chicagotribune--2020-10-24--Coronavirus in Illinois updates: Half of state’s 102 counties now at ‘warning level’ for COVID-19 re

Coronavirus in Illinois updates: Half of state’s 102 counties now at ‘warning level’ for COVID-19 resurgence as 3,874 new known cases and 31 additional deaths reported

The county warning list , which the state Department of Public Health issues weekly , includes Kane , McHenry and Will counties , which all came under stricter state regulations Friday aimed at slowing the spread of the novel coronavirus .
As the coronavirus continues to surge in Illinois , and with the state now averaging more than 4,000 positive diagnoses a day over the past week , on Thursday the state anounced a new record high number of newly confirmed daily cases .
That case count of 4,942 tops the previous record of 4,554 new cases set just six @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , including a renewed prohibition on indoor dining and bar service , took effect in southern Illinois and a wide swath of suburban Chicago .
Meanwhile , days after threatening to roll back restrictions on Chicago businesses if COVID-19 cases continue to spike , Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Thursday by imposed a 10 p.m. curfew on all nonessential city businesses .
In addition , the city will again prohibit indoor service at traditional taverns and brewery taprooms that don ’ t have food licenses , and asked residents to cap any social @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 7:10 p.m. : CPS , teachers union both say other side won ’ t engage on school reopening plans The Chicago Teachers Union , which has raised serious concerns about plans to resume in-person classes next quarter , has filed a new unfair labor practice charge , accusing Chicago Public Schools and Mayor Lori Lightfoot of illegally refusing to bargain over reopening and safety protocols .
“ Our youngest and most medically vulnerable students deserve safety , yet that is exactly what CPS refuses to take steps to document or guarantee , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on Friday .
District spokeswoman Emily Bolton , however , said CPS is working with the union and will continue to do so “ in the hopes they engage as productive partners and help us lift up the students and families who need our collective support.
” “ We are disheartened that CTU continues to obstruct and mislead the public about the necessary planning measures needed to prepare for a potential return to safe in-person learning , ” Bolton said .
As tension builds over the murky plan for next quarter , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ apart .
Can they find common ground ?
6:35 p.m. : Lake Forest High School teachers say county health department ’ s COVID-19 warning being ignored by school board Despite the Lake County Health Department ’ s recommendation that schools return to remote learning due to a surge in COVID-19 cases , Lake Forest High School is currently scheduled to continue delivering some in-person instruction to freshmen and sophomores .
The Thursday decision by District 115 board members to keep the high school open for some in-person instruction was swiftly lambasted by Lake @ @ @ @ @ @ @ officials were not following the recommendation of the Lake County Health Department that all public and private schools in the county shift to remote learning because of growing COVID-19 infection rates .
“ This is about the safety of our students , our staff and our community , ” said Becca Schwartz , president of the Lake Forest teachers union , in a Friday statement .
The District 115 board is likely to meet again Oct. 29 , officials said .
School Board President David Lane on Thursday did not rule out a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ We hope not to do it , but if the numbers continue to be troubling , we might have to do it , ” Lane said .
“ The medical professionals are saying it ’ s not safe to stay open .
We told the administrative team that the ( Lake Forest Educators Association ) would expect the district to listen to the county recommendation , ” Schwartz said .
“ As a board , we represent the majority of members of our community in their desire to safely keep as many students @ @ @ @ @ @ @ students and staff have adhered to rigorous and thorough risk mitigation protocols , ” Lane said in the statement .
`` This has resulted in no known in-building transmissions of the virus and proven that it can be done ... `` 5:15 p.m. : New Trier High School to spend up to $ 1.3 million on COVID-19 saliva screenings for students , staff In an effort to minimize the spread of the coronavirus and help keep New Trier High School open for in-person instruction , school officials said Friday they will pay up @ @ @ @ @ @ @ saliva screenings for students and staff .
The no bid contract , which officials say is allowed under state code due to the urgency of the services needed during the pandemic , was awarded to Safeguard Screening , LLC , said New Trier Assistant Superintendent Chris Johnson .
The screenings are currently scheduled to start in mid-November .
Students and staff participating in the voluntary screenings at New Trier will receive kits including small tubes , plastic baggies , bar code stickers and instructions for collecting saliva samples at home , Johnson said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in Winnetka and Northfield reopened briefly under a hybrid learning plan earlier this month before shutting down again due to COVID-19 concerns .
The school is expected to remain closed next week , Johnson said .
The quick screening process , which is considered non-diagnostic , involves spitting into a tube , placing the tube in a bag and sanitizing the bag before returning it to a drop-off box at the high school , Johnson said .
While the screenings are voluntary , they will be required for any students planning to participate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Johnson said .
4:31 p.m. : On the worst day of the pandemic , the US reported 75,687 new COVID-19 cases .
The nation is almost there again .
That day , arguably the worst of the pandemic in the United States to that point , set records nationwide .
By the end of that 24-hour period , a staggering 75,687 new cases had been reported around the country , the highest count on a single day over the past seven months .
4:14 p.m. : The price for not wearing masks @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , scientists say Universal mask use could prevent nearly 130,000 deaths from COVID-19 , the illness caused by the coronavirus , in the United States through next spring , scientists reported Friday .
The findings follow an assertion by Dr. Scott Atlas , the president ’ s science adviser , that masks are ineffective , in a tweet later taken down by Twitter for spreading misinformation .
On Wednesday , the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released new guidance recommending mask use in public settings , including public transportation .
A surge @ @ @ @ @ @ @ neglect of safety precautions , has begun to overwhelm hospitals in much of the nation .
More than 75,000 new cases were reported in the United States on Thursday , the second-highest daily total nationwide since the pandemic began .
Eight states set single-day case records .
As people weigh the risks and rewards of getting together with family to celebrate the holidays , experts warn that without significant changes , Chicagoans could be in for a grim winter .
City residents who flocked outside Thursday afternoon to enjoy a warm , sunny @ @ @ @ @ @ @ talked of scaled-down holiday dinners and traditions that will likely be impossible to follow this year .
“ It just feels really bleak , looking ahead at a whole winter and thinking about the holidays , ” Landon said .
“ It just feels really tough , and it is really tough — there ’ s no way to sugarcoat that.
” Landon and others use the term pandemic fatigue to refer to people tired of hearing and thinking about the dangers of COVID-19 and all the associated changes the virus has thrust @ @ @ @ @ @ @ point that even experts admit feeling a general malaise after months of hypervigilance .
As of Friday , parents can schedule an appointment online for children to receive a nasal swab test .
Parents need to provide electronic consent and must accompany any minor to Walgreens testing locations , where pharmacy workers will guide them on how to administer the test to the child .
The expansion is part of Walgreens ' plan to ramp up its testing program and offer parents and guardians more options as school administrators continue to bring students @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of open spaces on Friday morning circled a crowded Laraway Road parking lot serving a shopping center that is home to Gina ’ s Teardrop Café in New Lenox .
Customers stood in line under an awning as a steady rain fell , waiting for seats to become available inside , where every table was packed with people .
New restrictions from Gov .
J.B. Pritzker intended to slow the spread of COVID-19 took effect Friday .
They prohibit indoor dining in Will County and other places where numbers of infections are rising @ @ @ @ @ @ @ public health and safety by reducing crowds .
But on Friday at Gina ’ s , they appeared to have the opposite effect .
A throng of customers showed up .
“ We ’ ve got to support our local businesses , ” said Don Smith of New Lenox , who was dining at the counter .
“ They ’ re either going to open for business , or they ’ re going to close permanently.
” 2:27 p.m. : ‘ My students are struggling ’ : Joint pain , migraines , vision @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wellness during remote learning .
Remote learning has been a challenging adjustment for many students , teachers and parents since the COVID-19 pandemic started in March .
But for students who are spending an inordinate amount of time in front of screens to learn , on top of managing the general anxieties that come with being an adolescent , overall wellness — whether mental , emotional or physical — has , in some cases , been negatively impacted .
According to a recent nationwide study on teacher and student wellness during the COVID-19 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ encountering student mental health concerns such as anxiety , depression , academic stress , trauma and grief more often than they did before the pandemic .
Teachers also noted their students ' concerns for their external surroundings , such as food and housing insecurity , and fears that loved ones would be harmed or contract COVID-19 , the study said .
Physical issues from prolonged desk-sitting are also ailing some students .
2:01 p.m. : Chicago-area grocers stock up to ward off shortages as COVID-19 cases rise .
‘ We ’ re always @ @ @ @ @ @ @ After being wiped clean of goods like toilet paper , canned food and hand sanitizer at the start of the pandemic , Chicago-area grocery stores and suppliers are stocking up to avert shortages as coronavirus cases rise in Illinois .
Grocers and food suppliers are leaning on lessons learned from the spring to make sure they can meet demand from customers who may once again be preparing to hunker down at home .
If the virus doesn ’ t get under control , the city could see a second stay-at-home order , Lightfoot @ @ @ @ @ @ @ places half of the state ’ s 102 counties at ‘ warning level ’ for coronavirus resurgence The Illinois health department placed half of the state ’ s 102 counties on a warning list for a resurgence of COVID-19 on Friday , as officials reported another 3,874 newly diagnosed cases statewide and 31 additional deaths .
The county warning list , which the state Department of Public Health issues weekly , includes Kane , McHenry and Will counties , which all came under stricter state regulations Friday aimed at slowing the spread of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Public Health uses a range of metrics to assess whether counties are placed at the warning level , including new cases per 100,000 people , weekly hospital admissions and emergency room visits and the number of deaths .
If a county reaches two of the state-set metrics , it ’ s placed on the warning list .
Illinois health officials on Friday announced 3,874 new known cases of COVID-19 and 31 additional fatalities , bringing the total number of known infections in Illinois to 364,033 and the statewide death toll to 9,418 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Officials also reported 82,256 new tests in the last 24 hours .
The seven-day statewide positivity rate is 5.6 % .
The rollback of reopening came after multiple days in a row of high COVID-19 test positivity rates , sparking concern from restaurant and business owners and pleading by public health and elected officials for residents to take precautions .
The changes come a day after much of southern Illinois joined the northwestern part of the state under similar restrictions .
6:54 a.m. : Some Will County restaurants say they will defy new @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not on a fair playing field ’ As restaurants in Will County face another round of COVID-19 restrictions shutting down indoor dining and bar service beginning Friday , some took to Facebook to tell customers their dining rooms would stay open .
Restaurants such as the Stagecoach in Lockport and JBD White Horse Inn in New Lenox both posted messages saying they planned to continue offering indoor dining .
The restaurant owners said they were not making the decision out of spite , but out of necessity .
They also said they follow @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on social distancing and mask wearing to provide a safe , clean environment for customers .
“ Closing our doors is not an option , ” a statement from JBD White Horse Inn read .
Gov .
J.B. Pritzker Tuesday announced restrictions banning indoor dining and bar service in Will , Kankakee , DuPage and Kane counties as a result of increasing test positivity rates for COVID-19 .
Pritzker said Thursday he may use the Illinois State Police to issue citations for violators and that he would , if necessary , seek to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ restaurants .
5 a.m. : 10-year-old boy survives severe inflammatory syndrome associated with COVID-19 First the otherwise healthy 10-year-old boy complained of a headache and no appetite , followed by a high fever that wouldn ’ t subside with pain relievers .
A few days later , the whites of his eyes turned an eerie shade of red and he became so weak he could no longer walk on his own .
About 2 a.m. April 28 , an ambulance rushed Joshua Smith to University of Chicago Medicine ’ s Comer Children ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ diagnosed with a Kawasaki-like illness — an uncommon disease marked by a high fever and swelled blood vessels — that had recently surfaced in kids residing in COVID-19 hot spots in Europe and New York .
Joshua ’ s mother recalled praying for her son as she drove behind the ambulance , its flashing red and blue lights intermittently filling the darkness beyond her windshield .
No clinician could immediately explain what had made Joshua grow so ill so quickly .
5 a.m. : As temperatures drop and COVID-19 cases rise , gyms @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pandemic forced gyms and fitness studios to close in March , the owners of indoor cycling studio Spynergy rented out bikes that would otherwise have sat idle , bought audio and video equipment and started figuring out how to teach online .
A camera sits among the bikes , and instructors talk to virtual participants they can see on a screen in addition to riders in the room , said Liza Ritter , who owns Spynergy ’ s Wicker Park studio .
Her mother and aunt own the Winnetka location .
Spynergy ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in-person capacity during the pandemic , but Ritter says she ’ s hoping to grow the online business even once those limits lift .
Here are five stories from Thursday related to COVID-19 :

