chicagotribune--2020-05-22--‘The grind is a lot harder’: Sex workers struggle to make a living as COVID-19 batters their industr

‘The grind is a lot harder’: Sex workers struggle to make a living as COVID-19 batters their industry

“ I would say I see maybe one or two people a week , ” she said .
“ As @ @ @ @ @ with them and we are safe , I am OK with that for now .
@ @ @ @ @ have bills to pay or rent to pay I wouldn ’ t see anyone but @ @ @ @ @ goes , and I know a lot of other people in my situation , not @ @ @ @ @ understand .
”

Like a lot of people in these months of quarantine, E.B. Cotenord is having a tough time making ends meet. COVID-19 has made it too risky to pursue her profession as she normally does, so she’s working from home, putting in crazy hours and making a fraction of her former earnings.
What’s different about Cotenord is her job.
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She is a full-service sex worker, otherwise known as an escort, whose services normally command $500 an hour. She stopped seeing clients shortly after Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced the first stay-at-home order in March, switching her business model almost overnight to subscription video and phone sex.
“It’s a really rough transition,” said Cotenord, who lives in the north suburbs. “It’s definitely not as profitable. The grind is a lot harder. I’m putting in 70-hour weeks of taking calls and creating content to make, at the end of a 10-hour day, half of what I make in an hour doing my full-service work.”
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Sex worker E.B. Cotenord in Evanston on May 12, 2020. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune)
While COVID-19 has pummeled most industries, few have been battered as thoroughly as sex-related businesses. Strip clubs have shuttered, dominatrix dungeons have closed and even street prostitution has gone quiet: Chicago police, who normally make dozens of arrests each month, have made exactly two since March 11.
“It’s just like everything else,” police spokesman Tom Ahern said. “Because of the stay-at-home order, there are fewer people out in general in public, even down to the prostitution rings throughout the city. That’s all really slowed down too.”
The sudden loss of business has left sex workers, who for the most part are ineligible for jobless benefits, scrambling to survive.
“It’s kind of like the way the pandemic has laid bare all the inequities in society, especially the economic ones,” said Kathy Rosenfeld of the advocacy group Sex Workers Outreach Project Chicago. “For sex workers whose livelihood is precarious in the best of times, it has exacerbated the (instability) of our lives.”
Income halved
Mistress Vivian Grey is a Chicago dominatrix who considers her sessions, which do not include sex, to be a form of therapy for men and women who want to live out their fantasies. She said that while some longtime clients have sent “tributes” to help get her through the pandemic, her income has been cut in half.
Mistress Vivian Grey, a downtown Chicago dominatrix, at her home on May 16, 2020. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune)
She does most, but not all, of her work virtually now.
“I would say I see maybe one or two people a week,” she said. “As long as I am comfortable with them and we are safe, I am OK with that for now. If I didn’t have bills to pay or rent to pay I wouldn’t see anyone but that’s how it goes, and I know a lot of other people in my situation, not just sex workers, would understand.”
Another Chicago dominatrix, Mistress Mara, has given up in-person sessions altogether out of concern that someone might carry COVID-19 without symptoms. She now focuses entirely on her online ventures, which include phone encounters, texting and video streaming.
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She said that with 14 years of experience, she has established a brand that has held up in the highly competitive online scene, though she still prefers to work in person.
“To be honest, I think (online) is a fine substitute but it does not replace the real thing,” she said. “It’s kind of like NutraSweet when you’re used to honey. I much prefer human contact and the conversations. It’s very difficult to have a cerebral dialogue with someone when it’s like, ‘Gee, your time is up for that $2.99-a-minute call.’ ”
The video platform of choice for many sex workers and adult performers is OnlyFans, which allows them to charge viewers a subscription. The average fee is about $10 a month, by some accounts; the company, which claims to have 450,000 content creators, did not respond to the Tribune’s request for comment.
Newbies join the scene
While experienced sex workers say the service is less lucrative than their normal gigs, some newbies have found it to be a badly needed source of income.
A Chicago cosplayer and drag performer who goes by Ask Kaylee Frye, and who prefers the they/them pronouns, occasionally sold nude or suggestive photos of themselves before the pandemic. But when they left their job as a barista because of the stay-at-home order, they started an OnlyFans channel called Twixt My Nethers.
“In less than a week I had made top 10% (of performers) and more money than I made in a month working my regular job,” they said. “So far people have been pretty respectful on the platform, and I like that I get to decide how much or how little I wanna show. It’s annoying that the site takes 20%, and that taxes will take a chunk out of it, but it’s better than having no money during quarantine.”
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They have since returned to the coffee shop — they need the health insurance — but would move to the platform full time if they could earn enough.
“It’s way more fun and fulfilling creating content on my own terms than it is working any other job I’ve ever done,” they said.
But for those who depend on sex work to survive, there are few places to turn if they can’t make a living online. Few are eligible to claim unemployment or other government benefits, Rosenfeld said.
“Since sex work is a criminalized industry, there isn’t the kind of paper trail that federal agencies are looking for,” she said. “I would say it goes case by case, but in a lot of cases, people whose living has been sex work have been unable to interface with any government assistance.”
Her group tries to raise money to help people in desperate straits, but typically can give out only modest sums, such as $50 for groceries.
“I don’t know of any organization dedicated to sex workers that has resources to really make a long-term difference in people’s lives economically,” she said.
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‘Can’t protect myself’
Though some businesses are starting to reopen after weeks of inactivity, Manisha Shah, a University of California at Los Angeles public policy scholar who has written about the economics of sex work, said that industry will likely trail the pack.
“I don’t think sex work will go back to its pre-pandemic state even when stay-at-home orders ease as potential clients will still feel wary of in-person meetings,” she said. “It will likely take longer, perhaps even until a vaccine, before people feel comfortable interacting in person for sex services.”
Cotenord said she still gets a few calls from clients inquiring about her availability, but with an asthmatic child at home, she dares not take a chance that could expose her to the virus.
Still, she finds virtual work to be a poor alternative to in-person services, and not just financially — “Any kind of emotional intimacy is stripped from the experience. … I’m just there as a body to be consumed for five to 10 minutes” — and is as eager as anyone for a vaccine that will end the pandemic.
“We’re in an incredibly high-risk profession,” she said. “There’s no social distancing in full-service sex work. … We’re very careful about taking care of ourselves, but while I can protect myself from chlamydia, I can’t protect myself from COVID.”
jkeilman@chicagotribune.com
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Twitter @JohnKeilman


chicagotribune--2020-05-22--Illinois Tollway reaches railroad deal, paving the way for construction of a beltway around O’Hare

The new I-490 Tollway is scheduled to be complete by the end of 2025 and will carry north-south traffic around @ @ @ @ @ ’ Hare and provide access to the airport , according to the Tollway .
The @ @ @ @ @ which currently carries east-west traffic between Lake Street ( Illinois Route 20 ) and Illinois @ @ @ @ @ an interchange connection to I-490 .

When it is finished, Illinois Route 390 east toward the airport will connect with a new north-south tollway to be called Interstate 490. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)
The Illinois Tollway board on Thursday approved agreements with two major railroads, which will make possible long-anticipated western highway access into O’Hare International Airport.
The agreement with the Soo Line Railroad Co., doing business as Canadian Pacific, and Union Pacific Railroad provides the Tollway with the property rights it needs to build a planned beltway around O’Hare.
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When it is finished, Illinois Route 390 east toward the airport will connect with a new north-south tollway to be called Interstate 490, which would stretch along the airport’s western border. The new tollway would connect with Interstate 90 to the north and the Tri-State Tollway to the south.
The toll authority has argued that western highway access is crucial to an expanded O’Hare. The Tollway has been trying to get the right to do the construction for years, and sued Canadian Pacific over access in 2016.
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Work on the I-490 Tollway must cross the Union Pacific Railroad and the Canadian Pacific at several places, including in the Canadian Pacific’s Bensenville Yard. The project will require relocating Canadian Pacific tracks.
The agreements also provide the Tollway with property rights that will help in the construction of Cook County’s planned improvements to Touhy Avenue, which include replacing the at-grade crossing at the Union Pacific Railroad with a new bridge that will ease congestion and improve access to the north side of the airport.
The agreements call for the Tollway to spend roughly $250 million on land, construction access rights, air rights, business impacts and future structural maintenance costs associated with the I-490 project, spokesman Dan Rozek said.
While the Tollway can now begin portions of I-490 construction as early as this fall, there are a handful of final steps, including the completion of an environmental study for review by the Federal Aviation Administration and agreements with the Chicago Department of Aviation.
Sens. Tammy Duckworth and Dick Durbin, and Reps. Mike Quigley and Raja Krishnamoorthi, all Illinois Democrats, issued statements praising the agreement.
“The Elgin O’Hare Western Access Project is vital to the future of northeastern Illinois’s transportation network, and today’s vote is a critical milestone toward construction of this project," Duckworth said.
The new I-490 Tollway is scheduled to be complete by the end of 2025 and will carry north-south traffic around the western border of O’Hare and provide access to the airport, according to the Tollway. The Illinois Route 390 Tollway, which currently carries east-west traffic between Lake Street (Illinois Route 20) and Illinois Route 83, will include an interchange connection to I-490.
The planned O’Hare expansion, the biggest and most expensive in the airport’s 75-year history, is supposed to be finished by the end of 2028. The plans include the addition of a new Global Terminal and three new concourses, and is mostly funded by passenger fees, landing fees and other income.
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Chicago’s Aviation Department has said the coronavirus pandemic won’t interfere with the expansion plan, despite major financial losses for airlines as air travel has plummeted.
mwisniewski@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-05-22--Chicago restaurants won’t be ready to open on pace with rest of Illinois, Mayor Lori Lightfoot says

Kevin Hickey , chef at The Duck Inn , which has a large outdoor patio in Bridgeport , said the @ @ @ @ @ big surprise ” to him .
“ Immediately after Gov .
Pritzker made the announcement @ @ @ @ @ mayor hoped for more time .
I tend to try not to jump on any @ @ @ @ @ it at the mayor ’ s news conference.
” Hickey said he has been trying @ @ @ @ @ , but he ’ s still waiting on information from the state and city .
@ @ @ @ @ I was measuring the tables and setting it up in a way that would adhere @ @ @ @ @ though we don ’ t know exactly what they are , ” he said .

