth has been a close ally of Durbin, who has served as her political mentor and is the No. 2 ranking Democrat in the U.S. Senate.
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“Let me tell you. If you’ve got Tammy Duckworth by your side, it’s a winning combination whoever you are. She is such an amazing person," Durbin said Friday. "What a story. What a life story, what a story of courage and her comeback from this massive injury she suffered in service to our country is an inspiration.”
ayin@chicagotribune.com
bruthhart@chicagotribune.com


Corrections and clarifications

Publishing information quickly and accurately is a central part of the Chicago Tribune ’ s news responsibility and a value @ @ @ @ @ .
Our editorial code of principles governs professional behavior and journalism standards .
Everyone in @ @ @ @ @ live up to this code of conduct .
Download the file .

· A story in the May 10 Business section about ways the workplace will change as a result of COVID-19 incorrectly described a tool Zebra Technologies uses to encourage social distancing. It is a software application, not a new device, and would be used primarily in distribution centers, warehouses, postal and manufacturing environments.
The Tribune regrets the error.
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Publishing information quickly and accurately is a central part of the Chicago Tribune’s news responsibility and a value shared in all our publications. Our editorial code of principles governs professional behavior and journalism standards. Everyone in our newsroom must agree to live up to this code of conduct. Download the file.
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chicagotribune--2020-05-15--Mayor Lori Lightfoot says Chicago restaurants may reopen in June, sees hope for outdoor music and th

Mayor Lori Lightfoot says Chicago restaurants may reopen in June, sees hope for outdoor music and theater

Under Lightfoot ’ s plan , the city also would need to be able to test 135,000 residents per month @ @ @ @ @ below 15 % of those tested in the community and at least 14 days of @ @ @ @ @ , on average .
Positive rates of below 30 % would be needed in “ @ @ @ @ @ nursing homes , shelters and jails , according to the Lightfoot plan .

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)
Chicago restaurants might be able to reopen in June and residents may be allowed to sit outside enjoying music, theater and other outdoor activities, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Friday.
Lightfoot also told the Tribune she will eventually reopen the lakefront, though it’s too soon to say when.
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The mayor made the comments during a wide-ranging interview with the Tribune during which she said the city will “be in a position to see some form of summer life start in June.”
Mayor Lori Lightfoot talks during an interview in her office, May 15, 2020. (Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune)
Asked to elaborate, Lightfoot said, "I see a world in which restaurants can reopen cautiously in June. I see a world over the course of the summer where people can sit outside and enjoy music and theater and other outdoor activities. I think we’re going to come up with some very creative ways in which those things can happen.”
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[ Chicago’s lakefront will remain closed, but here are the industries that Mayor Lori Lightfoot says are on track to expand or reopen during next phase ]
In making any decisions, Lightfoot said the city will be guided by the public health metrics her administration announced earlier this month “but we’re trending in the right direction.”
“I know people are anxious to get back outside and there’s a lot we’re learning around why being outside is much better than being cooped up inside … so I am pressing my team and the people that we’re in conversation with, the recovery task force, to really think expansively about opportunities to do that,” Lightfoot said.
Earlier this month, Lightfoot laid out a five-phase plan that layers additional standards for rates of infection and testing capacity on top of the state rules Gov. J.B. Pritzker unveiled earlier. As with Pritzker’s “Restore Illinois” plan, Lightfoot’s framework sets a high bar for returning to normalcy.
[ Here's a closer look at Lightfoot ‘five-star’ plan for reopening Chicago ]
Lightfoot can’t set looser standards than the statewide ones laid out by the governor, but she can tailor them to the city.
Under Lightfoot’s plan, the city also would need to be able to test 135,000 residents per month, with positive rates decreasing below 15% of those tested in the community and at least 14 days of declining rates of new cases, on average. Positive rates of below 30% would be needed in “congregate” settings such as nursing homes, shelters and jails, according to the Lightfoot plan.
Those standards are stricter than what Pritzker laid out in his statewide plan. The governor called for positive rates at or below 20% and an increase in the positive rate of no more than 10 percentage points over 14 days.
[ How will Illinois reopen? Three charts breaking down Pritzker’s plan ]
But one key simmering issue has been how the city and state will address restaurant reopenings in coming weeks. Pritzker’s rules for reopening have been criticized by Illinois Restaurant Association head Sam Toia as too strict, while Lightfoot has included Toia on a coronavirus recovery task force and repeatedly expressed concerns about mom and pop restaurants going out of business.
Lightfoot likely will need some buy-in from Pritzker to make reopenings happen.
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During the Tribune interview, Lightfoot also said the lakefront will eventually reopen, but couldn’t give a time frame.
“It’s not going to reopen probably as fast as people want it to, and it’s definitely going to reopen at least initially with a lot of restrictions around it, but the lakefront is the jewel of our city," Lightfoot said.
gpratt@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @royalpratt


chicagotribune--2020-05-15--How much is the state spending on COVID-19 and what is it for? Search our database