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CTU workers direct vehicles lined up for COVID-19 testing outside of the Chicago Teachers Union on Dec. 30, 2021, in Chicago. CPS starts back to school on Monday following their holiday break. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)
The Illinois health department placed half of the state’s 102 counties on a warning list for a resurgence of COVID-19 on Friday, as officials reported another 3,874 newly diagnosed cases statewide and 31 additional deaths.
The county warning list, which the state Department of Public Health issues weekly, includes Kane, McHenry and Will counties, which all came under stricter state regulations Friday aimed at slowing the spread of the novel coronavirus.
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Officials also reported 82,256 new tests in the last 24 hours. The seven-day statewide positivity rate is 5.6%.
As the coronavirus continues to surge in Illinois, and with the state now averaging more than 4,000 positive diagnoses a day over the past week, on Thursday the state anounced a new record high number of newly confirmed daily cases.
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That case count of 4,942 tops the previous record of 4,554 new cases set just six days earlier and came as new restrictions, including a renewed prohibition on indoor dining and bar service, took effect in southern Illinois and a wide swath of suburban Chicago.
Meanwhile, days after threatening to roll back restrictions on Chicago businesses if COVID-19 cases continue to spike, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Thursday by imposed a 10 p.m. curfew on all nonessential city businesses.
In addition, the city will again prohibit indoor service at traditional taverns and brewery taprooms that don’t have food licenses, and asked residents to cap any social gatherings at six people starting Friday.
Here’s what’s happening Friday with COVID-19 in the Chicago area and Illinois:
8:25 p.m.: Illinois hits another sad COVID-19 milestone — 5,000 deaths in long-term care — as cases rise
Illinois long-term care facilities are experiencing their biggest jump in COVID-19 cases in months, as the state passed a tragic milestone: 5,000 deaths among residents.
In the past week, Illinois recorded more than 1,400 new COVID-19 infections among residents in nursing homes, assisted living centers and other large, congregate-care facilities, according to the weekly data released by the state.
That’s the highest one-week tally since early June. The weekly tally was also notably larger than the roughly 1,100 new cases seen the week prior, and the nearly 650 cases in the week before that.
Deaths of residents climbed too: another 131 in the past week. That followed tallies the past two weeks of 96 and 95 deaths, respectively, which already was much higher than the 55 deaths seen three weeks ago.
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The latest spike put the death toll in long-term care facilities at 5,019, accounting for more than half of the total statewide toll of 9,418 COVID-19 fatalities, as of Friday.
Read more here. —Joe Mahr
7:10 p.m.: CPS, teachers union both say other side won’t engage on school reopening plans
The Chicago Teachers Union, which has raised serious concerns about plans to resume in-person classes next quarter, has filed a new unfair labor practice charge, accusing Chicago Public Schools and Mayor Lori Lightfoot of illegally refusing to bargain over reopening and safety protocols.
“Our youngest and most medically vulnerable students deserve safety, yet that is exactly what CPS refuses to take steps to document or guarantee,” said CTU Vice President Stacy Davis Gates on Friday.
District spokeswoman Emily Bolton, however, said CPS is working with the union and will continue to do so “in the hopes they engage as productive partners and help us lift up the students and families who need our collective support.”
“We are disheartened that CTU continues to obstruct and mislead the public about the necessary planning measures needed to prepare for a potential return to safe in-person learning,” Bolton said.
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As tension builds over the murky plan for next quarter, the union and the district still seem far apart. Can they find common ground?
Read more here. –Hannah Leone
6:35 p.m.: Lake Forest High School teachers say county health department’s COVID-19 warning being ignored by school board
Despite the Lake County Health Department’s recommendation that schools return to remote learning due to a surge in COVID-19 cases, Lake Forest High School is currently scheduled to continue delivering some in-person instruction to freshmen and sophomores.
The Thursday decision by District 115 board members to keep the high school open for some in-person instruction was swiftly lambasted by Lake Forest teachers, who expressed dismay that officials were not following the recommendation of the Lake County Health Department that all public and private schools in the county shift to remote learning because of growing COVID-19 infection rates.
“This is about the safety of our students, our staff and our community,” said Becca Schwartz, president of the Lake Forest teachers union, in a Friday statement.
The District 115 board is likely to meet again Oct. 29, officials said. School Board President David Lane on Thursday did not rule out a further expansion of remote learning.
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“We hope not to do it, but if the numbers continue to be troubling, we might have to do it,” Lane said.
Meanwhile, teachers are continuing to put pressure on officials.
“The medical professionals are saying it’s not safe to stay open. We told the administrative team that the (Lake Forest Educators Association) would expect the district to listen to the county recommendation,” Schwartz said.
In response to Schwartz’s statements, Lane stood by the board’s approach.
“As a board, we represent the majority of members of our community in their desire to safely keep as many students in our schools as possible. Our students and staff have adhered to rigorous and thorough risk mitigation protocols,” Lane said in the statement. "This has resulted in no known in-building transmissions of the virus and proven that it can be done ... "
Read more here. —Karen Ann Cullotta and Daniel I. Dorfman
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5:15 p.m.: New Trier High School to spend up to $1.3 million on COVID-19 saliva screenings for students, staff
In an effort to minimize the spread of the coronavirus and help keep New Trier High School open for in-person instruction, school officials said Friday they will pay up to $1.3 million to conduct COVID-19 saliva screenings for students and staff.
The no bid contract, which officials say is allowed under state code due to the urgency of the services needed during the pandemic, was awarded to Safeguard Screening, LLC, said New Trier Assistant Superintendent Chris Johnson. The screenings are currently scheduled to start in mid-November.
Students and staff participating in the voluntary screenings at New Trier will receive kits including small tubes, plastic baggies, bar code stickers and instructions for collecting saliva samples at home, Johnson said.
The high school’s campuses in Winnetka and Northfield reopened briefly under a hybrid learning plan earlier this month before shutting down again due to COVID-19 concerns. The school is expected to remain closed next week, Johnson said.
The quick screening process, which is considered non-diagnostic, involves spitting into a tube, placing the tube in a bag and sanitizing the bag before returning it to a drop-off box at the high school, Johnson said.
While the screenings are voluntary, they will be required for any students planning to participate in athletic and in-person extra curricular activities, Johnson said.
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Read more here. —Karen Ann Cullotta
4:31 p.m.: On the worst day of the pandemic, the US reported 75,687 new COVID-19 cases. The nation is almost there again.
July 16.
That day, arguably the worst of the pandemic in the United States to that point, set records nationwide. By the end of that 24-hour period, a staggering 75,687 new cases had been reported around the country, the highest count on a single day over the past seven months.
Now the nation is approaching that record once more.
Read more here. —The New York Times
4:14 p.m.: The price for not wearing masks: Perhaps 130,000 lives through next spring, scientists say
Universal mask use could prevent nearly 130,000 deaths from COVID-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus, in the United States through next spring, scientists reported Friday.
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The findings follow an assertion by Dr. Scott Atlas, the president’s science adviser, that masks are ineffective, in a tweet later taken down by Twitter for spreading misinformation. On Wednesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released new guidance recommending mask use in public settings, including public transportation.
A surge of infections, driven in part by neglect of safety precautions, has begun to overwhelm hospitals in much of the nation. More than 75,000 new cases were reported in the United States on Thursday, the second-highest daily total nationwide since the pandemic began. Eight states set single-day case records.
Read more here. —The New York Times
3:39 p.m.: Pandemic fatigue could make cold-weather COVID spike worse. Want a better 2021? Resist risky holiday gatherings.
As people weigh the risks and rewards of getting together with family to celebrate the holidays, experts warn that without significant changes, Chicagoans could be in for a grim winter.
City residents who flocked outside Thursday afternoon to enjoy a warm, sunny day worried about the coming months and talked of scaled-down holiday dinners and traditions that will likely be impossible to follow this year.
“It just feels really bleak, looking ahead at a whole winter and thinking about the holidays,” Landon said. “It just feels really tough, and it is really tough — there’s no way to sugarcoat that.”
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Landon and others use the term pandemic fatigue to refer to people tired of hearing and thinking about the dangers of COVID-19 and all the associated changes the virus has thrust on them. Fatigue has reached a point that even experts admit feeling a general malaise after months of hypervigilance.