Gregory Pratt, Nick Kindelsperger, Louisa Chu, Bill Ruthhart, John Byrne, Christopher Borrelli

Dave Nalezny looks out at the patio of his restaurant Park & Field in Chicago's Logan Square neighborhood on May 21, 2020. He hopes restrictions imposed due to the COVID-19 virus pandemic will be loosened and he will to be able to open the patio for business during the crucial summer months. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)
In a blow to Chicago restaurateurs and residents eager for a meal on their favorite patio, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Thursday that city restaurants won’t be ready to reopen to outdoor dining by May 29 but said she hopes they will in June.
Lightfoot made the comments after Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker opened the door to potentially lift the restriction on sit-down dining next week. While “heartened” by Pritzker’s comments, Lightfoot said she wants a more robust plan to make sure Chicago restaurants can reopen safely.
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“We are hard at work on looking at ways in which we can get our restaurant industry back up. I was heartened by the comments that the governor made yesterday about restaurants, but again like everything, we’ve got to do it safely,” Lightfoot said. “I need to understand and be certain that restaurants across the city, not just the big ones, not just the ones that have a lot of cash flow, but the small ones, too, have the means to protect their employees and members of the public that will patronize them.”
[ Illinois restaurants and bars can go al fresco as soon as next Friday as Gov. J.B. Pritzker nods to reopening pressure ]
The mayor’s declaration also threw cold water on the good news Pritzker offered suffering restaurateurs just a day earlier, when he set May 29 as the date Illinois restaurants and bars could probably open with outdoor seating. The governor’s move constituted a slight softening of his stance in the face of pressure from the Illinois Restaurant Association as dining establishments opened recently in Wisconsin, Indiana, Iowa and Missouri, prompting Illinois residents to flock across the borders to spend their money.
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Previously, Pritzker had said restaurants would only open when Illinois reached phase four of the COVID-19 reopening plan, which would arrive no earlier than late June. It’s not clear when city bars would be allowed to reopen.
"That is a huge bummer, but it wasn’t really fair for restaurants who don’t have patios and relied on sidewalk cafes,” said Debbie Sharpe, chef and owner of The Goddess and Grocer, with locations downtown and in Wicker Park. “I think a lot more places will go down the tubes. I understand the mayor’s concern. Chicago doesn’t have wide-open spaces like in the burbs. Maybe we just have to eat crow for another month and see what happens. Well it was a five-minute high!”
[ When can Illinois reopen? Check our daily charts on where each region stands. ]
Kevin Hickey, chef at The Duck Inn, which has a large outdoor patio in Bridgeport, said the news was not “a big surprise” to him. “Immediately after Gov. Pritzker made the announcement, I heard that the mayor hoped for more time. I tend to try not to jump on any new information until I hear it at the mayor’s news conference.” Hickey said he has been trying to get his patio prepared, but he’s still waiting on information from the state and city. “Days before this, I was measuring the tables and setting it up in a way that would adhere to the guidelines, even though we don’t know exactly what they are,” he said.
To help restaurants with their outdoor capacity, Lightfoot said the city also is looking at the possibility of closing streets to help expand restaurants’ dining options. The mayor mentioned downtown, Andersonville, Logan Square and Wicker Park as neighborhoods where city officials may want to close streets — a complicated and potentially costly proposition due to a provision in the city’s parking meters deal that means the city has to pay for meters put out of commission.
“That’s a little heartbreaking,” said Dave Nalezny, co-owner of Park & Field, when a reporter told him about the mayor’s announcement. “I guess I’ll just see what (the mayor’s) plan is and what the timeline is. There’s only so many days in the summer, and we want to get back to some semblance of a healthy restaurant, especially as the PPP loan time clock counts down. This is going to be exceedingly challenging.”
Dave and Kitty Nalezny with their children, Charlie and Mary, and the family's dog Portia on the patio of their restaurant Park & Field in Chicago's Logan Square neighborhood on May 21, 2020. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)
Lightfoot’s announcement came as state health officials on Thursday announced 2,268 new known cases of the coronavirus in Illinois. There also were 87 additional deaths confirmed, bringing the state’s death toll to 4,607 since the pandemic began. Statewide, there have been 102,686 confirmed cases of COVID-19.
Chicago public health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady elaborated on what the city needs to see before it allows restaurants to open up. The biggest thing will be awareness social distancing requires 6 feet of separation, and employees and patrons must wear masks, Arwady said.
“We’re thinking about what needs to happen structurally in restaurants and other food establishments, everything from face coverings to occupancies to not using the same ketchup bottle,” she said.
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Pritzker said Thursday he has no objection to Lightfoot’s announcement that Chicago restaurants likely won’t be able to provide outdoor dining until mid-June.
“The decision by municipalities like Chicago to not have outdoor seating is completely up to them,” Pritzker said. He said that the state “tried to provide a baseline to protect people in various communities.”
[ How will Illinois reopen? Three charts breaking down Pritzker’s plan ]
Still, Pritzker said he didn’t anticipate that many communities would delay on allowing outdoor dining and drinking under precautions such as spacing tables at least 6 feet apart.
“I think many, many towns, cities and communities and counties across the state will in fact have outdoor seating for restaurants,” Pritzker said. “That’s a completely local decision.”
Bernie DiMeo, of suburban public relations firm DiMeo Partners, says that the governor and mayor should have been on the same page.
“What’s going on when one comes out with an announcement that we can open up outdoor spaces, and then the other one says we can’t?” asked DiMeo. “They should have talked about it together and come out with the same announcement. We are all for the safety and health of the citizens, but it’s just killing restaurants.”
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Some restaurants, however, agreed with the mayor’s move to push off allowing outdoor dining in the city. Before the news conference, Baker Miller, a bakery in Lincoln Square, had posted on Facebook that it would not reopen its patio on May 29, because the owners didn’t feel like it was yet safe. “I think it’s a wise move on the mayor’s part,” co-owner Dave Miller said by phone after the mayor’s announcement. “She’s taking a bold stance to do that. And it’ll inspire confidence when she does say it is time to reopen.” He noted that Baker Miller would only open when medical professionals said it was safe to do so.
[ COVID-19 cases in Illinois by ZIP code: Search for your neighborhood ]
Bruce Finkelman, a partner in the 16” On Center restaurant group, with operates restaurants and bars such as Moneygun, Empty Bottle and Saint Lou’s Assembly, said it’s important that such decisions be based off advice from medical leaders. He said restaurants will need additional federal help in order to come back from the damage incurred in the pandemic.
“That’s where our focus should remain," Finkelman said. “Instead of throwing darts at a board on when it might be OK to open, we should really be informed by the medical community. Our hope is that this is what our leaders are looking toward for guidance. However, this doesn’t change the fact that we still need to be thinking about the long-term issue of how we will keep our industry intact.”
Lightfoot also said she wants restaurants to have indoor dining options, which she acknowledged would need approval from the state.
“No restaurant I know of is going to be able to survive dependent upon what the weather is going to be like on a particular day in Chicago,” Lightfoot said. “I think having the opportunity to do it and dine alfresco on a larger scale, which is what we certainly are talking about, is important, but they also need to be able to be inside as well, or economically I don’t think the numbers work.”
Illinois Restaurant Association President Sam Toia told the Tribune on Thursday he was “OK” with Lightfoot’s decision.
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“Obviously she likes to process everything, she wants to make sure all 77 neighborhoods are ready,” Toia said. “But I don’t think it’s going to be more than a few days north of May 29. I don’t think it’ll be much. She’s open to communication. I just talked to her and said ‘Mayor, I get it.’ We might have to give licensing applications to restaurants that don’t have sidewalk licenses already. That’s what’s going on here. She doesn’t want to just open. She wants Pilsen and Little Village and Andersonville and everywhere ready when it happens. As long as I am being communicated with about it, I’m OK.”
Efforts to reopen Chicago restaurants for safe outdoor dining are further complicated by the terms of the much-reviled 2008 parking meter lease engineered by Mayor Richard M. Daley.
That 75-year deal contains a clause requiring the city to pay Chicago Parking Meters LLC for revenue lost when the city takes parking spots out of commission for events such as parades or for construction work. Lightfoot on Thursday said the contract is in play as she thinks about closing city streets — and the metered parking spots on them — in neighborhoods such as Andersonville, Logan Square and Wicker Park so people can spread out farther to have meals.
“It really depends on where we’re talking about, and that’s certainly an issue that we are working through while we’re thinking about where precisely the spots will be,” Lightfoot said.
Asked about reopening the city’s lakefront, Lightfoot said she is looking at plans for reopening but isn’t there yet.
But the mayor said she’s concerned about thousands of people congregating on the lakefront potentially leading to a surge in coronavirus cases. In the past, Lightfoot’s indicated the lakefront could reopen with access limitations and ushers similar to those at Wrigley Field.
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She also noted that the city warned people repeatedly to follow social distancing rules and be careful in the days leading up to her March decision to shut down the lakefront, but they “fell on deaf ears.”
“I’m very worried about a spike and a surge in cases when we do open back up,” Lightfoot said.
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Connie’s Pizza has been removed from this article. A representative said that it is not associated with Bernie DiMeo.


chicagotribune--2020-05-22--Residents say they are being kept in the dark about COVID-19 as nearly 90 deaths are recorded at low

Residents say they are being kept in the dark about COVID-19 as nearly 90 deaths are recorded at low-income housing in Chicago. ‘This is dangerous.'