The list below shows items the state purchased as well as a list of restaurants , bars and hotels that @ @ @ @ @ Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity .
Grant amounts to individual businesses were not @ @ @ @ @ site said restaurants and bars received an average grant of $ 14,000 and hotels an @ @ @ @ @

Whether it’s for gloves, masks, ventilators, testing supplies or materials to help set up field hospitals at McCormick Place and across the state, the money the state is spending to fight the coronavirus pandemic is being tracked by the comptroller’s office.
Data from late March and early April showed most spending on PPE, personal protective equipment like gloves and masks, while spending in late April was more focused on materials for coronavirus tests. This data does not include spending on salaries and overtime related to the pandemic.
The list below shows items the state purchased as well as a list of restaurants, bars and hotels that received emergency grants from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity. Grant amounts to individual businesses were not released, however the DCEO site said restaurants and bars received an average grant of $14,000 and hotels an average of $30,000.
Can’t see these charts? Go here.


chicagotribune--2020-05-15--Prom wishes & graduation dreams: Area seniors haven’t given up on partaking in memorable moments dur

Prom wishes & graduation dreams: Area seniors haven’t given up on partaking in memorable moments during the pandemic

“ I ’ ve been at Latin since I was like four years old , so to never get closure @ @ @ @ @ seeing all the grades that went to graduation in the past and waiting for that @ @ @ @ @ all of that – like May 1 especially , there are just some huge traditions @ @ @ @ @ get to have as a senior , ” Koo said .
“ I do know @ @ @ @ @ best to do all they can to keep our spirits up and do all that @ @ @ @ @ much appreciated .
But there ’ s nothing that can really make up for this @ @ @ @ @ ”

