chicagotribune--2020-06-20--1 dead, young teen among 7 wounded in shootings Friday

A 26-year-old man , identified as Kentray Young , was sitting in his vehicle when a white SUV pulled up @ @ @ @ @ blocked the street , police said .
The gunman then got out of his vehicle @ @ @ @ @ one to two shots , hitting Young in the neck and shoulder , police said @

Deanese Williams-Harris, Jeremy Gorner, Elyssa Cherney

A man fatally shot Friday morning has been identified as a rapper known as Tray Savage, who was among eight victims, including a 14-year-old boy, attacked on Friday.
Savage, whose real name was Kentray Young, was killed around 11 a.m. in the Chatham neighborhood in the 8100 block of South Evans Avenue, Chicago police said.
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Young was part of former Chicago rapper Chief Keef’s record label, performing under the name Tray Savage.
A representative for Keef told Billboard magazine Friday: “The entire Chief Glo Gang Family are extremely saddened about the loss of Kentray ‘Tray Savage’ Young who was taken too soon today.”
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He had performed with Keef in 2013 and recorded his own music, including “Faces,” “Know Who I Am” and “Got The Mac,” according to Billboard.
Young, was sitting in a vehicle when a white SUV pulled up in front of him and blocked the street, police said. The gunman then got out of his vehicle, approached Young and fired one to two shots, hitting Young in the neck and shoulder, police said.
After the gunshots, Young’s vehicle crashed into the white SUV, climbed on top of it and then hit another parked vehicle nearby, police said.
The gunman returned to his car and reversed northbound on Evans to flee the scene, police said. Young was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 11:30 a.m., according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office. An autopsy was scheduled that will determine the cause and manner of death of Young, who lived in the 8000 block of South State Street, according to the medical examiner’s office.
Witnesses recalled seeing a white SUV, possibly a Mazda, in the area at the time of the shooting, police said.
Video purportedly taken at the crime scene circulating on social media shows a bright blue car, possibly the victim’s, lurched on top of another vehicle.
Doni Bowens was sitting on a neighbor's porch when gunshots rang out Friday morning in the 8100 block of South Evans Avenue near his Chatham home.
Bowens, 39, ducked and ran into the gangway for cover. When it was clear the shots were no longer being fired, Bowens’ friend went out to perform CPR, on Young.
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Young still had a pulse when his friend was trying to help him, Bowens said.
It was only later that Bowens learned from news reports that the man who was shot was a rapper with a following.
“He was just a young black brother that needed his life saved,” Bowens said.
In a separate shooting Friday afternoon, a 14-year-old boy was wounded in the 1000 block of North Springfield Avenue in the city’s Humboldt Park neighborhood, about 3:30 p.m.
The boy suffered a gunshot wound to the leg and was being treated at the scene. Police said the boy was outside when someone in a red vehicle pulled up and opened fire.
Earlier, there was a triple shooting in the Burnside neighborhood. Police said shortly before 2:30 p.m., a gunman emerged from a gangway of a residence in the 9200 block of South Dobson Avenue and opened fire on three victims who attempted to run to a backyard, said Officer Michelle Tannehill, a police spokeswoman.
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A 46-year-old man was shot in the side and was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where his condition was stabilized, Tannehill said.
A woman, 49, was hit in the right thigh, and a 32-year-old man was shot in the right buttock. Both of those victims were taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, she said.
About 40 minutes after the fatal attack, a 28-year-old man was left in critical condition after being shot in the 6900 block of South Dante Street in the Grand Crossing neighborhood.
Shortly before 11:40 a.m., the victim was sitting in his vehicle when a black vehicle drove past and someone opened fire, police said.
Officers responded to a ShotSpotter alert to the location but later discovered the victim had driven himself to the 7100 block of South Cornell Avenue, and an ambulance was called.
The victim was taken in critical condition to the University of Chicago Medical Center with a gunshot wound to the left thigh and several wounds to the back, police said.
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Earlier Friday, a 28-year-old man was seriously wounded on the West Side in the Austin neighborhood.
That shooting happened shortly before 10:15 a.m. in the 1200 block of North Lockwood Avenue. The victim was standing on the sidewalk when a vehicle carrying four people pulled up and told the victim to freeze, police said.
The victim did not comply and soon after, all four occupants opened fire, hitting the man in the upper back and upper left shoulder. The gunmen then fled the scene in an unknown direction.
The victim was taken in critical condition to Stroger Hospital.
Shortly before 9 a.m., two men and a woman were involved in a domestic-related altercation that turned physical in the 6600 block of South Woodlawn Avenue, police said.
A 30-year-old man was shot once in the abdomen and was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where his condition was stabilized.
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No one was in custody for any of the shootings, and detectives were investigating.


chicagotribune--2020-06-20--Winner of 2020 Algren Awards announced

Winner of 2020 Algren Awards announced

The judges for the final round were Namwali Serpell , who teaches at the University of California at Berkeley and @ @ @ @ @ The Old Drift ” ; Salvatore Scibona , director of the Cullman Center for Scholars @ @ @ @ @ York Public Library , whose latest novel is “ The Volunteer ” ; and Weike @ @ @ @ @ Chemistry , ” which won the 2018 PEN-Hemingway Award .

Edward Hamlin has won the 2020 Algren Awards contest with his story “Haddad: A Requiem.”
Hamlin was a finalist in the 2013 Algren contest. He lives in Boulder, Colorado, now but was a longtime Chicago-area resident. His winning story is about a professor who is struggling at the end of his life to deal with both personal and cultural losses.
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This year’s competition was presented by the Chicago Tribune and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation. Begun in 1981, the contest honors Chicago literary great Nelson Algren by highlighting outstanding new short stories.
Finalists each receive $750, and their stories will be published on the Chicago Tribune’s literary page.
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Their names and stories: Nick Arvin, “The Overmind”; Omer Friedlander, “Alte Sachen”; Lillian Li, “Maintenance”; Becky Mandelbaum, “Winner Winner”; and Victor Yang, “My Son.”
This year’s contest had 2,300 entries, which were pared to the winning stories through a judging process of four rounds.
The judges for the final round were Namwali Serpell, who teaches at the University of California at Berkeley and is the author of “The Old Drift”; Salvatore Scibona, director of the Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers at the New York Public Library, whose latest novel is “The Volunteer”; and Weike Wang, author of “Chemistry,” which won the 2018 PEN-Hemingway Award.
My role is contest administrator. The winning Algren stories will be published at www.chicagotribune.com/books.
— Margaret Holt, Standards Editor


chicagotribune--2020-06-20--Coronavirus in Illinois updates: 44 more deaths reported as COVID-19 continues to impact Black peopl

Coronavirus in Illinois updates: 44 more deaths reported as COVID-19 continues to impact Black people at greater rate; Chicago says restaurants can open for indoor dining next Friday

“ At Busse Woods , on a few warm weekends in April we were seeing crowds like we see on @ @ @ @ @ , ” Vogel said via email .
With the exception of the wet periods of @ @ @ @ @ a steady flow of cyclists , runners and walkers throughout the system , Vogel said @ @ @ @ @ like weekends in terms of numbers of visitors at the most popular sites .