Residents say they are being kept in the dark about COVID-19 as nearly 90 deaths are recorded at low-income housing @ @ @ @ @ is dangerous . '
Residents say they are being kept in the dark about COVID-19 @ @ @ @ @ recorded at low-income housing in Chicago .
‘ This is dangerous ’

At least three people have died from COVID-19 in the senior citizens’ high-rise where Laura Brownlee lives, including a close friend she visited often.
But the landlord has said nothing about them to residents, who are more vulnerable to the disease and might want to take extra precautions, like following the advice of city health experts and moving out of such housing when there’s a heightened risk.
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“These are senior suites up in here, seems like someone should be coming in and testing everybody," Brownlee said by phone. “I’m already afraid it’s all over. And I don’t wanna go out like that.”
Lutheran Social Services of Illinois, which runs Kingston Place on the South Side, would not comment on the three deaths reported there by the Cook County medical examiner’s office as of May 19. “In order to respect the privacy of the tenants of the building, we do not release information regarding deaths or those who choose to be tested and are confirmed positive.”
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A Tribune investigation found that residents at subsidized housing across Chicago have been told little, if anything, about COVID-19 cases where they live, even though they are generally older and in poorer health and therefore at higher risk.
Ramonita Masas, 66, looks out from a common balcony in her Chicago Housing Authority apartment building on the Near North Side on May 8, 2020. She said the pandemic has meant she hasn’t had a chance to talk to her neighbors or knock on their doors like she usually would. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune)
So far, 89 people in low-income housing in the city have died from complications linked to the novel coronavirus. Half of them were older than 76, an analysis of data shows.
They include seniors in at least 19 buildings managed by the Chicago Housing Authority, and residents in 51 buildings where apartments are subsidized by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development or the city of Chicago.
About 70% of the people who died were black and had underlying conditions such as diabetes, kidney disease and hypertension.
The numbers parallel broader city data that shows black residents of Chicago are dying of COVID-19 complications at much higher rates than whites, while cases in communities that are largely Latino are surging past other areas. Of the nearly 13,600 people who live in CHA public housing, 73% are black and 12% are Latino.
Advocates say residents in public housing are often just as vulnerable as people in nursing homes, where the death rates have garnered more attention. Some residents told the Tribune that little information about potential exposure has trickled down to them. Others said they feel like they’ve been left to fend for themselves.
“You would think some of the community leaders would make sure we had groceries and masks and gloves or something,” said Luana Bell, 74, who lives in senior housing in the South Deering area on the Far South Side.
Bell walks to a nearby store to buy groceries or catches a ride with a friend. She worries about neighbors who aren’t as mobile, particularly those who use wheelchairs. “Nobody has done anything.”
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‘You need good transparency’
Last month, Chicago Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady acknowledged the increased risk of living in senior housing. She told an online forum that families should reconsider their loved ones’ living arrangements if they don’t require additional care.
“If there is the possibility to remove folks from these higher-risk settings, that’s a good thing," Arwady said. “We know that it’s not possible for the great majority of families.”
Both HUD and CHA need to do much more to protect those people, according to Rosanna Márquez, president of AARP Illinois.
HUD could require landlords to implement an emergency plan during the pandemic, including providing more information to residents about cases and possible exposure, she said.
Márquez, who has worked for HUD, said the agency has the authority to intervene because it provides funding. "HUD has the leverage to step in as a regulator,” she said.
HUD, in an email response, said the agency had contacted the owners of 123 out of 124 retirement buildings in Cook County. The agency found 47 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and at least nine fatalities at the buildings.
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The federal agency said it is allowing building owners to use operating funds to cover staff overtime, hire additional security and buy cleaning supplies during the pandemic. Tenants are still expected to pay rent, but landlords can’t file evictions for nonpayment during the health crisis.
HUD said it hadn’t received requests from any buildings in Cook County for more funding or gotten reports of evictions.
The CHA, in a statement last week, said it knows of 59 confirmed cases of COVID-19 among residents of its housing, based “largely” on self-reporting. It added that the agency “is not required to track or verify cases and, due to privacy issues, (does) not inquire about the health status of residents.”
After a confirmed case is reported, common areas are sanitized and the agency works with the Chicago Department of Public Health, according to the statement. The CHA also provides every resident with a surgical-style mask, and sends updates on public health guidelines and testing protocols.
But Márquez said the CHA should directly provide residents with information about cases and take measures to prevent exposure. “They have more of an affirmative duty to check on their residents,” she said.
Márquez said she supports an ordinance by Ald. Maria Hadden, 49th, that calls for nurses to conduct well-being checks at CHA housing, along with mandatory screening of visitors and more protective equipment to complexes.
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Advocates worry that if the ordinance doesn’t advance quickly, it may not be implemented until July as the city begins to reopen.
Contact tracing could stop the spread in low-income buildings, Márquez said, but agencies need to turn to state or city health departments to do it. And just like nursing homes, affordable buildings for seniors should provide timely information to residents and families about COVID-19 cases and outbreaks.
“You need good transparency,” Márquez said. “They need to have the best information about what’s going on so they can make the best informed decision to stay where they are, bring them home or move them elsewhere."
A spokeswoman for the city’s public health department said it has been working closely with congregate living facilities and requires buildings to report clusters, defined as two or more cases occurring within 14 days.
Across the nation, only a few states and cities have focused on curbing the novel coronavirus in public housing.
On Wednesday, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo expanded free testing at 40 public housing locations after saying earlier that such housing “is one of the greatest places of concentration and it’s one of the greatest places of health disparities in the first place.”
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Ramonita Masas, 66, in her CHA studio apartment on the Near North Side. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune)
Ramonita Masas with a picture of herself at age 26 atop a dresser in her CHA apartment. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune)
‘This is dangerous’
Carmen Betances, 68, lives at Elizabeth Woods Apartments, a CHA senior complex in Lincoln Park. In mid-March, as the pandemic spread rapidly, residents took it upon themselves to clean elevator buttons and common areas. She doesn't think her building’s management takes precautions seriously.
“Eventually people will have contact,” Betances said. “We’re gonna have a massive grave.”
Elena El-Alwan, 69, lives in the same building as Betances. She's nervous because she still sees people congregating in common areas.
“It’s very depressing because I don’t wanna get sick,” El-Alwan said. Her sister is in a nursing home and has been quarantined after another resident contracted the virus. “This is dangerous. … I don’t need people coming in and out of my building.”
Ramonita Masas, 66, a resident at a CHA building on the Near North Side, had surgery on her spine in early March, just before the stay-at-home order. She hopes she’ll be able to see a doctor in person by June. She’s in pain but she’s trying to manage it by herself at home.
“I don’t want to go to no doctor right now,” Masas said by phone. “In my condition, my sugar is going up high. If I go to a clinic or a hospital with all these things going around? I might be able to catch it, and I’m afraid of it.”
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chicagotribune--2020-05-22--‘Our residents are in crisis’: In state-run homes for adults with disabilities, COVID-19 spread quic

‘Our residents are in crisis’: In state-run homes for adults with disabilities, COVID-19 spread quickly

Recently she dropped a meal off for Craig , his housemates and their caregivers .
When she left it on @ @ @ @ @ see him from a distance through the doorway , but he was too far away @ @ @ @ @ .
Then , on a particularly warm , sunny day , workers at the home @ @ @ @ @ so Pedersen could see him for a moment .