When Mayor Lori Lightfoot calls out the name of your high school during a coronavirus press conference, you may think it’s a bad thing. But on Friday, May 22, it was all good.
That’s what happened for seniors of Muchin College Prep, a public charter school part of the Noble charter school network, located in the Loop. Muchin staff and seniors registered 243 out of 247 students to vote as part of the 2020 Prom Challenge created in partnership between MTV and When We All Vote, Michelle Obama’s nonpartisan organization. Their almost perfect voter registration number won them a chance to partake in MTV’s Prom-athon, a virtual prom with celebrities like Chloe x Halle will perform, Fat Joe and Janelle Monáe are slated to make special appearances and DJ Khaled is the night’s “Prom Boss.”
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Muchin is one of 20 high schools across the country selected to participate in the festivities that take place online Friday evening, including Calumet City’s Thornton Fractional North High School, according to the list of winners. Seniors got a link to attend the event and the school received $5,000 for its civic endeavor.
“We could not believe it,” said 10th grade teacher and incoming dean of students Evie Deavila. “It’s incredible to get recognized for doing incredible things. Muchin feels appreciative for the recognition. 1,600 schools applied ... and we’re a small school compared to other high schools (we only have about 1,000 kids), so we were extremely humbled to even be considered a finalist. The idea that the mayor mentioned us today, was the coolest thing ever.”
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Obama spoke to some Muchin seniors and staff last week to inform them of their win via Zoom.
I'm so proud of these students, who each registered their classmates and community to vote. These are the kind of actions that make all the difference.
To celebrate these young people, join us on May 22 for #MTVPromathon with @MTV & @WhenWeAllVote. RSVP: https://t.co/ggVjRpS3CU pic.twitter.com/njiqDpOcGy — Michelle Obama (@MichelleObama) May 15, 2020
The 20 schools will be highlighted when MTV’s Prom-athon kicks off tonight, featuring short-form original content from the winners. Afterward, MTV’s YouTube will host the virtual prom party.
Muchin’s June 5 prom was canceled due to the pandemic. According to Deavila, the school is doing everything it can to make their seniors feel special with a spirit week specifically for seniors where every senior’s college decision will be posted on social media. And a virtual dance with DJ May 29. The $5,000 will be used to send care packages to each senior — packages that include things like lawn signs, T-shirts, caps and gowns. Gift cards are also being considered, she said.
“We’re just over the moon," Deavila said. "I’m sure you understand, losing your senior year of high school, you look forward to these events for so long — their class trip was canceled, their prom, their graduation, so having this as a memory for them will just be incredible.They’re excited that just registering to vote really got them this ticket.”
Virtual proms are virtually everywhere since coronavirus has upended many senior plans. Senior classes from Nicolas Senn High School and Glenbrook North High School were invited to join the AXE x Teen Vogue Virtual Prom on May 16. The Zoom event included TikTok creator Rickey Thompson, DJ sets, curated playlists, interactive choreography, and custom thematic backdrops. Chipotle Mexican Grill threw a @ChipotleAfterParty. And artists like singer Maylyn wrote a song called “Prom Night” that featured an Illinois senior from Plainfield.
Coronavirus closed down the state and schools before senior activities really started, so many students held out hope that the pandemic would merely delay planned festivities. Now, two months indoors with restrictions still in place, school administrations are trying to juggle best case scenarios for students and parents for proms and graduations, online platforms keep providing venues where virtual dances can be had, and some youth are taking the reins of what their IRL senior moments will look like once stay at home rules are loosened. Here’s what some area schools are doing:
Oak Forest High School’s graduation is slated for July 14, but still pending updated guidance from Gov. J.B. Prtizker regarding public events. The city scheduled a parade of graduates at 6 p.m. May 19. Prom is tentatively scheduled for July 10.
Hinsdale Central High School held a virtual commencement on May 21, but there is also a possibility of a second ceremony in the summer. As for prom, details are not finalized but according to Sally Phillip, the school’s director of student activities, a summer event that would include a social, a graduation stage to walk across for pictures and an opportunity for signing yearbooks, among other things.
School District U-46 (which includes Elgin, South Elgin, Bartlett, Streamwood and Larkin high schools) reversed course on its commencement ceremonies for the class of 2020, canceling the July 11 in-person event at the Sears Centre in favor of a virtual graduation June 13. The change has some parents asking for something better. Jean Driscoll, aunt to a Streamwood High School senior, started a petition for a more personal graduation ceremony after reading a text from her niece that said “Graduation is a virtual ceremony June 13th. Graduation attire: my pjs 😢.” “That just broke my heart,” Driscoll wrote in an email. And as far as proms being rescheduled, Mary Fergus, School District U-46′s director of School & Community Relations said there’s no news on that, even though “a couple of our schools have had ‘Prom on the Lawn’ events,” where kids got dressed up.
Kenwood Academy High School recently sent out a Senior Town Hall note asking seniors if they were interested in a virtual prom. The school’s graduation will happen virtually via Zoom at 6 p.m. June 8.
The Latin School of Chicago has been Maddie Koo’s place of learning for the past 14 years. Before coronavirus, the senior was looking forward to school traditions like “Decision Day,” where on May 1, students show up to campus wearing the college apparel of the institution of higher learning they chose to attend in the fall. Or signing her name on the walls of the senior stairway.
“You walk down those staircases and you see everyone’s name from the past — it’s a cool tradition that we have,” she said. According to the Bucktown resident, the school’s administration is trying to figure out if seniors would be able to go inside the school, maybe one by one after a virtual graduation, to make that happen.
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According to Koo, a group senior picture is traditionally taken outside before school starts — a show of camaraderie to recognize seniors’ accomplishments. Pictures with parents and friends follow.
“I’ve been at Latin since I was like 4 years old. So to never get closure with this school and just seeing all the grades that went to graduation in the past, and waiting for that and for senior prom and all of that — like May 1 especially — there are just some huge traditions that I’ll never get to have as a senior,” Koo said. “I do know that Latin is trying its best to do all they can to keep our spirits up ... which is much appreciated. But there’s nothing that can really make up for this situation for all seniors.”
Koo, 17, said that although prom was canceled for the Latin School of Chicago, virtual dances have taken place on Zoom through the school. But nothing can replace prom, she said. A spring formal for seniors has been proposed for Aug. 4; a virtual graduation is slated for June 4, and an in-person graduation is tentatively set for Aug. 8, Koo added.
“My parents have had their high school experiences and so have all my teachers, so it’s sort of like no one understands our position because they’ve already had it,” Koo said. “My younger siblings will probably be able to have that in the future, so it’s kind of like all seniors are in a bubble because we’re getting pity from other people but they don’t exactly know how it feels.”
Caellin Flaherty, a senior at Lincoln-Way East High School in Frankfort, knows how it feels. He said while many schools in the area have postponed their proms, Lincoln-Way Community High School District 210 has canceled it completely, leaving the senior class devastated. So he and four of his peers started planning a private prom for July 8 at Bolingbrook Golf Club. The teens started a GoFundMe campaign to see it to fruition. So far, they have $9,260 of their $20,000 goal raised to help with the cost of hiring a DJ, buying decorations and private security. Ticket sales are set to begin June 1. The prom’s theme: Roaring ’20s.
“We wanted to give our seniors a correct send-off,” Flaherty said. “A lot of people want closure with an in-real-life prom. A virtual prom just isn’t the same.”
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Seniors and parents, send your prom photos to drockett@chicagotribune.com. We will feature them in our Senior Week coverage.
drockett@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-05-15--Durbin, Preckwinkle visit Stroger Hospital as more coronavirus testing funds roll into Illinois

During a visit to Stroger Hospital on the Near West Side , Durbin announced Illinois will get $ 473 million @ @ @ @ @ state .
Over 600,000 testing swabs will arrive this month .
The funding comes from @ @ @ @ @ and Prevention after President Donald Trump in April signed the Paycheck Protection Program and Health @ @ @ @ @ allows for a total $ 25 billion to boost testing across states .