We have lifted the paywall on this story. To support essential reporting, please consider becoming a subscriber .
The Fulton Market area of Chicago is no longer the ghost town it was during the depths of the COVID-19 virus pandemic shutdown. As restrictions on restaurants are eased, a worker takes a woman's temperature before she can enter Federales restaurant on Morgan Street on July 1, 2020. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)
The state of Illinois announced 692 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 44 deaths on Friday.
The coronavirus continues to impact Black people in Illinois at a greater rate than those of other races and ethnicities. This trend is evident in the data as it stands today: While Black people make up 14% of the state’s population, they account for 28% of those who have died from COVID-19 and 17% of confirmed cases.
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Meanwhile, Chicago restaurants can open for limited indoor seating with the rest of the state starting June 26, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Friday, a surprise announcement that will have people dining indoors a week earlier than expected.
Restaurants, bars and breweries all can open, but with restrictions, as has been the case with outdoor dining. The move will align with Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s moving the state into phase four of his reopening plan.
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Editor’s note: A previous version of this story incorrectly reported that Black people in Illinois account for 44% of those who have died from COVID-19.
[ When can Illinois move to phase 4? Here's where each region stands. ]
[ How will Illinois reopen? Three charts breaking down Pritzker’s plan ]
[ COVID-19 cases in Illinois by ZIP code: Search for your neighborhood ]
[ As the coronavirus spreads, the Tribune is tracking Illinois cases here ]
Here’s what’s happening Friday with COVID-19 in the Chicago area and Illinois:
8:31 p.m.: ‘Unprecedented’ surge in visitors at forest preserves, natural areas during pandemic
Coronavirus restrictions and safety guidelines have motivated Illinois residents to seek the great outdoors. State parks, forest preserves and nature areas have been popular destinations for people searching for open space, a place to exercise, quiet time or a respite from the indoor pandemic routine.
The Forest Preserves of Cook County experienced “unprecedented levels of visitors for April and May, compared to a typical spring,” spokesman Carl Vogel said.
“At Busse Woods, on a few warm weekends in April we were seeing crowds like we see on a Fourth of July weekend,” Vogel said via email. With the exception of the wet periods of May, there has been a steady flow of cyclists, runners and walkers throughout the system, Vogel said, with weekdays looking more like weekends in terms of numbers of visitors at the most popular sites.
With open, free entrances, the forest preserves do not have a way to tally precise attendance numbers. But Vogel added the preserves’ website figures set daily records in mid-April — more than three times the amount ever recorded — as people sought information on the region’s outdoor parks.
The surge in popularity led the forest preserves to put weekend parking closures in place at six preserves in order to ensure safety and social distancing. Those remain in effect. Grills and coolers still are not allowed during phase three, nor is setting up sports equipment such as goals, nets or cones.
For those looking for a more extended stay in the woods, four of the five Forest Preserves of Cook County campgrounds are open, with capacity restrictions. They opened June 4.
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Read more here. —Patrick O’Connell
6:48 p.m.: Illinois to begin allowing limited outdoor visits at nursing homes amid continued PPE shortages and deaths
Illinois public health officials have OK’d limited outdoor visits at nursing homes — a significant development as facilities still struggle with finding workers and protective gear while the death toll climbs by hundreds each week.
Close contact such as hugging will be prohibited. Facilities also must write individual rules for allowing the visits, a process that could take weeks.
Advocates and industry officials say they pushed the state for the change, but questions remain about how nursing homes can continue to expand visitation to ensure residents and loved ones can meaningfully connect.
“It’s an OK first step,” said Bob Gallo, Illinois AARP’s state director. “But we need long-term solutions.”
The Illinois Department of Public Health announcement comes amid fresh federal and state data showing continued problems the facilities have in battling the virus.
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Read more here. —Joe Mahr
6:10 p.m.: Summer air travel: masks, a new boarding routine and bagged snacks. Here’s what you need to know.
After months of hunkering down at home amid the COVID-19 pandemic, travelers are slowly returning to the skies — some eagerly, some cautiously — and all curious to see how their first flight in months will be different.
On a recent morning at O’Hare International Airport’s Terminal 1, used primarily by hometown carrier United Airlines, the scene was anything but what used to be considered normal. There were few families heading off on vacation and even fewer corporate road warriors killing time in the airport lounge. Employees appeared to outnumber travelers at the check-in area. A couple of workers used a lull between waves of flights to disinfect seats and kiosks.
Still, there are signs customers are coming back after travel plummeted this spring. Since mid-April, the number of people passing through U.S. airport security checkpoints each day has risen from below 90,000 to 576,514 on Thursday, according to the Transportation Security Administration. A year ago, there were 2,728,786 people, but it’s the busiest that airports have been since late March.
The gradual return to air travel means fliers are likely to find airports cleaner and less crowded. Much about navigating the airport and boarding a flight remains the same. But from the shuttered airport shops to the hand sanitizer wipe handed to passengers when they board, the changes keep the pandemic front-of-mind.
Neither the airplane cabin nor the airport security line were designed for social distancing, and some efforts will depend on passengers’ cooperation. Just this week, major U.S. carriers said they plan to rigorously enforce mask requirements after travelers complained on social media that other passengers weren’t always following the rules.
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“The more we do, the more customers will feel comfortable traveling,” said Mike Hanna, who leads United’s operations at O’Hare.
Read more here. —Lauren Zumbach
5:05 p.m.: After weeks of no guests, Chicago’s tourism industry is betting on local leisure travel to help it rebound
Heading into the official start of summer, Chicago’s tourism scene will be vastly different from years past.
There will be no major events like Lollapalooza, Chicago Pride Parade or Taste of Chicago. Skydeck Chicago, the observation deck on top of Willis Tower, is closed. Neither are the museums. Baseball has been canceled since March.
Already the Fourth of July weekend is shaping up to be a dud with the fireworks show at Navy Pier canceled. The event typically draws more than 100,000 people, according to Navy Pier spokesperson Payal Patel.
Without these and other events that draw millions of people to the city each year, the chances of Chicago’s tourism industry rebounding anytime soon will be slim, experts say.
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But as Chicago moves forward with a phased reopening, industry insiders see a glimmer of hope. More visitors are coming from outside the state, and suburban residents are venturing downtown after weeks of being cooped up at home.
“We will have to tailor experiences with what’s open. We have to promote the boat tours and the outdoor dining patios. … It doesn’t mean we can’t be an attractive destination,” said David Whitaker, president and CEO of Choose Chicago, the city’s tourism arm.
Read more here. —Abdel Jimenez
3:53 p.m.: DCFS set to resume parental visits after 3-month coronavirus shutdown
Quincita Fleming hasn’t seen her three children, the youngest less than 6 months old, in person since March.
That’s when the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, which has custody of Fleming’s children due to a pending abuse case, suspended supervised parental visits for all children in its care because of concerns about the coronavirus pandemic.
After months of pressure from advocates and a lawsuit brought by the Cook County public defender’s office on behalf of Fleming and three other mothers, the enforced social distancing between parents and their children is about to end.
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DCFS on Monday told staff and partner agencies that it is preparing to resume in-person visits as soon as June 26, when all four regions of the state are expected to move into phase four of Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s reopening plan.
Advocates for families who are involved with the state’s child welfare agency say the move is “much too little too late” for parents and children who haven’t been able to see one another for three months.
Read more here. —Dan Petrella
2:35 p.m. (updated 3:51 p.m.): 692 new known COVID-19 cases, 44 additional deaths
The state of Illinois announced 692 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 44 deaths Friday.
The coronavirus continues to impact Black people in Illinois at a greater rate than those of other races and ethnicities. This trend is evident in the data as it stands today: While Black people make up 14% of the state’s population, they account for 44% of those who have died from COVID-19 and 17% of confirmed cases.
This trend has been explored by the Tribune and other Chicago media, as well as nationally.
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A similar disparity is evident for the state’s Latino population. While Latinos make up 17% of Illinois residents, they make up 33% of confirmed coronavirus cases and 20% of those who have died.
Also announced Friday were the results of 27,171 new test results, the third day in a row with more than 25,000. —Chicago Tribune staff
2:31 p.m.: ‘The roads can’t handle that many cars’: Employers fear gridlock, economic toll if workers shun Metra, L over COVID-19 risks
Downtown Chicago’s economy is unlikely to roar back from the coronavirus pandemic without the accompanying rumble of elevated trains and other public transit packed with office workers.
As the city restarts its economic engine in and around the Loop, city leaders, employers and business groups face the challenge of restoring confidence in the area’s public transportation network.
Without it, gridlocked roads and overflowing parking garages will further frazzle office workers who’ve largely been cooped up at home since March.
Read more here. —Ryan Ori
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2:15 p.m.: You can drive-in to a ‘carpool concert’ as Chicago awaits the return of live music
As Illinois proceeds through its reopening phases following the COVID-19 shutdown, live music and its venues remain largely on the sidelines, waiting to possibly reopen under new guidance before the state reaches phase five of its plan, which specifies that treatment and or a vaccine must be readily available.
Until then, places and performers are continuing to be creative with their shows, and the latest offering is the drive-in concert. Both FitzGerald’s Nightclub in Berwyn and the Lake County Fairgrounds are hosting upcoming “carpool concerts,” where guests can take in live music from their car’s interior.
Read more here. —Adam Lukach
1:17 p.m.: Chicago restaurants can open for indoor dining June 26
Chicago restaurants can open for indoor dining with the rest of the state starting June 26, Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced Friday, an about-face from her plan to allow them to reopen July 1.
“Our neighborhood restaurants, bars, and breweries all stand as among the most cherished parts of our communities and are integral to the fabric of our entire city,” Lightfoot said.
Read more here. —Joe Gray
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12:37 p.m.: Lightfoot delivers commencement speech at Northwestern, says democracy will fail ‘if we do not see the humanity in each other'
Drawing on the ongoing coronavirus crisis and continued fallout over the Minneapolis police killing of George Floyd, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot called on graduating Northwestern University students to engage in public service and remember that people are all connected to each other.
In her speech Friday, Lightfoot acknowledged the “challenging times” posed by a global pandemic and the national conversation about police and racism stemming from Floyd’s death.
But, she said, both momentous activities should be seen as a call to service.
“The events of COVID-19 and the murder of George Floyd speak to the importance of engagement through service in two seemingly separate, but powerful and reinforcing ways,” Lightfoot said.
Coronavirus “forced us to rethink and redefine the very notion of public service, to move it beyond its traditional governmental realm, and expand into every role we play.” It also reinforced just how connected we all are, Lightfoot said.
Floyd’s killing, she said, emphasizes the urgency of getting involved.
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“If we are to make our democracy thrive, we all have to do more to engage in our political process. We are at our core a participatory democracy and thus engagement is our life blood,” Lightfoot said. “So in addition to my challenge to you, I also have a personal request: Spend some time in your life serving government itself.”
Read more here. —Gregory Pratt and Sophie Sherry
11:55 a.m.: Cook County sheriff wins partial appeal victory over COVID-19 order covering jail conditions
A federal appeals court ruled Friday that Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart does not have to comply — at least for now — with a portion of a preliminary injunction precluding group housing or double-celling at the county jail due to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis.
Dart had asked the 7th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to stay the entire injunction order — which also includes mandates to increase testing and social distancing at the jail — while his appeal is pending before the court.
In its one-page order Friday, the appellate panel narrowly granted the request, saying the sheriff does not have to comply with the portion of the injunction “precluding group housing or double celling of detained persons.” The remainder of the motion to stay was denied.
Read more here. —Jason Meisner
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6:45 a.m.: Eager to head back to the lakefront? A rising Lake Michigan — near the historic high water mark — awaits.
Nicole Gradford, bare feet in the sand at the 63rd Street Beach, gazed at the turquoise waters of Lake Michigan as waves rolled toward the shore, kissing the land and crashing into the stone embankment shielding the Lakefront Trail. The water, she noticed, has been creeping higher for months. The beach is smaller. A shoreline path south of the beach house near Jackson Park and South Lake Shore Drive is often flooded and impassable.
Scientific data confirms what Gradford and other Chicagoans have been experiencing firsthand since before the coronavirus restrictions officially shut down the lakefront this spring: Water levels are about as high as they have been in a lifetime.
Read more here. —Patrick M. O’Connell
6:30 a.m.: CTA and Pace buses will begin collecting fares again, as riders slowly return to public transit
In another sign that things are getting closer to normal in the Chicago area, the CTA and Pace will start collecting bus fares again, and the CTA will end rear-door boarding.
The CTA will require customers to enter buses via the front door and pay fares starting Sunday, while the Pace suburban bus service resumes fare collections Monday.
Both agencies had waived fare collection as a way to protect operators and passengers from the coronavirus. But since the agency started rear-door boarding in April, the state and the agency have adopted other ways of keeping people safe, including providing masks for all drivers, requiring that passengers be masked, and implementing new cleaning technology, said CTA spokesman Brian Steele.
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Read more here. —Mary Wisniewski
6:15 a.m.: AMC Theatres unveils plans to reopen during coronavirus; masks optional
AMC Theatres, the world’s largest exhibitor, has unveiled plans to re-open after coronavirus forced it to close its more than 600 venues in the U.S. for nearly four months.
The company is expected to resume operations in 450 of those locations on July 15 and expects to be almost fully operational by the time that Disney’s “Mulan” debuts on July 24 and Warner Bros.' “Tenet” bows on July 31.
As part of that process, AMC is reducing its seating capacity in order to help people social distance, it is implementing new cleaning procedures, placing hand-sanitizing stations throughout its theaters and encouraging contact-less and cash-free concessions.
Read more here. —Brent Lang, Variety