Peg Pedersen visits her son, Craig, outside the group home for adults with developmental disabilities in Villa Park where he lives on May 16, 2020. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)
This story is a collaboration between the Tribune and ProPublica Illinois.
While much of the attention related to COVID-19’s impact on vulnerable populations has focused on deaths at nursing homes, infection rates are remarkably high in another kind of residential setting: state-operated centers for adults with cognitive or behavioral disabilities.
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As of Thursday, more than 1 in 5 people living in these developmental centers had tested positive for the novel coronavirus, state data shows. That’s more than double the infection rate seen in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities, where confirmed cases account for about 7% of residents, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health.
Of about 1,650 people who live in the seven developmental centers, which are scattered throughout the state, at least 355 have tested positive, or 21.5%. Eight residents have died, as have four workers.
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These facilities share some characteristics with other congregate-care settings, such as shared living quarters and the need for workers to bathe residents, change diapers and perform other intimate tasks. But the developmental centers face specific challenges in fighting the virus. Many residents can’t wash their hands on their own or wear masks. They may not understand why their families aren’t coming to visit or why they can’t leave the home for their usual activities.
So when COVID-19 arrived in the facilities, it spread quickly.
At Elisabeth Ludeman Developmental Center in Park Forest, 59% of about 340 residents and about 13% of the 900 workers had tested positive for COVID-19 as of Thursday. More than 37% of residents have tested positive at the Jack Mabley Developmental Center in Dixon, in the western part of the state, which has about 112 residents. So have 13% of the roughly 215 workers.
Mental health administrator Lynette Roach offers a face mask to a man entering the Jack Mabley Developmental Center on May 13, 2020. More than 37% of residents have tested positive at Mabley in Dixon. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)
Only the William Fox Developmental Center in Dwight, the smallest of the seven centers with 80 residents, has reported no cases to date.
COVID-19 has been difficult to fight in the state’s long-term care facilities, where 7,291 of roughly 100,000 nursing home residents have tested positive for the coronavirus and 2,034 have died from it, according to figures provided by state health officials Thursday.
But “if you were working in a nursing home, probably most of the residents would be able to remember to keep their masks on,” said Anne Irving, regional director for AFSCME Council 31, which represents workers in residential facilities that serve people with disabilities.
The precautions taken to protect residents in the centers have also changed their lives dramatically. With all of the facilities closed to visitors since March 12, the adults living there have been cut off from loved ones who normally visit.
“It’s hard on residents that have very different cognitive levels,” said John Haley, whose 63-year-old sister, Jeanne, lives at Ludeman. Haley is also vice president of Parents and Friends of Ludeman Center.
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“Much like a child not understanding fully what’s going on around them, they don’t either,” Haley said. “They don’t know why their family has stopped coming to visit.”
Many residents are used to routine, and those who are able also are used to going to jobs or programs during the day. That has stopped. Instead of group activities, residents may be isolated in their rooms or cottages. Familiar caretakers are wearing protective gear that makes them look different too.
More than 37% of residents have tested positive for the coronavirus at the Jack Mabley Developmental Center in Dixon. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)
“Our residents are not used to seeing us wearing gowns, goggles, face shields, gloves. That personal touch is now through a glove. We aren’t just in crisis — our residents are in crisis,” said Tawny Proulx, who works with residents at Mabley. She is also the local union president.
The Illinois Department of Human Services, which operates the centers, convened an infection control team on March 16 that initiated changes to cleaning and hygiene measures, according to spokeswoman Meghan Powers. Employees are taking residents’ vital signs, including temperatures, twice a day.
At Ludeman, where the outbreak was detected in late March, all residents have now been tested and all staff are being tested as well, with the help of the state, Powers said.
The Illinois National Guard was embedded at Ludeman and at the Shapiro Developmental Center in Kankakee for a week in April to help with health monitoring and temperature checks, Powers said. Additional health care workers are there now, deployed by the State Emergency Operations Center, she added.
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At Shapiro, 71 residents had tested positive for the coronavirus as of Thursday — about 15% of the resident population. And at the Murray Developmental Center in Centralia, about 11% of residents had tested positive. Many were asymptomatic; many already have recovered, workers and family members said.
“It’s an incredibly silent and insidious virus,” said Allison Stark, director of Human Services’ Division of Developmental Disabilities. Broader testing at some centers revealed high rates of infection, she said, even if residents had no symptoms.
“That is the reality of this pandemic — despite having the best-laid plans, despite having PPE, despite taking precautions, that it still will spread,” Stark said.
Many Illinois adults with developmental disabilities live not in the state-run centers but in privately operated facilities as well as hundreds of group homes. The state recently began tracking cases in many of the midsize private facilities that often serve people with more significant medical needs and have suffered some severe outbreaks. For example, at Golfview Developmental Center in suburban Cook County, a privately operated 135-bed facility, there have been 94 confirmed coronavirus cases and 10 deaths, according to the state.
Golfview did not respond to a reporter’s request for comment.
But the state says it isn’t tracking cases in smaller group homes, citing privacy issues. Some operators of these facilities, however, have spoken publicly about their efforts to contain the spread of the disease.
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Joe Mengoni, vice president of residential and clinical services at United Cerebral Palsy Seguin of Greater Chicago, said his organization has seen two or three UCP group homes where all residents have been infected.
“It’s really tricky to keep them isolated in place when they don’t really understand what’s going on to begin with,” Mengoni said, “and keeping them isolated to their bedrooms is really tricky to manage.”
‘I sure miss you’
Family members of residents of the state-run developmental centers said in interviews that they felt their loved ones are well cared for, given the unsettling circumstances.
But they said they have had to work creatively with center employees to try to stay in touch.
All the centers have “house phones” that parents and guardians can call to speak with employees and check in on loved ones. But to catch a glimpse, families sometimes resort to peering through the windows of homes.
Some are going back to basics, like writing cards.
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Rita Winkeler, of Bartelso, used to visit her son Mark, who does not write or speak, at Murray in Centralia at least twice a week.
Now, she said, she’s been using FaceTime to sing to him and see his smile.
And other residents, who are used to seeing her around in person, are reaching out to her.
“I get about three calls, minimum, a day from different (residents),” Winkeler said. “That’s been a real lifeline.”
Winkeler also has some new pen pals.
“Dear Rita,” one handwritten letter began. “I sure miss you so much. I can’t wait (until) this is over.”
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The resident had affixed stickers — a panda, a unicorn and a cheeseburger — to the notebook paper. “I miss my workshop. Family. You.”
Early on in the pandemic, the centers had to scramble to obtain adequate protective gear for employees — masks, shoe covers, face shields and gowns. There’s a better supply now than there had been, workers and family members said, but gowns, in particular, have been difficult to keep stocked.
At Ludeman, Haley and the Ludeman parents group made an appeal for as close a substitution for gowns as they could get: rain ponchos. The Chicago White Sox came through with 1,200 and the Chicago Cubs donated 1,000 to use as backup supplies.
Some workers at Murray have been sewing masks for themselves and others.
With the shortages of protective gear easing, employees say they can now focus more on keeping residents busy and cared for.
Dorothy Clare Tessman, a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner who treats adults with disabilities, said it’s been extremely challenging to explain to the residents why they can’t participate in their daily activities outside their homes or see their friends.
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“People are just really struggling to explain that the person hasn’t done anything wrong. A lot of them are like, why can't I keep going to my day program?” Tessman said. “The families have struggled to explain that this is related to trying to keep you safe.”
Routine weekly outings have stopped, and workers are trying to offer alternatives as they can. Instead of taking residents to a dollar store or Dairy Queen to spend money they earn at their jobs, employees at Mabley are taking orders from residents, shopping on their behalf and delivering everything from a Coke to McDonald’s french fries, Proulx said.
At the same time, many workers’ home lives are upside-down, as they try to avoid bringing the virus home.
Proulx gets home from Mabley in the afternoon, goes straight to her garage, strips out of her clothes and bags them up. Then she goes inside the house, avoids her husband and heads straight to the basement, where she’s made an apartment for herself for the last few weeks. She has an exercise room, a bathroom, a bedroom.
Tawny Proulx dumps her work clothes into the washer after changing at her home on May 13, 2020, in Lyndon, Illinois. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)
Tawny Proulx has been living in her basement to mitigate the risk of exposure for her and her husband, who is also an essential worker. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)
Her husband makes her dinner every day. When it’s ready, he rings her phone, leaves the food on paper plates on the stoop and makes himself scarce again.
Proulx puts on her mask, brings her dinner back to the basement and eats it with plastic utensils, alone. She heads back to Mabley at 6:30 a.m. the next day.
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So vulnerable, so loved
Those supporting a shift away from larger centers to smaller, community-based homes point to the pandemic as another reason to do so.
At a news conference and rally last week, officials from The Arc of Illinois, which advocates for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, argued that the developmental centers are inherently more dangerous for residents.
“There are more or less set times — this is the time that I can bathe; this is the time that I can go to the common area. Normally what happens is there’s multiple people in a room,” said Nafia Lee, manager for the Going Home Coalition, a group pushing to close developmental centers in favor of community living. “If you have a bathroom with multiple stalls, there’s very little privacy.”
The Arc of Illinois called on the state to increase funding for small community settings and move residents out of the centers once the pandemic has eased.
But community-based group homes have been susceptible to COVID-19 outbreaks too as living quarters typically are shared by several clients.
United Cerebral Palsy Seguin of Greater Chicago, based in Cicero, operates 35 shift-staffed homes that house about 170 adults with disabilities. As of Monday, 14 residents had tested positive for COVID-19, according to Sammy Gutierrez, assistant vice president of residential and clinical services.
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Peg Pedersen knocks on the door at the group home for adults with developmental disabilities where her son, Craig, lives. Because of the coronavirus, Peg is only allowed to see Craig from a distance outside the Villa Park home. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)
Latex gloves sit atop Peg Pedersen's purse as she dials the number for the caregiver for her son so they can bring him outside for a brief visit. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)
Those who test positive are moved temporarily to a home that wasn’t in use; it’s become a quarantine house. One worker has died.
Employees at many Seguin homes are working overtime and taking extra shifts, even staying overnight on air mattresses, as some employees have contracted COVID-19 or can’t work because of underlying medical conditions, according to Gutierrez.
The residents, meanwhile, are having a hard time adjusting to the new routines, like their counterparts in the larger centers.
“They’re depressed. They want to go places. It’s sad that our folks are going through this,” Gutierrez said. “People are coming to work because they know that our individuals need them now more than ever.”
Because state data about COVID-19 outbreaks has been made public only for larger facilities that agreed to release the tallies, it’s difficult to know how widespread cases are in other residential settings for people with developmental disabilities.
Sabrina Chapadjiev, whose 53-year-old brother Sammy lives at a facility in Rolling Meadows run by a company called Clearbrook, worries about the outbreak there.
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“I found out via my family member that there were two confirmed cases in The Commons, where he lives. I immediately had a panic attack,” she said. President and CEO Tony Di Vittoria said in an email that there have been 16 positive cases and four deaths among residents at The Commons.
Chapadjiev, who grew up in Elk Grove Village and now lives in Brooklyn, has been working to organize donations of protective supplies for Clearbrook employees and created a Facebook group for family members of people with developmental disabilities in Illinois so they can advocate together for emergency help.
The residents are so vulnerable and so deeply loved, she said.
“Just because they’re in there doesn’t mean they’re forgotten by their loved ones. In usual times he’s literally home every weekend, and my mom right now is missing him terribly.”
Staying in contact with loved ones is particularly difficult for people who aren’t able to communicate verbally.
Peg Pedersen reaches out to give a virtual hug to her son, Craig, during a rare outdoor visit to his group home on May 16, 2020. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)
Craig Pedersen is 48 and his mom, Peg, is used to visiting him at least once a week at his small, privately operated group home in Villa Park. She usually brings him food and eats with him, reads the logbook that details his care for the week, and organizes his clothes in his room. Craig has cognitive, vision and hearing impairments; he uses a wheelchair.
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“He cannot speak to me, so it’s been especially difficult. Other people have done Zoom, or I can talk to his caregivers, but it’s not like being with him and seeing him,” Pedersen said. Craig’s birthday was in April; it was his first birthday spent without his mother.
“For all of his life, it’s been difficult that he can’t tell us what he feels. But it’s worse once he isn’t with you.”
Recently she dropped a meal off for Craig, his housemates and their caregivers. When she left it on the porch, she could see him from a distance through the doorway, but he was too far away to realize she was there. Then, on a particularly warm, sunny day, workers at the home wheeled Craig into the backyard so Pedersen could see him for a moment.
“I just need to see him,” Pedersen recalled she told the workers.
Pedersen came, stood at a distance in her mask — he couldn’t wear one because he wouldn’t understand — and shouted his name.
“Big smile on his face! He could see me and hear my voice,” she said.
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Smith Richards is a Tribune reporter. Cohen is a reporter for ProPublica Illinois. Haru Coryne of ProPublica Illinois also contributed.
jrichards@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-05-22--Salons, gyms desperate to reopen navigate complexities of Pritzker’s Illinois stay-at-home order