U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, center, and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, second from left, tour a COVID-19 testing site at Stroger Hospital. (Alice Yin/Chicago Tribune/Alice Yin/Chicago Tribune)
U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin on Friday touted a fresh influx of federal funding for coronavirus testing in Illinois, while stressing the need for more support to combat the deadly disease.
During a visit to Stroger Hospital on the Near West Side, Durbin announced Illinois will get $473 million to uplift testing across the state. Over 600,000 testing swabs will arrive this month. The funding comes from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention after President Donald Trump in April signed the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act, which allows for a total $25 billion to boost testing across states.
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Durbin said that is not enough — despite Trump’s boasts this week that the U.S. leads the world in testing and the nation has “prevailed” against the coronavirus.
“We absolutely, positively need to have even more,” Durbin said. “When the president stands up and says we have prevailed over (COVID-19), he is just flat-out wrong. … We have not prevailed. This is still a battle that we have to win.”
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Durbin noted that the House Democrats’ proposed $3 trillion new coronavirus stimulus package would boost coronavirus testing, contact tracing and isolation measures in the U.S. by another $75 billion. The House could vote on the plan Friday, but it’s not expected to gain traction in the Republican-controlled Senate, where Durbin is the second-ranking Democrat.
Durbin also showed support for Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, who is lobbying Washington for financial relief amid lost revenue in Cook County, which faces a budget shortfall of at least $200 million. The House Democrats’ so-called Heroes Act also would funnel nearly a trillion dollars to state and local governments.
“This is absolutely essential,” Durbin said. “We have our work cut out for us.”
Preckwinkle, joining Durbin at the news conference, said she fears the $200 million in lost revenue will balloon.
“We’re looking, frankly, at a depression,” Preckwinkle said. “This is not a red state or blue state issue. Local government units all across the country are hurting.”
Cook County Health interim CEO Debra Carey greeted Durbin before offering him a tour of a testing facility tent on the hospital parking lot. Carey said although half of Stroger Hospital’s patients were being treated for COVID-19 at one point, currently that number is at 40%. Many are uninsured.
More testing — and contact tracing, which entails tracking down previous interactions a person with the coronavirus had with others — is needed, Carey said.
“Testing is vital, absolutely essential for us to get a handle on the coronavirus,” Carey said. “This is not basically a quick sprint. This is a marathon, and we are going the distance.”
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ayin@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-05-15--Gov. J.B. Pritzker acknowledges family members  have been in Florida and Wisconsin during coronaviru

Gov. J.B. Pritzker acknowledges family members  have been in Florida and Wisconsin during coronavirus shutdown

“ You have seen that there are people that stand outside the Thompson Center and stand outside the Capitol in @ @ @ @ @ mean , hateful signs that reference me personally and that suggest , if not say @ @ @ @ @ for violence , ” he said .

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker speaks during the daily press briefing regarding the coronavirus pandemic 0n May 3, 2020, at the Thompson Center in Chicago. (Erin Hooley/Chicago Tribune)
Gov. J.B. Pritzker for the first time Friday acknowledged his wife and daughter were in Florida before Illinois’ statewide stay-at-home order took effect in March and just recently returned to Chicago.
He said he was being “very private and very reserved” about his family “because there are threats to my safety and to their safety.
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“You have seen that there are people that stand outside the Thompson Center and stand outside the Capitol in Springfield, holding, I mean, hateful signs that reference me personally and that suggest, if not say, but suggest the potential for violence,” he said.
On April 29, Pritzker testily responded to a question about a Patch.com report that his wife and family had gone to Florida amid the governor’s stay-at-home orders.
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“My official duties have nothing to do with my family. So, I’m not going to answer that question. It's inappropriate and I find it reprehensible,” he said of stories about his family.
That response prompted an outcry from Republican and right-leaning groups that the Democratic governor’s own wife wasn’t heeding the mandates of Pritzker’s stay-at-home order, though Pritzker never imposed an outright travel ban for residents.
“If his family can’t even heed the guidance of his own stay at home order, how does he expect Illinois voters to do the same?” said a May 4 email from the Republican National Committee with the subject line: “Governor Pritzker can’t take the heat.”
Pritzker said on Friday he hoped that an unnamed Republican super political action committee “that’s pushing stories like this about my family, would stop doing it because they are putting my children and family in danger.”
But he also acknowledged his family had only recently left Florida, where they had been staying since at least early March, before his stay-at-home order was issued. He owns an equestrian farm there.
Pritzker owns a horse farm in Racine, Wisconsin, and he indicated that his family was there.
“I just will say we have a working farm. They’re there now. There are animals on that farm, that it’s an essential function to take care of animals at a farm, so that’s what they’re doing,” he said.
A Pritzker spokeswoman later clarified that the family is at home in Chicago and have visited the farm but haven’t stayed there.
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jmunks@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-05-15--Preckwinkle’s Cook County disaster proclamation could extend to Sept. 30: ‘The more time we give, th

Preckwinkle’s Cook County disaster proclamation could extend to Sept. 30: ‘The more time we give, the better’