chicagotribune--2020-06-20--‘Unprecedented’ surge in visitors at forest preserves, natural areas during pandemic

Coronavirus restrictions and safety guidelines have motivated Illinois residents to seek the great outdoors. State parks, forest preserves and nature areas have been popular destinations for people searching for open space, a place to exercise, quiet time or a respite from the indoor pandemic routine.
The Forest Preserves of Cook County experienced “unprecedented levels of visitors for April and May, compared to a typical spring,” spokesman Carl Vogel said.
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“At Busse Woods, on a few warm weekends in April we were seeing crowds like we see on a Fourth of July weekend,” Vogel said via email. With the exception of the wet periods of May, there has been a steady flow of cyclists, runners and walkers throughout the system, Vogel said, with weekdays looking more like weekends in terms of numbers of visitors at the most popular sites.
With open, free entrances, the forest preserves do not have a way to tally precise attendance numbers. But Vogel added the preserves’ website figures set daily records in mid-April — more than three times the amount ever recorded — as people sought information on the region’s outdoor parks.
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The surge in popularity led the forest preserves to put weekend parking closures in place at six preserves in order to ensure safety and social distancing. Those remain in effect. Grills and coolers still are not allowed during phase three, nor is setting up sports equipment such as goals, nets or cones.
For those looking for a more extended stay in the woods, four of the five Forest Preserves of Cook County campgrounds are open, with capacity restrictions. They opened June 4.
Camp Reinberg, Camp Sullivan, Camp Shabbona Woods and Camp Bullfrog Lake are available for tent campers and cabin use from Thursday through Sunday and throughout the week for RVs. Camp Dan Beard in Northbrook, designed mostly for open group camping, remains closed.
All five spots at Camp Reinberg, in Palatine, are booked every week. The four campgrounds have been 80% full since reopening at the beginning of the month. Vogel said the reservation line has been swamped, with RV spots in particular demand.
Other preserves and facilities within the Cook County system remain closed or have coronavirus restrictions. Nature center buildings and grounds are closed, as are aquatic centers and the Swallow Cliff stairs in near Palos Park. Vogel said officials are working on plans for reopening.
There is no penalty for rescheduling or canceling campsite reservations at Cook County campgrounds scheduled through Sept. 7. Call 855-YES-CAMP (855-937-2267) or email info@cookcountycamping.com to reschedule or receive a refund.
All Illinois Department of Natural Resources camping facilities are open, unless construction unrelated to coronavirus alters access.
The influx of visitors to the state’s most popular state park, Starved Rock, about 95 miles southwest of Chicago near the junction interstates 80 and 39, and nearby Matthiessen State Park, has led to overcrowding. Park officials have had to close the parks when they reach capacity.
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Starved Rock’s south entrance on Illinois Route 71 and the west entrance on Illinois Route 178 are open. The popularity of the park has caused traffic congestion on the state routes and nearby Interstate 80 and conservation officers urged visitors to seek alternative routes to the area.
IDNR recommends that people arriving from eastbound Interstate 80 exit the highway at Ottawa, cross the Illinois River and use Illinois Route 71 to access the park. Motorists also can exit southbound on Interstate 39 and take the Illinois Route 71 exit at Oglesby.
IDNR conservation police officers said there has been an increase in people illegally parking along the roads at Starved Rock and Mattheissen. Those visitors then walk in the middle of roads to get to trails, leading to increased traffic congestion. IDNR cautioned that violators risk having their vehicles towed.
Park visits tend to surge on weekends between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. If the parks are closed, nearby alternatives are Buffalo Rock State Park in Ottawa or Illini State Park in Marseilles.
poconnell@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-06-20--Chicago observes Juneteenth like no other with marches, performances and commemorations

Juneteenth memorializes June 19 , 1865 , the day Union soldiers told enslaved African Americans in Galveston , Texas , @ @ @ @ @ over and they were free .
The holiday , which has been observed by black @ @ @ @ @ is recognized in some capacity in 47 states , including Illinois , but is not @ @ @ @ @ ’ s also not an official state holiday in Illinois , but Gov .
J.B @ @ @ @ @ would work with the General Assembly to make it so .