Dan Gordon is one of DeVore ’ s clients and the owner of six gyms called The Zone .
Acting @ @ @ @ @ advice , Gordon sent a letter to his local health board for each gym , @ @ @ @ @ different counties .
Five of the six did not receive an objection from the local @ @ @ @ @ , which is the strategy DeVore has been using for most of his more than @ @ @ @ @ state .

Depending on whom you ask, salons that offer hair extensions can open in Illinois despite Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s stay-at-home order. Those that don’t, can’t. Similarly, gyms in hotels can open, while independent ones aren’t supposed to yet, although at least five already have.
Tom DeVore, a downstate lawyer who has filed several lawsuits against the governor over the stay-at-home order, advised the owner of a Springfield hair salon to reopen despite what he calls intimidation tactics by the state. Although the executive order provides broad strokes about what’s essential, what businesses may open often is determined by the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.
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A spokeswoman for Pritzker said hair salons should not reopen until phase three of the reopening plan, “which all of Illinois is on track to meet in just over a week,” but a department spokeswoman clarified that hair restoration and extension providers may open.
“For a person undergoing hair restoration it could be damaging to their scalp. So we said we’re OK’ing this ... in recognition of the fact that this is somewhat essential for some people who are experiencing problems because that business wasn’t allowed to reopen,” spokeswoman Lauren Huffman said. The agency later extended the decision to those who offer hair extensions, she said.
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Riley Craig-Shaffer colors the hair of client Maggie Smith at Bow and Arrow salon on May 21, 2020. (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune)
When Riley Craig-Shaffer, the 25-year-old owner of the Bow and Arrow salon in Springfield that gets 90% of its business from extensions, prepared to open this week, she says a police commander told her she would eventually be arrested if she ignored cease-and-desist letters.
When she opened Tuesday, a squad car parked outside her salon for 30 minutes in an attempt to scare her into closing, she says. DeVore also says the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation has sent letters to his clients threatening their licenses.
Springfield police didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Even if the tactics were meant to scare Craig-Shaffer, she said it didn’t work.
“I never lived my life in fear with my health, why would I live my life in fear of COVID-19?” she said. "Why would I live my life in fear of losing my license? I built this from the ground up and I’m going to fight for it.”
Pritzker’s spokeswoman, Jordan Abudayyeh, said in an email that “the state does not have the desire or capacity to individually monitor Illinois’ nearly 13 million residents” and instead has relied on local authorities for help.
“To encourage consistent action statewide, the Stay at Home order is written uniformly, with no special carve-outs for hotel gyms or specialty salons,” she said.
The Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity is helping individual businesses that contact the agency by either making a decision on whether a set of businesses should be considered essential or by directing callers to previous decisions that may affect them.
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“Throughout the duration of the stay-at-home executive order, (the agency) has provided guidance and support to essential businesses, and has issued guidance for those found in a ‘gray area’ of the rules,” Huffman wrote in an email.
The department has decided whether golf should be allowed (approved) and whether to make a distinction between drive-in movie theaters and indoor theaters (drive-ins may open). An agency employee sent a letter to a different salon owner last week noting that “the hair extensions you provide prevents physical and psychological harm.”
Someone forwarded that letter to Craig-Shaffer, and she decided to call DeVore, who is representing small businesses trying to reopen in 47 Illinois counties. DeVore said some of the rules under Pritzker’s plan are being “irrationally,” and “sometimes erroneously,” applied.
DeVore said small-business owners, such as one family-owned group of gyms he represents in Champaign County, were being kept closed while gyms housed within hotels were allowed to reopen according to Pritzker’s latest stay-at-home order. The ability of gyms within hotels to open is written directly into the executive order.
Dan Gordon is one of DeVore’s clients and the owner of six gyms called The Zone. Acting on DeVore’s legal advice, Gordon sent a letter to his local health board for each gym, many of which are in different counties. Five of the six did not receive an objection from the local health board within 48 hours, which is the strategy DeVore has been using for most of his more than 150 business clients in the state.
Bow and Arrow salon owner Riley Craig-Shaffer works with client Maggie Smith on May 21, 2020, in Springfield. (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune)
When local authorities fail to say they will shut down a business, which has happened all but two times, DeVore advises clients they are legally allowed to reopen. Last week, Gordon reopened five of his six gyms, which together employ fewer than 35 people total. But the Champaign County state’s attorney’s office objected, keeping his St. Joseph location closed and spurring another lawsuit against the governor.
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“Like most small businesses, we were happy to close for the first 30 days. However, after almost two months of being closed and no end in sight, and losing a lot of memberships ... the financial hardship on our business was significant,” Gordon said.
Abudayyeh called attention to the local official’s effort to keep Gordon from reopening.
“The Champaign County state’s attorney went ahead and took the necessary legal action — a textbook example of a local authority acting within her jurisdiction to enforce state law,” she said.
Gordon, like Craig-Shaffer, heard about DeVore when the attorney filed a lawsuit against Pritzker on behalf of Xenia state Rep. Darren Bailey, who on Wednesday was voted off the Illinois House floor for his refusal to wear a face mask. Gordon also thinks the rules are “illogically” applied and says he has had vocal support from the community as he fights a governor he says he can no longer trust because the reopening date has felt like a moving target.
“It’s super frustrating. ... I’ve never seen a staff member in a hotel gym,” he said. “You go to my gyms, we’re cleaning nonstop.”
kdouglas@chicagotribune.com
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chicagotribune--2020-05-22--Column: Nine cousins, all high school seniors, find what matters in a pandemic: family

“ The gratitude is trying to not think about all that isn ’ t there , but all that was @ @ @ @ @ have to be thankful for , ” Anna McBride said .
“ This is unprecedented @ @ @ @ @ the first big , difficult thing some people my age have had to deal with @ @ @ @ @ big bomb dropped on my life .
Now I know how to take them and @ @ @ @ @ keep going .
”

First cousins Mia Cavalier, from left, Anna McBride, Nick Cavalier and Emmy Galante hang out in McBride's Wilmette backyard as the four graduating high school seniors have a small toned-down backyard get-together to celebrate before they venture into the world of college on May 21, 2020. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
Anna McBride is a New Trier High School senior, part of what you might call the Coronavirus Class, a demographic born in the wake of 9/11 and reaching its first big milestone under the cloud of a global pandemic.
Those are unenviable bookends, to be sure. But like most of us, McBride and high school seniors across the country are looking for positives to grab onto. A sturdy foothold on a slippery slope.
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For her, that positive lies in family, both the immediate and the nearby. The 17-year-old has an unusual familial network creating a safe port in her disrupted life — a close-knit cluster of eight cousins, all high school seniors in the Chicago area.
Anna McBride talks with her first cousins Mia Cavalier, Emmy Galante and Nick Cavalier in McBride's Wilmette backyard. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
“It’s honestly really, really uplifting,” she said. “This obviously sucks a lot. We all watched our older siblings graduate, so this was going to be a really big year for all of us. Then all of a sudden this just comes along.”
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The virus wiped out the things many seniors have daydreamed about since starting high school: prom, a skip day, a final sports season, final moments with friends, graduation.
McBride and her cousins know how fortunate they are — the coronavirus hasn’t caused them or their families the kind of turmoil many now face. But that doesn’t diminish their frustrations or disappointment. Perspective comes with time, and high school seniors this year have every right to feel a sense of loss.
“It’s like a rite of passage,” McBride said. “It reinforces that you did it just like everyone else did. It makes you feel accepted and normal. Now I kind of feel like an outsider. I feel like I’m eternally a junior in high school.”
But she doesn’t have to feel that way alone. She has her circle of cousins: Mia Cavalier, Nick Cavalier, Jack Kelly and Owen Hirsch, fellow seniors at New Trier; Emmy Galante and Katie Itaya, seniors at Glenbrook South High School; Cailin Kozlowski, a senior at Barrington High School; and Michael McBride, a senior at St. Ignatius High School.
They knew they were close. They knew they were there for one another. But the coronavirus lockdown threw those facts into sharp relief.
First cousins Emmy Galante, from left, Mia Cavalier, Anna McBride and Nick Cavalier hang out. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
McBride said: “When we first found out we were going on lockdown, we all got together at our grandparents’ house and we got our heads together and said, ‘We’re all going to go though this together. Let’s not isolate, let’s get through this together.’”
So now the cousins chat group regularly lights up with questions, check-ins and words of encouragement.
“We’ve been seeing each other every now and then, we’ll hang out in someone’s backyard or driveway or front porch,” Nick Cavalier said. “It’s definitely nice company, 'cause I haven’t been seeing my friends much. We talk about how this is all screwing up our future plans. We just kind of lift each other up.”
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Emmy Galante agreed: “It’s cool to kind of have these other shoulders to lean on during this. We’ve always been close, but this has kind of brought us closer.”
McBride’s mother, Sarina McBride, along with the other cousins’ parents, have watched with pride as this group has navigated the isolation of a pandemic and a wrecked senior year. The seniors are poised to go their separate ways in the fall, most to colleges on either the West or East coasts. But now Sarina McBride listens to her daughter daydream about future reunions with the cousins.
“This has been such a special thing for them,” the mother said. “The kids are very different, they have different friend groups. But they’re kind of like brothers and sisters, they’re going to pal around together because it’s safe and they have each other’s backs. Having them, for Anna, has been one thing that has really pulled her through.”
Together, they’ve made the most of things. On May 1, when seniors would normally come to school in college gear, the cousins put on their T-shirts and hoodies and got together as their families paraded them between one another’s houses.
When one felt down at the thought of finishing high school at home in a bedroom, the others swept in to help.
First cousins Emmy Galante, left, and Mia Cavalier hang out with fellow cousins. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
“The gratitude is trying to not think about all that isn’t there, but all that was there and all that we have to be thankful for,” Anna McBride said. “This is unprecedented, and it’s the first big, difficult thing some people my age have had to deal with. This is the first big bomb dropped on my life. Now I know how to take them and keep my head up and keep going.”
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And she knows she has a group that’s rock solid. She has family.
Maybe this time apart has reminded us that those closest are truly the most important. The mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, grandparents, aunts and uncles and, of course, cousins.
They’re the anchors, the rocks.
They’re the rope ladders that pull us up.
All we have to do is grab on.
rhuppke@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-05-22--Illinois House expands vote-by-mail but pandemic-era budget plan awaits final day of session