“ On the backside of COVID , knowing a lot more than we know now , I do n't know @ @ @ @ @ continue with the president having complete authority to run county government , government spending and @ @ @ @ @ , ” Morrison said “ There 's not a need for it anymore .
We @ @ @ @ @ ability to conduct now our virtual board meetings .
”

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle arrives for a virtual address at the City Club of Chicago regarding the county's response to the COVID-19 crisis and the measures needed to ensure an equitable recovery seen at the Cook County Building in Chicago on May 14, 2020. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)
The Cook County Board will vote next week on whether to extend President Toni Preckwinkle’s disaster proclamation in response to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic by 120 days.
The proposed new Sept. 30 deadline will be decided by commissioners during the board’s May 21 virtual meeting. It comes as Preckwinkle’s current emergency declaration, approved mid-March, is set to expire at the end of this month.
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“Cook County is still responding to, and in the midst of, this historic crisis,” Preckwinkle spokesman Nick Shields wrote in a statement. “This extension falls in alignment with our recently released Cook County COVID-19 Response Plan.”
Commissioner Larry Suffredin, D-Evanston, said he sponsored the proposal because the health and financial devastation from the coronavirus does not appear to ebbing anytime soon.
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“I've come to the conclusion that the more time we give, the better it's going to be for being able to have continuity of recovery,” Suffredin said. “If you do everything in 30-day increments, you're going to hamstring some of the planning that's necessary.”
The resolution allows Preckwinkle to make “necessary” decisions without the board’s direct approval, such as issuing executive orders, moving money around and procuring essential supplies such as personal protective equipment, Suffredin said.
Commissioner Sean Morrison, R-Palos Park, said he will vote against the plan because he thinks the 120-day extension is an overreach and could subject the county to lawsuits. Should commissioners be willing to shorten the time period, he may reconsider as long as Preckwinkle has a compelling argument.
“On the backside of COVID, knowing a lot more than we know now, I don't know that it's necessary to continue with the president having complete authority to run county government, government spending and all those types of things,” Morrison said “There's not a need for it anymore. We've proven that with our ability to conduct now our virtual board meetings.”
Morrison, who voted for the March declaration, contended he hasn’t perceived an abuse of power. But he said coronavirus infections are slowing down in the past half-month.
“I don’t know of anything, of any glaring issues, that occurred,” Morrison said about the initial disaster proclamation, adding that it was too early to know the effects.
Illinois has seen spikes in daily confirmed coronavirus cases this week, with a record of more than 4,000 positive tests on Tuesday, although some of that can be attributed to higher testing availability.
Suffredin said he believes the board will pass the extension. He noted it can be repealed anytime should the virus wane, but right now he believes the outbreak requires the emergency powers.
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“We are going to have to be figuring out as a government how we provide services and deal with citizens who are really hurting, hurting in a way we've never seen before,” Suffredin said.
ayin@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-05-15--Heavy rain overwhelms $3 billion Deep Tunnel again, forcing sewage into Lake Michigan

Despite the region ’ s giant tunnels and reservoirs , Lake Michigan has been hit harder during the past 12 @ @ @ @ @ the previous two decades combined , mostly because of a handful of monsoonlike storms that @ @ @ @ @ downpours in Chicago history .