Read more here. —Katherine Rosenberg-Douglas and Madeline Buckley
3:09 p.m.: Walgreens lowers age for COVID-19 testing to children 3 and older
Walgreens is expanding COVID-19 testing for children age 3 and older across its 36 testing sites in Illinois.
As of Friday, parents can schedule an appointment online for children to receive a nasal swab test. Parents need to provide electronic consent and must accompany any minor to Walgreens testing locations, where pharmacy workers will guide them on how to administer the test to the child.
Adolescents have the option to administer the test for themselves.
Patients can expect to receive results within 24 to 72 hours, depending on lab capacity, Walgreens said.
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Previously, the Deerfield-based pharmacy retailer offered testing to people 18 and older.
The expansion is part of Walgreens' plan to ramp up its testing program and offer parents and guardians more options as school administrators continue to bring students back to classrooms.
Read more here. —Abdel Jimenez
3:06 p.m.: Supporters crowd New Lenox restaurant in defiance of governor’s COVID-19 restrictions
Vehicles in search of open spaces on Friday morning circled a crowded Laraway Road parking lot serving a shopping center that is home to Gina’s Teardrop Café in New Lenox.
Customers stood in line under an awning as a steady rain fell, waiting for seats to become available inside, where every table was packed with people.
New restrictions from Gov. J.B. Pritzker intended to slow the spread of COVID-19 took effect Friday. They prohibit indoor dining in Will County and other places where numbers of infections are rising.
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The restrictions are designed to improve public health and safety by reducing crowds. But on Friday at Gina’s, they appeared to have the opposite effect. A throng of customers showed up.
“We’ve got to support our local businesses,” said Don Smith of New Lenox, who was dining at the counter. “They’re either going to open for business, or they’re going to close permanently.”
Read more here. —Ted Slowik
2:27 p.m.: ‘My students are struggling’: Joint pain, migraines, vision impairment and mental health are impacting student wellness during remote learning.
Remote learning has been a challenging adjustment for many students, teachers and parents since the COVID-19 pandemic started in March. But for students who are spending an inordinate amount of time in front of screens to learn, on top of managing the general anxieties that come with being an adolescent, overall wellness — whether mental, emotional or physical — has, in some cases, been negatively impacted.
According to a recent nationwide study on teacher and student wellness during the COVID-19 pandemic, 46% of teachers reported encountering student mental health concerns such as anxiety, depression, academic stress, trauma and grief more often than they did before the pandemic.
Teachers also noted their students' concerns for their external surroundings, such as food and housing insecurity, and fears that loved ones would be harmed or contract COVID-19, the study said. Physical issues from prolonged desk-sitting are also ailing some students.
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Read more here. —Christen A. Johnson
2:01 p.m.: Chicago-area grocers stock up to ward off shortages as COVID-19 cases rise. ‘We’re always chasing one thing to the next.’
After being wiped clean of goods like toilet paper, canned food and hand sanitizer at the start of the pandemic, Chicago-area grocery stores and suppliers are stocking up to avert shortages as coronavirus cases rise in Illinois.
On Thursday, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced a 10 p.m. curfew on all nonessential city businesses and a prohibition on indoor service at bars without food licenses. Gov. J.B. Pritzker also announced stricter rules for some counties, including DuPage, Kane, Will and Kankakee.
Grocers and food suppliers are leaning on lessons learned from the spring to make sure they can meet demand from customers who may once again be preparing to hunker down at home.
If the virus doesn’t get under control, the city could see a second stay-at-home order, Lightfoot warned Thursday.
Read more here. —Katie Surma
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1:16 p.m.: Illinois places half of the state’s 102 counties at ‘warning level’ for coronavirus resurgence
The Illinois health department placed half of the state’s 102 counties on a warning list for a resurgence of COVID-19 on Friday, as officials reported another 3,874 newly diagnosed cases statewide and 31 additional deaths.
The county warning list, which the state Department of Public Health issues weekly, includes Kane, McHenry and Will counties, which all came under stricter state regulations Friday aimed at slowing the spread of the novel coronavirus.
The Illinois Department of Public Health uses a range of metrics to assess whether counties are placed at the warning level, including new cases per 100,000 people, weekly hospital admissions and emergency room visits and the number of deaths. If a county reaches two of the state-set metrics, it’s placed on the warning list.
Read more here. —Jamie Munks
12:04 p.m.: 3,874 new known COVID-19 cases and 31 additional deaths reported
Illinois health officials on Friday announced 3,874 new known cases of COVID-19 and 31 additional fatalities, bringing the total number of known infections in Illinois to 364,033 and the statewide death toll to 9,418 since the start of the pandemic. Officials also reported 82,256 new tests in the last 24 hours. The seven-day statewide positivity rate is 5.6%.
—Chicago Tribune staff
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7:15 a.m.: Some suburban counties go back under coronavirus restrictions
DuPage, Will and Kane counties were scheduled Friday to go back under more stringent restrictions designed to slow the spread of COVID-19.
The rollback of reopening came after multiple days in a row of high COVID-19 test positivity rates, sparking concern from restaurant and business owners and pleading by public health and elected officials for residents to take precautions. The changes come a day after much of southern Illinois joined the northwestern part of the state under similar restrictions.
Beginning Friday, bars and restaurants in those counties will not be allowed to offer indoor service and gatherings will be capped at the lower of 25 people or 25% of room capacity instead of the 50 people that had been allowed, among other restrictions, Pritzker said at a press conference Tuesday.
The announcement comes as Pritzker and state health officials warned of increasing COVID-19 positivity rates and hospital admissions across the state. Justin Macariola-Coad, the interim chief medical officer at Advocate Sherman Hospital in Elgin, said Kane County and the surrounding area are likely experiencing the beginning of the second wave of COVID-19.
—Chicago Tribune staff
6:54 a.m.: Some Will County restaurants say they will defy new COVID-19 restrictions: ‘We’re not on a fair playing field’
As restaurants in Will County face another round of COVID-19 restrictions shutting down indoor dining and bar service beginning Friday, some took to Facebook to tell customers their dining rooms would stay open.
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Restaurants such as the Stagecoach in Lockport and JBD White Horse Inn in New Lenox both posted messages saying they planned to continue offering indoor dining. The restaurant owners said they were not making the decision out of spite, but out of necessity. They also said they follow Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines on social distancing and mask wearing to provide a safe, clean environment for customers.
“Closing our doors is not an option,” a statement from JBD White Horse Inn read.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker Tuesday announced restrictions banning indoor dining and bar service in Will, Kankakee, DuPage and Kane counties as a result of increasing test positivity rates for COVID-19. Pritzker said Thursday he may use the Illinois State Police to issue citations for violators and that he would, if necessary, seek to revoke liquor and gaming licenses for noncompliant restaurants.
Read more here. —Alicia Fabbre, Daily Southtown
5 a.m.: 10-year-old boy survives severe inflammatory syndrome associated with COVID-19
First the otherwise healthy 10-year-old boy complained of a headache and no appetite, followed by a high fever that wouldn’t subside with pain relievers.
A few days later, the whites of his eyes turned an eerie shade of red and he became so weak he could no longer walk on his own.
Advertisement
About 2 a.m. April 28, an ambulance rushed Joshua Smith to University of Chicago Medicine’s Comer Children’s Hospital, where he would be diagnosed with a Kawasaki-like illness — an uncommon disease marked by a high fever and swelled blood vessels — that had recently surfaced in kids residing in COVID-19 hot spots in Europe and New York.
Joshua’s mother recalled praying for her son as she drove behind the ambulance, its flashing red and blue lights intermittently filling the darkness beyond her windshield. No clinician could immediately explain what had made Joshua grow so ill so quickly.
Read more here. —Angie Leventis Lourgos
5 a.m.: As temperatures drop and COVID-19 cases rise, gyms turn to virtual memberships
When the coronavirus pandemic forced gyms and fitness studios to close in March, the owners of indoor cycling studio Spynergy rented out bikes that would otherwise have sat idle, bought audio and video equipment and started figuring out how to teach online.
A camera sits among the bikes, and instructors talk to virtual participants they can see on a screen in addition to riders in the room, said Liza Ritter, who owns Spynergy’s Wicker Park studio. Her mother and aunt own the Winnetka location.
Spynergy’s virtual classes have helped supplement limited in-person capacity during the pandemic, but Ritter says she’s hoping to grow the online business even once those limits lift.
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Read more here. —Lauren Zumbach
Breaking coronavirus news Stay up to date with the latest information on coronavirus with our breaking news alerts.
In case you missed it
Here are five stories from Thursday related to COVID-19:


chicagotribune--2020-10-24--As CPS weighs reopening schools, it claims the teachers union ‘refuses to even discuss a return to i

As CPS weighs reopening schools, it claims the teachers union ‘refuses to even discuss a return to in-person learning’

“ In the southwest part of the city which includes our neighborhoods , the positivity rate is at 28 % @ @ @ @ @ .
“ This includes Back of the Yards , Brighton Park , Englewood , Gage @ @ @ @ @ Park and West Lawn .
These are our neighborhoods where the majority of our students @ @ @ @ @ as a school community we have had students ' families and students test positive and @ @ @ @ @ that we are here to support them .
”

The Chicago Teachers Union, which has raised serious concerns about plans to resume in-person classes next quarter, has filed a new unfair labor practice charge, accusing Chicago Public Schools of illegally refusing to bargain over reopening and safety protocols.
“Our youngest and most medically vulnerable students deserve safety, yet that is exactly what CPS refuses to take steps to document or guarantee,” said CTU Vice President Stacy Davis Gates on Friday.
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District spokeswoman Emily Bolton, however, said CPS is working with the union and will continue to do so “in the hopes they engage as productive partners and help us lift up the students and families who need our collective support.”
“We are disheartened that CTU continues to obstruct and mislead the public about the necessary planning measures needed to prepare for a potential return to safe in-person learning,” Bolton said.
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As tension builds over the murky plan for next quarter, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Thursday imposed a 10 p.m. curfew on all nonessential city businesses.
“We are disheartened that CTU continues to obstruct and mislead the public about the necessary planning measures needed to prepare for a potential return to safe in-person learning,” a CPS spokeswoman said. (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune)
Since CPS announced plans to offer in-person learning to prekindergarten and some special education students next quarter, the district has asked eligible parents to decide by Wednesday between returning to schools and continuing with remote learning.
“While the district is doing everything in its power to plan for all possible scenarios, the CTU refuses to even discuss a return to in-person learning, even as hundreds of private schools in Chicago are open,” Bolton said. “We don’t know what the health situation will be in a couple of weeks' time, but it would be irresponsible not to plan ahead while thousands of students miss out on valuable learning."
The difficulty of making a plan that works for more than 500 district-run schools is further complicated by the varied positivity rates among Chicago’s ZIP codes.
Friday morning, an email informed Back of the Yards College Prep families that SAT and PSAT testing scheduled next week will be postponed because of the rising COVID-19 positivity rate, which is now 6.7% citywide but even higher in the school community.
“In the southwest part of the city which includes our neighborhoods, the positivity rate is at 28%,” states the email. “This includes Back of the Yards, Brighton Park, Englewood, Gage Park, Bridgeport, McKinley Park and West Lawn. These are our neighborhoods where the majority of our students and families live in and as a school community we have had students' families and students test positive and we want them to know that we are here to support them.”
District officials did not say how many schools have made similar calls, but said each school can make decisions about testing “based on the available dates that would make the most sense to their individual school communities.”
The latest labor filing demands CTU be allowed to have its own certified industrial hygienists inspect school air quality, and asks the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board to prevent CPS from resuming in-person instruction “until the district has bargained in good faith.”
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CPS has contracted state-certified environmental hygienists, and said it will release ventilation reports to the public before reopening schools, but maintains the union isn’t entitled by contract or law to conduct their own inspection.
The union has also filed unfair labor charges accusing CPS of threatening employees with loss of pay or discipline for working from home despite an arbitration ruling that they should be allowed to do so.
A statement provided Friday said the district was “disappointed” with the union’s support of workers not reporting in-person, saying it’s more difficult for the district “to understand which employees need to request ADA or other accommodations due to health conditions for them or their families.”
But the union says CPS is forcing their members, and other workers, to report to buildings with inadequate protections.
“We all want to return to our students,” Davis Gates said. “We don’t want to die doing our jobs, and we don’t want to be vectors for spreading illness or death to our students and their families. Yet the mayor and CPS simply refuse to lay out and discuss their plan for returning to classrooms, when we know from their own facilities records that these buildings aren’t safe.”
hleone@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-10-23--The Spin: Lightfoot’s budget will make more speeders pay | Is it OK to trust the polls in presidenti

The Spin: Lightfoot’s budget will make more speeders pay | Is it OK to trust the polls in presidential race this time? | Griffin blasts Pritzker’s ‘fair tax’ in staff email

Her view on the surge , response : Asked about renewed restrictions in Chicago on bars and other businesses , @ @ @ @ @ won ’ t be as simple as closing public spaces because public spaces … were @ @ @ @ @ and probably remain safe , ” Birx said .
“ This is really something that @ @ @ @ @ three to four weeks .
What has happened in the last three to four weeks @ @ @ @ @ their social gatherings indoors.
” The Tribune ’ s Lisa Schencker has the full story @ @ @ @ @ diplomatic response to a question about getting the president to wear a mask , here @