“ We have a sincere hope and belief that there will be help that comes from the federal government , @ @ @ @ @ state and states all across the nation will end up laying off firefighters and police @ @ @ @ @ many other people in the services that people need , ” Democratic Gov .
J.B. @ @ @ @ @ second-floor Capitol office .

The Illinois House of Representatives conducts their spring legislative session on May 21, 2020, at the Bank of Springfield Center in Springfield, Ill., instead of in their chamber in the Illinois Capitol building because it affords more space for legislators to practice social distancing amid the COVID-19 pandemic. (Ted Schurter/AP)
Illinois lawmakers face a hectic final scheduled day of their special pandemic session on Friday, which will include dealing with a budget for the year starting July 1 that will be heavily dependent upon federal aid to fill in the blanks left by a severe drop in tax receipts.
Democrats in the Illinois House on Thursday led approval of one significant coronavirus-related item that is expected to gain Senate support — adopting by a 72-43 margin an enhanced vote-by-mail plan for the Nov. 3 general election. Only one Republican, state Rep. Brad Stephens of Rosemont, voted in favor.
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The legislation would have vote-by-mail applications sent to everyone who voted in either the 2018 general election, the 2019 municipal election or this year’s March 17 primary, as well as to voters newly registered since the primary or who changed their addresses.
A state budget proposal remains the major unfinished issue. Legislators are looking at a spending plan aimed at providing at least a maintenance level of spending, with the expectation they will reconvene at a later date to make changes reflecting anticipated federal aid to states and local governments facing revenue declines. The budget proposal also would count heavily on tapping the Federal Reserve for loans.
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“We have a sincere hope and belief that there will be help that comes from the federal government, because without it, this state and states all across the nation will end up laying off firefighters and police officers and nurses and so many other people in the services that people need,” Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Thursday from his second-floor Capitol office.
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker answers questions during his daily news briefing on the COVID-19 pandemic held in his office at the Illinois State Capitol on May 21, 2020, in Springfield. (Justin L. Fowler/AP)
Facing a budget hole of $2.7 billion for the remainder of this budget year and of up to $7.4 billion in the new spending year, Pritzker maintained a state with a long history of fiscal mismanagement and massive public-employee pension debt was not seeking a federal bailout.
“You can’t say as a state, ‘We’re just not going to help people,' ” Pritzker said on a day when Illinois reported an April unemployment rate of 16.4%. “And that’s why we’ve asked the federal government like all the other states for help. We’re just trying to replace the revenues that were lost. This is not anything more than that.”
But there’s no indication when, if or how much direct federal assistance may be forthcoming.
The U.S. House approved the Democrat-written Heroes Act, which includes more than $1 trillion in aid to the nation’s state and local governments, including $915 billion in direct assistance.
But the Republican-led U.S. Senate has said that plan is a non-starter, and GOP leaders want a pause in coronavirus relief while they assess how money for programs already enacted is being spent. The Senate left Washington on Thursday and is on recess until June.
Pritzker cautioned against large-scale social service cuts, particularly when demands for such services has increased in a period of business closures and high unemployment.
“Our job is to take care of people … who are in need, people who are falling through the cracks, people who are in extreme poverty, people who now have lost their jobs, people who need medical care who no longer have insurance,” Pritzker said.
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Thursday’s special session presented a mix of lengthy closed-door caucuses by both parties along with hearings and votes on various aspects of the coronavirus-inspired agenda.
GOP state Rep. Darren Bailey of Xenia, ejected on a bipartisan vote Wednesday for refusing to wear a mask to display his defiance to Pritzker’s stay-at-home orders, returned Thursday with a mask.
Illinois state Rep. Darren Bailey, R-Louisville, wears a face mask as he confers with a staff member at the Bank of Springfield Center in Springfield, Ill., during the spring legislative session on May 21, 2020. (Ted Schurter/AP)
The move by House Democrats to expand the availability of vote-by-mail for this fall’s general election was in part a response to those voters who do not want to risk their health by going to polling places, as was the case for many during the March primary.
Voting by mail in the coronavirus-era has been a point of partisan tension nationally, with President Donald Trump going so far as to threaten to withhold federal aid to Michigan for expanding vote-by-mail applications.
“We don’t want them to do mail-in ballots because it’s going to lead to total election fraud. So we don’t want them to do mail-in ballots. We don’t want anyone to do mail-in ballots,” Trump said Thursday before departing to a Michigan Ford assembly plant.
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Trump submitted a mail-in vote to cast his ballot in the March Florida primary from the White House.
In Illinois, Republicans have opposed an expansion of the state’s already liberal vote-by-mail laws. They have contended existing law is sufficient for anyone who wants to vote by mail to get a mail-in ballot.
“I’m not a person that believes in ultimate certainties, but there are two certainties in life,” House Republican leader Jim Durkin said after hours of debate. “One, that we will see the sun rise in the morning, and the second one is that we’ll see voter fraud in November, particularly in Illinois, in robust nature, particularly with this bill.”
Illinois House Minority Leader Jim Durkin, R-Western Springs, discusses the vote-by-mail legislation during the spring legislative session on May 21, 2020. (Ted Schurter/AP)
The legislation does not go as far as some advocates want since it involves sending applications for a mail-in ballot, not the ballot itself. Pritzker said he personally wanted “more done,” but called the measure “a reasonable compromise.” It would cost up to $16.7 million with the costs covered by federal relief funds, supporters said.
The legislation also creates the option for the local boards to create secure ballot drop-off boxes for people who do not trust the mail.
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Additionally, the measure would authorize early and Election-Day curbside voting, and would require the creation of super voting sites within each election jurisdiction to allow people to vote regardless of their precinct. Chicago has had such a system for years.
To encourage more election judges, people as young as 16 would be allowed to serve. The March primary featured a shortage of election judges when many of them, who are traditionally older, opted not to show up amid the coronavirus risk.
The proposal also would set the Nov. 3 Election Day as a state and school holiday, allowing empty schools to be used as in-person polling places. Some private building owners refused to allow their locations to be used as voting sites in March due to fears about the virus.
Republican Rep. Ryan Spain of Peoria expressed concern about the potential for manipulation of drop boxes.
“We are creating a Pandora’s ballot box that I worry will give us a huge opportunity for additional ethical scandals in the state of Illinois,” Spain said.
Sponsoring Rep. Kelly Burke, D-Evergreen Park, said the drop boxes were something county clerks have requested, and called it “common practice” in other states with larger vote-by-mail programs in place.
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“Some people have a mistrust of the Postal Service, some people just like to know that their ballot is going someplace that they know the next person who touches it is going to be an employee of the clerk’s office,” Burke said.
Republicans also raised questions about the potential of ballot stuffing through harvesting mail-in ballots that were erroneously sent. They also questioned a new provision for a three-person panel, with no more than two from one political party, to review mail-in signatures. The legislation would require all three to agree on tossing a ballot, which some GOP lawmakers said would mean even questionable ballots would be counted.
In the Senate, lawmakers voted 50-4 to approve a bipartisan bill to help coronavirus victims that would make it easier for them obtain worker’s compensation benefits.
The measure, an accord struck between business groups and organized labor, would allow “essential” workers who contract COVID-19 to qualify for worker’s compensation benefits with the assumption that the virus was contracted on the job. The rules, which would expire Dec. 31, apply to first responders and others exempt from Pritzker’s stay-at-home order.
In order to qualify, workers’ jobs would have to require them to come into contact with members of the public or to work in a location with more than 15 employees. The agreement would require anyone diagnosed after June 15 to have a positive test for COVID-19.
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The deal, which also would grant line-of-duty death benefits to the families of Chicago police officers and firefighters who die from the coronavirus, still must be approved in the House.
Senators also voted 46-10 to approve numerous tweaks to the law that allowed legal marijuana sales to begin Jan. 1.
Among other changes, the proposal would allow medical marijuana customers to purchase from the location of their choice rather than being restricted to a single dispensary.
jmunks@chicagotribune
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chicagotribune--2020-05-22--Illinois House approves legislation to expand vote-by-mail program after hours of questions from GOP