Vehicles turn around due to a flooded overpass on Lawrence Avenue in Schiller Park on Friday morning, May 15, 2020. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)
Two days of rain overwhelmed Chicago’s underground labyrinth of sewers Friday, forcing a noxious mix of sewage and stormwater into local waterways and Lake Michigan.
At 2:30 a.m., the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District opened a sluice gate separating the lake from the North Shore Channel in Wilmette, allowing millions of gallons of human and industrial waste to flow with runoff into the water supply for 7 million people in Chicago and the suburbs.
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The gate didn’t close again until 5:45 a.m.
It marked the second time in seven months that a surge of murky, debris-strewn water prompted the district to rely on the region’s sewage outlet of last resort.
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Up to 4.5 inches of rain fell across the Chicago area on Thursday and Friday, flushing a torrent of waste mixed with runoff from rooftops, streets and parking lots into sewers and stormwater tunnels stretching from Wilmette to Westchester.
Even a flood-control reservoir more than 20 times bigger than Solider Field couldn’t handle the deluge.
The reservoir, in southwest suburban McCook, is part of the $3 billion Deep Tunnel system of cavernous sewers built to collect and store sewage and runoff from Chicago and the Cook County suburbs.
When construction began during the mid-1970s, officials billed the Deep Tunnel as an engineering marvel that would “bottle up rainstorms.”
But it remains incomplete, and the Tribune has previously reported that billions of gallons of bacteria-laden sewage and runoff still routinely pour into local waterways during and after storms.
As little as two-thirds of an inch of rain can lead to sewage overflows.
The problem begins with the city’s location. Chicago was built on a swamp, and storm runoff has become more difficult to manage as development paved over the city and suburbs.
To make matters worse, sewers in Chicago and older suburbs handle runoff as well as waste from homes and factories. When it rains, the combined sewers quickly fill up, forcing a noxious brew to flow back into basements and out of dozens of overflow pipes into local streams.
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A flooded Lawrence Avenue in Schiller Park on Friday, May 15, 2020. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)
Waste poured out during the past two days at 64 locations on the Chicago River, North Shore Channel and Des Plaines River, district records show. The Chicago Department of Water Management fielded 350 calls about basement flooding as of Friday afternoon.
Locks and gates to Lake Michigan are opened only if waterways are saturated to capacity and the Deep Tunnel is full.
Climate change is challenging the system more than ever.
Despite the region’s giant tunnels and reservoirs, Lake Michigan has been hit harder during the past 12 years than it was in the previous two decades combined, mostly because of a handful of monsoonlike storms that were among the most intense downpours in Chicago history.
From 2007 through 2019, records show, the water reclamation district released more than 36 billion gallons of runoff and wastewater into the lake. By contrast, 12 billion gallons poured out from 1985 through 2006.
The McCook Reservoir eventually will be capable of holding 10 billion gallons, up from 3.5 billion today. But it won’t be fully operational until 2029.
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The nonprofit Center for Neighborhood Technology is nudging government officials to change their focus with a program it calls RainReady, which combats flooding with building, plumbing and landscaping improvements that in some cases are coordinated with sewer upgrades.
Suburbs including Midlothian, Oak Park and Wilmette offer grants to help residents install rain gardens, regrade their lots and make other improvements to protect their homes from flooding.
In Chicago, an ambitious version of the program developed for the Chatham neighborhood has been repeatedly delayed by City Hall.
mhawthorne@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-05-15--State officials said little about COVID-19 at homes for veterans. Then a wave of tests showed 53 cas

State officials said little about COVID-19 at homes for veterans. Then a wave of tests showed 53 cases and 2 deaths at one facility.

Little was said about the veterans homes during the pandemic before Gov .
J.B. Pritzker discussed them at his daily @ @ @ @ @ had been testing residents and workers who showed symptoms , but more cases emerged after @ @ @ @ @ tests for everyone , said Linda Chapa LaVia , director of the Department of Veterans @ @ @ @ @ the homes .

COVID-19 has emerged at three of the four state-run homes for veterans, including a significant outbreak in a home outside Kankakee where testing has found 53 cases in residents and workers, with two fatalities, Illinois officials said Friday.
At the hardest-hit facility — the Manteno Veterans’ Home, about 50 miles southwest of Chicago — 34 residents and 19 staff members had tested positive as of Friday, according to Evan Fazio, a spokesman for the Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs. Those numbers include two residents who died after testing positive, including one who had been in hospice care since 2019.
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Fazio said one resident had tested positive at the veterans home in LaSalle, an hour and a half west of Manteno, and five residents were found to be infected at a home in Anna in southern Illinois. There were no confirmed cases at the facility in Quincy along the border with Missouri.
The four veterans homes were funded to care for more than 800 veterans and their spouses and widows in the 2019 fiscal year, according to the last annual report from the state Department of Veterans’ Affairs. First priority for spots at the homes goes to wartime veterans.
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All residents and staff members had been tested and all results were in as of Friday, Fazio said.
Little was said about the veterans homes during the pandemic before Gov. J.B. Pritzker discussed them at his daily briefing Wednesday. The homes had been testing residents and workers who showed symptoms, but more cases emerged after the facilities recently obtained enough tests for everyone, said Linda Chapa LaVia, director of the Department of Veterans’ Affairs, which operates the homes.
There have been vastly worse outbreaks at private nursing homes and, she said, “We’ve been blessed to stay ahead of the storm.”
Indeed, dozens of private long-term care facilities around the state had reported 50 or more cases each as of May 8. At that point, the facilities accounted for some 1,500 deaths of residents and workers, nearly half of fatalities statewide.
The state’s handling of a deadly outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease at the Quincy home drew controversy in 2015. Following reporting by WBEZ-FM on the response by the administration of then-Gov. Bruce Rauner, the issue played a role in the 2018 governor’s race and a state audit found that officials had downplayed the seriousness of the problem. The disease killed a more than a dozen people at the facility.
In his comments Wednesday, Pritzker touted the measures taken to keep the state-run homes safe from a virus that preys aggressively on the elderly. Even before the virus took hold in Illinois’ nursing homes, Pritzker said, the state had mandated screening for employees and visitors at the veterans facilities and canceled most off-site activities, among other measures.
Unionized workers at private nursing homes have complained of what they describe as inadequate efforts to keep them safe. But officials from American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 31 praised the measures taken at the state-run homes, which employ hundreds of the union’s members as nursing assistants and in other roles.
Leaders from the union — which has had a relatively harmonious relationship with the Pritzker administration — said broader testing earlier would have been better but they were told test kits were not available.
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“You don’t ever want to be Pollyanna but we feel very good about where we’re at now,” said AFSCME Council 31 spokesman Anders Lindall.
Union member Dave Pedersen, a volunteer coordinator at the Manteno home who identified himself as an Army veteran, said the home’s residents benefit from the support of veterans groups and donations that residents of some private homes might not see. He praised the response from the home and its staff but added: “I think the anxiety level for most staff is definitely higher than normal.”
"It’s not a job for somebody who isn’t brave,” he said.
dhinkel@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-05-15--Quarantined returns. No guarantees you’ll get a fitting room. Northwest Indiana shows how shopping w

Quarantined returns. No guarantees you’ll get a fitting room. Northwest Indiana shows how shopping will look when stores reopen.