Mayor Lori Lightfoot provides an update on Chicago's response to COVID-19 at City Hall in Chicago on Oct. 19, 2020. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)
Polls show Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden leading President Donald Trump in key swing states. But after what happened in 2016, when the numbers were pointing to a Hillary Clinton win, can they be trusted? The Tribune’s Bill Ruthhart examines the question “Are the polls trustworthy?” and what’s different this time.
Billionaire Ken Griffin sent his staff an email yesterday slamming Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker as “a shameless master of personal tax avoidance” and criticizing the governor’s push for a graduated-rate income tax amendment on the Nov. 3 ballot. The Tribune’s Rick Pearson has the scoop on the latest chapter of Illinois’ dueling billionaires.
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In a new campaign ad airing in Illinois, former President Barack Obama says, “Hey, everybody. I just wanted to let you know how proud I am to cast my ballot for my friend, Dick Durbin, for U.S. Senate.”
Indeed Chicago election board records confirm the former president and former first lady Michelle Obama are registered to vote here using the address of the South Side home they still own. The Obamas also own a home in Washington, D.C., where they have resided since he exited the White House in 2017.
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Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s new business restrictions in response to rising COVID-19 cases kick in today, but White House coronavirus response coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx was in town and cautions that closing public spaces may not stop the illness’ spread.
The short of it? People have taken their outdoor gatherings of friends and family inside, where the virus thrives — something the mayor and the city’s top public health official have, indeed, agreed is a huge issue.
And we already know Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s budget proposal calls for hiking the gas tax. But my Tribune colleagues report she’s also looking at pressing the pedal to the metal on ticketing speeders.
Welcome to The Spin.
Madison, Wis., residents Evelio Mancera and his daughter, Jennifer Mancera, fill out their ballots on the first day of the state's in-person absentee voting window for the Nov. 3 election outside the city's City-County Building on Oct. 20, 2020. (John Hart/Wisconsin State Journal)
The Tribune’s Bill Ruthhart writes: "On Election Day 2016, the polls showed Hillary Clinton with a nearly 4 percentage point lead in Michigan and a 6-point lead in Wisconsin, but Republican Donald Trump would go on to win both states by less than 1 point.
A little more than a week out from this year’s election, the polls are offering a similar narrative with Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden ahead of Trump.
Republicans and Democrats are waving off the polls this time around, even as one expert dug around and found some of the problems with 2016 polling and worked to correct it. Read the full story here.
Just like 2016, pre-election polls are suggesting a Trump defeat — that’s why some Democrats are worried — Tribune columnist Eric Zorn writes in a recent piece that “Biden’s average polling lead today is smaller than Clinton’s was at a similar (mid-October) point in 2016 in Florida, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Ohio.” And she lost all of those key battleground states. Read his full take, which acknowledges the role of the Electoral College, here.
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Ken Griffin, the founder and CEO of Citadel, in 2014. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)
In the campaign’s final stretch, the battle of the billionaires is getting heated. On the one side is Pritzker, an heir to the Hyatt Hotel fortune, who’s pushing a constitutional amendment on the ballot to change the state’s flat-rate income tax system to one that increases by income. On the other is Griffin, reportedly the wealthiest man in the state, who argues it will push corporations to states with friendlier tax policies.
Here’s a little more from the email Griffin sent to Citadel employees, suggesting Pritzker doesn’t pay his fair share: “I am not willing to stand by as, once again, spineless politicians try to sell a trick disguised as a solution. Particularly not from a governor who, having inherited a great deal of wealth, has worked so diligently to avoid paying taxes himself,” Griffin wrote in an email obtained by the Tribune that was verified by a company spokesman. Griffin revisits Pritzker’s “toiletgate” controversy too. Read the full story here.
Quentin Fulks, chairman of the Pritzker-backed Vote Yes for Fairness pro-amendment group, suggests this is all sour grapes, pointing to Griffin backing former Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner, who lost his reelection bid to Pritzker.
The two men have donated millions in support of their opposing campaigns.
Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich to Black Trump supporters: “I’m one of your homies” - Tom Schuba has the story in the Sun-Times here.
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Bitter Illinois Supreme Court contest shatters fundraising record, includes Griffin donation: The Tribune’s Ray Long has an update on Democratic Illinois Supreme Court Justice Tom Kilbride’s bid to retain his seat in the November election. Long notes that the “retention fight is a continuation of Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan and Democratic special interests battling wealthy Republicans who backed Rauner’s anti-union, pro-business agenda.” Among those Rauner backers was Griffin, who at this point has given the biggest donation to defeat Kilbride. Read more here.
Republican candidate for U.S. Senate Mark Curran, from left, incumbent U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin and independent challenger Willie Wilson. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune, Susan Walsh/AP, Erin Hooley/Chicago Tribune)
In this election, Illinois' senior U.S senator, Durbin, a four-term Democrat has blasted the president for a seeming laissez faire approach to fighting COVID-19, is facing two top opponents stressing their religious faith and questioning strict COVID-19-related shutdown orders enacted by Democratic leaders in Illinois, The Tribune’s Pearson writes.
“Republican Mark Curran, a former Democrat-turned-Republican ex-Lake County sheriff, points to his Catholic faith in opposing abortion and supporting immigration rights, as well as in his outspoken disapproval of state restrictions aimed at curbing the spread of COVID-19,” Pearson notes.
Then there is third-party candidate Willie Wilson, a wealthy businessman who has paid the fines for a few churches that violated pandemic gathering orders.
Wilson is the unknown factor in the race: “The son of sharecroppers who rose from janitor at a McDonald’s to own several franchises before entering the food- and medical-supply business, Wilson, his gospel orchestra, his singing and his cash giveaways are most well-known in the Black community." He received about 50,000 votes in each of his bids for Chicago mayor, good for almost 11% of the ballots cast, in finishing in third place in 2015 and in fourth place in 2019.” Read the full story here.
White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx speaks during a television interview at the White House on Sept. 30, 2020, in Washington. (Carolyn Kaster/AP)
As COVID-19 cases spike here and across the U.S., Dr. Birx, the White House coronavirus response coordinator who in the early days was a fixture at the president’s pandemic news briefings but who has all but disappeared from national view, was in town yesterday to meet with leaders of local hospitals.
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Her view on the surge, response: Asked about renewed restrictions in Chicago on bars and other businesses, Birx said: “It won’t be as simple as closing public spaces because public spaces … were very safe over the summer and probably remain safe,” Birx said. “This is really something that has happened in the last three to four weeks. What has happened in the last three to four weeks is that people have moved their social gatherings indoors.” The Tribune’s Lisa Schencker has the full story, including Birx’s diplomatic response to a question about getting the president to wear a mask, here.
Mayor Lightfoot and Chicago Public Department of Health Director, Dr. Allison Arwady, say contact tracing here shows that family and friend gatherings in residences have been linked to the surge; as such, the city is recommending a cap on the number of people gathering at residences.
Gov. Pritzker has cautioned that there are reams of evidence statewide linking bars and restaurants to the spread of the virus.
State’s top health makes emotional plea to residents to ‘fight the fatigue’ as half of Illinois' 102 counties now at ‘warning level’ for coronavirus resurgence: The Tribune’s Jamie Munks has the story, here.
Data points: Today, the state is reporting 3,874 newly diagnosed cases and 31 additional deaths: The seven-day statewide test positivity rate ticked down slightly to 5.6%, from 5.7% a day earlier, Munks writes.
Related: CTA faces $375 million budget shortfall as ridership still down a million people per day — “While there are no plans to reduce service or increase fares as it enters 2021, the CTA has baked the deficit — and anticipated federal relief — into its proposed $1.64 billion operating budget,” which was announced yesterday, the Tribune’s Robert Channick writes here.
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Mayor Lori Lightfoot delivers her budget address on Oct. 21, 2020, in Council Chambers at City Hall. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)
From the Tribune’s John Byrne and Gregory Pratt: Mayor Lori Lightfoot, who campaigned on a pledge to end Chicago’s “addiction” to fines and fees, is counting on a big increase in city collections from speeding tickets and other violations to balance her 2021 budget.
And to help boost the bottom line, she wants speed cameras across Chicago to start issuing speeding tickets to drivers caught going as little as 6 mph over the posted limit.
Under the mayor’s proposal as part of her 2021 budget package, anyone caught by a camera driving from 6 to 9 mph over the limit would get a $35 ticket in the mail, after getting a warning for the first such violation. Read the story here.
Thanks for reading The Spin, the Tribune’s politics newsletter. Sign up here to have it delivered to your inbox weekday afternoons. Have a tip? Email host Lisa Donovan at ldonovan@chicagotribune.com.
Twitter @byldonovan


chicagotribune--2020-10-23--Trump vs. Biden: Track the race for president in key battleground states

Of those , 218 electoral votes are in states rated as likely or solidly Democrat and expected to vote for @ @ @ @ @ electoral votes are tied to states rated as likely or solidly Republican and expected to @ @ @ @

Bill Ruthhart, Chad Yoder, Jonathon Berlin

Going into Tuesday’s voting, the list of battleground states that President Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden were fighting for was a long 13. By the end of the night, that list had shrunk to a half-dozen.
By Wednesday morning, all eyes were on three familiar battlegrounds: Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania.
Propelled by the late counting of votes from Democratic strongholds, Biden had taken a lead in Michigan and Wisconsin by late morning Wednesday, while Trump remained in front in Pennsylvania with hundreds of thousands of votes outstanding.
Regardless of where those states land, the margin in the race to 270 Electoral College votes promises to be thin. Here is a look at results in hand so far from Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, as well as some of the other battlegrounds that have been projected already or are closer to projection.
Also included here are final FiveThirtyEight polling averages for those states — polling that, as in 2016, proved to underestimate Trump’s sway with voters.
Those polls had Biden up 8.2 points nationally, for example. In key Midwest states, Biden led Minnesota by 9.3, Wisconsin by 8.2 and Michigan by 8 points. Trump won states where he was leading — Iowa, Texas and Ohio.
State by state


chicagotribune--2020-10-23--Column: A binge-worthy show, a surprisingly effective leader and Keith Jarrett: 9 things to like at

Column: A binge-worthy show, a surprisingly effective leader and Keith Jarrett: 9 things to like at the end of October

“ If you ’ re talking about COVID fatigue from having to keep wearing a mask , ” she said @ @ @ @ @ “ think about the COVID fatigue for health care workers , respiratory therapists , who @ @ @ @ @ go through this whole episode again , of trying to fight for people ’ s @ @ @ @ @ ’ t figure out how to control this virus , by doing some of the @ @ @ @ @ prescribed .
”

Every now and then I make a list of 9 things I like. Here’s one for the season.
1. ″Borgen"
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This Danish drama makes for some first-rate binge-watching. It focuses on the fictional female prime minister of Denmark whose high-minded intentions are constantly challenged by the realities of politics. Meanwhile, her job intrudes on her marriage and family. The other characters, mostly journalists and politicians, are well-drawn and well-acted. A friend described it as “House of Cards” meets “West Wing,” meaning it offers political intrigue but with a moral core. It’s on Netflix and iTunes.
2. ″The End of October" by Lawrence Wright
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Wright won a Pulitzer Prize for “The Looming Tower,” his nonfiction account of events that led to the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Now he’s written a novel about a pandemic. Published this spring, just as the real pandemic began, it’s been hailed as eerily prescient.
A clear, graceful writer with a journalist’s taste for facts, he stitches science and politics, past and present, into a compelling yarn of a doctor named Henry, who early in the tale leaves his family in Atlanta to help contain the new flu abroad. As the pandemic ravages the world, Henry spends much of the novel trying to get home, while wrestling with the recognition of the ways humans brought this calamity on themselves.
The audiobook is excellent.
3. The real end of October.
Is there anyone who doesn’t love October? Variety is part of its charm. An unexpectedly warm evening. Then a chilly, wet morning. Thunder in the middle of the night. Sandals one day. Sweaters the next. The sun shifts, the light changes, the leaves drop, but the colors are still bright. The flowers are bedraggled, but still in bloom. Beauty.
4. A flu shot
You know what’s worse than a flu shot? The flu. Never more than during a pandemic. Just do it.
5. Keith Jarrett
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Jarrett, who’s 75, may be the most famous pianist alive, so it was big news a few days ago when The New York Times reported that, after two strokes that have left him partially paralyzed, he may never perform again.
Jarrett plays jazz and classical piano, solo and with others. I saw him at Chicago’s Symphony Center in 2010, and the experience of watching and hearing him, a man alone with a grand piano, was mystical.
The news of his health inspired me to pull out his contemplative 1999 solo album, “The Melody at Night, with You” and listen for the first time in a while. His tender, spare renditions of songs that include “Shenandoah” and “Blame it on My Youth” break your heart while they soothe your soul. Perfect consolation for anxious times.
6. Ordering on the app
Why would anyone order coffee or anything else on an app? I felt that way before the pandemic. Now I have a couple of coffee apps on my phone and can’t imagine why you wouldn’t order that cappuccino before you get to the coffee place so that it’s ready for your quick, masked pickup.
7. Virtual Songs of Good Cheer
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Lots of Tribune readers have reached out to me and my colleague Eric Zorn asking about Songs of Good Cheer in this pandemic year. This would be the 21st year of the holiday singalong we put on at the Old Town School of Folk Music with a band of great musicians. In recent years, we’ve done six sold-out shows, and it’s become a tradition for many people, including us.
Unfortunately, group singing is taboo during the pandemic. But! We’re working on a virtual show. Once we have the details pinned down, we’ll let you know how you’ll be able to sing along in December.
8. Gov. J.B. Pritzker and his coronavirus team
I wasn’t enthusiastic about the idea of Pritzker as governor. But through the pandemic madness, he has been clear, calm, tough, compassionate and useful. Unlike many politicians and pontificators, he has relied on science and experts in seeking the right level of social restriction needed to contain the virus.
One of those experts is Dr. Ngozi Ezike, director of the Illinois Department of Public Health, who made an emotional plea Friday, as the coronavirus surges again.
“If you’re talking about COVID fatigue from having to keep wearing a mask,” she said at the daily briefing, “think about the COVID fatigue for health care workers, respiratory therapists, who are going to have to go through this whole episode again, of trying to fight for people’s lives, because we couldn’t figure out how to control this virus, by doing some of the simple measures that have been prescribed.”
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9. ″Let America Be America Again"
When I walked my ballot to a voting drop-off box the other day, I remembered this poem, which the African American poet Langston Hughes wrote while on a train in October 1935. It’s a long poem about the mythology of the American Dream. Here’s a verse:
O, let America be America again —
The land that never has been yet —
Chicago Tribune Opinion Weekdays Read the latest editorials and commentary curated by the Tribune Opinion team. By submitting your email to receive this newsletter, you agree to our Subscriber Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy >
And yet must be — the land where every man is free.
The land that’s mine — the poor man’s, Indian’s, Negro’s, ME —
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Who made America,
Whose sweat and blood, whose faith and pain,
Whose hand at the foundry, whose plow in the rain,
Must bring back our mighty dream again.
mschmich@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-10-23--Man shot by Chicago police fleeing earlier attack in Little Village dies