“ We don ’ t want them to do mail-in ballots because it ’ s going to lead to total @ @ @ @ @ don ’ t want them to do mail-in ballots , ” Trump has said .
@ @ @ @ @ want anyone to do mail-in ballots ... now , if someone has to mail it @ @ @ @ @ sick or , by the way , because they live in the White House and @ @ @ @ @ Florida , and they won ’ t be in Florida and there ’ s a @ @ @ @ @ ’ s OK .
”

The Illinois House on Thursday passed legislation to significantly expand Illinois’ vote-by-mail program in advance of November’s general election after hours of debate during which Republicans took issue with various facets of the plan.
The legislation would direct election authorities to mail or email official vote-by-mail applications for the Nov. 3 general election to any voters who applied for an official ballot in the 2018 general election, the 2019 municipal elections or the March 2020 primary.
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Voters who submit their application for a mail-in ballot before Oct. 1 would receive their ballot no later than Oct. 6.
Sponsoring Rep. Kelly Burke, an Evergreen Park Democrat, said its aim is to “try to make vote-by-mail more user-friendly, efficient, secure and accessible.”
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The House voted 72-43 in favor Thursday evening. Rep. Brad Stephens of Rosemont was the lone Republican to vote in favor of the measure, which now moves to the Senate.
Nationally, efforts to expand mail-in voting because of the coronavirus pandemic have become a focus of partisan debate, with Republicans led by President Donald Trump opposing voting by mail based in part on unsubstantiated claims that it leads to fraud.
“We don’t want them to do mail-in ballots because it’s going to lead to total election fraud, so we don’t want them to do mail-in ballots,” Trump has said. “We don’t want anyone to do mail-in ballots ... now, if someone has to mail it in because they’re sick or, by the way, because they live in the White House and they have to vote in Florida, and they won’t be in Florida and there’s a reasoning for it, that’s OK.”
In March, Trump cast a vote-by-mail ballot for the Florida primary from Washington, D.C.
Republican lawmakers raised questions Thursday about the cost of the program, the potential for “ballot-stuffing” and other security issues. They also questioned the ability of the Illinois secretary of state’s office to carry out its role in a mail-in voting expansion given pandemic-related changes in operations and past issues with the implementation of automatic voter registration.
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Burke estimated that based on the eligibility requirements set out in the legislation, it would result in applications being sent to about 5 million voters. Burke, who is sponsoring the bill in the House, said she anticipates much of the added cost to the state of the vote-by-mail expansion will be eligible for reimbursement through federal coronavirus aid and Help America Vote Act funding.
“There is some extra cost, but in the overall scheme of trying to keep people healthy and ensure access to voting in November, I think it’s worth it,” Burke said.
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Republican Rep. Ryan Spain of Peoria expressed concern about the potential for manipulation of “drop boxes” authorized by the legislation, for voters to be able to return their ballot to a location where it will be collected directly by an election worker rather than sending it through the Postal Service.
“We are creating a Pandora’s ballot box that I worry will give us a huge opportunity for additional ethical scandals in the state of Illinois,” Spain said.
After hours of debate, House Republican Leader Jim Durkin called the legislation “nothing more than a partisan power play to create an advantage” for Democrats in the November election.
“I’m not a person that believes in ultimate certainties but there are two certainties in life,” Durkin said. “One, that we will see the sun rise in the morning and the second one is that we’ll see voter fraud in November, particularly in Illinois, in robust nature, particularly with this bill.”
Among the concerns Republicans raised were about the drop boxes that allow voters to return their ballots to a designated location without mailing through the Postal Service.
Burke said the drop boxes were something county clerks have requested, and called it “common practice” in other states with larger vote-by-mail programs in place.
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“Some people have a mistrust of the postal service, some people just like to know that their ballot is going someplace that they know the next person who touches it is going to be an employee of the clerk’s office,” Burke said.
The Chicago-based organization Reform for Illinois said in a news release issued Thursday that the legislation doesn’t “go nearly far enough to ensure Illinois has a safe and smooth election in November,” and that the state should send voters ballots in the next election.
jmunks@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-05-23--Department of Justice declares its support of lawsuit challenging Pritzker’s stay-at-home order

Bailey had won an initial ruling last month to be freed from Gov .
J.B. Pritzker ’ s executive order @ @ @ @ @ churches and requiring people to stay home except under limited circumstances .
When Bailey asked @ @ @ @ @ invalidate the order for all citizens statewide , the Illinois attorney general Thursday transferred the @ @ @ @ @ citing constitutional issues such as freedom of religion and due process .

Illinois state Rep. Darren Bailey, R-Xexnia, stands to leave the Bank of Springfield Center in Springfield where the Illinois House of Representatives voted 81-27 to remove him from the House floor for not wearing a mask on May 20, 2020. (Ted Schurter/The State Journal-Register)
The Department of Justice intervened Friday in support of a challenge to Illinois’ stay-at-home coronavirus order, calling for the case to be transferred back to state court.
The U.S. attorney general’s office filed a statement of interest in the case of Downstate Republican state Rep. Darren Bailey, writing, “Plaintiff has set forth a strong case that the Orders exceed the authority granted to the Governor by the Illinois legislature.”
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Bailey had won an initial ruling last month to be freed from Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s executive order shutting down most businesses and churches and requiring people to stay home except under limited circumstances. When Bailey asked to broaden that ruling to invalidate the order for all citizens statewide, the Illinois attorney general Thursday transferred the case to federal court, citing constitutional issues such as freedom of religion and due process.
The state was expected to have a better shot of protecting its lockdown order in federal court, where judges have ruled in several cases in favor of maintaining such orders in Illinois and elsewhere.
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The case should be sent back to state court, the feds argued, because it raises claims only under state law, not the U.S. Constitution.
The Department of Justice issued a statement that the intervention was part of Attorney General William Barr’s initiative “to review state and local policies to ensure that civil liberties are protected during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
There is a legitimate interest in protecting public health from the virus that causes COVID-19, the federal attorneys conceded, adding, “But that interest does not justify government restrictions imposed upon its citizens without legal authority.”
“However well-intentioned they may be, the executive orders appear to reach far beyond the scope of the 30-day emergency authority granted to the Governor under Illinois law,” said Steven D. Weinhoeft, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Illinois.
The Illinois attorney general’s office would not comment on the federal involvement, but has argued in court that previous governors have often issued repeated 30-day emergency orders, a practice that has been upheld by the courts without any changes by lawmakers.
Pritzker has warned repeatedly that unless everyone follows the shutdown orders, more people will get sick and die.
Also Friday, Clay County Judge Michael McHaney, who previously ruled in Bailey’s favor, ruled that the governor’s order is not enforceable against Iraq War veteran James Mainer and his business, HCL Deluxe Tan LLC in Clay City.
But McHaney refused to rule the order invalid for all state residents while that case continues. He also noted that the Illinois Department of Public Health still has the power to shut down businesses should circumstances warrant.


chicagotribune--2020-05-22--All Illinois child care facilities can open with limits as soon as next week, Gov. J.B. Pritzker say

All Illinois child care facilities can open with limits as soon as next week, Gov. J.B. Pritzker says

Once the facilities are able to operate safely for four weeks and get acclimated to new requirements , they will @ @ @ @ @ larger group sizes but not their full capacities , Pritzker said .
Room limits for @ @ @ @ @ be adjusted to eight for infants , 12 for toddlers , 12 for 2-year-olds , @ @ @ @ @ 3 and older .