Madeline Buckley, Sophie Sherry, Elyssa Cherney, John Keilman

Crowds cheer during the One Million Man March rally at Daley Plaza in Chicago on June 19, 2020. (Jose M. Osorio/Chicago Tribune)
Juneteenth commemorations burst across Chicago as never before Friday, a mixture of protest and celebration that brought thousands to the city’s streets.
“It’s a day of jubilation and a day of unity,” said Anthony Williams, who returned to his hometown of Chicago to join his mother on a march through the Loop. “It’s our day of independence.”
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Juneteenth memorializes June 19, 1865, the day Union soldiers told enslaved African Americans in Galveston, Texas, that the Civil War was over and they were free. The holiday, which has been observed by black Americans for 155 years, is recognized in some capacity in 47 states, including Illinois, but is not a national holiday. It’s also not an official state holiday in Illinois, but Gov. J.B Pritzker on Friday said he would work with the General Assembly to make it so.
Juneteenth took on a particular urgency this year following the May 25 killing of George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man who died after a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck.
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The event in which Williams participated, billed as the One Million Man March, wound from the South Loop to Daley Plaza, with many chanting and holding signs decrying police brutality and demanding justice. As she marched, Paige Nelson said she is beginning to more deeply appreciate the importance of Juneteenth, and wants to see it celebrated in years to come.
“I really feel like change is happening,” she said.
Participants gather and shout "All Power to the People" at the Million Man March at Daley Plaza in Chicago on June 19, 2020. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)
Fellow marcher Angel Adams said she celebrates Juneteenth every year, but feels more connected with it this year.
“What police are doing to the black community isn’t right,” she said.
Nicole Hill, 43, planned to come to the march no matter what, but in a sign of how quickly the day is gaining currency, her company recently made Juneteenth a paid holiday. Standing with thousands at Daley Plaza, she pointed to inequities in housing, health care and education.
“We’re still fighting to be free,” she said. “The struggle continues.”
Jimalita Tillman, global director at the Harold Washington Cultural Center, said she has seen significantly more Juneteenth events in Chicago this year. While the center has celebrated Juneteenth for more than a decade — typically with indoor performances and educational activities — the coronavirus pandemic required the festivities to be held outside.
Mecca Mathews, 18, of Chicago, listens to a speaker at the Million Man March to commemorate Juneteenth on June 19, 2020, in Chicago. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)
“What I love is that people are Juneteenth hopping, as I call it,” Tillman said. “So we got a whole lot of people coming from the event happening downtown. Some from Englewood and different places. So they are literally going from space to space showing support and we love that.”
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Tillman said the holiday brought a welcome sense of positivity and encouragement after protests stemming from Floyd’s death rocked the nation in recent weeks.
“I think that because of the unrest and a lot of the things that were going on, this was very necessary, so the timing was perfect,” she said.
Elijah Clark, 45, was among the Juneteenth hoppers, planning to take his three children from the Cultural Center gathering, which attracted more than 100 people, to two other events on the South Side.
Leliah 8, center, and Jillian Talley, 7, right, play with bubbles while attending the Juneteenth celebration with their mothers at Harold Washington Cultural Center in Bronezeville on June 19, 2020. (Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune)
“My main goal was to let them know when their ancestors actually had their freedom, so it’s something that we discussed quite a bit at home, and I just wanted to help them understand their culture,” said Clark, who works in retail management.
Iris Haastrup, 20, one of the organizers, said she hopes the Juneteenth event is a celebration for everyone.
“In the news we see a lot of black pain, but this is an event of joy we can carry throughout the year,” she said.
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Another march kicked off at Columbus Drive and Roosevelt Road and headed to Grant Park. Pritzker, Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth and Dick Durbin and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle joined faith leaders at the head of the march, though organizers ensured no one walked in front of two large signs bearing Floyd’s name and image.
Organizers played music from a float and chanted the names of black men and woman killed by police officers across the country, to which the group responded, “Too many!”
Danielle Jones, center, and Brianna Campbell, right, hold a sign as they and thousands others rally on Jackson Drive at Grant Park in observance of Juneteenth in Chicago on June 19, 2020. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune)
Rhonda Jones marched with her two young nephews. Jones was born and raised in Galveston, a city at the center of the Juneteenth holiday, but now lives in Chicago.
She found it uplifting to see people of so many races and religions coming together to fight for systematic change.
“Today’s march is so moving and powerful because it’s instrumental in the continued pursuit of justice and fairness,” she said. “And that’s what you think about Juneteenth and what it stands for. It was about parity, it was about giving and allowing freedom for humans, as others had before.”
The march paused at Jackson Drive as people gathered around to sing “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” known as the black national anthem.
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Illinois politicians including U.S. Senators Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth, Gov. J.B. Pritzker, Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton and Toni Preckwinkle, president of the Cook County Board march on Columbus Drive in observance of Juneteenth holiday at Grant Park in Chicago on June 19, 2020. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune)
“Today we shall breathe,” the Rev. Otis Moss III, pastor of Chicago’s Trinity United Church of Christ, told the crowd, which cheered in response.
Once they arrived at Grant Park, the marchers shared a moment of silence and took a knee to remember the life of George Floyd. Pastor Chris Harris of Bright Star church, who was one of the march organizers, then instructed them to rise up with a fist in the air to honor Laquan McDonald, the 17-year-old killed by Chicago police Officer Jason Van Dyke.
“I know they want us to rush the healing but it still hurts,” Harris said. “Enough is enough.”
mabuckley@chicagotribune.com
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chicagotribune--2020-06-20--Column: On Father’s Day, in praise of growing up with a difficult father

Women ’ s lib , as feminism of that time was known to its detractors , was just one thing @ @ @ @ @ I disagreed .
He was a Republican and a conservative Catholic , and by the @ @ @ @ @ college I was far from either .
Until his dying day , at the age @ @ @ @ @ fast to the beliefs inculcated in him as a boy in the small German-Irish town @ @ @ @ @

One night when I was in my early 20s and on a visit home to see my parents, my father poked the side of my chest with an index finger, the way he often did when he wanted to make a special point to his children.
Mary Schmich and her father when she was around 2 years old in Savannah, Georgia. (Mary Schmich)
He was wearing the housepainter’s outfit he worked in — white shirt, white pants, paint-splotched after a day up on the ladder — and he swirled a Rembrandt, which was what his tavern buddies, in honor of his painting trade, had named his preferred libation. A Rembrandt typically consisted of Christian Brothers chablis diluted with seltzer, and he had taken to drinking it nightly, in large quantities, after he gave up hard liquor.
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I don’t remember exactly what we were talking about that night — something involving women’s rights — but I do remember the finger poke when he uttered the memorable line: “Mary Theresa, you’re no women’s libber. You just think like a man.”
He meant it as a compliment. He couldn’t bear the idea that I might be one of those nutty libbers he was always hearing about on the news. But he was proud that I earned my own living, spoke my mind and competed with boys as if I were one. The irony of his remark escaped him.
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I was the first of my parents’ eight children and my father, George, had assumed I’d be what firstborns were supposed to be, male. In utero, I was even given a name: Little George. Then Little George arrived. Whoops. Too late to reverse course now.
So driving around in the car, Big George routinely quizzed Little George, age 7, in arithmetic, which in those days was widely considered the domain of boys. In all subjects, Little George was expected to make the best grades in the class and if she didn’t, Big George — who’d never made the best grades in his class — told her she wasn’t living up to her potential.
Little George was supposed to be tough and assertive, but also to master the female duties of cooking and cleaning. Since my mother, to my father’s everlasting frustration, had not mastered those activities, it fell to him to provide proper domestic training to his children, which he did in the style he had learned in the all-male Army.
In other words, my conservative, anti-feminist father raised me to be a boy, or at least to compete like one. Just don’t call it women’s liberation.
Women’s lib, as feminism of that time was known to its detractors, was just one thing on which my father and I disagreed. He was a Republican and a conservative Catholic, and by the time I was out of college I was far from either. Until his dying day, at the age of 60, he held fast to the beliefs inculcated in him as a boy in the small German-Irish town of Carroll, Iowa.
He was raised to believe that in a marriage, men worked and controlled the money while wives took care of the home and the children, which was why he vetoed my mother’s desire to work for pay even when we were flat-out broke. A man was king of his castle, even if the castle was a little, crowded rental house.
In my dad’s view, birth control was a sin. Divorce assured damnation. Laziness was tantamount to crime. I’m sure he also recognized the sin in drinking too much, and verbally abusing his wife and kids, and sometimes hitting them, but he didn’t speak of those. I’m guessing he reserved that discussion, and his shame, for the confessional.
In other words, my father was not, in the words of all those Father’s Day cards, The Best Dad Ever. He loved his family more than life itself, and we loved him back, but he was deeply flawed.
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And you know what? I’m grateful for that.
My father’s flaws and failures have helped me to understand how complex people are, that we’re all a tangle of good and bad, and all shaped, though not fully determined, by the place, time and people we come from. My differences and disagreements with my father taught me to pause before assuming the worst of people who see the world differently from me.
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I sometimes wonder how different my father would have been if his own father hadn’t drunk so much and died so young, when my dad was only 19. What if he’d been born later, into a world that allowed men as well as women to live outside the straitjackets of stereotype?
I occasionally wonder, too, if my siblings and I would be different if we hadn’t witnessed our father’s unhappiness and how that translated into anger and sometimes cruelty.
I have no answers. What I do know is that more than anything he wanted to be The Best Dad Ever. The fact that he wasn’t that dad hurt him, and by extension us, and still I don’t mind.
He and my mother managed to raise good kids who value kindness, fairness, work and each other. He taught me I was equal to men, in a time when that principle wasn’t universally evident. For that alone I’m grateful.
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On this Father’s Day, here’s to the all dads who weren’t The Best Dad Ever, but who in their imperfections gave us things to think about, learn from, be thankful for.
mschmich@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @MarySchmich


chicagotribune--2020-06-21--3-year-old shot on West Side

3-year-old shot on West Side

The child , whose gender was not immediately known , was shot in the back and was taken in serious @ @ @ @ @ Center in Oak Park , Westbrooks said .