Best Buy , an essential businesses that chose to move to curbside only as the coronavirus spread , is reopening @ @ @ @ @ and Illinois .
Like Fleet Feet , Best Buy requires appointments and shoppers will be @ @ @ @ @ — by an employee throughout the visit .
Employees will clean products before and after @ @ @ @ @ credit card machines will be cleaned before and after each use , Best Buy said @

Fleet Feet's salesperson Kirk Cherep, left, pushes a pair of shoes to Tonya and Solomon Animashaun, of Homewood, inside the Schererville, Indiana, store on May 13, 2020. Customers are allowed inside the store by appointment only. (Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune)
For the first time in weeks, customers at specialty running store Fleet Feet in Schererville, Indiana, can walk inside and try on a pair of shoes.
But first, they’ll need an appointment. To encourage social distancing, the shop just across the Illinois border can only handle about three fittings at a time.
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Employees are getting used to helping customers choose shoes from a distance, while customers stay within blue tape on the floor corralling them in the center of the store, away from merchandise that must be disinfected if they touch it.
“That’s the hardest thing, just getting people used to not going where they want to go,” said manager Paul Jellema.
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With nonessential businesses closed to in-store customers since mid-March to slow the spread of COVID-19, the closest most Illinois shoppers have come to casually browsing a favorite shop in weeks has been scouring grocery store shelves for disinfecting wipes or yeast. But in northwest Indiana, businesses are starting to reopen.
Stores are allowed to open at half their usual capacity. Indiana restaurants and services like hair salons either can reopen with some restrictions or will be able to starting Monday, while gyms, nightclubs and gathering places like museums, zoos, playgrounds and movie theaters remain closed.
Billie Bryant places her order with Amanda Shelby as she has lunch, May 11, 2020, at Schoop's Hamburgers in Valparaiso, Indiana. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune)
Scenes at stores in Indiana provide a sense of what Illinois consumers can expect when the state moves to the next phase of Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s reopening plan, which would allow more businesses to reopen with capacity limits — something that could happen as early as the end of the month.
But even as restrictions lift, companies aren’t rushing back to business as usual and say they don’t expect consumers to, either. Some remain closed or are limiting themselves to curbside pickup. Among those that have started letting customers inside, hand sanitizer stations, sneeze guards and social distancing reminders are standard. More hands-on interactions, like trying out new cosmetics or test-driving a car, raise trickier questions.
Restrictions on the number of shoppers inside at a time might not be too much of a challenge, at least for now. On Wednesday, several northwest Indiana stores had at most a handful of people walking the aisles.
“I feel safer here than in the grocery store. I feel like I’m in control of my spacing,” said Rachel Carlisle, 44, of Highland, Indiana, shopping for her husband at a Dick’s Sporting Goods in Schererville.
She tried several other stores that were still closed before ending up at Dick’s, which sent her a text message announcing the store’s reopening and describing new precautions around social distancing and sanitation.
“I just needed to get out,” she said.
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Other Indiana shoppers were hoping stores would reopen with good deals. The Wireman family, of Wheatfield, made their first nongrocery purchase in weeks at American Sale in Merrillville, and it was a big one — an outdoor swimming pool.
Jodilyn Broderick of Griffith, Indiana, shops for her two children at Once Upon a Child in Highland on May 13, 2020. (Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune)
Even those still concerned about COVID-19 had started venturing out for items they prefer buying in person and could no longer delay — like a new pair of shoes for a fast-growing 4-year-old. Jodilyn Broderick, 45, of Griffith, said her son wore holes in the toes of his shoes in just two months.
“I was a little nervous at first, but I feel like they’re taking precautions," said Broderick, shopping at children’s resale shop Once Upon a Child in Schererville. "You can’t stay hidden forever.”
Once Upon a Child is being pickier than usual about insisting items for consignment arrive neat and freshly laundered. Employees work behind clear plastic screens, and hand sanitizer is available near the store’s entrance. Tightly packed aisles could make social distancing a challenge, but owner Kim Crnarich said shoppers have been patient and given each other space.
Ashley Koutropoulos, 18, left, gathers several items Tiana Cody, of Hammond, bought for her 5-week-old daughter at Once Upon a Child in Highland, Indiana, on May 13, 2020. (Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune)
She was surprised to see so many other nearby stores remain dark.
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“At first, I thought maybe I missed a memo,” she said. “Then I decided to celebrate.”
Just because shoppers can come inside doesn’t mean everything is business as usual.
Best Buy, an essential businesses that chose to move to curbside only as the coronavirus spread, is reopening stores this month in Indiana and Illinois. Like Fleet Feet, Best Buy requires appointments and shoppers will be accompanied — at a distance — by an employee throughout the visit. Employees will clean products before and after customers handle them, and credit card machines will be cleaned before and after each use, Best Buy said.