The man , who was hit in the buttocks and taken in serious condition to Mount Sinai Medical Center , @ @ @ @ @ 2:30 p.m. , said Sgt .
Rocco Alioto , a police spokesman , and the @ @ @ @ @ s office .
His name and age were not immediately given .

Chicago police check on a person inside an ambulance after an officer shot and wounded a suspect in Little Village on Oct. 23, 2020. (Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune)
An armed man Chicago police said they shot and wounded as he ran from a car suspected of being involved in a shooting in Little Village minutes earlier has died.
The man, who was hit in the buttocks and taken in serious condition to Mount Sinai Medical Center, was pronounced dead there at 2:30 p.m., said Sgt. Rocco Alioto, a police spokesman, and the Cook County medical examiner’s office. His name and age were not immediately given.
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The incident started around 12:25 p.m. when a Friday ShotSpotter detector picked up several shots in the 2600 block of South Hamlin Avenue. Responding officers pursued a Ford Focus that sped from the scene and then crashed into a light pole near an alley in the 3700 block of West 26th Street, the statement said.
Three people jumped out of the car, including a man with a gun, police said. Officers fired at him and recovered his gun. He and another male were taken into custody and another gun was found in the Focus, police said.
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A female who fled from the car is still at large.
A male victim believed to be from the initial shooting on Hamlin Avenue was taken to a hospital with a graze wound to the head that was not life-threatening, police said.
Chicago police Chief of Operations Brian McDermott, speaking to reporters near the scene, would not say if the suspect shot by police had fired at officers.
The officers involved will be placed on administrative duties for 30 days, as is routine, while the Civilian Office of Police Accountability investigates the incident.
No officers were injured.
rsobol@chicagotribune.com
pnickeas@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-10-23--Mayor Lori Lightfoot wants to start issuing speed camera tickets for cars going 6 mph over the limit

“ Mayor Lightfoot has repeatedly cited the urgent need for our city to break what she has called its ‘ @ @ @ @ @ revenue from regressive fines and fees , and stop balancing the budget on the backs @ @ @ @ @ afford it .
This proposal does the opposite , ” she said .
“ This @ @ @ @ @ economically struggling Chicagoans further into debt while offering questionable benefits to public safety .
”

Mayor Lori Lightfoot, who campaigned on a pledge to end Chicago’s “addiction” to fines and fees, is counting on a big increase in city collections from speeding tickets and other violations to balance her 2021 budget.
And she wants part of the boost to the bottom line to come from speed cameras across Chicago issuing speeding tickets to drivers caught going as little as 6 miles per hour over the posted limit.
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Under the mayor’s proposal, as part of her 2021 budget package, anyone caught by a camera driving from 6 to 9 mph above the limit would get a warning. Getting caught on camera a second time would prompt a $35 ticket in the mail.
Currently, only those caught driving 10 mph above the limit get the $35 tickets. Tickets of $100 are issued to drivers caught speeding by 11 mph or more above the posted limit. The city has the authority to issue the tickets at lower speeds, but has never used it.
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Mari Castaldi, director of policy and advocacy at the Chicago Jobs Council, which has helped push fines and fees reform, blasted Lightfoot’s proposal.
“Mayor Lightfoot has repeatedly cited the urgent need for our city to break what she has called its ‘addiction’ to relying on revenue from regressive fines and fees, and stop balancing the budget on the backs of those who can least afford it. This proposal does the opposite,” she said. “This proposal is likely to send economically struggling Chicagoans further into debt while offering questionable benefits to public safety.”
According to budget documents released this week as the mayor unveiled her spending proposal for next year, the city expects to bring in $381.5 million in 2021 from fines, forfeitures and penalties. That’s about $38 million more than Lightfoot’s administration projected for 2020.
This year’s actual take from fines, forfeitures and penalties is likely to come in around $230 million, according to budget documents. The $110 million shortfall compared with earlier city projections is due to lower ticket revenue because of the pandemic, according to Budget Office spokeswoman Kristen Cabanban.
That’s in spite of the fact the city issued more than 35,000 parking tickets during a period this year when Lightfoot told the public they’d be getting a break on ticket enforcement because of the COVID-19 outbreak, as the Tribune has reported.
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The big hike in 2021 will come thanks to speed enforcement and the city ticketing more for “safety-related issues” such as cars double parking and blocking loading zones, along with better collection of outstanding fines, Cabanban said
Lightfoot campaigned against the city’s system of fines and fees, frequently criticizing the city for balancing its budget on the backs of taxpayers using regressive penalties on tickets.
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Within months of taking office in 2019, the mayor shepherded through the City Council a series of reforms to the city’s fines-and-fees system that ended the practice of suspending the driver’s licenses of people who haven’t paid parking tickets, reduced vehicle sticker penalties and created a six-month payment plan to give those with ticket debt more time to pay.
Now, Lightfoot wants to start ticketing drivers going just a few miles over the limit at a time many Chicagoans are struggling to make ends meet thanks to the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic. Asked how the mayor’s proposal squares with her promise to fight regressive fines, Cabanban made a distinction between “fines related to safety and fines related to compliance.”
“We continue to focus on reducing reliance on fines related to compliance, like not having a city sticker, or not returning a library book on time,” Cabanban said. “But as we’ve seen some increased risk to public safety, as speeding has increased for example, fines are an important and necessary tool to help improve safety.”
And Cabanban noted the city speed camera statute has allowed for the $35 tickets for cars going 6 to 9 mph over the limit since former Mayor Rahm Emanuel created the system near parks and schools in 2013. The city has never enforced it, however. “Now, given the data, we need to follow through on enforcing it,” she said.
Kyle Whitehead, a spokesman for the Active Transportation Alliance, said the group favors efforts such as speed cameras to slow traffic. “Even an incremental reduction in the speed of cars lessens the likelihood of a fatal crash, especially when a car strikes someone who’s walking or biking,” Whitehead said.
But he also said the organization would prefer a sliding ticket scale based on ability to pay so struggling Chicagoans don’t get “buried in fines.”
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Lightfoot also wants to add 750 parking meters to spaces around the city as part of her 2021 budget. While a private company controls the meters through a much-reviled 75-year lease, Cabanban said the new meters will help reduce by about $2 million the annual “true-up” payment the city must make to the company each year for the cost of spaces taken out of commission for things such as roadwork and street festivals.
The speed camera program has been controversial from the moment Emanuel introduced it. He pitched the network of cameras to catch speeders around parks and schools as a way to keep children safe, but critics painted it as a cash grab, pointing out many of the cameras were only tenuously connected to Chicago Park District and Chicago Public Schools properties.
There are currently a total of 88 speed cameras operating in Chicago, 72 in the vicinity of parks and another 16 near schools. Many school cameras were deactivated when CPS opted to go with an all-remote school day in the spring because of the pandemic, according to CDOT spokesman Mike Claffey.
Chicago’s red-light cameras also have drawn blowback from officials and activists who argue they do little to make intersections safe. A Tribune-commissioned report found that at intersections with low rates of injury accidents the cameras may make things more dangerous.
jebyrne@chicagotribune.com
gpratt@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-10-23--Lake Forest High School teachers say county health department’s COVID-19 warning being ignored by sc

Lake Forest High School teachers say county health department’s COVID-19 warning being ignored by school board

“ As a board , we represent the majority of members of our community in their desire to safely keep @ @ @ @ @ schools as possible .
Our students and staff have adhered to rigorous and thorough risk @ @ @ @ @ said in the statement .
“ This has resulted in no known in-building transmissions of @ @ @ @ @ it can be done .
We support the superintendent ’ s recommendation of an adaptive @ @ @ @ @ time to slow the reintroduction of students into the school building and thoughtfully consider next @ @ @