Myesha James, center, the mother of 3-year-old Mekhi James, hugs Charles Morrison, Mekhi's father, during a vigil for their son in the Austin neighborhood on June 22, 2020, in Chicago. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)
Neighbors congregated on a corner in the 600 block of North Central Avenue on Sunday afternoon to denounce the weekend’s overnight violence, including the shooting death of 3-year-old Mekhi James.
“A line was crossed,” said the Rev. Ira Acree of Greater St. John Bible Church. “This is a horrific Father’s Day. This 3-year-old baby lost his life. ... I could not pastor this community and not say something.”
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Joined by other faith and community leaders, neighbors filled the sidewalk to remember and mourn the children killed. A driver passed by the corner of the street and yelled in support of the city to “put the guns down!”
Acree referenced recent George Floyd protests against police brutality and voiced concerns about the safety of black youth in Chicago.
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“We say black lives matter, but we’re here to say black baby lives matter more,” he said.
Religious leaders, supporters and members of the community gather June 21, 2020, in the 600 block of North Central Avenue to denounce the weekend's overnight violence, including the death of 3-year-old Mekhi James. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)
At a Sunday news conference on the weekend violence, Chicago police Superintendent David Brown said at least 61 people had been shot in the city through Sunday, and as of Sunday morning, eight young people had been shot, four fatally. Brown, along with Chief of Detectives Brendan Deenihan, urged anyone with information on any of the cases to come forward.
“Good men throughout this city should be celebrating with their families on a beautiful day, but instead, a number of Chicagoans will be spending Father’s Day grieving the loss of their children,” Brown said.
Brown repeatedly called for keeping violent offenders in jail longer and revamping the home monitoring program.
“I put myself in that house, holding that little girl as she struggles to breathe,” Brown said. “I put myself in that hospital, clutching a baby with a bullet hole. Tears are a natural reaction to these tragic stories of violence. But we need to do more than just cry. Let’s keep violent offenders in jail longer. And let’s revamp the home monitoring program. It’s not working.”
Brown said he was thinking of residents in the affected communities.
“Bullets don’t just tear apart the things they strike,” Brown said. “Bullets also tear apart families. Bullets destroy neighborhoods, and they ruin any sense of safety in a community.”
Mekhi was riding in the back seat of a vehicle with his father, 27, who police say was the intended target, when they were shot about 6:30 p.m. in the 600 block of North Central Avenue in the South Austin neighborhood.
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Two hours later, three teens were shot, including a 13-year-old girl who died, about five blocks from where Mekhi’s shooting happened. Two teenage boys were also killed Saturday in the South Chicago neighborhood.
Acree said his church will set a $2,500 reward for any information that could lead to the arrest of the person who shot Mekhi. Additional rewards are being established, according to community organizers.
Nicole Weekly, of Austin, stood on a patch of grass near the crowded sidewalk and listened as community leaders spoke. Weekly, who said she lives on the same block where the shooting occurred, said she heard gunshots about 6 p.m. Saturday and rushed to her window. She saw a blue vehicle zoom by.
“What is happening with our kids?” she said, holding her palms together. “Our babies can’t be getting killed. What kind of future do we have if our babies are getting killed?”
The father suffered a graze wound to his abdomen and refused medical treatment, while Mekhi suffered a gunshot wound to the back and was pronounced dead at West Suburban Medical Center in Oak Park, police said.
The child’s father is “known to police” and “appears to be the intended target of the shooting,” police said.
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Our city's collective heart breaks to hear the unfathomable news of a 3-year-old boy who was shot and killed tonight on Chicago's West Side. There are simply no words to describe such a heinous, unconscionable act of cowardice to shoot at a toddler. — Mayor Lori Lightfoot (@chicagosmayor) June 21, 2020
Longtime community activist Andrew Holmes also held a media briefing following the toddler’s death Saturday.
The community needs to “take care of home base” because multiple children have been shot recently in Chicago, including a 5-year-old boy on Thursday and a 9-year-old girl on Wednesday.
“This baby had a family,” Holmes said of Mekhi. “What I’m asking, come on out here and protest on this West Side. Shut this West Side down until we find out who discharged that weapon and took the life of this baby.”
Holmes said he spoke to one of Mekhi’s family members, who said the child’s mother is “totally upset.”
“She loved her baby,” Holmes said.
Police tape sits in the grass on the 600 block of North Central Avenue on June 21, 2020, near the scene where 3-year-old Mekhi James was shot and killed the previous day. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)
John Anderson, who lives near the site of Mekhi’s shooting, heard six or seven gunshots while inside his home, he said. When he went outside, he didn’t see anyone or anything.
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Police arrived and walked around looking for something, Anderson said. They didn’t seem to know where to look first.
Then, more police came to the area and told him that a 3-year-old had been shot, he said. Shell casings were found on Huron east of Central.
The violence in the area typically stays several blocks north and south of where the shooting took place, said Anderson, 57.
“It’s a real quiet neighborhood,” he said. “It’s a mixed community.”
Also Sunday, Deenihan said police planned to release a video of the suspect in Saturday’s fatal shooting of two teens in the 7900 block of South Luella Avenue.
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Shortly after 5 p.m., two teenagers, identified as Charles Riley, 16, and Jasean Francis, 17, by the medical examiners office, were shot in an alley, police said. The 17-year-old was shot in the back, chest and left hand, and was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. The 16-year-old was shot in the back and left flank, and was also taken to U. of C. Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
The boys were with their friend and had just gone to the mall, Deenihan said Sunday.
“They don’t ever go out into the neighborhood because it’s so dangerous,” he said. “They asked their mom, can we just go down to the store — it couldn’t have been more than a half a block away — can we just go down to the store to buy some candy? And that’s what they did.”
The boys had almost reached their gangway to return home when someone ran up and shot them “for no reason at all,” Deenihan said.
“These kids are not criminals, they’re not gang members, they have nothing to do with the ongoing disputes out there and they just get gunned down for no reason at all,” he said.
Shortly after Mekhi’s killing, there were at least two separate multiple-victim shootings just blocks away.
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About 8:35 p.m., three teens were shot in the 1000 block of North Leclaire Avenue, not far from where Mekhi was shot. One of the victims was sitting on a porch when he saw a red laser pointed at him before multiple gunshots sounded, police said.
A 13-year-old girl, identified as Amaria J. Jones by the medical examiner’s office, was inside the residence when she suffered a gunshot wound to the neck. She was taken to Stroger Hospital in critical condition and later pronounced dead, police said.
“This individual was inside the residence, and once again you had a coward basically come through the gangway and shoot at a bunch of people on the porch,” Deenihan said. “There’s an ongoing, once again an ongoing gang dispute in the neighborhood, shooting at a large group on the porch, the bullet goes through the window, striking her in the neck and causing her death.”
A 15-year-old boy was shot in the lower back and a 16-year-old boy was shot in the left leg, police said. They were taken in good condition to Mount Sinai Hospital.
Check back for updates.


chicagotribune--2020-06-21--Chicago-raised rapper Tray Savage remembered as loving father who ‘lived for his kids,’ family says

Savage was behind the wheel of a blue 2019 Hyundai Kona on Friday when a white SUV pulled up in @ @ @ @ @ the street , police said .
The gunman then got out , approached Savage and @ @ @ @ @ , hitting Savage in the neck and shoulder , police said .

Deanese Williams-Harris, Jeremy Gorner, Elyssa Cherney, Scott Powers, Madeline Buckley

Musician Kentray Young, better known as Tray Savage, was remembered by his family as a “wonderful” father, grandson and nephew after he was fatally shot Friday morning on Chicago’s South Side.
“He was a very sweet person,” said his grandmother, Mary Scott, reached while she was on her way to the Cook County medical examiner’s office to identify his remains Saturday afternoon.
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Scott said she took her grandson under her wing, raising him in her home in the Chatham neighborhood, after his mom became ill. Then, his father died about a decade ago.
He attended Ruggles Elementary School and then Chicago Vocational High School, where he graduated with a science scholarship and a deep interest in music, his grandmother said.
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“He was a very caring person, he always helped,” Scott said.
Kentray Young, also known as Tray Savage, was fatally shot June 19, 2020. (Aston Young )
Savage was killed around 11 a.m. in the 8100 block of South Evans Avenue in the Chatham neighborhood, Chicago police said.
Savage, 26, was part of former Chicago rapper Chief Keef’s record label.
A representative for Keef told Billboard magazine Friday: “The entire Chief Glo Gang Family are extremely saddened about the loss of Kentray ‘Tray Savage’ Young who was taken too soon today.”
Savage had performed with Keef in 2013 and recorded his own music, including “Faces,” “Know Who I Am” and “Got The Mac,” according to Billboard.
Savage, who had three siblings including a younger sister, also had two children and a girlfriend of nine years.
“They were his world,” said Savage’s uncle, 65-year-old Aston Young, of his nephew’s children. He was baptized, his uncle said, and attended church.
“He was a great nephew and wonderful father,” Aston Young said.
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He last saw his nephew about three months ago, when Savage picked up his uncle’s 20-year-old grandson, because he was helping the young man launch his own music career.
“He just said, ‘I love you,‘‘’ when he left. “It’s so sad.
“He was a real good kid. He was raised pretty good. Everybody gets out in the street a little bit, but he’s got his rap career going,‘' Aston Young said.
“When you’re in the rap world, not sure who he associated with,” he said.
Savage was behind the wheel of a blue 2019 Hyundai Kona on Friday when a white SUV pulled up in front of him and blocked the street, police said. The gunman then got out, approached Savage and fired one to two shots, hitting Savage in the neck and shoulder, police said.
After the gunshots, Savage’s vehicle crashed into the gunman’s SUV, lurched on top of it and then hit at least one parked vehicle nearby, police said.
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The gunman fled the scene, police said.
Savage was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 11:30 a.m., according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.
An autopsy performed Saturday found that Savage, who formerly lived in the 8000 block of South State Street, died of multiple gunshot wounds and his death was ruled a homicide, according to the medical examiner’s office.
Savage, whose mother died about two years ago, lived outside Chicago, in another Illinois town, said his grandmother.
Witnesses recalled seeing a white SUV, possibly a Mazda, in the area at the time of the shooting, police said. Video purportedly taken at the crime scene circulating on social media shows a bright blue car on top of another vehicle.
Doni Bowens said he was sitting on a neighbor’s porch when gunshots rang out Friday morning near his Chatham home.
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Bowens, 39, ducked and ran into the gangway for cover. When it was clear the shots were no longer being fired, a friend went out to perform CPR on the man who had been shot, Bowens said.
It was only later that Bowens learned from news reports that the man was Tray Savage.
“He was just a young black brother that needed his life saved,” Bowens said.
Chicago Tribune’s Rosemary Sobol contributed.


chicagotribune--2020-06-20--When can Illinois move to phase 4 of reopening plan? Here’s where each region stands.