At Dick’s in Schererville, fitting rooms remain closed. Gap, Kohl’s and J.C. Penney, which have started to reopen some stores but are still closed or curbside-only in Illinois and Indiana, aren’t letting shoppers try items on, and Gap is keeping store restrooms closed.
A woman walks into Dick's Sporting Goods in Highland, Indiana on May 13, 2020, as the state begins to reopen for business. (Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune)
Other stores that have been allowed to reopen are keeping fitting rooms open while being more diligent about cleaning them and quarantining merchandise customers have tried on or returned before putting it back out for sale.
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Several large chains, including Macy’s, are keeping at least some fitting rooms open, and any apparel tried on or returned is quarantined before being put back on shelves. Gap waits 24 hours, while Express waits 72 hours. If a shopper wants to buy an item and the only one in the store is in quarantine, Express will put it in a commercial steamer to treat it with heat.
Some Express stores in Indiana are open but those in Illinois remain closed. The retailer is piloting a curbside pickup program at its State Street store in Chicago.
At Macy’s Southlake Mall store in Merrillville, signs warned shoppers not to try out the mattresses. In the beauty department, the only way to test cosmetics before buying is to ask an employee to apply the product to a piece of paper with an illustration of a woman’s face.
Doors that normally opened to the rest of the mall remain locked, since it is closed through May 17. Cleaning is more visible too: There was a container of hand sanitizer near Macy’s escalators, and an employee held a wipe to the handrail, cleaning the surface as it rolled by.
Shirley Kelley, 55, of Merrillville, came to check out sales and get a jump-start on holiday shopping, but said she still finds the sight of near-empty stores and shoppers in masks jarring.
“It’s like the twilight zone,” she said.
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Macy’s expects to reopen most stores over the next six to eight weeks. Before reopening, the chain considers local regulations and whether the store can reopen profitably. Some may initially only open a portion of the store, or only fulfill online orders, CEO Jeff Gennette said during a call with analysts last month.
Macy’s reopening plan also says stores initially will not offer bra fittings, tailoring or ear piercing, and shoppers must use hand sanitizer before trying on jewelry or watches.
When it comes to buying jewelry, there were few visible changes at Martin Binder Jeweler in Valparaiso besides hand sanitizer dispensers and markers on the floor indicating how far from the counter shoppers should stand.
Behind the scenes, the store purchased a device that uses ultraviolet light to disinfect items in about three minutes, which it uses to clean jewelry customers have tried on, said owner Bob Flude.
“We’ve always emphasized service and personal touch. It is difficult. Customers are used to shaking hands or hugging, and obviously we’re not able to do that,” Flude said.
Sales were stronger than expected when the store reopened last week, and though business has slowed slightly this week, he still estimates sales are only about 10% below normal. About 20% of their customers have been choosing curbside pickup rather than coming inside.
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Buying a car looks a little different too. At Jaguar Land Rover South Shore in Crown Point, test drives are done solo. No one has yet tried to abscond with a test car, said dealer principal Kirk Cordill.
Loaner cars get a deep clean before each use and any cars brought in for service are sanitized before they’re repaired. Customers have been using the valet pickup and drop-off service more than usual to skip trips to the dealership.
The dealership never had to close, but business was slow, Cordill said. Within the past two weeks, customers have started venturing back out, either because they’ve grown more comfortable, have purchases or repairs they can’t delay, or just “want to feel good about something,” said Cordill, who estimates business is back to about 75% of normal levels.
Artful Garden, in Crown Point, Indiana, has seen plenty of business, according to owner Liz Messing. (Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune)
At least one Indiana retailer is embracing its outdoor model. The Artful Garden has two locations in Crown Point. The boutique selling clothing, jewelry and home goods has been relatively quiet since it opened this week. The garden store, which opened earlier this month and sells plants and garden decorations in a backyard-like setting, has been unusually busy, said owner Liz Messing.
Messing rearranged the checkout area so customers never have to set foot indoors and can pass payment through a window. On Wednesday, a handful of shoppers stopped to watch a bird that had nested among a stack of potted plants.
“I think people are just tired of being cooped up,” Messing said.
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lzumbach@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-05-15--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--2020-05-15--Tracking Illinois coronavirus: 4,058 deaths, 90,369 confirmed cases, 538,602 tests, 25% ICU beds and

Tracking Illinois coronavirus: 4,058 deaths, 90,369 confirmed cases, 538,602 tests, 25% ICU beds and 69% 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.