Despite the Lake County Health Department’s recommendation that schools return to remote learning due to a surge in COVID-19 cases, Lake Forest High School is currently scheduled to continue delivering some in-person instruction to freshmen and sophomores.
The Thursday decision by District 115 board members to keep the high school open for some in-person instruction was swiftly lambasted by Lake Forest teachers, who expressed dismay that officials were not following the recommendation of the Lake County Health Department that all public and private schools in the county shift to remote learning because of growing COVID-19 infection rates.
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“This is about the safety of our students, our staff and our community," said Becca Schwartz, president of the Lake Forest teachers union, in a Friday statement.
The District 115 board is likely to meet again Oct. 29, officials said.
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School Board President David Lane on Thursday did not rule out a further expansion of remote learning.
“We hope not to do it, but if the numbers continue to be troubling, we might have to do it,” Lane said.
Meanwhile, teachers are continuing to put pressure on officials.
"The medical professionals are saying it’s not safe to stay open. We told the administrative team that the (Lake Forest Educators Association) would expect the district to listen to the county recommendation,” Schwartz said.
Schwartz said the school board on Thursday night chose to ignore the administration and health professionals.
"They held a last-minute meeting and without discussing the topic in an open forum, our board president decided to keep the building open,” Schwartz said.
Superintendent Michael Simeck in a Friday statement to the community wrote that after reviewing the health department’s guidance, the district’s COVID-19 readiness dashboard and local data, the school board opted to take what he described as “an adaptive pause” that would allow freshmen and sophomores to continue a hybrid plan that includes both in-person and remote learning.
The high school’s juniors and seniors will continue their strictly remote learning schedule, and return to the building at a later date, Simeck said.
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Officials plan to “reevaluate on a weekly basis with the goal of reinstating the slow roll of students back into the building when it is deemed safe to do so,” Simeck said.
The strategy will allow for, “movement into any level of remote learning to prevent disease transmission during a pandemic. It also gives us time to observe the evolving data and better understand our own metrics,” Simeck said.
In response to Schwartz’s statements, Lane stood by the board’s approach.
“As a board, we represent the majority of members of our community in their desire to safely keep as many students in our schools as possible. Our students and staff have adhered to rigorous and thorough risk mitigation protocols,” Lane said in the statement. “This has resulted in no known in-building transmissions of the virus and proven that it can be done. We support the superintendent’s recommendation of an adaptive pause and will use that time to slow the reintroduction of students into the school building and thoughtfully consider next steps.”
Meanwhile, the high school’s 158 teachers, social workers, psychologists and counselors say they are calling for more transparency and details about the metrics being used to determine if buildings should be open or closed.
“If they’re not going to follow the recommendation of medical professionals, then we’d like to know what exactly their protocol is," Schwartz said.
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kcullotta@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @kcullotta


chicagotribune--2020-10-23--FBI joining investigation into fatal Waukegan police shooting of Black teen, state’s attorney says

“ I am confident in the work being done by the Illinois State Police and welcome the assistance of the @ @ @ @ @ .
“ As I have said before , once the investigation is concluded , all @ @ @ @ @ and a final decision will be made with respect to any potential charges .
Having @ @ @ @ @ many independent fresh eyes as possible is critical to this process .
”

Zharvellis Holmes, left, mother of Marcellis Stinnette, and his grandmother, Sherrellis Stinnette, center, listen as the Rev. Jesse Jackson, right, and others speak Oct. 28, 2020, outside the Illinois State Police headquarters in Des Plaines. They had viewed video of the shooting death Stinnette and the wounding of Tafara Williams by Waukegan police last week. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)
A Waukegan police officer who shot and killed a 19-year-old Black man and wounded his girlfriend has been terminated from the department, police officials announced in a Friday night press release that came hours after Lake County’s chief prosecutor said the FBI would be joining the investigation into the incident.
In a brief press release, Police Chief Wayne Walles said the officer had been fired for “multiple policy and procedure violations” related to the death of Marcellis Stinnette and the wounding of Tafara Williams. The release did not offer further details, other than to say the decision had been made Friday night. Rumors of the impending termination had spread Friday evening, according to a community source who said a city official had called to share the news.
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The city has not yet released the officer’s identity, other than to describe him as being of Hispanic background. The officer had been employed with Waukegan for about five years, the city said.
That announcement followed one late Friday afternoon from Lake County State’s Attorney Mike Nerheim, who said that in the name of marshaling resources and adding “fresh eyes,” the FBI will review the fatal shooting. Nerheim announced that the Department of Justice, at Nerheim’s request, has agreed to become involved in the investigation into the into the death of Marcellis Stinnette.
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The 19-year-old Waukegan man was killed Tuesday night in a police shooting in which Stinnette’s girlfriend, Tafara Williams, was wounded.
Nerheim said he asked the FBI to participate, alongside the Illinois State Police, which had been first asked to review the shooting.
Lake County State's Attorney Mike Nerheim. (Mark Kodiak Ukena / News-Sun )
“On Wednesday, Oct. 21, I contacted the U.S. Department of Justice to request they review the circumstances surrounding this incident. I have been advised that they have agreed to do so,” Nerheim said.
“I am confident in the work being done by the Illinois State Police and welcome the assistance of the FBI,” he said. “As I have said before, once the investigation is concluded, all the evidence will be reviewed and a final decision will be made with respect to any potential charges. Having all available resources and as many independent fresh eyes as possible is critical to this process.”
The statement did not give a time frame for when the investigation may be completed. On Wednesday, Nerheim said it could take “several weeks.”
“I continue to urge calm as we undertake this process and pledge complete transparency,” his statement said. “Once again our condolences continue to go out to the families and friends of Marcellis Stinnette and our prayers for a speedy recovery go out to the woman wounded in this unfortunate situation.”
Williams, who is expected to recover, underwent a second surgery, her mother, Clifftina Johnson, said at a Thursday rally and protest march in Waukegan.
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Several rally speakers called for federal intervention into the investigation. Among them was Lake County Black Lives Matter leader Clyde McLemore, who told attendees, “We don’t want the police investigating the police.”
Friday, he said it’s a start.
“It’s a first step – there’s been a lot of pain here,” McLemore said.
He said that he also would like a special prosecutor appointed, and would like to see more done to take on police brutality complaints in Lake County. Authorities should also release the identity of the police officer, McLemore said.
Chris “Brotha” Blanks, the leader of the Black Abolition Movement for the Mind community organization in Waukegan, said the news Friday seemed to represent progress.
“It’s good to get people with a sincere and genuine interest in progress,” he said. “If that’s what the Department of Justice is coming to do, that’s progress.”
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Handout photo of Marcellis Stinnette who was shot and killed by Waukegan police on October 20th. (Family photo)
Stinnette and Williams were shot around 11:55 p.m. Tuesday on the south side of Waukegan. According to the police, the couple, who are the parents of a child, were in a car that began backing toward a police officer and he opened fire because he was in fear for his life.
Family members, though, say Williams has said that she and Stinnette did not do anything to provoke the shooting. Police say no weapon was found in the couple’s car.
Williams remained in an area hospital Friday where she is recovering from gunshot wounds to the abdomen and arm, family members said. The officer who fired on their vehicle has been placed on leave. The department has not released his identity other than to say he is Hispanic and has been a Waukegan police officer for five years.
McLemore said that a second march is planned for Saturday, along with a Sunday prayer vigil to be followed by a press conference.


chicagotribune--2020-10-23--Grand jury subpoena indicates prosecutors investigating former Chicago police Superintendent Eddie J

Grand jury subpoena indicates prosecutors investigating former Chicago police Superintendent Eddie Johnson’s controversial night of drinking

An ordinance backed by the mayor last fall allowed the city ’ s corporation counsel to decide whether to release @ @ @ @ @ investigations that involve a death , or that involve or could involve a felony , @ @ @ @ @ a compelling public interest.
” Lightfoot has said the full report in the Johnson case @ @ @ @ @ to be publicly released .

A Cook County grand jury has requested extensive documents about the night that ultimately led to former Chicago police Superintendent Eddie Johnson’s firing, an indication that prosecutors are considering criminal charges against one or more players in the saga.
A subpoena obtained by the Tribune demands that the city inspector general’s office send over all of its reports about the October 2019 night Johnson went out drinking with a subordinate, then was found asleep at the wheel near his Bridgeport home.
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“Said files must include all reports, handwritten, typed and computer generated notes, and memorandums, and all recovered and supporting evidence including phone records, photographs and videotapes” related to their investigation of Johnson, the subpoena, issued last month, reads.
News that Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx’s office has sought the reports as part of a grand jury investigation could also ratchet up pressure on Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot to release the full IG report. A spokesperson for Foxx’s office declined to comment, as did Lightfoot’s office.
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A Chicago police spokesman declined to comment on the subpoena, referring all inquiries to Inspector General Joseph Ferguson’s office.
The subpoena is stamped Sept. 2, and demands compliance by Sept. 11.
An ordinance backed by the mayor last fall allowed the city’s corporation counsel to decide whether to release full inspector general reports in investigations that involve a death, or that involve or could involve a felony, and that are “of a compelling public interest.” Lightfoot has said the full report in the Johnson case does not meet the standard to be publicly released.
A city Law Department spokeswoman Friday evening said that stance is the same.
“Our position hasn’t changed, and we won’t be releasing the report,” Kathleen Fieweger said in an email.
Ferguson has released some details of his investigation into the 2019 incident where Johnson was found asleep in his car after a night out drinking with his driver, Cynthia Donald, and was then escorted home by police.
Donald has since filed an explosive lawsuit alleging Johnson regularly sexually assaulted and harassed her for three years. Robert McLaughlin, Donald’s attorney, said that he has been contacted by Foxx’s office about the allegations of sexual assault and plans to bring his client in for an interview with prosecutors.
The subpoena obtained by the Tribune predates the suit and Ferguson’s limited release of information.
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Among Ferguson’s conclusions: Chicago police officers made a series of critical mistakes ranging from not supervising young officers to improperly handling body-worn camera footage after Johnson was found asleep, having consumed the equivalent of 10 drinks, the report said.
The most serious punishment issued by the department, according to the report, went to the commander of the Deering District, Don Jerome. A 26-year veteran, Jerome faces a 28-day suspension for failing to file a report on a district lieutenant who recorded footage of the DUI from the body-worn camera on their cellphone, a department violation.
gpratt@chicagotribune.com
mcrepeau@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-10-23--State’s top health official pleads with residents to ‘fight the fatigue’ as half of Illinois’ counti

State’s top health official pleads with residents to ‘fight the fatigue’ as half of Illinois’ counties now at ‘warning level’ for coronavirus resurgence

“ If you ’ re talking about COVID fatigue from having to keep wearing a mask , think about the @ @ @ @ @ workers , respiratory therapists , who are going to have to go through this whole @ @ @ @ @ to fight for peoples ' lives , because we couldn ’ t figure out how @ @ @ @ @ by doing some of the simple measures that have been prescribed , ” Illinois Department @ @ @ @ @ Ngozi Ezike said at a coronavirus briefing Friday in Chicago .