With each of the state ’ s four regions in Phase 3 of Gov .
J.B. Pritzker ’ s Restore @ @ @ @ @ starts on moving on to Phase 4 , where more businesses and activities are allowed @ @ @ @ @ Illinois — from restaurants and salons to open space to non-COVID-19 procedures at the hospital @ @ @ @ @ depends on a host of metrics laid out by Pritzker .

Chad Yoder, Nausheen Husain, Jennifer Smith Richards, Jonathon Berlin

With each of the state’s four regions in Phase 3 of Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s Restore Illinois plan, the clock starts on moving on to Phase 4, where more businesses and activities are allowed. The plan to reopen Illinois — from restaurants and salons to open space to non-COVID-19 procedures at the hospital to concerts and festivals — depends on a host of metrics laid out by Pritzker.
The metrics focus on a rolling average of positive coronavirus cases and hospitalizations to keep track of the direction of the outbreak as well as availability of hospital beds and ventilators that would be needed to handle a possible surge. There are also benchmarks for testing and tracing positive tests.
[ COVID-19 cases in Illinois by ZIP code: Search for your neighborhood ]
A key element of the plan is that a region can move both forward and backward, where more parts of society can open and shut depending on the seriousness of the outbreak.
Here is a breakdown of where each region stands.


chicagotribune--2020-06-20--Coronavirus in Illinois updates: Officials report 634 new known COVID-19 cases and 45 additional dea

Coronavirus in Illinois updates: Officials report 634 new known COVID-19 cases and 45 additional deaths as Chicago plans return of limited indoor dining next week

“ When the pandemic was getting going , we here at 23andMe were beginning to think through what could we @ @ @ @ @ help and contribute to the science and understanding of this disease , ” he said @ @ @ @ @ have a very large cohort of people who have had their genomes genotyped , we @ @ @ @ @ be able to make an impact on the question of why do some people get @ @ @ @ @ a COVID infection whereas other people may have not even noticed that they had an @ @ @ @ @ given our expertise in genetics , we wanted to ask the question to what extent @ @ @ @ @ those outcomes .
”

We have lifted the paywall on this story. To support essential reporting, please consider becoming a subscriber .
The Fulton Market area of Chicago is no longer the ghost town it was during the depths of the COVID-19 virus pandemic shutdown. As restrictions on restaurants are eased, a worker takes a woman's temperature before she can enter Federales restaurant on Morgan Street on July 1, 2020. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)
Illinois health officials announced 658 new cases of COVID-19 and 23 additional deaths on Sunday, bringing the total number of known cases to 136,762 and the death toll to 6,647 statewide since the start of the pandemic.
Fifteen of the deaths took place in Cook County. Officials also reported 23,816 new tests in the last 24 hours.
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On Monday, Chicago’s Lakefront Trail and the 606 Bloomingdale Trail will reopen, with restrictions. Here’s everything you need to know.
Meanwhile, Chicago restaurants can open for limited indoor seating with the rest of the state starting June 26, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Friday, a surprise announcement that will have people dining indoors a week earlier than expected.
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Restaurants, bars and breweries all can open, but with restrictions, as has been the case with outdoor dining. The move will align with Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s moving the state into phase four of his reopening plan.
[ When can Illinois move to phase 4? Here's where each region stands. ]
[ How will Illinois reopen? Three charts breaking down Pritzker’s plan ]
[ COVID-19 cases in Illinois by ZIP code: Search for your neighborhood ]
[ As the coronavirus spreads, the Tribune is tracking Illinois cases here ]
Here’s what’s happening this weekend with COVID-19 in the Chicago area and Illinois:
Officials report 658 new known COVID-19 cases and 23 additional deaths
On Sunday, the state announced 658 new confirmed cases of COVID-19, along with 23 additional deaths. Illinois added 23,816 new test results.
Sunday also marked the first time all four of the state’s regions have a positivity rate less than 5%. The northeast region, which includes Chicago and the suburbs, has had the highest rate among the regions since the state began tracking, and that rate has declined from 23.11% on May 1 to 4.97% Sunday.
The positivity rate is calculated by taking the number of confirmed cases and dividing it by the number of tests performed. The resulting percentage, watched over time, gives a good idea of the direction of the outbreak.
From May 1 to Sunday, Illinois’ southern region declined from 11.89% to 3.43%, the north-central region from 9.66% to 3.01% and the central region from 6.13% to 1.25%. All four regions are far below the 20% benchmark in positivity rate that is necessary to move on to phase four of the plan to reopen. — Jonathon Berlin
Park Ridge’s Pickwick Theatre plans for July reopening, owner hopes state will modify crowd size rules
After COVID-19 forced movie screens to go dark in March, the Pickwick Theatre in Park Ridge went from selling tickets to the latest blockbusters to selling boxes of popcorn at the curb out front.
And while the popcorn sales have done well, they’re not enough to sustain the business, admits Dino Vlahakis, whose family owns the historic theater.
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While movie theaters are permitted to open under phase four of Gov. J.B. Prizker’s Restore Illinois plan, current restrictions on crowd size and a lack of new movies being releasing could impact theater business.
With the governor indicating that the state is set to enter phase four on June 26, Vlahakis said he hopes to reopen the Pickwick’s main theater on July 11. The film to be shown will be the one that receives the most votes in an online survey currently taking place. The choices are “Back to the Future,” “Wizard of Oz” and “Trolls World Tour.”
The challenge right now, he said, is the 50-person limit on crowd size that is part of phase four.
“My main theater seats 900 people. Fifty doesn’t even pay the bills,” Vlahakis said. Read more here. —Jennifer Johnson
While many talk of a second coronavirus wave, experts say we’re still in the first
What’s all this talk about a “second wave” of U.S. coronavirus cases?
In The Wall Street Journal last week, Vice President Mike Pence wrote in a piece headlined “There Isn’t a Coronavirus ‘Second Wave’” that the nation is winning the fight against the virus.
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Many public health experts, however, suggest it's no time to celebrate. About 120,000 Americans have died from the new virus and daily counts of new cases in the U.S. are the highest they've been in more than a month, driven by alarming recent increases in the South and West.
But there is at least one point of agreement: “Second wave” is probably the wrong term to describe what’s happening.
“When you have 20,000-plus infections per day, how can you talk about a second wave?” said Dr. Anthony Fauci of the National Institutes of Health. “We’re in the first wave. Let’s get out of the first wave before you have a second wave.” Read more here. —Associated Press
Trump’s team goes door-to-door while Democrats stay virtual amid the coronavirus
Craig Black likes to refer to himself as a “born-again Republican,” a man who was “liberal for a long time” but finally saw the political light a few years back.
He converted in time to become a fervent supporter of President Donald Trump, a devotion that included celebrating the reelection-seeking Republican’s 74th birthday recently by knocking on doors for the Trump campaign in suburban Milwaukee.
Black’s morning of door knocking represents a new phase of campaigning in critical 2020 swing states, as Trump and Republicans have fully embraced a return to in-person, grassroots organizing while the presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden and his campaign have not, citing health risks to campaign staffers, volunteers and voters.
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Whether the campaigning takes place on front porches and in living rooms or in Google Hangouts and on Zoom chats, the Republican and Democratic parties in the key Midwestern swing states of Wisconsin and Michigan can point to far more organized, better funded and larger campaign ground game operations than they had four years ago. That means the work to engage and identify potential supporters has started earlier and on a larger scale than four years ago, officials with both parties said.
For Republicans, the pace of getting back out on the campaign trail amid the pandemic has been set by the candidate himself. Trump held a highly anticipated rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on Saturday night that drew far less than the arena’s 19,000-seat capacity, despite the campaign touting that it had received more than 1 million RSVPs for the event. Instead, almost all of the arena’s upper deck remained empty, plenty of space remained on the floor and an outdoor overflow event in the parking lot where Trump and Vice President Mike Pence were scheduled to speak was canceled.
Whether it is knocking on doors in Waukesha or packing thousands into a campaign rally in Oklahoma, Trump’s return to campaigning as normal is needlessly endangering the health and lives of Americans, said Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chairman Ben Wikler. Read more here. —Bill Ruthhart
Saturday, June 20
2:30 p.m. (updated 4:07 p.m.): 634 new known COVID-19 cases, 45 additional deaths
The state announced 634 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 45 deaths Saturday.
Among the 45 who died, 24 were older than 80.
That coronavirus is more deadly for the elderly and those with underlying conditions has been widely written about, and the tragic impact of the disease on the elderly is evident in Illinois data.
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As of Saturday, 45% of those who died from COVID-19 in Illinois were older than 80, while those in their 40s and younger made up slightly more than 5%.
However, people older than 80 make up a smaller share of those tested for coronavirus and those who have confirmed cases — 8% of those tested (when the age is known) and 7% of confirmed cases.
Illinois announced 25,965 tests Saturday, bringing the state to a total of 1,336,968. —Chicago Tribune staff
1:54 p.m.: After protests, Trump’s Tulsa rally is biggest indoor event since COVID-19 shutdowns. What could it mean for spread?
Tens of thousands of people from many states are converging on Tulsa for an indoor rally for President Donald Trump and surrounding events Saturday, raising concerns that the gatherings could help fuel nascent spikes of coronavirus cases in many places.
State and city health department officials were already bracing for a possible surge in COVID-19 cases from large outdoor demonstrations against police brutality held across the country. Now the Trump rally — at an arena that can hold 19,000 people and is expected to be at capacity — is shaping up to be the first indoor event of such a massive scale since the coronavirus pandemic took hold and many states issued stay-at-home orders.
The map of the outbreak in the U.S., and elsewhere, has become a patchwork, with infections falling in some areas and surging in others. In New York, Gov. Andrew Cuomo did not hold a coronavirus briefing for the first time in months Saturday — a sign of progress in the state that was home to the epicenter of the outbreak.
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Other states and cities that took steps to reopen earlier are seeing increases, including Tulsa where health department officials said two large indoor gatherings recently contributed to a spike in new cases. They declined to name the events or say how big they were, but Tulsa has seen the largest increase in cases in Oklahoma in recent days. Several bordering states, including Arkansas, have also seen spikes in community spread of the virus in recent weeks.
That is worrying some experts as Tulsa prepares again for Trump’s large indoor gathering.
Read more here. —Associated Press
8 a.m.: Want to help with COVID-19 research? Those who tested positive can share their genetic makeup with DNA testing sites like 23andMe and Ancestry.com.
DNA testing companies like Ancestry.com and 23andMe are using their expertise in the fight against COVID-19. Ancestry.com’s study is available only to its members, but 23andMe is asking past and present COVID-19 patients (customers or not) to take part in a study that will contribute to ongoing research on the new coronavirus.
23andMe asked existing customers in April if they would allow their DNA sample to be used for research aimed at determining if there are genetic factors affecting immune response to the virus. Then the company opened the study to include non-23andMe customers who had been hospitalized with COVID-19.
According to Adam Auton, principal scientist at 23andMe and lead researcher on the study, the testing company is hoping research will offer insight into differences in risk among individuals, and help academic and scientific communities in their efforts to treat the illness.
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“When the pandemic was getting going, we here at 23andMe were beginning to think through what could we do to really try and help and contribute to the science and understanding of this disease,” he said. “Given that we have a very large cohort of people who have had their genomes genotyped, we really felt that we might be able to make an impact on the question of why do some people get very, very sick with a COVID infection whereas other people may have not even noticed that they had an infection at all? And given our expertise in genetics, we wanted to ask the question to what extent genetics plays a role in those outcomes.”
Read more here. —Darcel Rockett