Gov. J.B. Pritzker answers questions from the media during his daily news briefing on the COVID-19 pandemic from his office at the Illinois Capitol May 22 in Springfield. (Justin L. Fowler/The State Journal-Register/AP)
All Illinois child care facilities can reopen at limited capacity as soon as late next week under changes to the state’s coronavirus health guidelines that Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced Friday.
To date, the state has been operating at roughly 15% of its child care capacity with 2,500 day care homes and 700 centers allowed open to serve a limited number of children from families with emergency providers or essential workers.
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With all four regions of Illinois on track to hit the COVID-19 case, death and hospitalization benchmarks to move on to the next phase of reopening, Pritzker said the state’s remaining 5,500 child care providers that have been shuttered will be asked to reopen. Provided the public health indicators hold steady, Illinois is expected to begin phase three next Friday.
In phase three, a wide range of businesses will be allowed to reopen with limits and safety precautions, including hairstyling salons, barbershops, spas, tattoo shops, nail salons and retail stores. The businesses account for hundreds of thousands of workers statewide.
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"We can’t have a conversation about going back to work without talking about child care,” Pritzker said. “If we don’t have child care, a large portion of the workforce, especially women who too often bear a disproportionate burden, will be without any way to move forward without caring for their child themselves.”
Pritzker made the announcement on a day when Illinois reported 2,758 new known COVID-19 cases and 110 confirmed deaths, bringing the statewide total to 105,444 cases and 4,715 deaths.
Before Friday’s announcement, Pritzker’s “Restore Illinois” plan did not call for child care and day care facilities to reopen until phase four, which would not begin until late June at the earliest. In recent days, parents across the state had raised concerns about not having available child care when their jobs resume.
When the remaining child care centers are allowed to reopen, they will be limited to no more than 10 children per classroom. The limit will be eight for rooms serving infants. Smaller, home-based day care facilities will be allowed to operate at their standard capacities, Pritzker said.
Once the facilities are able to operate safely for four weeks and get acclimated to new requirements, they will be allowed to expand to larger group sizes but not their full capacities, Pritzker said. Room limits for child care centers then would be adjusted to eight for infants, 12 for toddlers, 12 for 2-year-olds, and 15 for children ages 3 and older.
Under those expanded limits, the child care capacity in Illinois would be roughly 30% lower than it was before the coronavirus pandemic began. Pritzker’s office could not provide the statewide total for the number of child care homes, the number of child care centers or the total capacity numbers for each type of facility.
Child care facilities that are currently closed will be required to develop and submit a reopening plan to the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services that includes policies for how to isolate sick children or staff; ensure substitutes are available to step in if a staff member gets sick; report positive COVID-19 cases to the state; disclose all incidents of exposure to staff and families; and designate a staff person to work with local health officials on contact tracing.
Operators also will be required to do the following:
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· Conduct daily temperature checks for all children, caregivers, staff and visitors, with no one admitted with a temperature of 100.4 degrees or higher.
· Frequently sanitize all “high-touch surfaces" in accordance with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines.
· Require face coverings for all individuals over the age of 2 in hallways and when entering and exiting; in classrooms for children over the age of 2 to “the extent practicable”; and in classrooms for all staff. Face coverings would be optional for children and staff during outdoor play.
· Limit staff to working with one group of children. A “floating” staff member is “permitted between no more than two rooms if smocks/overgarments are changed between rooms.”
· Limit the use of playgrounds to one group of children at a time while sanitizing the equipment between groups.
· Require children and staff to change shoes upon arrival or use shoe covers while indoors.
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The governor said his plan was developed in consultation with 80 stakeholders from across the state, including child care providers, state agency officials, lawmakers, child advocates and public health experts.
During his daily news briefing in Springfield, the governor said that Illinois “so far has not seen a significant transmission of COVID-19 in child care settings, which is encouraging evidence that child care can be provided safely."
Still, he said, there is reason to take it slowly.
“Public health experts emphasize that there is much that we still don’t know about this new virus, how it spreads and especially what effects it has on children,” Pritzker said. “Therefore moving forward, Illinois must take a cautious approach that appropriately balances the need to greatly expand child care with the need to lessen the risk of spreading coronavirus.”


chicagotribune--2020-05-22--Chicago will cautiously reopen in early June, begin easing restrictions on some businesses and activ

Chicago will cautiously reopen in early June, begin easing restrictions on some businesses and activities, Mayor Lori Lightfoot says

“ I , too , would like everything to reopen in the fashion that it was before .
Again , @ @ @ @ @ advised by the epidemiologists is that indoor dining , at least during this next phase @ @ @ @ @ extraordinarily careful , watch the numbers with outdoor dining , with the servers who will @ @ @ @ @ the people sitting at tables may not be and , of course , the food @ @ @ @ @ the virus , ” Pritzker said .
“ We just want to be very , @ @ @ @ @ happens with the opening up that we ’ ve already allowed in phase three .
@

Dave Nalezny looks out at the patio of his restaurant Park & Field in Chicago's Logan Square neighborhood on May 21, 2020. He hopes restrictions imposed due to the COVID-19 virus pandemic will be loosened and he will to be able to open the patio for business during the crucial summer months. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)
The city of Chicago is on pace to cautiously reopen and ease restrictions on certain activities in “early June,” with outdoor dining at restaurants, barbershops, non-lakefront park buildings and libraries slated to resume limited business, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Friday.
But the mayor declined to announce specific rules for industries that might be allowed to reopen, saying she would do so next week. Lightfoot also warned the city’s planning is tentative and depends on residents continuing to follow social distancing orders to prevent a spike in cases.
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“If that surge happens, we’re not gonna hesitate to take the steps that are necessary, even including moving back to the restrictions we’re all living under now in phase two,” Lightfoot said.
Lightfoot again warned city residents to expect restrictions to remain in place for a long time, even if the reopening goes as expected.
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“Our reopening process will be like slowly turning a dimmer switch and not flipping a light switch,” Lightfoot said.
[ Chicago, you’re probably not getting that haircut May 29 ]
If safety measures can be put in place, Lightfoot said, the city also could reopen summer programs and allow private camps, religious services, gyms and museums in the coming months.
Chicago’s iconic lakefront will also reopen at some point this summer, Lightfoot said, though she added that the infamous party spot known as “The Playpen” will not be opening.
Schools, playgrounds, bars, stadiums and music venues also will remain closed for now, she said.
Even with all the caveats, the news is likely to be a welcome relief for restive residents and business owners.
[ Mayor Lori Lightfoot says Lake Michigan’s 'Playpen’ not opening this summer ]
As with Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s “Restore Illinois” plan, which will allow certain industries to begin reopening as soon as next week, Lightfoot’s framework sets a high bar for returning to normalcy. The mayor’s plan differs from Pritzker’s largely in timing and on the issue of restaurants.
Lightfoot can’t set looser standards than the statewide ones Pritzker laid out, but she can tailor them to the city. Her plan is “specifically designed for Chicago’s residents and businesses, and encompassing a clear, data-driven five-phase process," she previously said.
Earlier this week, Pritzker announced restaurants and bars would be allowed to reopen with limited outdoor seating as soon as next week. Lightfoot’s plan, however, will keep bars and lounges closed for now. Schools, playgrounds, and large venues such as stadiums, theaters, music venues and convention centers also will remain shuttered, under Lightfoot’s plan.
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The governor sees the state moving to loosen overall restrictions as soon as May 29, while Lightfoot’s timeline is longer and does not have a specified target date.
[ Chicago restaurants won’t be ready to open on pace with rest of Illinois, Mayor Lori Lightfoot says ]
Under Lightfoot’s reopening timeline, similar to Pritzker’s plan, child care centers, park facilities outside of the lakefront, libraries, office-based jobs, professional and real estate services, hotels and outdoor attractions including some boating and non-lakefront golf courses will be allowed to open.
Also similar to the state plan, nonessential retail stores, hair salons, barbershops and tattoo parlors in Chicago also will be able to open with restrictions.
Social gatherings still will be limited to fewer than 10 people, however, and the city will continue encouraging residents to stay 6 feet apart and wear a face covering. Pritzker’s plan has similar social distancing and facial covering requirements.
Lightfoot also wants restaurants to have indoor dining options, which she acknowledged would need approval from the state.
“I just think we’ve got to open up the opportunity for indoor dining with, again, some very tight controls," Lightfoot said. “These businesses are starving, and many of them won’t survive unless we throw them a lifeline.”
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Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot speaks during a news conference at Chicago City Hall on May 22, 2020, about the city's plans to reopen after restrictions put in place due to the COVID-19 virus pandemic. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)
But at his daily briefing Friday afternoon in Springfield, Pritzker did not offer any signs that he’s willing to consider meeting Lightfoot’s desire to have indoor dining in June.
“I, too, would like everything to reopen in the fashion that it was before. Again, what I’m being advised by the epidemiologists is that indoor dining, at least during this next phase, we need to be extraordinarily careful, watch the numbers with outdoor dining, with the servers who will be wearing masks, but the people sitting at tables may not be and, of course, the food has the potential to carry the virus,” Pritzker said. “We just want to be very, very careful and watch what happens with the opening up that we’ve already allowed in phase three.”
Asked what evidence he had that the virus spread on food, given that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has not issued such guidance, Pritzker replied, “Maybe it’s more around the plates and other items that are being served.”
The CDC this week issued new guidance saying that the virus is unlikely to spread on surfaces. Pritzker asked Illinois State Department of Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike to address the issue, and she said while there is “some measure of spread” on surfaces, the vast majority comes person to person.
“We know in indoor settings, where space is limited, where there are a lot of people … that causes a certain density that makes it more likely there’ll be transmission or spread amongst individuals,” Ezike said.
[ Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot rejects President Donald Trump call to open churches ]
Chicago is in what the city calls phase two of its recovery, a period Lightfoot’s plan dubs “stay-at-home.”
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Before moving into phase three, labeled “cautiously reopen,” the city would need to see a decline in the COVID-19 case rate over 14 days and a declining rate of new cases, stable or declining rates of hospitalizations, ICU admissions and deaths, fewer than 1,800 coronavirus patients in hospital beds, fewer than 600 coronavirus patients in ICU beds and fewer than 450 coronavirus patients on ventilators, Lightfoot said.
The city also would need to be able to test 135,000 residents per month, with positive rates decreasing below 15% of those tested in the community and at least 14 days of declining rates of new cases, on average. Positive rates of below 30% would be needed in “congregate” settings such as nursing homes, shelters and jails, according to the Lightfoot plan.
Public health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said the city is making “good progress” on all these measures, with a decline in hospitalizations and stabilization in ICU and death rates, she said.
Chicago already was where it needed to be in terms of hospital capacity last week and remains in a good position, she said. The city is now up to 4,300 tests per day, with the goal being 4,500.
More importantly, Arwady said, “We are, for the first time, seeing a decline in cases here in Chicago."
Not everything is good news, however. Arwady expressed concern about the number of cases affecting Latinos and said the city hasn’t yet reached the 15% positivity rates marker.
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“Bottom line is we are on track, but we need people to continue to stay home and save lives this weekend and next week while the stay-at-home order is in place,” Arwady said.
Despite the good news for some industries, Lightfoot repeatedly warned about the potential pitfalls facing Chicago if there’s a backslide in the numbers.
“Moving into phase three does not mean the crisis is over,” Lightfoot said. “We do not want to experience a resurgence in cases. It’s not just a risk. It’s a real possibility.”
gpratt@chicagotribune.com
bruthhart@chicagotribune.com