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Paca Kujtim of Arlington Heights self-administers a COVID-19 test in his car at the Arlington International Racecourse on March 31, 2021 in Arlington Heights. Kujtim was getting testing as a precaution for upcoming travel. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)
The state’s top public health official on Friday made an emotional appeal to Illinois residents to “fight the fatigue” as the state ended the week with half its counties at a “warning level” for a resurgence of COVID-19 and a broad swath of the state living under stricter rules meant to slow its spread.
“If you’re talking about COVID fatigue from having to keep wearing a mask, think about the COVID fatigue for health care workers, respiratory therapists, who are going to have to go through this whole episode again, of trying to fight for peoples' lives, because we couldn’t figure out how to control this virus, by doing some of the simple measures that have been prescribed,” Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike said at a coronavirus briefing Friday in Chicago.
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The usually stoic Ezike began to cry and briefly paused her remarks at Friday’s news conference while she reported another 3,874 newly diagnosed cases statewide and 31 additional deaths.
“I feel for those health care workers … all these people who work with the public on a regular basis,” Ezike said. “You cannot work from home as a bus driver. And so these people have to go to work every day, as the disease is increasing throughout the state, and they’re the ones that will be dying.
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"Putting our people through this again, it’s unfortunate. And I’m desperate to find the message that will work. I’m looking for someone to tell me what the message is so that we can do what it takes to turn this around.”
As of Friday, the state Department of Public Health issued warnings for 51 counties across the state that data indicates are seeing a resurgence of COVID-19, and a large section of the state, including suburban areas, the northwest corner of the state and southern Illinois, is living under stricter state rules meant to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
Still, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said once again that he’s not considering reimposing a statew
[ Pandemic fatigue could make cold-weather COVID spike worse. Want a better 2021? Resist risky holiday gatherings. ]
ide stay-at-home order, the strictest measure his administration has imposed to date to curb the virus spread.
“We created the regions and the methodology for resurgence mitigations precisely so we could avoid statewide stay-at-home orders," Pritzker said. "We’ve learned an awful lot since March, and so we’re looking to stick to the plan we have.”
The state on Friday banned indoor bar and restaurant service and lowered caps on gatherings to 25 people in Kane, DuPage, Will and Kankakee counties.
Other regions of the state got closer to the 8% test positivity rate for three consecutive days that triggers a scaled-back reopening. The state reported data on Friday showing a 7.8% positivity rate for the region made up by Lake and McHenry counties. The Metro East region, the first to see a state crackdown this summer, had a positivity rate of 8.1%.
[ As second wave of COVID-19 roils Illinois, here are 5 updated ways doctors say you can stay healthy ]
The newly diagnosed cases on Friday came from a batch of 82,256 tests conducted during a 24-hour period, and the seven-day statewide test positivity rate ticked down slightly to 5.6%, from 5.7% a day earlier.
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The seven-day statewide positivity rate is up from 5.1% a week earlier, and was 3.5% as of Oct. 1.
The county warning list, which the state Department of Public Health issues weekly, includes Kane, McHenry and Will counties. The Illinois Department of Public Health uses a range of metrics to assess whether counties are placed at the warning level, including new cases per 100,000 people, weekly hospital admissions and emergency room visits and the number of deaths. If a county reaches two of the state-set metrics, it’s placed on the warning list.
[ COVID-19 in Illinois by the numbers: Here’s a daily update on cases, positivity rate and hospital data in your area ]
In addition to those three suburban counties, these 48 counties are currently considered to be at warning level by the state: Adams, Bond, Boone, Carroll, Cass, Christian, Clay, Clinton, Crawford, DeKalb, Douglas, Edwards, Fayette, Ford, Franklin, Gallatin, Greene, Hamilton, Henderson, Jersey, Jo Daviess, Johnson, Kendall, Knox, LaSalle, Lee, Macon, Macoupin, McDonough, Mercer, Morgan, Moultrie, Ogle, Perry, Pike, Pulaski, Rock Island, Saline, Shelby, Stephenson, Union, Vermilion, Wabash, Warren, Wayne, Whiteside, Williamson and Winnebago.
The state is now reporting 364,033 known cases and 9,418 deaths of people with COVID-19 throughout the course of the pandemic.
As of Thursday night, 2,498 people across Illinois with COVID-19 were hospitalized, up from 1,812 two weeks earlier. Of those hospitalized patients, 511 were in intensive care units and 197 were on ventilators.
jmunks@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-10-23--Walgreens lowers age for COVID-19 testing to children 3 and older

The pharmacy chain , which has about 620 COVID-19 testing sites in the U.S. and Puerto Rico , said it @ @ @ @ @ on underserved communities , with more than 70 % of its testing sites in areas @ @ @ @ @ socially vulnerable .

CTU workers direct vehicles lined up for COVID-19 testing outside of the Chicago Teachers Union on Dec. 30, 2021, in Chicago. CPS starts back to school on Monday following their holiday break. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)
Walgreens is expanding COVID-19 testing for children age 3 and older across its 36 testing sites in Illinois.
As of Friday, parents can schedule an appointment online for children to receive a nasal swab test. Parents need to provide electronic consent and must accompany any minor to Walgreens testing locations, where pharmacy workers will guide them on how to administer the test to the child.
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Adolescents have the option to administer the test for themselves.
Patients can expect to receive results within 24 to 72 hours, depending on lab capacity, Walgreens said.
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Previously, the Deerfield-based pharmacy retailer offered testing to people 18 and older.
Since Sept. 11, CVS Health has offered self-swab testing to children 12 and older at its approximately 170 drive-thru sites in Illinois. Parents or legal guardians must schedule an appointment online for all minor patients, and children 12 to 15 years of age must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian.
The expansion of testing to younger children is part of Walgreens' plan to ramp up its testing program and offer parents and guardians more options as school administrators continue to bring students back to classrooms.
The announcement arrives as some Chicago Public School parents make decisions on whether to send students enrolled in prekindergarten or special education cluster programs back to the classroom or continue remote learning.
[ Will drive-thru COVID-19 testing survive the Chicago winter? ]
Walgreens is offering free COVID-19 testing to patients who meet criteria established by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Those include patients who have COVID-19 symptoms, anyone who came in close contact with an infected person and people advised by their health care provider to seek testing.
The pharmacy chain, which has about 620 COVID-19 testing sites in the U.S. and Puerto Rico, said it is focusing its testing program on underserved communities, with more than 70% of its testing sites in areas the CDC has identified as socially vulnerable.
abjimenez@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @abdel1019


chicagotribune--2020-10-23--Munster man charged with murder in baby’s death

Harling and the mother told police both children were taken away by Child Protective Services when Morgan was a month @ @ @ @ @ to the hospital with a broken arm .
She was placed at the Carmelite Home @ @ @ @ @ month before they were moved to a foster home , charges state .

A Munster man faces charges in the December 2019 death of his 6-month-old daughter, charges state.
Justin Lee Harling, 25, was charged Wednesday with murder and aggravated battery against Morgan Harling, Lake Superior Court records show.
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During a supervised visit on Dec. 11, Harling and the child’s mother took Morgan and her brother to Texas Roadhouse in Dyer. Afterwards, they stopped by Target in Munster. While in line at the self-checkout, Harling took the child to the family restroom to change her diaper when she went unresponsive, he told police.
As the mother yelled for help, a shopper who was a nurse, went to the bathroom and started CPR. When she asked if the child fell, Harling said no, charges state.
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The child was taken to Community Hospital, where a doctor noticed “several contusions and scratches” on her head, while a CT scan confirmed brain bleeding. She was later flown to St. Vincent’s Children’s Hospital in Indianapolis where she was pronounced dead, charges show.
Munster Police interviewed Harling, who said the child was “gasping” and “changing color” after he had to change her diaper a few times. He denied she fell off the changing table. She was a “squirmy child” and “it was possible that she hit her head on the changing table,” he told police.
Morgan died of “multiple blunt force injuries to the head,” according to an autopsy done by the Marion County Coroner’s Office in Indianapolis. Police compared photographs taken at the restaurant with ones taken at the hospital which showed two additional scratch lines on her forehead and new bruise.
Her injuries suggested a “catastrophic event took place in the bathroom” caused by a “fall... from a greater distance or with great force,” according to Marion County Chief Forensic Pathologist Dr. Christopher Poulos.
There was also a mix of old and new injuries including a dislocated shoulder, he said. The parents told police she had a vitamin D deficiency. That could make fractures more easy, but didn’t explain the multiple injuries or brain injuries, Poulos added.
Harling and the mother told police both children were taken away by Child Protective Services when Morgan was a month old after they took her to the hospital with a broken arm. She was placed at the Carmelite Home in East Chicago for a month before they were moved to a foster home, charges state.