chicagotribune--2020-06-20--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--2020-06-20--Tracking Illinois coronavirus: 6,625 deaths, 136,104 confirmed cases, 1.36 million tests, 5.13% posi

Tracking Illinois coronavirus: 6,625 deaths, 136,104 confirmed cases, 1.36 million tests, 5.13% positivity rate for northeast region

That coronavirus is more deadly for the elderly and those with underlying conditions has been widely written about , and @ @ @ @ @ disease on the elderly is evident in Illinois data .

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


chicagotribune--2020-06-20--More than 100 cyclists blanket North Side streets to protest police brutality

Because of the way the issue has shaped his life experiences , DeBerry joined more than 100 cyclists in an @ @ @ @ @ police brutality following nearly a month of protests and civil unrest after the police killing @ @ @ @ @ .

A young activist wears his political statement on his face June 20, 2020, before joining dozens in an 8-mile ride in support of Black Lives Matter, from Willye B. White Park to Warren Park. (Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune)
Caleb DeBerry, 17, recently got his learner’s permit but feels trepidation about taking the next step to get his driver’s license.
The teenage rite of passage is fraught for DeBerry, a rising senior at Northside College Prep, because of the violence black men have experienced at the hands of police during traffic stops.
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“My main worry is not getting my license but getting pulled over,” he said.
Because of the way the issue has shaped his life experiences, DeBerry joined more than 100 cyclists in an 8-mile bike ride to protest police brutality following nearly a month of protests and civil unrest after the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
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“It’s a way to be safe and distant while using your body to take up space,” said organizer Ashaki McClain.
The event was meant to uplift the voices of black youth like DeBerry, who were participating, as well as speaking and performing along the route, McClain said.
Before setting off, the cyclists cheered and raised their fists in the air, the symbol of the Black Lives Matter movement.
The group blanketed Howard Street, closing off the street for more than a block before heading to Sheridan Road. The cyclists wove through the North Side, starting in Rogers Park’s Willye B. White Park and ending in Warren Park in West Ridge.
Many riders dressed in black to represent the Black Lives Matter movement and taped signs to their bicycles calling for officials to defund the police.
Tyrone Harris, a regular cyclist and bike courier, was particularly attracted to this protest because it connects physical fitness with social justice.
“We’re out and together in different ways,” Harris said. “It’s different than typical marches.”
McClain said biking as a method of protesting puts focus on transportation access as well as many black communities in Chicago that have unequal access to reliable public transportation.
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“Access is everything,” she said.
mabuckley@chicagotribune.com


Protest bike ride

As the coronavirus spreads globally , it has been revealed that some notable people have tested positive for the virus @ @ @ @ @ of most recently reported .

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chicagotribune--2020-06-20--24 wounded, including 2 dead, in pre-dawn shootings

A 43-year-old man suffered wounds to the lower backside and got himself to Mount Sinai Hospital , where he was @ @ @ @ @ The other two victims , both 34 , suffered wounds to the foot and neck @ @ @ @ @ taken to Stroger Hospital , where he was pronounced dead , while the other man @ @ @ @ @ Medical Center in Oak Park in good condition , police said .

Two men were fatally wounded, and at least 22 others were injured in a spate of overnight shootings that began around 9 p.m. Friday and continued until early Saturday, Chicago police said.
The latest fatal shooting happened shortly before 10:30 p.m. on the West Side in the 4100 block of West Congress Parkway in the West Garfield Park neighborhood.
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A 32-year-old man was driving when a black SUV approached and someone opened fire, hitting him multiple times throughout the body. He was taken to Stroger Hospital, where he was pronounced dead a short time later, police said.
Shortly before 10 p.m., three men were standing outside in the 4800 block of West Gladys Avenue in the Austin neighborhood when all three were shot by someone in a black SUV, police said.
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A 43-year-old man suffered wounds to the lower backside and got himself to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was listed in fair condition. The other two victims, both 34, suffered wounds to the foot and neck. One of them was taken to Stroger Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, while the other man was taken to West Suburban Medical Center in Oak Park in good condition, police said.
There were several shootings early Saturday. Police said an 18-year-old man was dropped off shortly before 5 a.m. at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in critical condition with gunshot wounds to the upper back. Later, police learned he was shot in the 1600 block of North Avers Avenue.
Shortly before 4:15 a.m., someone who was standing outside with a group in the 11300 block of South Michigan Avenue in the Roseland neighborhood was shot in the shoulder. He got himself to Roseland Community Hospital, where he was listed in fair condition, police said.
A 43-year-old man was shot shortly after 3:30 a.m. in the Douglas Park neighborhood in the 1200 block of South Farrar Drive. Officers responded to a call of shots fired, and found an unresponsive man with wounds to the neck, upper thigh and back. He was taken in critical condition to Mount Sinai Hospital, police said.
In other shootings overnight:
About 3:20 a.m., a 26-year-old man was shot in the 1000 block of West 58th Street in the Englewood neighborhood. He was standing on the street when a black SUV approached and someone opened fire at him. He got himself to the University of Chicago Medical Center with a gunshot wound to the shoulder. He was listed in fair condition, police said.
Shortly before 3 a.m., a 25-year-old man was shot while he was walking in the 7300 block of South Paulina Street in the West Englewood neighborhood. Someone in a white vehicle opened fire, hitting him in a hand. The victim got himself to Holy Cross Hospital, where he was listed in good condition, police said.
About 2:55 a.m., a 22-year-old man was shot in the 2200 block of South Lawndale Avenue in the Little Village neighborhood. Police said three people exited a small black SUV and one of them opened fire, striking him in the leg. A friend drove him to St. Anthony Hospital, but he was transferred to Mount Sinai Hospital in fair condition, police said.
About 2:45 a.m., two men were shot in the 11700 block of South Union Avenue in the West Pullman neighborhood. Police said someone, possibly in a silver four-door sedan, fired shots, hitting two men, ages 27 and 48. Both suffered wounds to the leg and were taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn in fair condition.
Shortly before 2:30 a.m., a 24-year-old man was attending a party when he was approached by a gunman who opened fire, hitting him three times to the cheek, right arm and right leg. He got himself to St. Joseph Hospital after the shooting, which happened in the 2700 block of North Pine Grove Avenue, police said.
Shortly after 2 a.m., a 28-year-old was shot in the 7400 block of South Wentworth Avenue in the Park Manor neighborhood. The victim suffered wounds to the chest, neck and body, and was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center in serious condition, police said.
About the same time, a 49-year-old woman was shot in a foot in the 1600 block of South Troy Street in the Lawndale neighborhood. She got out of her vehicle to ask someone who stopped in front of her to move, and that person pulled out a weapon and fired toward the ground, hitting a foot. She got herself to Mount Sinai Hospital, where she was listed in good condition, police said.
A 64-year-old woman was inside her home in the 1000 block of North Lawndale Avenue in the Humboldt Park neighborhood when, at 12:49 a.m., gunshots pierced the window and hit her arm, police said. She was listed in fair condition at Norwegian American Hospital.
About 12:45 a.m., a 17-year-old boy was shot in the 700 block of South Loomis Street in the University Village neighborhood. The victim was traveling in a vehicle when a gold sedan approached and someone opened fire. He suffered a graze wound to the left rib cage and was taken in good condition to Mount Sinai Hospital, police said.
About 11:45 p.m. Friday, two men were shot in the 1000 block of North Waller Avenue in the Austin neighborhood. A 42-year-old man suffered a graze wound to the leg and got himself to Mount Sinai Hospital. The other man was shot in both legs. He was in good condition at Stroger Hospital, police said.
About 11:15 p.m., a 20-year-old man was walking to his vehicle when he was shot in the 7600 block of South Coles Avenue in the South Shore neighborhood. He suffered a graze wound to the chest after someone opened fire from a gray Jeep, police said.
About 11 p.m., two men were shot in the 3400 block of West 23rd Street in the Little Village neighborhood. The victims were involved in an argument when a man pulled out a weapon and began firing. A 22-year-old man suffered a wound to the lower backside, and the other victim, 41, was shot in a hand and leg. Both were in good condition at Mount Sinai Hospital, police said.
Shortly before 11 p.m., a 28-year-old man was involved in an argument with a person who shot him in the shoulder in the 5400 block of South Loomis Boulevard in the Back of the Yards neighborhood. He was in good condition at the University of Chicago Medical Center, police said.
Shortly before 9:20 p.m., a 47-year-old man was urinating outside in the 1300 block of North California Avenue when he was shot three times in the buttocks. He was taken in good condition to Mount Sinai Hospital, police said.
No one was in custody.


chicagotribune--2020-06-20--Rapper ‘Tray Savage’ among Chicago homicide victims shot Friday

The gunman returned to his car and reversed northbound on Evans to flee the scene , police said .
Young @ @ @ @ @ of Chicago Medical Center , where he was pronounced dead at 11:30 a.m. , according @ @ @ @ @ examiner ’ s office .
An autopsy was scheduled that will determine the cause and @ @ @ @ @ , who lived in the 8000 block of South State Street , according to the @ @ @ @ @ .


chicagotribune--2020-06-20--Gresham, Little Village shootings wound two men

Five minutes earlier and about 13 miles south , a 28-year-old man was shot while driving in the 8700 block @ @ @ @ @ the Gresham neighborhood .
He was wounded in the left shoulder and taken to Roseland @ @ @ @ @ was listed in fair condition , police said .

A 29-year-old man and a 28-year-old man were injured in shootings Saturday morning, following a burst of overnight gunfire during which 24 people were shot, including two fatally, Chicago police said.
The latest attack happened around 6:15 a.m. in the 2800 block of South St. Louis Avenue in the Little Village neighborhood.
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Police said the 29-year-old man was walking to an alley when he was shot in the head and leg. He was taken in critical condition to Mount Sinai Hospital. Witnesses told police they heard multiple gunshots.
Five minutes earlier and about 13 miles south, a 28-year-old man was shot while driving in the 8700 block of South Halsted Street in the Gresham neighborhood. He was wounded in the left shoulder and taken to Roseland Community Hospital, where he was listed in fair condition, police said.
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Twenty-four people were shot, including two men who died, during the pre-dawn hours from 9 p.m. Friday until about 5 a.m. Saturday.
No one was in custody.


chicagotribune--2020-06-20--Coronavirus at Illinois long-term care facilities, more than 21,000 confirmed cases and 3,649 deaths

The Illinois Department of Public Health is releasing information on COVID-19 tied to long-term care facilities in Illinois .
The @ @ @ @ @ at 593 long-term care facilities in 44 counties .
Of those , 558 facilities have @ @ @ @ @ , defined as a positive test result in the past 28 days .
In all @ @ @ @ @ be tied to long-term care facilities , with 3,649 deaths , as of June 19 @ @ @ @ @

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


chicagotribune--2020-06-20--Hit and run in Bronzeville leaves man, 54, dead

A 54-year-old man was pronounced dead after he was struck by a hit and run driver Friday night in the @ @ @ @ @ Side , Chicago police said .

A 54-year-old man was pronounced dead after he was struck by a hit and run driver Friday night in the Bronzeville neighborhood on the South Side, Chicago police said.
Shortly before 11 p.m., the victim was struck by a silver sedan in the 4700 block of South Cottage Grove Avenue. The vehicle continued north on Cottage Grove, police said.
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The victim was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center in critical condition, but was pronounced dead there.
No one was in custody, and detectives were investigating.


chicagotribune--2020-06-20--Want to help with COVID-19 research? Those who tested positive can share their genetic makeup with D

Want to help with COVID-19 research? Those who tested positive can share their genetic makeup with DNA testing sites like 23andMe and Ancestry.com.

DNA testing companies like Ancestry.com and 23andMe are using their expertise in the fight against COVID-19. Ancestry.com’s study is available only to its members, but 23andMe is asking past and present COVID-19 patients (customers or not) to take part in a study that will contribute to ongoing research on the new coronavirus.
23andMe asked existing customers in April if they would allow their DNA sample to be used for research aimed at determining if there are genetic factors affecting immune response to the virus. Then the company opened the study to include non-23andMe customers who had been hospitalized with COVID-19.
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According to Adam Auton, principal scientist at 23andMe and lead researcher on the study, the testing company is hoping research will offer insight into differences in risk among individuals, and help academic and scientific communities in their efforts to treat the illness.
“When the pandemic was getting going, we here at 23andMe were beginning to think through what could we do to really try and help and contribute to the science and understanding of this disease,” he said. “Given that we have a very large cohort of people who have had their genomes genotyped, we really felt that we might be able to make an impact on the question of why do some people get very, very sick with a COVID infection whereas other people may have not even noticed that they had an infection at all? And given our expertise in genetics, we wanted to ask the question to what extent genetics plays a role in those outcomes.”
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Auton said the response has been a positive one. He said hundreds of thousands of people already have completed the survey to participate in the genome study, and of those, over 9,000 individuals said they have tested positive for COVID-19. Auton is hoping more participants join the study to get a wider spectrum of coronavirus experiences. To join, individuals have to be over 18, live in the United States, be willing to provide a saliva sample for analyzing different parts of your genome, be willing to complete online study surveys, must have tested positive for COVID-19 and must have been hospitalized due to COVID-19 symptoms. Those who qualify will receive the 23andMe Health + Ancestry Service at no cost.
Edgewater resident Judy Schneider, 75, did a 23andMe kit almost 10 years ago. Having rebounded from a COVID-19 diagnosis in March, she was excited to hear about the 23andMe study.
“I would participate because I’m interested from the point of view that I have asthma and my mother had asthma,” she said. “I’m concerned about being reinfected, so I would participate.”
Ashantis Jones, 26, of Lakeview, did a 23andMe kit with her family two Christmases ago. But she said she wouldn’t add her genome information to the COVID-19 study.
“There’s a cultural implication especially around people of color because we’ve been tested on since America has become America,” she said. “So there is a historical context, too, so no. You’re not just going to take my stuff and test. It just starts to get a little bit too Big Brother.”
Auton says 23andMe wants to be as transparent as possible with the study, so the study’s protocols are overseen by a third-party ethical review board.
“I think it’s super important to emphasize that all of the research that we do is entirely opt-in,” Auton said. “They can withdraw their consent at any point, and we will stop using their data. We really are very conscious of this. ... Frankly, we know we couldn’t do this research without our participants, so we’re just extremely grateful to those that have chosen to participate.”
Preliminary data shows a variant in the ABO gene (which is associated with blood type) linked to a lower risk, when comparing research participants who reported that they tested positive for COVID-19 with those who tested negative. Auton said data collection will continue through the summer.
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“We know that genetics is important when determining outcomes across essentially all human diseases, so your genome may have some information in it that confers risks for certain diseases or protection for other diseases,” Auton said. “Given that COVID-19 is so new in our lives, I think we just don’t know at this stage whether genetics has a really big role to play in determining these outcomes or whether it has a small role. And if we can establish that it has a role, it may be informative about the developments of potential therapies for people who do have these kinds of severe outcomes.”
drockett@chicagotribune.com